The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-09-29

Oh any OLuST pTSS6uC6 III The EUCulJ
he had a consciousness which he
could not account for that something
malign was watching there In the
shadow.
Nebelsen seemed to have braced
his nerves completely. "See!" he
cried, with an accent almost Of tri-
umph, did l not tell you? And now
you yourself can see!"
What? where?" cried Campion,
with On involuntary start.
"Ths2e in the corner-behind the
idol, floating cross legged in the air
as in you picture-there, with his
evil gray face and the white eyes
which SO angrily roll"
II see nothing" said Campion;
and the Chela, gripping his friends
wrist in his cold fingers, began to
roll out long and unintelligible
words, which seemed to Campion to
haye defiant ring in them.
He is moved" he cried, nov
you can see-you must see how he
brandishes with his arms!"
But whether Campions eyes saw
any clearer than before will never be
known for certain now - his lips
have ever since been sealed upon the
subject.
However this may be, there Is at
least no mystery as to what took
place next. AS the two men stood
there, shaft of intense light made
purplish glare on the darkness, and
almost at the same instant the heav-
lily charged clouds overhead rushed
together with an explosion which
shook the earth, and the echo
crashed, doomed, rolled, with sundry
capricious relapses and recoveries,
making mad circuit, as it seemed,
of the entire solar system, and then
ceased abruptly with far off metal
lie clank-as though 1t had cannoned
into Mars, whereupon the long stag
nant air shivered and began to cir
culate once more.
Campion, on whose retina the
jagged flash seemed indelibly brand
ed, reeled back against the cabinet
with a horrible fear that he had lost
his eyesight-but from this he was
presently relieved by seeing Sybil and
the others around him.
"Oh!" cried Sybil, piteously, 'the
lightning has struck him was sure
it had!" but he was promptly able
to reassure them.
"And is poor Mr.. Nebelsen safe,
too?" inquired Mrs. Standard.
1t had grown somewhat lighter
and, on turning round, they all saw
the Chela huddled up inside his mys-
tic diagram, motionless, his face hid
den in his arms.
"Oh, don't touch him!" cried Mrs
Standard; don't let me see his face.
He's dead, know he is!'
And the same thought seized them
all-until the Chela slowly rose with
dazed look. Where am ~" he
stammered; "ah, remember. I hat
in trance state been. Mees Elsvort
you will is accomplished. That SO ac-
cursed idol is now safely on the top
of Cotopaxi landed. myself hat sen
him arrive. For once the current
has successfully worked"
My dear good Nebelsen," said
Babcock, from the other end of the
room, II don't want to ask rude
questions-but some of 1t at all
events seems to have been left be-
hind-look there!"
The chair on which the idol had
lately been placed was now a blasted
and collapsed wreck, and all around
it were scattered half-fused frag-
ments of some spar like substance.
See said Babcock, this looks
like it's ugly head, and here's bit Of
it's pedestal, with sort of tiger
scratched on it, and there's foot and
hand-looks as if it had got on the
wrong current and run into some
thing, Nebelsen, eh?"
The Chelsa folded his arms calmly,
without appearing to be at all put
out by this slight inconsistency. II
remember now more clearly" he said,
the other was vision only. I treat
ed him with Cotapaxi-and it was
enoff. He threw up his cardsgame,
and in despair he invoked that light
ning-and then, as you see, was shad-
dered into pieces"
And where is the-the gentleman
himself now?" inquired the colonel,
who had certainly lost some Of his
color.
The fake tirthankar-g eist?" said
Nebelsen. ooh, now that there is no
longer his idol to care for. he cannot
any more hold together. He is dis
solved, degombosed, and once again
into mighty Magrogesm reabsorbed. !"
And deuced good thing, too, !"
said the colonel. A conclusion with
which few, perhaps, will be found to
disagree.
What can be said of Nebelsen' S
theory? Had the spirit of this long
dead Indian occultist used his old
mastery over the powers of nature
to effect his final humiliation? Or
had he intended to call down light
ming to avenge him, and instead been
hoist with his own petard? Or-an
even more important point-had
there ever been a ghostly tirthankar
at all in attendance upon that partic-
ular idol, or was the story adapted
to 1t by the dusky and esoteric Chow
kydaree Loll? These are questions
which everyone will decide for him
self according to his own inclination
and capacity for the marvellous, and,
whatever flaws may exist in Nebel-
sens theory, Campion has not as yet
succeeded In finding more plausible
explanation of his mysterious woes
though to he SIRE this NAV ho duo