The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-06-19
On the Morning s=s.SssEE


i e. ' =
The last few days had been the
strangest of his life. He seemed tc
have lost all control over his power OF
| reckoning time. Before that he had
counted and reckoned, and added day
10 day methodically. He knew exactly
to the hour how long he had been
there. He knew exactly when the time
| would come for him to go out again
tlnto the world through the great gate.
The counting Of the days and the add
ing them up into weeks and months,
! and then adding up again of the
months into years. had become a ma
ala. 1t was always with hin-this
reckoning up. He had counted slowly
the days and put them behind him. He
had counted SO slowly, SO steadily, so
surely. And then all at once the power
Of his mind broke. He had lost the
grip of his sense Of time. His mind
became confused and shaken. All that
ne remembered now was that once
long, long ago-he had been sentenced
to prison for ten years.
For ten years!
How cold We're the faces in court
when the sentence had been passed up
forwards in the silence and gloom Of
his cell. And how self-righteous was
the tone of the judges voice! And then
he was carried off into a harsh, terri
bic life, where everything that was hui
man in him was degraded and at last
deadened. And it came to pass that he
had forgotten the life he had lived out
N the world. He began to reckon the
days. Always to reckon the days.
When he was working-when he was in
his cell-even when he slept, he reck-
oned the days.
On the morning!
What would happen to him on the
morning when there was no longer an
other day to reckon? On that morning
he would be free to go out again into
the world. But he had grown to feel
no sense of elation at the thought Of
freedom. The years he had spent in
prison gloom had killed its meaning to
him. He looked forward to the morn
ing with only strange feeling of Gu
riosity in which there was bingled g.
vague sense of fear and dread On that
morning there would be no longer an
other day to reckon and to put behind
him.
And now the time was at hand-or
he thought it was at hand-and sud
denly the power of his mind was con-
fused, and shaken, and broken. All
that he remembered now was that once
long, long ago-he had been SEN
fenced to prison for ten years.
So it had come at last. The great
black gate had opened and let him
forth. He stood for an instant, and
then walked unsteadily down the broad
path.
The sun was shining brightly. The
morning was clear and beautiful.
1t had come at last. The morning
had come at last. The bright light Of
the sun confused and dazzled him. 1t
surrounded him and made him feel
strange. Surely he had never seen so
much light before!
His gait grew steadier as he got to
the end of the path. But he was afraid
Where was he going and what was he
going to do? Maybe it was all a dream.
He might wake UP and still find him
self in his cell. He would be glad if
he did awaken and find himself in his
cell, for out here he was afraid. He
trembled as he walked. He was afraid
of the sounds.
Suddenly some one came in front of
him and spoke. But he shrank away
and turned away his eyes, He was
afraid. The words he heard had no
for him. And he turned to
the left and walked swiftly down the
long, straight road. He was afraid
AS he walked the tones of the voice
that had just spoken to him came back
to him. They We're not the harsh, cold
prison tones. There was in them a GER
tain quality-the quality of warmth,
kindness. But the man who heard
them was afraid, for he was no longer
prison. The humanity had been blotted