Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-02-12

see you with living eyes, and talk with
living voice. Yes. you are right. L
am Dora VarIan.
A chill shook Fielding from head to
foot. What horrible hallucinatioB was
this? Had his close application to work
crazed hin at last, and Was this the form
his madness WAS to take? Halt timidly
he touched her hand. 1t was warm and
soft as ever.
You need rot answer me just now.
she said, gently Withdrawing from his
touch. Let me explain To you tiIst how
this came to pass. When | Gied | told
you l should see you again, and three
long years | have been beside you day
and night, trying to give you some sign
of my presence. Whenever you thought
of me knew it, and tried To ,ell you so.
but all efforts only resulted in some
strange sound. felt that you heard it
in some natural way. But oh, Mark, it
is six months since entered your mind.
Where is she-where Is Miss bar
rowsY inquired Fielding, adapting him.
self as one does in some grotesque
dream.
Sleeping, and so 1 can be with you.
Shall i come againr
"Amyr called the mother from the
house. The girl In the chair, whoever
she might be, closed her lids for mo-
ment, and when they opened Miss Bar
rows made some fippant remark about
her nap. with disregard for grammar
and vowel sounds that left Fielding in
iFritated silence. She gave him a CO.
quettish tap with the fan she snstched
from him, and ran into tbs house. Field
ing slowly followed her. and persuaded
himself that he had been asleep too.
But as he learned her ways better, and
knew that she had habit of sleeping
away most of her afternoons on the lit
tie hair cloth sofa in the cool parlor, be
was obliged to confess to himself with a
sort of horror that she led two lives, for
which he could make no account. AS
surely as he found himself beside her
when sha lay sleeping. so surely would
she wake and look at him with Dora
Varian's eyes and talk to him with Dora
Varian's tones blending through the
different voice of Amy Barrows. Some
times they took long walks into the
woods beyond the village, and Fielding
began to find the old fascination of Dora's
conversation and manner intensified
into some strange, new feeling by the
charm of faultless beauty. He lost the
uncanpy sensations she gave him at first,
aRd in his enforced idlenees was rapidly
learning to look forward to the hours
when the exquisite casket should be oc>
,,cupied by the fitting gem. When she
| left it the other occupant returned to it,
supremely unconscious of whatever
might have taken place during her alb
sence from herself.
Before many weeks went by, Fielding
became aware that he was deeply in love
with the mysterious other part of Amy
Barrow's existence. He tried at first to
believe. that it was simply the effect of
her physical loveliness, but was forced
to give up that theory, because as her
self she was not only uninteresting, but
was actually becoming repulsive, for all
her beauty.
"The sunset is like that one when we
first met here," said Dora, as they came
back, after one of those walks that Amy
might wake where she fell asleep.
al wish it could last forever" cried
Fielding, passionately. Dora, don't
leave me. am losing my senses What
ever you are, you beautiful mystery,
love you and can not let you CO."
He caught her in his arms and rained
eager kisses on her upturned face.
"My day is comel l forgive you. But
pale. "Sbe is coming back; she must
not wake like this"
A flicker and film came over her eyes,
and Fielding held a sleeping woman
whom he had barely time to place in her
chair on the little porch when her mother
came oct, and Amy awoke, saying that
her heart was beating as if she had been
running.
The next day, devoured with impar
tient longing, Fielding sat through a
long summer afternoon, waiting, hoping
for her habitual drowsipess to evertake
her. She had not failed to notice that
for some time he had been her shadow,
and wherever she went he was sure to
follow, and whenever she woke she was
sure to Hnd him beside her. What was
she to think? Her curiosity and inter-
est was aroused, yet he never spoke
word beyond what common courtesy
dictated Why did he sit looking at her
with those eager eyes? She grew shy
and troubled. Her heart never used to
beat SO; and why did she feel so tired
when she woke from those long dream
less sleeps that she went into because
there was nothing to keep awake for.
She yentured question after long.
dreary silence. Poor grill she could not
know that her existence and speech just
then were more than his tense nerves
could bear.
Good heavensp be murmsred; "Dora
where are you?"
The air seemed alive with harp strings
struck by a powerful hand A spasm OF
deadly terror crossed Amy's face as be-
tween her and Fielding came the outline
of shadowy form in which the man
could distinguish the blazing eyes under
the cloudy hair Of the woman he loved.
"What is itp" shrieked Amy, throwing
herself on Fielding for protection.
I"Wbat is 1t trying to do me? 1t is strug,
lgling with me-"
Then there was q heavy fall. They
came rushing from the house at the
sound, and saw Fielding with the dead
girl across bis knees, staring into vacans
cy with eyes that never again lost that
distracted look, saying over aud over
again:
There is a soul! There is a SOUL i
have seen Itr'