Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-05-19
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VOLTS Breed;
es.,-'.h, ,.., as By H.,-. DICKSON

permit men to such deeds, and grant
that men should witness them. When
the last body had been disposed of.
Ortez led the way to the banquet hall.
inviting all his rabble to join the feast.
The banquet hall, used as it was to
scenes of turbulence, never perhaps
had looked upon such throng as that.
/ occupied the head or my own table,
strapped helpless in my seat. On either
side We're vacant chairs Ortez sat at
the foot. Between, the soldiery ranged
themselves as they pleased. One of
the troopers coming in late would have
taken his place beside ME, but his cap
tain stopped him:
Not there Gardier; we have other
and fairer guests for whom those seats
are kept"
Almost as he spoke the chairs on
either side of me We're slipped away.
to their places.
| Sacrament of passion. In one of them
was bound the mutilated corpse of my
| queenly wife, her fingers hacked off
and her ears torn out for the gems
which had decked them. Upon my left
sat little Celia. But for one lurid stripe
of crimson across her girlish breast she
might we'll have been asleep, SO lightly
death had touched her. Behind them
| saw q tall, gaunt woman. wearing a
mans helm and carrying pike. She
directed the men. This was a woman's
helltsh work.
Ortez rose with studied politeness:
Your wife and child, d'Artin; our
charming family reunion would be in
complete without Them And the
woman laughed aloud
My brain burned; something seemed
to strain and give way. lost all sense
of pain, all capacity to suffer. How
long this lasted l know not. When the
revelry was at its height, when the
wine had dulled every human instinct
in these rough soldiers of the church,
Ortez raised his voice above the tumult;
he knew his men We're in the humor for
a diversion he was about to propose.
Now comrades he said for the
GROWING joy of this most blessed day.
now for our last sacred duty to mother
church.
He came round the table and taking
cord from the hands of one of his
mon he threw the moose over my head.
| With feet bound together, hands FREE;
stood amongst them. this throng of!
butchers. each with the white cross of!
Christ in his cap, the white scarf Of;
Guise upon his arm, drunk and eager
for blood.
| IL
what hast thou to say why we shall not:
declare thy blood attained, thy name;
dishonored, thy estate forfeited, why
we shall not hang thee for a Huguenot
dog, traitor to king and church,
| Speak"
All the defiance OF my race burned
fearless in my eyes; l felt my face flush
an instant at the shame of such a:
death. but replied as steadily as might;
! be-
Not a word to you, thou Infamous:
one, thou baseborn coward. murderer
of the helpless; not to YOU
The cool, polite manner of OrteZ fell
| from him like a mask He seized the:
| cord with his own hand, jerking me.
prone upon the floor and commenced to,
drag me from the hall. A dozen willing:
hands lent aid. l clutched instinctively
at everything which came in my way,
being torn from each hold by the ruth
less Williams at the rope.
Desperate grasped the leg of q
trooper, but a savage kick in the face
wrenched him free, and down the stair
they started for the open court. AT the
end of the cord came tumbins rolling,
| Dumping down the stone steps this al
most senseless heap which was yet
| man.
Arrived beside the we'll, whose great
/ overhanging sweep offered u con-
venient scaffold, Ortez paused to look
at his victim. My breath came slow.
could hardly hear their words.
'Think you his senses will return?"
Possibly, SIRE replied the man to
4 whom this was addressed.
Then we will wait. my sweet
brother would weep to miss so brave a
4 spectacle as his own hanging"
He sat there upon the edge OF the
we'll, whence came the groans of the
dying, the hot, fresh odors of the dead.
and waited, fiendish in the patient
ferocity of his more than mortal hate.
After a little l opened my eyes and
stared about me, scarcely comprehend
| ing where / was or what had hap
pened. Ortez called upon his men to
raise me. Being placed erect the cord
was drawn just taut enough to sustain
me standing. Now the ghastly woman
] had seen in the hall pushed her way
through the crowd
Her son." she Kissed. and savagely
lowed the blow. The cord instantly
frightened and 1 felt myself swing
across the we'll. First only dizziness
and a parched mouth. Then the tu-
multuous blood surged to my throat,
beating. struggling, gurghng like some
| pent-up mountain stream against the
rocks. j threw both hands up to grasp
lIle IOpe-Ilceliu lAol u
laugh, yet 1t sounded SO far, SO very
far away. away back upon the earth.
4 A gigantic merciful hand seemed to
take my head within it's grippe and press
out all pain.
Fiery circles swan before my eyes;
great crimson botches noated about
in restless clouds of flame: then
dreams, dreams, long delicious dreams.
And out of the endless years Of
rhythmic music, the laughter of low
voiced women, and many colored lights
came at length oblivion.
Thus the tale ended. 1t was the
same / had heard in far away Iouisi
ana. told again with all the grim ear
nestness of desperate truth.
/ stood In the great courtyard again.
beside the ancient we'll. drinking ca
gerly every inspired syllable When
the speaker had done. he shrank back
into the darkness, and was gone.
1t was as though / witnessed in my
own person the wretched death Of
Henri d'Artin. and stood within his
| castles court when the ruthless deed
was done. Verify man knoweth not
the rebellious vagaries of an unhinged
brain; knoweth not what be but un-
meaning phantasies, or what be solemn
revelations from the very lips OF God.
In the deep gloom the ruined castle
doomed darkly, CHASTITY monument of
evil deeds. l looked about for the mad
man but saw him not. The weirdness
Of the place, the horror of It's secret.