The Argosy, December 1905 — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

100 The body had been made ready by the undertaker for the church service, and reposed in a rosewood coffin upon black draped “horses ” at the further end of the room. Such extravagance would never have been countenanced by old Solon in life, but Lawyer Higby had ideas as to the fitness of things. As the gathering stirred and opened a lane for his advance, the physician walked forward as though he were a somnambulist. He replied to none of the greetings of his neighbors, and his eyes were fixed and glassy. That fool- ish superstition of the “blood trial ” controlled his racked mind again. What would happen when he looked upon the countenance of him at whom he had fired hisarifle twenty-four hours before? Could he gaze upon the murdered man without some awful thing taking place? He tottered as he approached the cof- fin, near which the coroner was sitting at a table. Orrin saw his emotion and offered his arm. A whisper went around the room. It was an expression of sympathy. Suddenly the physician observed the beefy facé and pursy form of Cartaret in the crowd. The man was watching him closely with every feature of his countenance revealing suspicion and doubt. The sight acted lke a tonic upon Burress’ nerves. Before this man— the only person, perhaps, in all that company who suspected him—he must earry the matter boldly. Medbury welcomed him, and the phy- sician managed to shake hands. The undertaker rose and pushed aside the slide which hid the dead man’s face. “Tike to look at him, doctor?” he whispered, with an officious smirk. He must do it! He must gaze upon the face of the old man who was dead because of his deplorable act. It would be terrible, he believed, for he had a vivid remembrance of the expression of horror on Solon’s countenance as he fell there in the wood-road. He wavered on his feet for a moment, then took a decisive step to the coffin’s side. THE ARGOSY. His back was to the assemblage, and well it was so, perhaps. ‘The undertaker was looking upon the corpse as though proud of his handiwork in preparing the dead man for the grave. Medbury was busy with his papers, and no_ soul marked the flame of emotion that over- spread Burress’ face when he distin- guished the features of his uncle there in the dim light of the crowded room. Once at the city morgue, where an older and more seasoned member of his medical class took him, he had seen the body of a man killed in a dance-hall brawl. ‘The man had been stabbed and had died instantly, with the awful fear of death, hatred of his enemy and the agony of his wound all stamped upon his features. In the countenance of Solon Burress, who had died quite as suddenly and ter- ribly, the nephew expected to see much the same expression. He was unaware of the fact that most men dying of gun- shot wounds show in their composed countenances a great peace and content which those passing quietly and in their own beds seldom attain! Old Solon actually smiled in the sleep of death; and it was not his well- remembered sarcastic and _ bitter grimace. It was as though, mean and cantankerous as he had been in life, the great revelation which had come so sud- denly to him there in the wood-road was of such beauty that it had stamped its reflection upon his mortal husk. The flush died out of Burress’ cheek again, and a long, tremulous sigh passed his lips. The undertaker looked up and saw him wavering there, clinging blindly to the nickel rail of the coffin. He reached for a glass of water and thrust it into the physician’s shaking hand, and, hav- ing swallowed the draft, Burress man- aged to pull himself together. Medbury arose and came over to him. “Tf (Pd known the old doctor was going to be in town to-day, I’d asked him to come out here instead,” he said softly. ‘“‘ Your uncle’s death must be something of a shock to you, Dr. Bur- ress. “TJ will not keep you long, but before closing the case I wished to obtain a COmiCOoOokKs COL