Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-09


my hat firmly upon my head and get
ting good grip, with both hands held
ont i'll front of me. upon my stick. I've
gan To move cautiously forward.
PART III.
There was not glimmer OF light in
| front of Inc, but, as advanced into the
passageway, was distinctly conscious
that ! was not alone there. Weakened
us | was by my illness, and at the dis
advantage under which man must al.
ways be in place which is both strange
| and dark, l found myself for the lno-
mcDt quite ready to turn tail and make
| good retreat. | knew well, however,
that as great danger (were danger
near) would attach itself to such "A
course as to going forward; so | cursed
myself inaudibly for coward, and,
dashing aside the drops of perspirat;on
which had gathered on my face,
reached out boldly and gave resound.
ing rap with my stick upon the nearest
wall. At the same moment detected
soft movement near me, like the swieh
of womans gown. Something gently
touched me and wheeled rapidly
about. My left hand instinctively
sought my trousers pocket 1t was
empty. tried the other. That, too!
Both my pistols were gone. For tho
space of three or four minutes, as it
seemed to me, stood still and breath
less, not knowing what next might
come. And then, suddenly, a burst of
strong light struck me full in the face.
"A door, against which l should have
been brought to standstill in mo-
ment more, opened, and upon the
threshold stood the same figure which
] had already seen upon two occasions.
Blinded for an instant by the sudden
illumination, my hand went quickly ~
protect my eyes. The man who con-
fronted me went through the same per-
Torrance. He then began to back
away from me into the room beyond,
motioning me to follow. Once inside,
with the door closed behind us, he took
in either hand lamp from one of the
tables in the room and guided me up n
fight of steep stairs which led from it
to the room above. AS upon the former
occasions. when had seen him, he was
without coat or waistcoat, and still
wore the cotton nightcap tied closely
under his chin. A pair Of baggy
trousers, worn and shiny, completed
his attire. | noted that his hands were
discolored with stains of brow n and
yellow, such as are left by contact with
chemicals of certain descriptions.
There was slight, scarcely perceptihle
limp in his walk, and when he turned
toward me l saw that he had recently
lost the brow and lashes which proper.
ly belonged to his left eye.
No word passed between us, but
now. as we reached the top of the stairs,
my guide wheeled suddenly about,
and, flashing the light full in my face,
stood gazing steadily into it. Then
he turned and went on again, mutter-
ing audibly to himself:
"Three times he has given the sir.
ral," l heard him say. Yet he should
not be trusted They are growing care
Tess or desperate. They have"
could not catch the rest of it. A sub
dued murmur of other voices reached
me from room beyond. My guide
deposited his lamps upon table near
at hand, and, pushing open the door
oi this room. again motioned me to
rnter. Once more the extreme bril-
tiancy of the light winch flooded 1t
struck my eyes painfully, and again,
to shield them, my hand went quickly
up. The three people who were in the
room langudly mimicked me, and be-
gan to perceive another light. "Three
times he has given the signal" my late
guide had said. Apparently had now
raised the count to four. 1t was n
handy thing to know, but this knowl-
edge also informed me that, through
some misapprehension, l was looked
upon by my new acquaintances as Il
confederate. Should l be unable to
keep up the delusion, II occurred to
me that my situation might not be an
onviable one, and l began to have an
uncomfortable longing for my re-
Nolvers. The room into which ! had
entered was, apparently, the large
drawing-room of the house. Rich and
heavy draperies hung at all the win
dows, so arranged as to carefully pre-
vent any ray of light from within be-
ing visible from the street, and MAX
ing the air hot and sitting. This was
further intensified by the all-pervading
odor OF Turkish cigarettes. OF the
three occupants, two were men in the
full regalia of evening dress, the third
was woman whose superb white
shoulders fairly glistened above the
folds of black and gold lace which
outlined them. All wore half masks
of black satin and held cigarettes be- |
tween lips and fingers.
For moment they scrutinized me !
with insolent coolness, the taller of the |
two men taking the cigarette from be-
tween his lips and emitting delicate
wreath of smoke which curled and
curled into ever widening, swaying
rings. We watched it in silence until it
had all disappeared, and then, coming
forward leisurely, he addressed me:
you may as well sit down." ne SO i'd.
l deposited myself upon the nearest
chair. My guide remained standing
near the door. Madam of the White
Shoulders tossed aside her cigarette and
leaned forward in an attitude of strained
attention. The other man fumbled aim
lessly about the mass of papers which
Uttered the piano. My interlocutor had
stationed himself upon. the stuffed arm
OF lounging-chair in front of me.
"You have the correspondence with
you" he said