Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-04-19
Mr.. Strangers seeded Pocket
Or, A Voyage to the Planet Mars,
BY HUGH MACCOLL.
CHAPTER I

points of view. In the hrSC place, ne was
remarkable in appearance. He was I'M
questionably handsome-we all agreed
upon that point-yet his hair, his short,
thick beard and his mustache were per-
fectly gray About his age we could not
agree at all. By we, / mean his three
coIleagUes-John Greenwood, the classical
master; Richard Johnson the mathemat-
ical master; and /, Percy Jones, the
English master The new master (Whom
the doctor Or. Sutherland had intro
duced to us as Mr.. Stranger, was the
science master. We could not agree in
our estimate of his age because there
was such contrast between his gray
hair and beard and his youthful-looking
face. His eyebrows and eyelashes were
dark brown; his eyes were hazel; his
complexion clear, healthy brown; his
features beautifully chiseled. The clas-
steal master put him down as 80;
thought he must be somewhere near ~;
while the mathematical master was sure
that his age was the arithmetical mean
of the two, that Is TO say, 40.
In the next place, the new master was
remarkable in his habits and manners.
Though he looked strong and healthy, he
seemed never to eat. He sat regularly
at table with the rest of us, and helped
in the carving, at which he was very ex-
pert; but he never partook of anything
himself except bread and water. At
every meal, breakfast, dinner, tea, or
supper, it was always the same: bread
and water, nothing else, and extremely
little even of that. When he had fin
ished-and he had generally finished be-
fore his colleagues had fairly begun-he
completely abstracted his thoughts from
the objective world around him. His
eyes were indeed open, but he saw not;
his ears were open, but he heard not.
He would stare at his vis-a-vis, and occa-
Sionally smile at him. Or nod at him, or
frown at him. while in reality he never
saw him or thought of him at all.
One would suppose that such a master
could not possibly win the respect of his
pupils, that his oddities would be a con-
slant subject Of laughter amongst them
Yet it was not so. They did indeed
laugh at his oddities amongst themselves,
but they always restrained themselves in
his presence There was something in
the expression of his eyes when the fit of
abstraction was over-when he returned
to objective cOnsciouSness-that took
away all inclination to unseemly merri-
ment. Masters as well as boys somehow
felt fascinated by the light which issued
from those strange hazel eyes, though
they could not in the least explain why.
For myself, | invariably felt a kind of in
describable tremor pass through my
frame whenever our eyes met; and as
long as his eyes were directed towards
me | felt powerless to withdraw my own.
The other two masters confessed them
selves similarly affected No less re-
markable was the influence eXerted by
his voice when he spoke. 1t seemed to
compel attention even when what he said
was the merest commonplace. Altogeth
er, his voice, his look and manner some
how inspired one with a conviction that
he had seen, heard and learned things
which hGI ch1nC vnI his yvhn1n n and
virtually separated him, morally, intel
lectually and physically from the rest of
his felloW-creatures
For two months and a week after the
arrival Of Mr.. Stranger nothing worth
recording occurred in DR.. Sutherlands
school. Mr.. Stranger never varied his
diet; breakfast, dinner, tea or supper, it
was always the same: bread and water
always bread and water, and nothing else.
Yet he always maintained the same
healthy look which he had on his arrival;
the same strange sparkle always glittered
in his hazel eyes, and always excited the
same indescribable fascination on all who
came in contact with him. DR.. Suther-
land himself was no exception; at least
we suspected as much from the remark
able fact that, ever since the arrival of
Mr.. Stranger, he (the doctor) never APP
peared without his spectacles, which pre-
viously he had only worn when reading
or writing. Mr.. Stranger kept very
much to himself We, his colleagues,
saw little of him. When not teaching OF
on duty, he was generally either shut UP
in his room or in the laboratory, Or tax
ing a solitary walk somewhere. He re-
ceived no letters-he appeared to have no
friends. Where he had been before he
came to DR.. Sutherland's school, and
how he came, were matters known only
to himself and to the doctor. Though re-
H., Ill I,
particularly so towards Johnson, with
whom he scarcely ever exchanged 4
word. Between the two, in fact, there
seemed to be a silent antipathy. Grey
wood and he occasionally spoke, but not
often. There was no positive antipathy
between him and the classical master;
but there was want of sympathy.
Mr.. Stranger was also somewhat re-
served with me, but much less so than
with the other masters. [ liked him; in
deed, | felt strangely drawn towards
him. He seemed conscious of this, and
to a certain extent to reciprOcate the feel
ing. He appeared pleased with the in
terest which | took in him, and not dis
pleased even at the indiscreet questions
which my curiosity occasionally inpelled
me to ask him with reference to his past
history. But he was careful never to
crafty that curiosity. He invariably re-
turned the same answer, and always with
the same smile upon his face. MY his
tory for the last ten years is such a
strange one, that if | were to relate it to
you, you would not believe me- You
would put me down as a lunatic; and
whatever [ may be, | am not that"
He always used the same words with
the same peculiar emphasis on the last
statement, which | thought exceedingly
odd. lie seemed to be repeating form
ula which he had committed to mem
Dry, and from which he was afraid to
deviate one hairs breadth.
For two months and a week, [ have
said, nothing worth recording occurred in
the school. But at the end of these two
months and a week something did occur
which caused a great sensation. This
was nothing less than the sudden disap-
pearance of the new science master. One
morning his chair at the breakfast table
was empty. DR.. Sutherland sent up to
his room to inquire if he was i'll. He
was not there. He was gone, and all be-
longing to him. The all belonging to him
was not much. He had brought no lug
gage beyond a portmanteau and a carpet
bag, the contents of both of which were