Norwich bulletin., 1915-03-20

swords, knives and cutlasses. Every thing in the surroundings dlspleaSed the cautious observer, who, he admits. realized that in turn he himself was displeasing.
 With his young comrade, however, it was different. He was from the first ere of themselves. He laughed, he told stories, and with an lmprudence which the elder man sought vainly to check, he explained frankly who they were, whence they came and whither they were going.
 "Fancy us!" writes the narrator, "Frenchmen! there among our most bitter enemies, alone, almost unarmed. as though to omit nothing which would deprive us of all Vestige of safety, the youth played the rich man, promising these people, for their hos pitality and for acting as our guides on the morrow, anything they might ask! Finally, he. directed attention to his valise, begging them to take good care of it, at last deciding to put it at the head of his bed; he needed, he said, no better pillow. An, youth! sure you! Cousin, one would have fancied we were carrying the crown jeWels!'
 Supper finished, the weary travellers retired. Their hosts slept below, they
 
 seven or eight feet, to which they mounted by a ladder. There they found the bed which awaited them, 8 sort of nest, reached by dodging the various provisions, stored, it would seem, for the whole year.
 The younger man threw himself on the rude bed and was asleep in an instant, his head on his precious valise. His companion, fearful, determined to keep awake, resisting all tempta- ion, fa Sl1J a1thnnOh overcome with weariness.
 The long night was nearly over nothing had happened, and he was be- ginning. to reassure himself, when near daybreak, he was aroused from a | light slumber by the voices of the | host and his wife conversing guarded ly and evidently disputing, in the room | below.
 Putting his ear to the chimney which extended to the lower room, he distinctly heard the husband inquire Well, then, what do you say? Hao better kill both?" To which the wife responded decisively, 'FYes!" an6 | the listener heard no more.
 1 He kept quiet on the bed, scarcely daring to breathe, growing cold witt anticipation and horror. 'To see me- he writes, you would not be able tt l tell WnSln0T l Was u6dQ UT c11lNc Realize our plight-we two, almos without arms, against those ten ol twelve who had so many! And m! comrade helpless with sleep and ia | tieue! To awaken him, to make { sound, did not dare. To attempt es tcape would be futile. The window wa! not high; but outside were two bis dogs bowling like wolves.
 l After about a quarter of an hour which seemed terribly long, heart stealthy footsteps on the ladder out side, and through the cracks in tn door I could see the man, a light il one hand and a wicked looking knif' in the other. He climbed, up hi wife following.
 "Instantiy 1 slipped behind the door which opened to admit the man. Blu before entering, he handed the light t his wife to hold. Then he came in barefooted; and ske, in low voice while shading with her fingers tn light from the lamp, whispered
 "As the husband came up. climbing the ladder, reaching the head of ou bed, the knife between his teeth the innocent young. man stretched there on the bed, offering his uncov cred throat,-with one hand tn charcoal burner took his knife, ant with the other--Ah, cousin! H seized a ham which hung from tn rafter, cut from it thick slice, ant retreated as he had come! The doc | closed, the light vanished and I wa left alone with my reflections!
 "As soon as day dawned, all tn family, with great fuss, hastened t wake us, as we had requested. w were summonded to the table, wher was spread a tempting breakfast, 'ex cellent, I assure you. Two chickens already cooked, were designed, ou hostess explained, for us; one to b eaten now, the other to furnish u forth a lunch to take on our journey Seeing the fowl, I understand tn
 meaning of those terrible words
 Ought we to kill both. of then?" THE DICTAGRAPH.