Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-08-30

go-grove. out of the days Of love, she
might lead him here to this iron post
and her fingers held the paper Of
death. The night was very black.
Suddenly she heard crying out.
Women and men were shouting back
| there by the town. She walked in
| that direction. The shouting was in
creased, and there was a scurrying
about near two matched huts.
'sThe antsi The warrior ants" was
the shout.
She came nearer to hut. Men in
sandals went leaping with torches.
There was a strange cracking in the
matches. Behold! the ground was
| black with marching millions. Scor-
pions, lizards, spiders ran terror
stricken from that army. The thatches
| were being pierced by thousands of
| unseen marauders. Human beings,
Selling all things of value, fed crying
into the night.
These ants march in terrible bat
talions. There is no way known to
| man to stop them. They have their
officers. They select goal. On they
come, and all things flee before. A
house is overrun. Every living thing,
or piece of food, vanishes. All other
| insects are devoured. Men must absent
| themselves till the ants depart. Re-
| turning, all is bare. The army has
conquered, devastated, passed on.
Fascinated, she stood with some
| sandaled laborers, who, on the out
skirts of this scene of ruin, watched
| it by torchlight.
| Where will they go next?" cried
one.
"Yonder, yonder, in that direction.
See! The vanguard is already advanc-
ing thither!"
She beheld the leading battalion
| forming in tours, and heading away
| across the barren field. She looked
up. A strange chill tan over her. That
ironpost. yonder by the gorge stood
in their track.
| At midnight she passed Stirge's
house, and he was going in. His door
was open and a faint light shone on
him. She paused, where he saw her.
She looked at him, with her soul in
her eyes, and he spurned her. Her
bad self famed up. She ran away,
under the palms, and there diabolic
purpose came to her.
It had long been custom in this
| district to lead the culprit out very
early in the morning. Chained in
darkness to the post, he was con-
fronted by priest. The black hours
dragged on, giving the criminal that
most solemn season for repentance.
Five soldiers and an officer were sta
toned near. When dawn came, and
they could clearly see, they fred.
At eleven o'clock a detachment of
soldiers had arrived. About one, Otilia
came to the door of the decrepit bar
racks. The captain had orders to
obey the chief of police. She came to
him and said: "My brother is i'll. His
servants are sitting with him. So he
sent me with this order.''
She disappeared. The captain read
| the command for the immediate exc
cution of one Stirge, American.
A little later the unfortunate Anglo
Saxon schemer was seized in bed.
They put on him clothes somewhat
similar to those worn by runners in
| athletic contests, so that he was near.
~ naked. In the night they led him
out and on through the black mango
grove. In that stony field by the
gorge they chained him to a post. A
priest came, was received with
naughty contempt, and went away.
Silence, darkness, weird waiting for
the dawn. The gold-maddened dream
er was stole. He was as iron as the
post and chain. Out of the night shad-
ows ghost-voice called from yonder
in the rocks:
81 can free you. I can yet free you.
Tell me once more you love me, and
life is yours
He did not answer. The soldiers be-
lieved her crazy, or thought that st.
Mary had come down.
cit is who brought you here. Give
me your heart, and it is I who shall
take you away
The night was yet black. He did not
answer. What stole, beyond mans
dreams of stoicism, was that man OF
Anglo-Saxon blood! Ay, Indians can
endure. Savages can suffer and emit
no sound. But of all Gods creatures
there is none so strong as the Ameri-
can steeled to bear.
There was wild war in her. She had
meant to torment him. She had not
meant that he be shot. She could
II never consent to kill, her better self
was too timid. But his spurning had
crazed her. At dawn, she thought,
sinking down on the rocks, she would
confess the substituted name, release
him. But the second self joyed in tor
ture.
The dawn came. Yes, the. chained
mans face began to show a little,
white, out of the shadow. The cap
tain formed his five men and babe
them be ready. So, the day thus slow