San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-08-25


a pace, sit was quite easy to steal the
notes and make no noise. Not creak-
ing step nor squeaking hinge has
married the experiment.
"You almost scared me out Of my
senses with your clever acting-panto-
mime, / believe they call it What
next?'
''Now, shall go down stairs and ar
range the hasp of the window. Then I
shall ascend the stairs to the front land
ing, and when tap three times distinct
" at the door of my room will you step
up and see if / am securely locked in
from the outside?"
''The deuce you willp'
Don't raise your voice Now get
back to your room.
"The dead room. 1t has quite given
me the shivers, can tell you, to be sit
ting in it. How long do you mean to
keep me there?"
About as long as the thief took to
make himself secure Probably half an
hour.
Heavens! I should be dead of the
cold and the darkness and the silence in
half an hour"
"a little black hole won't hurt You
for once in a way. But you must not
play the spy ON me. do not anticipate
failure, but if do fail / want to fail
my own way, and let no one be the
wiser. Have your word?"
Certainly. Honor bright. 7"
"Now, then, in you go again. Shut
the door; you need not close it tight or
lock it unless you like. /"
Inspector Briggs stepped back and
closed the door, and again he sat down
in his chair, a prey to thoughts which
We're anything but comfortable. 1t
seemed to him as if the whole tragedy
murder, or whatever it may have
been--was being enacted over again,
and that he was powerless to impede
the criminal
After some minutes he found that sit
ting was positively unbearable, SO he
rose and commenced to walk up and
down the bedroom, making as little
noise as possible, Very soon he heard
creaking noise as he continued his prom
enade "No doubt, he reflected, Cor
inge is now on the march up stairs, and
Mas caught breaking step. What is his
game, wonder? OF course it is now
plain the willy rsscal has some reason of
his own for fixing his mind ON Stein
worth, after all hi nmretenses Wbat
could the other fe
meant? To accuse
which, at the time j
fession, he must hi
hanging job, could
dCGe for the purpose of
about the minor offense,
Jared the notes, what
them? Goringe, of co,
that it was Steinwort
money, but CORN
Awfull7 good that
of his profession all
proceed to work UNI DQSly
What could he 2aveybeS& doing
himself from 10 to 10 last night? 10
what in heavens name is h up to
now?" as strange sound, a ound of
something being moved, q light the
quick ear of Inspector Briggs.
'That's not his three taps hyway. I
wonder is he at the door? AID iwonder
still more is he going - make good
clean job OF locking himself in? If he
does that, III begin to- believe he is
clever. If be finds the notes, I'll begin
to think he is very clever. If he discov-
ers what happened in this house ON the
night of the 9th and the early morning
of the 10th, I'll feel inclined to put
him down as a wizard.
Inspector Briggs now came to halt.
He felt it was possible he might not be
able to overhear the summons from tie
next landing if he did not reseat him
self and remain still He found his
chair and sat down, turning over the
case in his mind, trying to reconcile
one fact or one supposed fact with an
other and Wondering occasionally what
ON earth Goringe was doing. He felt
that quite half an hour, making due al
lowance for his impatience, had elapsed,
and he was beginning to contemplate
another constitutional up and down the
dark room when he heard the summons
from the first floor-the three taps, clear
and distinct
Inspector Briggs rose with alacrity.
He opened his long light overcoat aud
fingered his bullseye, and then, with
a sense of intense relief, he mounted the :
five steps leading to the first floor land
ing.
he marched straight to Steinworth's
door, and then he heard Goringe's voice.
"See if both Vickery's and this
are securely locked.
The inspector turned his bullseye on
the door at his right-the door of Ber-
nard Vickery' room. The key was in the
lock He tried the door. Locked. Then
he turned to Steinworth' S door. The key
was in the lock He tried the door.
Locked.