The Washington herald., 1906-10-24

/ " tiSt certainly are you NOT nlaS1St VI
ceremonies?"
"Ha. Ia, ha, quite so. Well. morphia
first to bring you sleep and dreams. Wis
ions glorious. my lord, for morphia is
nothing but a form of that hasheesh Of
which the ancients were so fond. But
mingled with the morphia a little aconits,
and then in the midst Of splendid dreams
will come death, a darker dream than
the others. but who shall say less SEN
suous or beautiful"
/ Excellent"
1T is agreed them"
Why, Yes"
II see you handle that knife, my lord.
with, what shall l say?-a murderous in
/ tention in your eyes. / shall spare you
the trouble Of attempting to use 1t fruit
lessly. Mark this button on my chair.
/ Observe l turn it-thus. All, you see"
| AS he turned the button. Cressingham
and the two ladies were on a sudden
rendered rigid and helpless as stone fig
ures where they sat, and they endured
moreover fortunes unspeakabie
You hear that clicking sound?" said
the count. 1T scarcely is necessary to
explain the matter TO persons Of your
Intelligence. You are all seated on electric
chairs. this button controls the circuit.
So, / switch it OF; you are released
But beyond that my lord, these negroes
/ about US are my servants. You must
surely have thought me lavish of display
10 require so many 10 wait on US at
table He laughed, a long. low, hideous
chuckle of fiendish mirth it was.
! Cress.ngham commenced TO despair. for
/ he now fully realized how utterly help
| less was his position; but with a violent
effort he kept his self-control and asked:
At what hour, sir, do you intend that
I shall die?"
At noon tomorrow"
| Cressingham was about to speak when a
loud rap came to the door and a tall negro
servant entered,
What is it?' asked the count.
"A cable, highness"
Read it aloud
The man unfoIded the paper in his hand.
Khan Barbaroka - Perigord - Eruted -
Semaphore
The translation. fool. do you think !
carry cypheTs in my head?"
Pardon. highness Expedition sailed
this afternoon, Perigord commanding
Cressingham blamed for Katherin'S es-
cape ElOpement suspected Police Of all
nations awake orders given for Eu-
roDean coastlines 10 be searched for secret
cable stations. commencing east Have
warned Peluchi- Keep Cressingham alive
without fail till I arrive. He IS my pris-
Oner. Frederick
The Count d'AttaIa uttered a grim
laugh. The fool pTesumes 10 give me or
ders; he shall see Really. my lord
feel quite humanitarian IN your regard.
The prince viii undoubtedly be here to-
morrow evening anticipating fine feast
of revenge The fellow is a coarse brute
at heart. who would put YOU to all man
ner Of Inconvenience. We shall, how
ever. forestall him."
Cressingham shivered Thanks. sir;
I perfectly appreciate your amiabie in
tentions' he said with satire; you will
kill me painlessly AT noon tomorrow, less
to save me tortures, though, than to spite
your son-in-laW
Pardon me. spite is a bad word. and
discOurte OUs-say disappoint'-
An, thousand ap0logies-dissppoin %
Until noon tomorrow. my lord. ev-
erything I have is yours"
Including lberty2
Everything" interrupted the count.
with the single exception OF my daugh-
ter's company. I need her. for We have
many matters to converse upon-er
Katherin?'
Yes father Madame's manner was
painfully subdued. she was pale and PEN
siye. and Cressingham. observing her
narrowly. thought her a little fearful
too.
The count nodded to the manacled at
tendants. who AZ once lifted him to his
feet You viii excuse me. my lord.
seldom eat much supper. and 1 have
business Come. Katherfnr'
Madame arose. too. and took his prof
fered arm. The count turned al the
door, My servants will show you 20 a
room when you are weary"
by the way. there is little
warning 7 should give you before We
part. Until noon tomorrow. as / have
already told you, all that possess fs
yours, including your liberty But see
that you are 20 be found at noon to-
morrow This island Is small scarce
three miles square: tbs inhabited only
by my people. but il is mountainous. and
you perchance might find some tempt
iDg hole 10 hide in. Well, in that case.
my lord, you will be sought out quite
leisurely. and perhaps before you are
found my son-in-law viii have arrived
You understand? He is 2 devil. that man.
and loves infiiCting pain. II he has moth
ing else 10 do. he fortunes animals or
insects to pass away his time l wish to
save YOU from his mercy q am aware
YOU think il is becsus 1 wish 10 spite
HIND; in reality it is because you happen
10 be an Englishman, and ] love the
English Goodnight, my lord"
A demsin. sir"
A domain, vraiment. ct Ia morte -
His chuckle sounded far down the cor
ridor. even after the door had closed
and CreSsinghsm was alone with Fran
cine Elliott They looked at each other
silently for long then two big tears fell
splashing from the girls eyes on TO her
gown.
For heavens sake don't weep. dear"
said the man.
She stifed a sob. Tt won't help US
Will It. that?" and tried to smile but
her lips tTembled pitifully.
He stopped above her and kissed a
loose strand Of her hair Darling" he
said, brokenly, the worst Of it all is
that ] am powerless now to help you. "
She started TO her feet Tell me ev-
erything that has happened since we
parted; tell me why I am here, why YOU
are 10 die, everything"
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.
To Receive Cuban Funds.