Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1915-10-22


no matter what the reason for III
But now they added the last touch
OF cruelty in their torture OF hei. that
OF delay. They did not carry her. re-
signed to the worst. al oheo to meet
her fate: but on the contrary led her
away and left her alone for a time,
prey 10 her own reflections, the VIC
I tim OF her own imaginations.
Only at times her strong Will. her
strong body. rebelled at the thought
i OF death. Then she would cry cut.
"Roleaui Roleaul" she would exclaim,
raising her hands: Help helpl Come
10 mel" But more often than his
name, she invoked that OF another.
[ She heard her own voice. almost with.
out her own will. calling aloud for
Count Frederick. the man so late her
enemy. YET so ready and SO powerful
in any time OF stress or dangerl
Frederick" she moaned. again and
again Where are you? Why do you
rot Gomez"
But to all this. only the bowling
derision Of her capiors made answer
She must. then. die
In the last moment OF their caprice,
or in the full time OF their decision,
they hailed her once more forth from
the hut. up to the brink OF tfe sacri-
ficiai Pit itself. where now she saw
the awakening flames.
Facing this elimination OF their
heather rites. whatever we're their
purposes. their innocent victim again
made such battle as she could against
/ her captors Shrieking she called
again and again upon those names
with which once she could conjure-
called also upon the last name
spoken by human hearts In despair.
Who shall tell whether or not there
be higher powers controlling circum-
stances such as these? At least. at
this crucial moment there came a
rescue. II rescue Il might be called.
There burst from the corner of the
nearby forest strange. ill-shapen.
/ half-clad figure. whether or not human
Kitty scarce could tell. II was a man,
white man. clad in tattered frag-
ments OF what once had been a white
mans garment. Brawny, hairy. re.
pulsive indeed. OF cultural and inco-
herent speech, he ssc,1ed like no
white man Kitty Gray eVei had seen.
A swift conviction came to her that
he was uemented. that he was a luna.
I tic-perhaps preserved from death by
the very reason OF his lunacy.
Whoever or whatever he was, his
design now seemed not unfriendly to
the victim OF these savage ceremonies
already in progress. Sweeping aside
with blows OF HIS great arms the saw
ages who clustered about her. he
caught Kitty up in gorillalike EN-
brace. and with hoarse cries of de-
fiancc made his way with her to the
cover OF the woods.
The natives did not pursue them
Kitty could not tell why, Indeed. she
scarce had time TO reason. in this
new terror at the formidable appari-
tion which now had her in charge.
Then slowly. finding him not un-
friendly. she found time to ponder and
10 plan. Certainly this being was, or
had been, a white man. Certainly he
could or once could have employed In
telligible speech-might again be able
to do So.
But speech OF ineligible sort she
lid not hear. Only he bore her away
to some distance. until at length safe
In the cover of the forest. he set her
down.
Kitty looked about her. She found
herself In a situation which she could
lilSen to nothing else in oil her expe-
rience.
A steep trail led down the declivity
Of craterlike opening. evidently the
mouth of a great cavern reaching
back under the hill. The opening
would not easily have been guessed
by a stranger in those parts. even
though passing close by in the forest.
II was, In short, the mouth of one OF
the vaul,like series OF caverns formed
in the lava rock of what had once
been a volcanic hill.
Below, within, all seemed dark. cold.
silent. II was refuge-though what
refuge. She was rescued-but by
what rescuer,
He beokoned 10 her now. and she
followed him down the steep slope.
Came then long stretches of under.
ground passages how many, how long
Kitty could not toll.
At least she lived. In spite of all
her terrors. in spite OF all these addi
tional doubts, she still lived. She
might have been more disposed tc
make some effort in her own behalf
had she not felt full upon her thai
strange oppression always expert
cnced by any human being finding
himself deep beneath the surface o.
that earth upon which. and rot undel
which, he was born TO walk.
SO far as she could see. her captol
had no plan save that OF safety from