Brood of the Witch-Queen

to him in London. It may have been due to some mysterious design of a hidden providenc

you to see the case. She (the patient) undoubtedly died from some rare ne

rtesy of Walton, whom he had known at

about," explained the surgeon, raising th

y exhibited a ghastly pallor; h

Go

een a pretty face when warm life had tinted its curves; now it was congested-awfu

wrong with you?"

d Cairn, "for a mo

can't find out anything ab

fort-"a chance resemblance, that's all." He wi

mented Walton. "Is she like

nsider the features; but it was a shoc

red Walton shortl

her, and she was br

p us so busy. We diagnosed it as exhaustion from lack of food-with other complications. But the case was doing quite well up to last night; she wa

arks on he

ugged his

que. Young Shaw, who has a mania for the nervous system, sent a lon

ime 'ph

lton contemptuously. "Don't ask me to exp

he other

he nurse was at her table in the corner, and in full view

ed before the n

g when the paroxysm commenced. The leaping up in bed prob

oud hovered around and about the poor unknown. Strange ideas, horrible ideas

for a moment, undecided what to do. His father, Dr. Cairn, was out of Lond

ame is behind it al

l was the same that he had seen one night at Oxford, was the

e could scarcely trust himself to think, but frightful possibilities presented themselves to him, repel them how he might. Lond

of trees, presented no unusual appearances to his anxious scrutiny. What

did not surprise Cairn; Sir Michael had not enjoyed good health sin

f the civilised world. This queerly furnished room held many memories for Robert Cairn, who had known it from childhood, but latterly it had always appeared to him in his daydreams as the setting for a dainty figure. It was here that he had fi

r slim figure on one side and a gilded sarcophagus on the other, she burst upon the visitor, a radiant vision in white. The

nd blushed entrancingly-"we t

t in his voice and in his look which made her lower her frank grey eyes. "I have only been

my uncle very parti

uppose he could not

had left her face, Cairn was concerned to see how pale

ill?" he asked quickly. "Onl

st it began

he real loneliness of her position, now that her guardian was ill, the absence of a friend

he said gently. "You

and tried

s atte

in Grove

wire for

for him

! to

my uncl

n st

he is seriousl

ll allow no one in his room, and barely consents to see Sir Elwin. Then,

is t

citor in the morning, speaking harshl

rstand. Have

e has refused to see the sol

have been acting

always worse at night. Perhaps it is

her speech; but a brief scrutiny of Cairn's face, with dee

been dreaming, for I thought that a

ant

me icily cold creature fanned me with its wings! I cannot describe it, but it was numbing; I thin

r in its essentials this might b

dread of entering my uncle's room. I could hear him muttering strangely, and-I

was trembling. Robert Cairn took the

" he said

mbered having closed them, but they were drawn b

e was d

e stretched out over my uncle, two hands that

eet, passing his han

n," h

The hands were withdrawn into the shadow, and my uncle awoke and s

es

ly. The solicitor came, and was with him for nearly an hour. He sent for one of his clerks, and they both went away at half-past ten. Uncle has

confidently. "Tell me, the hands which you though

ite colour. There was a ring on one finger-a gre

ld know

ywh

was no one in the

awful illusion; but I