Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-10-20

over the Goals. He did not wait for the
artist to question him, but immediately,
with his most oratorical air, began:
Sir, you arc doubtless exceedingly
surprised and, may / venture to add,
not Internationally annoyed by my reap
pearance in this house. When 1 went
away from here, sir, You adjured me,
upon pain of personal injury, never, ex-
cept upon certain conditions, to appear
IN your presence again. But at the risk
OF that personal injury have once more,
and for the last time, come. Upon q
former occasion I might have feared
you; but, strange and paradoxical as it
may seem, now that I am much weaker
and less capable of self defense I no
longer dread the violence Of your re-
sentiment. %
well, said Maxey impatiently as he
paused, "have You come here to chal-
lenge me? Il not, please come to the
point"
Sir, You must pardon me, but can
not DO abrupt. Before I come to the
point 1 want to prepare you for what l
am going to say by recalling, perhaps
unnecessarily, fact to your mind. Sir,
told you on a former occasion that
was contemplate rascal. Bearing that
in mind, my business here tonight will
not very much surprise you. Lost to
honor and self respect and to every sem
tlment which makes a man q man, YOU
will not be astorished when l tell Won
what have come to tell H,when have
told 1t, you wish to throw me to the
street and break every bone in my
worthless body, I shall not resist you.
In fact, could not if would / am too
weak. Observe, for instance, that
He extended toward Maxey one of his
lean and sallow hands. It shook like q
leaf
THAT is the effect Of the whisky. As
long rs money remains to me to pur-
chase oblivion l do not care for luck or
the devil l am one Of those uncongen-
| lal, solitary individuals who retire with
Jug into an obscure place, lock the
door and hide the key from myself. Aft
er have become a maniac, fool and
| an lnanimate brute by turns I emerge
again into the light, more emaciated,
more broken down, one step nearer the
| the end for us all. A cheerful life, sir,
is it not?''
He turned his faded blue eyes with
the bloodshot corners toward the star
tied artist, who vouchsafed him no re-
ply, and continued:
Sir, you are saying to yourself: is
this man seeking to excite my sympathy,
or what is his object? What possible
interest does he think l can have in his
grewsome narrative?' Very little, sir, in
deed Only it will afford some excuse
for me perhaps for the performance of
the most heartless and despicable act of
my whole accursed existence
Mr.. Dye uttered the last words saw
agely and vehemently. His speech in
| deed sounded SO much like the mutter-
ings of broken intellect that Maxey
involuntarily drew back a pace or two.
MIR. Dye did not heed him. He went
on:
"You behold in me, Mr.. AIaxey, a
man who believes in a remorseless des-
! tlny-a destiny which may be as obnox-
| ious to the victim as bed of torture,
rs plain before him as the monday sun,
and which still he cannot escape. He
sees the little steps which lead to the
great end in the distance presenting
themselves one after the other before
him, and he knows that if he fails to
take any one of them the whole end
would be changed, but still he never
fails to take them. Sir, that is my life
my religion, if you will. And SO /
am here, impelled by the same inexora-
BILE fate which has pursued me from the
first, and which will pursue me to the
close, to bring a shame and an unhap-
piness into the midst of joy
well, sir. what is it? 1 am quite
prepared by this time for anything, Mr..
Dye. / do not fear anything you can
say"
"Sir, you are too confident of that.
When last came, you asked me for
proofs of the shameful story that told
you then. / have brought them
| There was utter silence, and then
Maxey advanced a step and said in a
quiet voice:
| well, sir, am waiting for you"
Mr. Dye did not look up. He put his
trembling hand solemnly into the breast
of the threadbare coat and drew forth a
little package of paper. Maxey took it
and saw that it consisted of two docu-
ments of a legal aspect, which were
variously superscribed, Affidavit of
Mary Stephenson" and Affidavit of
George Stephenson.
Maxey compressed his lips and looked
no further.
"Ah, murmured the wretched Dive,
"if you only knew what / have pur-
chased by placing these accursed papers
In your hand. you would not think Of
me hereafter with so much bitterness. I"
Mr.. Dye," said Maxey suddenly,
''the time to drop this mask of yours is
fully ripe"
The somber man half turned in his
chair
Sir, fail to understand you"
mo? Suppose that were to tell you
that know who sent you here?"
The words had marked effect ON Mr..
Dye. He instantly completed that which