Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-02-15

continued this pitfless AMI -convuIsrve
laugh for several minutes, and Helm
rich and his companions. in spite of
their terror, could not help initiating
it.
When Heinrich had recovered him.
self, the vaults of the tavern were
repeating, Like a feeble echo, the last
notes of that broken and terrible
laugh, and the stranger wes no longer
there.
Some days after this strange incl
ieG;. which he had almost forgotten,
or which he remembered only as a
joke of an ironical burgher, Heinrich
was playing his part OF The demon in
the new piece. On the first row of
seats in the orchestra was seated the
stranger of the tavern. and at every
word pronounced he shook his head
winked his eyes, snacked his tongue
against his palate, and showed signs
ii the liveliest impatience.
Bad, bad!" he murmnred TO him.
self.
His ne:ghbors, astonished and
shocked at his manners. applauded,
and thought to themselves that the
gentleman was very hard to please.
At the end of the first act the stran,
ger rose, as if he had taken sudden
resolution, strobe over the big drum,
the Gym bals, and trombone, and dis
appeared through the little door that
leads from the orchestra 10 The stage.
Heinrich. waiting uG;il Inc curtain
rose, was walking up All down in the
wsr9's. and Whsu he care 10 the end
of his short promenade, what was his
ieTror to see, as he turned. Standing
IL the middle Of The narrow corridor
4 mysterious parsonage clothed eX-
actly as he was, and who looked ait
him wr;h eyes whose gr?enish trans
pareacy had a strange pr0fundity in
De darkness: the wnrte, sharp, wide
SET teeth pave something fer0cious to
the sardonic smile.
Heinrich could net fail to recognize
The stranger whom he had seen at the
Two Headed Eagle-or rather the
devil in person, fer ii was he.
'Ah, all, my young friend! you wish
70 play the devil? You were very mid
ding in the first act, ana you would
decidedly give q very poor idea of me
20 the good citizens Of Vienna. You
will allow me TO replace you this
evening; and, as you might interfere
with me, | will send you TO the cellar
below the stage
Heinrich recognized The Prince Of
darkness. and left himself lost. Put
ting his hand mechanically to the lit
tle cross that Katy had given him, he
tried to call for help, ami to murmur
his formula of eN0rcism; but terror
checked him; he could emily utter a
feeble rattle. The Devil seized Helm.
rfch with his hooked hands by the
shoulders and pushed him by main
force through THE floor; then he en-
tered upon the scene, when his cue
came, like a perfect actor.
His incisive, biting, venomous, and
truly diabolic aching at first surprised
the spectators. What especially pro
duced a great effect was that sharp
litter hike the grating of a saw, that
laugh of the damned blasp heming the
Joys of Paradise. Never had an actor
attained such power of sarcasm, such
a depth of villa1ny; the audience
laughed, but they trembled. All the
audience was painting with emotion;
phosphoric sparks glinted from the
fingers of the terrible actor; trains of
sparkling flame ran from his feet; the
tight of the lustres grew pale, the
footlights shot out reddish and green
ish flashes: a sort of sulphurous
smell resigned in the thester; the spec
tators were. as it were. delirious, and
thunders of frantic applause greeted
each phrase of the marvellous Meph-
istopheles, who often substituted
verses of his own invention for the
verses of the poet, and the substitute
tion was always happy and accepted
with transports.
Katy, who was in the theater, was
in a state of extraordinary alarm;
she did not recognize her dear Helm
rich: she presaged somemi sfortune
with that spirit of diyination which
love gives.
The performance ended amid rnde-
serbia able enthusiasm. When the cur
nain fell. the nublic called for Meph-
istopheles with loud cries. He was
sought for in vain; but at last
scene-shifter came and told the man
a,uer that Heinrich had been found III
the cellar. where he had probably
fallen through trap.
The bapless actor was taken up. His
clothing was burned in places, and
IN his shoulders were deep scratches.
They spoke to him, but he did not
answer.
Heinrich Falkenstein was dead
Translated from the French of Theo-
phile Cautier for the San FRANCISCO
Arponaut