The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-12-13


table in the hallway, he seized it. and
fed the house, before the worthy lady
could recover from her astonishment.
On the way home he momentarily ex-
pected an earthquake.
Seated once more in his den he un-
wrapped the package and enclosed
the ugly little three faced cause of
many troubles.
''Now, them said Bailey determin.
edly, placing the jug on the table be-
fore him and lighting cigar to assist
him in recovering. 81 shall mediate
on your DOOM"
The three faces grinned evilly.
Bailey felt half fascinated by them
and gazed at the jug, smoking dream
ily. He half hated to destroy the
thing. 1t was curio that appealed
to his soul of collector strongly.
Just to sit and look at it coniured up
all kinds of ancient imaginings with
in his brain. Why, he could even
smell the incense that must have filed
the gloomy Aztec temples when the
Bailey had unconsciously leaned for
ward and flicked the ashes from his
cigar. Instead of falling into the ash
receiver they fell into the mouth of
the Aztec jug, and with them tiny
live coal. An instant later Bailey sat
up astounded. Was he dreaming? A
thin spiral of blue smoke was curling
up from the jug and filing the room
with a pungent vapor. The tiny spi-
raj grew larger and bluer, and Bailey
experienced strange giddiness.
A subtle odor, suggestive of myrrh,
aloes, sandalwood and many other
strange and dangerous perfumes,
seemed to penetrate to the centre of
his brain and fill him with ecstacy.
Denser and denser grew the smoke
and heavier the mystic perfume.
Bailey tried to rise. 1t seemed to
weigh upon his limbs and overpowered
him. He sank back and felt his senses
slipping from him. He tried to speak.
The heavy perfume clogged his tongue
and paralyzed his throat.
The three hideous faces of the jug
were grimacing at him impishlv, and
the blue smoke curled over their
heads. The room was filed with a
blue haze.
Suddenly a perfect cloud of smoke
burst from the jug AS it rose slowly
to the ceiling, unfolding like vapor-
GUS rose, there apeared to Bailey, who
lay on the couch with staring eyes, a
dim outline in the centre of the cloud
as of a human figure. Clearer and
clearer grew the outline, and Bailey's
head rang with strange noises. As in
a dream he heard a sound as of some
one speaking, and a moment later he
behold before him the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen. Her hair,
of a raven blackness, streamed over
her shoulders, half hiding an oval face
of a delicate olive hue, and a pair
of glorious ewes, black as night and as
starry. a diaphanous robe, strange
ly wrought, covered but did not COR
ceal her figure, and her arms and
ankles bore curiously carven bands
and ornaments. She stood for mo-
ment, smiling then, lifting up her
arms, that cleaned like ivory. she.
stepped toward the astonished artist
her lips moving.
To Bailey's ears through all the
buzzing and roaring that filed them
there came the sound of d word. and
it seemed to him that. gazing into the
eyes of the dazzling apparition before
him, he repeated that word after her
and strove to rise and go to her. His
heart swelled in his breast till it al
most burst. The woman moved SLOW
ly toward him till it seemed to him he
felt the touch of her floating drapery,
and the perfume that enveloped her
body produced in him a semi-delirium.
Gazing into his eyes with look of
longing and sadness she swiftly turned
and moved toward the door.
"Stop." he cried. MY soul | have
found you !"
But the woman already stood on the
threshold and with one last effort Bal
ley threw himself forward and and
fell fainting at her feet.
When half an hour later Dick Shaw
unceremoniously entered the room he
found Bailey unconscious ON the
floor and the air filed with thin blue
smoke. When Bailey had been revived
and the room aired they found on the
table scattered fragments of the Aztec
jug and small stream of something
that resembled dark molten wax.
SIT was close shave, old chap"
said Dick. Must have been filled
with Aztec opium. How in the deuce
did it happen 2"
'Did you pass anybody in the hall
as you came in?" asked Bailey sud-
denly.
"No," replied Dick. "Why 2"
But Bailey never told.
The Twelfth Annual Illustrated Book
Number of the Outlook contains sew
eral features of strong and neculiar