Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1894-10-04

cut yourself. It is nothing--a mere
scratch. No, sir, Theosophy, con
ceive to be q civilized Buddhism with
none of its faults and all OF its virtues
At the reincarnation man may be-
come either god or the vilest i'm
aginabie object That canary in the
cage may have once been sybarite,
triher."
Jack opened his blue eyes in amused
contemplation.
"Do you really believe such rub
bish?' he asked, with smile on his
face.
Certainly replied the barber,
gravely 81 have already travelled
part of the way to Nirvana. 1 have
twice achieved Dhyana, during which
saw my past stages OF existence.
was carthagenian general cnce and
ages ago | was u tiger have ban
ished desire, love, hate, all the hui
man passions. l nm negation, with
no attachment for existence"
yet you exist?" ventured Jack,
feeling that he must say something,
81 have disposed of my business, s.
said the barber, quietly. 81 have
sold everything except the bird l
shall give him his liberty before l 60
You are the last man shall shave"
"Ah, indeed?" said Jack, making an
effort to rise.
Pardon mel have use for you
the barber said you are necessary for
my entrance to Nirvana. had n
fancy pursued the barber running
his thumb along the edge of the razor
and smiling, ito shave certain num-
Der and leave toit the determination
of the sacrifice to Buddah. By inspira-
ton l hit upon perfectly just and
equitable plan. The third of last
July was my birthday, and from that
day began to keep account of the
number of shaves. l set apart the
number of one thousand and marked
the thousandth for sacrifice. You
have the luck of being the thousandth
shave, sir"
But said Jack, and his tongue
seemed to thicl1en in his mouth.
ooh, there seems no mistake"
said the barber, cheerfully "That
would not have done at ALL
See, now, it is the fourth
of September - nine weeks to-
day. just nine wceSs-I regard that
as significant
Was it Jack Ashton who only few
hours before had been contemplating
death with stoical resignation? Here
it was nova quick almost painless
death. What made his head buzz so
and the canary's pipe seem like u clar-
ion trumpet?
''There is only one drawback to
your plan Yon have made mistake
in your calculations. This is not the
one-thousandth shave.r
For the first time the BARRIERS face
showed CLEAN Of anger.
ss1mpossiblelV he said sharply ~
have gone over the sum too often to
make a mistake, although am not an
expert at figures
am, said Jack, calmly, II am a
bank clerk and never made a mistake.
l tell you your count is wrong-it is
nine hundred and nincty-nine. What
do you still doubt meg Give me a
piece of paper and win convince you
in a minute"
ut is very strange muttered the
barber, as he laid down the razor and
opened drawer in search OF blank
piece Of paper. The cloth that the
barber had tucked under his chin was
of cotton, but it answered Jacks pur-
pose With bound he was out of the
chair and had flung the cloth over the
BARRIERS head Then, with all the
strength Of feprS horror and rage, he
struck with his fist the mufiied figure
and it fell against the cup rack with
great crash. His knees gave way us
he dashed across the street, but his
voice had strength to cry, Help!
Murderl' before he fell upon the
pavement
Quickly n crowd collected.
Save me--a madmanl" he gasped.
A policeman .elbowed his way
through. Jack pointed feebly and
shudderingly across the way, where
the barber stood calmly by his chair.
The policeman shook his head doubt
ingly, as he crossed the threshold to
investigator
eve been told" said he, with a
smile.
Then the smile died upon his lips.
"The thousandth shaver cried the
barber as he sprang at him with an
open razor.
The policeman had just time to
strike up the arm with one blow and
the next he brought down with killing
force on the maniac's head.
"Adeler
Jack! Oh ! knew you'd come
|. In clri Aud oh -Inclr aonit l.nn..