The Irish standard., 1905-04-29
shis Joints and grinding b

he grunted, straining at tho
iron. Two men leaped into tho
carriage. There was crack of the
whip, and the horses went off bound
ing We could hear horsemen all about
us and wagons following. I had q
stout heart in me those days, but in
all my life l had never taken a ride
SO little to my liking. We went over
rough roads, up hill and down, for~an
hour or more.
could see in prospect no better des-
/ was not far wrong. Well, by and by
We came to town somewhere-God
knows where. have never seen it,
or known the name OF 1t, or even that
Of the prison where we were first
ilrmured. / could tell it was q town
by the rumble of the wheels and each
echoing !t0of-heat. The .cavalcade. was
all about us, and now and then We
could hear the sound of voices far
behind. The procession slowed up,
horsemen jammed to the left of US,
the carriage halted. I could hear foot
steps on a stone nevement.'
You re late" said low voice at
the carriage Aoor. "It IS near eleven..~
LOT oNfooling with the candidates"
said one of the hDrsemen, quietly.
Everything ready?"
Everything. ready" was the answer.
The carriage door swung open. i
eve get out here" said one Of the
men who sat with us. 4
I alighted. On each side Of me some-
body put his hand on my shoulder.
could see the glow of a lantern-light
close to my face. knew there was
IA crowd of men around, but | could
hear nothing save now and then q
whisper.
"Wal, Ray" said D'ri, who stood by
my side, "hor stiddy m don't be
scairt."
"Do as they tell ye," a stranger whis-
pered in my ear mo matter what #
rs, do as they tell ye."
They led us into a long passage and
up steep flight of wooden stairs. Il
have learned since then it was, build
ing equipped by a well-known secret
society for its limitations. We
went on through narrow hall, and
up winding flight that seemed to
me interminable. Above it, as we
stopped, the man who was leading me
raped thrice on Il rattling wooden
door. 1t broke the silence with loud
echoing noise. could hear then the
sliding of panel and faint Whisper
ing and the sound Of many feet as
cending the stairs below. The door
swung open presently, and we were
led in where i could see no sign of any
light. They took me alone across "a
wide bare floor, where they set mo
down on some sort of platform and
left me, as | thought. Then l could
hear the whispered challenge at the
door and one after another entering
and crossing the bare floor on tiptoe.
Hundreds were coming in, it seemed to
me. Suddenly a deep silence fell in
that dark place of evil. The blind
fold went whisking off as if ghostly
hand had taken it. But all around
me was the darkness Of pit. could
see and I could hear nothing but
faint whisper, high above me, like that
,, of pine boughs moving softly in light
breeze. l could feel the air upon my
face. thought must have moved
out Of door by magic. 1t seemed as if
was sitting under the trees alone.
Out of the black silence an icy hand
fell suddenly upon my brow. flinched,
feeling it move slowly downward over
my shoulder. l could hear no breath
{Vrr rt1 <>p
In the dead silence l got a feeling
that the hand touching me had no body
behind It, | was beyond the reach Of
fear-I was in way prepared for
anything but the deep, heart-shaking
horror that sank under the cold,
damp touch of those fingers. They
laid hold of my elbow firmly, lifting
as If to indicate that l was to rise.
did SO, moving forward passively as
1t drew me on. To my astonishment
was unable TO hear my own football
or that of my conductor. thought
we were walking upon soft earth.
Crossing our path in front of me
could see, in the darkness, a cleaning
line. We moved slowly, standing still
as our toes covered it. Then suddenly
a light flashed from before and below
us. A cold sweat came out upon me;
staggered back to strong hands that
were laid upon my shoulders, forcing
me to the line again. BY that flash of
light could see that was standing on
the very brink of some black abyss
indeed, my toes had crossed the edge
, Of 1t. The light came again, flicker
ing and then settling into a steady
glow. The opening seemed to have
grassy bottom some 10 feet below. In
front of me the soil bristlcd, on that
lower level, with some black and
pointed plant: there were at least a
score of them. AS looked saw they
were not plants, but square of bay
onets thrust, points up. in the ground.
A curse came out of my hot mouth,
and then n dozen voices Knocked it,
going fainter, like a dying echo. A
tall figure in a winding-sheet, it's face
covered. was leaning over me- F.,
''To hesitate is to die," it whispered.
Courage may save you." A
Then a skeleton hand came out of
the winding-sheet, pointing down at
the square of bristling bayonets. The
figure put its mouth to my ear.
Jump" it whispered, and the bare
bones OF the dead fingers stirred i'm
patiently. {
M d.