The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-06-10

bWiIl bLTlOeS IOWdIu the WOudu Who
now faced him instead of her husband.
There was a great light in his eyes as
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
ly, 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,
confounded 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-
Gus seer Of the Ganges, was stunned
into complete amazement and unbelief.
That strange, uncanny intelligence Of
his, born of a thousand mysteries. was
being tried beyond all previous exac-
tions. 1t was as If he now saw this
woman for the first time-as If he had
never looked upon her face before. A
mist appeared to envelop her and
through this veil he saw a face that
was new to him-the face Of Yvonne
and yet not hers at all. Absolute won
der crept into his eyes.
AS If 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 it
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 we're no
words, for he addressed a 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!
go at once" she said, and her voice
was as clear as a bell.
He shot a swift glance at the pros
trate Frederic and Strengthened his
tall figure as would soldier under
orders. His understanding gaze
sought hers again. There was another
/ command in her eyes. He placed the
weapon on the table. 1t had been dis
tinct command to him.
"One of us will use it," she said
monotonously. "Go!"
With incredible swiftness he was
gone. The curtains barely moved as
he passed between them and the heavy
door made no sound in opening and
closing. There was no one in the hall.
The sound of the shot had not gone
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 was uttering a jumbled
stream of French.
Many minutes passed. There was
hOI q movement AL Ih0 lOOlAs OLOOu,
beside the outstretched figure Of his
unintended victim, was staring at the
graying face with wide, unblinking
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
agonized gaze had gone to the blood
less face. There it was arrested. A
dumb wonder possessed his soul. He
knelt there petrified 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
eric's countenance save the dark,
never-to-be-forgotten eyes-and they
were his Matilde's. Now those eyes
were 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
quiring eyes-but now he saw the
lean, strong jaw, and the firm chin,
the straight nose and the broad fore
head-and none of these were Ma
tides! These we're the features Of a
man-and of but one man. He was see-
ing himself as he was when he looked
into his mirror at twenty-one!
All these years he had been blind,
all these years he had gone on curs-
ing his own image. In that overpower-
ing thought came the realization that
it was too late fol him to atone. His
mind slowly struggled out of thrall
that held it stupefed. He was looking
at his own face-dead He would look
like that! Matilde was gone forever
the eyes were closed-but he was
there, going grayer and grayer of face
all the time.
He had forgotten the woman. She
was standing just beyond the body
that stretched itself between them.
Her hands we're clasped against her
breast and her eyes were lifted heaven
ward. She had not moved throughout
that age Of oblivion.
He saw her and suddenly became
rigid. Slowly he sank back, his eyes
distended, his jaw dropping. He put
out hand and saved himself from
falling, but his eyes never left the
face Of the woman who prayed-whose
whole being was the material repre-
sentation of prayer. But 1t was not
Yvonne, his wife, that he saw standing
there. 1t was another-Matilde!
"My God, Matilde-Matilde! For
give! Forgive!"
Slowly her eyes were lowered until
they fell full upon his stricken face.
Am I going mad?" he whispered
hoarsely. AS he stared, the delicate
wan face of Matilde began to fade and