The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-02

~ jerk when she lost her footing but still
it came in steadily, and he used a nose of
rock as a sort of winch. He knew when
she was more than one-thlrd Of the way up
by the greater weight upon the rope, by
the more frequent Jerking VIXEN she slipp-
ed. Yet this was no labor and monstrous
struggle such as Antoincs clmbing-thls
was the scaling of a conquered wall by the
legions of the victorious.
She was nearly two-thirds Of the way
up when a cannon-shot doomed out over
the water Frightening again the vast COW
eys of birds which srieked and honked till
the air was a maelstrom Of cries Then
came another cannon-shot
Antoine's deserton was discovered
Upon the other side of the rock boats
were putting out towards the shore. An
tome knew perfectly each movement as
well a If he were watching them The
fight was begun between a single fisher
man and a fleet Of French Warshps.
His strength, however, could not last
much longer. Every muscle of his body
had been strained and tortured, and even
this easier task tried him beyond endur-
ance. His legs, stffened against the ledge
of the rock the tension on his arms made
them numb--he wondered how near she
was to the top. Suddenly there was a
pause, then a heavy jerk. Love Of Godl
the rope was shooting through his fingers,
his legs were giving way. lie gathered him
self together, and then with teeth, hands,
and body rigid with enormous effort, he
pulled and pulled He could not see. A mist
swan before his eyes. Everything grew
black, but he pulled on and on
lie never knew just when she reached
the top. But when the mist cleared away
from his eyes, she was bending over him,
putting rum to his lips as he sat just
where he had stffened with effort.
What a cat | wasH' she said. What a
wildcat I was to make you haul me upi I
didn't know It was 50 bad. It was bad for
me with the rope round melt must have
been awful for you, my poor esmanus-my
poor scarecrow Antoine"'
Scarecrow indeed he looked His clothes
were nearly gone, his hair was tossed and
matted, his eyes were bloodshot, his huge
hands were like pieces Of raw meat, his
feet were covered with blood.
My poor scarecrowr she said. and she
tenderly wiped the blood from his face
where his hands had touched them. Mean
while. bugle-calis and cries Of command
came up to them, and in the first light of
morning they could see the Frenchmen
and the Carnavals hurrying 20 and fro.
When day came clear and bright it was
known that Minois as well as Antoine had
vanished or man Carnival was in as
great a rage as the French admiral, who
was as keen to hunt down one Jersey Eng
llshman as he had ever been to attack an
English feet-more 80 perhaps.
Meanwhile the birds Kept up wild tur-
mol and shreking. Never before had
anyone heard them so clamorous. More
than once OIL man Carnival had looked at
Perez Rock curiously, but whenever the
thought of it as a refuge occurred TO him,
he pat il away No, il was impossible.
No human being since the world began had
ever stood on that mysterious, lonely, and
impregnable place sacred to the birds and
the invisible dweEers of the air,
Yet what was that? His heart hump
ed under his coat There were two peo-
ple on the lofty island wall-a man and a
woman. He caught the arm Of a French
officer near him: Look, lookY' he said.
The officer raised his glass and looked
ITS the gunner" he cried and handed
the glass to the old man.
'Its my Minoisr said Carnival after a
moment in "a hoarse voice. But it's not
possible. It's not possible" he AIDED. NO
body was ever there. My God! look at IL!
Look at it,
1t was a picture indeed. A man and a
woman were outlined against the clear air,
putting up a tent as calmly as If 1t We're
on a lawn. thousands of birds wheeling
tic cries.
A few moments later OF man Carnival
was being rowed swiftly to the French
flagship, where the admiral himself was
swearing vlciously as he looked through
his telescope He had recognized the gun
ncr.
He had prepared to lombard the fishing
post and wipe il out of existence If Car
naval did not produce Antoine. Wen,
here was Antoine duly produced and in
sultingly setting up a tent on this sheer
rock. with some snippet Of the devil,n
said the admiral. and defying a whole
French heet He would set his gunners
10 work If he had as good a marksman
as Antoine himself, the deserter should
drop at the first shot-"death and the devil
take his impudent FACET
lie was just about to give the order,
when Carnival was brought to him The
old mans story amazed him beyond meas
ure.
ut is no man thenw said the admiral,
when CARNIVAL had done, and an officer
had added that all sides of the rock ore-