The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1913-01-03
CHAPTER 10.

lfE
OF conveying even a 1.-THE of the hor-
1or experienced at Cameron's dis
0aosure ] am nigh hopeless. The more
We discussed the occurrence the less
euRceptible 1t seemed of explanation.
and what is 80 terrifying as the IN
applicable, OF so dreadful as the In
tangible? Here, apparently. was an
enemy Of calm and cunning malignity,
Who chose to manifest his power In a
manner almost ludicrousiy puerile-
eave as It pointed with significant fin.
ger to some dire and inevitable sequel
yet with such crafty secrecy as com.
p3etely to mystify and dismay.
Cameron showed me the mutilated
portrait. He had taken It down al
most Immediately, and had hidden 1t
way In a closet of the hall behind an
fray of raincoats, The cutting had
been done, evidently. with an exceed.
ingly keen blade, and very dexterous-
Az done. But that 1t should have been
accomplished in twelve minutes, while
Cameron sat in the room, not fifteen
sfeet distant, wac beyond our compre-
tension. Absorption In his book was
The nearest we came to a solution, and
Mat was scarcely tenable. For there
was the crowded top OF the book.
shelves. To cut the canvas, the van
DIAL must either have stood upon that
or have reared q ladder, There was
not room for the foot OF a child on the
shelf-top; and as for the ladder, 1t was
unthinkable. How could a ladder have
been carried In and out without Cam
eron being conscious of 1t? From
every possible angle we viewed the in
cident, making every conceivable con.
eession, and no halfway plausible an
aver to the riddle presented itself.
And though our common-sense told us
that the time Of miracles was long
past, that no Gyges' ring nor Able
rfch's cloak survived to this day to
make invisible their s9earers, there
persisted, nevertheless, a chill. uncan-
ny sense of the supernatural, quite
evident to me In Cameron's hushed
voice and furtive manner, and in my
own unwonted nervous disauietude.
We sat very late. I wished, II pos
sible, to learn IL al any time In my
friends life he had done aught to en-
gender an enmity to which these
strange developments could be traced
whether, for instance, In the hot
blood of his youth in some far land he
had provoked the vengeance Of one
whose humor 1t is never to forget. As
we talked | came to know Cameron
better than | had ever known him be.
fore. He barred to me much of his
early career; he gave me q clearer
view of his temperamental qualities;
and yet could not but feel that he
left the vital point untouched, that be-
neath his seeming frankness there lay
hfdden, shielded, some one episode,
perhaps, which might let the light In
upon our darkness. For my question
was evaded rather than answered.
Presently, we went back to the let
hers and dissected them, coldly and
crftically, sentence by sentence, and
while the weird influence which they
md ezerted upon me at the first read
INK increased, stimulated possibly by
The incident OF the portrait, still we
rsached a certain practical, common
setlBe view as to their origin; for we
came to see In them what we be.
ihey&d to be the hand OF a religious
fanatic. Certain expressions, we con.
diuded, were quotations. II they were
not Biblical, they were certainly of
Sacred genesis. And the discovery
w1s not r%eassuring. 1t lent, indeed.
IN added prick to the perturbation we
aiteady experienced.
Nor did the absence of a specified
41te for the second promised demon.
etration of power tend to relieve our
uupAEiness. In this silence we found
|thNAAcme OF cunning cruelty. Amy day,
thy hour, some other mystifying,
e1snktorturing incident was liable to
oe16r.
4 Aried to argue that the seventh day
MMMsImplied, inasmuch as the second
m0t4 was received on the same day of
TAI month as the first. and was a mere
NQ14nuation Of the original threat.
&SN<#Wy contention lacked the intrinsic
9skN 8~th which carries conviction.
A1NS3M Cameron put 1t. we could only
NSes4 and wait" for the communi-
c&ficnaS offered no alternative. They
n1adeSsno demand which being com.
piled With would avert penalty. Only
implacable and Inevitable r~etribution.
I'm, patient, and determined, effused
from every line.
But, In spite OF Cameron,s evident
an~xisty--and in using that term / am
vsry mildly stating his obvious ccndi.
k1pn of mind-he sternIy refused to
consult either the police or the private
|A&fectives.
fon may not know" he explained.
KNIT am largely interested In q GER
s44n line Of industrial enterprises, the
m4Mxes OF which are listed on the New
N6tM Stock Exchange. Should the pub
H. Necome aware that my life is
60 $t&ned, very serious consequences
x43yA ensre In the market. No, Clyde.
Aqeover 10 done, must be done by
Ml4NMlves. and by friends whom we
trust absolutely. I can take no
llmz of this horrid thing getting into
Newspapers. Besides" he added.
N4N4Aa kindly, considerative smile,
11yn must be kept In ignorance.
M worlds would | have her trou.
~ our p~erplexing enigma"
suggestion that he should 20
4 for a time. or al least spend a
feeks at Newport, was met with
v obstinate refusal.
il Omit that have been somewhat
ap9sk by this extraordinary combina-