The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-01-09


could. knew The
The next moment. In sntcst tcdy
spite Of Sterkoff. some to tntlF'
body had left the palace. Mous"t Le-
Why notY The runaway P'''
was aware that The king was not really
suffering from influenza. He could
spend an evening at Slavna without re
preach,
81 wish | knew the safest way TO
fall!' thought Lepage, dangling at the
end Of his rope. II swayed about ter
dbIy He. waited awhile for 1t TO
rteady itsalf-he feared TO. miss the
mattress-but he could not wait long
or that measured tramp and that dark
figure would come. There would be a
sudden squirt OF light and report
ard what OF Lepage then? He gathered
ais legs up behind his knees. took long
breath-and fell As LUCK would have
It. though he landed on the very edge
II the mattress. yet he did land on Il
md tumbled forward on his face.
7halsen. but with bones intact. There
was a numb feeling above his knees
Nothing worse than that.
he drew another long breath. Heavy
bodies and even mattresses fall quick
/ y. He must have seven or eight min
utes yet.
But no! Heavy bodies. even mat
tresses, falling quickly. make a noise.
Lepage. too. had come down with
thud. squnshing hidden air out of the
interstices of the mattress. The silence
OF night win give resonance TO gentler
sounds than that. which was as though
a giant had squeezed his mighty sponge
Lepage on his numb knees listened
The steps came. not measured now,
but running The dark figure came
running around the corner. What next?
Next the challenge-then The squirt of
/ light and the report. What Of Lepage
then? Nothing. so far as Lepage and the
rest OF humanity for certainty knew.
i or that nothing. actual or possible.
Lepage did not approve. lie hitched the
mattress on to his back. bent himself
nearly double and, thus both burdene1
aud protected. made for the river. lie
must have looked like a turtle scurry-
j, ing TO the sea lest he should be turned
over and so left for soup In due season.
| "Who goes there? Halt. Haltr'
i The turtle scurried ON. II was no
moment 10 stop and discuss matters.
The squirt of lIght-the report, There
was a hole in the mattress. but well
above Lepage's head. Indeed. II hit ut
all. lie was not most likely 10 be hit in
the head. That vital portion OF him
was tucked away too carefully He
presented a broader aim. but the mat
tress masked him nobly. There was
another shot-the northwest corner Of
the mattress this time-but the mat
! tress on the rivers edge. The next
instant 1t was floating on the current
Of the Krath. and Sterkoff's sentry was
INDUCING in some very pretty practice
at IT, He hit ii every time until the
swift current carried il around the
bend and out of sight.
TheswhoIe thing seemed strange and
rather uncanny to the sentry. He
grounded his rife and wiped his brow.
II had looked like carpet taking a
walk on its own account and then
swim, Superior officers might be ac-
eustomed to such strange phenomena.
The sentry was not. He set OF at a
round pace to the guardroom. He did
not even stay 70 notice the white rope
which dangled In the air from first
floor window. Had he stopped he
would have heard Markart's invincible,
drug laden snoring.
Lepage had separated himself from
his good friend and ally. the mattress
aud Owed under water while the sentry
blazcd away. He welcomed the cur
rent which bore him rapidly from the