St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-11-19
ing a woman's name and her nus

ing woman's name and her hus-
bands happiness"
We halted at a side door and wait
ed. After quite an interval the butler
came out and admitted us. He led the
way on tiptoe, we following with in
finite precautions, along a corridor, up
some carpeted stairs, and out upon the
dimly lit circle of an old picture gal
lery, where generations of the Sykes
family looked out gravely from their
heavily gilded frames. The sight
aroused the young man to a frenzy OF
passion. This was the Inheritance OF
which he had been def-auded! | saw
him shake as with an ague, saw his
fingers tighten convulsively upon the
handle of his pistol; then l saw Brod-
sky's restraining arm encircle his
shoulders and steady him. The little
drama was enacted in perfect silence.
We crouched down at the edge OF the
platform, below which we could see
the passages of the rambling old struc-
ture radiating away on three SIDES as
spokes of wheel. And we waited
shivering, there, none speaking, only
gluing our eyes upon the distant end
of the corridor which led toward the
wing of the mansion which Philip
Sykes occupied. The butler had
slipped away, but John had forgotten
him.
Eleven o'clock doomed out from
deep-sounding clock; the air grew
chilly. l shivered. l looked at Brod-
sky. He was watching every move
ment of his patient, his hand, alert
and sinuous, seemingly ready to leap
| forth to restrain him from any deed
of rashness. But John was oblivious
to both of us also; he fingered his PTS
| toll and knelt there watching, watch
! ing
Crouching there, we three seemed to
have become actors in some horrible
! drama that was being enacted for the
| benefit of those rows of silent ghosts,
| those family ancestors of dead and
| gone Sykes, looking out, starched and
| bewigged, from their gold frames,
which were so family Illuminated by
the dull light of the low gas jets that
the painted figures seemed to stand
out as in a stereoscope, to have the
versimilitude of living men. must
have become half hypnotized by the
suspense of watching. My mind
| slipped away from the work that was
at hand; l was living over my life
again in other places, thinking of the
past, of the ambitions and aspirations
with which | had started out on my
career, of my strange meeting with
Brodsky, of a thousand things.
Suddenly I felt Brodsky's fingers
tighten upon my sleeve. l glanced
along the distant corridor. My heart
bounded in my breast and seemed to
stand still. For there, emerging from
out the gloom, clothed in misty gar
ment, her head covered with filmy
veil, was a woman that glided toward
us as no human, waking being moves,
the eyes fixed and trance-like For all
the dimness and the distance l knew
her. 1t was the woman of the mini
| AZURE. Brodsky recognized her too,
and the young man.
| L saw HIS Inquire SliHSu, every Illus
Gle in his body became as taut as
steel He crouched there, watching
her, upon his face an aspect of horror
and hatred terrible to witness. The
figure approached us; now it was di
rectly under us and had not seemed tC
notice us. Suddenly his hand shot
out; saw the CLEAN of the pistol
Then, still more quickly, saw Brod
sky's arm dart forward, and an instant
later the heavy report of the discharge
went echoing through the half-empty
house, arousing a thousand echoes
among the rafters.
l was upon my feet and Brodsky
was pulling at my sleeve. Follow
me- he cried. ITO the cottage!"
He dragged me after him, and the
young man followed us. l moved as
though in a dream, under Brodsky's
compulsion; but, though we ran like
the wind, John Sykes easily out
stripped u.s. l knew what passion
winged his speed. Overhead we hear6
noises and movement Shouts were
horne after uS