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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Master of Silence, by Irving Bacheller
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Master of Silence
+
+Author: Irving Bacheller
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7486]
+Posting Date: July 27, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER OF SILENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeffrey Kraus-yao
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MASTER OF SILENCE
+
+A ROMANCE
+
+
+Fiction, Fact, and Fancy Series
+
+Edited by Arthur Stedman
+
+
+By Irving Bacheller
+
+
+New York Charles L. Webster & Co. 1892
+
+
+
+
+
+THE MASTER OF SILENCE
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+Near the end of my fourteenth year I was apprenticed to Valentine, King
+& Co., cotton importers, Liverpool, as a "pair of legs." My father
+had died suddenly, leaving me and his property in the possession of my
+stepmother and my guardian. It was in deference to their urgent advice
+that I left my home in London (with little reluctance, since my life
+there had never been happy) to study the art of money-making. On
+arriving at the scene of my expected triumphs I was assigned to the
+somewhat humble position of errand boy. In common with other boys who
+performed a like service for the firm I was known as "a pair of legs."
+Lodgings of a rather modest character had been secured for me in the
+western outskirts of the city near the banks of the Mersey. I was slow
+to make friends, and my evenings were spent in the perusal of some story
+books, which I had brought with me from London. One night, not long
+after the beginning of my new life in Liverpool, I was lying in bed
+listening to the wind and rain beating over the housetops and driving
+against the windows, when suddenly there came a loud rap at my door.
+
+"Who's there?" I demanded, starting out of bed.
+
+As I heard no answer, I repeated my inquiry and stood a moment
+listening. I could hear nothing, however, but the wind and rain.
+Lighting a candle and dressing myself with all haste, I opened the
+door. I could just discern the figure of a bent old man standing in
+the hallway, when a gust of wind suddenly put out the candle. The door
+leading to the street was open, and the old man was probably a straggler
+come to importune me for shelter or for something to eat. As I relit the
+candle, he entered my room and stood facing me, but he did not speak.
+His clothes were dripping and he was blinking at me with strange,
+gleaming eyes. His hair was snow-white, and as I looked into his face
+the deathly pallor of it frightened me. His general appearance was more
+than startling; it was uncanny.
+
+"What can I do for you?" I asked.
+
+Greatly to my surprise he made no reply, but with a look of pain and
+great anxiety sank into a chair. Then he withdrew from his pocket a
+letter which he extended to me. The envelope was wet and dirty. It was
+directed to Kendric Lane, Esq., No. Old Broad street, London, England.
+The address was crossed and "22 Kirkland street, Liverpool," written
+under it in the familiar hand of my guardian. A strange proceeding!
+thought I. Was the letter intended for my father, who was long dead, and
+who had removed from that address more than ten years ago? The old man
+began to grin and nod as I examined the superscription. I broke the seal
+on the envelope and found the following letter, undated, and with no
+indication of the place from which it was sent:
+
+"Dear Brother--I need your help. Come to me at once if you can.
+Consequences of vast importance to me and to mankind depend upon your
+prompt compliance. I cannot tell you where I am. The bearer will bring
+you to me. Follow him and ask no questions. Moreover, be silent, like
+him, regarding the subject of this letter. If you can come, procure
+passage in the first steamer for New York. My messenger is provided with
+funds. Your loving brother,
+
+"Revis Lane."
+
+I had often heard my father speak of my uncle Revis, who went to America
+almost twenty years before I was born. Now he was my nearest living
+relative. No news of him had reached us for many years before my father
+died. I was familiar with his handwriting and the specimen before me was
+either genuine, or remarkably like it. If genuine he had evidently not
+heard of my father's death.
+
+Extraordinary as the message was, the messenger was more so. He sat
+peering at me with a strange, half-crazed expression on his face.
+
+"When did you leave my uncle?" I asked.
+
+He sat as if unconscious that I had spoken.
+
+I drew my chair to his side and repeated the words in a loud voice, but
+he did not seem to hear me. Evidently the old man could neither hear nor
+speak. In a moment he began groping in his pockets, and presently handed
+me a card which contained the following words:
+
+"If you can come, tear this card in halves and return the right half to
+him."
+
+I examined the card carefully. The words were undoubtedly in my uncle's
+handwriting. The back of the card was covered with strange characters in
+red ink. I tore the card as directed and handed him the right half.
+
+He held it up to the light and examined it carefully, then put it away
+in a pocket of his waistcoat. The look of pain returned to his face,
+and he coughed feebly as if suffering from a severe cold. The hour being
+late I intimated by pantomime that I desired him to occupy my bed. He
+understood me readily enough and began feebly to remove his clothing,
+while I prepared a sofa for myself. He was soon sound asleep, but I lay
+awake long after the light was extinguished. He was evidently quite
+ill, and I determined to go for a physician at the first appearance of
+daylight. As soon as possible I would go with him to my uncle. There
+were no ties to detain me, and it was clearly my duty to do so. Perhaps
+my uncle was in some great peril. If so, I might be of service to him.
+
+When I arose in the morning my strange lodger seemed to be sleeping
+quietly. His face looked pale and ghastly in the light of day. I stepped
+close to his bed and, laying my hand upon his brow, was horrified
+to discover that he was dead. What was I to do? I sat down to think,
+trembling with fright. I must call in a policeman and tell him all I
+knew about my strange visitor. No, not all; I must not tell him about
+the letter, thought I. My uncle might not wish it to be published to the
+world. I ran out upon the street and told the first officer I met how
+the old man had rapped at my door during the storm; how I had given him
+my bed out of pity, and how I had discovered on awaking in the morning
+that he was dead.
+
+That day the body was taken to the morgue. The sum of L100 were found in
+his pockets, a part of which gave him a decent burial. But while he had
+gone to his long rest, he had sown in my mind the seed of unrest. I went
+about my work clinging to the thread of a mystery half told. Whither
+would it lead me?
+
+Strange as that messenger had seemed, he was certainly a good man to
+carry secrets.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+The multitude of legs, engaged by the pair in the service of Valentine,
+King & Co., were distinguished from each other by a bit of house slang.
+I was known as "last legs" among my companions for some time after
+my initiation to the warehouse. At first I was inclined to resent the
+reduction of my individuality to such a vulgar formula, but as I became
+inured to hard tasks the sharpness of this indignity wore away.
+
+There was one pair of legs doing service for the firm whose owner became
+my most valued friend and confidant. In his business capacity he was
+called "long legs," but his proper name was Philbert Chaffin. He was
+a tall, slim boy, with blue eyes and light hair, the son of a stage
+carpenter, who was employed at one of the cheap theatres and who
+lived within a stone's throw of my lodgings. His language was a unique
+combination of bad grammar and provincial brogue; but every boy in
+the warehouse allowed that he was a good fellow. He had spent many an
+evening with me, and confided to me many a secret which, owing to solemn
+pledges made at that time, I am not at liberty to divulge, before he
+invited me to dine and spend an evening with the family. I accepted his
+invitation gratefully, and the next evening Phil took me over. It was a
+hearty welcome that I received at the home of the Chaffins. My enjoyment
+of their simple hospitality would have been perfect but for the
+embarrassment I felt at the many apologies with which it was offered.
+Mrs. Chaffin knew as 'ow the tea was not as good as I was used to
+drinking, but she 'oped it didn't taste "murky." I assured her that
+it did not taste murky, although a little doubtful as to the exact
+significance of the word when applied to tea. But in spite of my
+declaration she insisted that it must taste "murky" to one who was
+accustomed to better things. The ham was never too good in Liverpool,
+but she 'oped that it wasn't "reesty." I solemnly declared that it was
+not "reesty." But Mrs. Chaffin and Mr. Chaffin out of the goodness of
+their hearts continued to condole with me on the score that such ham
+tasted and must taste "reesty" to one not used to it. I had no sooner
+satisfied their misgivings concerning the ham than I was compelled to
+take issue with them as to the bread, regarding which they entertained a
+lurking suspicion of staleness. During all of this discussion about the
+ham, the tea and the bread, I was conscious that a pair of big brown
+eyes, darkly shaded with long lashes, were staring at me across the
+table. Whenever I had the courage to glance that way I observed that
+they had been looking at me intently, and were suddenly averted. These
+wondering eyes belonged to the only daughter in the family.
+
+"They've all been boys," said Mrs. Chaffin, "since Hetty was born."
+
+I thought it strange that the H in her daughter's name was the only one
+that the good woman had shown the ability to manage.
+
+"Hetty is the only one of the lot that takes to books," she continued.
+"The head master told me she will make a good scholar, and dear a me!
+she does nothing but read books from mornin' till night." While Hetty
+and her mother removed the dishes we drew our chairs about the fire,
+and Mr. Chaffin, a blunt, simple-minded man, entertained me with sage
+observations regarding politics and the weather. He spoke rather loudly,
+and in a key which, as I learned afterward, he only employed on very
+special occasions. Presently the youngest lad in the family, who sat
+on his father's knee, demanded a song. The response was prompt and
+generous. The selection with which Mr. Chaffin favored us contained
+upward of forty stanzas, relating the unhappy story of a fair maid and
+a bold sailor, both of whom met a tragic death, in the last stanza, just
+before the day set for their marriage. The song being finished, Hetty
+and her mother drew their chairs up to the fire; Hetty sat next me,
+and after a severe inward struggle I summoned the courage to ask her a
+question. She answered me in the fewest words possible, but in a
+voice so sweet and low that I wondered then and often afterward at
+its contrast to the other voices I had heard in that house. She wore a
+home-spun frock and a neat white pinafore, set off with a dainty ribbon
+tied about her throat.
+
+"She's uncommon still when strangers is here, sir," said Mrs. Chaffin;
+"but law me! she goes rompitin' about the house like as if she was crazy
+sometimes, ticklin' her father and tryin' t' snip off his beard with the
+scissors."
+
+That night was the beginning of happier days for me. When at last I
+rose to go it was near midnight. I forgot my weariness as I walked to my
+lodgings, thinking of those simple, honest people and of their kindness
+to me.
+
+I enjoyed high jinks at the house of the Chaffins at least once a week
+during the next year of my apprenticeship, near the close of which
+I began to get ready for a visit to my stepmother in fulfilment of a
+promise I had made by letter. It had been, on the whole, a happy year to
+me. I had known many lonely hours, to be sure, but those visits to the
+little old weather-stained house, in which I found my first friends
+after leaving home, cheered me from week to week. I knew, too, that
+Hetty enjoyed those long evenings as much as I did, which meant more to
+me than I would have dared confess to her. I thought of her a good deal,
+but it always resulted in the wretched feeling that we were both very
+young after all. It is not likely that I would have decided to go home
+for a fortnight, but that I thought it would be pleasant to observe
+the effect of saying good-by to Hetty. I had no doubt that she would be
+quite overcome with grief and loneliness after I had gone, and, reckless
+youth that I was, nothing could have made me more happy than to have
+known that she really felt grieved on my account. And yet when I called
+to bid them all good-by, the evening before I started, she betrayed no
+sign of regret. In fact, she seemed so much happier than usual that I
+worried about it for weeks, even after I had gone so far away that it
+seemed doubtful whether we would ever meet again. It did not occur to
+me that I had been less skilful than she in concealing my emotions, and
+that she might be merry only because she could perceive that I was sad.
+Mrs. Chaffin was the only member of the family who seemed to entertain
+feelings as serious as my own. She had dreamed that I would not come
+back again, and we all laughed at her then, but when the swift years had
+revealed some of their secrets, we thought of this prophetic dream with
+a sadness deeper than any that comes to childish hearts. Hester and Phil
+walked with me to the gate when I left the house. The radiance of a full
+moon fell on our faces through the flying clouds. Phil, stupid fellow!
+had so much to say that I did not get a chance to speak to his sister
+before she darted back to the house as if pursued. On reaching my
+lodgings I was surprised to find a gentleman waiting for me.
+
+"Don't know me, eh?" said he, shaking my hand warmly.
+
+He was a tall, portly man, with a kindly face, clean shaven except for
+a pair of close-cropped, iron-gray side whiskers. I was sure I had seen
+him before, but couldn't think of his name.
+
+"Earl," said he, handing me a card on which his name and address were
+printed as follows:
+
+        DAVID GORDON EARL,
+                          Barrister at Law,
+  Lincoln's Inn, London.
+
+I remembered distinctly having accompanied my father to his office on
+one occasion some years before.
+
+"I've come up from London on purpose to see you. Just got here only a
+few minutes ago," said he, laying off his overcoat. "But upon my word!"
+he added, surveying me from head to foot, "I didn't expect to find such
+a big, strapping fellow as you are. Your surroundings are quite as I had
+supposed they would be. Cramped quarters in a miserable tumble-down back
+street! I suppose your guardian provided this place for you?"
+
+"I believe so," said I.
+
+"Did you know that your stepmother had married again?" he asked.
+
+"Married!" I exclaimed. "To whom?"
+
+"To Martin Cobb."
+
+"To my guardian?" I asked, in astonishment.
+
+Not heeding my question, he continued:
+
+"You're intending to go home to-morrow, I believe?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"My boy," said he, "I have an interest in you. I was your father's
+friend and adviser for many years. I came all this distance to tell you
+not to go to London. Do not ask me why, I beg you," said he, with an
+impatient gesture when I attempted to speak. "It would do you no good to
+learn my reason for making this request. Listen to this--it's important
+to you: There's an uncle of yours in America, your nearest relative,
+I believe. Of course you have heard your father speak of him. A most
+eccentric fellow! but a man of fine ability. He was a graduate of Oxford
+and a physician of great skill and learning. Thirty-five years ago he
+went to Canada and finally settled in a large town on one of the great
+lakes not far from the border. It was Detroit, I believe. Your father
+told me, shortly before his death, that he had not heard from your uncle
+for many years. I have written to him twice within a twelvemonth, but
+have received no reply. I want you to go over and look him up. If you
+should find that he is dead, there's no harm done, and you can take time
+to look about for a business opportunity. If you don't like it, come
+back, but, if you can content yourself there for awhile, you had better
+do so."
+
+"But, sir, I have no money."
+
+"You are going for me; I shall, therefore, insist upon paying the bills.
+In the success of the undertaking I have, perhaps, as great an interest
+as you."
+
+"When do you wish me to start?" I asked.
+
+"To-night. That is to say, I would like you to leave this place at once,
+go with me to a hotel, and sail by the first steamer that leaves for New
+York."
+
+Ever since that strange and silent messenger had come to me with my
+uncle's letter I had been haunted by a desire to go in quest of him. Now
+that it was possible, I hesitated. What would Hester say on hearing that
+I had gone to America? It would be very grand to write her from New York
+that I had been suddenly called abroad on important business. Would she
+care? Of course she would care, and I was willing to wager a sixpence
+with myself that she would cry bitterly, too, on receiving the letter.
+Ah, what a punishment that would be for her coldness and indifference!
+
+Yes, I would go. I began picking up my things and packing them into my
+box.
+
+"I conclude that you have decided to go," he said.
+
+"Yes, sir. I shall be ready in a moment," I replied.
+
+We were soon rattling over the pavements in a cab that had been waiting
+at the door.
+
+On arriving at the Northwestern Hotel we were informed that a steamer
+would leave for New York at five in the morning. We drove at once to
+the dock and having succeeded in making comfortable arrangements for my
+passage Mr. Earl went aboard the steamer with me. In a retired corner
+of the great cabin I confessed to him that there was a girl in Liverpool
+for whom I had a feeling of extraordinary tenderness.
+
+He laughed heartily and insisted that I should tell him all the
+particulars.
+
+"You are rather young yet to entertain so serious a passion," said he,
+as he held my hand for a moment before going ashore. "You will get over
+it as easily as you got into it."
+
+I sat down, unable to reply or to restrain the tears that came to my
+eyes as he left me alone. I went to my stateroom at once and to bed.
+What thoughts came to me as I lay there inviting sleep to turn them
+into dreams, while the great ship waited for the tide! I tossed about
+my berth; I prayed; I listened. At length I thought I heard my father's
+voice mingled with others, and a sound of casting off--but I heard no
+more.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+One morning in early October, nearly two years after I left Liverpool
+that memorable night, I found myself in the little city of Ogdensburg,
+N. Y., past which the majestic St. Lawrence flows with a sleepy movement
+quite in harmony with the spirit of the old town on its southern shore.
+All this time I had been vainly beating about the Western Hemisphere in
+quest of my uncle. He had left Detroit many years before, but I chanced
+to meet a number of men there who had known him well. Although he had
+enjoyed a very large practice and a wide reputation for skill, he had
+made no friends that I could find. He was a man of few words, they told
+me, and was never seen about the city except in the discharge of his
+professional duties. Various and conflicting opinions were expressed
+as to whither he had gone, in testing which I had visited no less than
+twenty cities, making careful inquiries, especially among medical men.
+Occasionally I struck what seemed to be a promising clew, which only
+increased my confusion and left me more hopelessly in the dark. I had
+reported my movements to Mr. Earl as often as once a week and I received
+letters from him frequently, encouraging me to continue the search and
+enclosing money with which to do so. But although I had written often
+to Hester Chaffin no word from her ever reached me. I was tired of this
+fruitless quest among strangers, so far from the little that I held
+dear, and I was on the point of giving up when this paragraph fell under
+my eye in a Montreal newspaper:
+
+           A MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER.
