The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-19
By MRS. C. N. WILLIAMSON.
Copyright 1902 by the National Press Agency.
CHAPTER VIIi-Continued.
can Rights Reserved. }


CHAPTER. vIII-continued. -.
The Sell Dancer. v
For a moment he stood. still, staring into
the wardrobe in absolute bewilderment.
by. jove, 1 must be off my head! he
said to himself, slowly, and aloud, for the
the comfort Of his own voice. II must
have fancied that. 1t couldn't have hap
pened, Who would have thought could
be such a fool!'
To punish himself he began passing
both hands back and forth among the per-
fumed dresses in the wardrobe, touching
each one, and the wall behind. The cleo
trio shock did not come again, and he felt
that he ought to be sure it had not really
come before. But he could not be sure.
On the contrary, he was certain that he
had felt 1t. could even feel it still, tingling
up his right arm as far as the elbow; and
still more disconcerting was it to retain
the same impression Of hidden, living evil
close at hand which had seized him on
first opening the wardrobe door.
For the third time he searched the
place. more as a test of his nerves than
to satisfy his curiosity. If he had been a
spiritualist. he would have said that the
Influence" was still there though pas
siVe for the present. but not being a
spiritualist knight was merely disguised
with himself for what seemed like weak
ness. He was letting the strange events
OF the past two days prey upon his
nerves. which was the one thing he ought
to guard against, if he wished to succeed.
He had only begun the work which meant
everything for his future, and in all prob
ability the hardest was yet to come. If
he were to lose his head the first round
OF the ladder then he was a very differ
ent men from his own idea of himself.
Three years ago, just after coming
down from Oxford he had gone out to
Africa for
London daily owned by man he had
met at Christchurch. He had known war
In ali it's naked horror. and had himself
been seriously wounded while helping to
guard an armoured train. A year later.
he had gone out to China, and had seen
worse things there than fighting; but new
er had his nerve failed him as it had to-
night, and he was as much ashamed as
II he had been sentinel caught sleeping
a his post.
He began to question now whether he
MAD not been mistaken from the first in
thinking he heard a rustling inside this
state room. Something he had heard. Ger
fanny, out now he argued that he might
nave miscalculated the direction from
"hlch the sound came He had been
promised that his Investigations on board
the Xenia would not be interfered with:
nevertheless. it might be considered part
OF the wa tchers' duty to supervise his
actions from distance. and one of the
two men appointed by the captain Of the
tport might have been following him when
me entered the state room. This must
have been SO. he told himself now, for
mo wind was blowing. to rustic papers or
curtains, and there were only three per-
tsons on the yacht-himself and those two
'others. Sounds such he had heard could
not make themselves, and unless one were
to take refuge in the supernatural one
must account in the only rational way
for what had happened He would pres
entity question the two men. and the SEEM
ing mystery would doubtless be readily
solved-all but the electric shock received
IN the wardrobe; and that he feared must
pc set down to an sensitive imagiua-
ton.
So thinking, Dick attempted to shut
the wardrobe door, but it stuck in the
groove. leaving an open space of eight or
ten inches; and, seeing it thus, it oc-
Cured to him that this door had not been
closed when he came into the state room
ten minutes ago. Earlier in the day it
had been tight shut, he remembered, for
he had glanced into the cabin in making
tour of the yacht, Immediately after
coming on board and settling his luggage
in one Of the unused state rooms. To-
night. after hearing the noise, and turn
ing on the light, his mind had been in
tent on other things, and he had not said
to himself: "This door is not as saw il
last but he was almost sure that when
he first touched it, there had been exactly
the same open space which existed now
There would not be room enough for a
man to squeeze his body into the ward
robe without pushing the door severa.
inches farther back in its groove: but
q slender woman might step through
without moving the door. Dicks nlin6
touched on this possibility, then glideC
off again, for he had proved beyond g
shadow Of doubt that no one was con.
cealed behind the dresses in the wardrobe
tha with o1o
overcame it's tendency to stick, and CLOSED
it with a snap, only remembering as h,
did so, what had originally brought hin
to the state room. He had come with tn,
idea Of finding some clue to the identit,
Of its missing inmate by means Of tn,
gowns hanging in the wardrobe. Stupit
to have let the thing be driven from hi
mind by funk-for there was no use dis
guising 1t, he had been In a funk for
moment or two! He flung open the doc
again and took from it's hook the bodice
Of a white satin dress. The wearer ha,
evidently been slender and small; the in
side belt could scarcely measure twent.
inches. and printed upon it in small gol,
letters were the words: 'Lucette ct Gle
IS. Via Slcilia- Napoli."
This was satisfactory; ard. encoura ged
Knight examined the belts in several othe
hodices. All showed the same name an
every frock looked so new and unsoile
that the young man fancied they mus
have been made quite recently. He de
cided to keep two or three of these bod
ices send or take them to the house @
Lucette ct Gle in Naples. and learn tn
name Of the lady for whom they had bee
designed. So intent was he upon thi
new idea that he forgot to close the ward
robe door at last. and was leaving tn
stateroom with his spoils hanging over hi
arm. when he noticed. in passing tn
dressing table. the heavy perfume whic
had struck him entering the room.
certainly was stronger than it had beer
and strongest of all near the table. II
stopped and looked more carefully tina
before at the mass Of glittering thing
which sparkled under the rosy light. H
first glance coming into the cabin ha
given him the impression that all was q