The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-25

Andrn from the walls and had sent this
 servant to beg of him a little bread not for herself, but for her mother
 whose life was ebbing fast. "Tell the
 knight was her message, If he re- members me to come to me. Beseech
 him, clasp his knees, his feet; he also
 has an aged mother. For his own
 mothers sake let him give me bread
 for mine" How did you get here?"
 asked Andrli. Then the old woman told him of secret underground pas
 sage which led from the great church
 in the city to a place inside the lines
 of the besiegers. It was through this
 that she had come.
 | Andrii at once forgot every other con- l sideration; his whole being turned to the voivode's daughter. He would go to her and bring her relief, be the consequences
 what they might Double portions of wine | had been served out that night in the | Cossack camp; many of the Zaporozhians
 had drunk heavily. The revelry had
 taken on something of the old barrack l days, and now the army slept. Steal 1 ing to a commissary wagon, Andrii gath cred up a bag of bread and started to follow with careful footsteps the guidance of the Tartar woman. AS he threaded
 the ranks of sleeping Cossacks he heard voice say: 'Andrii, there is woman with you. When get up I will give you | sound thrashing. Women will lead you to no good" It was Taras. and Andrii stood there more dead than alive. But ! when he looked again the old man had gone to sleep once more. his head rest ing upon the palm of his hand.
 Descending a slope. the Tartar woman
 guided Andrii to a small ravine. almost l hole, at the bottom of which brook flowed lazily, its banks overgrown with sedge. Descending, Andrii looked back
 to see that the bank rose behind him higher than man. On its crest were a few long cIumps of grass along the hori-
 zon, and there. low down, hung the moon | light breeze stirring on the steppes
 warned him that the dawn was not far
 off. Finally they came to>a low, half
 ruined arch in the opposing bank. This was the entrance to the secret passage,
 and through it they went. being obliged
 2s first to almost crawl along. so low | was the roof. But it grew higher and the 1 passage widened out into a catacomb,
 where the bones of dead and gone monks vgils. Thence they came up into a
 great church, where mass was being said
 at an altar misty with incense fby priests hardly able to stand from want of food
 and served by acolytes whose young forms were shriveled with famine. From the church the Tartar woman led Andrii | to the palace of the voivode.
 | It stood quite near the church beyond a | square The square seemed dead, but
 Andrii thought he heard feeble groan. and, looking about him. perceived in the
 dim light of the rising morning a group
 of three men lying motionless upon tho earth. He fastened his eyes upon them more intently to see if they were asleep 1 or dead. and at the same moment stum- bled over something lying at his feet It
 was the dead body of woman, apparent | ly Jewess. She appeared to be young. though this was not discernible in her
 distorted and emaciated features. Upon her head she wore red silk 'kerchief; two rows of pearls adorned her head dress; from beneath 1t two long curls
 hung down upon her withered neck, with
 It's tightly drawn veins. Beside her lay
 child gasping convulsively. They turped into a side street and were suddenly stopped by madman, crazed by terror and hunger, who iercely demanded bread Andrii threw him a loaf, which he
 seized like mad AaG end began eating