Canyon City news. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1903-1908, 1904-06-24

] ~ SOllllN vi Stunning ittl tuUlc llOlll
the hall, followed by a quick ring of
the bell Brcck opened the door. and
/ four men entered with the trunk. 1t
was monStrous affair and had al.
ready been stripped of its trays and
| provided with vcntilating holes, sufli-
cient and not too obvious.
II can live in it for week." said
! Hollingsworth. ''if they set it on the
/ right end
! The two men padded the inside with
blankets and made experiments in the
ma tier of the most comfortable position
and the limits of movement when the
lid had been closed upon the occupant.
Then they went out and had luncheon,
for the trunk was not to be delivered at
the Warren residence before ) in the
afternoon. IIollngsworth suggested
that it would be awkward if the real
one should get there first, but Brcck
replied that he had sent Il bogus mes
sage to the warehouse countcrmanding
the order.
Promptly at ) o'clock the eXpressmen
W llOlll DItth Ildu tllSuScil slllh tu ut
Hollingsworth's rooms. They were
we'll bribcd and carefully instructed
HolingswOrth got into the trunk, and
Breck closed. locked and strapped 1t.
"Now, for heavens sake" he said in
q low tone tc tlf men, don't drop him
on the stairs"
whats the matter with the clcvat-
orr" came In anxious but mutticd tones
from the interior Of the trunk.
Its all right in this building" re
spOndcd Brcck, but in the Warren
house there are two flights, and they
are pretty bad. the houSckecpcr says.
or course you'll 20 up the back stairs"
The descent to the street was easy, but
the ride to the Warren house was long.
The longer the ride the longer Hollings-
worth'S legs seemed to be, and before it
was finished he would have paid any rea-
sonable sum for the privilege of straight
ening them out.
"Ths is a singular paradox" he said to
himself. My legs are getting longer ev
cry minute and still | want to stretch
EN-"
One Of the cxpressmen. who was sitting
D'SNlt iIit iI'iIlh, III''l illiI vi
rival at his destination and then climbed
out Of the wagon. There was long wait.
Then Uullingsworth felt Il swayiHg of tho
vehicle and Immediately voice spoke
cautiously
"Therc's . hitch somewhere" it said.
"Don't speak loud Old Warren is stand
ing by the gate
"Whats the trouble?"
'IIe says it's the wrong trunk. He
that this iS full pf furS
They're hunting for the key. but the
housekeeper'S all right. Don't you worry.
Whatever happenS. you're safe. The old
man won't get you. Hush!'
Another long wait. and then the voice
again:
well have to take you back. You've
been positively identified. You're a lot OF
sealskin and stuff that belonged to Mrs.
Warren when she WAS alive. Ss-s-sh!'
Presently the wagon swaycd violently
and then started. HollinFsworth felt the
exprcssman settling himself down beside
the trunk. Then came very soft. hardly
audible whisper:
Don't speak Don't make any noise
Wen get you out of this YETI
The wagon joltcd along 1t seemed to
travel n thousand miles. and there were n
thousand new pains for every mile. FL
nally the wagon stopped. The trunk was
lifted out HOllingsworth heard n con-
fused murmur Of voices. Then he felt the
motion of an elevator. There followed n
great humping and dragging. followed by
stiffness and "A peculiar chill. gradually
but surely 'crcasing. 1t seemed as if
drafts of icy air were blowing through the
holes in the trunk Iollingsworth stood
1t as long as he could and then in n sud-
den paroXySm he pounded and kicked up
on the roof OF his prison and yelled like
n wounded elephant. 1t was marvellous
relief. While he was enjoying it he heard
n cankng sound. and then a strange.
loud. scared voice cried:
who's hcre?'
"I am, hang it," yelled Hollingsworth.
"How could | be anywhere else? Holy
Moses, do you think | can crawl out
through one of these holes'"