contents a mystery, and tore off the
enwrapping papers.

And as he realized what it was that the paper had hidden he uttered an
exclamation in which surprise and dismay and relief were oddly blended.

In his hand he held a box containing a hypodermic syringe and a supply
of morphia, and now he remembered how Mrs. Carstairs had told him of her
purchase of the same, and her subsequent decision to let the insidious
thing alone. She had given him the packet without apparent reluctance,
and as his own words, "I shan't be tempted to steal yours for my private
use," came flashing back to his memory he smiled, rather cynically, to
himself.

"If I believed in signs and omens I should take this as an unmistakable
invitation to me to hesitate no longer." He fingered the syringe
thoughtfully. "And upon my soul I don't see why I shouldn't accept it as
a sign. In any case"--all the pent-up bitterness of his soul found vent
in the words--"in future what I do can have no interest for Iris
Cheniston!"

As if the sound of the name, premature as it was, had put the finishing
touch to his reckless cynicism, he hesitated no longer.

With an almost savage gesture he struck a match and lighted a candle on
his writing-table; and as the little yellow flame sprang up, and strove,
vainly, to enlighten the encompassing gloom, he set about his
preparations with a sudden energy in striking contrast with his previous
lethargy.

When all was ready there came a last second of hesitation. With the
syringe in his hand, his arm bared, he paused, and for a last poignant
moment Iris' face rose before him in the flickering light. But now her
eyes had no power to move him from his purpose. Rather they maddened him
with their steadfast radiance, and with a muttered oath he looked aside
from that appealing vision and turned the key, recklessly, in the door
which led to the Paradise of Fools.

* * * * *

Nearly an hour later the telephone bell rang, sharply, insistently in
the hall. It went on ringing, again and again, a curiously vital sound
in the quiet house; but Anstice did not hear it, and at length the
ringing ceased.

It was nearly half an hour later when another bell rang, this time the
bell of the front door; but again no answer came to the imperative
summons. And now the bell rang on, so continuously, so persistently,
that at last its sound penetrated the dulled hearing of the man who
huddled in a corner of t