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

Va III AA0N&oOs III AAs
speech, in everything sbout him: his
Drained acts, his reckless defiance
OF all laws fnssaan and divine-one and
ali pointed to the awful fact that we
never 80 mnch as s:spsrs.seaa
Suddenly there was a single loud tap
on the brazen gong that hung above the
door. had heard it time and again,
put tonight it gave me a violent start.
10 struck on my ear as the changing gates
had done before. with a sound as of d
knell. seemed not alone in this feel
ing, for | observed three or four others
start IN sudden fear. But Gordon him
self felt no check of spirits; and, mer-
rlly, b~oisterously chattering, he led the
way into the supper-room.
AS we entered, a sudden dread fell
upon the few more sensitive, and they
halted at the door; for the room was
furnished in the deepest black. Heavy
draperies hung in sable folds from the
walls, and stretched before the win
dows. Even the ceiling had been tint
eel to the same sombre hue since we
had last been there-but three nights
before. The lamps seemed oppressed
by the dark ~draperies, and shed but a
dusky light on the table beneath.
"Wh-why is this ?" asked one of those
who had halted almost timidly on the
threshold.
Gordon laughed ~boisterously.
lis not black as good a color as the
red-or was it blue ?-that it displaced?
Pah! come In. Don't stend staring
there as though we were a muster of
ghosts. Our spirits will glow with
the color of the rudy vine" he con
tinued. gayly. "The hangings of a
room can not dim them"
In a moment NOR, we were seated at
the table, and the supper began. Not
Sybaris itself could have asked or
wished it more elegant. The hayward
fancy of u host was as apparent in the
luxuriance and display of strange dishes
as In all else about him. But that
which attracted the most notice was a
large, wide-faring vase of stone that
stood in the centre of the table. Curl
figures of men and animals were
drawn upon it, and seemed by a phos-
.phorescent play of light from their
lines to be endowed with a life and mo-
ton of their own. The vase was nearly
filled with something unknown. And
now, a singular thing happened. AS q
guest let his eyes fell upon the vase, he
became silent, and was not able to with
draw his gaze from the glowing figures.
So at last a strange s~ilence-strange
for the place, at least-fell upon the
company, Even our host waited for
some n to speak.
"A curious vase, that, suggested one
of the company at last.
"Yes," replied Gordon, gravely.
Every curious"
"Whels did it come from?" asked
another.
His answer, that had it come from the
internal regions, was received with q
wild burst of mirth, in which, ] remem-
bered afterward, he did not join. He
turned the conversation to some other
subject and the mad wit Of the COM
pany was aroused anew.
AT length the wine was brought on,
and the glasses were filed. But befors
we could pledge, as usual, to u host
Gordon himself arose.
"You asked, "he began, why / have
decked our festal room in black. ]
turned aside your question for q mo-
ment. I PLANNED a surprise. 1t is not
In sorrow, but in Joy, that / have COW
cred these walls with sombre draperies.
Tonight there is a new guest at the
feast. For him have / changed the
decorations Of the room-to him must
the first toast be drunk" So saying,
he placed his foot on q secret spring,
and a grinning skeleton, Enthusiastically
draped III q long robe and wearing upon
his head q semblance of q crown, was
advanced from behind the hangings at
the tables head to the place that had
been left vacant. At the same instant
he flung a lighted match into the vase.
The liquid blazed with a pale green fame
that threw q ghostly pallor on all in the
company. death is our guest to-
night he cried, Drink, then, to your
king! Fill high! Pledge deepl"
We looked at each other, and even
the stoutest quailed as the greenish
light threw q pallor as of deadly fear on
every face. For a moment there was
profound silence, aud each one listened
to the beating of his W heart. But
it was only for q moment. The wild
freak Of our mad chief was received with
a shout Of laughter, and the boldest
cried:
"Hail to King Death"
We drank standing, under the green