The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-14

ran up by the side of a wood. l knew the
place quite well. / had passed it often. But
L could not hear what day or time they pro-
posed making this attack upon the traveller.
L stood, frozen with anger and disgust; |
was rapidly revolving a plan for arousing
the house and having the wretches caught
red-handed, when with great suddenness
they all rose, put on their masks, blew out
their lights, hustled their drinking horns
and a bottle or two into the bags they car
ried. and by the light OF a small dark Ian
tern which one of them carried disappeared
through the small door in the wall-of
which they evidently possessed the key
and left me standing there in the darkness,
rubbing my eyes and asking myself whether
| did not dream.
/ heard the steps descending the spiral
staircase, and then all was silence. l got a
light at last, never surely had flint and steel
been so tiresome beforehand / went into
the room and gazed about me. Not a trace
OF occupation remained. / could recall the
mems faces, their horrid looks and words:
but they might have been so many ghosts
for all the mark they had left. l went to
my cousins room and reused them up and
told them what | had seen, begging them
to send men after the miscreants and have
them apprehended. But hey shrieked with
laughter, and told me L had been dreaming;
and when l returned to bed at last, and
woke again in the morning, / was inclined
myself to think it had surely been a dream.
The next night i was wakeful and rest
less. 1 piled my fire high. and thought 1
should never sleep. But at last. without
warning, l must have dropped off. And then
a strange thing happened. l saw Harold;
L saw him plain. HI was riding along i'm
the darkness; he was singing and shouting
for gladness of heart as he rode. But it
was very dark-though L saw him plain.
and he was nearing a dismal wood. and i'm
the recesses of that wood there lurked
five masked forms of armed men. and /
saw beneath the masks the evil faces of
the men l had seen in that other waking
vision the previous night. Then / found
myself wide awake. / was out of bed and
dressing fast before l had shaken myself
free from my dreams. A voice had called
by name aloud. 1t was ringing
still in my ears.
"Beatrice-my love. I GOMEZ GOMEZ
Once awake. | never paused nor hesitated.
I was dressed before i well knew it. The
case with my little pistols lay upon the
table. l loaded both and slipped them into
the pocket of my driving coat. l opened my
window; l climbed upon the sill; 1 swung
myself down TO the ground by the ivy
trailers and the thick ivy stems. 1 called
nobody. Nobody would heed my words.
But Harold had called me. / had seen him.
Peril menaced him.. | knew where they were
lying In wait for him-my love. l could
save him, and 1 alone.
l had always been a swift runner. The
keen freshness of the air ran like new wine
In my veins. By a short cut across the
fields 1 could strike the road before it
wound through those dark, sinister woods.
/ should be there in time-I knew / should.
Harold was coming TO me, and L was going
to meet and to save him.
1t did not even seem strange to me at that
moment. All the wonder and s~trangeness
feet reached the stile and / lightly sprang
over ii, l heard the beat of the horses feet.
L heard the, voice / loved singing a gay
song such as a troubadour might have sung