The Cecil Whig., 1885-11-14

/
ing arA le tenant overhead rarely
slept l2t2 He kept his blinds drawn
and his room SO quiet that he was con-
sidcred quite credit to the street.
kilgour, who had never been
there and who had found his way
with some difficulty, might well have
been taken for secdy professional
man Il le asked his way in the
shop. I,t had his instrument case
under his arm and wore a high hat
of some respectability and a we'll
brushed blackcoat. He noticed in
the bird shop that the canary which
chirruped most chccrily had a white
rag wrapped about its head. He re-
membered having heard that birds
eyes were sometimes put out to
make it sing better. Abhorrent as
the idea had once been he now
thought only that in this case the
experiment had been quite success
full. Then he heard some one COM
ing down stairs and hurrying back
to the street door met Black-Brows.
"Punctual, see, Doctor" said
he, softly. walk upstairs" The
''Doctor" looked as if he stood in
immediate need of medical attention.
The room they entered was almost
dark. About it hung a dead, sweet
odor, sickening to one coming from
the fresh air. The patient seemed
very quiet and was swathcd in sheets
so that only portions of the back of
the head and shoulders were ex-
posed.
An hour Or so afterward the shop
keeper heard a clatter on the STAIRS,
and the doctor, halt, ran, half fell
through the door. He hadn' his in
strumcnt case with him and was
deathly white. 1t was nearly noon,
and as kilgour staggered along in
the sunshine he began to attract SO
much attention that he crossed the
street and sat down in an eating
house. He drank some gin and
went out more composedly. The
sun was bright and the chatter of
the canary birds in the shop half
block behind him echoed up and
down the street, but he didn't look
back. The heat dazed him and
vaguely the idea came into the earn
est open. The paving-stones would
not always lie still for him to step
on them, and several times the walls
of the houses seemed about to top
pie on him as he passed. Over all
the sounds of the city he seemed to
hear the shrill piping Of grasshop-
pers, the hum of bees in clover, the
rustic cf winds i'll young leaves.
Loudcst of all, however, was the
voice of wounded bird, and he
imagined it Sang to save its eyes.
And through all Of it came every
where a sickening dead sweet smell.
Hours had gone by and he walked
on. At last he was aronsed by al
most butting his head against a high
board fence. On it were plastered
bills of all sizes and colors. One of
them extolled i'll large letters and
gaudy hucs the wonders of a cheap
museum. There were pictures of
"Wild Men of the Wood in the
act of being lassoed in Borneo; "Hu-
man Sunfsh Swimming in a Tank"
Fire eaters" "Snake-charmers,"
"Albino Children and "Aarmless
Wonders" The central figure, "pro-
cured after extensive research and
expense" was represented as a half
grown lad, whose face looked back
ward. In other respects conform
ing to nature, this creatures head
was completely turned round. The
man steadied himself and looked
straight ahead. Then he moved
swiftly to one side, shaded his eyes
with his hand and looked. The pu-
pills of his eyes dilated and his jaws
began to drop. He tore loose his
neck-cloth, and with quivering fin
gers opened the bosom of his shirt.
He snatched a portrait from over
his heart, looked once at it and the
thing on the poster; Then he
shriekcd, so shrilly, SO like some un-
known Wild beast, that in moment
there was a rushing crowd to where
he lay foaming at the mouth. They
carried him into chemists shop,
not far away, and he revived. He
seemed indeed laboring to recover
consciousness. Presently he opened
his eyes and shouted: "Quick quick
cab, there is life to be savedl' An
officer was called, and he put the
doctor, as he said he was, into cab
and drove away with him. When
the cab reached the bird shop the
blind canary was singing as if its
heart would crack with glee. They
burst in the door of the upper room
and found Black -BroWs leaning over
the patient with achloroform bottlein
one hand and some bandages in the
other. With a terrible cry kilgour
seized from the floor the long, slen-
der knife he had left there that morn
ing, and plunged it into Black
Brow's heart. And when the jury
before whom he was tried heard that
it was then and there that kilgour
had discovered his lost boy, wound
ed, yet not fatally, by his fathers
hand, the verdict was acquittal.