Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-11-17
Fiction



Still latent sense of horror, a
strong feeling of unreality chung to
the younger man. He fumbled for his
match box. He should understand
better when he could see.
Don't" said Harold Leave me in
the dark for little WHILE
Charlie complied, and the hot, brood
ing darkness seemed to close in
round him, suddenly fraught with be-
wilderment, fear, and unhealthy.
And thus he heard the weird tale
how the expedition had been attacked
in the dead of night by barbarous
horde of natives, how in the sauve
qui peut which followed, all had es-
capped save Harold, how he had been
taken alive by the savages, and had
suffered unamenable tortures at their
hands. Of his escape he could give
no clear account. His mind, partially
impaired by horror and suffering, re-
tanned no distinct image of that ter
rible time, only he knew that at last
he found himself at Manila. Here he
entered the hospital under an assumed
name, and was nursed back to life and
the sanity he had so nearly lost Here
too, he heard of Charles expedition
for men had been hired from Manila
and he had come with all haste to
prevent him from pushing on into the
dangers up country.
There was something inexpressibly
eerie in the situation-sitting there IN
! the dark, and listening to the story
Of man risen, as it were, from death
/ itself. The horror of what Harold
had gone through seized upon Charles
soul. The grewsomeness of the story
would haunt him till his dying day
what could it be to Marion? The
thought came like blow.
you have written to Marion, OF
course" he said.
There was pause, and when the
answer came Harold's voice was
strained and hard.
NO. he said.
Charlie was silent. His mind was
cropping, as it were, among the jumbled
unreal ties that seemed to crowd
around him in the darkness. Present
ly Harold spoke again.
ITO Marion, to all the world but you
and especially to Marion, l am dead
must always he dead"
Fresh horror crept over Charlie, q
sense of something more terrible to
come.
'Why?" he asked; and his lips felt
stiff and cold.
Light the lamp. You will know
why" There was an undertone oil
anguish in Harold's voice.
Charlie obeyed like one in a dream
he seemed to have lost all power OF
personal volition; an intangible terror
possessed him utterly When at last
the Fight struggled out into the room
he turned as if fascinated, and as he
gazed the beads of perspiration stood
out upon his brow, and he trembled
from head to foot.
1t was only the wreck of a man il
low chair before him, halt and
MANNED, grotesque-horrible. The
face was hidden from sight by the one
hand that remained.
"Your facet" gasped Charlie. ''Youl
facet"
Slowly Harold drew away his hand
and looked up. Only on one sioe
were there any traces of the hand
some boyish face he remembered. The
rest-good heavens! what was III
Was it trick of a disordered fancy!
Could mind of man conjure up any
thing SO hideOus-so terrible? Was
it possible that the image before him
had ever been a human countenance:
! He felt his trained nerves giving way
With a quick gesture he extinguished
the lamp; and the merciful darkness
closed them in once more
And so an hour passed.
What was it?'' asked Charlie al
last
Fire. They meant to burn me.
do not know how I escaped"
The sound of his voice was a relief
1t was Harold's voice; the object thai
met the light was hardly human.
Marion is breaking her heart for
you.'' said Charlie, almost mechanical
ly.
Better that than tied for life to
this"
"She loves you. She would gladly
face it."
"She must never know. She shall
never face It."
The unreal feeling of nightmare had
come back. 1t lasted all through thu
long, silent Philippine night, as they
two sat and argued and discussed till
all was settled. And all the time
Charlie dreaded, more than he had ever
dreaded anything in his life, the time
when the screen of darkness should be
lifted and he must again see the MAJ
at his side.
! After all, perhaps, it was better &c
leave things as they were. The pen
sion from the company would supply
! all Marion's needs. She had gone
through the worst agony of her loss
and merciful time would heal the
wound She would be spared the hor-