Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-06

man is at his last gasp. 1t was all
could do to bring him here. He tainted
twice upon the way"
Half tumbler OF the raw spirit
brought about wondrous change. He
pushed himself up on one arm ana
swung his coat from off his shoulders
For Gods safe, oil, opium. NOR
phiar' he cried. Anything to ease
this internal agony
The inspector and cried out at the
sight There criss-crossed upon the
mans naked shoulder was the same
strange reticulated pattern of redin-
famed lines which had been the death
mark of Fitzroy Mcpherson.
~ ~
THE pain was evidently terrible and
l. was more than local. for the suf-
ferer's breathing would stop for
time, his face would turn black, ana
then. with loud gasps. he would clap
his hand to his heart, while his brow
dropped beads of sweat. At any mo-
ment he might die. More and more
brandy was poured down his throat,
each fresh dose bringing him back TO
life. Pads of cotton wool, soaked IN
salad oil, seemed TO take the agony
from the strange wounds. AT last his
head fell heavily upon the cushion.
Exhausted nature had taken refuge
in his last storehouse of vitality. 1t
was half sleep and half faint. but
at least it was ease from pain.
To question him had been impossl-
BILE, but the moment we were assured
of his condition Stackhurst turned
upon me.
"Mv Godr he cried. What is 1t,
Mr.. Holmes? What is it?'
Where did you find him."
Down on the beach. Exactly
where poor Mcpherson met his end.
If this mans heart had been weak as
McPherson's was. he would not he
here now. More than once / thought
he was gone as I brought him up. ~
was too far to The Gables, so made
for you" as,
"Did YOU see him on the beach,"
''T was walking on the cliff when l
heard his cry. He was at the edge OF
the water, Keeling about hke \
drunken man. I ran down, threw
some clothes over him and brought
him up. For heavens sake, Holmes
use all the powers you have ana spare
no pains to lift the curse from TINS
Mace. for life is becoming unendur-
able. Can YOU, with all your world
wide reputation, do nothing for us!
"I think l can, Stackhurst. Come
with me now. And you. inspector
come along. We will see if we cannot
deliver this murderer into your
hands" A.
Leaving the unconscious man IN the
charge of my housekeeper' we al 'nL -
went down to the deadly. lagoon. Oh
the single there was piled little
heap of towels and clothes, left by the
stricken man. Slowly / walked around
the edge of the water, my comrades III
Indian file behind me. Most OF the
nool was quite shallow, but under the
cliff where the beach was followed out
1t was 4 or 5 feet deep. lt was 10
this part that swimmer would nat
,lrally go, for it formed beautiful
pellucid green pool. as clear as crys-
tai. A line of rocks lay above It at
the base of the cliff, and along this
led the way, peering eagerly into the
denths beneath me. had reached the
deepest and stillest pool when my eyes
caught that for which they were
searching, and l burst into a shout OF
triumph.
'Cyanear' cried. "Cyanea, behold
the Lions Maner'
The strange object at which point
ed did, indeed, look like a tangled mass
torn from the name of lion. IL lay
upon a rocky shelf some feet under
water. a curious, waving, vibrating,
among it's yellow tresses. 1t pulsated
with a slow, heavy dilation and con-
traction.
ut has done mischief enough, It's
day is overr' i cried. Help me,
Stackhurst! Let us end the murderer
forever"
There was a big bowlder just above
the ledge, and we pushed it until 1t
fell with tremendous splash into the
he rirn1cc had cleared
we saw that it had settled upon the
ledge below. One tapping edge of yell
low membrance showed that our VIC
tim was beneath it. A thick, oily scum
oozed out from below the stone and
stained the water round, rising slowly
to the surface.
"Well, this gets mer' cried the In
spector. What was it. Mr.. Holmes?
I'm born and bred in these parts, but
/ never saw such thing. IL don't
belong to Sussex"
Just as we'll for Sussex 1 re-
marked. ut may have been the south
west gale that brought it up. Come
back to my house, both of you, and
will give you the terrible experience
of one who has good reason to remem-
Der his own meetine with the same
peril of the seas"
WHEN we reached my study, We
w found that Murdoch was so far
recovered that he could sit up. He
was dazed in mind and every now and
then was shaken by a paroxysrn of
pain. In broken words he explained
that he had 10 notion what had oc-
Cured to him; save that terrific pangs
had suddenly shot through him and
that it had taken all his fortitude to
reach the bank.
Here is book" I said. taking up
the little volume, (which first brought
light into what might have been for
ever dark. 1t is Out of Doors by the
famous observer, J. G.. Wood. Wood
himself very nearly persisted from con-
tact with this vile creature, so he
wrote with a very full knowledge.
Cyanea Capillata is the miscreant's
full name, and he can be as dangerous
to life as and far more painful than
the bite of the cobra. Let me briefly
give this extract:
If the bather should see a loose,
roundish mass of tawny membranes
and fibers, something like very large
handfuls of lions name and silver pa
per, let him beware, for this is the
fearful singer, Cyanea Capillata.'
Could our sinister acquaintance be
more clearly described?
HE goes on to tell his own Ell
counter with one when swimming off
the Coast of Kent. He found that
the creature radiated almost invisible
filaments to the distance of so feet.
and that any one within that circun1-
ference from the deadly center was
in danger of death. Even at a dist
ance the effect upon Wood was almost
fatal. The multitudious threads
caused light scarlet lines upon the
skin which on closer examination re-
solved into minute dots or pustules,