+
+"One who has ever passed the city of Ogdensburg by steamer will no doubt
+recall a large gambrel-roofed house standing near the water's edge, just
+out of the town, surrounded by towering trees and enclosed on all sides
+by a wall nearly as high as the eaves of the building. The wall suggests
+an asylum, a house of detention or some like place set apart for the
+unfortunate members of society. In reality, however, it is the residence
+of a mysterious recluse of the name of Lane, who shut himself up there
+nearly eighteen years ago and has since been rarely seen. It was built
+after his own plans, they say, when he came to Ogdensburg with his wife,
+who died soon afterward. Nobody knows whence he came or anything of his
+past history. He is apparently a total stranger here below, holding no
+intercourse with the world beyond that enclosure. His wife is said to
+have been a woman of great beauty, and her death doubtless threw him
+into a morbid state of mind, from which he has never rallied. Many
+years ago he is known to have bought a full-grown African lion from a
+traveling menagerie, and, soon after, he erected the wall, presumably
+out of regard for the public safety. Passers along the street have
+caught an occasional glimpse of him through the high gate, walking in
+the grounds surrounding his house, with the lion at his heels apparently
+in complete subjection to its master. A dense thicket runs along the
+wall on all sides within the enclosure, which, according to local
+tradition, is alive with rattlesnakes, bred for some strange purpose
+known only to himself--perhaps to make his isolation more secure.
+
+"He is supposed to have resigned the companionship of men for study and
+scientific research. He has no children, and his only servant being a
+deaf-mute, who is almost an idiot, there is little chance at present of
+learning anything of his life. For more than two years nothing has been
+seen of the mysterious master of the house. His disappearance would, we
+think, be a legitimate subject of investigation by the authorities
+of the town. May he not have been eaten by the lion, or killed by the
+rattlesnakes? Who knows?"
+
+My heart was beating fast and my hands shook as if stricken with palsy
+before I had finished the paragraph. The strange old man who had come
+to me in Liverpool that night was probably the mute servant to which
+the article referred. In an hour I was on the way to Ogdensburg, quite
+confident that the issue of my wanderings was at hand. I reached that
+town next morning nearly two years, as I have said, after the beginning
+of my journey to the New World. Not stopping to breakfast even, I
+started out to find the house, which my busy imagination had already
+pictured for itself. The first townsman I saw directed me to the place.
+
+"Follow the turnpike," said he. "'Sa mild or more--straight ahead.
+You'll know it when y' git there. 'S' queer place an' stan's off by
+itself."
+
+The man was going my way, evidently to begin his day's work, for it was
+then early in the morning, and I walked along with him.
+
+"Folks say," he continued, "them grounds is full of hejious reptyles,
+an' I've heerd fellers tell queer things they've seen when passin' there
+at night--red lights a-flyin' about an' spooks at the winders. An' one
+night, when Uncle Bill Jemson was comin' down the turnpike, they was a
+storm come up, an' jest as he got opposite the big iron gate they was a
+flash a lightnin'--an' Bill says he see the ole man, his long white hair
+a-flyin' in th' wind, an' a lion standin' there in front a th' house.
+Th' flash was out'n a minit, an' Bill whipped up his hosses an' sent em
+clear to Mills' tavern on the dead run," said he, laughing as if it were
+a good joke.
+
+"They don't nobody like th' place ner th' man, though I don' know why,
+fer no one's ever passed a word with him in these parts. There 'tis,
+over yender with the pines around it an' th' high wall," said he,
+pointing with his finger. But my eye had already discovered the
+low-built rambling house on the high banks of the river, well in the
+distance, and had recognized it at once.
+
+Leaving my companion at the next turn in the road I walked hurriedly on,
+and when I had reached the big iron gate I stopped and peered through
+it. A gravel roadway, now overgrown with weeds, led from the gate to the
+front of the house, which stood facing me. It was built entirely of
+wood and consisted of four wings (at least there were no others visible)
+evidently enclosing a quadrangular courtyard, the rear wings being
+lower than those in front, and hidden by the latter from the view of one
+standing at the gate as I was. It was only at a distance that one could
+see their roofs above the enclosure. There was but one line of windows
+along the front, but there was an oriel just under the peak of the main
+building, and I could see a skylight here and there upon the roofs.
+
+The blinds were closed and there was no sign of life about the
+house--evidently planned with hospitable intentions, but now silent and
+forbidding. I tried the gates. They were locked securely. A screen of
+closely woven wire rose from the pavement half way up the iron work.
+Evidently it would be impossible to reach the doors without scaling
+this barrier, and I was not yet ready to try an expedient so desperate.
+Returning to my hotel I wrote a letter to the master of the house,
+telling him of my long-continued quest and of my hopes regarding our
+possible kinship. Day after day I anxiously awaited his reply, until
+a week had passed, but no word came from him. In passing the house at
+different times, however, I observed some signs of life within it--a
+blind open that had been closed the day before--a faint glimmer of light
+on the trees in the rear of the grounds at night, which might have come
+from the back windows. Even this slight encouragement was gratifying,
+but as time passed without bringing any reply to my letter I began to
+think that, after all, my hopes rested on very shadowy foundations. One
+day I asked the local postmaster if a man of the name of Lane, who lived
+near that city, ever sent for his mail.
+
+"Never," said he. "The man is crazy, I guess, and it's wasting postage
+to write him. He's a hermit, sir--a regular hermit, and is about the
+same as dead, for nobody ever sees him. The tradesmen tell me that his
+old servant comes out of an evening, once in a while, to buy provisions,
+but he's deaf as a post and dumb as an oyster." The interview had at
+least shown me the futility of trying to reach him by letter.
+
+It was clear that only one course was open to me. I must brave the
+unknown perils with which this strange man had encompassed the path
+of the trespasser, and gain an entrance to the house. I sought the
+seclusion of my room at once, and thought over the result of my
+investigations. I had not written to my good friend in London since my
+arrival in Ogdensburg, and I concluded not to do so until I could give
+him definite information.
+
+Late in the afternoon a slow, drizzling rain began to pour down, and
+when night fell every luminary in the heavens was obscured by thick
+clouds. It was a favorable time for carrying out my project, as the
+darkness was intensified by a fog that had settled over the city. By
+the light of my lamp I prepared for the undertaking, in such a state of
+excitement that I was frequently startled by my own whispers, through
+which I found myself now and then giving involuntary utterance to my
+thoughts. Cutting up a pair of boots which I carried in my box, I wound
+my legs in leather from my ankles up above my knees, carefully drawing
+on a pair of thick, long stockings to hold it in place. This precaution
+would give me a comfortable sense of security, even if there were no
+snakes to fear. I felt sure that the lion, if he were still living,
+would be kept in some place of confinement.
+
+It was long past bedtime, and the lights were out in every shop and
+dwelling, when I started on my daring mission. The little lamps that
+glared through the fog at the street corners could scarcely be seen
+twenty feet away. I was so preoccupied that I frequently lost my
+direction in the mud and darkness. It seemed as if I had been traveling
+for hours, when at last I felt the big wall, and saw its dim bulk rising
+above me and stretching away into the night. Cautiously I groped along
+its base until my hands felt the iron bars of the gate. Then I stood for
+some moments leaning against them, quite out of breath. They were cold
+and wet, and chilled me to a shiver when I touched them. I peered toward
+the house but could see nothing. I listened, but could hear nothing
+except the beating of my own heart and the mournful sound of the pines
+whose loftier branches were stirring in the still air. Grasping the
+heavy bars I tried to climb the gate, but, as there were no projections
+on which it was possible to get a foothold, I found this an exhausting
+and difficult task. I climbed repeatedly several feet above the earth,
+only to lose my foothold and slide down again. Finally, by exerting all
+my strength, I succeeded in supporting myself with the edge of my boot
+upon a crossbar about half way up; then, taking a small rope from my
+pocket I threw one end of it over the gate, holding the other in my
+teeth. Tying it securely by a noose I climbed hand over hand to the top
+and then let myself down on the other side. I was quite exhausted by the
+effort (unaccustomed as I was to such burglarious enterprises) and my
+fingers were torn and bleeding from forcing a hold between the iron work
+and the wire screen. I remembered the gravel pathway, overgrown with
+grass, that led from the big gate to a front door. I groped about in the
+darkness until I felt the gravel under my feet. Then I moved cautiously
+along it, until I could dimly discern the outlines of the house. My
+nerves were so wrought up, while I stood there holding my breath to
+catch some sound from its gloomy interior, that I was near crying out
+in abject terror at every step. An owl, startled from the limb of a tree
+over my head, flew lazily into the upper air and across the thicket,
+disturbing other birds that set up a chattering protest. Stealthily I
+crept from window to window, but the blinds were closed fast. Finally I
+came to a door that seemed to open into the main part of the building.
+Desperate under the strain to which my nerves had been subjected, I
+knocked loudly on its upper panels. The sound echoed through the
+still house and the thickly wooded grounds around it. "God help me!" I
+whispered; "will that echo never cease?" It kept repeating itself from
+tree to tree, until I covered my ears to stop its weird reverberations.
+Then I heard a low threatening sound, deep and resonant as the lower
+tones of a great organ, that gradually grew louder until its volume
+filled the air, and then died away, while its echoes went chasing each
+other among the trees. In the silence which followed, my ear caught
+another sound the like of which I had never heard before. A dozen clocks
+being wound by quick turns on all sides of me would, I fancy, have
+produced a similar effect. It was evident to me that my knocking had
+disturbed my uncle's pets, but I was not to be frightened away. Hearing
+no movement in the house I tried the door, and to my astonishment it
+swung open. A peculiar odor, such as one notices in a house that has
+long stood empty, came to my nostrils, and again I heard that fateful
+whirring, but in the darkness I could discern no object. As I crossed
+the threshold the sound grew louder, and to my horror the door closed
+suddenly behind me. Hurriedly striking a match, I held it above my head
+and peered about me. Its light revealed a small apartment finished in
+polished wood. Along the angle of the floor was an opening, two or three
+inches high, into the side walls. And half way up the wall in front of
+me I saw a face--the face of a maniac it seemed to be--pale and wan,
+with strange, inhuman eyes. I had scarcely glanced at it when the match
+dropped from my fingers and fell slowly through the air, going out as it
+struck the floor. My hands were cold, but so wet with perspiration that
+they stuck to my clothing when I felt for a candle which I had brought
+with me.
+
+There are moments in every man's life that move slowly, as if carrying
+the weight of years upon their backs. I shall never cease to believe
+that the few seconds it took me to light that candle must stand for as
+many years in any correct reckoning of my age. When its beams at last
+illumined the room, the strange face was still there. Had I seen it
+before? It was marvellously like that other face which had haunted my
+dreams so long. If it was the face of a man he must be standing on the
+other side of the wall and looking through a panel.
+
+"Is Mr. Lane at home?" I asked in an unnatural tone that startled me.
+
+But no word of reply was spoken.
+
+"I am his nephew and I have important news for him."
+
+The face disappeared for a moment, and presently a shrunken hand,
+holding a white sheet of paper, was extended through the opening. I
+stepped forward, took the sheet and, withdrawing to the centre of the
+room, sat down upon the floor and wrote the following message in bold
+characters with my pencil:
+
+"Kendric Lane, son of Kendric Lane (deceased), late of London, England,
+wishes to see Dr. Lane on business of importance."
+
+I handed the message to the strange man behind the wall, who immediately
+disappeared with it, closing the panel. "The worst is over," thought
+I, while I stood in that mysterious and silent chamber waiting for his
+return. But I should not have thought so had I known what was still to
+be revealed to me before the dawn of another day, and in the months that
+followed, during which that house and its echoing groves were my home.
+And I sometimes ask myself, in the light of later events of which that
+visit was indirectly the cause, whether, had I been able to foresee
+them, I would still have persevered in my purpose to know the secrets of
+my uncle's house?
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A long time I stood waiting for some reply to my message. My candle was
+fast burning out, and I began to fear that after all I was likely to
+leave the house no wiser than when I had entered it. Suddenly a door
+swung on its creaking hinges and a feeble old man, holding a lamp in one
+hand, stood grinning at me in the opening. It was the same face that I
+saw before, but it seemed less ghostly and unnatural now. Stepping back
+he beckoned me to enter. As soon as I had crossed the threshold the door
+closed behind me and the old man carefully bolted it. I stood in a
+large room, richly furnished, of which spiders had apparently long held
+possession. Great cobwebs hung like hammocks from the ceiling, and
+the dust of years had settled over all. Two human skeletons completely
+wrapped in cobwebs, stood facing me against the opposite wall. Following
+my silent leader, I went through a long narrow passage, at the end of
+which was a heavy door fastened with large iron bolts. Before opening
+it the strange old man placed the lamp upon a table and turning around
+looked squarely into my face. Merciful Heaven! It was the face of
+another man who was looking at me now! The deep lines had almost
+disappeared and the eyes looked brighter and more intelligent. No,
+it was the same face, for while my eyes were eagerly scanning it that
+hideous grin began to deepen its wrinkles, and its owner, taking half a
+dozen steps down the passageway, made an awkward motion with both hands
+as if trying to indicate that I was to follow him very closely. Then he
+opened the big door and I was surprised to observe that it led into the
+outer air. What gulf of darkness are we about to plunge into? I asked
+myself, peering through the doorway; and as we stepped out I heard again
+that ominous whirring. Close upon his heels I followed in a narrow path,
+through what seemed to be a large courtyard, overgrown with thick grass.
+Presently he stopped, and, taking a bunch of keys from his pocket,
+unlocked a door in a back wing of the house. Reaching out until his hand
+touched me, as if to make sure that I was there, he swung the door
+open and we stepped into a dimly lighted apartment. My mysterious guide
+turned up the wick of a lamp that was burning on a table in the centre
+of the room. It was a library, with great shelves of books reaching
+from floor to ceiling along its walls. A large galvanic battery, globes,
+charts and other contrivances that belong to the equipment of a scholar
+surrounded the table. This table was used for writing evidently, for
+there were pens lying on it and a human skull used as an inkstand, the
+fluid being held in the cavities of the eyes. I had seated myself in
+a chair and was waiting for some sign from the little old man who had
+brought me there. But where was he? Turning around I looked about me on
+all sides. He had left the room during my momentary preoccupation. I
+had scarcely seated myself again when a door opened and a venerable
+man, with snow-white hair and a smooth-shaven face that was pale and
+wrinkled, walked slowly toward me. I rose to my feet and advanced a step
+or two. He came forward without speaking and looked steadily into my
+eyes. Slowly and sadly he turned his gaze upon the floor, apparently in
+deep thought. A sigh broke from his lips as if some memory, stirring in
+the caves of thought, had driven it forth.
+
+The man who stood before me had deep-set gray eyes, almost concealed by
+long shaggy brows not yet entirely white. His lips were thin, and drawn
+closely together above a square, protruding chin. The nose was aquiline
+and prominent, with large, but finely cut nostrils. Altogether his was
+the most picturesque face I had ever seen. Suddenly he made an effort to
+clear his throat.
+
+"Kendric's child," said he, in a strange, low voice. He spoke slowly
+and with great difficulty, as if his organs of speech were partially
+paralyzed. I would not have been able to distinguish his words but for
+the silence of that room and the unnatural keenness of my hearing. He
+still stood motionless, his eyes upon the floor. I knew that he was
+thinking of my father.
+
+"Dead?" he asked, looking at me inquisitively.
+
+"He is dead," I answered.
+
+"And my man--did he give you the letter?"
+
+"Yes; he is dead also."
+
+"Dead? I thought he was dead," he repeated, slowly and thoughtfully. "I,
+too, am dead--long dead."
+
+The words were separated by considerable pauses, and he faced me almost
+sternly as he finished speaking them. I stood staring at him, dumb with
+surprise.
+
+"Why--how did you come here?"
+
+He sank into a chair, exhausted with the effort it had cost him to
+speak. My presence seemed to irritate and annoy him. Why, indeed, had
+I come there? What should I say in reply to his question? I tried to
+think.
+
+"Knaves! Knaves!" said my uncle, in a shrill voice, rushing toward me.
+In a moment he had thrown his arms about my neck and was sobbing aloud.
+My heart was full and I wept with him.
+
+"Fortunate child of God," said he, after a moment; "you have the seed
+of life--immortal life. But I beg you to go. To one like you this house
+will seem an uncanny place; I can only think of it as beyond the grave."
+
+"Let me stay, uncle," said I. "Don't send me away. Perhaps I can help
+you or comfort you."
+
+"Poor soul! you shall stay if you will. I am in great trouble and need
+help, but you are a boy--I cannot ask you to give your life to me."
+
+He sat down before the table, breathing heavily, and beckoned me to
+a chair beside him. I was quite dumfounded and knew not what to say.
+Presently he began writing upon large sheets of paper, handing each one
+to me as soon as it was covered. The manuscript read as follows:
+
+"I am not able to talk much. To me words are a lie and an abomination.
+Even these I now write are misrepresenting me and deceiving you, though
+I wish them to tell the truth. They will make me out an ass or a madman.
+I am neither. For eighteen years I have scarcely spoken as many words. A
+word or two of Sanscrit now and then has met my needs, thank God! There
+is an interior language for which speech is an imperfect medium. Through
+that interior language thought is communicated directly and truthfully.
+I used it long before I came here--imperfectly, to be sure, but with a
+small degree of satisfaction to myself. Through it I was able to heal
+the sick when others failed. I knew how they felt better than they could
+tell me in feeble words. In some more perfect state of evolution, beyond
+the grave, perhaps, all men will have this power and it will be perfect.
+I can enjoy but an imperfect use of it until the mortal part of me
+has been cast off. One trained to speech in childhood loses certain
+faculties that can never be regained.
+
+"My wife died many years ago. She left me a broken heart and a child,
+newly born. I had just built this house, among strangers. We intended to
+devote the remainder of our lives to the study of mental phenomena. We
+desired to carry on our work without interruption. We planned to live
+unknown among those around us. When she died I saw in the child an
+opportunity. I determined to make its life a grand experiment; to
+preserve and cultivate its native intuitions--the germ of the power of
+direct communication. God has vouchsafed success to me. He lives--a man
+of exalted powers the like of which the world has never seen but once,
+and then in Christ, the very Son of God. But, unlike Him, my son is only
+human, with weaknesses that are our common lot.
