Still the buried treasure
eluded his search. Exhausted by his exertions, he sunk heavily upon the
side of the pit, and the big tears coursed down his hollow cheeks.
Deserted by man, he felt that there was no God in heaven; and no
divinely-born sentiment came to cheer him in the hour of his
despondency. He felt that the hand of death must soon take him and his
loved wife into its cold embrace. With much effort he drew himself to
her side, and endeavored to compose his mind for the struggle with the
destroyer.
Two hours he lay by her side; but his time had not yet come. Rested from
the severe fatigue he had undergone, he felt a new vigor stealing
through his frame. Something like hope again flitted before his
desponding mind, and, partially raising himself from his recumbent
posture, he gazed about the apartment. The pit he had dug was yawning
near him. A shudder convulsed his frame, as it reminded him of the open
grave that gaped to receive him. Had he not dug this grave for himself?
The instinct of self-preservation drew him to his feet.
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