The Cairo bulletin., 1907-11-13
TIL. GUARDSMAN AT
Thu DEAD LINE
Copyright. by Dry story Pub. Coz
Ry e. N WHlrE

shadows there b 5soncl queen
with fair youn face and bright
blue eyes. Hard w the Gilt and white
throne stood TIL. bsown knight.
brave and honest, With dark, unseelng
eyes Across tn, hall OF state, with
fine gold lace a 'broidery, was a
courtier with soft, white face and
large moist lips bene. y d waxed mus
tache. AT times he boz 4 ana smiled,
and his smiles and bow were all for
the fair queen, as beech loyal sab
| iect.
| In the background of tn. 1t and
white throne was a horrid creature.
| dressed in sables, with Ions litter
| ing halberd which threw bloc, 4 re-.
| Elections from the footIights was
the villain Of the play, the less
weaver of evil, the sinister che nan
who moved all his pieces down &c anll.
| In the last act he was hurled from ae
ramparts amid terrific thunder al IS,
red light and general rejoicing.
The others were lords, men.at-a IS.
friars. a trio OF somber witches a
ladies-in-waiting, all forming a d..E
blue sky for the four great stars ID
shine upon.
In the tinsel kingdom the handsome
courtier was the hero, the man whom
the audience cheered and who sub.
dued the uncanny one in sable gar.
ments, winning the love of the beauti-
full girl queen by his valor.
OFF the stage. at Gods holy altar
the brown knight with the honest face
and unseeing eyes had sworn to cher
ish and protect her as long as life
were his.
As the show journeyed from town to
town the queen and the courtier re-
hearsed their parts with singular in
dlistry for those who knew their lines
so welli Mephistop-who wasn't a
bad sort when he stepped out OF the
land of Lights and Shadows--saw this,
and his SCARED and haggard face be-
came gloomier yet. He did not like to
talk about ii to the brown knight, be.
cause the business of stirring up
trouble was confined strictly to the
hours In which he wore the sable
cloak and carried the glittering half
berd. But he remembered the dark
days when the ruthless artist, Disease.
was painting those dreadful marksa
upon his face, and when all the worldb
had stepped aside save the brown1
knight, who had ministered to him till
he was well and strong again. Hell
brought back a stalwart frame, but al
face so hideous that children ran fromH
the sight of it. Still, in the economy
Of the universe, there is nothineI
wasted and the knight took up The
man he had befriended and cast hin
for a part where his looks added
strength to the character.
1t was In the land of the magnolia
and the date palm, where passions
fires rise stronger and
higher than the fragrance of the trees
and the flowers, that the final act was
played. The knight was not there. but
the man In sable was, and when he
gently reproached the queen, whom
he had taken unawares, the courtier's
white face grew whittier still, and he
plunged a dagger into the breast Of
the unlimited guest and then, craven.
like, fed the scene.
The queen, with eyes now open
wide knelt on the greensward beside
the man who had come just In time
and implored one word Of mercy and
Of forgiveness. AT this the man looked
up at the girlish face bending over
aim and something like a sweep Of
seemed to brighten the marks
ind the wrinkles
The knight" he whispered, "be
sood to him; he does not know"
This was his absolution, and when
he received it at his hands she bent
Ter golden head still lower and the
warm coral lips of the queen rested
or a moment on those of the one
whose blood had saved her honor.
When they buried him next day,
him the victim of prowling
hugs of the forest, the members of
he troupe noted it as a curious cir.
that somehow the features
o longer looked fierce and coarse. but
'ere full of kindly curves, and that
be great, wide mouth which used TO
tier such awful anathemas at the
rink of the birthstone abyss was
ishioned into pleasant smile.