The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1907-03-22

ooOu udu NY HOtoo duu OlueT DC
longings in rocky glade on th'
side of bill not far off where
would be free from the danger O.
falling timber. My horse KEEP
near me for companionship.
passed the night in great discom
fort and perturbation of mind
Forest monarchs, centuries old,
toppled down with a thunderous
sound that echoed and re-echoed
through the murky atmosphere.
The ground quivered like the sur
face of a bog under the footsteps
of the belated traveller. Blue
! phosphorescent lights shimmered
among the trees. When morning
came | began to thread my way
through the labyrinth of swamps
and uprooted trees toward the
point of the horizon where | sup
posed New Madrid to be. Although
a fairly good woodsman / could
not be certain of my course. The
difficulty of travelling in any direc-
ton was very great. Tops of trees
that had been broken off by the
force of the earth's vibrations lay
about on every side; in many cases
the fallen trees had carried down
with them tangle of vines; water
now covered what had been dry
land the day before. Hills had
become valleys and valleys had re-
placed the hills. In some places
the channels of the water courses
had been changed. | led my horse,
for / did not think it safe to trust |
myself upon his back, as there was
danger of falling into one of the
many crevices in the ground that
we're concealed by the dead leaves
and underground. The fact that
| was far from human habitation
md that | might be swallowed up
oy the quivering earth and no man
know the place of my sepulchre
depressed me.
As the day advanced the trem-
,rs subsidized; profound stiffness
lied the forest; the air was mo-
ionless IN d oppressive. When
he falling of a tree or the cry
# W liz animal wakened its
choes it had faraway sound. /
,lodded on through the silent
wood until far into the afternoon,
When my attention was attracted
y the bowling of dog. 1t was
ar off and rang through the soil
ude with a mournful cadence like
voice from another planet. at
nee turned in the direction from
rhich the sound came. In the
curse Of an hour l reached the /.
Up of low ridge from which | |,
aw below me by the side of a
lack and sluggish tarn two-story I
g house partially wrecked. On
point extending into the water
.om the father side was a dog.
here were horses in a lot that :
long low stable at a
tile distance to the right of the :
ouse. As ] rode up / noticed !
lat the fence around it ran down
, the bank of the tarn. | inferr-
from its broken ends that part :
it had been recently engulfed !,
Y its waters. The dog howled !
smally from the opposite bank. !,
he house appeared to be unin- !,
sbited. There was no sign of !
fe about it. / saw that it had !,
titled and for that reason it !,
ould be impossible to open the 1
ont door, SO | hitched my horse i,
Id went around to the rear of the +
aiding where there was another j.
ztending back from it and hall :,
ay or entry between them. As | :,
epped into this entry girl who il
,peared to be about eighteen or i
neteen years of age came into it /,
ON the other side. Her black {,
Iir was disheveled. Her cheeks !,
ere pale. There was look of !,
rror and utter exhaustion in her 1,
eat. black eyes. As they rested Il
ION me she shrank back. y
s'Please don't be alarmed" =
IN 81 hava losf nv wav amid IA