Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-12-11
XIII.

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eerrs'eHI. 'saa. oT q. .'rr'"eoTI eo~rA~r A"o
CHAPTER XIII.
The next fortnight saw an important
change in Toms life. He left the Uni
versity building and took cheaper
suite of rooms on Irving place, one of
the bivouacs of Bohemia. Delatole and
he had parted in silence that was sui
try.
His plunSes i'll Wall street kept him
we'll supplied with money for the time
being, and of the future he thought but
little.
The secret had change! its aspect. He
no longer cared 10 face il. 1t was now
n moustrous fear maddening him with
whispers of y hundred possibilities, prod
ding him. sending ont false alarms and
slowly chilling his assurance into an
ever present prrmonition. Since the DAY
Felix Dawson left him with the declara-
ton, oh, YES. I'll have it back" he had
not seen nor heard of him. This abso-
lutte withdrawal was more significant
than threats. Suppose he had incon-
testablc proof. after all? What if he
lied when he said he had no copy: What
if he could produce witnesses to prove
he had written the play? Would this
man some day appear again, relentless
i'll his quiet way, and hurl the bomb
shell that would bring his false life in
ruins about his ears:
His rupture with Delatole-that, too,
made him uneasy. Oh, it was u load
from his heart to have told him the truth,
to have seen the sullen surprise deepen
into 4 >tohd hatred in lis horrid eyes. 1t
was a relief. balm, but it brought n
danger in its wake Suppose they met,
these two who for different reasons
would rejoice in his overthrow. Then
indeed might he shudj,cr. SIelatole would
follow the scent inSatialt. He would
come like i vulture TO pick his bones.
Even if proof We're not possible he would
50 damn him with suspicion, so besmear
him with the trail of his innuendoes. so
riddle him with the darts of his acrid
hunor, his prestige would be lost for
ever. DulltOlr had the power, the on
por1Uuity and the answering patience
IL write an enemy down and ont of ex-
istencc.
These dangers lay in wait for him at
some turning in the darkness beyond his
vision. Bnt there was something moro
terrihlc-a Voice thar spoke to him rs no
living voice could. Mystic and person
s., it came from his soul. Conscience.
like the giant Of fairy lore. sometimes
awakcns refreshed and hungry from Il
seven wears sleep. III this interval of
inacIion il was impossible for Tom to
look back IN the short life he had SO
quickly and completely degraded and
feel 10 lang.
The hcarthurninG, the anxiety, iefJ
their ha%=ard marks upon his face. He
grew tain. he became ,EuroSe and mel
ancholy. His world lost sight of him.
but hlfl,ll i'll some corner of the crowd
e1l the"trr. driven there hy 4 restless fas-
ClG2tl,n. 10y the same rcsiSllv>s impulse
which forces the murderer 10 feast his
shrinking, eyes upon his victim. he night
lv watched the play that told him in
every line he wis n thief
His ii ,lIIS We're SlvvplrSs and filled
will +. 'S-iutolrrahlc links between
morbid, f,.yrriSh days. He drank hcavi-
ly. trying 10 ind II the flaming odors Of
brandy an aSSuagcInI:'t for the ache in
his h,lT,.
TIL WIS Tom lie row. And across
To- vase. liz" la3r yav trembling
from pure, uI@.n sSi,-. came 4 longing,
pc-Si>t"n; :: :, thirst To- sac Virginia.
He could not accom-; for ii. II was
NOT that h. fancird their friendship
might he in any degree renewed. indeed
he never seemed farther from her than
NJ this period. never more undrScrvlng
Of glance from her eyes. Bat the de
sire was there, not forrihlc enough TO
send him seeking her. Yet with him al