Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-03-22
CHAPTER XXI (continued.)

The motion ceased. L was gazing
down upon Il great city, built upo n
narrow spur of land between two riv-
ers, a city of towering buildings and
busy streets; then upon a single house,
set in the midst of lofty elmS; then i
was in a room, a room with books
against the walls, and a door opening
upon a garden. From the garden the
light faded. and the darkness came,
and a clock somewhere struck IL. Then,
suddenly, at the door appeared two
white ROBBED figures, III old man and a
girl. n man was talking violently,
but the girl crossed the room without
u backward glance, and passed through
a door on its farther side. The man
stood for a moment looking after her,
then flung himself into a chair. and
put his hands before his face.
With creeping flesh, / looked again
at the outer door, waiting who would
enter. And slowly. slowly, the drapery
was put aside. n II face peered in. /
could see it's flashing eyes n work.
ing mouth. a hand. in which a knife
cleaned, was raised cautiously to the
cord, ana when IL was lowered, it held
a piece of the cord within it's grasp. l
COULD see the eager fingers fashioning
q knot: then. with head bent, the figure
crcpt forward foot by foot; it was at the
chair back, and even as the old man.
u 4 tttS W IIIC lIllI AucL IulSCu
his head. the cord was cast about his
throat and drawn tight. There was a
moments struggle, and 1 saw that the
hand which held the cord was red with
blood. From the wrist, a stained
handkerchief fell softly to the floor.
AND then the assassin turned to steal
away: u as he went, he cast one
awful glance over his shoulder. The
light fell upon his face-and l saw that
1t was Swain's!
L opened my eyes to find myself ex-
Tended full length on the divan, with
Silva standing over me, a tiny glass of
yellow liquid in his hand.
Drink this" he said, and 1 swallowed
1t Obediently.
1t had a pungent, unpleasant taste,
put L could feel it running through my
veins, and it cleared my mind and
steadled my nerves as though by
magic sat up and looked at the
crystal. The other lights in the room
had been switched on, and the sphere
lay cold n lifeless. l passed my
hand before my eyes. and looked at it
again: then my eyes sought Silva's He
was smiling softly.
The visions came" he said. Your
eyes tell me that the visions came. Is
1t not SOP"
yes" l answered.: Strange visions
Senior Silva. / wish / knew their
origin"
Their origin is in the Universal
spirit, : he said, quietly. Even yet you
do not believe"
tai. There are some things past be-
lief" pas oe
Nothing is past belief" he said, still
more quietly. you think so because
your mind is wrapped in the conven-
tions amid which you exist. Free it
from those wrappings, n you will be-
known what life is"
How am l to free 1T, Senior Silva ?'
I questioned.
He took a step nearer to me.
BX becoming a disciple of the Holy
one he said, most earnestly.
But ! was myself again. and rose
to my feet n shook my head. with =
smile.
No" l said; you will get no con-
vert here. l must be going"
Y will open the gate for you." he
said. in another tone. and led the way
down the stairs. through the library.
and out upon the gravelled walk.
After the drugged atmosphere of his
room the pure night air was like a
refreshing bath. and I drew in long
breaths of it. Silva walked beside me
silently: he unlocked the gate with a
key that he carried in his hand. and
pulled it open.
Goodnight. Mr.. Lester" he said.
"The sphere is at your service should
you desire again to test it. Think over
what I have said to YOU"
Goodnight" I answered. AMI
stepped through. into the road.
The gate swung shut and the kew
grated In the lock. Mechanically. I
f''rned my steps toward Godfrey's
'."ise: but seemed to be bending un-
der a great burden-the burden Of the
vision. e