The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1891-02-19

friend, the wise and courtly Ratnek.
and your approval Of his praise have
filed me with q Joy l cannot now dis
play" Here he paused and seemed to
feel the disturbing influence caused BY
the gaze Of 400 eyes The crisis un-
nerved him, and, seizing . tumbler Of
wine, he drained 1t to the lees It was .
fatal step.
my friends" he began again; "there
Is nobody 500 beautiful as my be-be-
betrothed. lam proud-proud Of her
hic. No man" here he braced himself
o httle-''no man ever won 90 wonder
ful-or no wonder so-sO wonderful
Well, what mean TO say IL that she 10
woa-wonderful Sect Now. l want you
to observe that she has the most-hic-
beautiful hair and eyes, and her figure
her hg-fg-ure runs up into the millions.
See?-hic. Further-furthermore, | am
not ug-ugly myself. l tell you-hic-my
friends, Ihave the hand-handsomest nose
in the world. Seer There Is no nose so
firm in outline, 90 del-delicately tapered,
90 overwhelm-overwhelmingly impress
i've as mine SeeS Now. l say, do you
see2-hic."
By this time the palace was in an up
roar. TWAS bad enough that Hamassar
was drunk, but the guests realized with
horror that In his boastfulness their host
had placed his head in peril. The en-
peror's decree made his speech Q capital
offense, and 90 open Q defiance Of the
law could not be overlooked
Cared for by servants, Hamassar was
led away to his sleeping apartments, and
the guests dispersed In groups they
sauntered through the grounds, inhaling
the cooling breeze which wandered down
from the mountains. The moon in all
her glory shed soft radiance over the
sleeping city and helped to quiet the ex-
cited mood Of Hamassar's friends An
hour later the city was wide awake dis
cusSing the details Of Hamassar's folly,
and wondering what would be tho out
come Of it all.
Ramek, after seeing that Hamassar
was safely guarded, hurried to the palace
Of the emperor, craved admission to his
lord, and related to the startled king the
story Of the night. The emperor could
not believe his ears. Hamassar, noted for
humility, had boasted in public2 It could
not be. There must be some mistake
But other guests, near to the king in
rank, had followed Ramek TO the palace
and confirmed his tale.
Let not the princess know Of this till
morning" said the broken hearted king
to his attendants. "You tell me, Ramek,
that Hamassar's house Is surrounded by
q guardT
at is, my king"
AT daylight, then, see to It that he is
taken to the prison. And let every guest
at this most dreary feast hold himself in
readiness to testify before me Now
leave me to my sleep"
But sleep came not to the king, and in
the morning his face had aged ten years
One man, however, looked younger
than his wont as the sun came mp and
threw the gaunt shadow Of Ramek across
the pavement Of the prison ward 81.
had grown youthful by degrees rs he
saw Hamassar still dull from the fumes
Of wine dragged from his bed and hauled
through the streets to Q cell. His face
had grown fuller every moment as he
paced the courtyard and reflected on the
plight Of his ruined rival
Surely" he soliloquized, there Is no
escape for this drunken braggart. The
emperor cannot afford to let his law be
trampled on by one so high in place.
Well have my plans turned out. Ha-
massar was an easier victim than | had
hoped to find him | knew not that
drugged wine would 80 quickly turn q
wise and modest man into o boastful
fool But enough Of this must 60
home and rest"
When Hamassar regained bis senses
he looked about him In surprise His
head ached, his face was pale and be-
meath his eyes dark shadows lay. Even
his handsome nose was redder than
should be the model for the world.
"Where am IY' he exclaimed. In his
mind was confused image Of Q ban
quet hall and dancing lights and strains
Of merry music to which familiar faces
seemed to nod in time.
''In prison. sir." negro said. coming
to his couch.
"In PRISON. What mean you, slave3 l,
Hamassar, confined in cell1 It cannot
be. dream"
BE lay back upon the couch and slept
again