The Washington times., 1918-09-07
CHAPTER CxxxM-TAe Livias
Dead.

CHAPTER CxXXH-The Living
Dead.
"I could not sleep. The Wanted
American bedstsad was anything
but comfortable, and the ceaselsss
din OF the waterfall Kept up q Pc
cuIiar refrain that aggravated me
by its monotony.
81 tried to divert my thoughts,
but when I did SO 1t was only 70
concentrate them upon that other
sound, the footsteps in the next
room. which continued. as IL SEEM
ed to me, long after the time that
Valenskf should have been lying
down, II he proposed to sleep b.
that room. And by degrees
fancIed that the movements had
become furtiVe and stealthy. as II
the man was afraid OF being over
heard He had taken off his boots.
and was walking about on slippers
or with some soft material only
upon his feet Now and again
could hear the movement OF bot
ties, and a faint trickling sound.
as Of the pouring out OF q liquid
You must understand that the par
tition wall was very thin; prob
ably there had been originally bot
one room in the turret. and 1t had
been divided into two not 50 verJ
long ago.
The moon had risen and It's
pale light streamed in at the cur
tainless window. II seemed to me
that the air inside my room had
become warm. though knew that
IT must be frosty without. tossed
on some OF my coverings and at
last rose to open the window. It
was, however. with an effort that
dragged myself from my bed ]
had no idea that / should have
been so worn out by my journey.
II found 1t impossible to open
the window. 1t had become
wedged, probably from long disuss.
/ did not dare to break q pane OF
glass, though I was sorely tempted
to do so. Looking down as well a.
I could, noticed that the mist lay
low upon the valley. while my
turret chamber was well above II.
1t was exactly as II a portion Of the
castle rose above q vast sea, the
base Of it having been engulfed- I
could imagine waves beating
against the walls. and the actual
sound of the falling water added
to the illusion As far as the eye
could see the mist extended. though
on either side II was. OF course,
bounded by the dark slope Of the
mountains. II was perhaps more
like a flood rushing through q val
ley than like the sea to which At
first compared II. Overhead the
sky was very clear, and star
N1nNN
upon me. The h-~'-~- SUBMITS OF
the mountains stood out in peculiar
prominence like the bastions Of
some giant fortress. Far away /
could dimly discern the snow-clad
peak which dominated the gorga
at was a weird scene. and for .
few moments I gazed at IL, wide
awake, and with no particular de-
sire to return to my bed But By
degrees a curious languor stole
over me, a languor that was not
a desire for sleep. but q wish to
stretch out my limbs and allow
them to rest Ny brain was pecu-
liarly alert I fell rather than step
ped down from the window-it was
placed high in the wall and could
only be reached by mounting Q
couple of stairs-aAd stagger0d
back to my bed. I wondered vague
ly what had happened to me; such
lassitude without any real desire to
sleep seemed incongruous and alb
surd.
"AII the while the atmosphere Of
the room seemed to grow heavier
and heavier. I noticed, too, q pecu-
liar scent, sweet and spice-like, but
unlike anything with which 1 was
familiar. I felt Q slight sense Of
sufrocation and q desire for air.
At cried to myself that must have
air, that I must open the door, a.
the window was 20 firmly shut. and
then 1t seemed to me that l did IN
deed rise and carry out my pun
pose.
. att will be we'll now mutter-
ed. and II was not for Jew mo-
ments that I realized had not
stirred from my bed
Lillian could no longer refrain
from an interruption She had been
listening to the story with the deep
est interest an interest that gave
place to excitement as the details
were developed.
"whyv she cried, ait was the
same drug as that which overcame
Esther and me that night! You
were under the influence Of the
same fumes. The symptoms are
precisely similar"
Swan raised his hand as II depre-
eating the interruption
Just So" he said. You are qutts
right. 1t was the same drug" He
smiled slightly. 81 was the first to
experience its effects. Listen. for ]
shall be able to tell you more about
IL.
you know the effect which those
fumes have upon one, so I viii not
describe my sensations with any
detail. The brain. as you know. b
for a while. extremely active, while
the limbs are absolutely paralyZed
And there Is that curious sensation
of doing what one desires to do.
though in reality one is unable to
move. know that at last the con-
viction came to me that was being
drugged. and 1 fancied myself
struggling, crying out and fighting
against II. but in reality was lying
all the while helpless and inert
1T D. Hk.1 M~-I, \