Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-02-24

grass, throwing a light along his mar
row path as he stepped upon the plank
with all the self-confidence of a rope
walker.
In the space of a minute he hl2
crossed, and was Srouching-his body
pressed against the wall of the house
directly under the great bow-window
of the drawing room, and on the slip
perry ledge just tapped by the water in
the moat.
He had rustled through the tall, yell
lowing reeds to get there, and in the
J point of vantage he had gained, they
brushed against him, here and there,
as high as his knees. The wall was
| damp to the touch. and almost as slip
perry as the ledge which formed his
foothold, with the thick, Shiny growth
of moss which covered ii, but he felt
his way along inch by inch, throwing
the light from his lantern On the
bricks.
To the left all seemed solid, with no
chink or aperture of any kind, and he
was moving further on in that direc-
ton, away from the shelter of the jut-
ting bow-window, when a slight sound
arrested him.
1t was like the stertorous. monoto-
nous groaniEg of a person struggling
in the horrid throes Of a nightmare.
A thrill went through him, and he
stopped short, listening with his very
soul. For a momenet the noise ceased,
and all was still once more a for
the melancholy patter Of the rain. But
suddenly it came again. Anne's
strange fancy regarding the prisoner
no longer seemed preposterous as it
had done in the cosy warmth and light
of the smoking room She had been
right. There was something here
something that suffered and dragged
out a weary existence in misery and
darkness, while the world went on as
usual overhead.
Maynard's heart began to thump
against his side. Slowly he retraced
his steps, listening, searching the wall
for any hint of the secret behind it.
Silence reigned now. For a few Sec
onds he paused under the big Win
dow. 1t had seemed to him that the
noise proceeded from a spot close by.
Rark! was that it again? No, not a
groan but a sigh that was even more
hopeless than a groan.
Maynard bent down. He had been
looking too high. A foot or less above
the ledge the lantern light showed him
a dark depression among the moss
cfcaked bricks. 1t was a small square
aperture, half as large as the palm OF
his hand, and a yard further to the
right WIS another of exactly the same
size and shape.
Even in the day time they would
scarcely be visible from the opposite
side of the moat, and behind the reeds,
which always rested their tall, crisp
heads above the water, would be COM
pletely hidden from sight.
Here was the first clue to the secret
at last.
Maynard lowered himself to one
knee on the ledge and placed his face
close to the aperture nearest to him.
1t was dark as a rat-hole within, and
net a sound was to be heard, not so
much as a heavlly-drawn breath. He
thrust in his fingers as far as they
would go, feeling only a cold surface
of brick; then sending in a ray from
his lantern he spoke In a low, distinct
| voice.
is anyone there"
No answer followed, and he repeated
the question in a louder tone, adding,
after a seconds reflection: ITS a
friend who wants to help you"
Suddenly he drew his head away
with an involuntary start, for a cur
ious whistling came out of the hole
like the hollow sound of air rushing
through the neck of a bottle.
Help! help, for heavens sake." the
words echoed indistinctly up to him,
muffed by distance, broken and dis
jointed either by the weakness of the
speaker or by the curving of the long
passage through which they had to
travel. Maynard's blood hummed in
his ears with the beating of his pulses.
All that was chivalrous, all that was
generous and self-forgetful was reused
in him now. He did not ever think of
Anne, or his certainty Of losing her,
but only of the poor inundated wretch
whom at last, with all sincerity, he ar
IDENTIFY wished to save.
He placed his lips close to the aper-
ture once more: Tell me how | can
reach you quickest" he said, speaking
each word slowly and clearly. From
outside the house or in?"
Il don't know" came back to him.
after an interval of waiting. He