Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1905-08-25

large room In which cigar had been
smoked not long before. lie felt his
way among tho furniture. opened an
other door and closed II behind us. Put.
| ting out my hand. | felt several coats
hanging from the wall. ana I under
, stood That I WIS In passage. We
{ passed along II. and Holmes very gen.
/ tly opened II door upon the right hand
, side. Something rushed out nj US. and
! my heart sprnng into my mouth. but |
/ could have laughed when | realized
/ ihat Il was the cat. A fire was burn.
. ing in this new room. and again N" ali
| WIS heavy with tobacco smoke. II2lmC2
/ entered on tiptoe. waited for mo to rol.
q low. and then very gently cl1Enl the
/ door. We were In MilvCrton'S study.
AMI n portlcrc ut the farther ailc show.
/ Cl tho entrance to his bedroom.
II was good fire, and tho room was
: Illuminated hy II. Near the door I saw
/ the g'cam Of an electric switch. brt II
was unnecessary, even If 1t had been
safe. TO turn II on. At orc side Of the
| fircplncc was heavy curtain which
covered the bay window we had seen
] from outside. on the other side was
, The door which communicated with the
| vcranda. A desk stood in the center.
with turning chair of shining red
leather. Opposite WINS large book
case with marble bust of Athcne on
the top. In the corner. between the
bookcase and the wall. there stood
tall. green safe, the freight flashing
back from the polished brass knobs
, upon Its face. Holmes stole across and
looked ut It. Then he crcpt to the door
! Of the bedroom and stood with slnntng
bead, listening lntcntly. No sound came
from within. Meanwhile 1t had struck
me that II would be wise to secure our
retreat through the outer door. 50 | cX-
amlncd II. To my amazemcnt II was
neither locked nor bolted. | touched
Holmes on the arm, and he turned his
masked face In that direction. saw
him start. and he was evidently as sur
priscl rs l.
II don't like IT," he whispered. put
ting his lips to my very ear. 81 can't
quito make It out. Anyhow we have
no time to lose"
Can do anything?"
Eyes; stand by the door. II you hear
any one come. bolt II on the inside.
and we can get away as we came. If
they come the other way. we can get
through the door II our job IL done or
hide behind these window curtains II
II Is not DO You understands"
I nodded and stood by the door. My
first feeling of fear had passed away.
and thrilled now with n kecncr Zest
than had ever enjoyed when W" were
the defenders of the law instead Of its
dcficrs. The high object of Our mis-
sion, the consciousness that II was
unSelfSh AMI chivnlrous. the villainous
character Of our opponent. all added to
the sporting interest Of the adventure.
Far from feeling guilty. ! rcjoiccd and
cXultcd in our dangers. With glow
of admiration | watched Holmes un.
rolling his case Of Instruments and
choosing his tool with the calm, scicn
tihc accuracy Of II surgeon who per.
forms n delicate operation. ! knew
that the opening of safes was II partic.
ular hobby with him. and understood
the JOY which II gave him to he coo.
frontcd with this green and gold mon
Gter, the dragon which held In It's NAV
the regulations of many fair ladies.
Turning up the cuffs of his dress coat
he had placed his ovcrcoat Oh II chair
Holmes laid out two drills, Jimmy
and several skeleton keys. For abou
half an hour Holmes worked with con.
ccntrated energy. laying down one tool.
picking up another, handling each with
the strength and dclicacy Of the train
ed mechanic. Finally ! heard click,
the broad green door swung open, and
inside had Il glimpse OF Il number of
paper packets. each tied, sealed ans.
Inscribed. Holmes picked one out, bu'
it was hard to read by the ll"kcr,nI
fire, and he drew out his little Garl
lantern, for il was too dangerous with
| M!lvCrt1n IL the next room to Switc!
on the electric light. Suddenly | saw
him halt, listen intcntly. and then III
IN instant h" had swung the door ..
the safe to, picked up his coat, stulrr,.
his tools into the pockets and durt"a
behind the window curtain, m0tiOnng
me TO do the same.
1t was only when had Joined hin.
there that heard what had alurnc,
his quicker senses. There was Il HoiSC
somewhere within the house. \ GOO:
slammed In the distance. Then con
fused, dun murmur broke Itself int,
the measured thud of heavy footStcp"
rapidly approaching. They We're IN tn,
passage outside the room. They pause.
at the door. The door opened. There
was sharp snick as the electric iighi
was turned on. The door closed one,
more, and the pungent reck OF II stron.
cigar was borne to our nostrlls. Thel
the footsteps continued backward ant
forward, backward and forward, with
in few yards Of us. Finally there
was crcak from chair. and the foot
steps ceased Then n key clicked in n
lock. and | heard the rustic of PAPERS.
Ito be continued)