Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-04-05

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ia perfect them.--My grand scheme /" he
went on, with q sudden change Of tone,
md an added brightness in. his dark eyes.
1t would have revolutionized the world,
if only the world had been wise enough to
receive it. But, like all great discoveries,
l am a century before the age"
| He began to pace the room rapidly, with
knitted brows, and the forefnger of one
hand pressed to his cheek, while his lips
moved inaudibly; butalways with covert
eye on Cyrilla, to see that she did not at
tempt to escape.
| "Strange! strangei" he murmured.
mo sooner did begin to advocate that
great project, than l was set down as
mailman; and because l would not for
swear my ideas they shut me up with mad
| peOple-me, mel
He burst into a fit of laughter loud and
shrill and then drawing from one of his
pockets small box full of those acidula-
ted drops of which children are SO fond,
he placed two or three of them on his
tongue and swallowed them like so many
pills; and with that, he resumed his seat
close by Cyrilla.
at was while was living among the
mad folk" he went on, THAT / made the
acquaintance of my friend the Mandarin, a
gentleman twelve inches in height. Some
times he would come into my room through
the keyhole, sometimes down the chimney,
or as often as not he would hop in at the
open window, carrying his head under his
arm. He used TO perch himself on my
table, and sit and nod at Inc by the hour
together, and favor me with his advice on
every conceivable subject. Oh, he was
most learned mandarin 1t was he who
persuaded me to come to this place and kill
you-and kill your husband. And L have
sworn to do it There was to be grand
party tonight at the place where l have
| been residing for SO many months. L
dressed for it. of course just to please the
foolish creatures-you know what strange
whims those poor crazy wretchcs have
sometimes-and in the confusion escaped.
Zee l bought this as came along; the
handle is designed after the antique, and
pleased me hugely
AS he spoke, he drew from the pocket oil
his dress coat slender-cased pOinard of
dull, blush steel, with haft of bronze.
| Having extracted it from its case, he pro-
ceeded to wipe il carefully-almost tender
| ly-witb his cambria handkerchief, while
Cyrilla, coiled up in the easy chair, watched
his every movement with bright, quick
glancing eyes-the eyes of an animal
brought to bay--that nothing escaped.
The little clock on the chimney-piece
chimed the quarter before midnight.
"When that clock strikes twelve, Cyril
IA Thornton, you will have lived your
life."
He spoke with the quiet, unhesitating
conviction of tone of one who sees before
q foregone conclusion, from which it is i'm
possible that he can swerve in the slightest
degree.
"What have | done to deserve so terri
riIla
You have wrecked the happine of my
life," said the Italian; wrecked it utterly
and irretrievably. That might have for
given you; but have promised my friend,
the mandarin-for state reasons, which it
would be a breach of confidence in me to
reyeal--to kill you, to kill your husband,
to kill your child 1t Is sufficient to state
that your lives are required by the great
Dog star, whose hierophant lam. Ask me
no further. The initiated would under
stand me at once /; for there is a transcen-
dentalism in these matters which is as the
language of Fi-Fo-Fum to those whose
eyes have been Amounted with grease from
the Great Bear. Your time in this world
is reduced 10 ten minutes and five seconds. !"
With the putting away of the poinard
for time, Cyrilla had taken her eyes off
the Italian, and now sat with her chin sunk
on her breast, and her hands tightly
clasped, brOoding over what she had just
heard. To kill her husband and child
That would be thousand times worse than
death to herself Theodore might come
any minute now-come stepping jauntily
in through the French window, TO be
sprung upon by this madman, and stabbed
| before her eyes. "If only | could steady
my mind to think" she kept repeating to
herself What was it she heard and read
about the peculiariHes of mad pcoples If
she could only bring il to mind
The Italian was watching her narrowly
from under his bent brows. Suddenly,
with that abruptness which marked all his
movements, he got up, and striding to the
easel, flung back the sheet with which it
was covered He started at sight of the
picture; but next moment, his poniard was
out, and the canvas stabbed through i'm a
dozen different places. "Out! out! cursed
likeness of false hearted fiend u he ex-
claimed. "Oh, that soul so vile should
lodge in husk so sweet! !"
Ii she could only bring it TO mind All
at once, something seemed to catch her
breath, and she pressed her hand to her
heart for moment, while strange express
sion crept over her face, which subsidized
presently into one Of her sweetest smiles.
Then she half rose from the easy chair, and
turned her large soft eyes full on the young
Italian. Pistro, mad" she said; and there
was world of meaning in her way Of say
ing those two little words.
The dark frOwn vanished like cloud
from the face of the young Italian, and the
light of passion faded from his ewes when
!, he heard himself addressed thus; and he
turned on Cyrilla look halfbewidered
half suspicious, and felt with one hand for
the half of his pOniard She was standing
with her head a little on one side, smiling
at him; and while he was looking, her rosy
, lips whispered Come !" and as if it were
a command impossible for HIM to disobey
, he came towards her-timidly, cautiously
. and suspiciously, but still step by step
nearer. As she sank back in the easy chair,
, still with the same fixed smile on her face,
f her finger pointed to low footstool yard
, or two away. He understood her gesture
and pushing the footstool across the floor,
he seated himself on 1t close by her chair.
Again the same strange expression swept
, over her face as the sleeve of his coat
touched her dress as he sat down but the
smile was back again next moment, and
her voice took an accent as low and tender
as that of any love-lorn Juliet when she
next spoke to him.
"You naughty boy!' she said, and she
, pinched his ear playiu,ly, as she spoke, 81
VOW you nearly frightened me to death,
creeping into the room in that stealthy way,
for all the world like the villain in melo.
drama. How was to know it was YOU
behind the curtains And then, when
, did see you, declare you gave my nerves
| ruifo a ebock I hod boorJ .rob