Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-10
CHAPTER XXVII-Continued.

II, Ambrose. Listen WELL for / have
something to tell YOU
Il am listening Christine faltered.
Go on
'All the night" the voice continued. Il
have been with two madmen-madmen
Christine. Oh. how l have laughed: L
sat with them in Il little cafe. They
whispered together-they must make me
drunk So they tried. They bought
brandy and l drank. More brandy ana
still l drank. Then they whispered TO-
gether again My eyes We're closed. And
what do you think? 1t was of my piano
that they spoke, the little piano that we
have wheeled together through the lanes
and along the boulevards and across the
streets of this cursed city. They thought
listen. Christine, for TINS IS Jos st,
they thought there was something MD
den in it,
Christine looked up and her eyes met
Lord Ellingham's. They were ooth as
pale as death.
He is mad" she whispered.
! The marquis said nothing. Even MS
lips were pale. From the wire came the
shrill denial. :,
"Oh, not mad. Christine. not mad.
Only drunk-drunk and happy as man
can be. 1t is so droll They found out
where my piano was in the entry. you
know, at Pickett street. They took me
by the arm. and they helped me out or
the place, and my knees shook ana my
eyes were closed. But inside l laughed
They put me in cab, and We drove on
and on and on all the way to Pickett
street. They helped me out of the CAP.
/ stumbled across the pavement. W men
way?' they asked. and shook me. leu
them right. l led them to the entry.
showed them the catch of the gate. we
entered and there was the piano. Chris-
tine, it was droll. They tore the back or
my poor little instrument. They llfted
the first board, they struck matches ana
peered in, tore the strings in their eager
ness and haste and then they began 10
curse. / sat and looked at them, mud
died. drunk, you understand. drunk as
man may be- They quarreled, those two,
wild with disappointment. They quarrelea
at first silently, and then / saw the blood
rising hot. They spoke so fast and SO
angrily that I heard only one half OF
what they said. They were very. very
angry Marcel took Pierre by the throat.
l sat upon the ground and watched them
/ was too drunk. you see, TO move. ihen,
as l swayed. a knife fell from my
pocket, the knife / always carry for fear
but never mind that
Stop" Christine shrieked. Il am faint.
Don't go on. Ambrose
The marquis held her up. He did not
speak, but there was something In MS
face which gave her strength.
81 am better" she murmured. Finish,
Ambrose Finish quickly
THE knife fell from my pocket. Mar
eel saw it, snatched 1t up. Pierre saw
it, too, and he ran. Out of the entry
they ran, and Il suddenly was not SO
drunk. Up 1 rose and hobbled after
them. l saw them go down Pickett
street, around the corner; l saw Marcei
hand lifted. ] saw him strike, | saw the
crowd gather They picked Pierre up
and they chased Marcel. Listen. Chris
tine Pierre is dead. There is only Mar
Gel left
She began to moan. She lay dead
weight against the MARQUIS shoulder
but his hand still gripped his receiver.
For a moment the voice said nothing.
Then 1t continued:
Marcel ran swiftly, and they say here
that he has escaped. But Pierre is
dead. Where he fell he died, and Marcel
is hunted now for his life. Cnrlstlne,
these things are strange"
But where are you?" she faltered. rs
there no one who can hear
II am in the place, love- he answered.
II am in the great public house at the
top of the bridge, where there are cush-
ions and mirrors, where it is warm and
the bottles of brandy on the shelves
stand like regiments of soldiers. No.
there is no one who can hear L stand
in a little compartment and the door
closes tight. No one can hear. L have
paid my threepence to talk to YOU. l
have told you these things, Christine, al
though am drunk. 1t is wonderful. ell?
Now I go back to my seat, to drink, to
talk and to drink. Good night:
They heard the click of the instrument
as he hung the receiver in it's place.
They listened for moment. There was
no other sound. The marquis turned to-
ward Christine. He himself was trem-
bling in every limb. Word by word, as
the story had come to him in those sharp.
staccato sentences, he had felt his heart
beat more wildly. The perspiration was
standing all over his forehead. He was
breathing like a hunted man. He saw
the struggle in the entry. the knife slip
from the pocket of the dwarf. He saw
1t snatched up. he saw the chase-Pierre
bent double, running for his life: Marcel
degenerate. half mailman. tearing after
him. He seemed to see the blow struck,
he saw the crowds of people In pursuit.
Last of all. he saw Ambrose sitting in
the cushioned seat he loved, the brandy
before him. muttering, drinking. With