Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-02-07

olOWly opeHlnB my EYES, L saw lar dDONe
me the dark blue vault Of the sky and the
full moon shining brightly A dull, pain
full sensation at the back of my head
prompted me to place my hand there, and
l then discovered that l was bound hand
and foot. Gradually l collected my
thoughts. l remembered now the mur
derous attack in the forest, and a fearful
foreboding flashed through my mind which
almost caused my heart to stand still. l
felt that | was laid across two sharp par
allel projections, which cut into my Shout
ders and the back of my legs, causing me
intense pain, and far below me / could
hear the gentle FLASHING of water.
Heavens! There could no longer be any
Doubt l was lying stretched across ca
yuga bridge, bound, incapable of moving
an inch, with the hideous and absolutely
certain prospect of being cut literally to
pieces by the next train that passed! For
the second time that night l almost
swooned as l realized my situation, but by
a powerful effort of will l recovered myself
and tugged desperately at the ropes that
bound ME until they cut almost my mus
Giles. l shrieked and wept finally like a
child. made mad endeavors to roll my
Bull llIoo POSlVlOA viz UACA
lected that a careless movement might
p~recipitate me into the flood below bound
hand and foot, to sink like a stone!
IA shudder ran through my frame, and
l lay m%otionless again, but not for long,
for the light of the great, almost fearfully
bright. moon overhead, the ripple of the
water deep below me, the breeze that came
in light puffs and then died away again,
giving place to a deathlike stiffness, occa-
s~ionally broken by the scream of some dis
tant night bridal was unbearable and
caused me the anguish Of death. And then
the rails, the rails! My thoughts were
torturing me, and yet l could not escape
them. The wooden beams Of the bridge
vibrated perceptibly from the movement OF
the water below, and l thought that l
could already feel the approach of the
train, and my hair bristled with the hor-
ror of it. The breeze now blew somewhat
stronger, and l imagined that l could
hear far away In the distance the putting
and painting of the locomotive, and my
heart stood still, to beat with redoubled
force the next moment.
"There are certain things, gentlemen,
which are absolutely incomprehensible to
me, One of them is the fact that I was
able to survive that night. One thought
stood ever clear in my mind-I must en-
deavor by some means to shift my posi-
ton, if possible, to one between the metals,
If 1 did not wish, possibly even in the next
moment, to become the prey Of the most
awful death one could conceive. l strained
every muscle, every sinew, till l could
strain no more. l wound and twisted my
self and painted until l thought my head
must burst, and after superhuman exer-
tions, which appeared to last an eternity
and perhaps lasted but a minute, l found
myself in the hollow between the rails.
"Was 1 saved9 l had no time to consider
that or to rejoice over the fresh chance Of
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 indistinctly and
then gradually increasing as it drew near
er and nearer, the regular, monotonous
painting which heralds the approach Of a
locomotive. The fearful stiffness of the
night gave way as each minute passed to
the more fearful noise, to the clanking and
laundering Of the engine as it raced On
toward me at the headlong speed of Amer
lean trains. Now 1000 feet more-now
SOCIAL the horrors of hell possessed me
but l lay without moving a muscle. Once
indeed l tried to scream. l could no Ion
ger hear my own voice. How, then, could
the people on the train be expected to hear
me? And now for an UNNECESSARILY short
| space Of time a blaze Of light beat down
upon me and a blast of hot air rushed over
me. Then everything became dark, and
l heard a thunder as If the heavens were
| crashing In. Close-quite close-at scarce
ly a hairbreadth's distance, rushed the
enormous mass over me. was saved.
ALREADY half unconscious, l was still
sensible Of a deafening chatter and roaring
above me, and l saw ~shadowlike masses
flying past. Still one moment more Of
deadly anguish-one Of the coupling
hooks, hanging somewhat lower than the
rest, had caught and torn a large piece out
of the breast of my coat. Then all objects
seemed to whirl around me, the moon, the
bridge and the lofty cliffs, in one mad
dance, and / became insensible.
"When l next awoke, l found myself in
my own bed, and around me we'll known
faces. And now to be brief, l had been
found in the morning after that awful
night by a plate layer, who had recognized
me and had brought Inc back to Auburn.
For a fortnight l lay delirious with brain
fever, lowering between life and death,
but my strong constitution pulled me
through. The first time after my recovery
that I had occasion to use a looking glass l
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 all showed
how keen his recollection was Of that ter
rible experience. We also had listened to
his narrative with breathless attention,
and 1T was some time before we could
shake off the impression it had left upon
us.-From the German For Short Stories.
Sir Walter Scotia DOGS.