The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-27

| their questionings.
Day after day went by and still the sarns
answer, 'She 10 sleeping
An ever increasing swarm Of flies around
the shutters of tie third-story back room
and other circumstances 1t last led tho
neighbors to believe that Mrs. Rudman
was sleeping her last sleep.
The police came. The high priestess ap.
peared at an upper window. She would
admit no one. ..
mo, no. she said, you can't como In.
Mira Mitta wouldn't hear Of 1t. Besides.
you would disturb Sister :Rudman. Don't
you know she 10 slseptng?s
No amount Of percussion could induce
Mrs. Lang to open the door. and the po-
lice went back to the station house for
further orders. "A curious crowd had
BEGUN to gather in front Of the house.
Mrs. Langs witchlike appearance only
augmented the curiosity OF the thronB.
Her hair Is white as snow and drawn
hack tightly over forehead 80 full OF deep
wrinkles that it would be impossible to add
another one. Her dark. sunken eyes arc
faded, and yet preterhumanly bright, a.
though the woman were consumed with
fever '.-",'. i" ="
Her cbesks. are sunken, sallow and
the appearance Of lying in rolls upon her
high cheek bones and iprotyuding chin.
Her arms and neck are emacitated to the
last degree, and her bones appeal to be on
the point Of protrudipg from their creased
and wssthef Beaten Covering.
Then came more police, :. ~
.5o 2psn sr rsla break in the door,, they
the old woman, clasping -her bony hands
and'rstsing her eyee to The ceiling. Blame
a ms b nSs them not for nav are not q
! our fat b.. and they know not what they
Once inside tho house tie police and
board Of health men went straight TO ne
room where the flies were buzzing'
! The body Of Mrs Rud ndan, or what was
left Of it. hay on the little bed that the room ON
woman must have been dead for at least
three weeks. and perhaps for more than a.
month. ~
Mrs Lang told of her long vigil.
y slept in the room right next to Sister
Rudman." she said. although 1 didn't
sleep much. either. was waiting for her
to call me and praying to Sister ste M. Merada
"1wioe day / would go to Sister Rud-
! mans room to see il she wanted anything
/ and to pray with her. l would help her
out Of bed. and we would both kneel there
and pray to Sister Merada for half an hour
| or so.
Then would help her back to bed again
and come away. Sister Rudman had not
/ spoken to me for three weeks. p:
dead; she was not dead, say. She is not
Rudman cannot die!' -
The broken voice rose to a shrek and
cracked on the high notes like a. broken
flute.
Mrs Lang made no attempt to stop tho
authorities when they put the remains into
a box filed with disinfe Giants and carted It
tail Of, policemen stood guard to keep the
G rowd away for fear of contagion: Alone
On that Sunday. the day after the body
priest knelt, before the altar in the desc,
the goddess came to the shrine. 6nds
again the temple filled with all those who
were sleeping. Mrs. Rudman was theres
Then in the week following the temple.
was sold. factory will be erected on tho
The purchasers gave Mrs. Lang until
Monday to leave the temple forever. - ,
To her from Boston came Charles Saueg.
her nephew, a MANUFACTURER and man high
in the councils Of the Freemasons. The
Mira Militia had again appeared to her, she
said. and told her not to leave her shrine:
that those who had profaned it would be
punished and that she, the goddess, would
soon call her to her side in heaven. ~
For weeks, ever since the temple was
entered by the unbelievers, Mrs. Lang
has tasted to appeese the goddess; Each
lonely ceremonies They are there to-day
on their knees before the shrine, waiting for
the morrow. when Mira Militia will pour out
her wrath upon the violators Of the temple.