The morning call., 1892-03-13

trying to piece together these words, Philip
ardinnock-Cicely-fui," and to fl them
into tile tune that kept running in my
head.
A puff of wind came down the chimney
and sent thin cloud of blue smoke out into
the room.
The smoke curled and spread itself over
the face of the mirror confronting me. L
followed it lazily with my eyes. Then sud-
denly l leant forward and stared. Some
thing very curious was happening to the
glass.
The smoke that had dimmed the mirrors
face for q moment was rolling off its sur
face and upward 20 the ceiling. But some
of it still fingered in fiimy slowly revolving
eddies. The glass itself, too-unless my
eyes were playing me trick-was shirriug
beneath this film and running across its
breadth in horizontal waves which broke
themselves silently, one after another.
against the dark frame, while the circles of
smoke kept widening. as the ripples widen
when stone is tossed into still water.
| rubbed my eyes. The motion on the
mirrors surface. | fancied, WAS quickeping
perceptihly, while the glass itself was
steadily becoming more opaque, the film
deepening 10 q milky color and living over
the surface Ia heavy folds. was about to
start up and touch the glass with my hand.
when beneath this milky color. and from
the heart of the whiting film. there began
"a CLEAN an underlying bTillance after the
fashion Of the light in an opal, but with
this difference, that the light here was
blue.a steel blue so vivid that the pain of
ii forced me 10 shut my eyes. When /
opened them again, this light had increased
in intensity. The disturbance IN the glass
began TO abate; the eddies revolved more
slowly; the Smoke-wreathS faded; and as
they died into Willingness, the blue light
went out on sudden and the mirror looked
down on me rs before.
That Is to say, l thought so for a moment.
Bat the next / found that, though its face
reflected the roam in which sat, there was
one omission. / was that OMISSION Ny
armchair was reflected, but no one sat in IL
Aud, remarking this, began 10 feel that
in truth was net there. but outside the
room $50 10 Speall-a waiting witness. The
feeling was uncanny, but not terrifying nj
the lime. | do not reckon myself brave
man. but am quite sure that II L felt any
thing beyond an intense expectancy II was
tightening OF the chest, sensation of
relief, As il the vague phantoms that had
haunted me for hours were about to take
shape and ease NV struggles for solution.
| continued 10 Ca2e steadily into the glass
and now took note of two particulars that
had escaped me. The table | saw was laid
for two. Forks, knives and glasses CLEANED
ri either end, ana a couple of decSn.erS
caught the sparkle OF the candles in the cen
teT- THIS MAS MY nTst observation. The
second was that the c0lors Of the hearth
dark SpoI JaSt beyond ia spot which in
ny first exploration | had naif amuSedly
taken fer a b ood-Stsin-was not reflected
IN TIE glass.
As / leaned back and gszed, with my
hands in my lap. | remember there was
some difficulty in determining whether the
tune by which was still haunted ran in my
head was tlukllns from within the Gid
Spinet by the window. But after while
tie music, whencesoeyer 1t came, faded
for about thirty seconds.
Then, in the mirror, i saw the door be-
hind ne Open slowly.
The next moment two figures noiselessly
entered The room. They were the fgurrs Of
man and woman, or. TO be exact, Of
Young man and girl. They wore the dress
Of the Regency days, as we'll as l could see
for the girl was wrapped in cloak. with a
hood that almost concealed her face, while
the man wore heavy riding-c0at. lie was
booted and spurred. and the backs of his
topbaots were spashed with mud. | saw the
backs CT his boots, for he stood with his
back 70 me while he held open the door for
the girl 20 pass, aud at first l could not see
his face.
The lady advanced into the light of the
candles, and threw back her hood. Her
eyes We're dark and frightened; her cheeks
damp with rain aud slightly redeemed by
the wind. curl OF brown hair had broken
loose from lis knot and hung heavy with
wet, across her brow. 1t was beautiful
face; and it was also, line for line, the
face which my fancy had given TO Cicely
Jago.
Recognizing this, l knew also what / was
to see next. knew 1t even while the man at
the door was turning. and dug the nails Of
my right hand into the palm of my left, as
II to represS the fear that rose in ne as |
looked Into his eyes and saw-myself
L am mild Inspector of Schools, as yCu
know, and il must be allowed there was
little temptation TO suspect a resemblance
between man Of som what tlmid tempeTa-
ment and this dead and gone drinking, de
ing, devil-maY-care Squire Phillip Cardin-
mock Yet | swear to YOU his features
were nine, and, as | pOndered them | ssw
through his eyes into the soul of him and
recognized that also for my own. Some
thing within me seemed to tear at the very
cords Of being. The mirror. for a moment
or two. swan IN mist,
When / came to myself tie figures were
still there. The girl was seated by the
table, with her arms stretched along the
white Cloth and her head bowed over them,
weeping. Inc young man took her face be-
tween his hands, kissed II and pouring out
glass Of wine. held 1t to her lips. She re-
fused it. with glance at the old clock In
the corner My eyes followed hers in the
mirror, and L saw that the hands pointed
TO quarter to twelve
The young Squire stepped to the window,
OlCH doiOe tte curtain ana looked out
upon the night Tor minute, Returning TO
the table and hastily drinking two glasses
OF the red wine he began to walk impa-
tlently up and down the room. Evidently
there was need for hurry, for they had not
laid aside their travelling loaks. For two
minutes or more he paced up and down, fol-
lowed by the fond eyes of the second phan-
tom; then pulling out his watch strobe
close up to the hearth and flung himself
down In the armchair, the very chair in
which l was seated.
As he sat there with his lips moving. ais
lace reproduced my own. feature for feature,
SO that. but for his dress and the figure of
poor Cicey seated at the table, | could have
believed | saw the natural reflection of the
mirror. II was the same when | sea chet
beneath his features and looked into his
soul. VI all the passions there | knew that
myself contained the germs Vices re-
pressed In youth. tendencies to sin stifed in
my own nature or starved by lack of oppor-
tunlty, there hOurished IN all their rank
growth. L recognized virtues. toe, that |
had once p0sse'se but had lost by degrees
In my respectable journey through life
courage, generosity, tenderness Of heart l
was discovering them with envy one by
one, when on sudden he ieaped 10 his feet
and the poor girl covered down in her chair
Iney had heard some sound inaudibie TO me.
The squire had hardly gained his feet
when the door flew open aud two other
phantoms stOp upon the threshold. They
were old Sir Pheliny Jsgo and his son. the
father and brother Of Cicely. There they
halted. but for ar instant only. Almost be-
fore Squire Phillip had time to draw the
brother sprang forward with bare rapier.
The soundless blades crossed and glittered;
and then the brothers went spinning from
his hand across the room.
Squire Phillip lowered bis point, and his
adversary stepped back a couple of PAGES.
While man might count twenty, the actors
In this shadowy tragedy looked each other