The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1893-01-11
WHOLE NO. 1854

Don't take on so, Tom, . / said, giving
him an affectionate tap on the arm and
drawing away. 1T may not be so bad
as we think"
''Not if he livesw he replied, shaking his
head sadly and looking nervously about
him. But fear Jack is on the verge
of dissolution. l feel so faint now that
belieYe-I believe it is nearly all over"
He staggered slightly as he spoke and
would have fallen if l had not caught
him by the arm.
''Brace up, my dear boyp cried.
Don't make scene here. Come. Get
into this cab and we'll ride down to my
rooms"
He was so limp by this time that
bundled him almost head over heels into
a convenient hackney, and giving the
driver directions as to where to go fol-
lowed and sat down beside him. He lay
back against the cushions, his eyes
closed, his lips quivering like child's
under punishment To an ordinary OBJ
server it would have seemed as if Mars
| den had taken too much strong drink
| to me, who knew that he did not drink,
his condition was unaccountable. Moved
we both were by the imminent death of
dear friend, but the emotion of Mars
den was out of all proportion to the stu
| alton.
| Suddenly he grasped me by the arm
and sat up stiffly and groaned.
"Ahr' he sighed in moment. Il
thought it was all over then. By heavens,
Hartly" he shouted as he turned bis
eyes to me-eyes big, bullying and seem
ingly full of some terrible dread. How
can you sit there so unmoved? How can
you-how can you-how can you'll"
His tone by this time had risen to a
| shrek, and l became convinced that
Marsden and could not go on to Balti-
constitute myself the guardian of ma
MAC.
I'll am quite as upset, Tom," re-
piled. "Quite as deeply grieved over
the possibility of Jacks death"
Don't speak Of it-don't speak of it,"
he shuddered, covering back into the
corner of the cab and hiding his face
with his hands.
"Hartly, don't believe you rnder-
stand" he added, gravely after a minute
or two of silence. 'Do you understand
that it means oblivion? Do you com
prehend that it means absolute annihila-
ton, destruction, blotting out forever?
Do you--do You realize that%
He fairly shook me with his grip on
my arm as he gasped this out.
mo, do not" answered shortly. II
believe, as you used to believe, in God
in heaven, and | have not changed, and
know that Masterson has no reason TO
fear death. His soul is the purest'-
81 am not thinking of Masterson," he
cried, and then, his voice sinking into
whisper, he muttered. 'I refer to our
selves. We shall vanish; we shall be
blotted out. Masterson's soul is all
right, but ours-we have no souls. With
his death we are plunged into fornless-
ness-we become zeros''--
"My dear Marsden," said, trying
hard to conceal my perturbation, for
was now convinced that he was mad,
''my dear Tom, don't talk that way.
! Keep quiet. All will go well. Alp
ut cannotp he retorted, eff Jack Mas
terson dies. If Jack Masterson dies we
Hartly, do you realize what you are,
what am? |, with all my hopes, all my
ambitions, my loves, my hates, every
thing, am but Pigment in the brain of
Jack Masterson. You are the same,
know. | have studded have seen.
When that mind ceases to work and
that imagination to fancy, you and /,
John Hartly, cease to bei'
AS Marsden spoke the cab stopped at
my door and we entered the house.
was simply appalled, at the horror of
Marsdens hallucination and at the new
responsibility for his welfare that had
temporarily deyolved upon me. He was
mad; but how mad? Was it durable or
not2 | feared. felt that but one thing
was needed to upset his mind altogether,
and that was Masterson's death. Mo-
had any hope that that was blow to
| be averted. What to do was the ques-
| ton, and my own feelings were that un-
less that question were speedily solved
l should myself stand in mental peril.
We went to my apartments, and
showed under the door l found tele-
gram awaiting me. To open it was the
work of moment, and then Marsden,
feeling that it must be from Baltimore,
snatched it from me and tried to read it,
but fortunately he could not, his eyes
were so filled with the tears Of fear
"Read itr' he cried, trembling with
excitement. "Read itr'
/ took it, and casting my eyes over the
line saw the announcement of the fatal
termination of Jacks illness. "Jack
died at 5 o'clock this afternoon" it said;