Middletown transcript., 1898-03-05
Left alone again, she began to be

girl felt In one way GnaG Sno was look
ing at a CHASTITY group in wax. She
started when the old horse put down an
echoing hoof She wished the men
would speak; their silence REINFORCED
the strange aspect. They might have
been two dead men.
The girl felt impelled to look at the
corner of the interior where were the
COW stalls. There was no light there
save the appearance Of peculiar gray
haze which marked the track Of the
dimming rays of the lantern. All else
was somber shadow. At last she saw
something move there. 1t might have
been as small as a rat or it might have
been a part of something as large as a
man. At any rate it proclaimed that
something in that spot was alive. At
one time she saw it plainly and at 9TH
er times it vanished. because her fixture
Of gaze caused her occasionally to great
ly tangle and blur those peculiar shad-
ows and faint lights. At last, however,
she perceived a human head. It was
monstrously disheveled and wild. It
moved slowly forward until it's glance
could fall upon the prisoner and then
upon the sentry. The wandering rays
caused the eyes to glitter like silver.
The girls heart pounded so that she
put her hand over it.
The sentry and the prisoner remained
immovably waxen, and over in the
gloom the head thrust from the floor
watched them with it's silver eyes.
Finally the prisoner slid from the
feed box and, raising his arms, yawned
at great length. "Oh, we'll, he re-
marked, "you boys will get good lick
ing if you fool around here much Ion
ger. That's some satisfaction anyhow.
Even If you did bag me, you'll get a
good wal1oping" He reflected for a
moment and decided. "I'm sort of will
ing to be captured if you fellows only
get id good licking for being SO
smart"
The sentry looked up and smiled
superior smile. Licking, hey? Nixeyp
He winked exasperatingly at the prison
er. "You fellows are not fast enough,
my boy. Why didn't you lick us at -
and at - and at -" He named
some Of the great battles.
To this the captive officer blurted in
angry astonishment, "Why, we didl"
The sentry winked again in profound
irony. eyes, I know you did. Of course.
You whipped US, didn't you? Fine kind
of whipping that wasl Why, wei
He suddenly ceased, smitten mute by
a sound that broke the stiffness of the
night It was the sharp crack of dis
tant shot that made wild echoes among
the hills. It was instantly followed by
the hoarse cry of a human voice, far
away yell of warning, singing of sur
prise, peril, fear of death. A moment
later there was distant fierce spatter-
ing Of shots. The sentry and the prison
er stood facing each other, their lips
apart, listening.
The orchard at that instant awoke to
sudden tumult. There were the thud and
scramble and scamper Of feet, the hol-
low, swift clash of arms, mems voices
in question, OATH, command, hurried
and unhurried, resolute and frantic. A
horse sped along the road at raging
gallop. A loud voice shouted, "What is
it, Ferguson?" Another voice yelled
something incoherent. There was
sharp discordant chorus of command.
An uproarious volley suddenly rang
from the orchard. The prisoner in gray
moved from his intent listening atti-
tuds. Instantly the eyes of the sentry
blazed, and he said, with new and ter
rible sternness, "Stand where you are"
The prisoner trembled in his excite
ment. Expressions of delight and tri-
umph bubbled to his lips. "a surprise,
by gadl Nowl Now, you'll see."
The sentry stolidly swung his carbine
to his shoulder. He sighted carefully
along the barrel until it pointed at the
prisoners head, about at his nose.
"Well, I've got you anyhow. Remem-
ber that. Don't move"
The prisoner could not keep his arms
from nervously gesturing. ST won't,
butt
"And shut your mouth"
The three comrades Of the sentry
flung themselves into view. "Pete-
"I've got him, Z" said the sentry calm
ly and without moving. 1t was as if the
barrel of the carbine rested On piers of
stone. The three comrades turned and |
dived into the darkness.
In the orchard it seemed as if two gi- |
gantio animals were engaged in a mad |
foundering encounter, snarling, howl |
ing in whirling chaos of noise and |
motion. In the barn the prisoner and |
his guard faced each other in silence.
As for the girl at the knothole-the |
sky had fallen at the beginning of this
clamor. She would not have been aston
ished to see the stars swinging from
their abodes and the vegetation, the
barn, all blow away. It was the end of
everything, the grand universal muir
der. When two of the three miraculous
soldiers who formed the original feed |
box corps emerged in detail from the
hole under the beam and slid away into
the darkness, she did no more than
glance at them.
Suddenly she reoolleoted the head
with silver eyes. She started forward
and again applied her eyes to the knot
hole. Even with the din resounding
from the orchard, from up the road and
down the road, from the heavens and
from the deep earth, the central fascina-
lion was this mystic head. There to
her was the dark god of the tragedy.
The prisoner in gray at this moment
burst into laugh that was no more
than hysterical gurgle. "Well, you
can't hold that gun out forever. Pretty
soon you'll have to lower it."
The sentry's voice sounded slightly
mufied, for his cheek was pressed
against the weapon. ST won't be tired
for some time yet. /"
The girl saw the head slowly rise, the
eyes Axed npon the santry,s face. A tall
black figure skunk across the cow stalls
and vanished back Of old Santos quar-
ters. She knew what was to come to
pass. She knew this grim thing was
upon a terrible mission and that it
would reappear again at the head Of the
little passage between Santos stall and
kha wall almost at the Snnfrv'a nlhnyU |