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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Master of Silence, by Irving Bacheller
+#2 in our series by Irving Bacheller
+
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+Title: The Master of Silence
+
+Author: Irving Bacheller
+
+Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7486]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on May 9, 2003]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER OF SILENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+This ebook was prepared by Jeffrey Kraus-yao.
+
+
+
+
+Fiction, Fact, and Fancy Series
+Edited by Arthur Stedman
+
+
+The Master of Silence
+
+
+
+The Master of Silence
+
+A Romance
+
+
+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.
+Cautiouly 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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