Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1904-07-22
CHAPTER III lContinueI


CIIAPTEB III (Continued.2
Besides, | was not yet finished with
the spot where l then stood. If i
eoald gather nothing satisfactory from
'he ashes, perhaps 1 could from the
chair or the shelves before which II
had been placed. Some one with an in
serest in books had sat there; some one
who expected to spend sufficient time
over these old tones to feel the need
of chair Had this interest been o
general one. or had 1t centered In par.
ticular volume? l ran my eye over the
shelves within reach, possibly with an
idea Of settling this question, and
though my knowledge of books Is linn.
tied could see that these were what
one might call rarities. Some Of them
contained specimens Of black letter, all
moldy and smothered in dust; in others
l saw dates Of publication which
placed them among volumes dear to a
collectors heart. But none Of them,
so far as l could see, gave any ev!-
dence of having been lately handled;
and, anxious to waste no time on
puerile details, hastily quilted my
chair and was proceeding to turn my
attention elsewhere when I noticed
on an upper shelf a book projecting
slightly beyond the others. Instantly
my foot was on the chair and the book
in my hand. Did I find it of interest?
Yes, but not on account Of its con.
tents. for they were pure Greek to
me, but because 1t lacked the dust on
Its upper edge which had marked
every other volume I had handled.
This, then, was what had attracted the
unknown to these shelves, this-let me
see il can remember its title-"DisQui-
sitiOn Upon Old Coast Lines" Pshawi
] was wasting my time. What had
such dry compendium as this to do
with the body lying in its blood q few
steps behind me, or with the hand
which had put out the candle upon this
dreadful deed? Nothing. replaced
the book, but not so hastily as to push
1t one inch beyond the position in
which found it. For, II it had tale
to tell, then was it my business to
leave that tale to be read by those
who understood books better than l
did.
My next move was toward the little
table holding the candelabrum with
the glittering pendants. This table
was one Of a nest standing against a
nearby wall. Investigation proved
that 1t had been lifted from the others
and brought to it's present position
within a very short space of time, for
the dust lying thick on its top was
almost entirely lacking from the one
which had been nested under 1t.
Neither had the candelabrum been
standing there long. dust being found
under as well as around 1t. Had her
hand brought it there? Hardly, II it
came from the top Of the mantel
toward which I now turned in my
course Of investigation.
have already mentioned this man.
tel more than once. This could hard
ly avoid, since in and about it lay the
heart Of the mystery for which the
room was remarkable But, though l
have thus freely spoken of 1t and
though it was not absent from my
thoughts for a moment, / had not ven-
tured to approach it beyond a certain
safe radius. Now in looking to see If
might not lessen this radius expert
enced that sudden and overwhelming
interest in its every feature which at
taches to all objects peculiarly asso-
ciated with danger.
even took a step toward 1t, holding
up my lamp SO that stray ray struck
the faded surface Of an old engraving
hanging over the fireplace. 1t was the
well known one, In Washington at
least, Of Benjamin Franklin at the
court Of France, interesting, no doubt,
in q general way, but scarcely calcu-
lated to hold the eye at SO critical an
instant. Neither did the shelf below
call for more than momentary atten-
ton, for it was absolutely bare. So
was the time worn, II not blood stained,
hearth, save for the impenetrable
shadow cast over it by the huge bulk
Of the great settle standing at its edge.
have already described the impress
sion made on me at my first entrance
by this ancient and characteristic arti-
Gle Of furniture.
1t was intensified now as my eye ran
over the clumsy carving which added
to the discomfort Of its high, straight
back and as I smelled the smell Of its
moldy and possibly mouse haunted
cushions. A crawling sense of dread
took the place Of my first instructive
repugnance, not because superstition
had as yet laid its grip upon me, al
though the place, the hour and the near
and veritable presence of death were
enough to rouse the Imagination past
the bounds of the actual, but because
Of discovery had made-a discovery
which emphasized the tradition that all
who had been found dead under the
mantel had fallen as If from the end of
this monstrous and patriarchal bench.
Do you ask what this discovery was?
1t can be told In a word. This one
end and only this end had been made
comfortable for the sitter. For a space
scarcely wide enough for one the seat
dhN OdNh tnAS 0PCSAdA pOAut Auu
been upholstered with leather. fastened
to the wood with heavy wrought nails.
The remaining portion stretched out
bare, hard and inexpressibly forbidding
to one who sought ease there or even
a moment Of casual rest
The natural inference was that the
owner Of this quaint piece Of furniture
had been a very selfish man who
thought only OF his own comfort But
might he not have had some other rea-
son for his apparent niggardliness
AS I asked myself this question and
noted how the long and embracing
arm which guarded this cushioned re-
treat was flattened on top for the con-