The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-04-23

of the bridge nature was too much
for him, and his resolve vanished. IN
stead Of Fastening on he stopped, and.
having stopped, paused long enough to
take in all the features of the scene
and any changes which time might
have wrought. He even forced his
shrinking eyes to turn and gaze upon
the exact spot where his beloved Al
gernon had been found, with his sight
less eyes turned to the sky.
This latter place, singular in that it
lay open to the opposite bank without
the mask of bush or tree to hide it,
was in immediate proximity to the end
Of the bridge he had attempted to
cross. It bore the name Of Dark HOl-
low, and hollow and dark it looked in
the universal gloom. But the power Of
its associations was upon him, and be-
fore he knew it he was retracing his
steps as though drawn by magnet
ism he could not resist, till he stood
within this hollow and possibly on the
very foot of ground from the mere
memory of which he had recoiled for
years.
A moment Of contemplation sigh,
such as only escapes the bursting heart
in moments of extreme grief or desola-
tion-and he tore his eyes from the
ground to raise them slowly but with
deep meaning. to something which
rose from the brow Of the hill in stark
and curious outline not explainable in
itself, but clear enough to one who
had seen its shape by daylight. Judge
Ostrander had thus seen 1t many times
in the past and knew just where to
look for the one remaining chimney
and solitary gable of a house struck
many years before by lightning and
left grinning shell to mock the eye
of all who walked this path or crossed
this bridge.
Black amid blaCkness, with just the
contrast of its straight lines to the
curve of natural objects about it, it
commanded the bluff, summoning up
memories Of an evil race cut short in
a moment by an outraged Providence,
and Judge Ostrander, marking it,
found himself muttering aloud as he
dragged himself slowly away: why
should Time, so destructive elsewhere,
leave one stone upon another of this
accursed ruin?"
When he had reached the middle
of the bridge he stopped short to look
back at Dark Hollow and utter in a
smothered groan, which would not be
repressed, a name which by all the
rights of the spot should have been
Algernons. but was not.
The utterance of this name seemed
to startle him, for, with a shuddering
look around, he hastily traVersed the
rest of the bridge and took the turn
about the hill to where Factory road
branched off toward the town. Here
he stopped again and for the first time
revealed the true nature of his desti-
nation. For when he moved on again
1t was to take the road along the bluff.
and not the one leading directly into
town.
This mean speedy passing by, the |
lightning-struck house. He knew, Of
course, and evidently shrank from the
ordeal, for once up the hill and on the
level stretch above, he resolutely for
bore to cast a glance at its dilapidated |
fence and decayed gate posts Had
he not done this-had his eyes fol-
lowed the long line of the path lead
ing from these topping posts to the
face of the ruin, he would have been !
witness to strange sight For gleam-
ing through the demolished heart of
it-between the chimney on the one
side and the broken line of the gable |
on the other-could be seen the half
circle Of the moon suddenly released |
from the clouds which had hitherto
enshrouded 1t. A weird sight, to be |
seen only when all conditions favored. |
1t was to be seen here tonight; but
the judges eye was bent another way,
and he passed on, unnoting.
The ground was high along this
bluff; almost fifty feet above the level
of the city upon which he had just
turned his back. OF stony formation
and much exposed to the elements, 1t |
had been considered an undesirable |
site by builders, and not house was
to be seen between the broken shell Of |
the one he had just left, and the long, |
low, brilliantly Illuminated. structure
ahead, for which he was evidently |
making.
The pant of a dozen motors, the |
shouting of various farewells and then |
the sudden rushing forth of long line !
of automobiles proclaimed that the |
fete of the day was about over and |
that peace and order would soon pre-
vail again in Claymore inn.
Without waiting for the final one to |
pass, the Judge slid around to the rear
and peered in at the kitchen door.
Three women were at work in this