The daily Alaskan., 1907-05-10
4 Tale Of the OIden Time
Original

! In history could be recorded the ln- l Yeutors of fictitious happenings would i be put to shame. In the mUsty records | contained in the Tower of London or
 in the plain uuvarnishei history of ! Scotland there Is plentiful supply Of | themes for English song and story | Here Is one that needs no elaboration:
 In cell in a Scottish castle Sir John 1 Cochranc. a knight, condemned by the | king to he beueaded, was taking final | leave of his daughter.
 ! Farewell. my child" said the father.
 ,'I am Co die at dawn tomorrow"
 The girl looked at hiul derceIy-sO dercely that be almost thought this
 horror had dep1red her of reason. Father" she said hoarsely, 'you
 must not die"
 The knight folded her iu his arms and moaned iu broken tones: 'Ihe
 king wills lt He has signed my death warrant, and 1t is on its way. It will l be here tonight. The scafTo.d and block are ready. The healsmau is waiting. l The sun tomorrow will not rise on
 your father. My child, do not deceive yourself. There Is TO hope
 Wirhdrawtu- from bis embrace, the
 girl turned and left him. As she passed
 out of the door she paused and. tuEu- ! ing. said with the energy of despair:
 Father. you shall not die
 The night was durk. A courier dasha ] ed uGd splashed along a muddy Scot tlsh road. A maiI pouch was sIung to ! bis shoulder. Now and again tho l bough of some overhanging tree would | sprinkle his face with rain water, and his horse was continually pIuugiug into | some pool or mUdaola in the road. The moorlaud stretched ahead of him, be | fore him ana behind him. Far In the l distance lo,rucd the castle in which Sir l John Cochraue vas confined. and the
 messenger was making straight for it ln the east was faint forewarning 9f dawn. Noticing it. he spurred his horse, muttering:
 '.I shall be ate. It woaIi be a pity
 to keep a man in suspense. It's to be
 at dawn. and my presence Is as Deccs- sary as that Of the man who is to part with his head"
 He had scarcely finished his soliloquy
 when something spraug up and at him from the road. At first he thought it a beast but in another moment he felt
 pair of arms struggling to deprive him
 Of his mail pouch. The courier was
 not a weak man, and his enemy was of light and slender build. but 1t seemed as if heaven were giving to the latter superhumuu strength In vain the courier tried to throw him or He
 clung like a panther Then the horse,
 unable to support the two struggling
 weights. fell The courier rolled into
 a ditch beside the road, and as he
 cIambered out he caught sight of a figure clad in the garments Of a Scot
 tish knight stan1Ng in silhouette against the line where earth and sky
 met
 At the castle those who were to oti-
 ciate at the execution emerged from
 their sleeping rooms to witness the
 passing of Sir John Cochraue. Nothing
 was wanting but the official order for
 the execution. and that was not forth coming. Dawn grew into daylight
 and the sun rose. Then came the
 courier with his story that he had been attacked by an unknown knight and
 robbed of his mail pouch containing the
 warrant. The hpadSman rested on his ax while the others consulted. There seemed nothing Co do but send to the capital for another Ouler. and, consid- ering the distance and the roads of the period the trip would require two
 weeks. The messenger was dispatch
 ed. the officials dispersed and the headSman put away his aE.
 During the period ot waiting the fa- ther confeSs0r was pleading for Sir
 Johns life. Gradually a hope sprang
 like a green sprig from the ground, grew stronger. budled and b.oomei
 into a belief that the condemned man
 would be parJoned But if so which
 would arrive first. the new death war. rant or the pardon? In those days of
 uncertain communication no one could tell.
 One morning sentry on the castle wall looking over the moorland saw
 in the distance a horsemau coming at a gallop. The sentry called the atteu- ] tiOu of others to the conner, and the wall was soon covered with Sir John l COchraue's weIlwt~lars. As the man came near he waved a paper above bis head and shouted "A pardon" The prison doors were swung open, and the prisoner stepped forth a free
 man. Going to hls home, followed by
 a hosJ of loyal friends, he was over
 whelmed with congratulations. He had expected his daughter to be the | first to welcome him. but when he did
 not see her he was troubled. He ask
 ed for her and was told that she had ! not been seen since the evening she | had parted from him in his cell. All l day the rejOicings went on, but when
 night came the man who had passed from the shadow of death to the light
 of life was alone. Then came a serT-
 ant to announce that a young knight I desired to see him Hoping that the