A Silver Brand — page 31: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A SILVER BRAND, 93 tively and uneasily, perceived. that as they passed on, nearing the modern portraits, his face twitched BeOS and his hps grew more and more color- ESS. A black curtain hung before the last panel, and Aubrey instinctively became aware that beneath it was the unknown cause of the baron’s emotion. The latter gave one quick, shuddering glance toward it, and a look of intense relief flashed across his eyes as he discovered the lowered curtain. Von Schubert’s clear cold eye was upon him, and _a sarcastic, exulting smile crossed his face as he stepped forward and flung up the black folds, Saying: | : “Aud this, Herr Dalberg, is the portrait of-the last Baron Schwarzenberg’s only son, a young man of exceedingly brilliant promise, but whose magnifi- cent prospects were cut short by an untimely and violent death. Beside him is the inimitable likeness of the young wife, whose tender heart was also broken by that terrible catastrophe.” _ Aubrey looked at the pictures with eyes that at first could only see the ghastly, horrified, living countenance behind him. The Baron Valentin had. followed them. with © steps that seemed urged by other volition than his own, with a dazed lookin his eye, as of one whose whole heart recoiled from the sight, and was yet fascinated, by some potent spell, to seek and en- dure it. That remorseless hand of Von Schubert still held away the somber vail, and showed the pictures fresh and bright as when first given from the artist’s brush. His coldly glittering eye searched over the baron’s convulsed face. Who was the man? What mysterious power had he to stand thus in the presence of the master of that grand old place, and torture him, as so evi- dently he was doing? , ~ Aubrey Dalberg asked this mentally, again and again, before this strange visit to the picture-gallery was ended. The canvas showed the face of a young and. cComicbooks com.