The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-07-28

was no souna. with the closing OF the
door it seemed to him that he was cut
of from every living creature. In the
awful silence he could hear his own
heart beating like drum.
"Stand where you are!" came in a
missing whisper from the darkness near
by, and then the invisible whispereT
moved away, making weird sound as
he slid his hand along wall till it
died away in the distance.
A cold thrill ran over him. He was a
nrave man and feared no living man or
beast, but the superstitious fears of his
childhood now came upon him with re
doubled force. For several minutes he
did not stir. Presently he put ont his
hand to the door, and his blood ran cold.
There was no knob, latch or keyhole,
and he could feel the soft padding into
which the door closed to keep out sound.
Then he remembered the warning of the
princess and strove with all his might
to fight down his approximations. For
your life keep your presence of mind, !"
he repeated over and over, but try as he
would his terror overpowered him. He
laughed out loud, but in the dreadful
silence and darkness his laugh sounded
nnearthly.
= A cold perspiration broke out on him.
It seemed as if hours passed before he
ngain heard the sliding noise on the
wall Some one was coming to him.
The sound grew louder and nearer
till firm hand was laid on his arm. 1t
felt as cold as ice through his clothing.
"Come," a voice whispered, and the
Englishman was led forward. Present
~ another door opened, door that
closed after them without any sound.
Here the silence was more intensified,
the darkness thicker, as if compressed
like air.
Hands were placed on the shoulders
Of Thorndyke, and he was gently forced
into chair. AS soon as he was seated
two metal clamps grasped like wise
his arms between the elbows and the
shoulders, and two more fastened round
his ankles.
There was faint puff of air from the
door, and the prisoner felt that be was
alone. !
+ Terror held him in bondage. He tried
TO think of Bernardino, but in vain. Did
they intend to drive him to madness?
He began to suspect that the king had
discovered his natural superstition and
: had decided to put it to q test. What he
had undergone SO far he felt was but
the introduction to greatest terrors in
store for him.
There was sigh far away liz the
darkness, then a groan that seemed to
6it about in space, as if seeking to es-
cape the dark, and then died away in a
low moan of despair. Before him the
blackness seemed to hang like dark
curtain about ten yards in front of him,
and in it shone tiny speck of light 10
larger than the head of pin and which
was so bright that he could not look at
1t steadily. 1t increased to the size of a
pea, and then he discovered that at
times it would seem miles away in
space and then again to draw quite
near to hand. CHANGING down, he no.
ficed that it cast bright round spot
about an inch in diameter on the floor,
and that the spot was slowly revolving
in circle so small that its motion was
hardly observable. Surely the mind of a
s, perstitious man was never SO pun
isl,ed. When Thorndyke looked steadily
at the spot, the black floor seemed to
fecede and the spot to sink far down
into the empty darkness below like :,
solitary star. So realistic was this that
the Englishman could not keep from
fancying that his chair was poised in
some way over fathomless space. Pres
emily he noticed that the spot had ceased
its circular movement and was slowly
almost as slowly as the movement OF
the hand of clock-advancing in a
straight line toward him.
No such terror lad ever before pos
sessed the stout heart of the English
man. AS the uncanny spot. ever grow
ing brighter, advanced toward him, he
thought his heart had stopped beating.
His brain was in whirl. After long
while the spot reached his feet and be-
gan to climb up his legs. With a shud-
der, and smothered cly, he tried to
draw his feet away, but they were toe
firmly manacled.
1T is searching for my heart, .
thought Thorndyke. My God, when il
reaches it, shall diei' As the strange
spot, cleaning like a burning diamond
] in whose heart leaped a Thousand differ
emit colored flames, and which seemed
possessed of some strange hellish pur-
pose, crossed his thighs and began to
climb up his body, the brain Of the pris-
oner seemed on FIRE. He tried to close
his eyes; but, horrors of horrors, his
eyelids were paralyzed. Ii was almost
over his heart, and Thorndyke was faint
ing through sheer mental exhaustion
when it stopped, began to descend slow.
~, and then, with rapid, waveripg
motion, it fell to the floor, flashed about
Al the darkness aud vanished.
An hour dragged slowly by. What
would happen next? The Englishman
felt that his frightful ordeal was not
over. TO his surprise the darkness began
to Tighten till he could see diinly the
outlines of the chamber. 1t was bare
save for the chair he occupied against
the wall and couch on the opposite
side OF the room The couch held some
thing which looked like q human body
covered with white cloth. He could
zee where the sheet rounded over the
head and rose sharply at the feet.