+
+"The years are flying, and strength is failing! I must die soon and he
+will live. That thought burns my brain, passing through it day by day.
+His life may be long extended and he cannot live alone, nor among
+men, for he would be a stranger and friendless--feared and dreaded by
+superstitious fools. He has never seen a human face outside these walls
+nor heard a human voice but mine. I have told you my trouble."
+
+He ceased writing, but before I had finished reading the statement some
+strange influence came over me. I felt restless and uncomfortable. My
+hand was shaking so that I could scarcely read the words on the last
+sheet of paper. Suddenly I raised my eyes and saw a young man, godlike
+in form and feature, standing at my side. His face wore an expression of
+indescribable eloquence. As familiar as he afterward became to me, I
+can never forget the first impression which that magnificent human being
+made upon my mind, as he stood there--radiating a power that I felt to
+the tips of my fingers. What favored son of man was this confronting
+me, born to such an inheritance of majesty and grace? I asked myself,
+regarding him with amazement. He had eyes dark as night, set under a
+broad forehead, about which wavy masses of tawny hair fell gracefully.
+His stately form was erect and firm as a statue. For a moment his eyes
+looked into mine; then he advanced and took my hand. Tenderly he pressed
+it to his lips, stepping back as he did so and looking at me with
+a half-curious, half-amused expression. I was so startled by the
+unexpected appearance of this remarkable figure that I had not, until
+now, noticed that a large lion had followed him into the room and was
+lying quietly at his feet. I was not afraid; indeed, the king of beasts
+seemed but a part of the man's masterful presence. I do not think I
+would have seen the animal but that his enormous body was lying directly
+before my eyes on the floor. My uncle had been sitting with his head
+resting upon his hand at the table. Suddenly he rose and a strange,
+guttural sound--it may have been a word from some language wholly
+unfamiliar to me--passed his lips. The young man immediately left us,
+the lion following closely at his heels. We both sat in silence for some
+moments after he had gone. My mind had felt strange exhilaration in his
+presence, and I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I was not dreaming.
+When I looked at my uncle the sad expression on his face had given way
+to a smile of infinite satisfaction.
+
+"He is pleased--thank God!" said my uncle, in a hoarse whisper, sinking
+into a chair.
+
+I made no answer.
+
+"It was my son," he continued, with animation. "Rayel--that was the name
+she gave him. Rayel, the wonderful. He will love you as he loves me.
+Come," said he, rising, "the night is nearly gone."
+
+Taking a lamp from the table, he beckoned me to follow him. Silently
+we proceeded through a narrow hallway and up one flight of stairs to a
+spacious bedroom which had seemingly been prepared for my use. A candle
+was burning dimly on a large dressing-case, and by its flickering light,
+as soon as my uncle had gone, I looked about me and tried to think
+with calmness on the experience I had passed through. Bolting the door
+securely, I threw open one of the window blinds. To my surprise the
+first light of dawn was visible in the sky. My room was in the rear
+of the house. Between me and the high wall was a dense tangle of
+underbrush, barely visible in the dim light. Hastily undressing, I went
+to bed without further delay, and was soon in deep sleep. When I awoke
+it was near midday. Dressing as quickly as possible, I proceeded at once
+to the library, where my uncle sat waiting for me. He conducted me to
+the breakfast room--a well-lighted and cheerful apartment--where he
+served me with his own hands.
+
+"You shall stay, sir--you shall stay," said he, laying his hand on my
+shoulder as he sat down beside me, with a smiling face. "Rayel loves
+you. He hopes you will stay. He thinks God sent you to us."
+
+"I am glad, for I wish to stay," I said.
+
+"Good!" he exclaimed, in a long whisper. "You have brought the world to
+him. Already he has seen it in your eyes. But it is good!"
+
+While I ate he asked me questions touching the changes in our family
+since he left England.
+
+I told him of my life at home after my father's death; of my hard lot
+in Liverpool, and of the midnight interviews with his messenger and
+with Mr. Earl. He listened to me with grave and attentive interest, but
+stopped me before I had finished, with an impatient gesture.
+
+"Speak out! they meant--they meant to kill you, didn't they?"
+
+I stared at him in amazement, while ideas that were new to me flocked
+into the empyrean of thought like black birds of prey. Oh, no; I had
+never suspected that! I would never before have permitted such a hideous
+suspicion to enter my mind. Was it possible that Mr. Earl had sent me
+away from England in order to save my life? My hands began to tremble,
+and I felt my face turning red and pale under the searching eyes of my
+uncle.
+
+"My boy," said he, "if all the murders were done that men conceive, the
+devil would live alone on earth. We shall know some time--I tell you we
+shall know! Let us go to Rayel," he said, rising and leading the way.
+
+The interview had greatly excited him, and his speech seemed even more
+halting and labored than before. Many of his words were mispronounced
+and separated by long pauses; but his manner was marvelously expressive,
+and often a peculiar turn of the eye or movement of the hand made his
+meaning clear when I was in doubt about his words.
+
+I followed him through a long gymnasium and out upon a grassy courtyard
+extending along the rear of the grounds parallel with the river wall
+for a hundred yards or more, and adorned with beds of flowers. It was
+completely shut off from the eye of the outside world by a thick grove
+and an impenetrable growth of underbrush that reached beyond the lowest
+branches of the trees. Nothing but the blue sky, in which the sun was
+on its downward course, the house, and the walls of living green, were
+visible. Out of this Eden-like spot we passed into another wing of the
+building with large windows looking out upon it. Rayel met us at the
+door, dressed in a black robe of silk that hung gracefully from his
+shoulders. Again he took my hand and kissed it, then looked into my eyes
+with the same expression of curious interest upon his face that I had
+noted before. Still holding my hand, he led me across the room. For
+the first time I noticed that its walls were covered with pictures,
+unframed, and that an easel stood in the light of each window. We
+stopped before one of them. On a large canvas that was stretched across
+it I saw a likeness of myself. The eyes wore a haggard look which seemed
+unnatural. But there was something strangely real about it, in spite of
+that.
+
+"Wonderful!" said I.
+
+Rayel started at the sound of my voice, and glanced from one to the
+other with a puzzled, inquiring look. Turning to his father, he uttered
+some strange monosyllable in a deep voice. Then he took my hand and
+walked back and forth across the room with me, smiling in great delight.
+I was fascinated by one of the pictures which showed a great gleaming
+eye with a suggestion of lightning in its fiery depths, as if taken at
+the keenest flash of fury. To intensify its fierceness a human hand was
+raised in front of it so as to throw a dark shadow across the canvas.
+
+"It is the lion's eye," said my uncle, who was standing near me.
+
+There were other paintings--many of them equally strange and
+wonderful--hanging on the walls, some of which contained material he
+could not have derived from direct observation. It was easy to discern
+in his work the fragments of nature that came within the limited command
+of his own eyes--the falling snow, the changing phases of the sky and
+of vegetation--for they were presented with a stronger and more vivid
+touch. Until the fading twilight blended all color into gloom I passed
+from one canvas to another along the wall in silence, oblivious of all
+save the presence of Rayel, who followed close at my elbow, evidently
+enjoying my admiration of his work. When I had finished looking at the
+paintings I turned for some sign to indicate his further pleasure, and
+discovered that he was gone. My uncle was standing near me.
+
+"It is late," said he.
+
+We returned at once across the yard to my uncle's retreat among his
+books and papers. Lighting the lamps he sat down beside me.
+
+"The power of speech is returning," said he. "I can talk more easily."
+
+"Did I not hear you speak to your son?" I asked.
+
+"Yes," he answered. "Long ago difficulties arose. Sometimes he could not
+command my thoughts, nor I his. I had known fifty years of life; he had
+not--hence an inequality. My physical organism had been neglected. It
+was an imperfect agent of the mind. Many of my faculties were lost.
+These circumstances stood between us like barriers. It was the beginning
+of each communication that troubled us, when our minds were working in
+different channels. Something was needed for a cue--a starting-point.
+Ten pregnant words of Sanscrit were all we needed. It was easy then."
+
+"I should think he would have lost the power of speech and hearing," I
+remarked.
+
+"No. Music saved them--abstract music. His voice is wonderful. His
+hearing is quick. Rayel knows words but not speech. His mind has command
+of my knowledge. He has never seen the world, but he knows about it.
+I tried to begin my life anew and to forget the past. But I could not
+wholly cleanse my mind of it. Its memories faded slowly. I have avoided
+renewing them for his sake."
+
+"He could, then, learn to speak?"
+
+"With ease, and it were better if he could speak now. We will teach him
+soon."
+
+As he ceased speaking, fatigued by the unaccustomed effort, I heard low
+strains of music echoing through the silent halls around us. A violin!
+The tone was deep and tremulous, gradually growing louder, filling the
+ear with its message, and lifting the mind to lofty heights of thought
+and passion. We both sat listening for hours, and midnight came before
+the last strain died away. That music was like a strange story that
+drops its plummet deep into life's mysteries.
+
+"A new song!" said my uncle, turning to me with surprise on his face.
+"He got the subject from you. We shall see."
+
+Presently Rayel entered the room, bringing something in his hand--a
+picture--which he held up to the lamplight. A girl's face! and
+wonderfully like that of Hester Chaffin. I sat amazed, staring at it.
+But the likeness was not exact, the face was idealized--as I had seen it
+in my dream the night before. I raised my eyes to Rayel's face. He was
+looking at me with an expression of pain and embarrassment.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+My uncle recovered the power of speech rapidly. Before I had been a week
+in his house he was able to talk with comparative ease. He seemed to
+enjoy my companionship, and I spent most of my time in his library,
+conversing with him or conning the musty books that had long lain
+unread. To me this room was a fascinating and restful place. Somehow
+it reminded me of an old cemetery. The time-worn books upon its shelves
+stood in solemn rows, like headstones, sacred to the memory of the men
+who wrote them--their titles like inscriptions half obliterated. I did
+not see Rayel for days after the midnight episode that gave me such a
+startling revelation of his power.
+
+"Do you think that Rayel knows everything that passes in one's mind--a
+vivid dream, for instance?" I asked my uncle one day when we were alone
+together.
+
+Yes, except when he is himself asleep. His command of my dreams puzzled
+me at first. I thought I had put the past completely out of my mind. But
+I could not hide it from him. Little by little he learned everything in
+my history. One day I saw him at work on a picture. It startled me.
+The canvas showed a man lying on a surgeon's table. The knife had just
+severed an artery in his thigh. There were four men working over him--I
+was one of them. Gradually the features took on a familiar expression.
+His face grew paler under the brush. A few touches--the scene was
+complete. The man was dead--his eyes wide open, staring at me.
+
+My uncle paused and looked earnestly into my face.
+
+"It was a bit of your professional experience," said I. "Something had
+reminded you of it."
+
+"The night before I dreamed about it" he answered. "My mind, released
+from the command of my will, betrayed me."
+
+"A strange power!" I exclaimed.
+
+"Incredible to you! Impossible to acquire unless the work begins at
+birth, and then the possibilities are infinite," said he, drawing his
+chair closer to mine. "You know what I have done. Start the new-born
+mind on any highway and see how it hurries along. You can do more,
+working a little while over the cradle, than all the preachers under
+heaven, after its occupant has grown beyond your ministry. I tell
+you, sir, the world is indifferent to its children. Neglected by their
+parents, subject to hired tenderness or none at all; left to the care of
+ignorant or depraved nurses, and often taught little but selfishness
+and greed of gain, the children of men are surrounded by destructive
+agencies. Can we wonder that the human mind loses in infancy so much
+of its native power? But so the generations of earth are growing up,
+bearing embittered fruit and sowing its seed to the four winds.
+Who cares for the mind and body of a child has the highest possible
+mission--the most sacred of all trusts. He must give it all his time and
+strength. He must lead its mind into green pastures; he must share its
+joys; he must know its hopes and fears; he must give it hold on lines
+of thought that reach into eternity, which will sooner or later flood it
+with inspiration; he must see that the brain has a sufficient foundation
+of flesh and blood and bone; he must give it all his life until the
+germs of power are developed."
+
+"Unfortunately," said I, "most parents have other things to do and think
+of."
+
+"Parentage is a crime under such circumstances. It has peopled the world
+with fools and knaves. It delays the coming of Christ's kingdom. There
+are a few wise men, but they are held down as gravitation holds the
+rock. There are laws of attraction in the world of mind as in that of
+matter. Good and evil are its poles. Every atom between them is held in
+place by the operation of opposing forces. The general mass of mind
+lies within narrow zones on both sides of the equatorial line of this
+imaginary world. Its attraction prevents any men from rising far above
+or descending far below it. I tell you, sir, the intellectual world has
+degrees of latitude and longitude which determine every man's location.
+Emancipated from the forces I have described, my son has risen to a
+level beyond the attainment of men under ordinary conditions. Hypocrisy
+and deceit are things of which he knows nothing. I do not ascribe to
+him, mind you, the possession of saintly virtues. He is a man in whom
+the best potentialities of mind and body have been developed. I have
+carefully avoided the danger of making him a morbid, spiritual creature.
+His body is quite as wonderful as his mind."
+
+My uncle had been pacing restlessly up and down the room as he spoke,
+often pausing before me and uttering his words vehemently, with quick
+gestures and flashing eyes. He did not, seemingly, expect an answer to
+his remark, for, as he ceased speaking, he stepped before one of the
+windows and stood for a moment looking out upon the courtyard.
+
+"See!" said he suddenly, motioning to me.
+
+I stepped to his side and, looking through the window, saw Rayel running
+across the lawn with the lion on his shoulders. When the beast sprang
+down he seized it by the mane and tossed it about like one with the
+strength of Hercules. Here was a man who exercised his rightful dominion
+over animated nature!
+
+"The beast is very fond of him," said my uncle, "and a movement of his
+finger is sufficient to control it."
+
+"Why did you adopt a pet so terrible?" I asked.
+
+"To secure isolation," he answered. "He's an object of terror to
+intruders, and a source of delight to us."
+
+"You have snakes here, too," I ventured.
+
+"Yes, and for the same reason, But they can't harm you now. Since you
+came we have killed them. They have been good friends to me, but you
+were a stranger, and your life would have been in danger every day.
+Years ago I procured a score of them from the mountains of Pennsylvania
+and put them into the thickets. They multiplied like rats, and so I was
+armed against invasion.
+
+"To prevent their escape I sank a screen of wire two feet below the
+ground along the base of the walls; I also posted a warning inside my
+gate. Long ago I began to destroy them, and there were only a few left
+when you came. They were good friends to me--excellent friends!" he
+repeated, rubbing his hands with a grim smile. "For eighteen years I
+have been able to carry on my work unmolested. No knowledge of what was
+transpiring outside this little world has ever reached me."
+
+"How did you begin the work of teaching this interior language to
+Rayel?" I asked.
+
+"By signs at first--gradually making them more simple and suggestive.
+The elimination of signs kept pace with the development of his
+intuitions. It was slow work and hard work, but I gave all my time
+to it. After he became familiar with a sign, I began to make it less
+pantomimic, until finally a lift of the eyebrow, a movement of the lips,
+or an inclination of the head served to express my meaning. In time he
+could detect the passing shades of expression in my eyes and understand
+them. Look at me," said he, laying his hand on my head and watching my
+eyes as the firelight shone upon them, for it was now evening.
+
+"Don't you know, my boy, that your eyes reflect what is passing in your
+mind? Then there are countless nerves and muscles in your face which
+proclaim thought. They aid my intuitions to discover what you do not
+speak. You wonder--ah! you are afraid!--afraid of me."
+
+I started in my chair, for while he was looking into my eyes a strange
+gleam came into his own. He turned about suddenly and looked into the
+bright fire that burned on the grate before us.
+
+"Never fear," he continued, nervously twirling a lock of his white hair.
+"Never fear, sir--I am not mad. Not yet. I have been afraid of it, but
+my reason will outlast my life. Do you ever pray?"
+
+"Every day," I answered.
+
+"Then you employ the interior language. We commune directly with the
+Holy Spirit. You get some message from Him every day more satisfactory
+than words. It's the answer of your prayers. I tell you, sir, words are
+an invention of the devil. Do you like Rayel?" he asked, turning upon me
+abruptly.
+
+"You need have no doubt of that," I answered, "or of my willingness to
+look after him if it should be necessary--to take him away with me and
+cherish him as I would a brother."
+
+"Good! Good!" he exclaimed smiling and rubbing his hands joyfully.
+"I have not long to live. When the time comes, take him out among the
+knaves and fools! But we must hurry: our time is short. We must prepare
+him for a second birth. You will find him an apt pupil--a very apt one.
+He already knows more of the world than I thought possible. I don't
+think you will find him troublesome--he can help you; he will teach
+you wisdom; he will enlarge the issues of your life. My fortune will be
+ample for his needs: use it as you see fit. I have one servant left,"
+he said, drawing his chair closer to mine and speaking scarcely above
+a whisper: "I would like this to be his home when I am dead. It will be
+better, however, to place him in some public institution where he can
+be well provided for. I shall leave a sufficient allowance for him. The
+manner of its bestowal I leave entirely to your judgment. There were two
+of them--you have seen the other. He was a faithful fellow. They were
+poor fools, both of them, but uncommonly wise," he continued. "They kept
+it to themselves. I found them in an asylum twenty-five years ago. They
+called them idiots. Idiots! God help us!"
+
+That strange light seemed to kindle in his eyes again while he was
+speaking, and it conveyed anything but a cheerful suggestion to my mind.
