The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1912-12-05
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deed l may say that when, about q,
month or SO ago, l received a. com.
m%unication Of that character, did
almost precisely what you now ad-
wise. Certainly l followed one-half of
your prescription-I forgot the letter;
though, for lack of fire in the dog
days. l did not burn it, but thrust it
into a drawer with an accumulation
OF advertising circulars"
My apprehension lest Evelyn and I
were personally affected had been by
now quite dissipated. 1t was perfectly
apparent to me that Cameron alone
was involved; yet my anxiety was
none the less eager. Already my sym
pathy and cooperation were enlisted.
l could only hope that he had mental
ly exaggerated the gravity of the stu
alton, yet my judgment of him was
that his inclination would be to err
in the opposite direction.
And now something has happened
to recall it to your memory"
Something happened very shortly
after its receipt" he replied. Some
thing very puzzling. But in spite OF
that, was inclined to treat the matter
as a bit Of clever chicanery. devised
for the purpose, probably, of extortion.
AS such. I again put it from my
thoughts; but today I received a sec
ond letter. and admit l am interest
ed. The affair has features which
make it, indeed, uncommonly perplex-
ing"
fear my imagination was sluggish.
Although. in spite of his dissemblance,
saw That he was strangely moved by
these happenings. I could fancy no
very terrifying concomitants of the
rather commonplace facts he had mar
rated. For anonymous letters l had
ever held scant respect. An ambushed
enemy. I argued. is admittedly a cow
ard. And so I was In danger of grow
ing impatient
when the second letter came" he
continued, bringing his left hand for
ward to join his right on the dazzling
white ground Of the tables damask, Il
searched among the circulars for the
first, and found 1t. l want you to e
them both. The writing Is very curl
ous-1 have never cen anything just
like it--and the signature. IL I may call
1t that. is still more singular. On the
first letter. l took It for a blot. But
on the second letter occurs the same
black blur or smudge Of identical out.
line"
OF curse l thought of the Black
Hand. It was the natural c%orollary,
seeing that the newspapers had been
giving us a surfeit of Black Hand
threats and Black Hand outrages. But.
somehow. ! did not dare to voice it.
To have suggested anything 80 ordi-
nary to Cameron in his present mood
would have been to offer him offense.
And when, at the next moment, he
drew from an inner pocket Of his eve
ming coat two thin, wax-like sheets of
paper and passed them to me, l wal
glad that l had kept silence. For the
letters were no rough, rude scrawls
of an il%literate Malta or Camorra. In
ph%raseology as well as in penman.
ship they were impressively unique.
IF you don't mind" Cameron was
saying, you might read them aloud"
He rose and switched on a group of
electric wall lights at my back, and l
marked for the hundredth time his
ph%ysique-his towering height, his
powerful shoulders, his leanness Of
hip and sturdy straightness OF limb,
He did not look the forty years to
which he confessed.
One Of the long French windows
which gave upon the terrace stood
ajar. and before resuming his seat
Cameron paused to close it, dropping
over it the looped curtains Of silver
gray velvet that matched the walls.
In the succeeding moment the room
was ghostly silent; and then. breaking
against the stiffness. vas the sound of
my voice, reading:
THAT which you have wrought shall
in turn be wrought upon you. Take
warning therefore Of what shall hap
pen on the seventh day hence. Az
sun follows sun, so follows all that is
decreed. The ways Of our God are
many. On the righteous he showers
blessings: on the evil he pours
misery"
That wal the first letter. The Sec
ond began with the same sentence:
THAT which you have wrought shall
In urn be wrought upon you"
But there, though the similarity of
tenor continued, the verbal identity
ceased. It went on:
"Once more. as earnest. of what IL
decreed. there will be shown unto you
a symbol Of u r power. Precaution
cannot avail. Fine words and a smil.
ing co%untenance make not virtue"
And beneath each letter was the
strange silhouette which Cameron
had mentioned.
1t Is difficult for me to convey the
most meager idea Of the emotional in:
luence which these two brief com.
inunications exerted. They seemed to
breathe a grim spirit Of implacable
Nemesis far in excess Of anything to
be found in the euphemism Of the
written words.
When ] had finished the reading of
them aloud. Cameron, leaning far back
in his chair. sat silently thoughtful.
his eye narrowed behind his glasses.
but fixed apparently upon tho liohts