Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-11-24

| westering sun which was shining In at
| the high roof windows, that the
shackles were still on, and that my
! temples were throbbing with a most
skull splitting headache.
Being fair agasp with astonishment
at his new spinning of fate's wheel, |
sprang up quickly-and was as quickly
glad to fall back upon the pallet. For
with the upstart a heaY1ng nausea
came to supplement the headache, and
FOR a long time l lay bat-blind and SICK
as any landsman in his first gale at
sea.
The sunlight was fading from the
high windows, and / was deep SUM in
a sick mans megrims, before aught
/ came to disturb the lence of the cob
webbed garnet. From nausea and rack
ing pains / had come to the stage OF
q~uerulouS Self-piety. Twas monstrous,
this burying a man alive, III, fettered'
uncared for, To live or die in utter soil
tude as might happen. / could not re-
motley guess to whom / WED this dis
( NAL fate. and was too petulant 10 spec
ulate upon it,. But the meddler, friend
or foe. who had hereft me of my chance
to die whilst | was ut and ready, came
in for 4 Turkish cursing -the curse
that calls down in all the Osmanli vari-
ants the same pangs in duplicate upon
the banned one.
1t was in the midst of one of these
impotent fits of malediCtion that the
I Wainscot door was opened n closed
softly. and light footsteps tiptoed to
my bedside. l shut my eyes wilfully
when a voice low and tender asked:
Are you awake. Monsieur John?'
! hope you will hold me forgiven, my
dears, If l confess that what with the
nausea and the headache, the letters
and the solitude, l was rabid enough
to rail at her. Twas so near dusk in
the i~il-lighted garnet that l could not
see o she took it; but she let me
know by word OF mouth.
"MeTCi, monsieur she said. iCily.
And then: Gratitude does not seem
TO be amongst YOUR gifts"
Gratitude! Mayhap o will tell me
what 1t is I ave to be grateful for.
All / cTaved was the chance to die as
a soldier should, and some one must
needs spoil me Of that"
"Selfsh-selfsh always and to the
last" she murmured. d you never
give Il moments thought to the feel
iugs Of others, Captain Ireton?"
This was past all endurance.
IF J had not, should I be here this
momont?' I raved. You do make me
sucker than | was, my lady"
Yet I say you are selfish" she in
sisted. What have I done that you
7tlbhti AbIisE ilEit - nave yOuIStil
hanged for a spy"
Let us have plaln speech, in Gods
name" | retorted. You know we'll
enough there was no better way in
which [ could serve you?"
DO |. indeed, mon ami?" she flashed
out. Let ne tell you sir, had she ever
Il blush Of saving pride, Margery Stair
OF NargerT ~Ireton, if you like that
scttpt-wouid Kill you with her own
ln- I -1 than fha,, b,y-, ~ rn;1 LD. hue
band died upon a gallows!"
A sudden light broke in upon me and
] went blind in the horror of it.
God in h~caven!" / gasped; twas
YOU, then? | do believe you poisoned
me- in that dish of tea 0 sent me last
night
She laughed a bitter little laugh that
/ hated TO think on afterward.
You have q most Chivalrous soul,
Captain IretOn. l do not wonder you
are so fierce to shake it free Of the
poor body of clay"
But you do not deny it," l cried.
"Of what use would it be? / have
said that l would not have you die
shamefully on the gallows: so l may
as well confess to the poppy-juice in
the tea. Tell me, Monsieur John; was
it nasty bitter?"
Good Lord" / groaned; ARE you a.
woman, or a fiend?"
Either, or both, as you like to hold
me, sir. But come what might, 1 said
you should not die a felon's death. And
you have not, as yet" /
Better a thousand times the rope
and tree than that / should rot by
inches here with you to sit by and
grid at me. All, my lady, you are hav-.
ing you revenge Of me-" =
""Merci, encore. Shall / go away and
leave you?"
No, not that" A cold sweat broke
out upon me in a sudden childish hor-
ror Of the solitude and the darkness and
the letters. And then l added: "But
'twould be angel kindness if you would
leave off torturing me. l am but a
! man, dear lady, and a sick man at
that"
All in a flash her mood changed and
she bent to lay n cool palm on my
~throbbing temples.
Poor Monsieur joint she said soft
ly: II meant not to make you suffer
more, but rather less" Then she found
water and a napkin to wiring out and
bind upon my aching head.
d. AT the touch and the word of woman
ly sympathy 1 forgot all, and the love-
madness came again to blot out the
very present memory Of how she had
brought me to this.
"Ah, that is better-better," I sighed.
when the pounding hammers In my
temples gave me some surcease of the
agony.
Then you forgive me?" she asked.
whether jestingly or in earnest l could
not tell.
There is none so much to forgive" L
replied. One hopeless day last sum-
mer | put my life in pledge to you;
and youth common justice you have
the right to do what you like with it."
Continued Next Week.)
Formation Of Gold Nuncets