Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-24
He Was Remembered

the dingy floor. Ferguson vainly sought to count
the little squares: his thoughts would stray. So
Fritz Kroneberg was dead, jolly bottle-com-
panion though he was Death and he seemed in
congruous associates.
Ferguson drew his hand slowly across the
back his neck; that was where the axe would
strike; it would all be over yet-fve blows
He had planned quite different end, good
soldiery death on the battlefield, or, better STILL
to live and go back to his native town some day
with his pockets full Of money. He doubted if
his father the dominic would be over-glad to see
him; with his mother is was different.
His thoughts turned to the good Calvinist creed
i'll which she had instructed him. Scraps and ends
of that belief of his youth came drifting across
his brain, lakes and pools of fire and birthstone,
wailing and gnashing of teeth The black abyss
of eternity down which he was to plunge was
all alight; he seemed to see the long, red flames
coiling in its depths
He thought of the witch they had burned at
Dusselhaus, and how she had writhed and cried
out in the midst of the fire. must he suffer like
that through a whole eternity?
He felt indignant against the saints; truly,
they ought to save him; he was fighting their
battles.
Perhaps they were angry because of the silver
candlesticks from the church at Rosendorf-
small thing to let man be damned for
They had brought him but paltry hundred
gulden, which he had lent to Rupert Won Lobko-
witz, and now Rupert had deserted him.
He began counting the squares on the floor
again, but the pain and fear of death and the
bitterness at his friends desertion would not be
driven from his mind.
He felt it almost relief when he looked lin
and saw the officer of the guard standing beside
him.
Ferguson rose quickly, cast one last glance about
him at the great, dim room, the patch of sunlight
on the floor, and Detrichstein's dark, motionjess
figure; then he followed the officer
"It will be over soon," he repeated to himself
and perslstently drove all other thoughts from
his mind. In the next room was door through
winch came the sunshine and the subdued buzz
of the many-voiced crowd Ferguson hesitated
a moment; then he threw back his head and step
ped firmly out upon the scaffold
The peaked roofs of the tall houses of The
Crosse Ring were outlined sharply against the
blue sky; the throng surged about the scaffold
the halberders at its foot kept order with diff
fculty.
Ferguson saw all this at glance then every
thing else was blotted out at the sight of the low
dark block he walked up to it and eyed il long
twisting his moustache the whie He had meant
to kneel and end it at once, but Five blows
rang in his ears, and his knees refused to do his
bidding. For moment he wished himself back
in the Council House: then he cursed himself as
a weaker coward than Dietrichstein He turned
to the officer and said forcing his voice IN sound
people"
The officer nodded. Ferguson walked slowly
to the edge of the scaffold
The great crowd was silent and expectant
He stood moment, biting his moustache and
then, of a sudden, swung himself down from the
scaffold to the ground.
He heard cries of astonishment, saw the crowd
rock and jostle then haberdier came al him
with leveled partisan. Ferguson's blood tinQled
joyously; it was to be no helpless submission To
slaughter, but good grim fight to the death
He wrenched the partisan from the soldiers
grasp set his back against the scaffold and strue
furiously about him. The soldiers closed in unon
him; he saw blood streaming from his arm and
shoulder, he felt it trickling down his face. vet
he suffered no pain Then his strength seemed
to leave him all at once. He dropped the partisan
and fell to the ground, instinctively Aingng out
one arm to save himself
He saw above him fierce, angry faces. the
dark shadow of the scaffold, and above Il all a
bit of the quiet blue sky and feck of white
cloud gliding across IT, The sky grew dark, too,
and he heard faint and far off, familiar voice.
"Hold lin the name of the Duke of Fr1edlandl I
bring pardon for Captain Patrick Ferguson. .
Rupert remembered me, then" was his last
thought.