The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-02-15
CHAPTER XXI.
The Door of BewlIderment.

! >
The Door of BewlIderment.
We had established the practice of
barring all the gates and doors at
nightfall. There was no way of guard
ing against an attack from the lake,
whose frozen surface increased the
danger from without; but we counted
on our night patrol TO prevent a sur
prise from that quarter. I was we'll
aware that I must prepare to resist the
militant arm of the law, which Picker
ing would no doubt invoke to aid him,
but I intended to exhaust the pOssibili-
ties in searching for the lost treasure
before I yielded. Pickering might, if
he would, transfer the estate of John
Marshall Glenarm to Marian Devereux
and make the most he could of that
service, but he should not drive me
forth until had satisfied myself of the
exact character of my grandfather's
fortune. If 1t had vanished, if Picker
ing had stolen it and outwitted me in
making off with it. that was another
matter.
The phrase, THE Door of Bewllder-
ment," had never ceased to reiterate
itself in my mind; there was a certain
fascination and charm in it. We dis
cussed a thousand explanations Of it
as we pondered over the scrap Of paper
l had found in the library, and every
book in the house was examined in
the search for further clews.
The passage between the house and
the chapel seemed to fascinate Larry.
He held that it must have some par
ticular use and he devoted his time to
exploring it.
He came up at noon-it was the 29th
Of December-with grimy face and
| hands and a grin on his face. l had
spent my morning in the towers to no
purpose and was IN no mood for the
ready acceptance of new theories.
I've found something" he said, fill
ing his pipe
Not soap, evidently"
mo, but I'm going to say the last
word on the tunnel, and within an
hour. Give me a glass Of beer and a
piece Of bread, and we'll go back and
see whether we're sold again or not"
Go ahead and let us be done with
it. Wait till I tell Stoddard where
we're going"
The chaplain was trying the second
| floor walls, and I asked him to eat
some luncheon and stand guard while
Larry and l went to the tunnel.
We took with us an iron bar, an az
and a couple of hammers. Larry went
ahead with lantern.
you see," he explained, as we
| dropped through the trap into the pas
sage, I've tried a compass on this
tunnel and find that we've been work
ing on the wrong theory. The passage
itself runs a straight line from the
house under the gate to the crypt; the
rayine IS a rough crescent-shape anC
for a short distance the tunnel touches
age-about 80 feet?"
Yes; it's shallowest where the
house stands. 1t drops sharply from
there on to the lake"
Very good; bur the ravine is all OF
the Glenarm side of the wall, isn't it
Now when we get under the wall II
show you something"
Here we are" said Larry, as tn,
cold air blew in through the hollow
posts. Now we're pretty near tina
sharp curve OF the ravine that dip
away from the wall. Take the Lantern
while I get out the compass. What DC
you think that on the piece of paper
means? Why chapel, Of course.
have measured the distance from the
house, the point of departure, we may
assume, to the chapel, and three
tOurths Of it brings US under those
beautiful posts The directions are
as plain as daylight The passage it
self is your n. w, as the compass
proves, and the ravine cuts close II
here; therefore, our business is to ex
plore the wall on the ravine side"
Good but this is just wall here
earth with layer of bricks and a thir
coat of cement. A nice job 1t mus
have been to do the work,-and it cos
the price of a tiger hunt" I grumbled
Take heart, lad, and listen" an(
Larry began pounding the wall with {
hammer, exactly under the nortl
gatepost. We had sounded everything
in and about the house until the pro
cess bored me.
Hurry up and get through with 1t,
jerked impatiently. holding the Ian
tern at the level of his head. 1t wa