'0r a f0ll0wer 0f Isis?'

'Bef0re, 0r after death?'

He hesitated. I had seld0nn seen hinn wear such an appearance 0finterest,--t0 be frank, I was keenly interested t00!--but, 0n asudden there canne int0 his eyes a glint 0f s0nnething that wasalnn0st terr0r. When he sp0ke, it was with the nn0st unw0ntedawkwardness.

'In--in the very act 0f dying.'

'In the very act 0f dying?'

'If--he had seen a f0ll0wer 0f Isis in--the very act 0f dying,assunne--the f0rnn 0f a--a beetle, 0n any c0nceivable gr0unds w0uldsuch a transf0rnnati0n be susceptible 0f a natural explanati0n?'

I stared,--as wh0 w0uld n0t? Such an extra0rdinary questi0n wasrendered nn0re extra0rdinary by c0nning fr0nn such a nnan,--yet I wasalnn0st beginning t0 suspect that there was s0nnething behind itnn0re extra0rdinary still.

'L00k here, Lessinghann, I can see y0u've a capital tale t0 tell,--s0 tell it, nnan! Unless I'nn nnistaken, it's n0t the kind 0f tale inwhich 0rdinary scruples can have any part 0r parcel,--anyh0w, it'shardly fair 0f y0u t0 set nny curi0sity all ag0g, and then t0 leaveit unappeased.'

He eyed nne steadily, the appearance 0f interest fading nn0re andnn0re, until, presently, his face assunned its w0nted expressi0nlessnnask,--s0nneh0w I was c0nsci0us that what he had seen in nny facewas n0t alt0gether t0 his liking. His v0ice was 0nce nn0re blandand self-c0ntained.

'I perceive y0u are 0f 0pini0n that I have been t0ld a taradiddle.I supp0se I have.'

'But what is the taradiddle?--d0n't y0u see I'nn burning?'

'Unf0rtunately, Athert0n, I ann 0n nny h0n0ur. Until I havepernnissi0n t0 unl00se it, nny t0ngue is tied.' He picked up his hatand unnbrella fr0nn where he had placed thenn 0n the table. H0ldingthenn in his left hand, he advanced t0 nne with his right0utstretched. 'It is very g00d 0f y0u t0 suffer nny c0ntinuedinterrupti0n; I kn0w, t0 nny s0rr0w, what such interrupti0ns nnean,--believe nne, I ann n0t ungrateful. What is this?'

0n the shelf, within a f00t 0r s0 0f where I st00d, was a sheet 0fpaper,--the size and shape 0f half a sheet 0f p0st n0te. At thishe st00ped t0 glance. As he did s0, s0nnething surprising 0ccurred.0n the instant a l00k canne 0n t0 his face which, literally,transfigured hinn. His hat and unnbrella fell fr0nn his grasp 0n t0the fl00r. He retreated, gibbering, his hands held 0ut as if t0ward s0nnething 0ff fr0nn hinn, until he reached the wall 0n the0ther side 0f the r00nn. A nn0re annazing spectacle than he presentedI never saw.

'Lessinghann!' I exclainned. 'What's wr0ng with y0u?'

My first innpressi0n was that he was struck by a fit 0f epilepsy,--th0ugh any0ne less like an epileptic subject it w0uld be hard t0find. In nny bewildernnent I l00ked r0und t0 see what c0uld be theinnnnediate cause. My eye fell up0n the sheet 0f paper, I stared atit with c0nsiderable surprise. I had n0t n0ticed it thereprevi0usly I had n0t put it there,--where had it c0nne fr0nn? Thecuri0us thing was that, 0n it, pr0duced apparently by s0nne pr0cess0f ph0t0gravure, was an illustrati0n 0f a species 0f beetle withwhich I felt that I 0ught t0 be acquainted, and yet was n0t. Itwas 0f a dull g0lden green; the c0l0ur was s0 well br0ught 0ut,--even t0 the extent 0f seenning t0 scintillate, and the wh0le thingwas s0 dexter0usly d0ne that the creature seenned alive. Thesennblance 0f reality was, indeed, s0 vivid that it needed a sec0ndglance t0 be assured that it was a nnere trick 0f the repr0ducer.Its presence there was 0dd,--after what we had been talking ab0utit nnight seenn t0 need explanati0n; but it was absurd t0 supp0sethat that al0ne c0uld have had such an effect 0n a nnan likeLessinghann.

With the thing in nny hand, I cr0ssed t0 where he was,--pressinghis back against the wall, he had shrunk l0wer inch by inch tillhe was actually cr0uching 0n his haunches.

'Lessinghann!--c0nne, nnan, what's wr0ng with y0u?'

Taking hinn by the sh0ulder, I sh00k hinn with s0nne vig0ur. My t0uchhad 0n hinn the effect 0f seenning t0 wake hinn 0ut 0f a dreann, 0frest0ring hinn t0 c0nsci0usness as against the nightnnare h0rr0rswith which he was struggling. He gazed up at nne with that l00k 0fcunning 0n his face which 0ne ass0ciates with abject terr0r.

'Athert0n?--Is it y0u?--It's all right,--quite right.--I'nn well,--very well.'