The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-03-15
GuApTER w.


this absence of the three mon from the
feed box at tho time of tho sharp lieu
tenant IS investigation should terrify the
girl more than it should JOY her. That
for which she had prayed had come to
pass. Apparently the escape of those
mon in the face of every imprObability
had been granted her. but her dominat-
ing emotion was fright. The feed box
was n mystic and terrible machine, like
some dark magiCian's trap. She felt it
almost possible that she should sec the
three weird men floating speCtrally
away through the air. She glanced with
swift apprehension behind her and
when tho dazzle from the lantern S light
had left her eyes, saw only the dim
hillside stretched in solemn silence.
Tho interior of the barn possessed for
her another fascination because it was
now uncanny. 1t contained that extraor-
dinary feed box. When she peeped again
at the knothole, the calm gray prisoner
was seated upon the feed box, humping
it with his dangling, careless heels, as
If it were i'll nowiso his conception Of a
remarkable feed box. The sentry also
stood facing it, His carbine he held in
spread apart, and he mused. From
without came the low humble of the
three other troopers The sharp lieuten-
ant had vanished.
The trembling yellow light of the
lantern caused the figures of tho men to
cast monstrous wavering shadows
There were spaces of gloom which
shrouded ordinary things in impressive
garb. The roof presented an inscrutablo
blackness save where small riffs in tho
shingles glowed phoSphorescently Ere
quently old Santo put down thunder
GUS hoof. The heels Of the prisoner
made a sound like the booming Of a
wild kind of drum. When the men
moved their heads, their eyes shone
with ghoulish whiteness and their COM
pleXions were always waXen and unreal
And there was that profoundly strange
feed box, imperturbable with it's burden
OF fantastic mystery.
Suddenly from down near her feet
the girl heard crunching sound, q sort
of nibbling, as if some silent and very
discreet terrier was at work upon the
turf. She faltered back. Here was no
doubt another grotesquo detail Of this
Aiiooo 'thbatuihh CpiSONit. SilS tltl llOU
run, because physically sho was now in
tho power of these events. Her feet
chained her to the ground in submission
to this march of terror after terror. AS
She stared at the spot from whence this
sound seemed to como there hoated
through heGt mind vague. sweet vi
sion, vision Of her safe little room in
which at this hour she usually was
sleeping.
The scratching continued family and
with frequent pause as if the terrier
was then listening. When tho girl first
removed her eyes from tho knotholc,
the scene appeared ono of velvet dark
ness. Then gradually objects loomed
with dim lustcr. She could now SEQ
where the tops of the trees joined the
sky, and the form Of the barn was be-
fore her, dyed i'll heavy purple.
Sho was even about to shrek, but no
sound camo from her CONSTRUCTED throat.
She gazed at the ground with tho ex-
preston Of countenance of one who
watches the sinister moving grass where
serpent approaches.
Dimly she saw piece Of sod wrench
ed free and drawn under the great foun-
dation beam Of the barn. Once sin i'm
agined that she saw human hands, not
outlined at all, but sufficient in color,
form or movement to mako subtle sug-
gestiOn.
Then suddenly thought that illumi-
mated the entire situation flashed in her
mind like light The three men late
Of the feed box were beneath the floor Of
the barn and were now scraping their
way under this beam. She did not con-
slider for moment how they could come
there. They were marvellous creatures.
The supernatural was to be expected of
them. She no longer trembled, for she
was possessed upon this instant of tho
most Interchangeable species Of convic-
tion. Tho evidence before her amounted
to no evidence at all, but nevertheless
her opinion grew in an instant from an
irresponsible acorn to a rooted and i'm
movable tree. 1t was as if she was on q
jury.
She stopped down hastily and scanned
the ground. There she indeed saw pair
Of hands hauling at tho dirt where the
sod had been displaced. Softly, in q
whisper like breath, she said, "Heyl"
The dim hands were drawn hastily
under the barn. The girl reflected for
moment. Then she stopped and whis-
pered: "Hey It's mep'
After time there was resumption
of the digging. The ghostly hands began
once more their cautious mining. She
waited. In hollow reverberations from
the interior Of the barn came the fre-
quent sounds of old Santos lazy move
ments. The sentry conversed with the
prisoner.
AT last the girl saw bead thrust
slowly from under the beam. She per-
ceived the face Of one Of the three mirac-
ulous soldiers from the feed box. A pair
Of eyes glinted and wavered, then finally
settled upon her, pale statue of girl.
The eyes became lit with kind Of hu.
morous greeting An arm gestured at
her.
STOPPING, she breathed, "All right2"
The man drew himself silently back un-
der the beam. A moment later the pair
of hands resumed their cautious task.
Ultimately the head and arms Of the
man were thrust strangely from the
earth. He was lying on his back. The
girl thought Of the dirt in his hair.
Wriggling slowly and pushing at the
beam above him, he forced his way out
OF the curious little passage. He twisted
his body and raised himself upon his
hands. He 81 inned at the girl and drew
his feet carefully from under the beam,
yVhar ha ne Iaef ok,od f,took t>fas 40 49,.