Among the Ashes; or, Doomsday (with illustration) (Christmas Supplement) [pp. A001-A032]

28
Ai~OW~ TilE ASlIES.
[C~nism~~ S,
~Yhatever this being migbt be that
-walked by his side in the da4~, Peter
c~uld eiidure the suspense no longer. 1-le
stopped again, and made an effort to
-speak, but his tongue dave to the roof of
his mouth; and it was not until lie bad
repeated his eff~~i~ twice or thrice that
be found voice to adjure his companion
to declare who be was.
ilereupon tbis unseen companion spoke
suddenly, in a harsh and vehement voice:
I'n~ a deserter," replied he.
Thcr& was nothing very human in the
tone; and even assuming the speaker to
be a creature of flesh and blood, a deserter was likely to be a desperate character, and by no means a pleasaut companion for a fat little fellow, with some
silver in his purse, to light on in such a
lonely path.
Peter and his unseen companion
walked on for nearly five minutes more
side by side, before Peter spoke again.
Every moment he fancied that the stranger would spring at his throat and strangle him.
JIaving got his hand against the stem
of a tree, lie halted suddenly, stepped he.hind it, and, thus protected, addressed
liis unseen companion once more.
"A deserter? " he blurted out, " a
deserter from where? a deserter from
what?
`~A deserter from hell! " answered
the same fierce, coarse voice, and something smote the ground -a furious stamp
or a blow of a club that made the hollow peat tremble with its emphasis.
Peter's heart jumped; be liad vague
thoughts of backing softly away among
the trees aad losing himself in the forest,
till morning. But he had heard or had
fancied such unearthly sounds among the
firs, such boornings and bootings from
the distant glades that night, and was
still so uncertain as to the powers and
purpose of the unknown, that he preferred his chance on the path he knew,
-to embarking in new and, possibly, more
terrible adventures among the solitary
recesses of the forest.
It now occurred to him that lie might
possibly steal a march on his persecutor.
lie listened; there was no step now; the
wretch was waiting for him.
Very softly, he made one short step
on the light mossy ground, and another,
perfectly noiseless step, and a third as
cautious, and so on, till he had made
some forty or fifty yards. But, as with
throbbing heart, he was half congratulating himself on his supposed escape, and
was tiptoeing along at a swifter p ace,
close beside him fl~e same startling voice
-said;
"You shall see me presently!
If a cannon had gone off within a
yard of Peter's elbow, the sound could
not not have astounded him more. lie
staggered sideways, with a gasp; and,
when lie recovercd hii~self a little he
made up his mind to walk steadily along
the path, the line of which he could only
trace by looking upward, and watching
tlie irregular parting of the trees overbead. Guided by this faint line, he
stumped on, with knees bending with
fear; and, at last, just as the moon broke
through the driving clouds, and shone
clear over plain and lake, and on the
quaint little town of 1\Ieitzberg, not a
quarter of a mile away, he emerged from
tlie forest, with his companion by liis side.
That compaulon was a tall, broadshouldered grenadier of Vanderh ausen`5
regiment of musketeers, dressed in the
old-world uniform. llis blue coat, with
red facings, and garniture of yellowworsted lace, was obscured by the dust
of his journey, as were his long gaiters;
his small three-cornered hat was powdered
with tlie same; his ruffles were soiled
and disordered, and his whfte vest nothing tlie better for his long, forced march.
In his hand lie carried an enormously
long musket. liis face looked grim and
savage beyond description, ud there was
a straight red scar along his cheek, from
his nose to his ear. A fine smell of
brandy accompanied this warrior; and
the very smell infused courage into the
heart of Peter Schiniedler.
lie was satisfied that the grenadier
was a mortal; but a hang-dor, dangerous-looking mortal as ever he had set
eyes on.
The soldier took Peter in the grip of
his right hand, a little above tlie elbow,
and held him, while he questioned him,
staring all fl~e time savagely in his eyes.
"Look ye, comrade, you had best
speak truth, and shortly, for I don't care
the spark of a flint for man or devil, and
I'd shoot you through the head as soon
as wink."
lie struck the butt of the long musket
furiously on the ground, and Peter recognized the sound that, in the forest, he
had mistaken for the stroke of a club.
"As I hope for mercy, I'll answer
you truly, ask what you will," whispered
he; " but pray, sir, don't hurt ine so;
you're pinching my arm like a thousand
devils."
"Is it true," said tlie genadier, squeezing his arin tighter as he went on, "that
Ursula liu~nwitz has married Michael
Straus? Yes, or no -quick!"
"Yes, yes; it is true! " screamed
Peter. "They are married-a week ago.
I saw it; I was at it; I supped there and
drank their healths."
"Ay, I guessed it would so 158;1804;178]turn out,"
said the man, in a tone no longer of anger, but of deep dejection. "The news
came that it was fixed. It caine in a
letter to Nicholas Spielman, the halbcrdier."
The soldier still held Peter fast by the
arm, but no longer with a grip that hurt
liim so much.
"I left my quarters," resumed the
soldier, "the night I heard it; I knew I
sl-iould not be niissed till beat of drum, in
the morning. I have travelled, on foot,
every day, twelve leagues since. Thirtysix leagues, a long march, and, for a reason, I carried this with me." lie knocked
the butt of his musket, this time, lightly
on the ground. "Come down here
Peter Schmiedlcr, w-ith inc; I must show
you a thing or two, and give you a message."
1-lis hand tightened as he said this,
and lie inarched Peter about twoscore
yards, down to the margin of the lake.
"lio! "said Peter, to himself, in wonder, "he knows my name, and, to my
knowledge, I never set eyes on him before."
"It is four years and a half," said the
soldier, "since I shouldered this musket
and parted with Ursula litmwitz, on this
very spot. She was eighteen; I liad been
courting her for two years; man never
ioved girl as I loved her. I said she
loved me with all lier heart, and here we
two swore to be true, each to other, till
the hour of death. You know me, now,
who I am," he said, suddenly pausing.
Peter gave him a good bard stare.
"N-no, I can't say I know you-unless-li a! No, it couldn't-it isn't-"
"Yes, it is; I'm lians ~Youverheim."
"By my soul, lians, I didn't know
you! lIow awfnl ugly you've ~rown
I mean manly; you're a foot taller, almost-and that devil of a scar!
The moon had now got out of the
cloud-banks into blue sky; and her light
was steady and brilliant.
"I'm lians ~~ouverheirn, that left this
spot, a recruit, fo'ir and a half years ago.
Look at the butt of this musket; here,
where I show you. ~Yith her bodkin I
scratched the first letters of her name,
Look! U. li. Look here! liere's her
hair."
lie pulled out from his breast a littlQ
clofl~ bag, true-blue, like his coat, and inside it was another, of silk; and within
that a long lock of golden hair.
"There it is," he cried, "I kept it
ever since; it has been with me in battle
and bivouac. Curse it!
lie thrust it back quickly.
"I told her," he continued, "I'd fight
my way up the hill; that she'd hear of