The Mystics

"John," he said, tremulously, "I want you to swear to me by the Sign that you will not touch my body -- nor anything on my body -- till the Arch-Councillor comes! Swear, as you hope for your own happiness!" A wild illumination spread over his face; the unpleasant fanatical light showed again in his eyes. For a moment John looked at him; then stirred by his own emotions, by the new pang of self-reproach and gratitude towards this half-crazy man so near his end, he went forward and touched the small octagonal symbol that gleamed in the light. "I swear -- by the Sign!" he said, in a low, level voice. And almost as the words escaped him, the chain slipped from old Henderson's fingers, his jaw dropped, and his head fell forward on his chest.Thurston, Katherine Cecil is the author of 'The Mystics', published 2007 under ISBN 9780548021965 and ISBN 0548021961.