+
+"There is this difference between idiots and madmen," he continued. "The
+former are born outside the pale of human sympathy; the latter overstep
+it. In either case they are not of this earth--they are embodied spirits
+living in a world of their own creation, biding the time of liberation
+from the flesh. And do you know, there are more madmen in the world than
+it dreams of?"
+
+He stopped with a tone of sharp interrogation and looked squarely into
+my face.
+
+"There are undoubtedly many of them," said I.
+
+"The lines of monomania all lead to madness," he continued. "The deeper
+one plunges into the mysteries of life the nearer he approaches it. But,
+mark you, one man may venture further than another. For years I have
+lived in fear of two things--madness and death. Not on my account, but I
+had Rayel to think of."
+
+My uncle rose to his feet before he had ceased speaking and walked
+stealthily on his tiptoes to an open door, where he stood for a moment
+listening. I could hear nothing but the sound of the wind whistling in
+the chimney.
+
+"Wait here," he whispered presently, and then disappeared through the
+door, closing it after him. I held my watch down to the firelight and
+saw it was near eleven o'clock. I felt drowsy, and had almost fallen
+asleep, when my uncle returned, carrying a lantern. "Rayel is asleep,"
+said he, in a whisper. "Won't you come with me?--it will not take long."
+
+"Certainly," said I, rising, and waiting for him to lead the way. He put
+on his antique hat and threw a shawl over his shoulders.
+
+"It's a chilly night," said he. "You'd better wear another coat."
+
+I drew on my overcoat at once, wondering what new experience awaited
+me. Holding the lantern in front of him, he proceeded slowly and feebly
+across the rear courtyard, and unlocked a door in one of the side wings
+of the house, through which we passed into a large unfurnished room.
+
+"I always wait till he's asleep," said my uncle, shuffling across the
+room and unlocking another door on its opposite side. "He's never been
+here--never yet," he continued, pulling the door open. The dim light of
+the lantern shone out upon a thicket of fragrant spruce and cedar. As
+I stepped down upon the ground, following in the steps of my uncle, I
+could hear the murmur of the great pines towering far above our heads.
+Slowly we made our way through the dense undergrowth, and soon entered
+an open space carpeted with pine needles and moss. It was a circular
+plot in the thicket, and out of its centre rose an immense pine, whose
+upper branches wholly obscured the sky. My uncle hung his lantern on a
+knot protruding from the trunk of the tree, and slowly knelt upon the
+ground, covering his face with his hands. Suddenly he beckoned to me,
+and I knelt down beside him.
+
+"Listen!" said he. "Do you hear voices? She comes to me here. Can you
+see her--my wife? Look about you, do you not see her?"
+
+He laid his trembling hand upon my shoulder. Again I saw that awful
+gleam in his eyes. The gruesome suggestion he had made set my nerves
+tingling, and I peered about among the shadows of that dimly lighted
+recess, half expecting some vision to greet my eyes. Then there came a
+loud rustling of the branches high above us. The lantern light flared up
+and suddenly went out, leaving us in total darkness.
+
+"She is here!" he whispered, in excitement. "Sit still--do not speak."
+
+A deep silence, intensified by the sound of the night wind in the trees
+around us, followed my uncle's words. The going out of the light he had
+seemed to regard as a signal from the spirit world, and I sat still as
+he bade me, not doubting that his acute senses had penetrated the veil
+which limited my own vision. I had seen so many revelations of his
+strange power that I now sat awestruck and afraid, waiting for some word
+from him to end my suspense. I could see nothing in the darkness, but
+I could hear my uncle breathing heavily, as if trying to suppress his
+emotion. Suddenly there was a stir in the bushes near us. Then I heard a
+step like that of a man on the thickly covered earth close by my side.
+I stretched out prone upon the ground, covering my face with my hands.
+I could hear a sound as of some one groping about in the darkness, and
+then I felt the touch of a strange hand upon my shoulder.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+I shrank from the hand that touched me and, moving quickly aside, struck
+a match and peered around. By its light I could discern the form of a
+man standing near the edge of the thicket. Rising to my feet I took down
+the lantern and lighted it. There, standing before me, was the grinning
+mute who had admitted me to the house. My uncle, who was still kneeling,
+rose feebly to his feet, his eyes wet with tears.
+
+"Good friend!" said he, taking the lantern from me and handing it to the
+mute. "He alway comes for me here."
+
+We followed the old servant in silence through the thick boughs of cedar
+until we came to the door of a low-roofed wooden building that stood
+by itself in the thicket. The mute opened the door, ushering us into
+a small room containing a bed and some simple furniture. A comfortable
+wood fire was burning in a large open stove, and we both sat down in
+front of it, shivering from exposure to the chilly air of the night. My
+uncle handed a key to the mute, who unlocked a cupboard, taking from it
+a decanter of whiskey, which he set before us with glasses.
+
+"It will warm you," said my uncle, pouring out the spirits: "I have
+seen my wife. She always comes to me there--when the light goes out. She
+knows your heart better than I. We shall leave Rayel to your care. It is
+the last time I shall come here. My work is nearly finished."
+
+We emptied our glasses in silence, but my mind was busy thinking on
+those impressive words, "She always comes to me there--when the light
+goes out."
+
+It was strange--this going out of the light just at that moment. Was it
+not possible, I asked myself, that the lantern, being always hung on the
+same projection, was thus in the way of a current of air passing down
+the trunk of the tree when a gust of wind struck its lofty branches? If
+so, the knot would naturally conduct the current into the opening at
+the top of the lantern. My reflections were interrupted by my uncle, who
+rose, and, taking a candle, asked me to accompany him. I followed him
+into a cellar filled with casks and barrels containing, as I supposed,
+wine and provisions for future use. Returning, we passed through a
+large room, in one end of which many boxes and barrels were stored. I
+afterward learned that there was a large garden and poultry yard in this
+lonely nook where my uncle's only servant was sequestered.
+
+I was glad when we started back through the thicket, for the hour was
+late and I felt the need of sleep.
+
+"He gives us our food," said my uncle, when we were at length in the
+courtyard. "We have enough of everything needful--but little meat. It
+destroys mental power. It is fools' food."
+
+Next day my uncle was unable to leave his bed. I determined to go to
+the hotel for my baggage and to post some letters, one of which gave Mr.
+Earl an account of my experiences since the October night when I became
+an inmate of that house.
+
+It was midwinter now, and the long stretches of pasturage and meadow
+land outside the walls were blasted and sere when the old mute, whom I
+had seen twice before, let me out of the big gate. When I returned he
+was there to open the gate for me and help me with my baggage.
+
+I found Rayel at his father's bedside. The sick man was asleep, and I
+went at once to the library, where Rayel soon came, as was his custom
+in the afternoon, for a lesson in talking. Both my uncle and myself had
+taken great pains to teach him this accomplishment, and his progress
+had been even more rapid than we thought possible. He caught the
+significance of words with astonishing ease, but found some difficulty
+in producing their sound. He went about it with great patience, however,
+repeating the hardest words after me until he was able to pronounce them
+correctly. But although the work was often tedious we both got much fun
+out of it. I had never heard the sound of laughter in that house. One
+day I broke its solemn spell by laughing heartily at the grotesque
+distortion of my cousin's face incidental to the production of a
+difficult sound. He stopped suddenly and looked at me, half alarmed.
+This made me laugh more heartily, and he grasped my hand with the
+serious air of a physician feeling the pulse of his patient.
+Being assured there was no danger, he indulged in a little offhand
+cachinnation himself and was, I judged, well pleased with the trial, for
+he repeated it frequently afterward, and greatly to his amusement.
+
+The word "woman," and others related to it, puzzled him not a little,
+for he had never seen a woman, except through the medium of my own mind
+and that of his father. The subject interested him, and he gave much
+serious thought to it, questioning me closely at some of our interviews,
+as if dissatisfied with the idea conveyed to him. Our discussions,
+however, had reached some slumbering chord in him, which, once touched,
+stirred his blood with its vibrations. I do not think his isolation
+could have lasted much longer, for he became restless and eager to see
+the world.
+
+Rayel was greatly depressed by his father's illness. For months after
+that night, the excitement of which had so hastened the failure of the
+old man's strength, the silence of the great house was rarely broken by
+the sound of our voices. My uncle lay helpless in a deep sleep most of
+the time, never able to leave his bed until, revived by the freshness
+of approaching summer, he had strength enough to sit in an easy-chair by
+the window. Some fatal malady, the nature of which he did not disclose
+to me, was evidently sapping his strength. I had urged him more than
+once to let me summon a physician, but he would not permit me to do
+so. When summer came at last, he grew stronger, and was able to walk,
+supported by Rayel, to his chair in the open courtyard among the
+flowers.
+
+The lion, which had been confined in its cage most of the time since my
+uncle had grown so feeble as to need Rayel's constant attention sickened
+and died in the warm days of early June. Rayel was sorely grieved by the
+death of his pet, and although he stood in the shadow of a far greater
+sorrow, he felt deeply the loss of this lifelong friend. The summer
+passed slowly, one day like another, casting on us the same burden of
+anxiety and silence. I spent much of the time in my uncle's library,
+poring over his books and trying to shake off the melancholy thoughts
+suggested by my daily life.
+
+One day in early autumn, Rayel was sitting with me near an open window
+overlooking the courtyard, where his father was enjoying the open air.
+
+"He will die to-day," said Rayel, calmly. "He told me he would die
+to-day."
+
+"He seems the same as usual," I said. "We cannot tell; he may live for
+months yet."
+
+Rayel shook his head incredulously, and sat for a long time looking out
+of the window in silence.
+
+"And I will go with you then?" he asked suddenly turning toward me.
+
+"Yes," I answered.
+
+It was the first time he had ever asked me a question, for he could read
+my mind like an open book, and to him all questioning was unnecessary.
+
+While we were sitting there, thinking over our plans, my uncle summoned
+us by rapping with his cane. Rayel turned pale, and, with a whispered
+ejaculation, hurried out of the room and ran down the path to his
+father, followed closely by myself. My uncle was breathing heavily.
+
+"Count it," said he, feebly extending his hand. Rayel counted his
+pulse-beats.
+
+"Ninety-four, and growing quicker!" he exclaimed, turning toward me with
+a frightened look.
+
+"It won't increase much," my uncle whispered, feebly, but with a
+cool and professional air. "It will go down soon, and then death will
+follow."
+
+"Be calm, Rayel," he continued, almost sternly, as his son began
+weeping. "Be calm, I say! That music! do you hear it, child? Do you see
+what is passing now? Tell it. Let me hear you."
+
+"I cannot hear it," said Rayel, looking earnestly into his father's
+face.
+
+"Hallucination!" he whispered, groping about until his hand rested
+on the head of his son, who was kneeling beside him. "I seem to see
+millions of forms around me. I seem to hear them, but I cannot see
+you--nor hear you."
+
+As if exhausted by the effort, his head fell back upon Rayel's shoulder,
+and he lay for a time, his eyes closed, struggling for breath. The
+dying man's faculties would no longer obey the whip of his mighty will.
+Indeed, they had done him their final service, for in a few moments
+he was dead. Tenderly and manfully, uttering no sound of grief, Rayel
+lifted the lifeless body of his father, and bore it into the house.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+In accordance with my uncle's wish, which he had made known to Rayel, we
+buried him the day following his death in the sunny courtyard where he
+had spent the last days of his life. The funeral arrangements were made
+as simple as possible, so as to exclude all except the functionaries
+whose presence was absolutely necessary. A rector of the Church of
+England read the service for the dead before the body was borne to its
+grave by the undertaker. When this brief ceremony was over, and the
+great gates were closed again upon our seclusion, Rayel said to me:
+
+"I must talk more with you now, if you will let me. He said you would
+help me after he was gone."
+
+It seemed idle to assure him, who already knew my heart, of the
+happiness it would give me to fulfill the pledge of friendship made to
+my uncle.
+
+"Do you expect to see him again?" I asked.
+
+After a moment of the most serious reflection, he said:
+
+"Oh, yes, I shall see him again--when I die, then I shall see him. He
+has gone to the Great Father, who gives life, and who takes it away."
+
+I found that Rayel, although entirely ignorant of the creeds and dogmas
+prevailing among men, was profoundly religious, and that his simple
+faith was built upon the deepest foundations. He evidently gave much
+thought to the relationship between man and his Creator after he
+felt the sting of bereavement, but it was a subject to which he never
+referred in our conversation, unless, perchance, it drifted in upon us.
+
+The weeks following my uncle's death, during which I was busy with
+preparation for the new life that awaited us, Rayel spent in his
+studio working over some unfinished pictures. At my urgent request, he
+completed the head whose resemblance to Hester Chaffin had so startled
+and amazed me the night I saw it first, and he regarded it with fonder
+interest than he was wont to bestow upon the work of his brush. I
+believe that face was the closest presentment of a human soul I shall
+ever see until standing, as I hope to stand some time, in the presence
+of the redeemed, where "that which is imperfect shall be put away." I
+have said that the picture bore a strong resemblance to Hester Chaffin,
+but her face contained only a suggestion of that fine quality which was
+so strongly presented in my cousin's ideal.
+
+My uncle's fortune, as described in his will, amounted to nearly
+$250,000. The greater part of it--everything, indeed, but the house
+and grounds--was in cash, represented by certificates of deposit
+accompanying the will, and bonds of the United States. There was a
+considerable bequest for me, whom he had named as executor of the will,
+which, however, I determined never to apply to my own use, except in
+case of Rayel's death. A handsome annuity was provided for his only
+surviving servant. The remainder was left to Rayel.
+
+Having arranged for the maintenance of the old mute at an asylum not
+far from the city, our preparations to leave were soon complete. I was
+elated at the prospect of resuming my relations with the busy world
+outside that lonely habitation. My first step was to visit a lawyer for
+the purpose of ascertaining the legal formalities which I must observe
+as executor of the will. Rayel wished to go with me, and I gladly
+assented, for it seemed wise as an initiatory step in the new life that
+was awaiting him. He waved his hand to the mute, who stood looking at us
+through the big gates after we had passed out into the road, and then he
+walked on beside me in silence. The sun-shot haze of a beautiful autumn
+day hung over the face of nature, and his eyes wandered down the long
+stretches of landscape, and into the depths of the distant sky, rapt
+by the vision that was unfolding before him. The changing phases of the
+town he regarded with curious interest, which often expressed itself in
+childish exclamations of surprise as we made our way through the crowded
+streets.
+
+He was constantly calling my attention to things which, though familiar
+and commonplace to me, were little less than wonderful to him.
+
+"Look!" said he, suddenly taking hold of my arm. "There is a woman!"
+
+He spoke in an eager, excited whisper, and shyly stepped behind me as
+she passed us.
+
+"They won't hurt you," said I, subduing my desire to laugh at his
+remark.
+
+Such unfamiliar exposure to the public eye soon began to grate upon
+his nerves. I did not wonder at it, for nearly every one we met took
+a second look at his commanding figure, and some stared at him rudely.
+Remembering my own emotions when I first stood in his presence, I was
+not at all surprised that others were moved in a like manner. His were
+a face and form that stood out like those of some heroic statue in the
+throng of common mortals.
+
+The proving and recording of the will was left entirely in the hands of
+a reputable lawyer, who said that these formalities would not detain us
+longer than a week.
+
+We had determined to spend the winter in New York before going to
+England. Since reaching America my time had been quite filled with work
+until my entrance upon the utter isolation of my uncle's home. It was
+my earnest desire to see something of the big metropolis on the western
+Atlantic. Moreover, Mr. Earl had advised me in his letters to give Rayel
+a chance to know more of life in his own country before bringing him to
+England.
+
+When at last the faithful old mute had gone to his new home, and we had
+turned our backs upon the silent and deserted mansion, Rayel was moved
+to bitter tears. The thought of its loneliness, now that its master was
+dead and we were leaving it, perhaps forever, brought sad feelings to my
+heart. How calmly the old pines whispered together as we walked down the
+road that morning I shall not soon forget.
+
+We reached the American metropolis early in October, three years after
+my first arrival there from England. I rented comfortable apartments on
+Fifth Avenue, near Madison Square. As soon as Rayel had recovered from
+the fatigue and excitement of the trip, we set about unpacking his
+pictures and getting them framed. Our lightest room was reserved for a
+studio, and the paintings were hung under Rayel's direction.
+
+We were scarcely settled in our new home when we received an unexpected
+call from a newspaper reporter. He had learned from an art dealer that
+we had some remarkable old paintings, and humbly begged the privilege of
+looking at them. We made him welcome, of course, but I explained to him
+that the collection was wholly the work of my cousin, who was not yet
+old himself. In answer to his questions I assured him that the paintings
+would not be exhibited in the National Academy, and that my cousin's
+work had never appeared in any art exhibition whatever, at which he
+seemed greatly surprised. Rayel was still shy of strangers, and, as
+he was evidently a little annoyed at the presence of our visitor, I
+shielded him from the need of taking any part in our conversation.
+
+The next morning an article appeared in one of the leading dailies,
+which subjected us to a glare of publicity not at all to our taste.
+
+It went on to say that Signor Lanion, a young Spanish artist, had
+just arrived in New York and had taken apartments at No. Fifth
+Avenue. "Lanion" was the name which had appeared on our bill for
+picture-framing, the clerk who had waited on us having taken it down
+incorrectly. "Unfortunately," the article continued, "Signor Lanion
+does not speak English, and for that reason the reporter was unable to
+interview him."
+
+The paper described Rayel's personal charms at much length, and claimed
+the credit of having discovered a genius who, although still a youth,
+had done work worthy of an acknowledged master.
