El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-12-20
By Achnled AbduILah
Copyright. 1918, by James A. Mccain CO.
All rights reserved.

I Who the devil can have told stey-
Tnen he considered. The Jarves
{ house had swarmed with policemen
land reporters after the murder and
the arrest or Angelo Lantaigne.
DOUBTLESS some Of them belong TO
I the Internal iOnalist party. or perhaps
i one Of them had been bribed. had
: seen and read the bIotter- At all
events, no matter how, the news Of
E the cryptic letter had leaked out
Il hope you had at least sense
I enough 20 destroy the blotterg' he
asked the Scotchman, who smiled
grlmly, said he wasn't going to
! answer any more questions, and told
remnant he would accompany him
TO the theater unless YOU mind.
! old fellow. Lantaigne told me you
were going
They ate dinner in silence. and IL
was IN silence that in festive black
and white, sitting side By side Ia the
Americans steel-gray. low-slun-
roadster, they buzZed down the boule-
wards in the direction Of the Theater
Alexandre-straight toward the dy-
ing sunset which was CRAVING
slowly into night
Once or twice. as he slowed the
car at a crossing, Tenant termed TO
his companion. words on his lips.
He was fond OF the man Erratic,
eccentric. OF unbridled temper, i'm
patient Of thwarted desires. super
sensltive-yet was there something
in the mans dark, northern nature
which appealed 20 the Americans
mlXture-raclal national American
miXture-of idealism and love OF the
practical.
II was his idealIsm which spurred
MIN on 10 catapult himself into the
life Of a man, uominally his friend
yet IN reality jealousy guarding its
luLlInate sides from him; 10 was his
utiilt2rianism which made him See
mat mere was splendid human ma
terlal 1righttuly wasted. which made
ann want 70 snatch this particular
brand from the burning.
On the other hand, IL was this same
realization OF practical values which
told Tenant how useless Il was 10
try TO force Menzles-Kerr 20 talk.
me man was very pale, but the
next moment Tenant realized that It
was not altogether inner turmoil
which caused the paleness. For,
Dumping against him as the car took
a corner, he smelt the pungent odor
OF opium Again Tenant thought Of
the stale opium scent which had
permeated the Jarvet library the
evening OF the murder
A few minutes later the car slid 70
stop in front Of the Theater Alex
andre and going to the ticket
American noticed that two men IN
the outer lobby were looking curl
ously az his friend. They whispered
TO each other. Family Tenant
heard the words; yes: the gentleman l
with the limp" as one OF them
pointed az the clumsy way In which /
Alenzles- Kerr dragged his right foot /
remnant thought he recognized a I
reporter OF the EtoIle in the speaker l
ana was going 20 speak TO him. 10 1
demonstrate But ElancinE at his i
companion, ne noticed that the latter I
did not seem 10 have heard the re- I
marx, and so he kept his peace
me curtain must have been up sew
eral minutes. for the house was dark.
the audience hushed. the play was |
N Lul5 swing ana Just as they /
stepped into their staEe-hoL. which i
squatted in haroque creaN and-gold i
OUTLINES a few feet above the or \
'hestra seats. Angelo LantalEne cam
0n-a charming, girlish figure IN
white Chantilly lace. her hair piled j
into a glorios aureOle, her slender
white arms cleaning beneath the /
toamy tulle OF her sleeves-with the
opening lines;
'Nerveusel Pourquoi voulez-vous
lue Je soils nerveuse, on prenez-vous
cue je sois nerveuse7 &c nest pas
pas"
That was as far as she got
FOR suddenly shrlll, kitelike
y histle cut through the gloom Of the
house from somewhere in back Of
the pit Twice repeated. like a sig
nal IL caused Angelo Lantaigne to
stop her arms stretched out rigid
speech frozen on her lips. staring
with Wide-open fascinated eyes into !
the dark sea at her feet as II terror
lay waiting there. ready 20 leap out
upon her II caused the audience 70
turn like one man, beWildered. nerv-
rus, as ~ % see and hear and absorb
hat same terror. It caused a SILVER
u apprehension apprehension Of the
unknown, the uneNpected-t0 run
Town Tenants spine.
What was going 10 happen2 what
vas brewing back in the PITT Just !
inriA Whisrle-Tes somehow
le did not like t. This was not q
seW York audience, roughly gracious.
'oughly good-humored. This was
lrance-Parls-the thoughts raced
through his brain like sheets Of
.oam-
Clme again the lxiteIike whistle.
Then grotesQue, monstrous. cruel
. nat. dead voice doomed out from
he back rows:
''lurderesst"
Then other voices Joined in, by
mes and twos, in that same fiat
eaden iutOnation:
'.Murderessl Murderessr" repeating
he word over and over again. with
ut the slightest infection or modu-
alton, in an ever-swellinE chorus
hat seemed TO rise like a shrek of [.
lorror from the abyss OF the damned, :
o glide and shift and swirl forward.
oward the stage:
''Murderessl 1lurderess. Muir
.eressrT
Then an ominous pause-lilze a =
lonster's gigantic intake OF breath
Yin H1yLL1o.Ji IS