The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-11-12

your door. His face frightened me SO that
L ram, and he caught me-, and twisted my
wrist, and asked me what 1 was afraid of.
He is a young man. / don't know what L
said-itw was something about a rope around
his neck. He cursed me, and said that if1
said a word about having seen him he
would kill me. And there was murder in
his FACET
Mr.. Wheeler shrank deeper into his chair:
jaw hanging, his eyes rolled up and half
closed, and his breathing hardly percepti-
bic. His appearance alarmed the girl, who
feared that he had died. She shook him and
called him by name, but his response was
only a faint and petulant groan. She ran
and brought the French woman, and to-
gether they chafed his hands, and placed
him on a lounge, and covered him heavily,
for he was cold. Sooner than might have
been expected, and before the arrival Of a
physician who had been summoned, Mr..
Wheeler's cheeks began to flush, his eyes
to brighten, and his pulse and breathing
to become strong. He sat up and CURLY
dismissed the physician when he arrived.
He refused to eat anything, and directed
the women to leave him alone, taking oc-
casion to whisper to Jenny a request that
she say nothing to anyone about what she
had seen.
He got to his feet and looked around anx-
iously for the cat; Theophilus was Sleep
ing peacefully on the rug. Then he stag
gered to his clock and carefully readjusted
the figure on the trap, taking a great deal
ard uncertain. Then he sat down, trembling.
The Frenchwoman presently brought him a
tempting little meal
THANK you," he said, that is just what
l need-l am very hungry"
But as soon as she was gone he gave The
ophilus the food. to pretend that he himself
had eaten. Meanwhile the color in his
cheeks deepened and the light in his eyes
became brighter; worse than that, he began
had often talked before, was his sole audi
ence, Theophilus had to hear what he said.
"Theophilus," he said, 1T is a lie-the
girl is madl DO you understand that? How
could he come back, when / myself hound
ed him to the gallows; when / myself had
the last glimpse Of his living face when
the black cap was drawn over it; when I
myself, after it was all over, saw that same
devilishly handsome face all swollen and
purpleTfpst as l afterward reproduced it
clock with a meager, trembling hand. And
vet, Theophilus, she saw something, and
that something has come back TO life, and
has taken up it's abode in my clock"
Theophilus, each time that his name was
called. blinkingly opened his eyes and then
Thirty years ago. Theophilus. Let me
say twenty-nine years, four months and
eleven days. Three hundred and sixty-ive
| years come in? Nine times five, forty-five,
eight, thirty-two. seven thirty-ten thou
sand five hundred and something: hundred
and twenty, eleven; ten thousand and-ten
thousand and-ten thousand and-more than
ten thousand times, ~Theophilus! He's been
thousand and something times, Theophilusl
Think of that Isn't that sufficient to kill a
man! What a fool that Jenny iS!'
The feeble man rose in his excitement and
reeled around the room, his face crimson
and his eyes afiame.
hen, thirty years ago, she listened to
his smooth voice and lying tongue, and he
stole her away from mech, Theophilus,
had l been born a cati And in less than a
year. when she was in that condition in
which a woman appeals 10 every sense of
tenderness and consideration in a man, he
was beating her like a dog, Theophilus-
beating her like a dog"
BY this time the poor man was Keeling
wildly about the chamber. stumbling over
chairs and tripping on rugs.
Beat her like a dog, and l knew nothing
of it! Like a dog, ~Theophilus. Do you uD-
derstand that? And that wasn't ALL"
His husky voice fell to a whisper. Half
STOPPING. half crouching, he halted in front
of the cat, and. with outstretched arm
and a finger pointed at the cat he Kissed:
lie murdered her one day, > muir
dered heri = . . And for that. Theophi-
lus'-he Strengthened, threw back his head
and shoulders. raised both arms triumph
antly above his head. and p~assionately ex-
him 10 the gallows; and l saw him fall
through the trap, and / saw his purple
face when the cap had been lifted"
He slowly dropped after that outburst,
gradually settled into himself. and then
sank grooming into his easy chair, where
he sat staring vagueiy at the clock.
The two women locke in once or twice
during the day. but he told them firmly at
last that he desired 10 be left alone. Jenny
went 10 her own home. which was in an
other street, and thenceforward the suffer-
ing man had only T%heophilus for company.
He talked now and then 10 the cat. whose
peaceful attitude remained undisturbed.
At IL o'clock that night Mr.. Wheeler, so
weak that he could barely move. composed
himself as usual to watch the execution