Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-29

and found 1T locked, she pesah w
storm at me in the most savage
manner.
"My father is sick and in pain, and 1t
seems quite proper that his son should see
him." began, as coolly as / had been an
along. Il will thank you for the key OF MS
ROOM"
"You shall not have it," she replied, firm
ly.
"I viii not make a disturbance at the
door Of my fathers room by taking 1T from
you by force; but that is what we WIN
come to if you don't give me the Key,
replied, as /, retreated to my own chamber
and locked the door as l entered 1t.
I had said enough to enable her to un-
derstand me. l had never quarreled with
her or resisted her commands before, ana
no doubt she was confounded to find that the
boy had suddenly become the man. =,
My conduct was in accordance with Mad
dy..s schooner-load of advice. what ! was
doing was not so much for what might d.
rectly accomplish as it was to compel the
woman to "unmask her batteries.
My object was to have her know that
meant to assert myself; to convince her
at once that l was no longer passive be-
In word, while my father Gas l shall still
call him) was i'll, i desired to quarrel with
her, so that she should take some decided
action, which I should not fail to, observe,
now that my eyes had been opened. l had
given her the first lesson. and l was satIs-
fed so far as Mrs Falgood was concerned;
IF Milton Brooks was the only available
person who could prove my identity, AND
would certainly be a calamity to have MN
die. Such an event would exactly suit Z.
Grantham; but it would not suit me.
Villain as the sick man had been proved
to be by the London letter, l was not will
ing to have him die without proper .med-
cal attention and nursing, whatever the conse-
quences to me personally.
My decided action would soon enable me
to prove whether the housekeeper was spy
or not. l intended to call in physician
and a nurse, if necessary.
The new order of things had begun, for
/ felt sure that / should accomplish what
After these demonstrations-ino other words,
after / had taken possession of the house
she would be likely to write a letter, report
ing the situation to her employers.
she would intended to see the outside of
to see my father. His groans indicated that
he needed active treatment. Certainly Mrs.
Folgood was doing nothing for him. 1t was
her policy to do nothing.
Doubtless the woman believed that she
had won victory over me and driven me
from the field by locking the chamberdoor,
and taking away the key | turned my at.
room into the office, which also connected
with the sick mans chamber.
just then / happened to think of the let
ter from London. which was still in my pock-
ct. Maddy had insisted that it should be
given to Milton Brooks. We had made
two copies of it in the cabin of the Sleeper,
one of which was to be kept by each of US.
had taken some interest in, chemistry
while was at school, and l had a few of
the implements used in illustrating the sci
ence Among them was a blowpipe | light
ed the gas, and with the aid of the pipe,
softened the wax with which the letter had
been sealed, accurately adjusting the two
parts of the seal, and stuck them together so
that nothing but the closest examination
put the letter on the table, and again
applied myself to the problem of opening
the door into the office. The house was an
old-fashioned one, and the locks were not
handkerchief on the knob of the entry door,
SO that it covered the keyhole, for 1 know
that Mrs. Falgood had an eye that would
fit any keyhole in the house.
The key was in the office door, on the
inside. The end of it protruded into my
chamber. With a pair of gas tongs used
in fitting up my chemical apparatus, | read
lily turned it so that l could push it out
of the lock on the floor. l heard it fall
upon the carpet.
The blowpipe was the most convenient
pick-lock / had among my few tools. I in
serted it in the lock, and working it very
carefully, / finally succeeded in showing the
bolt of the lock. ]. fancied the housekeeper
spent full five minutes in getting that door
open without noise. l used my oil can as
soon as | had swung it far enough to get
at the hinges.
Taking the London letter in my hand,
went into the office, and laid it on the desk
The moans Of my father were more audi
bic than before, and l concluded that he was
growing worse rather. than better. Very