The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1906-03-23
By H. B. MARRIOTT WATSO

| tOE Oic hiSIl Ut IedSt, anu, IlHDkS TO
Montgomery's quick ears, it would be
strange if we did not manage to put
another face on the position by the
morrow
l was right in my conjecture for
| shortly afterward we heard the re-
| turning feet sound along the stones.
| He passed the end of our passage,
| holding his lantern before him, and
when he had disappeared we hurried
| out into the corridor and sped after
| tim. Once we saw the spot of light
| that glowed in the vicinity of that
shadow pause and waver. dare say
| that some sound had caught his ear,
and he turned and listened. We shrank
| into the protection of the wall until
| the footsteps had resumed their way
| BY this time had guessed his errand.
| or at least his destination. lie was
! bound for the treasure chamber in the
keep and had probably come from
there previously. Possibly it had been
| his hiding place. Here again my as
| sumption proved correct, and we
| watched him open the cupboard in the
| wall and vanish like an expert, lantern
| and ALL into the abyss
I'VE must take him tonight" said |
to Montgomery. Il: won't do to let
| him get out of range
Montgomery nodded and, cautiously
| approaching, pulled open the door in
| the wall. Drawing himself up, he
| clambered through the space and slid
| Gown into the farther room, making
| wonderfully small noise for so huge a
| lody. | followed. But Hood was not
| in the lower r00m-at least there was
TO light to pierce the utter darkness
and, moreover. think we both knew
| that he was in the loft above us. To.
| gether we crawled up the steps and
| once more looked in through the friend
| ly aperture of door upon the chief of
Oh the floor. was bent over the chests
| which contained the treasure
Suddenly he started and lifted his
head. 1t may have been that the door
| creaked, or perhaps he caught the
! sound of our breathing. All know is
| that the next moment. and just as
| Montgomery leaped forward at stride
| upon him. he put out his arm and with
| a swift movement overturned the Ian
| tern. The room was at once plunged
| in darkness, darkness so thick and
| gravelike that it was incredible. Eter-
nal night dwelt and brooded in those
| rayleSS dungeons, and she resumed her
| Qmnirn prna1ilV from
| ing candle. Montgomery rush carried
| him to the corner where the boxes lay.
| but he encountered no one. Hood by
| some slippery movement had glided
away, and where he was in the solid
| darkness neither of us could say. |
! gathered this from the silence that en-
sued upon Montgomery's spring. l
heard him pick himself up, and then
| there was a hush. | stood with my
| back against the door in state of in
! tense suspense. There came a slight
! soft sound. and a dagger whiZzed past
! me and struck in the oak with a loud
! tang. | sprang forward but my fist
| took the air.
| Montgomery. from his corner made
a rush toward me- and heard another
OF those horrid ''tangs'' aid an excla-
| nation of pain Then there fen silence
again. and presently an invisible per-
| son seemed to pass before me. | thrust
out my arms. and again a soft and
slender form touched me gently, and
there came the clang and clatter Of
knife upon the wall. pinning my coat
| sleeve to the woodwork: but upon that
| there bore down upon lis the sprawling
form of Montgomery, and two people
veTe fighting upon the floor before ne.
| Tap tap, tap went the horrid knife up
| On the floor, and then silence again,
broken only by heavy noises in the
throat. With formidable fears in my
| breast. | struck a match. casting a
| thread of light upon the scene of the
struggle Hood lay in Montgomery
arms, crumpled like Il snake whose
| back is broken, one hand (Which held
"a knife stretched inert along the floor,
his head thrown la g. his face white
through its sallow , toloration. and
his eyelids lowered over his strange
! eyes.
Good heavens, you have killed him.
said l.
Montgomery looked doubtful Il don't
think So he painted; but he was the
very devil to tackle with that knife of
| his. l may have squeezed too hard.
Something did crack, but
| l pulled him aside Light the lam
| -