Evening star., 1914-12-27


~ house with its of dead win
dows seemed itself to have bor-
rowed from the solemnity and mys-
terry of the passing moments. Forty silent, unbink-
ing eyes gazed out upon a world of opaescent hues
and shadows.
One two three, four! The brazen notes of the
stable clock seemed like an incongruous note from
some alien world. Jermyn from behind his ambush
of laurel bushes, stifened suddenly and leaned for
ward His eyes were fixed upon certain window, the
fourth from the left the second story of the house.
He all the time expecting something, yet expect
ing it with of excitement that in that strange
solitude he took pains to conceal thrush hoped
out on the dewsoaked lawn, faint breeze rustled
among the leaves of the trees the deathly silence
broken. And almost simultaneously the still monot-
ony of those of windows was changed. A faint
light glmmered in the one he was watching. 1t was
moving about in the room 1t proceeded obviously
from someone carrying candle.
Jermyn waited only for a few seconds, and then
deserted his post with swift and silent footsteps He
threaded the narrow path that through the back
of the shrubbery and pursued it until he reached
the side of the house AS before, it was window
only that he watched the third from the left, the
window of the anteroom adjoining Lord Lakenhams
bedchamber When he arrived there it was all the
others in the 'front.' blank and eless in almost start
ling contrast to the steady glow from the windows of
the bedchamber itself. Jermyn stood there waiting
and almost holding his breath. The seconds dragged
by, tearing at his nerves with actual and physical
pain Then he saw the thing for which he had been
waiting. The light from SYPHILIS room repeated
in the window he watching. 1t cleaned there
only for moment. Someone had passed by the
window, holding candle.
His vigil was Keeping still in the shadow of
the house, JerInyn walked along narrow margin of
turf for some dozen yards Then he stopped
short pushed back the window of his library, and
stepped in He turned up the lamp 1t seemed to him
that his last faint hope had passed Sybl had gone to
the room of the dying to plead for her lfe Even
in the face of the tragedy that was beating itself out
through the slow seconds of the night, he found HIM
self tortured with maddenng thoughts of the secret
that the dying to carry with him to the grave
The seconds tcked on into minutes. After the
tenseness of the last few hours curious inertness
seemed to have seized upon Jermyn. He stood the
threshold of the open windows and looked out once
more into the gardens. Already, since he had left
there were signs of change The thrushes were be-
ginning to sing, faint blue coloring hung the
treetops In the east there glimmering line of
pink merging into mauve. All manner of birds
were twittering in the shrubbery; breath of wind
brought him delicious of perfume from the
gardens. Jermyn sighed as he turned away. 1t wa
without doubt beautiful world!
once more the stable clock changed out Jermy
fastened the windows of his room and turned ou
the light. Then he slowly opened the door and crosse
the hall. A light had been left burning there; but
almost out. The place seemed full of unseen spaces
and the great staircase only dimly visible
He reached the second landing and turned to tn
right, making his way down broad corridor. On eac
side of him closed doors; everywhere round tn
mysterious silence of Sleep former master of tn
house had collected satuary and from several of tn
small recesses in the walls the white chiseled face
cleaned down upon him. Noiselessly he passed on