The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-06
lCopyrieht 1895 by Irving Bacheller.1

| on, afraid to go back, when all Of q
sudden some one else decided for me:
| A door opened not two yards away, and
out walked Sir Nicolas Steele and a
little Frenchman. They were talking
together angrily; and they went
straight down the passage and turned
the corner where the light was.
Though the door Of the room from
which they had come had only been
open for a moment. l had seen q sight
strange enough to have upset a
| stronger man than me. In a great east
, ern-like room. all lit up with queer
colored lanterns and having, a foun-
tain of water splashing In the middle Of
1t, some twenty men were lying on
little beds. Most of them looked to me
to be dead with sleep. but one was raw
Ing, with his face buried in his pillow,
while another seemed to be crawling
on his hands and knees to the water
| which bubbled under the dome. The
door was only open second. as I say.
but the view behind it gave me a
shiver, and the shiver was still on me
when. treading like cat, l followed
| my master down the passage and came
within a yard Of him at the corner
of It,
l was now near by the light, but
curtains. hung crosswise in the pas
sage, hid me well enough. could see
from my place that Sir Nicolas was
arguing with the Frenchman at the
top of little flight of iron stairs.
When they had talked for about
| minute the Frenchee pointed to a door
at the bottom of the flight, and my
master made a step downwards as
though to reach the door. But his foot
was hardly on the stairs when some
thing happened which sent me as stiff
as corpse, and drew from me cry
which might have come from mad
man. The stairs which / had seen a
minute before. saw no longer. They
| had swung away under my masters
touch, and with another cry Joined to
mine. he went headlong down to a
black hole below.
utes l can hardly tell l remember.
perfectly, that the Frenchman stood
for a minute glaring at me, and hiss
ing words between his teeth. Then he
pressed knob on the ratings at his
side, and the staircase swung back into
its place again.
So astonished was to see what he
did that / never thought of the danger
to myself; and before l knew where l
| was he had gripped me- and We went
rolling over and over on the floor to-
gether. Strong man as l am, l don't
think that I've ever been SO near to
death as / was that night. Now up.
now down, with the cold sweat on my
forehead, and the DEVILS fingers tear
ing the flesh out of my neck I hall
loaed to Jim to help me and fought
the Frenchman through. When l had
done with him at last, l was covered
with blood-but 1t was Jim who pulled
me to my feet, Jim and Michael Grey,
who stood, half dressed, and half
drunk, with two gendarmes In the pas
sage.
The noise and din which followed this
business Is not to be described by any
man like me. While / stood half-blind-
ed, and with roaring sounds In my
ears. gendarmes seemed to be filling all
the Maison dor. But I had wits
enough about me to think of what
might be, and the first words l spoke
were to Jim.
"Get Grey out" said I, land take
him in a cab to the Hotel de Lille. Wen
lose the reward If you don't. Tell MIN
his fathers there. I'm after Sir Nlco-
las"
"Is he here?" ne asked. as he went
| to do what bid him.
God knows whether he Is alive or
dead" said /, and with that halloed
to the gendarmes and showed them the
swinging staircase. Five minutes after,
we were down in q filthy cellar In the
bottom of the house, standing over the
motionless body Of my master. BUT
his groans told US that he lived, ana
when lights were brought we knew to
what he owed his life. He had fallen
on the dead body Of another victim OF
the Maison dor.
4l,ox 80 4, 81 rf f1,o nhQ n tom
staircase, though there are some things
left you might like to know. How did
Sir Nicolas Steele come to the shop.
for instance? Why, 1t appeared that
after they'd got Grey into the house,
which was one of the largest and one
Of the lowest dens in Paris, they'd kept
him drunk with the drug, in the hope
that he'd add money to what they'd
robbed him of. On the day Jim and l
set out for the cabaret, Grey had sent
a messenger down to the Hotel de
Lille to get some of his traps and
things. Sir Nicolas came across this
messenger and bribed the whole tale
out Of him. After that he didn't want
to lose q minute tracing the man, and
he went straight off to Montmartre.
leaving word at the police station Of
what he'd done. The police had long
been watching the shop. and when they
heard that an EngliShman was going
there. they sent gendarmes after him
and lucky, too. or this story would not
have been written.
How Sir Nicolas was 50 foolish as to
stand between us and the chance Of
reward, I only learned when he came
to consciousness. nine days after we
took him of the dead mans body In the
cellar.
And didn't begin to be afraid of
the whole thing" said he; "sure. the
police were watching me night and day
as II was murderer. Reward. or
no reward, was glad to have done
with It,"
And that was the truth, though old
Jonathan Grey, after he'd heard what
the police had to say, paid over every
shilling Of the money he'd promised.
What's more. he gave me a hundred
more for myself. But he was out of
Paris while my master lay unconscious
on his bed: and though Dora Grey cried
enough for three. her studies in paint
ing closed on the spot.
The Maison rod Is pulled down now.
The city people took 1t last year fer
I