to the verse he had just repeated, but the
expression was remorse.

***

Diotti sat upright in bed. ``I am
positive I heard a violin!'' he said, holding
one hand toward his head in an attitude
of listening. He was wide awake. The
drifting snow beat against the window
panes and the wind without shrieked like
a thousand demons of the night. He
could sleep no more. He arose and
hastily dressed. The room was bitterly
cold; he was shivering. He thought of
the crackling logs in the fire-place below.
He groped his way along the darkened
staircase. As he opened the door leading
into the sitting-room the fitful gleam
of the dying embers cast a ghastly light
over the face of a corpse.

Diotti stood a moment, his eyes
transfixed with horror. The violin and bow
still in the hands of the dead man told
him plainer than words what had happened.
He went toward the chair, took
the instrument from old Sanders' hands
and laid it on the table. Then he knelt
beside the body, and placing his ear