Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-09-16

sSUCCCtutU III uTUUtUU HtC DUtt.
an outlying lamp post east across the
new made road. 1t seemed TO me Il
road of building sites, with but this
one house built all by itself at one
end, but the night was too dark for
more than n mere impression.
Rallies however, had seen the place
by daylight and had come prepared for
the special obstacles. Already he was
reaching up and putting champagne
corks on the spikes, and in another mo-
ment he had his folded covert coat
across the corks. / stepped back as he
raised himself and saw u little pyra-
mid of states snip the sky above the
gate. AS he squirmed over L ran for
ward and had my weight on the spikes
and cOrks and covert coat when he
gave the latter tug.
Coming, after ALI?
Rather
Take care, then; the place is all
bell wires and springs. It's no soft
thing, this! There-stand still while
take off the corks.''
The garden was very small and new
with Il grass plot still in separate sods,
but quantity of full grown laurels
stuck into the raw clay beds. Bells
in themselves" as Rallies whispered
There's nothing else rustles so-cun-
ming old beast" And we gave them
wide berth as we crept across the
grass.
Hes gone to bed!''
Il don't think so, Bunny. 1 believe
he's seen u.s.
"Why?"
81 saw a light"
"Where?"
downstairs, for an instant, when
u
His whisper died away. He had seen
the light again, and so had 1.
1t lay like Il golden rod under the
front door-and vanished. 1t reap
peared like a gold thread under the
Intel and vanished for good We
heard the stairs creak, creak and cease,
also for good. We neither saw nor
heard any more. though we stood wait
ing on the grass till our feet were
soaked with the dew.
I'm going in." said Rallies at last
Il don't believe he saw us at all. /
wish he had. This way"
We trod gingerly on the path, but
the gravel stuck to our wet sOles and
grated horribly in little tiled veranda
with a glass door leading within. 1t
was through this glass that Raffles had
first seen the light, and he now pro-
ceeded to take out pane with the
diamond, the pot OF treacle and the
sheet of brown paper which We're sell
dom omitted from his impedimenta.
Nor did he dispense with my own as
sistance, though he may have accepted
1t as instinetively as it was proffered.
In any case, it was these fingers that
helped to spread the treacle on the
to the glass until the diamond had
completed its circuit and the pane fell
gently back into our hands.
Raffies now inserted his hand,
turned the key in the lock and by max
ing long arm succeeded in drawing
the bolt ut the bottom of the door. 1t
proved to be the only one. and the
door opened. though not very wide
Whats that" said Rallies as some
thing crunched beneath his feet on the
very threshold.
"A pair of spectacles." I whispered,
picking them up. / was still lingering
the broken lenses and the bent rims
when Raffies tripped and almost fell.
with a gasping cry that he made no
effort TO restrain.
Hush. man, hush"' I entreated I'M
der my breath. Hell hear your
For answer his teeth chartered. even
his, and / heard him fumbIing with
his matches. NO, Bunny; he won't
hear U.S. whispered Raffies presently,
and Ia. rose from his knees and lit
a-is jet as the match burned down.
Angus Baird was lying on his OWL
floor. dead, with his gray hairs glued
togexIer by his blood: near him poker
with the black end glistening; in cor