+
+We had deep respect for the influence of that newspaper before another
+week ended. Art managers, tailors, advertising agents, auctioneers
+and numerous men and women prompted by no motive but idle curiosity,
+besieged us until we bolted our doors in dismay against all comers. The
+mail, too, brought us missives of varying import from persons who
+had read the article, one of which was a polite letter from Francis
+Paddington, a Wall Street broker, whose name I had heard frequently
+during my American travels.
+
+"It was not stated," said he, referring to the newspaper article,
+"whether or not any of Signor Lanion's paintings are for sale. If
+they are, I would be glad to look at them with a view to making some
+purchases for my art collection."
+
+The letter suggested an idea worth considering. Rayel worked rapidly and
+had already painted more pictures than we could hang to advantage in any
+but the most liberal quarters. He was at a loss to understand just what
+was meant by selling the pictures, but he was willing to sell them if
+they were not to be destroyed--at least some of them. Accordingly I
+wrote Mr. Paddington, appointing an hour when we would be glad to see
+him or his representative at our rooms. The gentleman himself did us
+the honor to call. After looking at the paintings, he expressed his
+willingness to buy the entire collection. I told him, however, that we
+would not part with more than ten canvases, and he seemed glad to
+buy even that number at a price which was so far in excess of our
+expectations that I was loath to accept it. Our beloved "Woman"--that
+was the title we had given Rayel's strangely derived conception--was
+among the paintings included in the sale to Mr. Paddington. Rayel
+thought he could reproduce it, and for days after it was gone he made
+ineffectual efforts to paint another woman after the ideal of our
+hearts. But, alas! try as he would, that face never came back to his
+canvas. Many beautiful faces were conjured by his masterful touch, but
+they were other faces, and none of them satisfied us. The failure made
+Rayel unhappy, and tears came to his eyes when the "Woman" was referred
+to, as if he were mourning the loss of a dear friend.
+
+Our patron had conceived a great liking for us, and we were soon invited
+to visit his house "and meet a few of his friends at dinner." It would
+give us an opportunity to see the "Woman"--perhaps to buy her back
+again--and we were strongly inclined to take advantage of it. Our
+patron's residence was one of the largest and most elegant on Fifth
+Avenue. It was a matter of common fame that his entertainments were the
+cause of more envy and heartburning in the fashionable sisterhood than
+any other events of the season. I had some doubt about the propriety of
+taking Rayel to such a place, unaccustomed as he was to the refinements
+and conventionalities of fashionable life. However, he had set his heart
+upon going--he was so eager to see his beloved picture--and I did not
+oppose his wish. In writing our acceptance of the invitation I
+corrected Mr. Paddington's error regarding our name, and explained the
+rechristening we had received in the public prints.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+On the day of our appointment for dinner at Mr. Paddington's the
+newspapers were filled with accounts of a sensational bank robbery,
+which had occurred in Wall Street the night before. Between midnight and
+one o'clock in the morning, thieves had entered the Metropolitan Bank,
+overpowered the watchman, broken into the vaults and stolen half a
+million dollars in currency without leaving any clew behind them of the
+slightest value to the police. The subject interested Rayel intensely,
+and at our breakfast that morning we talked of little else.
+
+"When they have found the thieves what will they do with them?" he
+asked.
+
+"Send them to prison," I answered, "where thieves are kept apart from
+the rest of humanity."
+
+"And yet these thieves were not in prison. They could not have robbed
+the bank if they had been in prison."
+
+"True, but there are a good many thieves in the world who are not
+suspected. They look like honest men and are highly successful in
+concealing their dishonesty."
+
+"I should think," he said thoughtfully, "that one would know a thief by
+his face."
+
+"Remember," said I, "that all men are not like you. Most of them are
+easily deceived."
+
+"Why, then, Kendric!" he exclaimed joyfully, "I can do some good with
+this power of mine."
+
+This conversation may seem commonplace enough, but it stands in close
+relation to important events which will shortly claim our attention. The
+subject which it introduces was not soon abandoned. We talked about it
+on our way to the Paddingtons' that evening, where we were cordially
+received by our host, and introduced to a large company of ladies and
+gentlemen.
+
+Rayel's wonderful skill with the brush had evidently been the subject
+of some discussion among Mr. Paddington's guests. It was referred to
+frequently, and somewhat to the embarrassment of my cousin, in the
+exchange of greetings that followed our introduction.
+
+Greatly to the relief of my fears Rayel seemed quite at ease. He
+acknowledged the compliments paid him with gravity and self-possession,
+but with few words. All eyes were raised to his face, as he stood head
+and shoulders above a group of ladies and gentlemen who had gathered
+about him. Never had his presence seemed so magnetic and impressive
+since the first time I saw him in his father's house. Now, as then, a
+new inspiration was stirring his blood and charging every nerve with the
+wonderful magnetism of perfected manhood.
+
+The last person presented to us was a young lady of unusual beauty,
+whom I noticed for some moments standing across the room in earnest
+conversation with our host. Presently he made his way toward us with the
+lady on his arm.
+
+"My daughter, Mr. Lane, whom I shall ask you to escort to dinner," said
+he, addressing Rayel. After I had been introduced to the young lady she
+took Rayel's arm, and the company proceeded to the dining-hall. My seat
+at the table was almost directly opposite Rayel. His grave and dignified
+demeanor was made doubly conspicuous by the coquettish airs and ready
+tongue of the young lady who sat beside him. Under a steady fire of
+compliments and questions and artful glances I saw that he began to grow
+uneasy.
+
+"That was a beautiful portrait you painted!" exclaimed Miss Paddington,
+looking sentimental.
+
+"Thank you," said he; "my cousin also admires it, but I must own that it
+does not quite suit me."
+
+"Perhaps you are an admirer of the lady it represents," said she,
+peering shyly into his eyes. "The Count de Montalle has fallen in love
+with her and has borrowed the portrait from my father."
+
+"Ze picture--ah! monsieur, it is beautiful," said the Count, who sat
+near them. "But ze lady--she sat for me long ago and I had ze honor
+myself to paint her portrait."
+
+He was a thin, wiry Frenchman, with small, black eyes, a forehead
+sloping to a bald crown, an aquiline nose and a pointed chin, adorned
+with an imperial. The face was almost mephistophelian in effect. He had
+painted her portrait! Was the man an impostor? I asked myself.
+
+"The Count is an artist himself, you know," said Miss Paddington.
+
+"Yes--an artist?" asked Rayel in a half-incredulous tone. Then he looked
+inquiringly at the gentleman referred to, as if doubtful of his own
+understanding of the words he had repeated.
+
+"Yes," said the Count with emphasis. "For twenty years I have devote
+myself to ze art."
+
+"To what art, sir?" asked Rayel, in a tone suggesting doubt.
+
+I was now thoroughly frightened at the serious turn of the dialogue. Was
+this "Count" a pretender and one of the many bogus noblemen of whom I
+had read? Rayel was sounding him, that was quite evident. I saw now the
+mistake I had made in bringing my cousin to such a place.
+
+"Quel impudence!" exclaimed the insulted nobleman, under his breath.
+
+"Forgive me, sir," quickly answered Rayel, "I did not know it was wrong
+to ask you."
+
+"I wish you would paint my portrait, Mr. Lane," said the young lady, who
+did not seem to appreciate the gravity of the situation.
+
+"That would be easy enough," he answered.
+
+"Would it? Ah, but I fear you would find me too plain a subject. I am
+not beautiful, you know, but if I wore my best clothes you might think I
+would do."
+
+For some time Miss Paddington continued to spin out threads of small
+talk, while Rayel sat listening. The dinner was nearly over when the
+climax came which I had already begun to fear.
+
+"It is strange," said Rayel thoughtfully. "You speak what is not
+true, Miss Paddington. You said that the Prince of Wales gave you the
+beautiful opal, but tell me--was it not your father who gave it you?"
+
+He waited a moment for her answer.
+
+"Oh, I understand now," he continued. "People do not always speak the
+truth--do they?"
+
+The young lady turned red with embarrassment, while an unnatural smile
+played upon her lips.
+
+"But--but what is the use of talking then?" he asked. No one seemed
+disposed to answer.
+
+"It is strange," he continued, with childlike naivete, turning to the
+young lady sitting at his left, "you have been laughing as if you were
+very happy, but you have felt more like weeping. This must be a very sad
+world!" He ceased speaking as if some suspicion of the pain his words
+were causing had suddenly come to him.
+
+The whole company turned its eyes upon the two. The young lady's face
+became suddenly pale and almost horror-stricken. Rayel's words were
+spoken in such a gentle and sympathetic manner that every one was
+mystified.
+
+"Have you read about the great robbery that occurred last night?" asked
+Mr. Paddington, with the evident purpose of diverting attention from
+the young lady. "The vaults of the Metropolitan Bank on Wall Street were
+blown open with dynamite, and half a million dollars were stolen. No
+trace of the thieves has been discovered."
+
+"Too bad!" exclaimed half a dozen of the guests seeking to enhance
+interest in the subject.
+
+"Zey were very bold about it," said the Count, as he lighted a piece of
+sugar soaked in cognac and held it over his coffee.
+
+Just at that moment a singular thing happened. The lights grew dim and
+suddenly went out, as if the gas had been turned off. The burning cognac
+cast a white flickering light upon the face of the man who had just
+spoken.
+
+"You say there is no trace of the thieves," said Rayel. "That is
+strange, for one of them is in this room sitting at your table."
+
+Only one face was visible, and all eyes were turned upon it, for now the
+effect of that pale light keeping it in view was indescribably weird.
+The eyes were suddenly turned in the direction of Rayel, and a devilish
+glare came in them for an instant, when the face suddenly seemed to
+shrink back into darkness. The ladies and some of their more gallant
+escorts rushed precipitately from the room. The servants hurried in
+with candles, but light was no sooner restored than the guests who
+still remained at table rose, as if by general consent, and left the
+dining-hall. Miss Paddington and Rayel were the last to leave the table.
+When they had passed out into the drawing-room her father came and took
+her arm, bowing coldly to my cousin. It was evident that our presence
+was no longer desired in the house of the Paddingtons. And no wonder!
+
+"Let us go," I said, proceeding to the coat room. The Count met us on
+the way.
+
+"You are a liar--a jackass!" he hissed into Rayel's ear.
+
+Hastily drawing on our coats we stepped out into the chilly night air
+and walked leisurely down the deserted avenue. Neither of us spoke for
+some moments. Presently Rayel asked:
+
+"What is a jackass?"
+
+He stopped and took my hand as if expecting an answer of great moment.
+
+"A man who always tells the truth in this world--he is a jackass," I
+replied.
+
+I was a little irritated by the trying experiences we had been through.
+Perhaps that is why my answer savored so strongly of cynicism.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Painful as had been our introduction to polite society, the reaction
+which followed it was scarcely less so. Next day we stayed indoors until
+evening, when we ventured out for a walk with fear and trembling lest
+the newspapers had already increased our fame and our mortification. The
+twilight of a cloudless autumn day was closing in upon the city, and the
+keen, bracing winds which sweep over the American metropolis from the
+sea brought the color to our faces. We walked down Broadway, now quite
+deserted, in silence, and as we were passing Wallack's Theatre Rayel
+stopped suddenly, and stood for a moment looking into the brightly
+lighted foyer. Stepping in, he beckoned me to follow. I immediately saw
+what had attracted his eye, for on an easel just inside the entrance was
+the portrait of our woman. On a placard below the picture was the name
+"Edna Bronson." Our surprise was mingled with sad regret at seeing it
+playing a false part to serve the ends of an unscrupulous manager.
+
+"Perhaps she is here! suddenly exclaimed Rayel.
+
+"That is very unlikely," I answered, "but we shall see."
+
+I bought tickets for the evening's performance and we hastened home,
+strangely elated, to dress for the play.
+
+Our seats were in one of the lower proscenium boxes and quite clearly
+exposed to the gaze of the thousands who filled the theatre in winding
+rows, ascending and receding to the roof high above us. The garish
+decorations, the gay throng bedizened with jewels sparkling in the light
+and the hundreds of fair faces and bright eyes that were turned toward
+us presented a spectacle entirely new to Rayel. Shortly the curtain rose
+and the play began. Its first scene was a counterfeit of real stage life
+in an English theatre. An important performance is impending and at the
+last moment both the leading lady and her understudy are suddenly taken
+ill. The management is in a quandary. In the midst of its confusion the
+stage carpenter suggests that he has a daughter who can play the part.
+When this functionary came upon the scene my interest in the play began
+to wax stronger. Hester Chaffin's father had been a stage carpenter, and
+this turn in the scene startled me not a little after having found our
+picture in the foyer.
+
+The carpenter's suggestion is at first treated with ridicule. He insists
+that she has learned the part from witnessing the rehearsals, and urges
+the managers to give her a trial. The performance must begin in four
+hours or be postponed. It is found that the costumes prepared for the
+part will fit the young lady. They consent to try her, the company is
+hastily summoned together for rehearsal, and the curtain falls on the
+first act. The audience waited impatiently for it to rise again and show
+what fortune might have in store for the carpenter's daughter, but of
+all that audience I was probably the most impatient.
+
+"There is the Count," whispered Rayel, directing my attention to the
+opposite box. The diabolical little Frenchman was there, sure
+enough, sitting next to the rail, and sweeping the audience with his
+opera-glasses.
+
+Soon the curtain was rung up and the rehearsal began which was to test
+the powers of the venturesome young lady. Suddenly she appears at the
+rear of the stage dressed for her part in Elizabethan costume. She
+is greeted with loud applause, and she stands a moment, waiting for
+silence. The lights have been turned down and I cannot see her face
+distinctly. Before the last ripple of applause is quieted, she advances
+down the centre of the stage and begins to speak her lines. That voice!
+What is there in it that thrills me so strangely? When she ceases
+speaking she is standing almost within reach of my hand. Suddenly her
+eyes meet mine and I see Hester Chaffin standing there on the stage
+and looking into my face. She recognizes me, for she seems confused and
+proceeds with evident embarrassment.
+
+I turned to Rayel--he, too, was deeply moved by this great surprise.
+
+"Our woman has come to life," said he, in tremulous whispers. "I knew we
+would see her sometime."
+
+How she had changed! She was little more than a child when I saw her
+last: now she was almost a woman, but not more beautiful than when I
+bade her good-by in the moonlight at her father's gate--long, long ago,
+it seemed to me now. Was the scene I had witnessed a passage in her
+own life since I had left Liverpool? At the close of the act an usher
+carried my card to her. Presently I was summoned to one of the corridors
+where a lady was waiting for me.
+
+"Is this Kendric Lane?" she asked, extending her hand.
+
+"It is," I responded.
+
+"I have heard of you often. Miss Bronson is an old acquaintance of
+yours, whom you knew as Hester Chaffin. Would you like to see her?"
+
+"I wish to see her to-night, if possible," said I.
+
+"May I ask you, then, to go to this address and wait for us until the
+performance is over? Hand this card to the night clerk of the hotel and
+he will show you to our rooms."
+
+Scribbling a few words upon the card, she gave it to me, and hurried
+behind the scenes.
+
+Rayel and I immediately left the theatre and walked to our apartments.
+The play would soon be over and we had no time to lose. On the way
+home I noticed that he frequently turned about and peered through the
+darkness as if expecting some one to join us. He said nothing, however,
+and as I was so preoccupied by my own thoughts, I did not ask for whom
+he was looking.
+
+"Shall I not go with you?" he asked, when we had reached home.
+
+"You had better wait up for me; I shall not be gone long," I answered.
+
+"I can walk back again when we get there, or perhaps I can wait for you
+in the hotel?" said he.
+
+He was not yet accustomed to life in a great city, and it did not seem
+wise, either, to permit him to walk home alone, or to wait for me in the
+hotel among strangers. He did not seem quite content to stay, however,
+and there was a troubled expression on his face, which was new to it,
+and which I could not put out of my mind after I had left the house. The
+hotel to which I had been directed was on Union Square. It was not far
+from our apartments, and I intended to walk there, but I had not
+gone half a block before the street was lit up with a vivid flash of
+lightning, followed by deafening thunder, and the wind blew damp in my
+face. I hurried toward Third Avenue, intending to mount one of the horse
+cars going down-town, but suddenly a fierce gust of wind swept over me,
+sowing great drops of rain along the pavement. I looked about for a cab.
+The street was deserted and so dark that I could see nothing except
+the gloomy rows of brown stone that stood on either side. While I was
+looking backward another flash of lightning illumined the street. What
+man was that coming in the distance? Was it Rayel? No, that was scarcely
+possible. I had only caught a momentary glimpse of him in the quick
+flash. He was tall and erect like Rayel, and I thought the hat was his.
+But my imagination must have tricked me after all, for nothing showed
+clearly. I walked back a few steps and listened. I could hear no
+footsteps, but then he might have followed me, and I ought to be sure.
+So I called, "Rayel! Rayel!" twice, and waited for an answer, but
+could hear none. I had not time to go back to our rooms, as Hester was
+undoubtedly waiting for me now, and Rayel was certainly not the man
+I had seen, or he would have answered me. So I hurried along without
+giving any further thought to my fears. But where was Third Avenue? Its
+character was not then so sharply defined as in these days of elevated
+rail-roads--perhaps I had passed it. I had already walked a long
+distance, and I had not yet recognized that thoroughfare. I could hear
+footsteps behind me and I determined to wait a moment and inquire my
+way.
+
+"I am going there--walk along with me," said the man whom I questioned.
