| 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 |
| 1 | 35 | 70 | 104 | 139 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
with his back against it, and there, in the midst of the fury of the storm he
conquered the tempest that raged in his own breast. The murder that rose again
and again in his untaught heart he forced back by thoughts of the sweet, pure
face of the girl whose image he had set up in the inner temple of his being, as a
gentle, guiding divinity.
"He made me without a soul," he repeated over and over again to himself, "but I
have found a soul--she shall be my soul. Von Horn could not explain to me what
a soul is. He does not know. None of them knows. I am wiser than all the rest,
for I have learned what a soul is. Eyes cannot see it--fingers cannot feel it, but he
who possess it knows that it is there for it fills his whole breast with a great,
wonderful love and worship for something infinitely finer than man's dull senses
can gauge--something that guides him into paths far above the plain of soulless
beasts and bestial men.
"Let those who will say that I have no soul, for I am satisfied with the soul I have
found. It would never permit me to inflict on others the terrible wrong that
Professor Maxon has inflicted on me--yet he never doubts his own possession of a
soul. It would not allow me to revel in the coarse brutalities of von Horn--and I
am sure that von Horn thinks he has a soul. And if the savage men who came
tonight to kill have souls, then I am glad that my soul is after my own choosing--I
would not care for one like theirs."
The sudden equatorial dawn found the man still musing. The storm had ceased
and as the daylight brought the surroundings to view Number Thirteen became
aware that he was not alone in the campong. All about him lay the eleven terrible
men whom he had driven from the bungalow the previous night. The sight of
them brought a realization of new responsibilities. To leave them here in the
campong would mean the immediate death of Professor Maxon and the
Chinaman. To turn them into the jungle might mean a similar fate for Virginia
Maxon were she wandering about in search of the encampment-- Number
Thirteen could not believe that she was dead. It seemed too monstrous to believe
that he should never see her again, and he knew so little of death that it was
impossible for him to realize that that beautiful creature ever could cease to be
filled with the vivacity of life.
The young man had determined to leave the camp himself--partly on account of
the cruel words Professor Maxon had hurled at him the night before, but
principally in order that he might search for the lost girl. Of course he had not
the remotest idea where to look for her, but as von Horn had explained that they
were upon a small island he felt reasonably sure that he should find her in time.
6
5
Page
Quick Jump
|