The Washington times., 1911-08-14
CHAPTER XXI (continued).

further exhibition of his power
but Gwynne waved them aside
with q look of scorn that
brought them to their senses. once
he stood up and knocked down with the
fiat Of his hand a young cheda who was
too insistent There was d momentary
hush as he did this, and a friend of the
young man came forward 10 resent It,
but a second blow induced this pugilist
to reconsider the situation, and order
was established.
When We were done smoking Gwynne
got up-by this time the hall was crowd
ed-and lifted his hands aloft. His long
hair, strangely painted face, and mar
velous trappings made wonderful pic
ture, and for moment / could hardly
persuade myself that l knew him.
Little by little he let himself out, as It
were, in lieu of speech or formal pro-
gram. There was much to interest
amaze, and bewilder these simple-mind-
ed people, and to call. forth eXclama-
tions Of wonder from every side. De-
mands for greater marvels met with re-
buffs, as II seemed to me, and promises
to astound them before long. Tricks
of chemistry-tricks of mechanism
tricks Of illusion-to says nothing OF
Observation-Disclosures one another In
rapid succession till the jaws of the
lamas dropped and their eyes 'bulged
with wonder.
In the cool of the evening came the
butter lamps, the greater nre, end an
increasing congregation of as savage
brutes as ever bore the name of human;
The situation was not agreeable, but
looked unto Gwynne. Suddenly he be-
gan to dance in a slow, measured move
ment, motioning all to give him room
Moving his hands gently above his
head, the dry bones ratified. the beads
gave forth a strange, metallic reson-
ance, while his long hair waved in
rhythmic harmony with the sWaylhG
of the head.
q wild, barbaric, fantastic scene. Then,
without further warning, he began 10
sing-beating time with feet and hands.
But what was 1t? What was The fellow
saying? 1t was my turn - stare and
listen. l could scarcely believe my ears.
o dear, what can the matter be?
o dear. what can the matter be?
O dear, what can the mater be?
Johnny has gone to the falr!
He promised to bring me bunch OF
blue ribbon,
He promised to bring me a bunch Of
He promised to bring me a bunch Of
To tie up my 'bonny brown hair.
Up and down the great hall between
the huge stone pillars, pushing aside
those who enCroached upon him,
gesticUlating wildly with arms. head,
legs, and body-shouting louder and
louder as he Notwithstanding himself
upon the chest and face, tearing at his
neck, hair, and forehead until they
seemed to be covered with q bloody
gore. 1t was garish, grotssque, grue-
some Ny eyes became fixed in a kind
of hypnotic stare upon the man.
Then came a series Of tricks, wonder
full enough for a prestidigitator, and
doubtless regarded as manifestations of
Gwynne thrust the blade of a Knife
through his jaws. He called upon me
to hammer a spike into the top of his
head with a mallet-to cut off his fin
gers, one at time, which ne swallowed
l had seen before; some had been re-
Gently brought upon the Strand. Que
~ one the fingers assumed :hCir normal
a 5ition upon the bloody stump, and the
h.-l was extracted from the skull with
OFT serious result. The KIN f. was drawn
from the jaw and the wound healed
without plaster. But the most won
derful part was the credulity of the
monks. They were positively fright
ened.
Then Gwynne began utterlng q few
very marked and staCcato words In the
Bod-skad, which l couldn't understand.
! was about to lose interest when
distinctly heard the word Varney. Ev
cry head was lifted-no one bat sho we'd
his interest. l watched for the result.
There was general shaking of heads:
something more-he was becoming We
hement. Still there was a general shak-
ing of the heads-a want OF knowledge.
Gwynne grew violent. He stamped
upon the rugged pavement. He shout
ed. The wondering lamas drew closer
about him, but he waved them off. They
retreated-pressed forward again-weI =
again rebuffed. Here and there We're
threatening brOwS that made me shud-
der. Should the power of the magician
fail. there would be no telling what
might happen.
1t was clear that they resented al
lusion to the Varneys, and l saw that
any attempt to kidnap the girls would
be attended with danger But Gwynne
was Persistent. He not only repeated
their name again, but / could see that
he was demanding their presence In the
hall.
Then half a dozen of the vlIest look
ing creatures came pressing toward him
from the rear. In their hands were
long-bladed knives, which they failed to
hide. and l called to Gwynne to be
careful, telling him what saw. He
looked quickly around and pointed at
the treacherous brutes. 1t was effective,
and the murderous hounds skunk into
tha crowd and escaped.
Again Roedler demanded that the
Varney girs be brought 20 HIM, and
again the spirit of the Slama was in
evidence. I cautioned him, aid then
came the master stroke of the evening.
Little puffs Of smoke were seen to
escape from the s0rcerer's mouth and
clothing. These increased IN frequency
and volume, yet through some strange
power Of attraction chung closely to his
person. The smoke grew denser, form
ing a COLUMBIAN impenetrabIe shield
about the body through which none
might look. It spread and nUng about
the hall in a cloud which made men
sneeze and rub their eyes. When the
atmosphere had cleared again, the sor-
cerer was gone.