The suburban citizen., 1900-08-18

I
but not one sound came forth.
"There," said he, as he fnished, "I
played themw-(This in sepulchral
Whisper. "They asked me, Parker
You can't sing here, but the moment
your foot touches the green grass over
yonder you will sing like a bird, Par
ker-a bird uncaged-a bird set free,
and everybody will listen, Parker" he
continued. and l wish l could describe
that instantaneous change OF express
sion from sadness, almost hopeless
ness, to defiance and madness. "Par-
ker, how long do you suppose It would
take me to send you to kingdom-come
that is, to send you in first-class
style, in a mastery manner? To be.
gin with, l should have to take this"
and he drew from his pocket a large
jack-knife and opened she glistening
blade. land get at your heart. l have
always believed that the soul was
there"
And then followed a long disqulsi-
ton upon the different opinions enter
tanned by philosophers and transcen-
dentalists in regard to the abode of
reason. Ugh! My blood runs cold to
think of It, All the while his fingers
played with the gllstening blade.
ain the first place, shall insert
this very delicately, and in a scientific
manner dig your heart out and send
it home to God That will be the first
operation. And then you see have
studied anatomy, l shall unhinge
these fellows" And he caused the
joints of the elbow to snap in a man
ner truly professional. "And, Parker,
youll never know what hurt you"
"I think not" said l, laughing. But,
oh, heavens! how l shook inside.
But, what do you think"-and l kept
his eye firmly-"what do you think
l should be doing while you are at
tempting to make mince meat of me?
That looks like real Damascus"
And l threw an admiring glance at
the horrid thing he was brandishing
round his face.
ut is," said he, evidently possessed
with a new idea. "Now, watch. See
what a good marksman l am" He
stood opposite the mirror.
II aim at my heart in that glass.
Seew And the maniac with a strange
rotary movement of his arm, sent the
point Of the knife whizzing into the
very centre of the glass, shivering it
into innumerable pieces.
You can imagine how I must have
felt He had now not only one weapon
he could use for my destruction, but
a thousand. What should l do? /
realized that l must work quickly.
With a lghtning-like movement /
picked up the knife, and, muttering
something about the heat of the room,
raised the sash and dropped it into
the yard.
Justin" said l, sternly, every in
mate of this house will think you are
drunk. Now, lie down on that bed,
while 1 pick up this glass. You are
in your stocking feet, and likely to be
cut every step you take"
"All right" he replied, Immediately
obeying. "The devil got the upper
| uHuu ludJ uIne.
1 guess ! never did so much work
in sixty seconds, before or since. There
was no knowing how soon he might
change his mind. 1 gathered up, every
fragment ard threw them after the
knife.
Now I'm going to ring the bell and
order something to eat" said l, ap-
preaching the wire.
"This is my room, and / will do
that" he replied, jumping from the
bed and giving the bell rope a twitch,
then stationed himself by the door and
called to the one who obeyed the sum
mons:
"Toast and tea for two, in hurry"
And then, turning to me, while a
sardonic smile Overspread his face:
Hygiene, Parker, hygiene! 1 am a
slave to hygiene. A man should al
ways die with his stomach in good
order. A dyspeptic can never know
anything about the kingdom of
heaven"
II will take the things" said l, as
I heard the man returning, hoping, in
this way, to slip out unharmed and un-
suspected.
mo, you don't! I'm quite capable
Of attending to my own business"
He removed the key from his pocket,
unlocked the door, and,wi the GN,ck-
ness Of lightning, seized the waiter of
eatables, turned and Withdrew the
key, before l could make the least
motion to escape.
l poured out a cup Of tea and hand
ed it to him. Again that longing, awe.
struck expression overspread his fea-
lures.
"Shall II Shall II" he moaned
looking heavenward "No, sir; they
say not They say, Justin, you must
never more eat and never more it is. "
And in the twinkling of an eye toast
and tea found a resting place beneath
the window.
Imagine my horror when l found the
careless attendant had left the large
iron toasting fork beside the plates
! When he observed this a CLEAN OF
fiendish satisfaction shot from his wild
eyes
"NoW. Parker" he Missed close III