The St. Mary banner., 1907-12-07

aourot aour ttn;11at the PaEGsecx1t extraordinarv ou
cannot ina est rup 'fe eA'faoioinars
scene. =;
Encouraged to action now that my
surroundings were made visible, |
jumped out of bed into the icy water.
and nearly frozen by its chill waded
to the door, ascending the six steps
to reach it. l found it locked, evil
IDENTIFY from the outside. Surely, it
was very strange. l shook the door
with all my might, but it did not
bulge. Standing on the threshold,
at the top of the flight, l was some
distance above the level of the water,
but it was not a point of vantage
from which to force the lock.
By this time l had begun to be
really frightened. l called out re-
peatedly at the top Of my lungs, but
my voice died away without eliciting
any response. Something cold
seemed to take grip on my heart,
and looking down l saw that the
water was over the bed. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY rising fast.
Summoning my courage 1 descend
ed the six steps and waded across the
room to the windows. which. l then
noticed for the first time, were at an
extraordinary height from the floor.
There were two of them, and l tried
them in succession, but could hard
ly reach them, having nothing to
stand upon, and it was obvious that
the shutters were securely barred,
though the sashes were lowered from
the top as if for ventilation. Some
minutes of frantic effort convinced
me that there was nothing to be ac-
complished.
1t was now, for the first time, that
my mind The idea struck me like a
thunderbolt; it was indeed the only
conceivable explanation of the situa-
ton. Worthington, who had sworn
eternal enmity toward me, had not
forgotten his VOW. l was at the mer-
cy of a madman. Pretending to re-
pent his hostility he had invited me
to his house for the purpose of de-
stroying me by method frightful in
it's originality. He might easily have
murdered me in some other way, but,
having resolved upon the deed, it
was characteristic of him to select a
method wholly novel and hitherto
unthought Of l was to die by
drowning, and as slowly as possible
How we'll l understood now the sig
nificance of that chuckle of his as he
had left me few hours earlier.
Built after a whim of my own" he
had said, speaking Of the bedroom
assigned to my occupancy. Why, 1t
was into a trap, constructed express
ly to capture myself, that l had fall
en- Half mad with fear and rage. l
made my way to the steps again. the
water up to my waist, and, trembling
with cold, climbed out upon the top
step. Then beating the panels with
my fists, yelled and screamed in my
despair, alternately cursing my
treacherous host and calling upon
him to have mercy and spare my life.
suppose this must have continued
for five minutes or so, though 1t
seemed hours to me, when / thought
I heard a noise outside the door and
listened. 1t was a mans footstep.
and as it approached l recognized it
as Worthington's.
whats the matter, old MANI" he
~
Have mercy, Worthington." l
cried. For Gods sake, have mercy!"
"It's a nightmare, sure enough"
l heard him mutter. Hes walking
in his Sleep
"Open the door," I walled.
"How can l open it," he replied.
THE catch is on the inside, just
above the knob. Press it back with
your thumb"
With trembling fingers l obeyed
him; the door, released by the spring
catch-one of Worthington's freaks
of ingenuity-few open, and l fell
outward, half fainting. tIe caught
me in his arms.
Wny, Wnat S tne mat" ne
began, when, as he gazed down into
the brilliantly lighted room, an ex-
preston of the utmost astonishment
came over his face. Then he began
to swear with much elaborateness
and emphasis.
The situation began in some meas
ure to dawn upon me, as he ran back
to his own room and, returning with
a pocket flask, poured half of its con-
tents down my throat. The fiery
stuff nearly choked me.
You didn't mean to murder me,
them" / said, as soon as l could re-
gain my breath.
Murder you!" he echoed. 'Ha,