Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1896-05-20


tended object Of the msdman's re-
yenge.
sis it possible" I cried, springing
to my feet in excitement, "that you
are the man?"
ST don't understand" said Car
stairs, looking as Ferplexed and star.
tied as his sister at my sudden out
burst OF feeling.
"Of course not-of course not" I
murmured, sinking into my chair. II
will tell you the whole story, then
you will know what I mean"
AS went through the horrible de-
tails of that fearful night they listened
with rapt attention, and unless the dark
ress deceived me, I detected tears of
sympathy in the beautiful eyes OF Ray
Carstairs.
HYou are right" exclaimed her
brother, as I finished; call you suf--;
l'fered was intended for me. Now, for
my story, which will clear up the
mystery.
Miss Carstairs rose.
"l think I'll run off to bed, Max.
Pm very tired, and it's getting late. :"
She kissed her brother, then gave
her hand to me.
"Good night" she said, ''let us
hope it will be fine tomorrow"
Reluctantly relinquished her hand,
/ but there was hope in that reference
to the weather. Might it not mean a
walk together in the morning?
| I finished the evening in Max Car
1 stairs's room; and while VIC smoked
he told his strange story.
"Mark Malbrain was the mans
name" he continued "and /. met him
at hydropathic establishment in the
North, where my sister and / were
staying one summer about seven or
| eight years ago. Ny sister was then
about seventeen, and Malbrain, much
to her disgust, fell wildly in love with
her. He made himself generally q
nuisance by pestering her with unwel-
come attentions and writing extrava-
CANT verses in her praise, until at
length matters came to crisis. lab.
leaux vivants were favorite evening
amusement, and on this particular
night my sister appeared as Marguer.
ite, was Faust, and to Malbrain was
assigned the role of Mephistopheles.
The living picture was on immense
success, and dance followed, at which
we appeared in our staga costumes.
"During the evening Rachel (yes
that is her name-Ray is only fami-
ly pet name) complained to me of NAL
brains conduct. It seems ho had con-
tinued to followsher round the room,
begging-for o dance, and his manner
became threatening when she firmly
refused. / at once went to him and
said plainly that Miss Carstairs wished
/ to have nothing more to doswith him,
and therefore / must request him not
to speak to her again.
ssFrom the manner OF his reply /
! gathered that he did not know Rachel
! was my sister, but imagined we were
lovers; and / did not think it worth
while to deceive him. I decided to
send Rachel home in the morning, but
remained myself for a few days long
er. Malbrain was furious when he
heard that my sister had gone, but he
said nothing to me.
Gone evening after dinner we met
in the billiard room. To my surprise
he challenged me to q game, suggest
/ ing that we should play for e10-note.
I agreed, ard the stakes were handed
to one of the men present. We played
1 q hundred up, and strange to say, tied
at ninety. Malbrain seemed very ex-
cited and offered to double the stakes,
throwing another 910-note on the
table. I agreed, for felt cool and in
good form. We played on, and you
may imagine the sensation when again
we tied al ninety-eightl I am afraid
my temper wasrising when sarcastic
ally asked AIalbrain if he felt inclined
to double again.
"sYesp he shouted, pale with pas.
sion. sFifty-a hundred if you like I
"'One hundred pounds, said, tax
ing out my check book.
aIt was my turn to play. 1 tried
for carom and missed. Malbrain
seized his cue, trembling like the
proverbial aspen leaf. He went to
pocket the red, but he missed the ball
entirely, giving point to me. Ol
course, I won by my next stroke.
"The stake holder handed the e20O
to me, amid the applause of the men
standing around for Malbrain was
not liked and my victory was popular.
Then the party 5r9ke up, but Nal
brlin waited for u n the stairs. His
face was livid will ssion.
"I hope you are aatisfed,' he said
hoarsely.
"I am sorry,,I replied, If the
stakes were too high, but later you
may have your revenge!'
.Reyenge!' ne shouted losing his
sels-control. 1'll have my revenge
Well play again and you'll find the
stakes still higher-too high for you !"
'.I had good reason to remember
these words when I awoke one night,
to find Malbrain in my room dresse
in his fantastic costume of me,
istopheles.'
"'Come,' said he, 'one of us must
die tonight. Through you I lost the
girl who would have been my wife.
My money, too! But come to the
billiard room; We will play tonight.
Did you not promise me my revenge?
And The stakes! YoG will find them
high enough. Comel we will play
for our lives-you and L! Ha, hal
one of us shall die tonight
'I knew as I sprang from my bed
that the man was mad! We grappled
together, the candle fell from his
hands, and we struggled in darkness.
Down we went on the floor, and I felt
the cold steel of a revolver, which ex-
ploded and u sharp pain came in my
arm Then heard doors onenino and