The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-01-07
CHAPTER xIII.-continued.

Look. look keenly," went on tho
manager. You will see your brother
In color. The flesh will disappear. and
YOU will see his skeleton. Think.
think, my brothers. this is the fate
which awaits you perhaps soon on go
Ing away from here. Think of the va
rious illnesses and deaths by accidents
which await you. Contemplate the
magic spectacle offered by the Cabaret
du Squelette and remember that you
are dust and that to- dust you must re-
turn. Make wisely this reflection.
which the Intoxicated man made to
another man in ike conditien, but
asleep. And that is how I shall be on
Sunday While waiting. my brothers
and sisters, for notiingness. look at
the dcInaterialization at your contem-
pOrary, IL you please"
IT, play OF lights. while the man
was talking. began to throw q greenish
pai;or and to make spots at first trans
parent upon the orbits of the eyes;
then. little by little, h spots seemed
large. Tho features. lightly picked out.
appeared to change gradually, to take
on gray and confused ttnts, to slowly
disappear az under n veii. y damp va
ppr Observation-Disclosures that race.
now unrecogntzable! 1t has been said
enon was managed was a remarkable
thing. 1t il true, for this human body
eemed literally to dissolve before this
curious crowd. now become silent and
frightened. h work Of death was
accomplished there publicly. thanks to
the illusion Of lighting. The livid man
who smiled II few moments before q
motionless. fixed: then, passing
through some singular changes. the
flesh seemed to fail from him in
him disappear from the eyes OF the
s~pcctatOrs, and they saw, thanks to
reflections made by mirrors, only a
skeicton. 1t was the world of specters
and the secret of the tombs revealed
to the crowd by q kind OF scientific
Eernardet did not desire to walt
longer to striks his blow--thls was the
exact moment to do 1t. the psychology
zeal moment!
The eager look of the man In the
sombrcro revealed n deep trouble.
Thor was In this look something more
than the curiosity excited by a novel
spectacle. The muscles of his pale face
twitched RS with physical suffering. In
his ycs Bernardet read an internal
agony.
s.Ah!" thought the police officer.
s"The living v Is q book which n
) can read as welt as q dead mans eye"
Upon h stage the play OF lights was
rendering even more sinister the figu-
ant who WAS giving to this morbidiy
curious crowd the comedy OF death.
One would have now thought 1t was
one of thOaa ntrOclOus paintings made
sinstiac' studi0S ,of certain Spanish paint
ers In the %putridero of a Wales Leal.
combination OF lights. was made to
seem as IL falling off and presented the
horrible appearance OF a corpse in a
state OF dec9Fnposition. The iugubrious
vision made +, very visible shudder pass
over the audience. Then Bernardet,
SHy.a 1vfnn hi1r1a6if nm m htS full boivhf
no as to get a good view of the face of
this man 90. much taller and approach
ing as rear to htm as ~possible-in fact.
30 that his elbow and arm
touched the young man's-slowly,. de-
~liberately dropped one by one these
one words:
"yha Is about how NJ. Revere ought
to be now
And suddenly the young man face
expressed 2 sensation OF fright. as one
sees In the face OF a pedestrian who
suddenly finds that he is about to step
upon q viper.
or how he will be soon,'' added the
little u with an amiable smile.
Berllardet dissimulated under this ami
ability and intense JOY. Holding his
arm n elbow In an apparently care
less manner close-to his neighbor as he
pronounced ROyerc's name, Bernardet
felt his netghhor's whole body tremble
n give q very perceptible start. Why
4GASA + ANG OCCeN soV NN1Chly EIlIVNeu auy HIl
unknown name IL 1t had not recalled
to his mind some frightful thought?
The man might. of course, know, as the
public did, all the details OF the crime;
but. with his strong. energetic face. his
fesolute look. he did not appear like a
recital OF II murder. the description of a
bloody ARRAY or even by the frightful
scene which had Just passed before his
eyes I n the hail.
"a man that stamp is not chicken
hearted" thought Bernardet. mo,
no. Hearing those words evoked the
image OF the dead man, Revere. The
man was not able to master his vioelnt
emotion, and he trembled as IL under
an electrical discharge. The shudder
however. as 1t he had mastered his
emotion by his strong will. In his In
voluntary movement he had displayed
atragic ~9lOqAence. Bernardet had seen
An b in the gesture. In the move
ment .of the sman.s head, something of
trouble. OF doubt. OF terror. as in q
nash Of lightning in the darkness Of
night one sees h bottom of q pool.
Bcrnardet smilingly said to him:
This sight is not q q one"
No. the man answered, and he al
30 attempted to smile.
He 9 back to the stage. where
t.le sOmber play went on.
THAT poor Roverel" Bernardet said.
The oth0r man now looked at Bernar-
Act as if to read his thoughts and to
learn what adjudication the repetition
of the same name had. Bernardet sus-
talned with a naive look this mute in
terrogation. He allowed nothing of his
thoughts to be- seen in the clear. child
like depths of his eyes. He had the air
OF a good man. frightened by a terrible
murder. and who spoke of the late vic
timsass if no feared for himself. He
waited. hoping that the man would
speak.
In some of Bernardet's readings he
had come across the magic rule appli-
cable to love. Never go; wait for the
other to come (Ne Ire. fac venire)-
applicable also to hate. to that duel of
magnetism between the hunted man
and the police spy, and Bernadet wait
ed for the other to come"
Brusaueiy. after a silence. while on
the little stage ,the transformation was
stiN going on. the man asked IN a dry
tone:
why do you speak to me of N. Ro-
vere?"
Bernardet afrably replied: I? Be-
cauae avery one talks of 1t. It is the
actually of the moment. I live In