Year: 1873

= a dread Of going forth alone. Bnt all
she put aside. With that terrible un-


certainty in her mind she must not
think of herself Putting on hood and
shawl, she lighted lantern and went
/ ont.


Her walk was along the railroad, and


she scrutinzed the ground carefully as
she went. For the first half mile all
was as it should be. She began to think
that she had had her scare for nothing.


A forest Of considerable extent now Law


before her. One moment she allowed


herself to think Of its blaekness, and


that she was lone woman who had


done all that need be done to satisfy


herself in coming thus far. The next


moment she was pushing on into the


forest. To abandon the investigation


now would, she felt be to yield herself


a prey to worse telTors than any the


dark woods held for her. A little far


ther on the diabolical nature of Dick S


revenge was revealed in huge log ly-


ing directly across the track.


1t was not in yain then that she had


come; at least the alarm was no false one,


though the obstruction looked formid-
able enough to her woman's strength.


She pushed against it with her hands,


but could not move it in the least She


wished now that she had gone for help


before coming here. II was two miles
to the village, and in all the houses be-
tween, Anastasia knew that only small


children and weak women were at home


Everybody else had gone on the excur-
sion. Plainly, the undoing Of Dicky's


work belonged to her; she must not


finch for want of strength. She groped
about with her lantern until lever was
1 found, with which she was able to lift
the log a little. Inch by inch, with the
exertion of her utmost strength, the OBJ
struction gave way, and was finally roll
ed quite off the track She sat down
upon it exhausted but thankful. Her
| power seemed to her to have been God
given, and she praised him silently.
7 Weary as she was it would not do to
sit long in her wet clothes On getting
up she walked Il little further down and
her heart seemed to die within her.
Here were more logs, some of them
larger than the first, and two great
stones which it seemed to her none but
Titan's strength could stir. The re-
vulsion of feeling was too great, the dis
appointment too bitter. She threw her
hands, which ached already with cold,
over her face, and cried weakly. But
the thought of what desolation there
would be in peaceful Skyeberg on the
morrow unless something was done;
what lamentations, what anguish, what
voices of Rachels weeping for children
and refusing comfort because they were
not, reused her to renewed effort She
did not know the time, and fancied it
later than it was. Consequently, she
did not dare to leave her post to go to
the village for help. She would have
expected every moment to hear the snort
of the engine if once she had turned
her back upon the point of danger
So she picked up her lever and set to
work once more, compelling will to serve |
in a great degree for strength. A sec
ond simple mechanical power she re-
membered now, the fulcrum, and
brought that to her aid. This and the
lever served her so well that after an
hours hard work. and much bruising
and battering of her half-fro2en hands,
and many intervals of thinking that she
could not lift another pounds weight
and the task must be abandoned, and |
some admonitory twitchings from an old f.
enemy, the rheumatism, she had the
satisfaction of seeing the last obstruc-
ton rolled off the track.


Yet remembering her disappoint-
ment, she walked on some distance fur |.
ther, throwing the light of the lantern
before her as she went. Within the
space of a quarter of mile, a Scylla to .
the Charybdis already surmounted was
found. Here the rails had been torn
up for the space of some yards. 1t was
a fools work, truly, this multiplying OF |.
device for destruction, when one would |
have seemed, to an intelligent mind, |
quite sufficient, Hope and heart gave |
away once more when Anastasia discoy- |
cred this new impediment In vain had /.
been all her hard work, since this ire
parable evil lay behind. She had been |
listening for the train during the last |
hour, and it could not be long in COM
ing now. She wondered weakly wheth- !
er she could hope to give any warning |
if she stayed. Though it seemed lost |
cause, she was not yet willing to aban-
don it, If everything were not so wet,
she might perhaps light signal fire,
and so give alarm. With the thought |
came the impulse to set to work once
more. She must be doing something, |
though to no purpose.


OF dead leaves and branches there |
were plenty at hand, but all were icy |
and sodden wet. Nevertheless, she be- |
gan heaping up quantity of these,
working mechanically and without hope |
until she discovered pile of bark cord |
ed for the village tanner. The top of
the bark pile, like everything else, was
wet and icy, but within the rain had not |
penetrated. She did not scruple to APP |
propriate what she wanted, removing !
layer after layer and conveying it be-
yond the torn-rails. A letter which she
had in her pocket supplied the light |
combustible needed A corner of this
was lighted in the blaze of ler lantern.