The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-08

a packet of maps and war plans. Seizing the opportunity he stole them, and slipped them, together with an discriminatory let ter from the federals, into the tent of Lieutenant Travis.
 The papers were missed, found upon the person of Travis, and upon trial by courtmartial the young lieutenant was condemned to be shot as a traitor
 Upon the drawing of iots to select the men to carry out the decree of justice, Kennith Merrill was among those upon whom the choice fell.
 This grim move upon the part of fate was entirely unlocked for by Merrill In his hate for the man who had ruined his life he had been willing to stoop to al- most any extent to bring about his down fall; but to have to look his victim in the face and shoot him in cold blood for an offense of which he was entirely in- nocent, when he was utterly unable to defend himself. was a task at which even the unfeeling spirit of Merrill momen- tarily rebelled.
 The night before the execution found Merrill strangely unnerved and agitated. He had looked forward to the fulhlment of his revenge the only joy to be ex- pected out of a dreary existence. Now that it had come, whatever satisfaction he might have attained was lost in his superstitious fear of the decree Of fate
 
 upon his hands.
 outside the night was piercingly cold. and black A northern gale beat it's chilling breath upon the shaking tcnts
 Merrill tossed upon his bunk, utterly incapable of sleep. The cold without was more than overbaanced by the torrent of blood that rushed with ever increasing rapidity through his veins. He was in a profuse sweat, and rolled and tumbled upon his couch in a strsnge mental an- guish How could the incident so affect him? Was not the man who was to die deserving of the most merclless death? Had his treachery not destroyed the hap piness, the life, the very soul of his victim? Was he himself not dead ,n all but physical life? His body moved, he ate he slept, but the inner life which nurtured the pleasures, the ambitions of the human breast, was numbed dead, incapable of any feeling save an intense hate for its destroyer. And 10 this man he owed it all.
 Outside the storm increased Tho tont swayed htfully in the fury of the gale. ana the trees groaned as the icy breath swept through their frozen boushs. Then with the groan of the trees with the haunting whistle of the gale. there came a voice, far off, runibling. indistinct in the distance. Gradually it ap,oacbea .,a suuoenly with furious burse of the gale It came upon him with mighty roar.
 vengeance is mine, saith the Lord" if roared T will repayr,
 From nowhere it came. but lnrerad in the fury of the storm now within. now without, wailing its repeated warnirs And finally dying with the abating win,ds 1t moaned its message lower and lower until it died away into the dfstancs Vengeance is n-e-saith-Lord.AI,l -r-e-p-a-y" s
 Bolt upright in his bed. Merrill waited in terror for a repetition of the warning But it had gone, and with it the fury of the storm Then there stole upon his ear another message. which came from the depths of al' burdened bosom.
 ''An eye for an eye" it said. and A tooth for tooth." as4. i
 And Merrill heard and agreed Soothed with its thought. he sank into a deep and peaceful slumber
 When he awoke next morning it was clear and cold. The wind had subsided, the frozen trees gave no evidence of the sobbing voice that had scried through their boughs during the night Out of his tent he looked upon a stilI, gray morning. bright with the sparkling frost that shimmered in golden east be- speaking the rising sun. A,.
 Tomorrow at sunrise" he remembered, and seizng his gun. he reported to the prison guard.
 Through the still cold morning walked