The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-10-28
CHAPTER VIII.
Continued.

whether you like IL or not IL IL Is only
for Miss Lascelle's sake"
i readily agreed to this, and for an
hour we walked on part OF the lawn
from which l could see Edith's win
dow. Then the rain. which had been
drlzzling for some time, fell heavily,
and forced us to 20 in.
We changed our boots for slippers,
and sat together in my room. ! with
book, he with his chin in his hands,
bis face hideous with the light or the
lamp on his protruding eyes.
Heaven knows, l was not wanting
In love for Edith, or solicitude for her
welfare, and yet / could not keep
awake. II must be remembered that
I had had no sleep the preceding night,
and that did believe in Edith's hal
lucination, and therefore saw no ac-
tual danger menacing her. | tried TO
interest myself in the book. but my
thoughts grew confused, the type
swan before my eyes, and helped to
bemuse nay senses. At length ] put
down the book, and shaking my wits
together. / said TO Van Hoeck:
"Let us talk"
"Talkv' he muttered, scornfully;
"why not ask me to sing you a comic
song? II the Kid were here l suppose
you wouldn't want me to amuse you.
You could keep awake until 3 or 4 in
The morning watching her, but as it's
only your future wife who il con-
cerned, you are loggerheaded before
midnight"
The sarcasm did not prevent me doz-
fng again a few minutes later. ! was
ashamed OF my drowsiness, and after
n minutes doze would wake with
guilty start, only 10 drop of again in
few moments. know not how long
this had been going on, when Van
Hoeck shook me by the arm and woke
me thoroughly.
"It is courtng destruction TO sit here
with the door Open" he said, lone OF
rs blind and the otner dead asleep. j
cannot stand II any longer; IL is intol-
erabIe. Tell me II II rains"
went to the window and found that
the rain had ceased. ! told him this.
II will go out; take me down TO the
door," he said.
led him downstairs and gave him
his umbrella and hat. Then i took
mine. and opened the door quietly,
fearing 10 awake Edith. ] would have
accompanied him, but he refused, say
Ing night and day were alike TO him,
and he knew his way along the paths
and about the lawn.
"Go back to your room and fasten
yourself in" he said; ''it Is our only
me know that all is fast / beg you TO
do this" he added earnestly; you can
not understand the feelings OF man
in my position-the torture OF con-
scious impotency as you feel the APP
preaching fate that you are powerless
20 avert"
His voice ratified in his throat. and
indistlnctly | heard him mutter, as
he groped his way along the wall Of
the terrace:
"Cramped in n coffin, and clods fall
ing. falling"
l closed the door and returned 10 my
room with shudder.
When i had fastened myself In l
tapped at the window, and Van Hoeck
replied 10y tapping on the wall below.
The fresh air had revived me; had
no .,Inger to struggle with an irresis-
tible drowsiness-the inclination TO
sleep was gone.
l had my book to finish, but my mind
was not sufficiently composed TO read.
AS / walked about the room l thought
of Edith and Of Van Hoeck. wondering
II there could be any connection be-
tween her strange hallucination and
the terrible presentiment which night
and day possessed him. II seemed as
II there must be something abnormal
in the conditions under which we lived
20 produce an effect which. though
characterized by different peculiarities.
was in both cases attributable only 10
q disordered imagination, and l won
dered if !, in my turn, should come
under this occult influence.
/ might have been occupied with the
speculation for half an hour or more
when heard a scream OF terror that
] could not doubt came from the wing
in which Edith lay. In an instant /
opened the door and ran through the
corridor The doors in the picture gal
lery were open. AS | drew aside the
curtain which closed in the staircase
corridor Of the left wing saw Sir Ed
mund come from his room with a lamp
The door OF Edith's room exactly faced
mis-; IL was wide open; all was dark
within.
What is Il. my dear? What is it?"
he called as he entered the room.
There was no answer.
] followed 20 the door. Sir Edmund
was standing by the empty bed. look
Ing around him in blank dismay.
"She is gomez he gasped. "The door
was wide open"
The bed stood away from the wall.
] bade Sir Edmund look on the further
eide.
There was scarcely room for him 10
Sass between the foot OF the bed and
the wall. but as he lowered the light
he said in quick alarm:
''She is here-unconscious- the
bell for the womenr'
ran TO the bell and rang IL violently;
then from the stairs in the cross gal.
lery I called TO the servants to come
down. In the meantime Sir Edmund
had raised Edith and placed her on
The bed, where she lay like one dead.
From his rOom I cot a snirit case hut