The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-06-27
SENTENCE OF DEATH.

To his surprise the doctor, having
| finished his examination, sat down at his
| desk 10 write prescription. looking very
| grave indeed, and trying not to meet his
/ patients eye.
Your heart is all wrong" he said,
| gloomily. You must be very careful.
] No excitement, mind no violent exertion!
Light diet. chop fish, weak brandy and
| water; no Wine no beer, no smoke. Take
this three times a day and come to see
me again in week. I'm afraid it's all
/ over with you. Good morning. Good
] morning"
/ Sydney was in the sunlit street again
| and the tide Of London life roared around
as before. But TO him everything was
! changed. He stood a stranger in a city
| he had never seen.
Heart disease-Tve got heart dis
/ ease" he repeated TO himself stupidity.
/ It's all over with me. He needn't have
put ii in that brutal way. Oh, boshi
| there must be some mistake; the mans
an Internal charlatan. I'll take no no.
/ tice of him." But moment afterward
/ he was painfully calling to memory
| every word of the interview, every tone,
/ every look. and weighing them with
| anxious elaboration. He could see moth
| Ing but the greatest concentration and
/ seriousness in the doctors demeanor-no
/ trifiing. no nonsense; he evidently knew
what he was talking about and he had
| condemned a man TO death; perhaps it
was only the mistaken brusqueness OF
extreme sympathy!
mo excitement no wine, no beer, no
! smoke. no nothing" he muttered. why,
| the things impossible-it's a nightmare.
l shall wake soon. 1 was all right when
| went into his accused consulting room
! or at least thought 1 was
And then he recOllected having heard
| that people who had heart disease were
| often the last TO know OF their state, and
! he remembered, too, that he had been
= f1,av. I,
feeling in the left side. AT that very mo-
ment a sharp pain went through him
/ like a knife.
The doctor is right enough" he NUT
I tered; 7 m very bad. l feel il now. I'll
/ go and get this stuff made up at once.
No excitement! If l get excited I sup
| pose l shall fall down dead. But how
| am l to get over tonight without excite
| ment? If l happen 10 die just as / am
/ handing Sylvia into the carriage there
/ Will be frightful scandal. However, 1
must risk that She must be taken out
4 of the clutches of that old brute of a
/ father of hers at all hazards. And then
/ / must say gOOd-by 10 her fOrever-if
] SURVEYOR it's clear that 1 can't marry
her now with one foot, perhaps both
| feet, in the grave"
/ He had his medicine made up and took
| a dose. But what could medicine do in
a serious case like this? He was too far
4 gonei He had no doubt II was only col
! ored water-prescribed for the sake of
1 soothing him, as If he were a child. But
he would look the thing in the face and
! set his house to order He went to a
/ livery stable and ordered a carriage to
call for him at o'clock in the evening.
! Then he posed off TO his solicitor
The lawyer was personal friend.
My dear boy. 1 am glad to see you.
! Come and lunch with me at the club,
| and We'll go to Lords afterward. But
I say, you don't look very bright. Moth
! ing wrong, / hope"
! Can you make my will--nOw-directly
this very moment-right off-on the
! lawyer. becoming professional at once,
and pulling a sheet OF fair. white fools
! cap from his desk. Then he looked hard
at Sydney, whom the hours Of mental
misery had changed considerably.
| There's nothing wrong" blurted out
Sydney but l want it out of the way
! once for all. / should like to have it
signed and finished by o'clock, if pos
/ sible'
THAT is in two hours" remarked the
! lawyer looking at his watch. Yes, we
I can manage that, providing it isn't very
! long, and still go to Lords afterward,"
] and he began to write. You're not GO
! ing to die, old man-never fear; you'll
cheat the devil vet bit, and have many
! another lark with me-"
The will was finished by 1870 and de-
posted in the safe. They shook hands,
and Sydney said. YEARLY: You'll ex-
/! cuse me not lunching with you today,
/ won't you? I don't seem to have any
appetite. And you'll excuse my silence,
| too, for the present. You'll know all
there is to know pretty soon, 1 expect, I"
and he sidled out Of the door without
| looking back.
Il wonder what's up" muttered the
| lawyer, as he went back to his desk
IL raf- fr71x 1rr,1-- On,
! tanglement? Suicide? Nonsense! And
! what an odd will! Half his property to
/ Sylvia Bulpett, who will have plenty of
/ her own when the old curmudgeon of a
/ father of hers dies. / shall know pretty
| soon, shall I? Poor old Cartwright
In the midst of life we are in death, ="
muttered Sydney, as he strolled through
Lincoln's Inn fields with the carefully
/ regulated step of an invalid. He wished
! the sun would not shine so brightly and
the children scream so loud. 1t affected
| his nerves. Sydney had nerves, now
He wanted only to hide away and die in
| peace. Was there anything left TO do?
Stay! He thought ii would be the proper
thing to say good-by to his elder broth
! er, whom he theoretically hated, but who
was the only near relation he possessed
] To his brothers grim offices in East In
dia-ave. Sydney now slowly betook him.
self.
I'm fey" he thought with a wan
! smile. Hell think I've come to beg OF
| him.
The prosperous merchant was engaged
/ but would be at liberty in a few min
! utes. Sydney sat in the outer office
watching the half-dozen busy clerks
/ Not seldom had he blessed his stars thar
| he was not clerk; at this moment he
/ would have changed places gladly with
the very Junior who was copying letters
/ and solacing himself meantime with a
| surreptitious acid drop. He had at least
| a future.
! Suddenly the door opened and the mer-
| chant came forward.
! Every sorry, sgd he remarked. 1.-THE
! fact is I've got three or four men in my
| room wrangling over some syndicate bus
mess, and they may be ever so long"
| TT doesn't matter in the least" ex-
claimed Sydney, much relieved. 'I had
/ really nothing to say. I only called, as
| 1 was going by. TO ask how you were"
| The merchant stared. He was moi
| used to these little attentions
/ Il may be going for a journey. a long
ish journey, before long. L don't know
] yet" remarked Sydney.
Rather sudden, eh?" replied his
| brother. Where are you going?"
| That's just what isn't settled yet, -
! observed Sydney, with a faint smile
| Nothing is decided. But you needn't
! be surprised if you hear-Tm gone.
| may have TO go all in a minute at last
| Remember me at home, will you 1!
! There's a sovereign I've been going "a
! give to little Sydney for the last two
| months; do you mind taking it? Good