The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1913-07-05

tary indecision with evident anxiety.
Now he seized my arm again and
squeezed ii In the warmth of his sat
isfaction. His face was radiant.
Good. good. My rooms are but a
few feet from the Capello Nero
The dukes apartments were almost
empty of furniture.
You must reuse the appearance Of
my poor chambers; l leave Venice this
evening"
"All the world seems to be leaving
Venice today" ! observed lightly.
Absolutely. First Of all. your friend
Mr.. st. Hilary and now Mrs. Gordon.
her niece and myself. My poor friend.
you will be lonely. | fear
Your concern touches me- I said
and walked to the window. when I
have received from you my souvenir
am going TO my rooms to make prep
arations for leaving Venice myself"
The duke was turning over the mag
azines and papers on the library table.
Everything is in confusion. ! can
not find my little book. Old Luigi is
an imbecile. Perhaps he has destroyed
these precious fourteen pages. May |
trouble you to ring the bell near that
window? We will ask Luigi"
| was puzzled. ! confess 1t. Why had
he brought M to his apartment Sim
ply TO gloat ove me? Or had he some
purpose more useful than that?
There was Il knock at the door. In
stead Of bidding the servant enter the
duke himself answered il. stepping out
in the hallway and closing the door
carefully after him.
| walked over to the table and turn
ed over carelessly the papers and mag
azines. The CLINT of steel caught my
eye. He had hidden a revolver under
the rubbish while pretending to look
for the fourteen pages. In two sec
onds it was in my pocket and / had
taken my stand at the window again,
one hand in my coat pocket, the other
pulling at my mustache.
THAT imbecile Luigi had put away
the pages for ~safekeeping in a port.
folio. But he is to fetch the portfolio
at once"
He seated himself carelessly on the
table, swinging one leg. He picked vi
an illustrated weekly.
Are you interested in horses? Here
are some capital snapshots of good rid
ing during the neuv at Asti."
| crossed the room and looked oyel
his shoulder. When we had exhausted
the magazines he %bethought him of the
pictures hanging on the wall. He lift
ed the muslin coverings and showed
them to me. one by one. ex~patiatinl
on their beauties. Evidently he wa:
trying to kill time. Unconsciously
glanced at the clock, q modern time
piece about three feet high. standin:
on the mantel. | had forgotten tina
it had stopped. The hands. l noticed
stood at half past six.
The duke % took up his position
at the window, while | stood with m,
back to the mantel. 1t just reached m.
shoulder. For the first time it occurre,
to me hat he had wished TO get mt
away from the window. He wished
the post of observation for himself.
wondered If il were worth while fol
me TO join him.
For perhaps thirty seconds there wa:
silence between US. | say thirty sec
onds. and l measured that interval by
thirty ticks. At first | heard them list
lessly. They were faint. mufied and
strangely slow. Then | remembered
with a start that the clock had stopped
1t was impossible for them to come
from the watch in my pocket. They
sounded close to my ears. and my ears
were not two inches away from the
clock that had stopped.
For a moment the strange phenome
non bewildered me. Then l under
stood. The casket was inside the clock
and the mechanism that would release