+Just then we passed under a street lamp. I observed that he wore a large
+coat and muffler and that he was walking under an umbrella. Another man,
+also under an umbrella, fell in with us at the next corner. As we walked
+along in silence I heard some person coming at a run down the street
+quite a distance behind us. I was listening to this sound when I
+received a terrific blow on the back of the head. I fell forward, one
+side of my face striking heavily upon the pavement. Strangely enough, I
+seemed unable to make any outcry, but I had not lost consciousness, for,
+as I lay with my face resting on the wet stones, I could feel the rain
+drops falling on it. I could hear those quick footsteps coming nearer.
+Yes, I could hear Rayel's voice shouting in a loud and angry tone, but,
+try as I would, I could not utter a sound. As I listened, the two men
+clutched me with strong hands and dragged me through an open door,
+which quickly closed behind them. It was no sooner shut than Rayel threw
+himself against it with terrific force. I could hear the door groan and
+shake under the strain. Once--twice, I was struck with cruel force upon
+the head--then a loud roaring in my ears drowned everything.
+
+I can remember well the first return of consciousness. It was like the
+slow breaking of dawn in the sky. I could hear voices singing:
+
+Hark! hark! my soul! angelic voices swelling O'er earth's green fields
+and ocean's wave-beat shore.
+
+I could just distinguish those words. Where was I? Strange thoughts
+began trooping through my mind. Then a great wave of emotion swept over
+me. I could hear a low moaning sound that came from my own throat.
+I could feel the hot tears rolling down my cheeks. A gentle hand was
+brushing them away and some one was speaking to me. I was lying on a
+soft bed. A sweet-faced woman was bending over me, whom I had never seen
+before.
+
+"Where am I?"
+
+"In the hospital," she answered.
+
+"The singing--who is singing?" I asked.
+
+"It is the chapel choir," she answered; "the services are nearly over
+now. It is Sunday."
+
+"Is Rayel here?"
+
+"Your friend? yes, he has been with you every day."
+
+"How long?"
+
+"Almost a month."
+
+I tried to ask other questions, but a drowsy feeling overcame me and I
+fell asleep.
+
+When I awoke again Rayel was sitting beside me. As I opened my eyes he
+leaned over and kissed my hands.
+
+"They thought you were dead once," he said; "but I knew you were not
+dead--I knew you were not dead." I lay for a moment trying to collect
+my thoughts. My head was in tight bandages and something was binding my
+chest.
+
+"Where is Hester?" I asked. Rayel did not answer. He was not there, but
+somebody was holding one of my hands. It was a lady kneeling beside me,
+her face leaning forward upon the bed. Who could it be? I closed my eyes
+and listened to the rustling of withered leaves outside the window,
+and the low humming of insects in the autumn sun. These were prophetic
+sounds, and they opened the gates of thought and memory. A new life was
+coming now. What was it to be? Again I felt myself drifting into sleep.
+I tried to keep my eyes open and resist the drowsiness that overcame me,
+but in vain. When I awoke Rayel had returned.
+
+"You have slept a long time," said he.
+
+"When I fell asleep a lady was here."
+
+"Yes, it was our 'Woman,'" he replied--"the lady you love. She has come
+every day to see you."
+
+"Where is she now?"
+
+"She had to go away, but she will soon come back again."
+
+"Who brought me here?"
+
+"I broke down the door--I found you there. You could not see me nor
+speak to me, but I knew you were not dead. The men were gone. I carried
+you out into the street. A policeman met me, and I told him what had
+happened. Then the ambulance came and we put you into it, and you were
+brought here. For a long time you lay like my father after he was dead.
+Your face was white--like snow. They had stabbed you in the side--they
+would have killed you if I had not broken the door."
+
+"Who struck me?" I asked.
+
+"I knew," he said, his eyes flashing, "I knew the devil was in their
+heads--that is why I wished to go with you. They followed us that
+night."
+
+"Who?" I asked, eagerly.
+
+"The Count de Montalle and another man."
+
+My cousin's answer amazed me.
+
+"Have you made known your suspicions?" I asked.
+
+"No. I have been waiting to talk with you first."
+
+"Do not speak of it yet to any one," I said. "Let us await
+developments."
+
+I foresaw that Rayel would only get a reputation for insanity if pressed
+to the point of explaining his suspicions. It seemed quite likely, also,
+that any futile discussion of the subject would defeat justice.
+
+That day brought me a letter from Hester, whom I had been looking for
+with much impatience since I had begun to feel more like myself. She
+would shortly have fulfilled all her professional engagements, and
+would then return at once to New York. "I wonder," she added, somewhat
+coquettishly, "if you will be glad to see me." On this point there was
+no doubt in my mind, and although my strength increased rapidly, the
+days passed with tedious slowness after that.
+
+I was sitting by the window one morning, looking out upon the moving
+throng in the opposite street, when the door of my room was suddenly
+opened. I supposed that one of the physicians had come to see me, and I
+waited for him to speak.
+
+"Kendric!"
+
+It was Rayel who spoke my name, but somehow his voice did not seem quite
+natural, and I turned to greet him.
+
+"This is our 'Woman,'" said he, advancing toward me with Hester upon his
+arm.
+
+I rose feebly to my feet, confused by the sudden announcement, and took
+her extended hand. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment without
+speaking. My own were rapidly filling with tears, and I could see her
+but dimly.
+
+"What a fine outlook you have!" she said, in a tremulous voice, turning
+suddenly to the window and looking out upon the trees now half stripped
+of their foliage by the autumn winds. We both stood staring out of the
+window in silence. For my part, I could not have spoken if I had known
+what to say. How she had changed! The blushing little miss who had
+awakened the pangs of first love in my youthful heart was a beautiful
+young woman, now full grown and arrayed in costly finery. Rayel was the
+first to speak.
+
+"You must be glad to meet again--you have loved each other so long,"
+said he.
+
+Honest Rayel! He knew our hearts--their longings, their histories, and
+also the vanity and pride that dwelt in them. Why should there be any
+concealment between her and me?
+
+"It has been a long time--a very long time to me, Hester, for I have
+loved you ever since we first met."
+
+She turned toward me, her eyes filled with tears, and I drew her to my
+heart and kissed her fondly.
+
+"We have only known each other as children, Kendric," said she. "Your
+heart may change and mine may change--let us wait and see."
+
+Then she left us, promising to come again next day.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+Hester and her maid looked in upon me every morning after that, until I
+was able to leave the hospital. During these visits we told each other
+the eventful story of our lives since the night of our parting at
+her father's gate. Her first appearance on the stage had been, as I
+suspected, literally represented in the play. For years she had been
+permitted to accompany her father behind the scenes, and nights when
+the cast was short she had played small parts with great success. The
+glamour and excitement of stage life had proved distasteful to her. She
+assured me that it was her intention never to go back to it, and this
+strengthened my hope that she would some day consent to become my wife.
+Rayel had told her, during my illness, the strange story of his life.
+She knew nothing, however, of his wonderful powers, until I had related
+to her some of the experiences which had revealed them to me. He had
+said nothing to her, I learned, about our discovery of the picture.
+
+"Who painted the remarkable portrait of you which we saw at the
+theatre?" I asked her one day.
+
+"It was painted, I believe, by a French nobleman, who presented it to me
+here in New York. I suppose it looks a little as I did once, but it is
+certainly too flattering and much too maidenly for me now.
+
+"The Frenchman is an impostor and worse," I said. "The portrait was
+painted by Rayel and sold to a broker of the name of Paddington, from
+whom the Frenchman borrowed or bought it."
+
+Her amazement could scarcely be overestimated when I told her what
+occurred at Mr. Paddington's dinner-party.
+
+"The Frenchman," she said, "has been paying me unwelcome attentions ever
+since the first night of my appearance in New York. He became so odious
+to me at length that I refused to accept any of his gifts, and, in spite
+of the protests of my managers, returned everything he had sent me,
+including the portrait."
+
+I did not tell her that it was this same Frenchman to whom I was
+indebted for my wounds. Of that I must wait for more palpable evidence,
+though not for my own convincing. It seemed strange to me then that just
+at the moment this thought was passing through my mind she asked me whom
+I suspected of having committed the assault. It occurred to me after
+she had gone that possibly she had some cause to suspect the man who had
+been the subject of our conversation.
+
+Rayel always came late in the day, when there was no chance of meeting
+other callers, and stayed with me until bedtime. As returning strength
+brought back to me that interest in life which prompts keen observation,
+I could see that a great change was coming over him. His face wore a
+melancholy look which indicated too clearly that his mind was suffering
+under some sad oppression. He was as gentle and considerate as ever, and
+as tireless in his efforts to increase my comfort, but he rarely spoke
+now, except in reply to my questions. He would sit by my side for hours,
+gazing out of the window with a vacant look in his eyes, until the light
+of day grew dim and the lamps were lighted. When supper was served to us
+I could never induce him to eat.
+
+"What is the trouble, Rayel?" I asked, one evening. "You are not
+yourself lately."
+
+Neither of us had spoken for a long time. He turned suddenly, as
+if startled by my words, his lips quivered, and stammering almost
+incoherently, he rose to his feet. Then he stood erect before me for a
+moment, looking sadly and thoughtfully into my eyes.
+
+"Nothing, Kendric," he said presently, in a deep tone that trembled with
+emotion. "I think I have been working too hard and need exercise--that
+is all." Then he grasped my hand warmly and bade me good night.
+
+I believe his answer to my question was the first lie that he had ever
+spoken.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Next day I was discharged from the hospital, and Rayel and I were driven
+to our apartments. He had a number of surprises prepared for me. A large
+painting on his easel, awaiting some finishing touches, compelled my
+attention as soon as I entered the room. It represented a scene in
+our own lives, which had lasted but a second, but which could never be
+forgotten by either of us. He had seen me when I stood looking backward
+in that vivid flash of lightning--there could be no doubt of it now,
+for here was the scene transferred to canvas. The shaft of white light
+shaking and darting across the black sky like a gleaming sword; the man
+on the sidewalk looking backward with a startled glance; the big drops
+of rain falling sidelong in the wind--these were all reproduced on the
+canvas. His later pictures were characterized by a cynical tendency,
+which I observed with regret. It was evident that his sensitive mind
+had taken impressions from its brief contact with men, which were sadly
+affecting his thought.
+
+He showed me numerous letters, many of which were from women who desired
+to visit his studio and see his work. Indeed, my cousin had apparently
+grown suddenly famous in the American metropolis. He was the victim
+rather than the victor of fame, however, and regarded the matter with
+very serious concern. The press of New York had been full of gossip
+concerning his "eccentricities" since the event which had put my life in
+danger. One of the society journals had printed a highly colored
+version of that little episode at the house of the Paddingtons, and had
+concluded its article by saying that the fair Miss Paddington had fallen
+madly in love with her father's strange guest.
+
+That night, as we were sitting by the grate fire in our own rooms,
+Rayel, encouraged by our seclusion, began to emerge from the silence to
+which he had seemingly gone back for refuge in time of trouble.
+
+"We shall soon be ready to start for England," I said.
+
+"I do not wish to go to England, Kendric," said he. "For a long time
+I have thought over it. Let me go back to the old house and live by my
+father's grave, until the good Lord takes me to a better home. I would
+miss you, dear Kendric, and every day I would look for you to come, but
+I shall be happier there."
+
+His words touched me deeply, and I was not prepared to answer him with
+perfect calmness, although I had lately suspected that his despondency
+would lead to this resolve.
+
+"Why must we separate now, after we have become so dear to each other?"
+I asked. "Something has happened to change your purpose since I have
+been ill--tell me what it is."
+
+"To speak frankly, Kendric, I must say that the world has sadly
+disappointed me. It is full of vanity and deceit and selfishness. Every
+day brings to me some hideous revelation which the mercy of heaven has
+hidden from others. I have seen the righteous forsaken of men, and the
+wicked receiving homage; I have seen the unjust triumphing over the
+just; I have seen some reveling in abundance while others were begging
+for bread. Everywhere I have found want and misery staring me in the
+face.
+
+"Remembering what Christ said, I sold all I had and gave to the poor,
+and now there is nothing more I can do. My best pictures, my money and
+all my extra clothing have gone to feed the hungry and cover the naked.
+And even now, when I have nothing left to give, I find as much misery as
+before. Often, since I have been alone, I have had nothing to eat and no
+fire to keep me warm. Then I feared to tell you what I had done, and I
+bore it in silence, hoping that I might earn more money by painting. But
+I could not work. When Hester came back I told her all my troubles, and
+she gave me money, not only for my own use but for the use of others who
+needed it more than I. She and I have wandered about the city by day and
+by night, ministering to the sick and the friendless."
+
+He ceased speaking, his head bent forward upon his hands. It was indeed
+a serious situation into which a too generous heart had betrayed him.
+Nearly all his fortune had descended to him in cash on deposit, and
+payable either to my order or to his. He had therefore saved nothing
+for himself that had been available for the satisfaction of his good
+impulses. Instead of displeasing me, however, as he feared, his action
+only increased my love for him, if that were possible.
+
+"Do not let these things trouble you, Rayel," I said. "We shall find no
+difficulty, I think, in earning money enough for our needs. I cannot see
+you shut yourself away from the world: you have yet an important work
+to do among men. You are now morbidly sensitive to the misery that
+surrounds us, but you will feel it less keenly as it grows more
+familiar."
+
+"You do not understand me, Kendric," said he, starting from his chair,
+and pacing restlessly up and down the room. "I cannot deceive you
+any longer. In begging you to leave me, it is your own happiness I am
+thinking of. Please go as soon as possible," he pleaded, laying his hand
+gently upon my shoulder. "Take her with you, and let me stay."
+
+My heart seemed suddenly to have stopped beating.
+
+"My God, Rayel!" I exclaimed. "Are we both in love with the same woman?"
+
+"No, Kendric, no," he said quickly, taking my hand. "I do not mean that.
+I would not permit myself to love her, knowing that you love her also."
+
+"What, then, do you mean?" I asked.
+
+"That there is danger," he answered huskily, sinking into a chair. "I am
+a fool not to have thought of it long ago!"
+
+His words seemed to sting me, and for a moment I could not speak.
+
+"You know what is in her heart, Rayel," I said presently. "Tell me, is
+it false, or is she, as I have thought, a pure and noble woman?"
+
+"She is pure and worthy of your love," he answered. "Her life has been
+much exposed to temptation, but her character has been greater than any
+temptation. When she began to go with me among the poor I did not know
+what love was. I had never felt the power of it, nor did I think of the
+danger to all of us. When at last it came upon me, and I saw what
+it meant, I resolved not to see Hester again until God had given me
+strength to subdue that passion. For days my heart was near breaking.
+When you asked me to tell you what made me sad, I had not the courage to
+do it. Then I told you a lie. I did the very thing which I have so much
+condemned in others. This trouble has taught me to comprehend and to
+pity the frailty of men. I look forward with fear and dread for my own
+sake.. I shall be safe in my father's house. I must go back, but, before
+I go, forgive me. Tell me that you do not despise me."
+
+As he ceased speaking he laid his hand upon my shoulder and peered into
+my face with a frightened and appealing look.
+
+"Despise you!" I repeated. "No. You are dearer to me now than ever. What
+you have told me will bring us closer to each other, if we consider it
+wisely. As yet there is no pledge between Hester and myself, save the
+assurance given by unuttered thoughts. Her heart is free. I have no
+right to claim it. If she loves you I shall wish you both much joy."
+
+"That will not be necessary, Kendric. I had rather die than know that I
+had come between you. I cannot even risk the danger of it. I must leave
+you to-morrow."
+
+"Under no circumstances will I consent to that. My promise to your
+father and my duty to you forbid it. To go back now would be cowardly
+and unworthy of you. With my help and guidance you can do great things.
+We must face the world with stout hearts. As to this trouble, let
+us concern ourselves about it as little as possible. I believe that
+whatever may be best for all will happen if we but wait with patience."
+
+Rayel made no answer, and for some moments we both sat looking at the
+glowing embers in silence.
+
+"I shall obey your wish," he said presently; "I cannot do otherwise.
+I am like a child, and must look to you for instruction in all things.
+Perhaps there will come a time when I can repay you."
+
+"It will be a pleasure for me to help you as I would a brother, and you
+will owe me no gratitude for it," I said.
+
+We sat discussing our plans for the future until near midnight. When
+we went to bed at last, Rayel looked happier than I had seen him before
+since my recovery at the hospital.
+
+When I awoke it was near midday. I went to call Rayel and found that he
+was gone.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+After waiting for him nearly an hour I went to a neighboring restaurant
+for breakfast. On returning I found that he had not yet come back.
+Alarmed at his continued absence I went at once to Hester's apartments,
+scarcely expecting, however, to find him there, but confident that she
+would be able to tell me where he was likely to go.
+
+"No doubt he has gone on some good errand," she said. "Has he not told
+you of his charitable enterprises?"
+
+"He told me last night how they had reduced his fortune."
+
+"Poor fellow!" she continued. "In his zeal for others he quite forgot
+his own needs. I would have told you about it, but that he implored me
+to spare you any knowledge of his condition. I think we shall be able to
+find him. Let us go and try."
+
+Hester and I set out at once, walking rapidly against a biting east wind
+toward the river. On reaching Second Avenue we took a car and rode down
+among the big tenements towering into the sky on all sides in the lower
+part of the city. Alighting in the midst of these human hives, we
+made our way through a wretched crowd, shivering in the livery of
+destitution, down a long and narrow alley. Entering one of the doorways
+we climbed a steep flight of stairs, above which was a squalid throng
+pressing about an open door on the landing. The women held children
+in their arms, and many of them were crying bitterly. The men stood in
+silence peering curiously over the heads of the further throng into the
+crowded chamber. Some of them greeted Hester with great respect, and
+moved aside that we might have room to enter. As we neared the door I
+could hear a babel of strange tongues and the voices of women calling
+down the blessings of Heaven upon some one in their midst. It was Rayel.
