Iron County register., 1899-10-26

Ine 1OWefS-
Sir John, a well-preserved man OF
five-and-fifty, having examined close
ly such jewels as l had with me. wa:
pleased to accord to my employers the
highest praise for the taste they had
displayed in making their selection. In
deed, he carried his eulogy to the prac
teal extent of purchasing, with one
or two unimportant exceptions, every
gem with which L had been intrusted
and. what was more, of writing check
in payment of the same.
And now, Mr.. Cathcart." he said. as
he handed me the valuable slip of pa
per, Il must return TO my friends
Godfrey. you Will see that this gentle
man wants for nothing. Good night"
And he quilted the room. carrying
his purchase with him.
Godfrey Lansden. now that he had
recovered from his indispositon
proved himself an ideal host, and when
state that his powers of entertain
ment were as exceptional as Sir Johns
wine and cigars, l rate them highly.
1t was long past midnight ere we
thought of retiring, and then Mr.. Lans-
dell insisted upon himself seeing me
to my chamber, which was situated
at the end of a long corridor.
We parted at my bedroom door with
every expression of good will. Sir John s
brother promising that he would give
immediate directions for me to be called
at sufficiently early hour on the NOR
row to catch the first up-train.
l undressed leisurely. noting as L did
so the unusual shape of the room. 1t
was apparently perfect oval, and was
lighted from above by circular sky
light. Ii had no windows. nor, indeed.
any outlet save the door by which L
had entered.
After remarking for brief space on
the singular conformation, which put
down to the eccentric plan on which
ancient mansions are sometimes built.
| dismissed the matter from my
thoughts, and was soon in bed. Yet,
though tired. sleep came not at first,
and when at last it fell on me in fit
full and scant measure. it brought with
it troop of eerie fantasies and phan-
toms.
| must have been tossing uneasily in
my bed for some three hours, when,
suddenly. a strange tremor. accompa-
MED by a low. soft whirr. seemed to per-
wade the room. So vivid was the i'm
preston that | reached over for the
matches and struck light.
My eyes fell upon the door. To my
utter amazement it was moving-mov-
ing slowly from right to left across the
foot of my bed. l glanced at the pic
lures: they too were in motion. The
entire wall was revolving.
At that instant the light faded and
went out. Quickly lit another match
Bah, | must have been dreaming, or
the victim of hallucination. The door,
the pictures were still. Yet, surely they
had changed their position. for the
door. which. when | retired to bed,
| had thought to be on my right hand,
was now certainly on my left. Still.
was it not more feasible that my mem
ory had PLAYED me false than that such
could be? Ny brain was Over-weary-
that was all. So l lay down, and. clos
ing my eyes, wooed sleep. which at
last came, but still troubled. and full Of
evil fancies.
When / awoke it was broad day.
Nearly seven O'Clock. my watch said
barely time to dress hurriedly and
catch the train to town. NeXed that
Mr.. Lansdeil had been so neglectful of
his promise to have me called betimes,
| sprang out of bed and donned my
clothes in haste.
Snatching up my bag. / was on the
point of leaving the room. when | re-
that | had left my watch
beneath the pillow: so placing my bag
the door (without myself cross
ing the threshold). | hurried back to
the bed.
When | turned my bag was gone.
Nv eyes had been off it for barely a
second, and yet it had vanished-total-
ly, inexplicably vanished. The corri-
dor. some so yards long, led, as l had
noticed the preceding night. to my
chamber only. the oak paneling that
covered its entire length being broken
by neither window nor door. Clearly,
then. no one could have taken my prop
erty down the passage without detec-
ton. Whither-how had it gone?
Then through my brain flashed the
experience of the preceding
night. and gave me pause. Sitting on
nv bed. | passed i'm review the events
of the last few hours. and as | pom
dered over the strangeness of my
coming to the Towers. and of my stay
there-the nonarrival of any trap to
meet me at the station. the singular
of Godfrey Lansdell by
the wayside. the secrecy of my intro
duction to the house. and my isolation
from all save its master and his broth
apprehension that was akin to
rose within me. I clearly rec
ognized that there was no lot of evi=
dence to even suggest my arrival, and
that my disappearance would arouse
not the faintest suspicion against Sir
John.
Crossing to the door. grasped the
iambs and cautiously advanced my left
foot. Beneath the slight pressure the
flooring gently gave. moving noiseless-
ly downward on hinge some six feet
from where l stood. l drew back, and
with a spring easily leaping this death
trap, ran down the corridor. At the
end a dead wall confronted me-
All doubt was over. l had not been
tricked by fancy; the wall of my room
had revolved. shifting the door from
the corridor | had traversed the night
before to this cul-de-sac with its cum
ningly devised snare. A clammy sweat
broke out upon my forehead, for l
with horror that for the
sake of jewels Sir John was comprising
my death. Only the merest chance had