The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-04-11

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as we had been, we were honestly
shocked. We were not hardened to this.
The Gene was awful enough without a
mockery of what we had once held holy.
Don't do it, Gordon" said a number
of voices at once.
He looked angrily around the tabs
for a moment, and then his face wore a
horribly distorted appearance under
the wavering light. But it cleared al
most Immediately to the mirthful look,
scarcely less terrible, that it had worn
before, and his voice rang out over the
silent table:
eve must begin with prayer. Who
will ask the blessing?" And then after
looking around the table, he addressed
the one next to him by an apostles
name, and ordered him to pray.
Pray My Godl / wish / could"
said the one addressed, edging his chair
away from Gordon.
"He has turned mollycoddle,H said
IGordon, with q. scornffull laugh. Then
he asked another and another, but each
in turn refused. Low as we had fallen,
wild and reckless as we We're, we had
not the heart for this mockery.
"Whatl You fail me?" he cried.
Then if / have not too long forgotten
how, I'll pray myself" And he laughed
0 horrible laugh at his own words.
There was profound silence for a mo-
ment, and each looked in fear at the
CHASTITY faces of his companions. Then
the murmnr rose once more: Don't
DO it, Gordon"
He looked at US angrily,
"Ill do it." he cried in a wild tone,
IF Satan himself should rise 10 bid me
stay" But he looked in that CHASTITY
light, with scorn and anger in his face,
al though he had come from the bottom
less pit himself. s'Stand upl" he said
imperiously, rising to his feet.
We rose reluctantly, and, at his com
mand, onr glasses were filed once
more. But the red wine lost its rosy
flush and sparkle. 1t had taken on a
greenish tint, and lay in the glass heavy
and dead. The scene, as / looked
around the table, was weird and strik-
ing beyond description. Only the
strange imagination Of our host could
have planned it, and / doubt if he was
conscious of It's awful character. The
sable hangings that threw back no
CLEAN of light from their heavy folds,
the crosned image of Death that
grinned at us from the tables head,
and above all, the weird, gastly light
that distorted the fear-the Fremont
lion of coming evil-on every face too q
look that was not of earth, made it
seem a banquet of fiends. There was
anew expression on the face OF our
host. / could not analyze it, but it
seemed for q moment or two as though
he halted in his purpose. Heput down
the glass he had taken up, and passed
his hand vacantly across his forehead.
The one that had been boidest in
following his wild lead noted his hesita-
ton, and said, in a whisper, that sound
ed in our ears like o clarion:
Don't do it, Gordon"
He turned upon the object iercely.
The vacant look was gone, and a Light
seemed to flash from his eyes. The one
who had spoken shrank back, for the
look on him was that of q demon.
Lift up your glassesia commanded
Gordon, in a voice strange and far
away.
No one obeyed. Every eye was fixed
on our host, for there was an express
sion mdescribabie aud terrible upon his
face.
Without seeming to notice our fixed
gaze, he began, in a voice that rose
strange and high, a prayer of awful bias
phemy. Suddenly he stopped, and
stared with eyes starting from their
sockets at the dark wall before him.
There was a look Of awful fear upon his
face, as though he saw there the stony
head of Medusa. Then, with a shrek
Of agony, he clasped his hands over his
heart, as If he were already in the halls
Of Eblis, and the fatal hour had come.
For a moment he stood thus, staring at
the nameless horror, then reeled, fell
heavily against the table, and dragged
The cloth with him to the floor.
In panic and terror we rushed from
the fatal room and out of the house.
Out in the chilling wind that now blew
a gale, we halted without hats or over
coats, and spoke to each other with ba-
ted breath. But no one dared ask an
other if he had seen the awful vision
that had frozen the blood of our mad
host. The N who was last to leave
the room whispered that the vase had
fallen to the floor, and he had seen the
green flame blazing over the PROSTATE
form. No one proposed to go back.
And as we stood there whispering, fear
ing, lights began to glimmer at the
aarkened windows of the room we had
left. Tongues of fire darted around
and between the dark draperies-green-
tinted flames that began to glow with q
lash of red. One by one the windows
were uncovered, and through them we
could see the flames rising and falling,
filing the whole room. One Of
number whispered that strange forms