+He stood in a corner of the room holding two little children in his
+arms, and the crowd was pressing forward as if eager to speak with him.
+He was talking in a low voice to those nearest him, but I was unable to
+catch his words. There were men and women of many nationalities in the
+throng. I saw Italians, Celts, Poles, Germans and even men whose swarthy
+faces and peculiar garb betokened Syrian origin. When we pressed nearer
+to Rayel I saw some, as they came within reach, extend their hands
+and touch him fondly, uttering exclamations as they did so, often in
+a tongue that was strange to me. These simple-minded people seemed to
+regard him as a supernatural being whom it was good to talk with, and
+whose touch it was a blessing to feel. A look of love and gentleness and
+sympathy irradiated his face and invited their confidence. These were
+evidently the poor whom he had befriended, and he was now taking leave
+of them, probably forever. It was a scene the like of which few can
+ever hope to witness. After all, I thought, what manner of riches can
+be compared to the satisfaction which Rayel feels at this moment? I was
+quite ready then to applaud his unselfish generosity, for in that gloomy
+and unclean place I first saw the full radiance of God's truth that it
+is infinitely more blessed to give than to receive. We stood for a long
+time looking upon this memorable meeting of Cadmus and Caliban. When at
+length he caught sight of us, Rayel came where we stood, and said he was
+ready to go home. Perceiving that we were about to go, the crowd hurried
+from the building into the narrow alley leading out upon the street.
+Some shouted endearing farewells as we passed them, and many of their
+hardened faces were wet with tears. The sun was just going down and the
+shadows were deepening between the high walls looming above us as we
+started homeward. Hester insisted that we must dine with her and decide
+upon the day of our departure. Rayel and I went directly home for a bath
+and a change of clothing, after which we proceeded at once to Hester's
+apartments. Evidently somewhat fatigued by the day's experience, Rayel
+had little to say while we were eating dinner. It was arranged that we
+would start for England by the first steamer on which we could secure a
+comfortable passage. We had no sooner finished our coffee than a servant
+announced Mr. Benjamin Murmurtot, who wished to see Miss Bronson.
+
+"A reporter!" exclaimed Hester. "There's no dodging them in America.
+Shall I ask him in for a moment?"
+
+We said yes, of course, and Mr. Murmurtot presently fluttered into the
+room. He was a natty little man, with a large nose, a bald head and a
+decidedly English accent.
+
+"Delighted to see you, Miss Bronson," said he, "delighted, I'm sure.
+Thought I'd call and pay my respects before you leave the city."
+
+He greeted us all with like effusiveness and sat down facing Hester.
+
+"It's very kind of you," said she; "but pray how did you know I was to
+leave the city?"
+
+"Why, I'm sure, Miss Bronson, everybody knows you are going home to be
+married?"
+
+"It is true that I am going home soon," said she, "but I must decline to
+discuss my object in doing so."
+
+"Pray pardon me; I'm a journalist, you know," said Mr. Murmurtot, "and
+I earn my living by impertinence. Have I not seen you before, sir?" he
+continued, facing Rayel. "I think you were at the theatre one evening
+some time ago--sat in the lower box at the right of the stage--I
+remember it well, sir."
+
+"I remember the occasion," said my cousin, with his accustomed gravity.
+
+"I read about that occurrence at Mr. Paddington's dinner-party, sir,"
+continued Mr. Murmurtot. "It was decidedly clever in you, sir--deucedly
+clever! Everybody is talking about it, now that the Count has been
+arrested."
+
+"Arrested!" I exclaimed; "has he been arrested?"
+
+"Yes, this morning, for the robbery, you know. They say that the police
+have secured evidence that will convict him sure, but it seems they are
+not yet ready to make it public; reporters can't get the Inspector to
+say a word about it, you know--not a word."
+
+There were exclamations of surprise and gratification from all present,
+save Rayel, who remained silent, while a faint smile stole over his
+face.
+
+"I knew they would find him out," said he.
+
+"I hear that you are a mind-reader, sir," said Mr. Murmurtot, again
+addressing my cousin.
+
+"And you are a detective, I believe, and not a reporter," said Rayel.
+"It is good that we understand each other."
+
+Mr. Murmurtot started with surprise at the remark.
+
+"I do not know how fully you may be acquainted with my secret," said he,
+"but permit me to assure you that I am here on a friendly mission.
+
+"I have no doubt of that," said my cousin.
+
+"Let me proceed directly to the object of my visit, then, which is to
+learn how soon you expect to return to England."
+
+"By Saturday, if possible," I replied.
+
+"That is good," said he, turning toward me. "The sooner the better. In
+the meantime it will be my duty to keep a sharp eye upon you; I have
+been near you all day. You need not feel any alarm--only do not be
+surprised if you meet me often. I am responsible for your safety, that
+is all."
+
+"For whom are you acting?" I asked.
+
+"My dear sir," said he, rising to go, "men in my line of business must
+not talk too much. Good night."
+
+After he had gone we asked Rayel to tell us more about this mysterious
+visitor, but he was unable to do so.
+
+When we started away Hester put on her wraps and walked with us to the
+cab. As we alighted at our own door I saw a man standing by the street
+lamp on the corner, some distance away, whom I recognized as Mr.
+Murmurtot. I found a letter from Mr. Earl awaiting me at home, in which
+he urged us to hasten back to England as soon as possible after my
+recovery.
+
+"You and Rayel," he said, "will, I trust, make your home at my house."
+
+Next day we began our preparations for the voyage.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+It was on a bleak and windy night in December that we were driven
+through a pelting rain to one of the docks on the North River, which our
+steamer was to leave at high tide in the early morning. When we alighted
+Mr. Murmurtot stood shivering in a greatcoat and muffler close by the
+passengers' entrance.
+
+"This is a good place for a warm greeting," said he, taking Hester's
+hand. "I've stood here so long that my teeth are chattering from the
+cold."
+
+"Won't you come aboard with us?" I asked.
+
+"Not yet," he replied; "but I expect to sail with you in the morning."
+
+"'Sa rough night, sir," said the porter who carried our luggage, "but
+we'll find it a bit rougher outside, I'm feered, afore anither night."
+
+Fatigued by a long day of arduous work, we went at once to our
+staterooms. I was soon asleep after getting into my berth, but was
+awakened by the tramp of feet on the upper decks and the shouting of
+the crew long before the ship left her moorings. They reminded me of
+the first night I had ever spent on an ocean steamer--the night I left
+Liverpool on that journey fraught with danger I had not then dreamed
+of. I had grown old very fast under the influences that had come into my
+life since then. Indeed, I was now a man, whereas I had been only a boy
+when I left England. But Rayel was with me now, and that repaid me for
+all I had suffered. What would he have done in that lonely mansion
+after his father's death? For hours my mind was occupied with these
+reflections, and at length I determined to dress myself and go on deck.
+Rayel awoke while I was dressing and decided to go with me.
+
+We found the decks thronged with people, and the ship's crew were
+bustling about, getting ready to sail. We stood near the gangway, facing
+the dock. A man was pacing back and forth in the opening whose figure
+seemed familiar to me. Presently he came aboard, and as he passed near
+us I saw it was the omnipresent Mr. Murmurtot.
+
+"I wonder if he is afraid somebody will steal the ship?" I remarked.
+
+"No, he is looking for some person," said Rayel, divining my thoughts.
+
+"All ashore! Stand away, there!" shouted one of the ship's officers.
+
+The passengers fell back, the gangway was pulled aboard, the great
+hawsers were loosened, and the ship moved slowly away from the dock. We
+stood for a long time watching the river craft and the receding lights
+of the city. The ship was well beyond the Atlantic Highlands when we
+went to our stateroom and to bed again. We slept until late in the
+morning, and arose barely in time for a late breakfast with Hester.
+Rayel seemed cheerful enough and took more than ordinary interest in
+his surroundings. When we had risen from the table he led me aside and
+directed my attention to a short, stout man with a bristly growth of
+close-cropped black hair, a low forehead and shaggy eyebrows, who was
+leaning lazily against the railing of the stairway.
+
+"Let us avoid him," he whispered. "I do not like his looks."
+
+What can this mean? I asked myself, as we all proceeded to the deck.
+Perhaps he was the man the detective was looking for.
+
+It was a beautiful sunlit afternoon, and the vessel rode steadily in a
+sea that was growing quiet under the dying impulse that the winds had
+left behind them. We drew our chairs together on the deck near the stern
+of the vessel, and had settled down for a quiet chat among ourselves
+when we were unexpectedly joined by Mr. Murmurtot.
+
+"Delighted, I'm sure!" he exclaimed, with the same inimitable drawl I
+had noted on the occasion of our first meeting. I soon observed that
+the artful little gentleman was master of an elaborate system of
+exclamations by which he encouraged one to talk freely without saying
+anything himself.
+
+In response to my assertion that we had been exceedingly busy getting
+ready for the trip he said simply: "Indeed!"
+
+It was a very unusual burst of confidence in which he was moved to
+express his views with any greater freedom. When the remark which
+preceded it was evidently expected to meet with Mr. Murmurtot's
+concurrence, then he would say, "Yes, indeed!"
+
+If the remark were one to which this response would be inappropriate he
+often went to the extent of observing, "I dare say!" seemingly
+ventured after careful consideration of the chances for and against the
+proposition which provoked it.
+
+"My dear sir, I do not agree with you," he would always say when he felt
+compelled to differ with me. If the difference in our views chanced to
+be extremely radical, he would throw particular emphasis upon the word
+"dear," as a sort of recompense for his opposition. These forms of
+speech, with occasional and slight variations, were always employed by
+Mr. Murmurtot as a medium of thought and sentiment.
+
+In the midst of our conversation I noticed the man whom Rayel had
+pointed out to me when we arose from the breakfast-table. He was
+standing against the rail, not twenty feet from where we sat, and as I
+looked at him he turned away and walked leisurely down the deck. In a
+moment Rayel was on his feet, and, excusing himself, he proceeded in
+the same direction. An hour later, as he had not returned, I left Hester
+with Mr. Murmurtot and went forward in quest of him. He was in the
+reading-room, apparently interested in a newspaper. As he did not
+observe me, I sat down behind his chair without disturbing him. To my
+surprise I saw that he was not reading the paper, but that his eyes were
+furtively watching the mysterious stranger he had followed, who sat
+on the other side of the room listlessly puffing at a cigarette. I was
+seated scarcely a moment when Rayel seemed to be aware of my presence.
+Looking from face to face until he had discovered me he arose and came
+to my side.
+
+"I was trying to read a newspaper," said he, leading the way to the
+door, "but reading is still hard work for me."
+
+"I saw that you did not seem to be looking at the paper," said I, as
+we proceeded to the deck. He made no reply, but stopped and looked out
+across the waste of waters at the horizon.
+
+"Do you know that man?" I asked.
+
+For a moment I stood waiting for his answer. Apparently he had not heard
+my question, and I repeated it in a somewhat louder tone.
+
+He turned suddenly with an impatient exclamation. There was a flash of
+anger in his eyes as he faced me. I had never seen him in such a mood
+before.
+
+"Forgive me," said he. "I am only angry with myself. Come, Hester will
+be looking for us."
+
+I did not venture again to refer to our bristly fellow-passenger in
+Rayel's presence. Never inclined to talk much, even with me, he was
+becoming more silent than ever as the voyage continued. Day by day his
+interest in that strange man seemed to increase. He spent as little time
+as possible in my company. When not with me he was hounding him about
+the ship, keeping him in sight from some favorable point of observation.
+What was the meaning of it? The question forced itself upon my mind
+persistently by day and night, and begat in me a gloomy reticence which
+Hester was quick to observe. Every day I expected some revelation from
+Rayel, but he said nothing about the man in whom he had taken such
+extraordinary interest.
+
+We had been over a week at sea, and I was sitting alone one afternoon,
+when Mr. Murmurtot came along and asked if he might introduce an
+acquaintance of his whom I ought to know. Then he went to find the
+gentleman, saying that he would return in a few moments. He had no
+sooner left me than my mind reverted to the man who had been the bugbear
+of my thoughts since we left New York. Presently Mr. Murmurtot touched
+my arm. Looking up suddenly, I saw standing before me the very man of
+whom I had been thinking.
+
+"Mr. Lane, let me introduce you to Mr. Fenlon," said the detective.
+I shook the hand that was extended to me mechanically, and made some
+incoherent response--I do not remember what. I had been taken by
+surprise. My voice was unnatural and my strength seemed to have left me
+suddenly.
+
+"Are you not well, sir?" he asked.
+
+"No, sir, he is not well yet."
+
+It was the voice of Rayel that answered for me. He was standing by my
+side, his lips tightly drawn, and his eyes fixed upon the man Fenlon.
+There was a terrible look on his face as he stood there towering above
+us. The man turned pale and moved quickly backward two or three steps,
+staring at my cousin as if in fear of receiving a death-blow. For an
+instant, only, he stood like some fierce animal at bay, then turned
+and walked hurriedly down the deck. The situation was made all the more
+impressive by the interval of silence that followed Rayel's words.
+
+"Forgive me," said Mr. Murmurtot, taking my hand, "if this meeting was
+unpleasant. It was necessary." Then he bowed politely and walked away.
+The sun was just going down as Rayel and I entered the cabin, where
+Hester was waiting for us.
+
+"The captain thinks we will reach Southampton before five in the
+morning," said she.
+
+I was glad to learn that our voyage was so near its end.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+After dinner Rayel and I went at once to our stateroom.
+
+"I am out of patience with myself," said he, as soon as we were seated.
+"My mind is failing me just when I need it most. I have grown dull and
+stupid. For more than a week I have been trying to find out that man's
+secret. I knew that he had a secret, and that it concerned us. Not until
+to-night was I certain that I had found it out. Once I could see the
+truth clearly. No matter how deeply it was buried under lies--I could
+see it. But now there is something like a mist before my eyes, and I am
+sure of nothing. Perhaps it is because I am now a liar myself, as bad as
+any of them. God have mercy on me!" said he, rising, and speaking with
+much animation. "I know now what is blinding my soul. When a man lies
+he loses some degree of his power to distinguish between truth and
+falsehood."
+
+He stood looking into my face impatiently, as if waiting to hear what I
+would say to his remark.
+
+"That would be the natural result, I have no doubt," said I; "but
+are you not trying to convict yourself of too much wickedness and
+stupidity?"
+
+I had never considered the misfortune of knowing too much--of being able
+to detect every difference between word and thought, between appearance
+and reality. That was the power which Rayel possessed, and it increased
+his moral responsibility by as much as it transcended the power common
+to others. Here, indeed, was a man ripe for the fate of a martyr.
+
+"Won't you tell me Fenlon's secret, if you have found it out?" I asked.
+"I've been thinking about it night and day since we first saw him."
+
+"Be wise! Don't try to learn too fast, Kendric" said he. "You shall know
+it soon, I am sure of that--indeed, I promise that you shall."
+
+"I am quite willing to wait on the future for everything if you think it
+is best," I said.
+
+We sat for a long time, making plans for our future life in England. It
+was near midnight when we retired to our berths, but we were up early
+in the morning, eager to catch the first sight of land. On reaching the
+deck we were overjoyed to see the distant spires of Southampton glowing
+in the morning sun.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Earl met us at the station of the Southwestern Railway
+in London, and we were driven at once to their home. Hester came to
+breakfast with us, but Mrs. Earl would not let her go to Liverpool that
+day, ship-worn and fatigued as we all felt after the voyage.
+
+"You resemble your father, sir, when he was of your age," said Mr.
+Earl, addressing my cousin, as we were eating. "But you are larger, much
+larger, than he was."
+
+"You were my father's friend when he was a young man, I believe?" said
+Rayel.
+
+"Yes, he and his brother were my best friends in those days. I tried to
+induce him to study law, but he was more inclined to medicine."
+
+Rayel had found a man quite after his liking and the two were on the
+best of terms at once. Indeed, he seemed to talk with my benefactor as
+freely as he ever talked with me. I found Mrs. Earl very much as I had
+imagined my mother to have been--a full-faced, ruddy-cheeked woman; with
+a sweet voice and gentle manners. She greeted me as if I were her own
+son returned from a long journey, and when we sat down to talk after
+breakfast, I felt the joy and peace of one who has found a home after
+much wandering.
+
+I spent the afternoon with Mr. Earl in his library, and he listened with
+deep interest to the complete story of my life since the night we parted
+in Liverpool.
+
+He had many questions to ask me touching the attempt upon my life, and
+my replies were jotted down in his memorandum-book. After I had told him
+all that I was able to tell he sat for some moments thoughtfully
+turning the pages of the book, stopping now and then to read some of the
+memoranda.
+
+"It looks pretty bad for them, doesn't it?" said he calmly, looking up
+at me over his spectacles. "But we'll bring this matter to a climax very
+soon," he continued. "We haven't seen the last act of the play yet. You
+need not have any further fear for your safety--I will look after that.
+You may feel quite free to go and come as you please in this part of the
+city. Above all things we must avoid letting them know that we suspect
+anything; it might defeat me in getting hold of the last bit of evidence
+that is necessary to complete our case."
+
+I nodded, and waited for him to proceed.
+
+"Let us go carefully until we're sure of our ground," he continued.
+"Your stepmother knows you are in London, of course. You must go and see
+her. Take your cousin with you, and--well, you will know how to treat
+them. After all, you must bear in mind that in the eye of the law every
+man is innocent until he is proven guilty. Adopt that view of the case
+yourself. You needn't fear anything from Cobb or his wife. Only be
+reasonably prudent."
+
+"I've no fear that they will try to do us any harm," said I; "and
+I would greatly enjoy visiting the old house. Perhaps we could go
+to-morrow."
