The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1909-06-03
ReUenge
BY GUY THORNE
Sweet Is revenge, especially to a
woman."-L0rd Byron.

His body seemed suddenly light
ened. The buzzing in his ears in
creased to a loud and almost musical
volume of sound, and he began to rise
rise.
1t was all green now, light, waving
green, and he was rushing upwards at
a tremendous speed. Then, suddenly,
the commotion stopped. There was
a great glare in his eyes, and the buzz
zing noise in his ears ceased, as
though 1t had been suddenly turned
off by a tap, with the completeness Of
a t%urned-off g~ramophOne.
Then a quiet voice, which he
seemed TO hear as from a great dis
lance, began to talk, talk, talk, talk.
1t was like the voice heard at the
end of a telephone when one is on a
great trunk me and the speaker Is a
hundred miles away. He lay idly lis
tening, and then, with the swiftness
of a change of scene in a theater, he
came back to full consciousness.
His head was lifted up, a woman's
arm supported it, and a thin mar in
spectacles was looking down upon
him.
He will do now" said the man.
Something was pressed to his lips
and in an odd, subjective way, though
with little personal sensation, he felt
the climbing of the rim of the glass
against his teeth. Then he swallowed
something. What he could not have
told, but it seemed like liquid life.
His head was gently laid back upon
what he realized now was a pillow.
Where am II" he said, with wide
eyes.
The doctor answered with a pro-
nounced Irish accent. ME dear sir"
he said, you were brought in late last
night, or, rather, early this morning"
Basil took in the words slowly and
with difficulty. 1t was as though they
had to ~percolate into his brain, one
by one, like drops of water passing
through the carbon of a filter. Then
he got the whole sentence, and it
blossomed Immediately from the sub
conscious into the conscious brain.
But why?" he said, weakly. What
has happened? I don't remember"
I'D be very much surprised If you
did," said the doctor, chuckling.
A curious irritation suddenly came
to Basil-a childish irritation. Il do
not see that there is anything to
laugh at he said.
The nurse patted him on the arm
TT is all right, Capt. Marriott" the
doctor answered. ut is all right. I
was not laughing at you lndade,
was laughing because M diagnosis
Of you when you were brought in here
last night was thoroughly correct.
There is no harm done to you at all.
And, besides, you are, in a measure.
my own special capture"
Basil began to feel better. Where
as before all the sense OF impressions
had been broken frequently, now he
began to take in the room In larger
eyefuls, and tho voice came to his
ears with something Of the accus.
toned frequency of real life.
You say" he said, family, "some-
thing happened to me. Please tell
me-"
1T Is Just like this" the doctor re-
piled. "Some time after 2 o'clock last
night I was coming back from a party.
1t was a party given by Mrs. Isaacs."
He stopped and looked keenly at the
patient.
"whyl was there!" Basil an.
swered.
The doctor grinned. Sure, you are
all right, IL you remember that. Well,
| saw you there meself, though I was
not introduced to YOU. on must have
left before me. I was walking home
to the hospital, and I turned into Pic
cadilly, a little way down, just oppo
site a great big house. I took the
number Of tit was 100a. came
across you. You were lying upon the
pavement. Your hat rolled into the
road. and you were insensible. There
was nobody about at all-no police
man or anything. Though, looking
down towards Hyde Park corner, l
saw some people moving and heard
some echo Of q row.
Il examined you, and found you
had been struck OF the back OF the
head, though the skin had not been
broken. There was a swelling at the
nape Of the neck. and | came to the
conclusion at once that you had been
s~andbagged. You had not got a
watch chain on, but | felt in your
waistcoat pocket and found your re-
peater was there all right. And there
was a heavy signet ring on your
finger and a sovereign purse at the
end of a steel chain, which you wore
in your trousers pocket, which was
full of money. | did what I could TO
bring you round, but found 1t was
| hopeless, and then, by good luck, |
saw a policeman coming along by
Devonshire house, and | whistled to
him. stayed by you while he ran to
the hospital, and we got you in on an
ambulance. There's the whole story.
Now, how do you feel?"
Il feel Just as II three pianolas
were playing inside my head at the
same time"
"Oh. you will feel that for several
hours." the doctor said. but there Is
no harm done. There is no concus-
sion. as l had feared. You will be all
right. Some one has been going for
you. Do you remember anything OF
what harpened?"
Basil hesitated for a moment, and