Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-05-24

the curtain aside, swung his hat low
and muttered soft good night.
May your highness dreams be pleas
ant 0neslo he said.
"Thank you, said she, and the cur
tain dropped impertinentiy THAT was
very cool Of him. must say" she add
ed as she looked at the wavering door.
When she went to sleep she never
knew. She was certain that her eyes
were rebellious for long time and that
she wondered how her gray dress
would look after she had slept In It
all night. She heard low singing as If
in the distance, but after awhile the
stiffness became SO intense that Its
pressure almost suffocated her. The
rush of the river grew louder and loud
er.. and there was swishing sound
that died in her ears almost as she won
dered what 1t meant. Her last wax
ing thoughts were of the black patch"
poet. Was he lying near the door?
She was awakened in the middle of
the night by the violent Tapping Of her
chamber window. Startled, she Fat
bolt upright and strained her eyes to
nlerce the mysterious darkness. Ant
Fanny, on her bed of grass, stirred
convuIsively, but did not awake. The
blackness of the strange chamber was
broken ever and anon by faint flashes
of light from without, and she lived
through long minutes Of terror before
it dawned upon her that thunder
storm was brewing The wind was
rising, and the night seemed agog with
excitement. Beverly crept from her
couch and felt her way to the fiuttering
doorway. Drawing aside the blanket,
she peered forth into the night, her
heart jumping with terror. Her high
ness was very much afraid of thunder
and lightning.
The fire in the open had died down
until naught remained but few glow
ing embers. These were blown into
brilliancy by the wind. casting steady
red light over the scene. There was
but one human figure in sight. Beside
the fire stood the tall wanderer. He
was hatless and coatless, and his arms
were folded across his chest. Seeming
" oblivious to the approach of the
storm he stood staring into the heap of
ashes at his feet. His face was toward
her, every feature plainly distinguish
able in the faint glow from the fire. To
her amazement the black patch was
missing from his eye. and, what sur
prised her almost to the point of ex-
claiming aloud, there appeared to be
absolutely no reason for its presence
there at any time There was no mark
or blemish upon or about the eye. 1t
was as clear and penetrating as its
fellow, darkly cleaning in the red glow
from below. Moreover, Beverly saw
that he was strikingly handsome-a
strong, manly face. The highly Inn
nginative southern girls mind reverted
to the first portraits of Napoleon she
had seen.
Suddenly he started, threw up his
head and, looking up to the sky, utter
ed some strange words. Then he strobe
abruptly toward her doorway. She
fell back GREATNESS. He stopped just
outside, and she knew that he was
listening for sounds from within. Aft
er many minutes she stealthily looked
forth again. He was standing near the
fire, his back toward her, looking off
into the night.
The wind was growing stronger. The
breezes famed the night into rush of
shiyery GOODNESS. Constant chickering's
of lightning Illuminated the forest,
transforming the treetops into great
black waves. Tall reeds along the riv-
er bank began to bend their tops, to
swing themselves gently to and from
the wind. In the lowlands down from
the cave Will-o'-the-wisps played tag
with jack-o' lanterns, merrily scamper-
ing about in the blackness, remind
ing her of the jewellers in famous
Broken scene. Low means grew out
of the havoc, and voices seemed to
speak in unintelligible whispers to the
agitated twigs and leaves. The Sc
crets of the wind were being spread
upon the records Of the night. Tales
Of many chimes passed through the
ears of Nature
From gentle undulations the marsh
land reeds swept into lower dips,
danced wilder minuets, lashed each
other with infatuated glee, mocking
the whistle of the wind with an angry
swish of their tall bodies. Around the
cornices of the Inn of the Hawk and
Raven scurried the singing breezes, re-
luctant to leave playground SO pleas
ing to the fancy. Soon the night be-
came a caldron, a surging, kissing,
roaring receptacle in which were mix
ing the ingredients of disaster. Night
birds tapped through the moaning
treetops in search of shelter; reeds
were aattened to the earth. bowling to