Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-07-07

love that she alone was able to wake in
you, and that still lives in your heart,
though you stific it under the clogging
weeds of gross passions, has kept burning
the flame of your spiritual lifeP' He
leaned forward: "Another woman here
would stife it this time forever and would
kill her you have wronged. But" he end
ed, with shrug, ''you will die tonight. F"
-Ralf sat still long time, trying to guess
how knowledge of the details of his own
life had reached his companion. Was this
mad philosopher friend of hers2 And
even so, how had he OWNED that she still
held the greater place in his heart though
he had been wantonly faithless to herr
Would she mind were he in truth, to die?
Had he any right to hope even that she
would? Would she care? he said.
"Your hour is passed."
Ralf started and turned pale to the lips.
He saw his visitors aspect had changed.
He had become a phantom creature with
living face A terrible, awful human
physiognomy stared at him with prepos-
ferrous, hideous fixity. He writhed and
wrestled, but the eyes defied his move
ments He could not look away. All the
nerves of his body the consciousness of
his mind, the very vitality of his system,
were absorbed by paralyzing fear. Time
brought no relaxation. Every moment
seemed an eternity. "Pity, pity" he cried,
but the gray eyes watched him. "Help,
help, help!' The impotent words echoed
back on his hearing. His voice was q
whisper He tried to listen for the sound
of footsteps he knew would not come.
Then again struggled with superhuman
effort to release himself from the power of
the phantom figure, the CHASTITY face-and
the eyes-the eyes that watched without
mercy! But slowly in torture life was
waning from his wearied frame. He sank
on the ground, clutching at the rug with
distended fingers. Mary" he murmured,
and the eyes still stared.
Susan Swift felt herself awakened by q
hand on her shoulder. Recollection of the
haunted room kept her listening to the
throbbing of her own heart, with eyes
firmly closed. 1t was nasty moment
which necessitated the staring of real
live apparition in the face. She did SO,
however, at last, and beheld nothing more
frightening than Mary Clifford. Pale, in
deed, as ghost, and her great eyes wide
open as if it We're not the middle Of the
night and time for reasonable beings at
least to feel drowsy.
"Get up, Miss Swift! Oh, quick,
quick!"
SIS it freS" said Susan, sitting up
suddenly.
"Nov' said the girl. "You must come
with me to Mr.. Segwell's room"
The American was fairly aghast. 81
think not" she said deliberately. miss
Clifford, you must be considerably scared
about something, but nothing could justify
such preposterous notion"
A look Of despair crept into the girls
face. She turned away. II thought you,
being an American, would be brave and
kind. thought could trust you. But
I must go alone" And in moment she
was at the door, Susan leaped from her
bed. She didn't see why an American
should be expected not to mind prowling
about in the middle of the night into q
mans bedroom, but she knew she WASH t
going to let Mary Clifford go alone any
how. As to feeling brave-she simply felt
terrified They stole together along the
gallery, down winding staircase, and
thence through an interminable corridor
Susan Swift began to feel very miserable.
A sensation of real fear was growing over
her, when suddenly they both stopped,
each affected by some unaccountable emo
ton. Mary turned around and said gently,
"You are not afraidP"
Is there anything about me that looks
afraid?' the American answered, her heart
in her mouth. Then they went on through
a great swinging door, which seemed to
cut them off from the habitable part of the
house. Neither had ever been there before,
yet Mary fastened as one who knew the
way by instinct AT last they stood still.
A sense of imminent calamity overpowered
them both. Then in moment Mary Cliff
ford opened door. A keen draft extin-
guished her candle as the two entered the
room. A door opposite them inside was
open, and on the floor in flood Of light
lay the body Of Ralf Segwell.
The unhappy girl knelt down and chafed
the dead hands. "Ralf, Ralf, come back !"
she cried despairingly. Anything any
thing, only come back"
Then the click Of turning lock vibrated
through the room. The door that led no.
where had closed. Westminster Budget.