Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-01-13
CHAPTER ".
From Bad to Worse.

From Bad to Worse.
And the shadow fits and fleets,
And will not let me be,
And I loathe the squares and streets.
Maud
For some time after the statue had
ceased to give signs of life the hair
dresser remained gaping, incapable OF
thought or action. At last he ventured
to approach cautiously, and on touching
the figure found it perfectly cold and
hard. The animating principle had
plainly departed and left the statue a
! stone.
"She's gone,'' he said, land left her
statue behind her! Well, of all the
goes She's come without her pedestal,
too. TO be sure, it would have been in
her way walking"
| Seating himself in his shabby old arm
chair, he tried to collect his scattering
wits. He scarcely realized, even yet,
what had happened; but, unless he had
dreamed it all, he had been honored b.
the marked attentions Of q marble stat
ue, instigated by a heather goddess,
who insisted that his affections were
pledged to her.
! Perhaps there was 4 spice Of f1attpry
in such situation-for it cannot fall to
the lot Of many hairlressers to be thus;
MISUNDERSTANDING Learder was far too
much alarmed TO appreciate it. There
! had been suggestions Of menace in tho
statues remarks which made him Shu1-
! der when he recalled them. and y"
started violently once or twice when
/ some Wavelfng of the light CAV Il play
of light to the marble mask. "She'>'
coming back" he thought. "Oh. ] do
wish she woulldn't!" But Aprodite con-
| tinued immoyable, and at last he con
Guided that, rs he put it, 'she had done
for the evening
! Ills first reflection was, What had
best be done? The WiseSt course SEEM
ed to be to send for the manager of the
gardens and restore the statue while IT.;
animation was suspended. The people
ut the gardens would take care that it
! did not get loose again.
But there was the ring, he must get
that off first; here was an unhoped for
! opportunity of accomplishing this in
privacy and at his leisure. Again ap-
preaching the figure, he tried to draw
off the compromising circle but it seem
| ed tighter than ever, and he drew out !;
pair of scissors and, after little h@sita-
ton, respectfully inserted it under the
hoop and set to work to pry it off, With
the result of swapping both the points,
while leaving the ring entirely una
fected. He glanced at the face; it wore
the same dreamy SMILE with 4 touch Of
gentle contempt in it. ''She don't seem
to mind" he said aloud; ''to be sure.
she amt inside Of it now, as far IS I
make it out I've got all night before
me to get the COMPOUNDED thing off,
and I'll go on till I've done it''
But he labored on with the disabled
scissors, and only succeeded in scratch
ing the smooth marble a little; he
stopped to pant. There's only one
way" he told himself, desperately; 81
little diamond cement would make it all
right again; and YOU expect cracks in 4
statue"
Then. after furtive glance around
he fetched the poker from the fireplace.
He felt horribly brutal, rs if he Were
going to mutilate and maltreat a crea-
ture that could feel, but he nerved him
self to tap the back of AphrOdite's hand
at the dimpled base of the third finger.
The shock ran up to his elbow. and gave
him acute pins and needless" but the
stone hand was still intact. He struck
again-this time with all his force-antl
the poker flew from his grasp, and his
arm dropped paralyzed by his side
He could scarcely lift it again for
some minutes, and the warning made
him refrain from further violence. Its
no good" he groaned; IF l go on,
don't know what mayn't happen tC
me. I must wait till she comes to, and
then ask her for the ring, very polite
and civil, and try if I can't get round
her that way"
He was determined that he would
not give her up to the gardens while She
wore his ring, but in the meantime he
could scarcely leave the statue stand
ing in the middle Of his sitting room
where it would most assuredly at
tract the charwoman's attention.
He had little cupboards on each side
of his fireplace. One of these had NJ
shelves, and served for storing fire
wood and bottles of various kinds. Aftel
removing the contents from this be
lifted the statue, pushed it well in and
turned the key on it.
Then he went trembling to bed, and
after an interval of muddled, anxious
thinking he fell into a heavy sleeI
which lasted until far into the morn
!. ing.
He woke with the recollection tha
something unpleasant was hanging owe
, him, and by degrees he remembered
what that something was. but it looked
! so extravagant in the morning light tina
. he had great hopes all would turn on
) to be mere dream.
1t was mild Sunday morning. an(
there were church bells ringing al
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