The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1897-09-10


Demetrius will take your place; and
shall relieve Mr.. Livingston. Perhaps
youwillbe kind enough to ask the Greek
to come to me at once. expect the
nurse in half an hour"
l glanced ut my watch as Nancy
cbeyed. 1t was six o'clock, and the
household was already astir. De-
metrius, / knew, was no sluggard, no
lie-abed. He would answer the sum-
mons promptly; and upon my imme-
diate action might hang the life Of Bur-
lington.
Distracted by doubt, walked to the
window and flung up the lower sash.
The fresh air flooded the room; with it
came the sounds and odors of spring.
The full-throated meadow-larks (Cal-
ifornia has few singing birds) had be-
gan their rouladea, TO which the staccato
notes of the gulls and the myriad-voiced
chorus of frogs from the marshes cast
of the sand-dunes furnished a curious
and effective accompaniment. The
scent OF the violet, heliotroPe and
josmines hung lightly on the breeze.
The lawn sparkled with dew. The
lanceolate leaves Of the eucalypu quiv-
cred against an opalescent sky. Lean
ing out of the window, my tired eyes
rested upon the Pacific, which wooed
me to it's embrace with . tender muir
muir of welcome. For the multitude Of
sea-birds could prophecy that the
mackerel and sardines were in the bay.
The cormorants were hard Mt work.
plunging with mighty splashes into the
r in
CLEAN of q mackerel in their monstrous
beaks, and noted idly the parasites
swapping up the morsels Of fish care
lessIy dropped by their patrons. What
a paradise! To me a garden Of Eden.
with its tree of knowledge Of good and
evil, its serpent, its Eve. and, alas! the
angel with the flaming sword.
1t falls to the lot of all sons of Adam
to wander once down the enchanted
glades of Eden. How many recognise
the place too late, when the gate y
closed against them forever!
My thoughts were put to fight by the
sound of Nancy's voice. She beckoned
eagerly from, the passage.
IAN extraordinary thing has hap
pened," she gnsped. "Demetrius has
gone. He never went to bed ut all. And
and he has taken Mark with him!"
"Gone!" calculated. So the fellow
had turned tail. His nerves at the crit
ical moment had failed.
''IIe has left letter for mamma. She
is reading il now. Unjust go to her"
Flinging these disjointed phrases Mt
my head she left me. and returned
thoughtfully to the bedside Of Bur-
lington. AZ yet he had shown no dis
position to talk. The doctors second
examination had provoked groans and
Affirmative mods in response TO impor-
tant questions. The man wns terribly
bruised; but his bones, mirabile dictu,
were still intact. Quiet, of course, was
Imperative; and any excitement might
prove fatal. I led the doctor to the win
dow and told him briefly that
Demetrius had left the house. "Any-
thing you need, doctor. can get. Pray
command me-" The doctor, however,
refused my services, and went himself
TO prepare liniment. accompanied
him to the door. and when turned con-
fronted the melancholy eyes Of Bur
Iington. The fire was out of them; in
its place was n question.
<hM III tnc 0Ouse OF M8Ik 0CH8fuG
he asked, harshly.
"You are in the house of Mrs. Ger
ard" I replied. II was futile to evade
the truth, but wondered how he would
take IL.
He took IL, a. might be expected.
hardly-in silence. The hot blood
famed across his forehead, and ebbed
instantly. leaving the pale complexion
livid-s danger signal which quickened
my own PULSES. The situatioa Wa In
tensely dramatic. His next question
surprised me:
~Is the Greek here?'
He was here"
~Curse him! Don't let him come into
this ROOM
He closed his eyes and said no more.
After all, be had said enough The
mere worda, coupled with the tones Of
his deep voice, horrified me. Manifest
y, his appetite for blood wa not yet
giutted- And this man was The faahes
a Naneyi
An hoW laAer she lesser Of Degsessiss
q. 49, A.r~A1