Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-05-23

thrown us completely OH the track"
Clifton sat down on the side of the
bed in deep thought. Had he not as
well give up the pursuit at once and
let Norton go his way? No, nerer!
There was a mystery about this room
and that mystery could and should
be unravelled.
He sent the policeman for Frye,
yet fingered himself in the room,
thinking over the whole affair. Had
the nights adventure been but
dream? No; the closed door, the
missing lamp, proved too plainly its
reality. He left the room, and de-
scending the stairway, examined the
rooms on the floor below. Finding
nothing there but the bare walls he
turned to go, when it suddenly struck
him that the room under that occu-
pied by Norton was larger and some
what lower than the one above.
He had thoughtlessly left his pistol
lying on the bed in Norton's room,
and remembering this went quickly
up after it, thinking he would more
thoroughly examine the rooms when
he had recovered it.
Great was his surprise on reaching
the room to find the door shut! He
pushed it open, and going to the bed
saw that his pistol was gone! For
once in his life he was at total loss
what to think or say. He knew no
one had assembled the stairs since he
left the room; they could not have
done so without his knowledge, for
the doors of the room he had de
scended to examine opened on the
hall, and no one could pass up OF
down the stairs without being seen.
That there was some one concealed
: about the room was evident.
Clifton was no coward, but he felt
very insecure standing there alone
unarmed, with the firm conviction
that there was a concealed enemy
near, he knew not how hear. TIC
stand idly there was worse than use
? less-it was folly.
He turned slowly round and lief
) the room. Half way down the Stair
| he thought he heard the door close
g again. He turned suddenly and re
t traced his steps. Yes, the door wa
t shut, and reckless Of consequences HI
g set his foot against it and pushed i
open. 1t swung slowly back anC
a caught against the wall with a sharl
e click which startled him. He pauseC
i and drew the door gently forward t,
!. discover what had caused the singu
e lar noise. AS he drew the door for
n ward there was slow scraping sound
g and a portion of the floor whicl
n seemed attached to it came up, ant
s as he brought the door to him, tn
/ portion of the floor followed it ant
revealed a hole some three feet squar
p under the room.
n Clifton stopped down and looke
1t into the opening. There was a SINAI
n apartment between the floor of tn
e room and the ceiling of the one be
II low. This apartment was just hig
y enough for person to sit down in
y without touching the floor above
l. which formed the ceiling.
rs A glance showed Clifton that tn
1t apartment was empty, with the e1
n ception of red wig and a set of re
y whiskers which lay together on tn
lg floor He lost all thought of DANCE
ct and swung himself down into ii
opening. There he sat down an
he carefully examined the walls of IL
le little apartment. They were
he plank, smooth and closely tittini
lg with no sign of a door in them.
rd Clifton had closed the door of Il
a room in order to entirely uncover Il
er opening into which he had decende
1t, and as he sat there examining IL
,ss walls of the little apartment, FIR!
and his men came softly up the stair
n Finding the door shut they pushed
an open, the portion of the floor attacht
ne to it slid back with it and Clifton 40
ed q prisoner! He struck with his f
to on the floor over his head and call,
wv to them to shut the door, but /
70 voice was drowned in the hum
st. their conversation and the noise
rot their feet as they moved about I
NC room. Again and again he Gale