Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-10-17

keenly listened for any small sounds
sD'akinS Of his advance. but not the
f&intest whisper came to me In our
many wanderings Valpy and often
staiked BIZ game together. and / re-
nembered. with grim smile, how
wei he had earned the title Of Cat"
which had once been admiringly be-
slowed upon him by n Bengal shlkari.
Here he was stalking me now through
slush which 10 another mans move
ments would have been poisy with
squelchiags and splashes. and vet.
though I felt that he was advancing
yes. and following my spoor with his
hhger tips In each fOotstep-the deep
earth silence was never lntruded upon.
Suspense In many OF its lurid shapes
had been shown To me JefOre. but the
agony of that wait for the madmap IS
one OF the deepest scars on nv mem
ory.
Always far sharper than my own
0nd now more tartly stung by lnsan-
lty. his animal senses showed him my
whereabouts first. and he raised the
muzzle of the revolver and pulled the
trigger
The sum Of what my dazed eyes saw
was Nalpy's smudged white face and
the pistol in a dazzling halo If flame
The bullet struck the wall beneath m,
iert armpit. bringing down small
avalanche OF shale.
had no thought OF returning his
hre- Indeed. my revolver was in nv
pocket. still unloaded. but lcaped for
ward. endraVoring to grapple with him
before be could Est aO.sthsr shot. Don
Ohng IKE nn eel in the utter ,Iaykpess
ne left 4 side pocket Of his coat In my
hand and hed. giving parting shots be-
mind him TIL he had emptied his re
v0lNer The lead brought down great
sheets OF stone from the roof and sides
I'LL l thought that the whole stratum
must have collapsed about our ears
Still no shot touched me. and crash
cd on at his heels. But Valpy ran like
deer and distanced me. and AT length
| slowed down. with hands and arms
bleeding from contact with the rocky
walls. and heard Nalpy slack his
pace at the same time and heard also
the tinkle Of the empty shells as he
elected tnem and reloaded his revolv-
or.
My original feeling toward my com
panion had been one OF compassion
This was beginning to give way now
ana wild anger was coming Ia it,
place. What had l done that my life
should he SO snvagely attackedf
The breech OF his revolver closed
with vicious snap. and l heard hin
cock the hammer. Then he halted
waiting for me. l halted too. To al
vance upon him would be a demand
for instant death AS a general thinc
he was but an ndifrerent shot, but
now knew instiDetvely that he
would not fire until the muzzle of his
weapon rested against my breast.
He advanced again. retreated.
keeping pace with him. We were both
too excited by this time 70 pay heed
about treading delicately. Underneath
were L rails. and on these our boots
slid and clanked The darkness was
profound, and as | ran / steered by
trailing raw finger tips along the rag
ged walls. The plan OF the mine was
fixed pretty securely In my head. anG
twice turned corners at right angles
hoping that the double would cause
him to miss me. He did nothing OF
the kind. hanging like a dog on the
track, and the third time l tried It he
laughed loud in derision.
was hot enough with exertion,
heaven knows, but that laugh chilled
me TO the bone. The particular horror
Of II was something l could not de
scribe. a something l would wish only
my most hateful enemy 10 experience.
So Valpy hunted me on through the
network OF the colliery. till a thing
happened which brought me TO bay
whether | wished 1t or no. The ground
rose beneath my feet. and for awhile
the roof rose too. Then the roof
dropped again and the floor slanted
up 10 meet IT. There had been fall OF
rock. The gallery was barred effec-
tually. The madman was not a dozen
yards from my heels
| turned then, like q cOrnered animal,
TO fight desperately for life. At my
feet were Jagged masses OF newly
fallen shale. AS If by instinct they
found their way into my clutch. and
with them | opened furious bonn
bardment OF defense.
The roof OF the gallery was rotten
and crumbling. and where my missiles,
vaguely aimed In the darkness, crash
ed against II great masses detached
themselves aud fell into the slime OF
the roadway. Why merciful Provi
dence prevented me from building my
self into II living grave there / cannot
think. but had the chance In my mind
with every splinter OF rock that hurl
ed and In my savage fury cared not. SO
that Nalpy might be smothered by the
avalanche which walled Ia myself Far
above all that Internal turmoil OF crash
ing stone his pistol shots rang out
shrill and clear till the thick air grew
biting with powder smoke. and once
more the chambers OF his weapon
were empty. Then, with n final dis
charge OF missiles 10 herald my com
ing. charged furiously at him. aud he
IN turn fied away down the gallery.
No longer did remember that once
ne had been my friend. that his mind
was unhinged and that his stare de
manded all forbearance. He was my
most mortal enemy, the object Of my
most blind and deadly hate. and had
laid hands upon him then should have
ripped the warm life from within him