The times., 1898-08-14
room without a word or single

the room without a word or a single
tear.
After she had gone Aimes lay stll on
the couch and wondered If he could end
his play without her. And as he thought
over incidents that had passed and wor-
ried about the future, he began to feel
strange nervousness creeping over him
and a longing to rise from his position
ana cry aloud. His mouth and eyes began
tWHching, and he found that he had not
the power to hold them. Then he strobe
across the floor and back again, but his
malady grew worse instead of better His
mind kept roaming for an instant and
then returning TO the scene that had
passed. AS ne walked his breathing grew
hard and spasmodic. while his fingers
moved clingingly over his body and his
sharp teeth cut into his lips
Darkness had come outside. and the
room was clothed in the ruddy hue of
the fire, when Aimes found his new
nervousness beyond the powers of endur-
ance, and started out for help He had
reached his door when his eye-rnet long
ray of light on the floor-a ray redder
than blood and quite as thick. His heart
Jumped convulsively, and his glance fol-
lowed the line toward it's source, stopping
at a picture Just beside the gate. 1t
left, and it fascinated him. Without tax
ing his eyes away he turned and moved
slowly toward it, stepping upon his toes
and resisting the Impulse with all the
force of his mind. But the strength of
the picture held, and So with his will
frozen and inert, Aimes kept on TO the
canvas.
And as he looked strange thing hap
pened. Slowly, very slowly as though
being focused. the head of his victim came
forward and away from the body until
little of it could be seen. The writer tried
again TO move, but his glance was
chained. The back Of his neck ached, his
temples throbbed and his senses were
concentrated upon the vision before him.
The face was beginning to fade-was fad
ing-had faded until nothing was left but
single pair of dilated, burning pulsat-
ing, restless pitiful, terrible eyes. They
seered into him with their tortured glare
And then the roar in his ears turned to
the notes of her voice and the hand at
his throat became her hand and would not
relent IN its power.
Inside his head waters began to splash,
and the blood TO flow, until it filed his
pupils and flushed his skin. tiny stream
of ii ran from a wound in his lip,and
another fell from his nose. His flesh was
bathed in cold sweat. Breathing in
harsh. noisy gasps clutching madly at
the air. STOPPING as if from weight, he
fell back, back. back, III a wild panic
over chairs and tables and furniture. over
stools and easles, until he was against the
wall But the eyes followed and ate their
way into his very heart. His long yellow
nails tore at his skin in an effort to
reach them, but failed. The grip at his
throat frightened, and his mouth opened,
in an effort to find the air. until the jaws
ached. And still the eyes ate into him
until the foam bgan dropping from his
lips and his fingers were covered with bits
of his own flesh. The muscles in his legs
were rigid, and still he forced himself
back, and ever back. until corner in
closed him and his raving. struggling
body became exhausted and fell TO the
floor, with her eyes still in his heart
He was stark mad when the neighbors
broke down the doors. Some fishermen
pulled her out of the river nearly week
later with his photograph in her hand.
And yet they say that over-work craZed
him.