Page:Richard Marsh--The goddess a demon.djvu/295

Rh interest, on words which told, as if they were everyday occurrences, of things of which it is not good to even think as coming within the sweep of possibility.

He held up his finger, repeating his last words in the form of an inquiry.

"Hark! don't you hear her laughing now?"

I know not what we heard; I know not. We had been following, one by one, the steps which marked the progress of disorder in this man's brain, until our own minds had become unbalanced too. But I thought that I heard the sound of a woman's laughter, and it was because it appeared to come from behind the screen that I stepped forward to move the barrier, so that we might learn what it concealed. Lawrence sprang in front of me.

"Don't!" he cried. "She's there! You shall see her; I'll show you her at the proper time."

I could have thrust him aside, but there was that about him which dissuaded me. And when the lady, laying her hand upon my arm, drew me away from him, I let him tell his tale in his own fashion. He passed his fingers across his brow, as if in an effort to collect his thoughts.

"Well, the time went, forgetting to bring me ease of mind, until Bernstein wrote to ask my brother where it would best meet his convenience