Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-08-14

~ puSneO the EnRllSnman 1OfWafO. Inc
door closed with little puff, and
Thorndyke felt about him for the guide,
but he was alone. For moment there
was no sound. With the closing Of the
door it seemed to him that he was cut
of from every living creature In the
awful silence he could hear his own
heart beating like drum.
STAND where you arep' came in q
kissing whisper from the darkness near
by, and then the invisible whisperer
moved away, making weird sound as
he slid his hand along a wall till it
died away in the distance.
A cold thrill ran over him. He was a
brave man and feared no living man or
beast. but the superstitious fears Of his
childhood now came upon him with re-
doubled force. For several minutes he
did not stir. Presently he put out his
hand to the door. and his blood ran cold
There was no knob, latch or keyhole,
and he could feel the soft padding into
which the door closed to keep out sound.
Then he remembered the warning Of the
princess and strove with all his might
to fight down his apprehensiona For
your life keep your presence Of mind"
he repeated over and over, but try as he
would his terror overpowered him. he
laughed out loud, but in the dreadful
silence and darkness his laugh sounded
unearthly.
A cold perspiration broke out on him.
It seemed as if hours passed before he
again heard the sliding noise ON the
wall Some one was coming to him.
The sound grew louder and nearer
till firm hand was laid ON his arm. It
felt as cold as ice through his clothing.
Come" a voice whispered, and the
Englishman was led forward Present.
ly another door opened, q door that
closed after them without any sound.
Here the silence was more intensified,
the darkness thicker, as If compressed
like air.
Hands were placed on the shoulders
Of Thorndyke, and he was gently forced
Into chair. AZ soon as he was seated
two metal clamps grasped like q wise
his arms between the elbows and the
shoulders, and two more fastened round
his ankles.
There was faint puff Of air from the
door, and the prisoner felt that he was
| alone.
Terror held him in bondage. He tried
to think Of Bernardino. but in vain. Did
they intend to drive him to madness!
Ho began to suspect that the king had
discovered his natural superstition and
had decided to put it to test, What he
had undergone 80 far he felt was but
the introduction to greatest terrors in
store for him.
There was q sigh far away in the
darkness, then q groan that seemed to
fit about in space, as if seeking to es-
cape the dark, and then died away in o
low moan of despair. Before him the
blackness seemed to hang like dark
curtain about ten yards in front of him,
and in it shone tiny speck of light no
larger than the head Of a pin and which
was 80 bright that he could not look at
It steadily. II increased to the size of o
pea, and then he discovered that al
times it would seem miles away in
space and then again to draw quite
near to hand. CHANGING down. he no.
ticed that it cast a bright round spot
about an inch in diameter on the floor,
and that the spot was slowly revolving
in q circle SO small that its motion was
hardly observable. Surely the mind Of q
superstitious man was never SO pun
ished When Thorndyke looked steadily
at the spot, the black floor seemed to
recede and the spot to sink far down
into the empty darkness below like a
solitary star. So realistic was this that
the Englishman could not keep from
fancying that his chair was poised in
some way over fathomless space. Pres
emily he noticed that the spot had ceased
its circular movement and was slowly
almost as slowly as the movement of
the hand Of a clock-adyancing in a
straight line toward him.
No such terror had ever before DOS.
sessed the stout heart of the English
man. As the uncanny spot, ever grow
ing brighter, advanced toward him, he
thought his heart had stopped beating.
His brain was in whirl. After long
while the spot reached his feet and be-
gan to climb up his legs. With shud-
der and smothered cry, he tried to
draw his feet away, but they We're too
firmly manacled.
1T is searching for my heart, {"
thought Thorndyke. "My God, when it
reaches it. shall diel" As the strange