Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-18
try i'll Let him Only try it. He dursen't

and drew his knife with frantic haste. He
continued, g1aring at me from the wall, the
knife in his hand.
Don't you dream of tricks I've cut
more ,, threats t than. you've kissed gals in
| I turned away without word and lay
| down on the couch, Within few moments
I slept, and in my dreams stood Seraphina.
l never felt I was beneath the imponder-
able pressure of a, PRISONS wall till then.
She was infinite miles away; l could not
| even imagine what fnanimate things sur
rounded her. She must be talking to some
one else; fiuttering her lids like that.
recognized with a physical agony that was
| more than jealousy how slight was my
| hold upon her.
had the feeling of appalled, terror sud-
denly invading my sleep; vast voice SEEM
| ed to be exc1aiming:
Tell me where she ISL
I looked at the glowing horn of a lantern.
1t was O'Brien who held it. He stood over
me, very somber.
Tell me where she Is" he said, the mo-
| ment my eyes opened
/ said She's she's - don't
know"
| 1t appalls me even to think how narrow
| was my escape. 1t was only because l
had gone to sleep in the thought that l
did not know, that answered that did not
| know. Ah-he was cunning devil! 10
suddenly wake me; to get ones thoughts be-
fore one had time to think! 1 lay looking
at him. shivering. 1 couldn't even see much
| of his face.
Where is she?" he said again. "Where7
Dead? Dead? God have mercy on your
soul If the child is dead!
was still trembling. If mad toiq q, mn. N,
! could hardly believe l had not. He con-
tinued bending over me With ap attitude
that hideously Knocked solicitude.
Where is she?' he asked s again. us g,ared
at me, lifting the lamp. THE whole earth.
| II you like"
| He ground his teeth, bending very low
over me; then stood up, raising MS heao
| t,,to {1a CHI oh
What do I care for all the admirais? ne
was speaking to himself. NO snip shaiI
| leave Havana till ne s1oai,e At
| heard him slap his forehead. and say dis
| tractedly, But perhaps she Is not In a
| Ship
bl eathe heavily, and then he amazed HE Wy
| saying:
"Have pity" ,,
| He bent down. Fool on yourself
A vast and towering shadow ran aions
| the wall There wasn't sound. The face
| of Nichols appeared behind him, and an
| uplifted hand grasping knife. oBr1en
saw the horror in my eyes. 1 gasped 70
him: Look y and before he could
| move, the knife went softly home between
neck and shoulder. O'Brien's lips were
pressed tightly together, the handle or the
knife was against his ear, the lanthorn
hung at the end of his rigid arm for mo-
ment. AS he lowered it. the blood spurted
| from his shoulder as II from Durst stand
pipe, only black and warm. 1t fell over my
| face, over my hands, everywhere For
minute of eternity his agonized eyes searcn-
ed my features, as If to discern whether
had connived, whether l had condoned:
I had started up, my face coming right
| against his. 1 felt an immense horror
What did 1T mean2 What had he donef
| He had been such a power for so long SO
inevitably, over my whole life that could
not even begin to understand that this was
not some new subtle villainy Of his. He
shook his head slowly, his ear disturbing
the knife. -sDas
Then he turned jerldly on his heel, the
lanthorn swinging round and leaving me in
his shadow. There were ten PAGES to reach
the door. It was like the finish of a race
whether he would cover the remaining
seven after the first. three steps. The dan
Cling lanthorn shed small patches of light
through the holes in the metal top, like sun
light through leaves, upon the gloom of the
remote ceiling. At the fifth step he pressed
his hand systematically to his mouth; at the
sixth he wavered to one side. ! made a
sudden motion as If to save him from fall
ing He was dying! He was dying! I
hardly realized what it meant. This I'M
mense weight was being removed from me.
| I had no need to fear him any more. 1
| couldn't understand, could only look This
was his passing. This
| He sank knelt down, placing the lanthorn
| on the floor. He covered his face with his
| hands and began to cough necessarily, like
| a man dying of 4 consumption. He bowed
| stif1y forward, placing his hands on the
stones, then lay over on his side with his
| face to the light, his eyes glazing at 1t. l
sat motionless, watching him. The Ian
| thorn lit the carved leg of the black table
| and a dusty circle of the flags. The spurts
| of blood from his shoulder grew less long in
| answer to the pulsing of his heart; his
| fists unclenched, he drew his legs up to
| his body, tn en- sank down. His eyes
| looked suddenly at mine. and, as the fea-
| lures slowly relaxed, the smile seemed to
come back, enigmatic round his mouth.
He was dead; he was gone; l. was free!
He would never know where she was!
never! He had gone with the question
| on his lipe; with the agony of uncertainty
| In his eyes. From the door came an i'm
| mense, grotesque. and horrible chuckle.
| l suddenly realized that now l was the
pirate Nikola ell Escoces-that now he was
! no more there nothing could save me from
being handed over to the admiral. Nothing:
| The delivery was to take place at dawn,
| and O'Brien not being alive the old judge
| of the first instance had been sent to iden-
| tify the prisoner. He selected me, swhom,
| of course, he recognized. There no ques-
| ton of Nichols, who had been imprisoned
| on charge of theft trumped up by O Brien
and was now held for murder. still under
| the name given to him by the man whom
| he had killed.
| They marched me down through the gray
| mists to the waters edge. Two soldiers
| held my arms; OBrien's blood drying
| on my face and on my clothes. l was,
| even to myself, a miserable object. Among
| the negresses on the Shiny boat steps
thick short man was asking questions He
| opened amazed eyes at the sight of me. 1t
| was Williams-the Lion was not yet gone
| then. If he spoke to me. gave token
| of connection with Seraphina, the Spaniards
would understand. They would take her
from him certainly; perhaps immune her
| in a convent And now that I was bound
! irrevocably for England, she must go, too.
He was shouldering his way toward my
| guards.
silence I shouted, without looking at
him. Go away; make sail; Tell
| Sebright ="
| My guards seemed to think had gone
mad; they laid hands upon me. l didn't
struggle. and we passed down toward the
landing steps, brushing Williams aside.
He stood perturbedly gazing after me; then
I saw him asking questions of civil
guard. man-of-wars boat, the ensign
trailing In the CLASSY water, the glazed
hats of the seamen bobbing like clockwork,
was flying toward us Here was England!
Here was home! I should have to clear
| myself of felony, to strain every nerve and
cheat the gallows. If only Williams I'M
derstood: If only he did not make fool of
| himself. 1 couldn't see him any more; a