La Junta tribune., 1899-02-01

Wneu cunHriousucA~ dRuSu totOIueu 70 uo
Slowly opening my cyea snw fnr above
me the dark blue vault of the sky and the
full moon shining brightly. A dull. pain.
ful sensntinn ~ the hack Of my head
prompted me to piace my hand there, and
then discovered that was bound hand
and foot Gradually collected my
thoughts rvmembcrcd now the muir
derous attack in the forest, and u fearful
forebodinH flashed through my mind which
almost caused my heart to stand still. I
felt that wns laid across two sharp par
Aliel projections, which Ont into my shoul-
ders and the back of my legs, causing me
intense pain. and far below me could
hear the gentle plashing Of water
Heavens, There could no longer be any
doubt. wns lying stretched across Ca.
yugn bridge, bound, incapable Of moving
an Inch, with the hideous and absolutely
certain prospect of being cut literally to
pieces by the noxt train that passed For
tho second time that night I almost
swooned as realized my situation, but by
. powerful effort OF will recovered myself
and tugged desperately at the ropes that
bound ME until they cut almost my mus
cles. I shriekcd and wept finally like
child made mad cndeavors to roll my
self into another position and then recol.
lccted that u careless movement might
hand and foot, to sink like a stone
"A shudder ran through my frame, and
lay motionless ngnin, but not for long, \
for tho light OF the great almost fearfully
bright. moon overhead, the ripple OF tho
water deep below me. the breeze that came
In light puffs and then died away again.
giving place to n deathlike stiffness, occa-
sionally broken by the scream Of snme dis.
tAnt night biri-ali was unbcarabe and
caused me the anguish Of death. And then
tAs rails the railsl My thoughts were
torturinR me. and yet l could not escape
them The wooden beams OF the bridge
vibrated pcrceptibiy from the movement Of
the water below. and thought that |
could already feel tho approach OF the
train, and my hair bristled with the hor-
ror of 1t The breeze now blew somewhat
stronger. and imagined that l could
hear far away In the distance the pulling
and painting of the locomotive. and my
heart stood still. to beat with rcdoubleti
force the next moment
"There nre certain things, gentlemen.
which are absolutely incnmprchcnsblc to
me. One of them is the fact that WIS
able to survive that night One thought
stood ever clear in my mind-l must en-.
dcavor by some means to shift my posi-
ton, II possible, to one between the metals.
II did not wish. possibly even In the next
moment. to become the prey Of the most
aw full death ono could conceive. l strained
every muscle. every sinew, till l could
strain no more wound and twisted my
self and painted until thought my head
must burst. and after supcrhumnn cxer-
tions, which appeared TO last an eternity
and perhaps lasted but minute, j found
myself In the hollow betwccn tho rails
.'Was l savedy had no time 70 consider
.s<,S.,x u1a x~S
life which was now offered TO me, for my
whole being concentrated itself In intent
listening Far AWAY In the distance l
could now hear first all indistlnctly and
then gradually increasing ns 10 drew near
er and nearer the regular, monotonous
painting which hcralds the approach Of n
locomotive The fearful stiffness of the
night gave way AZ each minute passed to
the moro fearful noise, to tho clAnking and
laundering Of the engine as IL raced on
toward me at the headiong spesd Of Amer
loan trains Now 1000 feet more-now
SOCIAL tho horrors OF he'll poaseseed me.
but lay without moving MUSCLE, Once
indeed tried to scream. could no lon
ger hear my own voice How. then. could
the people on the train bc expected TO hear
meI And now for an inmeasurabiy short
space Of time blaze Of light beat down
upon me and blast OF hot air rushed over
mo Then everything became dark, and
heard thunder rs n the heavens were
crashing In Close--quite close-nt enarce-
ly . hairbreadths distance. rushed the
enormous mass over mo ] was saved.
ALREADY half unconscious, was still
sensible Of n dcafcning clatter and roaring
above me, and saw shadowlike mAsses
flying past Still ono moment moro Of
deadly anguish-one of tho coupling
hooks, hanging somewhat lower than the
rest. had caught and torn large piece out
Of the breast OF my cont Then all obtects
seemed to whirl around me. the moon; the
bridge and the lofty cliffs, in one mad
dance. and became insensible.
when next awoke, l found myself in
my own bed. and around me well known
faces And now. to be brief. ] had been
found in the morning after that aWful
night by plate layer, who had recognised
me and had brought mo back to A uhurn.
For . fortnight ] lay delirious with brain
fever. lowering between life and dsath,
but my strong constitution pulled me
through The first time after my recovery
that I had occasion to use looking glass
saw what traces those moments had left
on me-. +"
The doctor ceased speaking, but his pale
face, the look Of horror and the great
beads Of sweat on his forehead MI showed
how keen his recollection was Of that te9.
rible experience We nlso had Listened TO
his narrative with breathless attention,
and u was some time before We C0uld
shake Oh the impression 1t had left upon
us.-From the German For Short Stories
------ fstF
Sir walter scott's Dogs.
a. - l. n