The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1907-01-12

admit that what said just now would
be considered ample grounds for do
| Ing so. Nevertheless" His voice
sank, and the smile slid down his
cheek and vanished-"it was the plain,
unvarnished truth. and 1t happened as
told you-whilst we were scudding
along through this lnferno-like dark,
ness, Just as tie train Is doing now"
But man without head" l ven.
tured to expostulate. And to enter a
moving train-in tunnel! The thing
Is impossible, you know, impossible!"
! 1t happened two years ago, and I
was going then (as l am going now)
to Luvinci, small station just out
side OF this tunnel en- the Italian side.
AT that time I was connected with q
Franco-Itanan firm of jewelers. and
as the samples carried were extreme
ly valuable, made 1t point when
travelling by train to always engage an
entire compartment and have the
guard lock me In securely. ! was,
therefore. quite alone when the affair
OF which / am about to tell you oc-
Cured. l was, moreover, unusually
careful on this particular occasion. and
kept loaded revolver lying upon the
seat beside me. Some four months
previously, fellow commercial trav.
eler, who had the misfortune to re-
semble me very closely indeed. had
been murdered In compartment OF
the Lyons express, and his murderer,
who was most fortunately captured.
| confessed t.Iat he had mistaken the
man for me.
"On the morning prior 10 my start
Ing upon the journey Of which ! am
now telling you, this murderer had
been guillotined In Paris, and there
was full account of the e3ecution In
all the evening papers. La Presse IN
particular giving a very graphic de-
scription Of 1t. l think read 1t quite
dozen times that night and a dozen
more the next morning. and was
reading 1t again when the train
whizzed suddenly into this tunnel. The
horrible droning Of the wheels, COM
bined with the gloom and, perhaps, the
| grewsomeness Of the thing had been
reading, got on my nerves and when
I heard the door behind me-the
locked door!-open and close with .
bang, l fairly bounded from my seat.
AS faced around. my heart hammer
ing against my ribs as though 1t would
| beat its way out of me, saw standing
before me the shape Of a man with
a great scoop cut out OF his coat and
shirt where the collar should have
been, slim, red line running round
his throat. and above that line a gray
hanging lips"
"Ach! Lieber Gott."
heard the words quaver out from
the Germans corner, but ! could not
see his face, for the thick vapor which
the opened window had let in floated
between US, humid. yellow, reeking of
| sulphur. looked round at the Cor
nishman, every fiber of my being ting
ling, and something creeping up my
| neck.
Go on" said family. you are
sure 1t wasn't nerves?"
AS SURF do all lhaI you Oh oiSeAh6
here beside me this minute" he re-
piled. Nerves may often make a man
fancy that he sees things, but they
can't make those things talk"
And he talked?"
Eyes. AS l faced round and saw
him, his dead lips said quite distinct
| ly: Good evening. comrade. We
travel far and fast. 1t may be morn
ing to you, but 1t is evening to me-
for ever! And then. with a wave of
the hand, inviting me to resume my
seat, he sat down in the corner near
the window and turned his dead face
towards me. his eyelids never once
lifting, and his head. Jared by the
movement of the train, rocking I'M
steadily upon his shoulders. Once he
put up his hand to steady It, and az
his fingers touched that red line about
his throat, The trademark of Mon
sieur de Paris he said, with CHASTITY
movement of the lips which, In o liv.
ing man, would have been smile.
He guillotined me at dawn this morn
ing"
The Cornishman stopped short and
I saw his eye travel to the window.
Along the vapor-smeared surface of
the glass faint glow Of light was
creeping-a light which presently
burst into the compartment with such
Ia fierce and binding glare that for an
instant could see nothing. Then I
became conscious that we were out OF
the tunnel, and that the German was
still sitting huddled up in his corner
with gaping lips and wide-opened eyes.
The Cornishman rose, lifted his
portmanteau out OF the rack. looked
down at me and-wihked.
II reckon I've won that five-pound
note hands down." he said. with .
laugh. "Our friend from the Father
land never slept wink. nor snored Q
snore. the whole way through"
well, I'm dashed!" managed to
gasp at last. and pulled my purse into
view. :.
mo. don't pay 1t to me-" he said
hastily. 'Tve won 1t, ! know. but.
send Il as donation to DR.. Barnardo's
home: Il will do some good there. ]
am sure I can trust you to do It: you
- -ss,s- = - rox ssv 1fko q man