The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-11-19

sundry lengths of composition pipe, per-
forated at intervals. which was lying. EN-
bedded In soda and sawduSi, on the floor
OF the strong room. Above this was
sprinkled layer of fine earth, restoring
the floor to its ordinary cellar-like appear
ance.
The mysterious knocking was resumed
from O'Clock till l A. NJ, but the ope ator
did not seem to make any percepiible ad-
vance.
the situation, save that the sound of the
excavations In the cellar became daily
more audible. showing that the nterven-
ing wall was groaing thinner.
On the seventh day, however, / had a
visit from the Count. He had that morn
ing received letter from his son. a cap
tain in a crack French regiment. Ce cher
Alphonse had been playing baccarat, it
seemed, and TO meet his losses the Count
was compelled to withdraw for the mo-
ment the whole of his balance in the
hands OF the bank, though it would be re-
placed few days later by remittanees
from other sources
THE plot thickens," said Macpherson
when l told him Of the visit. THE grand
cou is in all probability for tonight"
So soon as we had dined Wa took up our
position in my Office. Our first proceeding
was to cover up the bulseye in the flour
that no light might shine through To the
vault beneath. Macpherson next muffi ed
the clapprr of the electric alarm, so that il
should give no sound beyond a faint tap.
ping, sufficient to call our own attention
but not iuud enough to be heard beyond
the room in which we were. Wewore felt
shippers that our footsteps might be
Doiseless.
had brewed a supply of strong coffee
| to help to keep US wakeful, and on the
table lay couple of revolvers and some
lengths OF sash line, wherewith to bind
pXnpCf66 ryQ fnId
to hold himself in readiness to come down
to us instantly on receiving an agreed sig
nal.
These preparations made. we sat down
to beguie our vigil with game of chess.
AT ordinary times we were very equally
matched, but on this occasion Macpherson
found me an easy victim. l could not keep
my thoughts from wandering to the posi-
bic issues Of the coming struggle.
Ii all went well l had but little 10 gain
whereas if IAN awful ''if' that Macpher-
sons plan broke down, and the attempt a
robbery succeeded. my career as a bank
manager would be utterly blasted.
AT this moment L must own heartily
regretted that | had al owed myself to be
drawn into so quixotc an enterprise when
L might have saved myself all anxiety by
placing the matter in the hands of the
proper guardians of the peace or simply re-
porting 1t TO the directors.
Macpherson, on the contrary, appeared
to BE- troubled by no misgivings, and
played even better than usual.
"FaiP' he said, when l suggested the
possibility Of such an event, I'VE can't fail
any more than | can fail to win this game.
which | undertake to do in four moves
Checkp'
l made the best fight could. but In four
moves was checkmated.
l was nettled at my defeat, and de-
termined that he should not again win so
easy victory. With strong effort CT will
l. concentrated my whole attention on the
game. and thenceforth played as coolly as
though the hidden enemy were a hundred
miles away.
We played on with varying fortune till
about II O'Clock, when the faint ting" of
the elertric alarm, followed by heavy
thud in the vault beneath. warned us that
the burglars had made good their en- trance
With meaning glance at me, Macpher-
son lighted night light, which stood care
fully screened IN one corner. and then ex-
tingulshed the lam leaving the room in
dim twilight just sufficient to enable us
to move ABOUT.
He then removed the cover from one I
the bullseyes ia the floor. from which
view could bs obtained of the portion of
the vault where we anticipated that the
entrance would be effected.
A broad raw of light came up through
the bullseye. Going on our knees we could
see that an oblong slab. like the panel of a
door, bad been forced from the wall and
lay in fragments on the floor beneath.
In the vault stood Antoine with his back
toward us. while through the black OPEN
ing left by the missing masonry some other
person, whom we conf .ctured to be the
Count. was handing crowbars, wedges and
other Notwithstanding Implements.
When all We're handed in the person on
the other side began to creep through the
opening. but to our astonishnment It was
not the plump figure of the Connt that n
peared, but that of much younger and