d at me with so much frank kindliness that it was
impossible to resist him. I advanced and held out my hand.

"'Whoever you are,' I said, 'you speak like a true man. But you are
ignorant of the causes which compelled me to---' and a hard sob choked
my utterance. My new acquaintance pressed my proffered hand cordially,
but the gravity of his tone did not vary as he replied:

"'There is no cause, my friend, which compels us to take violent leave
of existence, unless it be madness or cowardice.'

"'Aye, and what if it were madness?' I asked him eagerly. He scanned me
attentively, and laying his fingers lightly on my wrist, felt my pulse.

"'Pooh, my dear sir!' he said; 'you are no more mad than I am. You are
a little overwrought and excited--that I admit. You have some mental
worry that consumes you. You shall tell me all about it. I have no
doubt I can cure you in a few days.'

"Cure me? I looked at him in wonderment and doubt.

"'Are you a physician?' I asked.

"He laughed. 'Not I! I should be sorry to belong to the profession. Yet
I administer medicines and give advice in certain cases. I am simply a
remedial agent--not a doctor. But why do we stand here in this bleak
place, which must be peopled by the ghosts of olden heroes? Come with
me, will you? I am going to the Hotel Costanza, and we can talk there.
As for this pretty toy, permit me to return it to you. You will not
force it again to the unpleasant task of despatching its owner.'

"And he handed the dagger back to me with a slight bow. I sheathed it
at once, feeling somewhat like a chidden child, as I met the slightly
satirical gleam of the clear blue eyes that watched me.

"'Will you give me your name, signor?' I asked, as we turned from the
Campagna towards the city.

"'With pleasure. I am called Heliobas. A strange name? Oh, not at all!
It is pure Chaldee. My mother--as lovely an Eastern houri as Murillo's
Madonna, and as devout as Santa Teresa--gave me the Christian saint's
name of Casimir also, but Heliobas pur et simple suits me best, and by
it I am generally known.'

"'You are a Chaldean?' I inquired.

"'Exactly so. I am descended directly from one of those "wise men of
the East" (and, by the way, there were more than three, and they were
not all kings), who, being wide awake, happened to notice the
birth-star of Christ on the horizon before the rest of the world's
inhabitants had so much as rubbed their sleepy eyes. The Chaldeans have
been a