ly
before him was a foolish little white desk, over which burned a gas
jet, turned low. That, apparently, was the only illumination in the
room. For the rest, he could only see a wall decorated with the tiny
frivolities of a boudoir, two chairs, a sewing table. He watched
until--his eyes, grown accustomed to the dim light--he discerned every
detail. From far below, he heard the subdued hum of a conversation, and
made out at length, in the rise and fall of voices, that a man and a
woman were speaking. Then even that sound ceased; over the house lay a
stillness so heavy that he feared his own breathing.

Gradually, he was aware that someone was playing a piano. It began so
gently that he doubted, at first, whether it was not a far echo from
one of the houses to right or left. But it increased in volume until he
located it definitely in the rooms below. The air, unrecognized at
first, called up a memory of old-fashioned parlors and of his
grandmother. He found himself struggling for words to fit the tune; and
suddenly they sprang into his mind--"Wild roamed an Indian maid, bright
Alfaretta." Thrice over the unseen musician played the air, and let it
die with a last, lingering chord.

Suddenly his heart gave a great leap. For the first time, something was
happening in the room before him. It came first as a slight, padded
thump, like bare feet striking the floor. He saw that the portieres to
left of his range of vision were undulating. They parted--and a pillar
of white stood for a moment before them. The thing resolved itself into
a human figure, swathed, draped in white, the face concealed by a white
veil which fell straight from the head. Now the white figure, with a
noiseless, gliding motion, was crossing the room toward the white desk.
It stopped, lifted a hand which crept toward the gaslight. With this
motion, the veil fell away from the face. The gaslight shone upon it;
he could see it in full profile.

It was Annette.

In the space of his long gasp, her hand touched the gas jet. It went
out; the room faded into absolute darkness.

And the vision which stood out from the black background made him sway
and clutch at the garments in the closet. For her robes radiated dull
light, like a coal seen behind ashes. It was as though she were about
to burst into flame. On her head gleamed a dull star; from it, the
radiance of her robe fell away toward her feet in lesser light, like
the tail-streamer of a comet. All emoti