The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-09-18

! was surprised when l answered him IN the
4 tongue.
= 1--WE must kill YOU he said. but there is
4 no hurry. We shall wait
CAS- Though acting on the suggestion, the
thirty black fiends squatted in semfclrcle
about me and fell slowly and deliberately 10
sharpening their knives
""There is no hurry the chief said again
We must do so before the coming or day'
that is ALL
"Then in a flash it came back to me that
had heard from men Of our own tribe that the
Aneza were sun worshippers and that 1t was the
greatest of all religious crimes among them 10
commit murder when the sun-ther god-was IN
the ascendancy. Like shot 1t came to me tnaV
If could delay the execution until sunrise my
life would be saved. But how?
THE hope seemed futile. 1 wondered what
time 1t was. knew 1t was after midnight AS
l lay on my blankets, watching those hideous
black faces that were doubly black and grotesque
in the weird flame of the torches, began to work
my hand slowly toward my pocket where kept
my watch. got 1t out and dropped my eyes TO
the face. In the gloom l could make out the
hands pointing to o'clock. 1t was nearly three
hours to sun-up There was not the ghost OF
chance Of holding them off until then
But Just the same, kept trying to figure 1t
out in my mind-to devise some plan to that end
And meanwhile l began to witness the services
that were to precede my death Squattng there
with their black legs crossed that grim semi
circle of fends began to rock slowly back ana
forth from the hips, humming strange, un'
canny minor monotone. Out In front the big
chief led them 1t was the Aneza sacrifice pre-
lude so to speak. And was to be the sacrifice
81 tell you, it got into my nerves, I don't think
I am a natural coward, but half rythmically,
keeping time as it were, to the beating chant OF
those voices and the sway and swing OF the black
bodies, heard my teeth begin to click.
81 glanced over my shoulder to the other flap
of the tent AS did so the Arab chief seemed to
divine my thought, for at a motion OF his hano'
the semtcircle moved forward couple OF rect
closer and, sQuatting again, went on with the
gruesome ceremonies. There was no chance OF
escape by flight, that was certain.
''But never for a moment did | stop thinking;
struggling to drag an idea out of the confusion in
my brain. And all the time the Aneza went on
whetting the knives and grooming and swayng'
Half an hour then an hour went by count
ed the minutes, for knew they measured the
time left me yet to live. And then. suddenly, l
turned cold. My heart leaped and something fill
ed my throat 1t was the idea had been comb
ing my brain for and 1t was chance, ever so
faint, perhaps, but still a chance
ACROSS the tent not ten feet distant, was my
trunk with my stereopticon lantern, and my
slides-slides had made of New York city, OF
the Metropolitan tower and Broadway, and all
the other sights of home. Could I but!
must! Speaking in Arab addressed the chief.
Before the time came to make the sacrifice had
something to show them-something the like Of
which they had never Would they like to
it?
"Breathless awaited the answer. There was
silence; then it came. The chief would like to
see. pointed to the trunk. They brought 1t to
me- l unpacked the lantern and set 1t up, the
long knives were following me not two inches
away the while. The side of the tent was the
screen. . / lighted the lantern and dropped in the
first slide. Across the circle of light foated in
color the great Metropolitan tower. AS 1t did so
the muttering murmur of the death prelude wav-
cred and died out.
There a silence; then sharp words Of
mystery or wonder, of-fear. Working swiftly,
/ killed the exterior Of the tower and shot into
its place view Of It's interior. then another and
another. l followed with pictures from its top
pictures of the river, of Broadway below. Of
motor cars tearing along with no visible means
Of locomotion of the loom Of giant skyscrapers
in the distance, Of huge bridges across the East
river of steamboats, and liners running out Of the
harbor of Miss Liberty Bedloes Island and Of
the marvellous tangle of Coney Island.
'"The death prelude was forgotten The fear
gave place to an ever-growing wonder. The
semi-circle leaned forward, a mass of peering,
crowding black heads and black shoulders