Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1893-02-02
WOODBURY.. n. J. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2 1898


WOuid nave fallen II l had not caught
him by the arm.
"Brace up, my dear boyF' / 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
q convenient hackney, and giving the
driver directions as to where to 20 fol-
lowed and sat down beside him. He lay
back against the cushions, his eyes
closed, his lips. quivcring like childs
under punishment To an ordinary OBJ
server it wodld 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 stitfly and groaned.
"Ah!" he sighed in a moment. Il
thought it was all over then. By heavens,
Hartlyr" he shouted as he turned his
eyes to me-eyes big, bulging and seem
ingly full of some terrible dread. ''How
can you sit there 50 unmoved? How can
you-how can you-how can your
His tone by this time had risen to
shrek, and l became convinced that
Marsden and could not 70 on to Balti-
more that night unless l was willing to
constitute myself the guardian of ma
MAC.
''I-I 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 itp'
he shuddered, covering back into the
corner Of the cab and hiding his face
with his hands.
''Hartly, l don't believe you under-
stand" he added, gravely, after minute
or two Of silence. "Do you understand
that it means oblivion? Do you com
prehend that it means absolute annihila-
ton, destruction, a 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. Il
believe, as you used to believe, in a 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 Masterscn," he
cried, and then, his voice sinking into a
whisper, he muttered. II 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 formless-
ness-we become zeros'-
my dear Marsden," 1 said, trying
hard to conceal my perturbation, for
was now convinced that be was mad,
my dear Tom, don't talk that way.
Keep quiet. All will go well. ALL
''It cannotr' he retorted, ''if 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 figlnent in the brain of
Jack Masterson. You are the same, l
know | have studded have seen.
When that mind ceases to work and
that imagination to fancy, you and l,
John Hartly, cease to ber
AS Marsden spoke the cab stopped at
my door and we entered the house. |
was simply appalled, at the horror Of
| Marsden's hallucination and at the new
responsibility for his welfare that had
temporarily dovolved upon me- He was
mad; but how mad? Was it curable or
not? feared. felt that but one thing
was needed to upset his mind altogether,
and {1,ot vx-oc M,c+nrray,fs Ioo+L NJ,
had any hope that that was a blow to
be averted. What to do was the ques-
ton, and my own feelings were that un-
less that question were speedily solved
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 filed with the tears of fear.
"Read itr' he cried, trembling with
excitement Read i'll"
l tcek it, and casting my eyes over the
line saw the announcement of the fatal
termination of Jacks illness. ''Jack
lied at . o'clock this afternoon" it said:
but did not dare read it aloud.
| "What does it sayir gasped Marsden
"The danger is over, and there is no
Iced Of our going to Baltimore
"Thank GodIn cried Marsden, falling
on his knees and then with a groan sink
ing in faint to the floor.
Marsden is still connected with the
asylum in Massachusetts, he thinks as a
consulting physician, but as the world
knows, as 4 patient, and II bear the
burden Of my deceit in that horrible
night by conducting the correspondence
of two corners of our triangle of love
my own corner and that Of Masterson,
Of whose death Marsden has never heard,
for the experts say that were he ever to
hear of his friends decease, so strongly
does he believe himself part Of the dead
mans day dreams, the small remainder
Of his once strong mind would be utterly
blotted out.--a. w. Hardness in Frank
Leslie's.