The Red Cloud chief., 1903-11-13

ne felt himself falling-falling from
au unreasonable height-and woke!
What n hideous dream" he
thought. How weird-how awful
how real! | would rather lie awake
the whole night through than dream
just such another. | wonder what the
time is?"
He felt for his watch and the
matches, and struck a light. Just half
past three-no more. AS he restored
the articles again to their places, he
thought he heard faint sounds OF
movement In the next room.
Evidently I am not the only rest.
less person." he said to himself as he
lay down again. II have a companion
in misfortune. Tomorrow morning
we shall be able to compare expert
ences. Suppose I wern to knock at
the wall and speak to lin? But then
| might disturb someone else and
alarm them. That would never do. l
expect 1t must have been the cucum-
Der that gave me the nightmare.
hope | sha'n't have another such
dream; ii | do, I'll never touch cucum'
Der any more as long as l live.' His
eyes closed, and in a few moments his
deep and regular breathing showed
that he had again fallen asleep.
And again he dreamt, n the
dream was as follows:
He was lying in his bed. or at least.
so he thought, and, after a while, 1t
| seemed to him that 1t became very
| hard and narrow, SO that he had no
| room to move in II. 1t was also very
dark. He tried to turn over upon his
side. but found, as in the other dream
that he could stir neither hand nor
foot. And what appeared to him a
long time, he began to hear sounds
over his head. Sometimes In n
| place, sometimes in another, and at
the same time he began to experience
a difficulty in breathing. And still the
| sound went on-the sound OF some
one hammering-of some one ham.
mering nails
The sound of some one hammering
nails into a coffin!
And with that, all at once, the awful
truth broke upon him. He vas dead,
and they we're mailing him up in his
co~ffin-dead!
His heart stopped beating as he
grasped the full horror Of the situa-
ton.
They were burying him alive! Oh,
horrible!-horrible!
In vain he tried to burst the bonds
OF the insensibility in which he was
held. In vain he made frenzied eff
forts to cry aloud. The most frantic
%endeavors were %unavailing. He was
unable to utter a sound or produce the
smallest movement. Then 1t seemed
as though some one were trying to
raise the lid of the coffin. There was
a faint, creaking sound-a faint glim.
mer of light was %perceptible overhead.
IL increased and widened! Oh, Joy!
He was saved-saved! The cofin-lid
was raised little by little-higher and
higher-in another moment he should
be free!
1t was done. He saw a face bend.
ing over him-a familiar face-the
face of an old friend. Already he hail.
ed him in his heart as his benefactor,
his deliverer. Then--what were those
words he heard? Words he had heard
before-when was 1t?
You can ruin me whenever you
please, but now you are in my pow.
err"
The lid was clapped down again,
leaving him in utter darkness. The
hammering began again. He made
one last tremendous effort and woke.
Woke to find himself sitting bolt
upright, with the Precipitation stream.
ing from him. Woke to find the man
whose voice even 10Y seemed to ring
in his ears as he bent over the open
coffin, standing beside his bed, in the
faint, grey light Of morning.
what brings you here?" gasped
Mr.. Burritt, as soon as he had realized
the fact that the terrible ordeal he
had just passed through was only q
dream.
IL couldn't sleep" was the response
"and l couldn't lie still any longer
so l came to see whether you were
awake"
(To be c%ontinued.)