Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-02-08
THE WATCHER
BY THE DEAD.
AMBROSE BIER CE.
San Francisco Examiner.

known as North Beach lay the fody OF
man in a coffin. The hour was near
nine in the evening; the room was
dimly lighted by single candle. Al
though the weather was warm the two
windows, contrary to the custom
which gives the dead plenty of air,
were closed and the blinds drawn
down.
The furniture of the room consisted
OF but three pieces; an armchair, a
small reading stand, supporting the
candle and long kitchen table, sup
porting the body of a man covered
from head to foot with a sheet All
these, including the body, would seem
to have been recently brought in, for
an observer had there been one, would
have seen that all were free from dust;
whereas everything else in the room
was pretty thiclSly coated with it. and
there were cobwebs in the angles of
the walls
Under the sheet the outlines of the
holy could be traced, even the fea-
lures, these having that unnaturally
sharp definition which seems to belong
to faces of the dead, but is really char
acteristic of those only that have been
wasted by disease From the silence
OF the room one would rightly have
inferred that it was not in the froa OF
the house, facing street 1t really
faced nothing but high breast of
rock, the rear of the luilding being
Sc into hill.
As a neigh boring church clock was
striking nine with deli beration which
seemed to imply such an Indifference
to the fight of time that one could
hardly help wondering why it took
the trouble to strike at ALL the single
door of the room was opened and a
man entered, advancing toward the
coffin. AS he did so the door closed,
apparently of it's own volition there
was grating, as of key turned with
difficulty ard the snap of the lock-
bot as it shot into its socket Asound
of retiring footsteps in the passage out
side ensued, and the man was to al
appearances a prisoner Advancing to
the table he stood moment looking
down at the body; then, with a slight
shrug of the shoulders, he walked
over to one of the closed win
dows and hosted the blind The
darkness outside was absolute. the
ranes were covered with dust, but by
wiping this away, he could see that
the window was fortified with strong
iron bars crossing it within few
inches of the glass and EN- mbedded in
the masonry on each side. He ex-
amined the other window. 1t was the
same He manifested no great Curl
osity in the matter did not even SO
much as raise the sash. If he was a
prisoner he was apparently tractable
one Having completed his eXamina-
tion of the room, he seated himself in
the armchair, took book from his
pocket, drew the stand with its candle
Alongside and began to read
The man was young-not more than
thirty-dark in complexion, smooth
shaven, with brown hair His face
was thin and high-nosed, with broad
forehead and 'irmness' of the chin
and jaw which is said to denote resolu-
ton The eyes were gray and stead
fast not moving except with detinitive
purpose. They were now for the
greater part of the time fixed upon his
took, lut he occasionally withdrew
them and turned them to the body on
the table not, apparently, from any
dismal fascination which under such
circumstances it might he supposed to
exercise upon even a courageous per-
son, nor with conscious re bellion
against the opposite influence whict
might dominate timid one IL,
looked at it as if in his reading he had
come upon something recalling him Il
sense of his surroundings Clearly
this watcher of the dead was discharg-
ing his trust with intelligence and
composure, as became him.
After reading for perhaps a half
hour he seemed to come to the end of
chapter and quietly laid away the
look. He then rose, and taking the
reading stand from the floor carried ii
into corner of the room near one of
the windows, lifted the candle from it
and returned to the empty fireplace
lefore which he had been sitting.
moment later he walked over to
the tody on the table, lifted the sheet
and turned it back from the head. ex-
posing mass of dark hair and thin
face cloth, leneath which the features
showed with even sharper definition
than before. Shading his eyes by in
terposiug his free hand between them
and the candle he stood looking at his
motionless companion with a serious
and tranquil regard 1t was picture
to delight Rem brandt Satisfied
with his inspection he pulled the sheet
over the face again, and returning to
his chair took some matches off the
candlestick, put them in the pocket of
his sack coat and sat down. He then
lifted the candle from its socket and
looNcd at il critically, as if calculating
how ong it would last
II was tarely two inches long
In another hour he would be dark
nessl
He replaced it in the candlestick and
llew it out.
In physicians office in Kearney
street three men sat about a table,
drinlinr punch and smoking. 1t was
late in the evening, almost midnight
indeed, and there had teen no lack OF
punch. The eldest of the three, whom
we may call Hell berson, was the host
"a, ~, l. So, a