Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-03-17

mutton was New ZedHduu
Thrice had made fruitless inquire:
at the Richmond postoffice, but on tn,
| tenth day / was in AMI out aim lost ev
cry hour. Not a word was there FOL
me up to the last post at night. Home
/ trudsed to Ham with horrible fore
| bodings and back again to Richmond
after breakfast next morning. Still
there was nothing / could bear it NJ
more. At ten minutes to II 1 was climb
| ing the station stairs at Earrs Court.
| 1t was q wretched morning there, 6
weeping mist shrouding the long straight
street and clinging to ones face il
| clammy caresses. / felt how much bet
| ter it was down at Ham as 1 turned
| into our street and saw the fats loom
I ing like mountains, the chimney pots
hidden in the mist. at our entrance
| stood nebulous conveyance that
took at first for a bridesmaids van. TC
| nv horrer. it proved to be hearse. and
| all at once the white breath ceased
upon my lips.
had looked up at our windows, and
| the blinds were down.
1 rushed within. The doctors door
| stood Open I neither knocked mol
rang, but found him in his consulting
room with red eyes and blotchy face
| Otherwise he was in solemn black from
head to heel.
"Who is dead?' I burst out. ''Whc
Is dead?"
The red eyes looked redder than ever
! as Dr. Theobald opened them at the
unwarrantable sight of me, and he was
| terribly slow in answering. But in
| the end he did answer and did not
kick me out, as he evidently had a
mind.
| "Mr. Maturin," he said, and sighed
| like a beaten man.
l said nothing. 1t was no surprise to
me. / had known it all these minutes.
| Nay, 1 had dreaded this from the first
had OWNED it at the last, though to the
| last also / had refused to entertain my
| own conviction. Raffles dead! real
| invalid after all, Rallies dead, and on
the point of burial!
What did he die OFF," / asked, I'M
consciously drawing on that fund of
| grim self control which the weakest of
us seem to hold in reserve for real ca
| lamity.
Typhoid" he answered. 'Kensing-
| ton is full of it."
"He was sickening for it when I left,
| and you knew it, and could get rid of
me Them
"My good fellow, 1 was obliged to
have more experienced nurse for that
| very reason"
The doctors tone was so cOnciliatory
| that 1 remembered in an instant what
| a humbug the man was and became
suddenly possessed with the vague con-
viction that he was imposing upon me
now.
"Are you sure it was typhoid at ala"
cried fiercely to his face. Are you
sure it wasn't suicide or murder?'
1 confess that l can see little point
in this speech as 1 write it down, but
it was what said in burst of grief
and of wild suspicion, nor was it with
out effect upon DR.. Theobald, who turn
ed bright scarlet from his well brushed
hair to his immaculate collar.
do you want me to throw you out
into the street, he cried. and all at
once I remembered that had come to
Raffles as a perfect stranger and for
his sake might as well preserve that
character to the last.
Il beg your pardon" said brokenly.
"He was so good to mel became so
attached to him. You forget 1 am
originally of his class
Il did forget it," replied T'heobald,
looking relieved at my new tone, land
beg your pardon for doing so. Hush!
They are bringing him down. 1 must
have a drink before we start, and you'd
better join me-
There was no pretense about his
drink this time and a pretty stiff one it
was, but / fancy my own must have
run it hard. In my case 1t cast a mer-
ciful haze over much of the next hour,
which 1 can truthfully describe as one
of the most painful Of my whole ex-
istence 1 can have known very little
of what 1 was doing. 1 only remem-
Der finding myself In hanson, sud-
denly wondering why it was going so
slowly and once more awaking to the
truth, but it was to the truth itself
more than to the liquor that / must
have owed my daZed condition. My
next recollection is of looking down
into the open grave in a sudden pas
sionate anxiety to see the name for
myself 1t was not the name of my
friend, of course, but it was the one
under which he had passed for many
months.
1 was still stupefied by a sense of in
conceivable loss and had not raised my
eyes from that which was slowly fore
ing me to realize what had happened
when there was Il rustic at my elbow,
and shower of dollhouse flowers pass
ed before them, falling like huge snow
fakes where my gaze had rested.
looked up, and at my side stood a ma
jestic figure in deep mourning. The
face was carefully ve'led, but 1 was
too close not to recognize the master
full beauty whom the world knew as
Jacques Saillard. 1 had no sympathy
with her. On the contrary, my blood
boiled with the vague conviction that
in some way she was responsible for
this death. Yet she was the only wom-
l,ol Il