The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1896-08-21

lie changed 40 Cach sentence ne
mouthed bis written talk audlblyi
each thought was reflected 10 his pale
mobile face. he laughed and then
groaned. az the crisis teams nan down
and blurred the already lndeclpherable
script But at II be- rose. stif 10 every
limb. and staggering with difficulty
he picked the unpaged leaves from the
floor and sorted them In due order. lie
fell into hls chair
"its good. its good. he said. chuck
ling what n queer devil ! ami MY
dumb ancestors pipe oddly In me It's
strange. doyilish strange. mans but a
mouthplece and crazy at that How
long has this last thing been hatchingf
The story Is old. yet new Gibbon
shall have H. II will Just suit him.
Little beast. little horror, little hog.
with a divine gold ring Of appreciation
In HIS grubbing snout"
lie drank half a tumblor Of whisky
and tumbed into bed. His mind ran
I riot.
MY ego's a BIT assured" he said.
Il ought 10 be careful"
And ere he fell asleep he talked
conscious nonsense. lncongruous Ideas
linked themselves together he sneered
nj his brains folly. and yet he was
afraid. lie used morphine at last In
such a big dose that II touched the OPP
Tic center and subjective lighinlngs
flashed In his dark room. lie dreamed
OF AT Home" where he met big,
brutal Burford wearing a great dia-
mond In his shirt front.
Bought by my conveyed thoughts
he said. hut. looking down he per
oelyed that he had greater Jewel Of
his own. and soon his soul melted into
the contemplation OF Ia rays. I'LL his
consciousness was disspnted by a d.
vine absorption into the very Nir,ana
Of Light.
When he woke the next day II was
already late In the afternoon lie was
overcome by yesterdays labor, and.
though much less irritable. hc walked
iocbly. The trouble oi posting his
story TO Gibbon seemed almost too
much for him. but he sent H.. and took
% cab to his club. whore hc sat almost
comatoso for many hours.
Two weeks afterwards he received a
note from the editor. returning the
story. II was good. but
"Burford sent me tale with the
same motive weeks ago. and I accepted
IT,"
Esplan smashed his thin white hand
ON his mantclplocc. and made Il bleed.
That night he got drunk on cham
payne and the brilliant vine seemed
to nip and bite and twist every nerve !
and brain-coll His irrilnbility grew
20 extreme that he lay In wait for
subtle, unconcelyod insults. and mcdi-
tntod morbldly on the aspect OF limo
cent strangers. lie gave the walter
double what was necessary. not be-
cause II was particularly deserved. but
because he felt that the slightest sign
NJ discomfort on the walters part might |
lead TO an uncomfortable outburst OF
anger on his own.
Next day lac met Durlord In Picca-
amy and ca, him dead With bitter
Hnecr.
II daren't speak to hlm-I darcn't."
he multcrcd.
And Buriord. who could not quite
felt outraged. He himself
hated Esplan with the hatred OF an
outsailod rival. lie know his
own work lacked the diabolical GER
ialnty Of Esplnns-lt wanted the nno
phrase, the right red word OF color
the rush and onward march OF due
lnality. the bitter. exact conviction,
the knowledge Of humanity that lies
In inheritance. the exalted experience
that proves received intultionA lie
was. he knew. successful failure, and
his ambition was greater even than
Enplan'a, For he was greedy. grasp
Ing. esurlont, and his hollowncss was
obvious even before Esplan proved Il |
with his wrlnging touch.
lie takes what have done. and |
loos II better. It's malice. malice" he |
Urged to himself
And when Esplan placed his last
tory and the world remembered only
o forget In It's whito-hot brillianco the
old paste OF Burford's Paris jewel, he
cit hell surge within him. hut he
eat his thoughts down for awhile. and
vent ON his little. labored way.
The success OF this story and Bur
ords bitter eclipse helped Esplan
realty. and he might have got sancr II
lthcr Influences working for misery In
his life had not hurt him. For GER
ain woman died, one whom none knew
ne knew. and he chung to morphine,
which. In its Increase, helped to throw
lin later on. Il works as one who
,uilds a dam higher and higher yet
.galnst the rising waters. and the
rAah must come
And at last II did come. for Burford
iad two stories. better far than his
Usual work, In a magazine that Esplan
.lmost looked ON as his own. They
we're ON Esplan's very motives. he had
hem almost ready to write. Tho sting
u this last bitter blow drove him on
Ms lettering balance; he conceived
murder, and plotted Il brutally, and
hen subtly, and became dominated by
Z, TN his llfe was the flower OF the
insane motive. lt altered nothing
when reviewer pointed out the close
resemblance between the two mems
work. and. exaltlng Esplan's genius,
laced the writer beyond all cayil, the
.,her below all place.