The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-10-01

OO4, n0-A9 9 - d040l A0Vo
not killed him. He shall not die-he
shall not" Flinging the Hindu aside
he threw himself down beside the body
on the floor. The revolver as 1t
dropped. was caught In the ntmble
hand Of the Hindu, who took two long
swirl strides toward the woman who
nov faced him instead Of her husband.
There was a great light In his eyes az
he stood over her and she saw death
staring out upon her.
But she did not quail. She was past
all that. She looked straight into his
eyes for an instant and then, as II
putting him out Of her thoughts entire
~, turned slowly toward the two men
on the floor. The man half raised the
pistol. but something stayed his hand
something stronger than any mere
physical opposition could have done.
He glared at the half-averted face,
COMPOUNDED by the most extraordinary
impression that ever had entered his
incomprehensible brain. Something
strange and wonderful was transpir-
ing before his very eyes-something
SO marvellous that even he, mysteri-
u seer Of the Ganges, was stunned
into complete amazement and unbelief.
That strange, uncanny intelligence OF
his, born OF q thousand mysteries, was
being tried beyond all previous exac
tons. 1t was as il he now saw this
woman for the first time-as IL he had
never looked upon her face before. A
mist appeared to envelop her and
through this veil he raw q face that
was new to him-thc face of Yvonne
and yet not hers at all. Absolute won-
der crept into his eyes.
As II impelled by the power Of his
gaze, she faced him once more. For
what seemed hours to him, but in
reality only seconds, his searching
eyes looked deep into hers. He saw
at last the soul of this woman and 1t
was not the soul he had known as hers
up to that tremendous moment. And
he came to know that she was no
longer afraid OF him or his powers.
His hand was lowered, his eyes fell
and his lips moved but there were no
words, for he addressed . spirit. All
the venom, all the hatred fed from his
soul. His knee bent in sudden submis-
sion, and his eyes we're raised to hers
once more, but now in their somber
depths was the fidelity of the dog!
90 at once" she said, and her voice
was as clear IS a bell.
He shot q swift glance at the pros
trate Frederic and Strengthened his
tall figure as would a soldier under
orders. His understanding gazo
sought hers again. There was another
command in her eyes. He placed the
weapon IN the table. 1t had been a dis.
tinct command to him.
One OF US will use It," she said
monotonously. Co"
With incredible swiftness he was
gone. The curtains barely moved -
he passed between them and the heavy
door made no sound in opening and
closing. There wal no one in the hall.
The sound Of the shot had not gons
beyond the thick walls Of that pro
scribed room on the top floor. Some
where at the rear Of the house an in
distinct voice vas uttering a jumbled
stream of French.
Many minutes passed. There was
not a movement IN the room. Brood,
beside the outstretched figure Of his
unattended victim, was staring at the
grazing face with wide, u%nblinking
eyes. He looked at last upon the fea-
lures that he had searched for in
vain through all the sullen years.
There was blood on his hands and on
his cheek, for he had listened at first for
the beat of the heart. Afterward his
less face. There 1t was arrested. A
dumb wonder possessed his soul. He
knelt there petrifled by the shock OF
discovery. In the dim light he no
longer saw the features OF Matilde. but
his own, and his heart was still. In.
that revealing moment he realized that
he had never seen anything in Fred
cries cOuntenance save the dark.
never-to-be-forgotten eyes-and they
were his Matilde's. Now those eyes
we're closed. He could not see them.
and the blindness was struck from his
own. He had always looked into the
boys eyes-he had never been able to
seek farther than those haunting, in
curing eyes-but now he saw the
lean, strong Jaw. and the firm chin,
the straight nos and the broad fore
head-and none OF these were Ma
tides! These we're the features of q
man--and Of but one man. He was see
Ing himself as he was when he looked
into his mirror at t%wenty-one!
All these years he had been blind.
all these years he had gone on ours
ing his W image. In that overpower-
ing thought came the realization that
It was too late for him to atone. His
mind slowly struggled out Of thrall
that held It stupeficd. He was looking
at his own face-dead! He would look
like that! Matilde was gone forever
the eyes were closad-but he was
there. going grayer and grayer OF face
all the time.
He hod for~r%<n~ <hn 49, CHE