Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-03-29

door IN the r00I, down WAlcn ci4lnped,
thrust brusquely from above. Here
found myself in a small loft above the
stalls of the stable. My cap ais fol-
lowed, and one Of them struck 4
match, when the light fell upon Hoods
face From that familiar and sinister
countenance my eyes glanced about me
to several figures in the half light
saw at once what had been my undo
ing, for this loft was used as dor
mitory for the Greeks, and the noise
of my passage along the roof had eyi-
IDENTIFY alarmed them At gesture
from Hood two of these brutes seized
my arms, and / was forced to descend
the ladder to the ground. I protested
against this treatment, saying that ]
had given my word not to attempt to
escape, and I suppose some sign pass
ed from Hood, for the men suffered
me to proceed unmolested, keeping.
however, upon either side of me. We
entered the inn by the back way, and
/ expected nothing now but to be
thrust into some dismal cellar, there to
rot and tester until such time as my
jailers were pleased to deliver me. To
my surprise, however, I was taken
into an inner parlor Of the inn, where
was left to myself, the Greeks turn
ing the key in the door as they retired.
No word had been uttered upon their
side throughout the scene. They moved
like autOmata at the beck of the Inn
keeper. A lamp was burning on the
koh IL f1Fa rxrifF q
baize tablecloth, and the little window
looked upon the road, where the sign
Of the Woodman, with his uplifted ak,
was swinging gently.
Immediately afterward Sercombe en-
tered, with Hood upon his heels.
II regret, Mr.. Greatorex;" said the
adventurer, sthat you should have SO
small notion Of us as to try this
game"
ut very nearly came off" answer
ed.
81 grant you it was very ingenious.
Mr.. Hood and / have just been making
some investigations, and 1 congratulate
you on your fertility of idea. But your
cleverness is only partial. You have
thorough, Mr.. Greatorex, for which
naturally you pay the penalty" He
spoke very jauntily and plucked his
mustache quite gayly, while it sickened
me to see the BLACKBOARD there in this
new role, who but forty eight hours be-
fore had pledged me his word to carry
out another arrangement. But if he
h 1c ofT11r
no ground of complaint that he should
also betray me. don't suppose itcost
him a moments scruple. Indeed, look
ing at him there, brought myself for
the first time almost to prefer Hood to
him. Hood at least was frank enc
my, diabolic though he might be.
81 am going to ask you, Mr.. Create
rex" went on Sercombe, ito pass your
word to make no effort to escape to-
night"
81 see no reason why not" said,
somewhat bitterly. ''If do not, GER
tainly think better of you than to sup
pose you will let me break out again.
I pass my word. Take it, and have
done with it"
sSThat is right" he answered cheer
fully. 'sYou will find an excellent sofa
here, though it is soft in the springs"
And the two retired, leaving me to
the night and my own angry thoughts.
was punctually called and punctu-
ally served the next morning by Hood
himself, who, whatever his faults, was
a capital servant. - said nothing be-
yond making the customary inquiries
of landlord, and if l had been in any
other mood than that of desperate cha
grin the irony Of thSrs 'sTea or coffee,
sirY would have tic.ees.ed my sense of
| the ludicrous. But was not disposed
to talk, and so was equally silent with
him. Nor was my quletude broken I'M
til some two hours later, when Ser
combe entered.
"Look here, Mr.. Greatorex," said he
quickly, s'if we're not careful, this lit
tie enterprise Of ours will be taken
clean out of our hands"
81 thought" / observed, "that the
game was over" wondering all the
time what he was meaning.
eyes, and no." said he, sbut there's
many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip,
and you don't know what has been
happening while you've been here"
"In other words" I answered, my
friends may not have been caught as
easily as myself, although you will
note that still have that key"
fancied that he WINGED, but he went
on hastily. THAT is SO, and besides, in
any case, you are bound by your COM
pact Of silence"
IF you will tell me what you are
driving at began.
"See here, SIR" he broke in. There's
been deal of talk in the countryside,
and, what with that mutton faced fool
Jones' suspicious, the authorities have
begun to smell rat"
It am very sorry for you" said !
dryly. Il understood that he had not
a high opinion of you"