Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1898-01-26

"Resuscitate that doRl" be screamed.
waste on him any more of the pre-.
clous fluid which means thousands of
years OF life to us! No, no! Let him
sleep as he has slept. All that man
has will he give for his life, and here
is life, life, life-thousands of years
of it!
why should you have any of it?" he
continued, casting look OF deep ma
llgnity upon me. "Why should you en-
JOY what you did not discover? You
would never have suspected the true
nature of the liquor. You would have
wasted it all on that carcass there No,
no! You have no right to it. 1t is all
mine. Millions of years of life, and all
mine!'
You are welcome to it all, doctor,
II you wish it" managed to say. 81
am not enamored with life enough to
desire to prolong it Indefinitely. I am
satisfied with my allotted length of
days. But now let us get out of here if
you do not wish to carry our expert
ment further
Very well, then,' he cried. "It is
all mine. Eternity is mine. I must be-
gin upon it now, before l am a moment
older. From this moment I become as
one of the gods. l drink" he said
lifting the flask to his lips, "to immor.
tality!' A bright green glare shot from
the vase as he held it aloft.
Forgetful of danger l sprang forward
to intercept his draft, fully believing
that medicine so powerful as we had
found this to be would be fatal to liv-
ing man, and, determined to save my
friends life at whatever risk to my
own, l leaped forward, snatched the
flask from his hands and flung it far
down one of the UNEMPLOYED corridors
For an instant he stood as if thunder
struck.
Then with incredible quickness and
without uttering word he drew a
stiletto from his breast, plunged it into
my bosom and darted down the CORR
dor. fell fainting to the floor, but be-
fore l lost consciousness i heard a long,
blood curdling scream, followed by a
deathly silence, and knew no more.
l returned to consciousness in the
humble hut of feIlah near the scene
of my explorations, whittier / had been
conveyed by my men, who had found
me insensible in the thick darkness of
the vaulteG chamber. I had lowered for
weeks between life and death, but the
anxious care of a physician whom the
Scientific society had sent me on hear
ing of my wound finally restored me to
consciousness and life. No tidings of
DR.. Batesi had been received.
As soon as I was able l revisited the
tomb. Of its former treasures not an
atom remained. The wretched fellahs,
who are not permitted to sell any Of the
treasures of antiquity which they may
discover, had taken all away to dis
member them at their leisure, in order
to sell the fragments surreptitiously to
tourists. The body of the priest had
disappeared with the other contents of
the tomb.
Feebly and disconsolately I crawled
along one Of the corridors which seemed
to me to be the one down which had
thrown the crystal vase. Suddenly my
torchbearer, who was in advance, start
ed back with cry of horror Advanc-
ing cautiously, found myself looking
down into wide pit which was sunk
perpendicularly in the center of the
passage. | threw a pebble down it, but
no sound of its fall returned to my ears
from the thick blackness below.
AS turned, weary and sick at heart,
m rnft r
light felt hat. I knew it and its own
er's fate
The next day found me on my way tc
the dahabeah which was to take me down
the Nile. After my litter had been
placed on board, looking up at the bank
CHANGED to see tall, majestic figure,
richly clad III garments of strange and
ancient fashion, gazing intently upon
the boat, and, as it seemed, at me-
'Who is that man?'' I asked my
servant.
"He is a stranger, excel]enoy, a
newcomer. They call him Neffar. He
is very wise, they say, very wise and
very rich, but he talks little. Some say
he has the evil eye, but do not know. :"
The dahabeah cast off from the shore
and with a favoring breeze shot swiftly
down the stream. AS we swept down
ward | kept my eyes on the grand. i'm
posing'figure of the stranger as his gaze
followed the boat until bend in the
river shut him from view.
Strange, said to the doctor at my
side, what hallucinations sick men
have. Now almost thought that
Eyes, they are strange" he replied.
THE END.