The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-13
The Campfire .Eje.
BY EBEN E. REXFoR0.

ed to have forgotten my presence again.
In those strange eyes there was a look
of far-offness that gave me a sense of
separation from him that made us seem
worlds apart. An uncanny fancy of
man dead, but unburied, came to me. I
l was glad, each time, to turn to my
cination of the face before the fire would
draw my eyes away from the page on
Which | was writing.
81 have disposed of all the material
with which you provided me- l said,
by and by, tShalT 1 read to you what
/ have written?'
He reused up at the sound of my
voice, and signified by motion of his
hand that l was to do so. And then I
read to him the last will and testament
of Julian Searles.
Il think it is all right" he said. "It
sounds SO, at least. If any one attempts
to break it 1 shall expect you to defend
Your own work. Will you ring the
bell, please?''
1 did as requested. and presently the
old man who had let me in appeared,
accompanied by an elderly lady, whom
L look to be the housekeeper
81 have made my will,'' he said to
them. 81 want you to witness it"
He took a pen from my hand and wrote
his name in trembling and almost illeg-
ible characters at the bottom of the last
page.
Tell them what to do ne said
feably, as if the effort of affixing his
name to the document had almost ex-
hausted him.
I instructed them as to what was re-
quired of them, and they witnessed the
document.
Thank you-you can go now" he said,
and they withdrew, seeming glad to get
away
Il have something more to say to you,''
he said. L may not see you again. In
deed, I am sure 1 shall not. The thread
OF life will snap suddenly, and soon. I
have paper here that I want you to
take with you. Keep it, and when you
hear that 1 am dead, read it. Read it at
once, and then come here to verify the
truth of it. I dare not die without max
ing a confession of a sin So great that
it can have no forgiveness here or here
after. You will do this?'
1 promised, and he gave me a sealed
paper.
you will not believe what you read
there-when you read it-but when you
are before the awful truth to which it
will direct you, you can no longer doubt
that I, whom men have long called in
sane, am as sane as the rest of you, and
the most miserable sinner on earth
He dropped his face in his hands, SO
transparent that the light of the fire
seemed to flicker through them, and
shivered again at the ghostly fancy OF
unburied dead.
put the paper in my pocket and
stood waiting. expecting him to say more
But again he SEEN ed to have forgotten
my presence.
Suddenly he reused UP as man does
who has been listening for some expec-
tant sound But heard nothing.
cit is calling" he said, wholly I'M
mindful of me. Cod Can 1 face
! it again? Can I? Why do I ask my
self that question? I must! Oh, God,
not my God, but the God of those
who have not dared to NEEDLE with
thy mysteries as 1 have-be merciful-
be merciful!'
Never have I seen such n-gush, such
| remorse, such dread, expressed in any
face as I saw in his. But he seemed
/ unable to resist some influence that
/ was at work on him, and with a great
| effort he rose, walked totteringly toward
a door in one corner of the room. Once
! he seemed about to fall. I sprang tC
| his side to assist him.
You here?" he cried 81 thought
you had gone Go--leave me alone
! You cannot help me. No one can hell
| me-" There was sound like wal
of dispair in his voice.
Shall I not call the servant?"
asked
No. no!-only leave me-"
1 did as he ordered, and when th'
door was closed between us ] breathe'
/ freer. When 1 was out in the stree
1 felt as the man does who has mad,
his escape from some miasmatic swamp
full Of deadly doors and influences an(
repulsive with Shiny, crawling things
That fancy chung to me all the rest o
/ the day Two days later this messag,
was brought to me:
HE is dead He told me you woul,
come as soon as you heard OF it, afte
reading the paper he gave you, as yol
| promised"
With feeling of awe I took the pa
per Julian Searles had given me, brok
| it's seal and sat down to read it be
fore responding to the summons of tn
| old servant.
This is what I read:
Il do not know into whose hand
what I am going to write down her
will fall. I only know that L mus
write the truth for some one to read
! Men think me insane. But I an
not. The proof Of my sanity is il
the room above me, and he to whom
this is given can, if he obeys m,
wishes, convince himself that this con
1SoSlOAA - d u GS OIi6 anu IOI the lane,
of an unbalanced brain.
John Fordyce and I were like broth
ers. We had the same longings tc
know Of the unknowable. We talked bu
| little about common thirgs-always abou
the world beyond, the influence of min,
On mind, and that strange thing me-
call DEATH
Zone day I said to him that 1 be
lieved man, by the exercise of the powe
he calls will, could call back life to tn
dead body, if his will was stronger tha.
the will Of the one who had died, OF
if not stronger in itself. it had acquire
such an influence over the will of tn
dead, by ties of ccmpanionship and mu
tual interest, that the two wills SCENE
to have become enc will, common I
both.
Let US make a compact, said m