Mystery fiction; Race relations -- Fiction; Southern States -- Fiction
"Come to me, my friend, at once! I am troubled and perplexed. And do not
be offended that I have inclosed exchange for an amount large enough to
cover expenses. I am now rich beyond the comprehension of your
economical German mind, and surely I may be allowed, in the interests of
science, of my ward and myself to spend from the abundant store. I look
for you early. In the meantime, I will be careful in my experiments.
Come at once! _The mind has an independent memory and you can
demonstrate it._"
Edward knew that there was more on that concluding sentence than in the
rest of the letter and exchange combined, and half-believing it, he
stated it as a prophecy. He was preparing to retire, when it occurred to
him that the strange occupant of the wing-room might need his attention.
Something like affection had sprung up in his heart for the unfortunate
being who, with chains heavier than his own, had missed the diversion of
new scenes, the broadening, the soothing of great landscapes and
boundless oceans. A pity moved him to descend and to knock at the door.
There was no answer. He entered to find the apartment deserted, but the
curtain was drawn from the doorway of the glass-room and he passed in.
Upon the bed in the yellow light of the moon lay the slender figure of
Gerald, one arm thrown around the disordered hair, the other hanging
listless from his side.
He approached and bent above the bed. The face turned upward there
seemed like wax in the oft-broken gloom. The sleeper had not stirred. It
was the vibration of chords in harmony, that had moved him. Would it
have power again? He hesitated a moment, then returned quickly to the
wing-room and secured his instrument. Concealing himself he waited. It
was but a moment.
The wind brought the branches of the nearest oleanders against the frail
walls, and the play of lightning had become continuous. Then began in
earnest the tumult of the vast sound waves as they met in the vapory
caverns of the sky. The sleeper tossed restlessly upon his bed; he was
stirred by a vague but unknown power; yet something was wanting.
At this moment Edward lifted his violin and, catching the storm note,
wove a solemn strain into the diapason of the mighty organ of the sky.
And as he played, as if by one motion, the sleeper stood alone in the
middle of the room. Again Edward saw that frenzied stare fixed upon
vacancy, but there was no furious leap of the agile limbs; by a powerful
effort the struggling mind seemed to throw off a weight and the sleeper
awoke.
The bow was now suspended; the music had ceased. Gerald rushed to his
easel and, standing in a sea of electric flame, outlined with swift
strokes a woman's face and form. She was struggling in the grasp of a
man and her face was the face of the artist who worked. But such
expression! Agony, horror, despair!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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