Science fiction, American; Short stories, American
The Prophet was having another vision, of that I was sure. But what
could be the impending disaster which could bring on such a look of
horror as that?
Then, without a word of warning, he was himself again, and turned to me.
“It is fate,” he said, sadly, “and it must be borne; but it is very
hard.”
He waited several minutes, trying to collect himself, then he began
again in a low tone:
“I have had my last vision. Soon--I know not when--but I must die. And
such a death!” He shuddered and threw up his hand again, involuntarily,
as he had done before. “As you and I sit here together at this table, a
man will come into the place. He will mistake you for an enemy of his,
and will try to kill you; but do not fear, he will not succeed. Promise
me,” he pleaded, “that you will take care of me when it is all over.”
I tried to make him leave the place, to promise never to come back
again if he thought there were any such danger; but he only shook his
head.
“It is no use, it is fate; and who are we to try to interfere with the
will of God? I tell you--”
He stopped. Again that look of fear began to come over his face, and I
turned to see the cause of his alarm, for he was not in any trance this
time.
“For God’s sake, don’t turn round!” he cried.
But it was too late. As I turned, I saw, standing by the bar, a man
almost a giant in form. As I looked, he chanced to glance in the mirror
behind the bar. He caught my eye, and, in a second, turned and started
for our table. Never have I seen such a look of hate on a human face.
As he neared our table, he drew a huge knife from his belt.
“So I have found you at last!” he cried. He reached our table and
raised that terrible knife, while I sat there, staring stupidly at him,
paralyzed with fear.
The arm descended, but, before the knife could reach me, the Prophet
had leaped from his chair and thrown himself in the way. Once more I
saw that pitiful little gesture of defense. I tried to look away, but
could not. I had not moved a muscle since I had first seen the murderer.
With a blow strong enough to have felled an ox, the cruel knife sank
deep into the Prophet’s neck, described a circular motion, and came out
on the other side, severing the head completely from the body.
The brute, horrified at what he had done, dropped the knife and fled
from the place. Then, as if released from the spell which had held me,
I came to myself.
I do not know how I did it, but, picking up that ghastly thing from
the floor, I rose and told the men assembled of the prophecy which
the dead man had made to me a short time before. It may not seem much
to you, but I felt that I owed it to the Prophet, to give him back the
place among those people which he had formerly held. And to-day, in the
Rivola, his name is honored as it was in the old days. It was an awful
price to pay, but he paid it; and his reward was, that the stigma of
false was forever removed from his name and memory.
The Prophet had redeemed himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account