+
+"The day after. You'd better go down to Liverpool to-morrow with the
+young lady, and return by the night train."
+
+That day saw the beginning of a deep and lasting friendship between
+Hester and Mrs. Earl. When we left next morning to go to Hester's home
+in Liverpool, she promised to return soon for a long visit. By ten
+o'clock we were well out of smoky London, on the way that I had already
+traversed once before, with a cheerful heart most creditable to me under
+the circumstances. Mrs. Chaffin was waiting for us at the gate when we
+alighted in front of the old wood-colored cottage--that haven of weary
+legs in days gone by. Phil (who had lengthened noticeably in the service
+of Valentine, King & Co.) was there, too, and all the rest of the
+Chaffin household in Sunday clothes. Mrs. Chaffin was quite beside
+herself with joy.
+
+"Dear-a me!" said the good lady, after the salutations were over.
+"Dear-a sakes! How you've growed! I didn't think you'd ever live to get
+s' big. I thought as 'ow som' 'arm 'd come to ye when ye went away, an'
+Hester--"
+
+"Mamma!" exclaimed Hester, with a reproving glance. "Don't tell him."
+
+"I'm that fidgety I don't know what I'm sayin'. The Lord bless us, but
+ye must be hungry!" said the good woman, as she spread the table for
+dinner. She had guessed rightly, and Hester bustled about, helping
+her mother get the dishes on the table, with a critical eye to all the
+arrangements. Rayel was much amused by the children, the youngest of
+whom had climbed upon his knee and was taking liberties with his cravat.
+He was wholly unaccustomed to the pranks of children, and we frequently
+rallied to his defence. He seemed to enjoy them, however, and was soon
+involved in a spree at which both Hester and I laughed heartily.
+
+"This herring ain't extra good, sir, but I 'ope it won't go ag'in' ye,"
+said Mrs. Chaffin to Rayel, as we sat down to the table.
+
+He seemed in doubt for a moment as to what it would be proper to say in
+reply to this well-intended remark.
+
+"I have never eaten a herring, madam," said he, gravely, "but I have no
+doubt it will be good."
+
+"I 'ope so, sir--indeed, I 'ope so; but I dare presume to say that it
+will taste bad enough to the likes of you."
+
+Mrs. Chaffin (good soul) had evidently concluded that my cousin was a
+man entitled to extra politeness. Hester had adroitly side-tracked the
+herring question and started another train of speculation, when her
+mother's misgivings were again excited respecting the tea, which Rayel
+had just tasted.
+
+"Murky, sir?" she asked, with a glance of alarm. "I 'ope it don't taste
+murky."
+
+Mrs. Chaffin's solicitude respecting the tea and the herring reminded
+me of the first time I had stretched my tired legs under that hospitable
+board at Phil's invitation; of those big, wondering eyes that stared at
+me across the table; of the songs and stories which beguiled the evening
+hours.
+
+The candles were lit before dinner was over, and when we rose from the
+table it was to gather about the warm fire and exchange memories, while
+Rayel listened with deep interest. Phil had been promoted from a pair of
+legs to a pair of hands, and was now third bookkeeper for the firm. Our
+carriage came for us at nine o'clock. Hester had decided to stay a day
+or two with her mother, but it was necessary for Rayel and me to return
+to London that night, as we were to make an important call the next day.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+Late in the afternoon of the day following our visit to Liverpool we
+ascended the big stone steps of my old home and pulled the bell. After
+all, I found that my nerves were not quite steady while we were waiting
+for the door to open. We had come intending to spend the night there,
+and my benefactor had given me certain precautions not calculated to
+make me feel entirely at home. Was there some deeper plan underlying
+his suggestion as to this visit than he had chosen to explain? I had not
+long to consider that point, however, for suddenly the door opened and
+a servant in imposing livery confronted us. I handed him my card and we
+were shown into the reception room at once. Presently he conducted us to
+my stepmother, who greeted me with a great show of cordiality and some
+tears. She had grown old fast since I left home, but she had artfully
+disguised the evidences of age upon her face and neck. Why had I stayed
+away so long? What had she done to deserve such shameful neglect? These
+and other questions taxed my wits for an answer that would neither
+outrage my own conscience nor offend her. Mr. Cobb, who had just
+returned from his office, suddenly entered the room. His face assumed an
+ashen pallor, and he stared at me quite dumfounded for a moment, when I
+arose and stood before him.
+
+"It is Kendric. Don't you recognize him?" said my stepmother.
+
+"So it is!" he exclaimed. "But he's grown quite out of my recollection."
+The man had recovered his self-possession in a moment, and treated me,
+it must be said to his credit, with marked coolness. I was likely to get
+on with him very well, I thought, but the fawning attitude of his wife
+quite unhorsed me. If I am to see the devil I'd rather he'd frown than
+smile. Cobb had very little to say to us, and left the room at the first
+opportunity. In doing so he had shown scant consideration for his wife,
+however, as it left a burden upon her shoulders that must have taxed her
+strength. But she was not unequal to it. Her smile broadened after he
+had gone, and there was a tone of deeper sincerity in her expressions
+of regard. We had been to dinner, and if she would kindly send a little
+cold lunch to our room at bedtime that would be quite sufficient. During
+her absence for dinner the reaction came. When my stepmother returned
+she seemed to have suddenly grown older, and she looked at us through
+haggard and sunken eyes. Surely this was a terrible punishment she was
+undergoing, and I pitied her. Mr. Cobb had an important engagement to
+keep, she said, and hoped we would excuse him. Slowly the evening wore
+away and at ten o'clock we were shown to our room, greatly fatigued by
+this trying experience. It was a room fronting the street on the third
+floor, which I had occupied before I left home. The walls had been
+painted white since then, with a frieze of gold along the ceiling.
+My father used to sleep in the room directly under it. Rayel had been
+silent and absent-minded all the evening, rarely speaking except in
+reply to some question.
+
+"I feel sad for some cause I do not understand," said he, preparing to
+retire. "I shall be glad when to-morrow comes."
+
+"We will go back in the morning," I said. "You don't feel at home here,
+do you?"
+
+He did not seem to hear me, but tried the door, which I had already
+bolted, and then got into bed, yawning and shivering, for the room was
+cold. I turned down the light, and, opening the shutters, looked out
+upon the street, now deserted save by a solitary man who had just passed
+the house and whose slow footsteps were gradually growing less distinct.
+I crouched there, listening for some moments to that fading sound, when
+it began to grow louder again. The man had turned about and was coming
+back. As he passed under the lamp on the opposite corner I thought I
+recognized the slim figure of Mr. Murmurtot. Suddenly I was startled by
+a noise in the room adjoining ours, and sprang to my feet in a tremor.
+Plague take my imagination! It was somebody going to bed. I sat down
+again and for a long time looked out at the man walking back and forth
+in front of the house. I was rapidly getting into a condition of mind
+unfavorable to rest and, closing the shutters, I went to bed at once.
+For hours I lay tossing restlessly from one side to the other, and
+finally fell into a deep sleep. I must have slept a long time when I
+suddenly awoke, laboring with nightmare. I had heard no sound, I had
+felt no touch, but all at once my eyes were open and I knew that I was
+awake. The lamp was burning dimly on the table beside my bed. How my
+heart was beating! And my arm--how it trembled when I tried to raise up
+on my elbow and look about the room!
+
+"Who's there?" I whispered. Was it Rayel standing near the bed, his body
+swaying backward and forward, or was I yet asleep? Everything looked dim
+and weird. I seemed to be in some silent ghostland between sleeping and
+waking. I rubbed my eyes and peered about the half-darkened room. It was
+Rayel, and, as I gazed at him, his eyes seemed to shine like balls of
+fire. I called to him, but he made no answer. What had happened since I
+went to sleep? Alarmed, I threw the covers aside and leaped out of bed.
+As I did so he stepped up close to the opposite wall, and, as his hand
+moved, I could hear the grating of a crayon on its surface. In tremulous
+haste I turned up the wick of the lamp and tiptoed toward him, holding
+it in my hand. He was stepping backward and excitedly pointing at the
+wall. He had been drawing a picture on its white surface--the form of
+a woman holding something in her hand. I stepped nearer, still carrying
+the lamp. A sharp interjection broke from my lips. The woman pictured
+there was my stepmother, and it was a knife that she held! A man was
+lying at her feet. Again Rayel stepped forward, and again I heard the
+crayon grating on the wall. Then he stood aside. Great God! There were
+drops of blood dripping from the knife now. Rayel sank down upon the
+floor and covered his eyes with his hands. I stood there, dumb with fear
+and horror, looking first upon him and then upon the picture.
+
+The silence of the night was unbroken save by those slow footsteps in
+the street to which I had listened before retiring. But suddenly I heard
+a low wailing cry in the room adjoining ours. It so startled me that
+I came near dropping the lamp. Strange and weird it sounded, gradually
+growing shriller and more terrible to hear! It was the voice of my
+stepmother. Was she dreaming? And had Rayel seen the vision that
+affrighted her? Was that dagger pricking her brain? In a moment the
+swelling cry broke into a sharp scream, such as might come from one
+exposed to sudden peril, and ceased. Then the sound of a bell rang
+sharply through the house, followed by loud knocking at the door and a
+man's shout.
+
+"Open the door, I command you!" he said.
+
+He must have heard that piercing cry. Rayel still lay motionless upon
+the floor. Was he asleep? Why did he not rise? I began to feel numb. I
+seemed to have lost the power of motion. I could hear some one rapping
+at our door, but I could not move.
+
+"Kendric! Kendric! Kendric!" Was it my stepmother who was calling me?
+What a piteous, pleading tone! "Let me speak to you, Kendric! For God's
+sake, let me tell you!" I was reeling: my strength had all left me.
+Crash! went the lamp at my feet. There was a great flash of light, which
+dazzled my eyes, and I fell heavily upon the floor.
+
+I was in the open air when thought and feeling came back to me. My hands
+and face were paining me as if they had been terribly burned. There were
+a number of men standing over a motionless figure that lay beside me.
+
+"The poor lad!" said one of the men "he's nearly roasted. See here
+how the clothes have been burned away from his neck! Can't ye stop the
+blood? The mon'll die afore the amb'lance comes ef we don't stop the
+blood. A brave mon he is, too. D'ye see 'im coming down the stairs with
+th' other one on his back?"
+
+Of whom were they talking? I struggled to my feet--I could feel no pain
+now--and bent over that still form which had been lying beside me. Oh!
+it was the heaven-blessed face of Rayel, now bleeding and scarred and
+ghastly. I raised his head. The hair fell away where my hand touched it,
+and a groan escaped his lips. I could not speak nor weep nor utter
+any sound. A strange calmness came over my spirit and I sat there
+motionless, bending over him I loved so well, while the crowd of men
+looked on in silence. "After His own image made He man;" these words
+came to my mind as I looked into that dear face. Then I prayed in
+silence--for him. Thank God! his eyes were open now and his lips were
+moving. I bent lower until I could feel his breath upon my cheek.
+
+"Is it you, Kendric?" he whispered. "Did I save you from the fire? I
+cannot see you, but I know you are here."
+
+I heard his words distinctly, but I could not answer. The power of
+speech seemed to have left me.
+
+"The fire awoke me," he continued, moaning. "We were lying on the floor.
+I called to you, but you did not answer. Thank God! you are safe now."
+
+Returning consciousness brought with it an increasing sense of his
+pain, and he began to struggle and groan in dreadful agony. Suddenly,
+extending one of his blackened hands until it touched my face, he
+shouted in a loud voice:
+
+"Kendric! Kendric! help--help me!"
+
+Then some men laid hold of me and lifted me up. I clung to Rayel with
+all my strength, but could not resist them, and as I was borne away I
+knew that Rayel and I had parted forever.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+After that midnight parting the first thing I can recall was the touch
+of a gentle hand upon my face. When my eyes opened I saw Hester bending
+over me.
+
+"You are at home now, Kendric," said she. Such a feeling of weakness
+came over me that I could not speak. I thought a nail had been driven
+into my brain, but the tears that began rolling down my cheeks and the
+moans that broke from my lips seemed to loosen it.
+
+Many days passed before I was able to reflect upon this last tragic
+episode in my life or to take any thought of the morrow. One evening
+I awoke from a deep sleep feeling a new interest in life. There were
+people sitting in the room and talking in low tones.
+
+"Has he asked for Rayel yet?" said one of them.
+
+"Not yet," was the answer.
+
+"Better not let him know about it yet. There's time enough. He'll be
+around soon."
+
+I called to them and they came quickly to my bedside. There were Hester
+and Mr. Earl and his good wife, all looking down upon me with smiling
+faces.
+
+"You need not be afraid to tell me now. I know that Rayel is dead."
+
+They made no answer.
+
+"I know he is dead, but tell me how it happened," I said. "There is no
+danger; I am quite strong now."
+
+Mr. Earl took my hand and told me in a low, calm voice, all he knew of
+the tragedy. He only knew, however, that the lamp had exploded and that
+Rayel had been horribly burned by the oil.
+
+"I suppose," said he, "that the lamp was on a table near his bed when it
+exploded. In a moment the whole room was afire, and you, no doubt, being
+asleep at the time, he lifted you up and ran with you down the stairway
+and out of the open door. But in the meantime he had been horribly
+burned, and he fell in a faint as soon as he reached the pavement.
+Strangely enough you were unconscious for some moments, although you
+were not badly burned. Probably it was the smoke."
+
+Then no one knows, thought I, what really did happen that night. The
+lamp must have fallen almost directly upon Rayel's head, and the oil had
+no doubt saturated his hair and clothing.
+
+"And the house?" I asked. "Is that--"
+
+"In ashes," he replied.
+
+Then every trace of that strange event, which no eye save mine had
+witnessed, was wiped out forever. The hideous secret had better never be
+told.
+
+"If I was not badly burned, tell me why I have been lying ill."
+
+"Brain fever, my boy," said he. "Too much excitement, I presume--but
+you're out of danger now, and will be on your feet again in a few days."
+
+Fortunately the latter assurance was rightly spoken. The first day
+that brought me strength enough to put on my clothes and walk about the
+house, Mr. Earl invited me into the library to talk business. We were
+no sooner seated than he unlocked a drawer and handed me a document to
+read.
+
+It was a deed of all my father's real and personal property.
+
+"They have both confessed," said he.
+
+"Confessed what?" I asked, wondering if the secret of my father's death
+had come out.
+
+"The conspiracy against your life. There were two accomplices--one Count
+de Montalle, formerly a servant of Cobb, and now a convict in America,
+and the other a man named Fenlon, who is under arrest. These were the
+men who tried to take your life. Fenlon came over on the steamer with
+you, I believe."
+
+"And my stepmother--where is she?"
+
+"Gone to answer for her sins at a higher court," said he. "Her last
+deposition is annexed to the deed. The old hussy ran into the fire like
+a miller, and stood there screaming, 'Look at that picture on the
+wall! Oh, God! do you see it?' she shouted to the fellow who found her
+standing in the smoke and flames. The chap was so excited he really
+thought that he did see the picture of a woman holding a knife."
+
+"That is strange, isn't it?" said I. "Who was the man?"
+
+"A detective," said he, "whom I hired to watch the house that night. He
+heard some disturbance, it seems, and, fearing mischief, he immediately
+forced the door open and ran pell-mell into your cousin, noble fellow,
+who was then bringing you down-stairs. If he had been one moment later
+the woman would have been burned to death, and we would never have got
+this deposition. Cobb wouldn't have been the first to weaken, you may be
+sure of that. But after she had told the whole story, why, there was no
+use in holding out. Badly burned? No, strange to say, she was not badly
+burned, but frightened out of her wits. The nervous shock was too much
+for her and soon led to fatal results. Cobb will go to prison."
+
+I made no reply. I could not have found words to express the thoughts
+that came trooping through my brain.
+
+"I have to tell you," he continued, "that your cousin left a will
+bequeathing to you his father's house and a number of valuable
+paintings."
+
+I turned away and burning tears of sorrow came to my eyes. It was indeed
+a sad inheritance--the earthly part of his great riches--and of little
+moment to me. I could not bear to think or speak of it then, and I
+begged my friend to hide the will from my sight until time might give me
+strength to read it with composure.
+
+One evening in early spring Hester and I were walking along the shore of
+the Mediterranean at Marseilles. I had been traveling through southern
+Europe since my recovery, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Earl. Hester had
+recently joined us in this ancient city of Provence. The sun was sinking
+below the distant horizon of water, and his shafts, glancing from the
+western edge of the sea, shot far into the immeasurable reaches above
+us. We stood in silence while the great wall of night loomed into the
+zenith, and then fell westward through the luminous slope of heaven. The
+broad terrace from which we viewed the scene was quite deserted.
+
+"If it is a hopeless love I cherish, let me know it now, Hester," I said
+as we turned to go. "I cannot wait any longer."
+
+"You can wait half an hour longer, I am sure," she said, hurrying me
+along. "We will be at home, then."
+
+Some months after Hester had become my wife we received a call in London
+from our old friend, Mr. Murmurtot.
+
+"You have been playing in a great life drama," said he to Hester, "and
+I, too, have had a part in it. Lest you may think that it was the
+fool's part, let me tell you that I am the man who arrested the Count de
+Montalle."
+
+"And the man who brought Fenlon to justice?" I asked.
+
+"The same. He confessed within three hours after you were introduced to
+him."
+
+          *    *      *    *      *     *   *
+
+Every week my wife and I visit Rayel's grave and strew fresh flowers
+upon it. A tall shaft of marble marks the spot where he lies at rest.
+His name is graven in the stone, and underneath it are these words: "He
+was a man without selfishness or vanity."
+
+
+                 THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Master of Silence, by Irving Bacheller
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