The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-04-29

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I tain my mental faculties and yet be
unable to move could not fathom.
The noise of the approaching horses
had ceased, and judged the Indians
were creeping stealthiiy upon me
along the little ledge which led to my
living tomb.
had not long to wait before a
stealthy sound appraised me of their
nearness,, and then a war-bonneted,
paint-streaked face was thrust eau
tiously around the shoulder Of the
cliff, and savage eyes looked into
mine.
The fellow, instead of approaching,
merely stood and stared: his eyes
bulging and his jaw dropped. And
then another savage face appeared,
and third and fourth and fifth,
craning their necks over the Shout
ders Of their fellows whom they could
not pass upon the narrow ledge. Each
face was the picture of awe and fear,
but for what reason I did not know,
nor did learn until ten years later.
Suddenly low but distant moan
ing sound issued from the recesses of
the cave behind me, and, as it reached
the ears Of the Indians, they turned
and fed In terror, panic stricken.
Their wild cries echoed in the cam
yon for short time, and then all was
still once more.
hn CD ia6 hnd frin
them was not repeated, but it had
been sufficient as 1t was to start me
specializing on the possible horror
which lurked in the shadows at my
back. "a
Several times I thought I heard
faint sounds behind me as of some
body moving cautiously, but eventual
ly even these ceased, and 1 was left
to the contemplation Of my position
without interruption.
Until possibly midnight all was 81
lence, the silence Of the dead; then,
suddenly, the awful moan Of the morn
ing broke upon my startled ears, and
there came again from the black
shadows the sound of moving thing,
and faint rustling as of dead leaves.
The shock TO my already overstrained
nervous SYSTEM was terrible In the
extreme, and with a superhuman eff
fort I strove to break my awful bonds.
Then something gave, there was. mo-
mentary feeling Of nausea, sharp
click as of the swapping of steel
wire, and I stood with my back
against the wall Of the cave, facing
my unknown foe.
And then the moonlight flooded the
cave, and there before me lay my own
body as it had been lying all these
hours, with the eyes staring toward
the open ledge and the hands resting
Imply upon the ground. looked first
at my lifeless clay there upon the
floor Of the cave and then down at
myself in utter bewilderment; for
there I lay clothed, and yet here 1
stood, but naked as at the minute of
my birth.
My first thought, was, Is this then
death Have I indeed passed over for
ever into that other life! But could
not well believe this, as could feel
my heart pounding against my ribs
from the exertion Of my efforts to re-
lease myself from the anesthesis
which had held me.
Again was l suddenly recalled to
my immediate surroundings by a repe-
tition Of the weird moan from the
depths of the cave. Naked and I'M
armed as I was, I had no desire to
face the unseen thing which menaced
me.
I leaped quickly through the open
| ing into the starlight of clear Ari-
IONA night. The crisp, fresh noun
tain air outside the cave acted as an
immediate tonic and / felt new life
and new courage coursing through me-
Pausing upon the brink Of the ledge I
upbraided myself for what now
seemed to me wholly unwarranted ap-
prehension. My better judgment, when
permitted the direction of clear and
logical reasoning, convinced me that
the noises I had heard must have re-
suited from purely natural and harm
less causes; probably the conforma-
ton of the cave was such that slight
breeze had caused the sounds heard.
AS 1 stood meditating, turned my
gaze to the heavens, where the myriad
stars formed a gorgeous and fitting
canopy for the wonders of the earthly
scene. Ny attention was quickly
riveted by a large red star close to
the horizon. AS I gazed upon it felt
a spell of overpowering fascination
it was Mars, the god of war, and for
me. the fighting man, 1t had always
held the power Of irresistible enchant-
ment. AS 1 gazed at It on that far
gone night 1t seemed to call across
the unthinkable void, to lure me to it,
| to draw me as the lodestone attracts
| particle of iron.
My longing was beyond the power
Of opposition; closed my eyes,
stretched out my arms toward the god
Of my vocation and felt myself drawn
with the suddenness of thought
through the trackless immensely of
space. There was an instant of ex-
| +ra,,oo cold ond utfor darknacS