McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader Part 36

Ver. No.

Alb. I would only kiss his hand.

Ver. You must not.

Alb. I must; I can not go from him without.

Ver. It is his will you should.

Alb. His will, is it?

I am content, then; come.

Tell. My boy! (Holding out his arms to him.)

Alb. My father! (Rushing into Tell's arms.)

Tell. If thou canst bear it, should not I? Go now, My son; and keep in mind that I can shoot; Go, boy; be thou but steady, I will hit The apple. Go! G.o.d bless thee; go. My bow!

(The bow is handed to him.) Thou wilt not fail thy master, wilt thou? Thou Hast never failed him yet, old servant. No, I'm sure of thee. I know thy honesty, Thou art stanch, stanch. Let me see my quiver.

Ges. Give him a single arrow.

Tell. Do you shoot?

Soldier. I do.

Tell. Is it so you pick an arrow, friend?

The point, you see, is bent; the feather, jagged.

That's all the use 't is fit for. (Breaks it.)

Ges. Let him have another.

Tell. Why, 't is better than the first, But yet not good enough for such an aim As I'm to take. 'T is heavy in the shaft; I'll not shoot with it! (Throws it away.) Let me see my quiver.

Bring it! 'T is not one arrow in a dozen I'd take to shoot with at a dove, much less A dove like that.

Ges. It matters not.

Show him the quiver.

Tell. See if the boy is ready.

(Tell here hides an arrow under his vest.)

Ver. He is.

Tell. I 'm ready too! Keep silent, for Heaven's sake, and do not stir; and let me have Your prayers, your prayers, and be my witnesses That if his life's in peril from my hand, 'Tis only for the chance of saving it. (To the people.)

Ges. Go on.

Tell. I will.

O friends, for mercy's sake keep motionless and silent. (Tell shoots. A shout of exultation bursts from the crowd. Tell's head drops on his bosom; he with difficulty supports himself on his bow.)

Ver. (Rushing in with Albert.) The boy is safe, no hair of him is touched.

Alb. Father, I'm safe. Your Albert's safe, dear father.

Speak to me! Speak to me!

Ver. He can not, boy!

Alb. You grant him life?

Ges. I do.

Alb. And we are free?

Ges. You are. (Crossing angrily behind.)

Alb. Open his vest, And give him air. (Albert opens his father's vest, and the arrow drops. Tell starts, fixes his eyes on Albert and clasps him to his breast.)

Tell. My boy! My boy!

Ges. For what Hid you that arrow in your breast? Speak, slave!

Tell. To kill thee, tyrant, had I slain my boy!

DEFINITIONS.--Ac-cords', grants, concede. Is'sue (pro. ish'u), event, consequence. Stanch, sound, strong. Jag'ged, notched, uneven. Shaft, the stem of an arrow upon which the feather and head are inserted. Quiv'er, a case for arrows.

NOTE.--The legend further relates that on the discovery of the concealed arrow Tell was again put in chains. Gesler then embarked for another place, taking Tell with him. A storm overtook them, and Tell was released to steer the boat. In pa.s.sing a certain point of land now known as "Tell's Rock" or "Leap," Tell leaped ash.o.r.e and escaped: then going to a point where he knew the boat must land, he lay concealed until it arrived, when he shot Gesler through the heart.

LXIX. THE CRAZY ENGINEER.

1. My train left Dantzic in the morning generally about eight o'clock; but once a week we had to wait for the arrival of the steamer from Stockholm.

It was the morning of the steamer's arrival that I came down from the hotel, and found that my engineer had been so seriously injured that he could not perform his work. I went immediately to the engine house to procure another engineer, for I supposed there were three or four in reserve there, but I was disappointed.

2. I heard the puffing of the steamer, and the pa.s.sengers would be on hand in fifteen minutes. I ran to the guards and asked them if they knew where there was an engineer, but they did not. I then went to the firemen and asked them if anyone of them felt competent to run the engine to Bromberg.

No one dared to attempt it. The distance was nearly one hundred miles.

What was to be done?

3. The steamer stopped at the wharf, and those who were going on by rail came flocking to the station. They had eaten breakfast on board the boat, and were all ready for a fresh start. The train was in readiness in the long station house, and the engine was steaming and puffing away impatiently in the distant firing house.

4. It was past nine o'clock. "Come, why don't we start?" growled an old, fat Swede, who had been watching me narrowly for the last fifteen minutes.

And upon this there was a general chorus of anxious inquiry, which soon settled to downright murmuring. At this juncture some one touched me on the elbow. I turned, and saw a stranger by my side. I thought that he was going to remonstrate with me for my backwardness. In fact, I began to have strong temptations to pull off my uniform, for every anxious eye was fixed upon the glaring badges which marked me as the chief officer of the train.

5. However, this stranger was a middle-aged man, tall and stout, with a face of great energy and intelligence. His eye was black and brilliant,--so brilliant that I could not gaze steadily into it, though I tried; and his lips, which were very thin, seemed more like polished marble than human flesh. His dress was black throughout, and not only set with exact nicety, but was scrupulously clean and neat.

6. "You want an engineer, I understand," he said in a low, cautious tone, at the same time gazing quietly about him, as though he wanted no one to hear what he said. "I do," I replied. "My train is all ready, and we have no engineer within twenty miles of this place." "Well, sir, I am going to Bromberg; I must go, and I will run the engine for you." "Ha!" I uttered, "are you an engineer?" "I am, sir--one of the oldest in the country--and am now on my way to make arrangements for a great improvement I have invented for the application of steam to a locomotive. My name is Martin Kroller. If you wish, I will run as far as Bromberg; and I will show you running that is running."

7. Was I not fortunate? I determined to accept the man's offer at once, and so I told him. He received my answer with a nod and a smile. I went with him to the house, where we found the engine in charge of the fireman, and all ready for a start. Kroller got upon the platform, and I followed him. I had never seen a man betray such a peculiar aptness amid machinery as he did. He let on the steam in an instant, but yet with care and judgment, and he backed up to the baggage carriage with the most exact nicety.