CHAPTER VIII.— Continued.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 46, 8 March 1889, Page 32

CHAPTER VIII.— Continued.

SocN after 1 rose to tike my departure. Be.ore doing so I felt his pulse once more, and iound that the tever had entnely 1> ft Uiai, in U.eßudden, unaccountable tashion winch is peculiar ti tht«e malarious types of disease. I turned my face towarut> him to congratulate him upon his lmpiovement. and si rote ied out my band at tbe same time to pick my giovea from the table, with the result tLii I ras-dnot only my twu property, but also tbe limn cloth which was arrang. d over some objt-CL in the centre. 1 might not have not ced what I had doiic, nau 1 not seen a auj<ry look upon tin; invalid's face, aud heard him utter au itnpatieut exclamation lat once turned and itplaced tue. cloth so promptly >bat I sboiil i have beeu unable to say what w 8 uudcrncath v, beyoud having a g neial lniprebßion that it look d like a bude-cake. '• Alii-ighi,doct'ji." ttje General faul good-humouredly, perceiving how entirely acciden al tue incident Whs. '• There is no reason why you should not si c it, and h.ruthu.g out his baud, he pulled away the line i CuVtnng for the stcond tim«. I then peiceived that what I bad taken for a bndi.-c.ike, whs really an admirably execu'ed m»Jel of a lufty range of mountains, whose snow -clad peaks were uot unlike tbe familiar bugar piuudclcs aud Uiiuaieta. " Tbete are the Himalayas, ur at kast the Surinam branch of them," ne remarked, " stiowing the inucipil passes Oetw< en India tnd AfghausUn. It. is an excel eit mole!. Tin- ground haa a special lmertsi f r me, bet ame it is tho see ie of tny first catupaign. Tiieie let the pass i pp .s-te K. uabigh And the Thul val ey, wuire 1 was engaged during tbesuuiintr of 1841, in pio'ecung me co^lvo^sau.l keeping the Aireel«es v. o der. It tv^s'iit a suiecun . I promise you. • And uiis, ' fcai<l I, lud c.i ng j. blo^d-iLd »j ol v\h on h^i ueyu maikidono v side ( f ihe pa-a which hi- had p mcd out—"this is the Bi'i i c ot s iiu<- figh' in which jnii w ie eu^a^ed / ' Vt-t-. we had a (-knuiibh ih n . to aiiHw.r.-i, leaning forward flt.d lii< k<i git tl.c i. ii maik. Wl. wcil v. tucked bj '«t this ujoiiie'i. bt f. 11 back upuu ins i.il.o^ hi i hu tnd b en Bhot, whdo lhe tsme look of lonor cam * over his face wlii-h I bat oofen c 1

when I first entered the room. At tbe same instant thtre cant, apparently from tbe air immediately over his bed, a sharp, ringing, tinkling sound, which I can only compart to the noise made bj a bicyicle alarm, though it differed from this in having a distinctly throbbing character. I have never, before or since, heard any sound which could be confounded with it. I stared round in astonishment, wondering where it could have come from, but without porceiving anything to which it c uld be ascribed. " It's all right, Doctor," the General said witb a forced smile, " It's only my private gong. Perhaps you had better step downstairs and write my prescription in the d mug-room." He was etideutly »nxtous to gut rid of me ; so I was ioroed to take my departure, though I would gladly bate stayed a little longer, in the hope of learning some king bS to the origin of the mysteri >us sound. 1 drove aW*J from thu house with tho full determination et c-lliug agaia upou m> interes ing patient, aud eudearonring to elicit further particulars as to his past life aud his present circumstances. I was deatiued. however, to be disappointed ; for I received that very e»euiug a note from the General himnelf, enclosing a handsome fee for my single visit, and iuforming me that my treatment had done him so much good that he considered bimtelf convalescent, and would not trouble me to see him again. Fbis was the last and tbe only com* muuicfttion which I ever received from the tenant of Oloomber. I have been frequent y askei by neighbours and others who wen interested in tie maiter, whether he gavd me the impression of iasanity. To this I matt unhesitatingly ausw.r in the negative. On the contrary, his remarks gave me the idea of a man woo hai both read and thought deeply. I observed, however, that daring oar sin* c interview thai his reflexes were feeble, bis arcus senilis well marked, t»nd bis arteries aiberonia'-otu—all signs that his coatiitatioa was iv an unsad»factory coadiion, and that a sadden crisis might be apprehended.