The record-union., 1896-12-13

stole gingerly in the direction he indi-
Gated. With every step l took the awful
fascination of the descending waters in
creased upon me. 1t seemed hldeous
and abnormal to stand midway against
la perpendicularly rushing torrent.
Above or below the effect would have
been different: but here, to look up was
to feel ones feet dragging toward the
unseen; to look down and pass from
vision of the lip of the fall was to be-
come the waif of a force that was un-
accountable.
/ had a battle with my nerves and
triumphed. As 1 approached the open
ing in the brambIes 1 became conscious
lof a certain relief. At a little distance
the cataract had seemed to actually
wash in it's descent the edge of the
platform. Now l found it to be dis
tant further than l had imagined, the
ground dropping in a sharp slope to a
sort of rocky buttress, which lay OBJ
liquely on the slant of the ravine, and
was the true margin of the torrent.
Before 1 essayed the descent [ glanced
back at my companion. He was kneel-
ing where / had left him, his hands
pressed to his face, his features hidden;
had with infinite caution accomplished
the downward climb, 1 saw that he
had crept to the edge of the slope and
was watching me with wide, terrified
eyes | waved my hand to him. and
turned me to the wonderful vision of
water that now passed almost within
reach of my arm. | stood near the
point where the whole CLASSY breadth
glided at once from sunlight into
shadow. 1t fell silently. without a
break, for only its feet far below trod
the thunder.
Now, as 1 peered about, 1 noticed a
little cleft in the rocky margin, min
lute's climb above me. l was attracted
to this by an appearance of smoke or
lSteam that necessarily emerged from it
as though some witch's caldron We're
Isimmering alongside the fall. Spray it
might be, or the condensing of water
splashed on the granite but of this I
might not be sure. Therefore, l deter
mined 20 investigate, and straightWay
began climbing the rocks, with my
heart in my mouth, it must be con-
Ifessed, for the foothold was undesirable
and the way perilouS. And all the
time 1 was concious that the white face
of Camille watched me from above. AS
[ reached the cleft l fancied l heard a
queer sort of gasping sob issue from his
lips, but to this | could give no heed in
the sudden wonder that broke upon me-
For, 10, it appeared that the cleft led
straight to a narrow platform or ledge
of rock right underneath the fall itself
but extending how far l could not see
by reason of the steam that filled the
passage and for which | was unable to
account. Footing it carefully and CROP
ing my way, 1 set step in the little
water-c -curtained chamber and advanced
a pace or two. Suddenly, light grew
about me, and a beautiful rose of fire
appeared on the wall of the passage in
the midst of what seemed a vitrified
scoop in the rock.
Marveling, I put out my hand to
touch it, and fell back on the narrow
| floor with a scream Of anguish. An
| inch further and these lines had not
been written. AS it was, the fall caught
me by the fingers with the suck of a
| catfish, and it was only a gigantic
wrench that saved me from slipping off
the ledge The jerk brought my head
| against the rock with a stunning blow
and for some moments 1 lay dizzy and
confused. daring hardly to breathe and
conscious only of a burning and blister
ing agony in my right hand.
| At length l summoned courage to
gather my limbs together and crawl
out the way 1 had entered. Tho dis
tance was but a few PAGES, yet the mo-
ment these took to traverse seemed an
linterminable nightmare of swaying and
stumbling. / know only one other oc-
casiOn upon which the liberal atmos-
phere Of the open earth seemed sweeter
to my senses when l reached it than it
did on this.
| tumbled somehow through the cleft,
and sat down shaking upon the grass
of the slope beyond; but, happening to
throw myself backward in the reeling
faintness induced by my fright and the
pain Of my head, my eyes encountered
a sight that woke me at once to full
activity
Balanced upon the very edge of the
slope, his face and neck craned for
ward. his jaw dropped, a sick, tranced
look upon his features, stood Camille
1 saw him topple, and shouted to him;
| but before my voice was well out he
swayed, collapsed and came down with
a liluQ lHdt SUOOh the ground.
Once he wheeled over, like a shot rab-
bit. and bounding whack with his head
against fiat bowlder not dozen yards
from me, lay stunned and motioness
l scrambled to him, shaking all over
| His breath came quick, and a squirt of
! blood jerked from a sliced cut in his
forehead at every pump of his heart
| / kicked out a wad of cool moist turf
and clapped it in pad over the wound
my handkerchief under. For his body,
| he was shaken and bruised, but other
wise not seriously hurt.
Presently he came to himself-to him
self in the best sense of the word-for
Camille was sane.
l have no explanation to offer Only
/ know that as a fall will set long
stopped watch pulsing again, the blow
here seemed to have restored the mis-
placed intellect in it's normal balance
When he woke there was a new soft
light of sanity in his eyes that was pa
thetic in the extreme
Monsieur" he whispered, 1.-The terror
has passed.
God be thanked, Camille" / an
swered, much moved
He jerked his poor battered head in
reverence.
"A little while" he said, land / shall
know. The punishment was just"
What punishment, my poor Ca
mile?"
Hush. The cloud has rolled away. I
stand naked before the good Christ
Monsieur, lift me up; / am strong"