The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-06-21

M =
"The Man Tore tn
must be aware ?;, that what you are doing
q 1T is somewhat Of liberty, no
doubt, said he, 'but wei make it ups
to you. -. I must warn you, however,
Mr. Melas, that if at any time tonight
you attempt to raise an alarm or do
anything which is against my interests,
you will find it very serious thing. l
beg you to remember that no one
knows where you are, and that, whether
you are in this carriage or in my house,
you are equally in my power
ellis words were quiet, but he had
rasping way Of saying them which
wondering what on earth could be his
reason for kidnapping me in this extra
ordinary fashion. Whatever it might
be, it was perfectly clear that there
was no possible use in my resisting, and
that [ could only wait to see what
might befall. I....-.
.""For nearly two hours we drove
without my having the least clue as to
where we were going. Sometimes the
causeway, and at others our smooth,
silent, course suggested asphalt; but,
save by this variation of sound, there
was nothing at all which could in the
remotest way help me to form guess
as to where we were. The paper over
each window was impenetrable
to G2aH ght' acr and +he Blue }sss curtain
front. It was a auarter-past seven
when we left Pail Mall, and my watch
showed me that it was ten minutes to
nine when we at last came to a stand
still. MY companion let down the win
dow, and L caught q. glimpse Of a low,
arched doorway with a lamp burning
| above it. AS [ was hurried from the
carriage it swung open, and I found my
self inside the house, with vague i'm
preston of a lawn and trees on each
side Of me as | entered. Whether these
were private grounds, however, or bona
fide country was more than could pos.
sibly venture to say.
which was turned so low that I could
see little save that the hall was of some
size and hung with pictures. In the
dim light I could make out that the
person who had opened the door was
small, mean-looking: middle-aged mar
with rounded shoulders. AS he turned
toward us the CLINT Of the light showed
:. "'Is this Mr.. Melas, Harold?' sale
'HisYes.' " .~>. .~,
Jewell done, well done! No ill-will
Mr.. Melas, hope, but we could not ge
on WITHOUT ., you: If you'll deal fair will
, any tricks, God help you'll He spok
in a nervous, jerky fashion, and will
r little, giggling, laughs in between, bu
somehow he impressed me with fea
< more than the other.
:" What do you want with me?'
7 /" sOnly to ask few questions Of
: Greek gentleman who is visiting us, an,
l to let us have the answers. But say n
r more than you are told to say, Or
: here came the nervous giggle again
4 you had better never had been born.
4 AS he spoke he opened the doc
o and showed the way into room whic
r appeared to be very richly furnished
< but again the only light was afforde
$ by a single lamp half turned dowr
The chamber was certainly large, an
r the way in which my feet sank into tn
= carpet as I stepped across it told me
Y its richness. / caught glimpses Of We
= vet chairs, a high white marble mantle
: piece, and what seemed to be suit G
,. Japanese arnOr at one side of it. Their
i was a chair Just under the lamp. an
! ! the elderly man motioned that I shout
= sit in it. The younger had left us, br
\ he suddenly returned thru, another doc
leading with him a gentleman clad i
4 some sort of loose dressing-gow
= AS he came into the Giro,
= T. of dim light which enabled me t
t see him more clearly I was thrilled wit
T. horror at his appearance. He was dea,
n ly pale and terribly emaciated, with til
o protruding, brilliant eyes Of a ma
e whose spirit was greater than h
strength. But what shocked me MOI
It was that his face was grotesquely cris
It crossed with sticking plaster, and tn;
r. one large pad Of it was fastened ovt
l. his mouth.
e "'Have you the slate, Harold
d cried the older man, as this strange b
le chair. Are his hands loose7 No,
It then; give him the pencil. You are
d ask the questions, Mr.. Melas, and
l. will write the answers. Ask him first
" all whether he is prepared to sign Il
i papers9'
?. eNever!' he wrote in Greek upt
= the slate.
= /" On no conditionss' I asked, at Il
- g bidding Of our tyrant.
o. Only if / see her married in n
~ presence by a Greek priest whom
~ know.
'S tsThe man giggled in his venomo
!, n way.
Mt 1You know what awaits you, then
50 I care nothing for myself.
HThese are samples of the questio
", and answers which made up our stran
at half-spoken, haif-written conversatic
la Again and again I had to ask hi
re whether he would give in and sign t
n documents. Again and again I had t
UT same indignant reply. But soon hs
by thought came to me- took to q
" ding on little sentences of my own
" each question, innocent ones at fir
d. to test whether either Of our co
lrt panions knew anything of t
We matter, and then, as I fou
tie that they showed no sign I played
more dangerous game. Our CONVEX
N ton ran something like this:
on You can do no good by this