The L'Anse sentinel., 1904-12-24

And--and. well. 1t is now the 9Th. !
tell you, my friend, don't like IT."
"The days went by. The Greek grew
thinner, more worried. and the pains In
his head grew more frequent. The
most famous doctors Of Paris could
make nothing of his complaint. and
asked him IL he had any secret worry.
Every day called upon him to
watch him as he slowly died. 1t was.
I remember. on the 23d that he met
me in stormy and rebellious mood.
4 will throw this thing on, he
shrieked. six more days to live! Bah!
I am soaring myself into the grave.
This cursed scribbler tells me shall
die on Friday next. Well, 1t Is lie.
I will live! On Saturday next l will
| give banquet such as Paris has not
seen for many year, and all society
shall be present. Thus will celebrate
my triumph
II cordially approved of the plan,
| telling him that in the preparations for
the banquet he would forget his vain
fears. With feverish eagerness he pur
sued the idea. The short week went
swiftly by. The fatal Friday came and
went, and the Greek still lived.
found him Saturday morning almost
mad with delight. A great weight
seemed to have been lifted from his
soul All fear of death had passed away
| been his constant companions for a
month appeared to have vanished.
| That night | attended the banquet at
| the Ionides mansion--a banquet still
talked of in Paris. 1t is easy to sneer
| at the vulgarity of wealth, but 1t is
hard not to be fascinated by the splen-
| dor 1t can purchase.
| THE cream of Paris fashion, beauty,
and talent assembled round the Greek
| merchants table.
Never had | seen the man so ex-
ultant, so vivacious, so full of l.fe. He
and | were probably the two happiest
persons in the room. He did not know,
and | did, that in an adjoining room
woman, closely yelled, was awaiting my
| signal
| "She sat alone, swaying to and fro,
and grooming softly to herself.
''The hours passed swiftly with good
food, good wine, and good talk. The
affair was at its height. Some one pro-
posed toast, The Giver of the Feast
1t was drunk with acclamation, and the
unwieldy Greek rose to reply
Then | gave my signal, and at the
same time slipped quietly out of my
seat at the foot of the table.
'My place was taken by a figure
dressed wholly in black.
| "All eyes were turned upon her as
she drew off her veil. White as the
damasi cloth on the table, but more
beautiful than l had ever seen her, she
stood silent and motionless.
"Ionides leaned heavily on the table
with both hands, and stared at her
with eyes almost as wild and fixed as
her own.
| Then she raised a thin, delicate
arm, slowly pointed at him with a
| gesture quite mechanical, and uttered
the one sentence I had rehearsed to
her a thousand times during the last
week-'The Seine gives up its dead
THE Greeks Jaws moved, the mus
cles Of his face were eonvulsed, and
the veins stood out on his forehead.
Again and again he tried to speak, but
no words passed his lips. Then sud
denly he Strengthened himself up, his
great arms sawed the air, his flashing
fingers clawed at nothingness, and at
last cry, shrill, piercing. and blood
curdling. escaped him, cry of mingled
agony and horror.
| Then he fell forward and crashed
down upon the table among the gold,
silver, and shattered glass, and there
he lay like great. loathesome frog,
| ugly and disgusting. He was quite
dead. touched NADIA on the arm and
| she followed me like an obedient child.
I had thought the shock might restore
her. That was my chief reason for
| confronting her with her countryman.
But 1t was not a success. She never
recovered her sanity"
Munro ceased speaking and began to
refill his pipe.
Masters yawned aud rose to his feet.
did you ever try to write a novel,
| Munro?" he asked with his irritating
| drawl.
Tufnell and laughed, both a little
relieved, think, at being brought back
to the sane world after the grewsomc
| recital.
Munro said nothing, but, taking let
ter from his pocket, flung 1t over to
me.
caught 1t and the other two leaned
over my shoulder as read.
1t was brief notification from the
superintendent of private asylum and
II ran thus:
Dear Sir: have to inform you
that the patient known as NADIA is Sc
riously i'll. II you care to see her you
may do SO at any time Of the day or
night on presentation OF this paper"
noted that the letter bore a date
| two days old.
handed 1t back to Munro in silence.
He twisted II into spill and took
light for his pipe from the fire. Then
| he moved towards the door.
"You went. of course" said impul-