The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1913-05-02

still. large enough to mold a town
But the figures Of which l caught
sight had made me run away There
are demons down there, quite blac'.
standing In front of boilers, and th
WELD shovels and pitchforks and POI
up fires and stir up flames and, IL yoL
come too near them. they brighten
you by suddenly opening the red
mouths Of their furnaces. j.
Well. while Cesar was quietly carry.
ing me on his back, l saw those black
demons IN the distance. looking quite
small. In front Of the red fires OF their
furnaces; they came into sight, dis
appeared and came into sight again.
as we went on our winding way. AT
last, they disappeared altogether. The
shape was still holding me up and
Cesar walked on, unled and sure
looted. l could not tell you, even aps
proxima tely, how long this ride last
ed; | only know that we seemed tc
turn and turn and often went down z
spiral stair into the very heart Of ths
earth. Even then. 1t may be that my
head was turning, but | don't think
SO; no, my mind was quite clear AT
last, Cesar raised his nostrils. shifted
the air and quickened his pace lit
tie | felt moistness In the air and
Cesar stopped. The darkness had
lifted. sort Of bluey light surround.
ed us. We were on the edge OF a
lake, whose leaden waters stretched
into the distance, into the darkness
but the blue light lit up the bank and
| saw little boat fastened to an iron
ring on the wharf"
"A boat"
Yes, but l knew that all that exist.
ed and that there was nothing super.
natural about that underground lake
and boat. But think OF the exception
al conditions In which l arrived upon
that shore! | don't know whether the
eHects OF the cordial had worn OF
when the mans shape lifted me into
the boat, but my terror began all over
again. My gruesOme escort must have
noticed 1t, for he sent Cesar back and
l heard his hoOfs trampling up a
staircase while the man Jumped into
the boat, united the rope that held 1t
and seized the oars He rowed with
a quick, powerful stroke; and his
eyes, under the mask, never left me-
We slipped across the noiseless water
In the blHey light which / told you of
then We were in the dark again and
We touched shore. And | was once
foly
cried aloud And then, suddenly,
was silent, dazed by the light.
Yes, dazzling light In the midst OF
which | had been put down. l sprang
to my feet. | was in the middle of a
draWlng-room that seemed to me tC
be decorated, adorned and furnished
with nothing but flowers, flowers both
magnificent and stupid, because of the
silk ribbons that tied them to baskets
like those which they sell in the
shops on the boulevards. They were
much too civilized flowers, like those
which l used to find In my dressing
room after first night. And, in the
midst Of all these flowers, stood the
black shape of the man Iii the mask
with arms crossed, and he said: Don't
be afraid, Christine; you are in nc
danger. 1t was the voicel
My anger equaled my amazement
| rushed at the mask and tried to
snatch it away, SO as to see the face
of the voice. The man said, You are
in no danger, so long as you do not
touch the mask And, taking me
gently by the wrists, he forced me
into a chair and then went down on
his knees before me and said nothins
more! His humility gave me back
some OF my courage, and the light re
stored me to the realities of life. How
ever extraordinary the adventure
might be, | was now surrounded by
mortal, visible, tangible things. The
furniture, the hargings, the candles
the vases and the very flowers in their
baskets, Of which / could almost have
iold whence they came and what they
cost, were bound to confine my imag
nation to the limits of a drawing-room
quite as commonplace as any that, al
least, had the excuse of not being In
the cellars of the opera l had, nc
doubt, to do with terrible, eccentric
person, who, in some mysterious
fashion, had succeeded in taking uE
his abode there, under the opera
house, five stories below the level oil
the ground. And the voice. the voice
which l had recognized under the
mask, was on its knees before me
was man! And l began to cry.
The man, still kneeling. must have
understood the cause of my tears, for
he said. Tt is true, Christine,
| am not an angel, nor genius, nor
ghost | am Erik!'"
Christine's narrative was again in.
terrupted. An echo behind them
seemed to repeat the word after her
Erik"
What echo? They both
turned round and saw that night had
fallen. Raoul made movement as
though to rise, but Christine kept him
beside her
ITO pI C,ONrTJNTrEn