The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-06-23

5-E1EO OOtV thA torture pAeNelttlyt AoMQGMD
poor d0Enb baass sslfettng M the MIND AZ
the captains curses. BAt this was only
the mesciful beginning. With yells at
savage fury the Indians carried brands TO
make a s.aw fira at his feet: and, lest that
should notNbe enough, u brace Of them
climbed to TIE ROOF, tore of the splits for
lktndlinR, and set the cabin wall allgh; hes
hiNd him.
You may thank God. my dears, that you
are living In a kindlier age. Mayhap tho
savage. now a-march oward the setting
sun. is still as pittless as he was; but not
in any corner of the world, 1 think, would
Anglo-Saxcn men. wearing the kings or
any other uniform, be witnesses unmored
of such a DEVILS carnival of torment as
this that made me nauseate with horror.
AS with the stretching of the cord the
wrctched black spun slowly round and
round before the growing blaze. his cries
were something terrible to hear. And
when the fire light played upon his face it
was q sight to freeze the blood: the eyes
shut tight against the %shrive!ing heat, the
cracking lips Drawn back. the black skin
changing to a dry and sickly brown. And
ever and anon between the shrteks the
parched lips shaped a plea: 70 Massa!
Massa .Cap'm! shoot po' nigga and let UNI
diet
This plea for cruel kindness cut me to
the marrow of my bones; and lacking
means 10 save his life. ! thought might
at least make shift to try to put him out
of misery.
The enemy's dispositions favored me-.
The avage drunk with lust OF blood.
leaped and danced aroun their victim.
Falconnet sat MS horse apart beneath
the naples. and with his bodyguard OF
troopers. was we'll within the borderland
OF alurid shadow where the fire light m:n-
gled with the night.
I crept away and made a swift detour
to the right to come behind the rearmost
horseman of the troop. AS his i'll luck
would have 1t. his horse. affrighted at the
hreltt pandemonium. was in the act of
wheeling to run away. Being numbered
with a musket, the man made clumsy
work Of handling his mount. and when the
beast came down in a snoring tremble to
rear afresh at sight Of me: the man flung
away the fnusket and drew his sword.
In cooler blood l might nave given him
his soldiers chance, but here again 1t was
another's life or mine. Even so, l might
have fought him fair, had he but held hts
tongue and fought In silence But this he
would not, SO l had to quiet him or nave
the others about my ears upon his Shout
ings.
a done, 1 snatched the masket that
cost the man his life. and, staying not
to see what should befall, san pack to COW
49, As VIZ ~ NAA = kA4S
fire against the cabin wall had gnawed Its
way from log to log and now was tapping
with Its yellow tongues beneath the caves.
But lest the victim should not suffer long
enough. the Indians were at work in yell
Ing frenzy, 1ogging the blaze with green
branches broken from the trees so that
the fire itself should not be merciful.
l waited till the slowly spinning tigurs
OF the black should turn and make a
mark I could not miss. The pause gave
space for some swift steadying of the
nerves, but with the colder thought it also
brought a fierce and terrible temptation.
The finger on the musket's trigger held a
life In pawn, and I.might pick and choose
and say what life I'd take.
I glanced aside at Falconnet. He was a
fairer mark than my poor Tomas. and by
the laws of God and man had earned his
death. The tortured slave had little time
to suffer at the worst, and with the bullet
that would give him surcease i could well
avenge him. More than this: that bullet
planted in my enemy's heart would save
my lady Margery harmless. leaving me
free to go to my own place and so to, right
the wrong that l had done.
All in the pivoting instant of the pause
the musket swung slowly round as OF its
own volition, and through its sights I
saw the slashings, gold on red. across the
breasting Of his captains riding coat. One
little croOktng OF the trlggsr-finger and
the lead had gone upon its errand. But at
the balancing instant that piteous cry was
lifted once again: 20 Massa! Massa
,Cap'm! Sod "a mussy-shoot POI nigga
and let 'um diet"
1 did as any other man would do, as you
have guessed. The great kings musket
swept another arc, and roared and belched
and spat its messenger of death; and my
poor Tomas had the boon he prayed for.
A nd <nor a G if tho p,,ycla{ facb, ,rJ ~oo.
had been a lodestone and these fierce Cher
okees so many bits of steel to cluster thick
upon it, / was surrounded in the twink
ling Of an eye, and whizzing hatchets and
rifle bullets whining sibilant were but an
earnest OF the fate I had invited.
(cantinued Next Weekly