Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-09-19


prised him to find that he could strug-
gle upward through the brambles, even
though 1t was hard work. Men were
fighting all around and below him,
meanwhile, and he wondered vaguely
what made them kill one another when
he and his negroes were all dead or
dying 1t seemed very strange-of a
piece with the general unreality of
things-and it troubled him not a lit
tie. One of his arms was useless, he
discovered, and he realized with Curl
GUS shock that it was broken. He was
bleeding, too, from more than one
wound, but he could walk, after a
fashion.
He was inclined to stay and finish
the fight, but he recollected that Rosa
would be waiting for him and that he
must go to her, and SO he set out
across the fields, staggering through
the charred cane stubble. The night
was not so black as it had been, and
this puzzled him until he saw that the
plantation house was ablaze. Flames
were belching from its windows, cast
ing abroad a lurid radiance; and re-
membering Pancho Cueto, Esteban
laughed.
BY and by, after he was well away,
his numbness passed and he began to
suffer excruciating pain. The pain had
been there all the time, SO 1t seemed ;
he was simply gaining the capacity to
feel it. He was ready to die now, he
was so i'll; moreover, his left arm
dangled and got In his way. Only that
subconscious realization Of the neces-
sity to keep going for Rosa's sake sus-
tanned him.
Daylight oams at last to show him
his way. More than once he paused,
alarmed, at voices in the woods, only
to find that the sounds issued from his
own throat.
1t had grown very hot now, 80 hot
that heat-waves obscured his vision
! and caused the most absurd forms to
take shape. He began to hunt aimless-
Iy for water, but there was none. Evil
IDENTIFY this heat had parched the land.
dried up the streams, and set the
stones afire. 1t was incredible, but
| true.
Esteban reasoned that he must be
near home by this time, for he had
been travelling for days--for years. The
/ country, indeed, was altogether unfa-
miliar; he could not recall ever having
| seen the path he trod, but for that mat
ter everything was strange. In the
first place he knew that he was going
west, and yet the morning sun persisted
In beating hotly into his face That
alone convinced him that things had
gone awry with. the world He could
remember a great CONFUSION of some
sort, but just what 1t was he had no
clear idea Evidently, though, 1t had
been sufficient to change the rotation
Of the earth. Yes, that was it; the
earth was running backward upon its
axis; he could actually feel it whirling
under his feet No wonder his journey
seemed SO long. He was laboring over
gigantic treadmill, balancing like an
equilibrist upon revolving sphere.
Well, it was q simple matter to stop
walking, sit down, and allow himself
to be spun backward around to the
place where Rosa was waiting. lie
pondered this idea for some time, I'M
til its absurdity became apparent. IN
doubtedly he must be going out of his
head; he saw that it was necessary to
keep walking until the back-spin of
that treadmill brought Rosa to him.
But the time came when he could
walk no farther. He tried repeatedly
and failed. ard meanwhile the earth
spun even more rapidly, threatening to
whlrl him off into space. 1t was a ter
rible sensation; he lay down and
Rugged the ground, clinging to roots
and sobbing weakly. Rosa, he knew,
was just around the next bend in the
trail; he called to her, but she did not
answer. and he dared not attempt to
creep forward because his grip was
failing. He could feel his fingers slip
ning-sliDning. His last ls.-.ught as he