Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-01-15


would receive the devil himself-they
alloweditbat even at Broadmoor. But
she oulJ uses her powers for acting to
crafty her taste-for killing. 1t was
OILY the other day she bought this
knife"
he took, apparently. out OF the bosom
OF mis- vest, along, glltteriug. cruel-look-
( ing knife.
IT'S sharp. Feel the point-and the
edge"
Ye held 1t out toward me. did not
/ attempt TO touch It. IL Is probable that
/ should not have succeeded even II l
had attempte1.
You won't? Well, perhaps you're
right. It's not much fun killing people
/ with knife. A knife'S all very we'll
I for cutting them up afterward, but she
/ likes 10 do the actual Killing with her
/ own hands and nails ! shouldn't be
surprised II. one of these days, she were
/ TO Kill you. Perhaps tonight. 1t is
/ long time since she killed anyone, and
/ she is hungry. Sorry can't stay. But
/ this day week she escaped from Broad
/ moor as the clock had finished striking
! nine. and it only wants ten minutes you
See"
! He looked at my watch, even holding
/ it out for me to see.
Good night"
With careless nod he moved across
the room, holding the glittering knife
| I'm ais hand When be reached the bed
room door he turned and smiled. Rails
/ ing the knife. be waved it toward me In
the air. Then he disappeared into the
inner room.
was again alone-possibly for q
minute or more; but this time 1t seemed
TO me that my solitude continued only
I for few fleeting seconds. Perhaps the
time went faster because l felt, or
thought felt, that the pressure on my
brain was giving way; that only had TO
make an effort OF sufficient force to be
myself again and free. The power OF
making such an effort was temporarily
absent, but something within seemed to
tell me that at any moment 1t might re-
turn. The bedroom doOr-that door
which, even as / look back, seems to
! have been really and truly the door Ia
some unpleasant dream - reopened.
Mrs. Jaynes came out. With rapid
strides she swept across the room. She
had something in her right hand which
she threw upon the table.
WELL" she cried, what do you
/ think Of the secret Of the mask"
the secret OF the mask?"
Although my limbs were powerless
throughout it all, retained to certain
extent the control of my own voice.
See here, il is such a little thing"
She picked up the two objects which
/ she had thrown upon the table. One Of
/ them was the preparation OF some sort
/ of skin which she had shown 10 me be-
| fore. "These are the masks. You
would not think that they were perfect
/ representations of the human face
that masterpiece of creative art-and
/ vet they are. All the world would be
/ deceived by them as you have been.
/ This Is an old woman's face, this is the
! face Of a young man" As she held them
up l could see, though still little
/ dimly, that the objects which she
dangled before my eyes, as she said,
were veritable masks. $50 perfect are
/ they they might have been skinned
/ from the fronts OF living creatures.
| They are such little things, have made
| them with what TOLL They have been
I the work OF years, these two, and just
one other. You see nothing satisfied
mo but perfection. l have made hun
dreds TO make these two. People could
/ not make out what was doing. They
I thought that I was making toys. / told
I them that was. They smiled at me.
( They thought that il was a new phase
OF madness. If that be so, then in mad
ness there is more cool, enduring, un
conQuerable resolution than 10 your
sanity. meant TO conquer, and l did.
/ F4ilure did not dishearten me. went
I straight on. l had a purpose to fulfil;
I I would have fulfilled It even though
/ should have had first to die. Well, it Is
/ fulfilled"
Turning, she flung the masks into the
I Ere. They were Immediately In flames.
She pointed to them as they burned.
The labor Of the years is soon con-
sumed. But ! should not have tri-
umphed had not been endowed with
genius-the genius Of the actors art. l
told myself that l would play certain
parts-parts which would fit the masks
and that would be the parts played.
Not only across the footlights, not only
with a certain amount of space between
nv audience and me, not only for the
passing hour, but, II 1 chose. for ever
and for aye. So all through the years
rehearsed these parts when l was not
engaged upon the masks. That, they
Thought was madness In another phase
One OF the parts" she came closer to
me: her voice became shriller-"one Of
the parts was that Of an old woman.
Have Won seen her? She is IL the fire
She jerked her thumb in the direction
of the fireplace. "Her part Is played
she had 20 see that the tea was drunk
Another Of the parts was that Of
Young gentleman. Think Of my playing
the mail Absurd! For there is that
about woman which is not to be dis
puised. She reveals her sex when she
puts on mems clothes. You noticed it,
did YOU not-when, before dinner, he
came to you; when you saw him in the
corridor this morning; when yesterday
he spent an hour with you In the train?
I know you noticed IL because OF these"
She drew out of her pocket handful
Of things. They were my links, my
studs, my watch and chain, other prop
critics OF nine Although the influence
of the drug which had been admins
tered 70 me 10 the tea was passing off.
felt, even more than ever, as though
| were an actor In dream.
1.-The third part which chose to play
was the part Of oi-Mrs. Jay es!"
CiaSping her hands behind her back,
she posed in front OF me In an attitude
which was essentially dramatic.
Look at me well. Scan all nv