El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-27
The ReraId's Daily
Shert Story

4 have a parcel for you" he said.
From the brotherhood? stein
queried. ,,
when Won came" was the short
answer; and he was handed a parcel
carefully wrapped up and sealed "A
glance at the seal satisfied stein II
was what he had come for, and with
a good morning" to the tacituiH
bookseller he went out into the hsht
again.
His step was springy as he ascended
the narrow stairs to his own room:
He was alive and free again; he had
successfully escaped his due reward
for several little incidents in his past
life, and the society had Work TOT
him to do.
He shut and locked the door and
opened the parcel eagerly. Sneet
after sheet OF brown paper came OF,
and he smiled at the eXceedinly care
fulness of the wrapping. When the
contents finally came to view, after
last wrapping of oiled silk, they
proved to be a copy of the Koran, quite
new on thin India paper.
He opened It, and turned page after
page over carefully in search of a
clue But not a pencil mark or a pin
prick rewarded him. He began to
grow impatient and puzzled Were the
brothers so closely watched that they
were compelled to choose this round
Half an hour. an hour passed as he
turned the flimsy pages over care
fully his eyes peering closely at the
small print
Once ne Strengthened his tired back
and uttered a malediction on the
methods of the society He was feel
ing weak and dizzy, and the voices
of children playing in the court below
were faint and far away. But the
weakness passed, and he bent again
over the book
Only q few more pages. If they did
not furnish a clue he would have
to confess himself baffled. Was that
a mark under the word "shalt?" No,
his eyes had deceived him
The last page but one
"AchT he said.
There. pasted between the leaves by
one corner, was a flap of the thinnest
japanese paper, family inscribed with
pointed German characters He
detached it carefully.
There was a silence so deep that
he could hear the humping of his own
heart. And this was what he read:
BY this tire you will have been
through every page in the book. You
will have studied every page, bent over
1t, closely handled it
His breath was coming quickly, and
the letters danced before his eyes
What strange message was this?
You thought you We're clever when
YOU had yourself arrested for inert
and put safely in Jail. I could have
caught you then, but I wanted you TO
taste the sweets of prison life for a
time. and administer justice when you
were free again. Do you remember
how you killed Marie? How you
wearied of her love, and wished to
remove her? You thought that the
poison the Moscow doctor gave you
was known to none but yourself FOOL
The book you have been handling Is
impregnated with 1t, and it has been
pouring in through your skin and
Do you feel it? So perish all cow
ards and murderers!'
It was signed simply Ivan"
Stein gave a dreadful cry and sprang
to his feet. hurting the book to the
other end of the room. Dazzling
lights were shimmering before his
eyes. his brain seemed on fire, and
his limbs were numb. One terrible
thought was hammering at his falling
train-the thought that the crime he
had hidden so cunningly was known.
All the time Ivan had been waiting,
waiting. using the seal of the brother
hood to make sure his revenge
He made a feeble step towards the
window IN an attempt to gain air. but
stumbled and fell.
He thought he saw the face of Ivan
grin at him in triumph. then a pair
Of sad eyes set in a woman's white
face gazed at him reprachrully.
''NIarieT' he gasped.
An hour later. when Madam Lalot
came upstairs and listened at the door,
all WeS quiet within