Tales of Terror and Mystery
The New Catacomb
Isay"had,"becausejustatthemomenttheyoungEnglishmanwassomewhatunderacloud.Alove-affair,thedetailsofwhichhadneverquitecomeout,hadindicatedaheartlessnessandcallousnessuponhispartwhichshockedmanyofhisfriends.Butinthebachelorcirclesofstudentsandartistsinwhichhepreferredtomovethereisnoveryrigidcodeofhonourinsuchmatters,andthoughaheadmightbeshakenorapairofshouldersshruggedovertheflightoftwoandthereturnofone,thegeneralsentimentwasprobablyoneofcuriosityandperhapsofenvyratherthanofreprobation.
"Lookhere,Burger,"saidKennedy,lookinghardattheplacidfaceofhiscompanion,"Idowishthatyouwouldconfideinme."
Ashespokehewavedhishandinthedirectionofarugwhichlayuponthefloor.Ontherugstoodalong,shallowfruit-basketofthelightwicker-workwhichisusedintheCampagna,andthiswasheapedwithalitterofobjects,inscribedtiles,brokeninscriptions,crackedmosaics,tornpapyri,rustymetalornaments,whichtotheuninitiatedmighthaveseemedtohavecomestraightfromadustman’sbin,butwhichaspecialistwouldhavespeedilyrecognizedasuniqueoftheirkind.Thepileofoddsandendsintheflatwicker-workbasketsuppliedexactlyoneofthosemissinglinksofsocialdevelopmentwhichareofsuchinteresttothestudent.ItwastheGermanwhohadbroughtthemin,andtheEnglishman’seyeswerehungryashelookedatthem.
"Iwon’tinterferewithyourtreasure-trove,butIshouldverymuchliketohearaboutit,"hecontinued,whileBurgerverydeliberatelylitacigar.
