Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-19
lg of what you nave seen tonight"

Ing of what you nave seen tonight"
IF you wish it so, certainly" Walter said
| reluctantly
My dear uncle. won't you trust me? !
would do anything to help you. And besides,
| how are you going to guard against this
happening again2
"A bloodthrsty ruffian who can enter a
| house and vanish in this mysterious fash
you are going to take no steps to guard
| yourself against further attack. But what
has become Of him."
L haven't the slightest idea" Ravenspur
| said YEARLY. Il was sitting in my chair
| when the light suddenly went out and /
heard the door locked. Then 1 had to fight
for my life. and was nearly done for when
l called out for assistance"
And you saw nothing of him?' Walter
asked.
Nothing whatever" Ravenspur went on.
II could only feel him. And after that 1
recolect no more till you came.
"A most extraordinary thing" Walter
said, somewhat impatiently. Surely you
have some idea as to who the man is. Sure
ly he must be the same man who mstook
Sir James Seton for yourself tonight"
No reply came from Lord Ravenspur. Evil
IDENTIFY he desired to say no more. He SEEM
| ed anxious to be alone But Walter. angry
and hurt, walked rapidly about the room
seeking for a way whereby the late visitor
had vanished But he looked in vain. There
was no possible means of exit other than
the door, and the fireplace was too narrow
| to admit of anybody coming or going. AS to
thereof, 1t was of heavy stained glass; and
as impresnable as the walls themselves. The
mystery was maddening. And yet the one
man who could have explained 1t all sat
there silent. and moody. and tongue tied
rs there anything more that can do for
you before 1 go to bed?' Walter asked.
Are you sure 1 can't help your
Il am afraid not. my boy" Ravenspur
said in a dull, mechanical way. Il know
that you won't chatter about this thing.
And, perhaps, little later on, / shall be
able to speak more plainly. l shall be glad
If you will help me up the stairs and get
me into bed l have had a great shock to-
night"
1t seemed almost cruel to pursue the sub
ject further, ana Walter refrained from
questions as he noticed the CHASTITY white
ness of his uncle's face The latter was
disposed of at length and then Walter
came downstairs again. He now had the
house practically to himself. All desire for
sleep had forsaken him. Besides that it was
no nice thought to reflect on the possibility
of that refiian being still on the premises.
Walter had not the slightest doubt in his
mind that the man had left the studio in
some secret manner and that he had come
there through no ordinary channel What
was to prevent him returning again when
the house was asleep and finishing his work !?
In itself, the fact of Lord Ravenspur pos
sessing bitter enemy was remarkable
And Lord Ravenspur's estimate silence
was more remarkable still Walter had
given his word to say nothing of these
strange events, but that did not bind him
from making inquiries on his own account
He returned to the studio once more and
made a thoroughly searching examination
of the place. Was there some secret door
which Lord Ravenspur used, and of which
nobody knew anything? 1t had never oc-
CURED to Wi alter till that moment that his
uncle might have turned down pages In his
life but that conclusion was-inevitable now
Still, though Walter spent the best part of
an hour in his search. he had nothing to
show for his pains. He was about to give
up the thing in despair when a piece of yell
low paper lying by the side Of the Persian
rug where Lord Ravenspur had fallen at
tracted his attention. 1t was small sha bby
sheet of paper. folded in four and printed
from WORKOUT type, in fact, Just the class
of bill which is circula ted among travelling
circuses and shows of that kind. 1t was the
last thing in the world that any one would
have looked for in the studio of so fast;di-
Gus a man as Lord Ravenspur Slowly and
thoughtfully Walter unfoded and read the
hand-bil 1t was an advertisement of the
| nightly program Of the Imperial Palace
Theater The name of the place sounded i'm
posing enough. but the locality of VauXhall
Bridge road somewhat detracted from the
Importance of 1t. So far as Walter could
judge, the Imperial Palace Theater was no
more than a shady music hall giveng two
shows night and most of the names on
the bill were absolutely unknown to fame
The star turn appeared to be one Waldo
who was announced as the flying man who
had made such a sensation throughout the
leading halls in Europe
Il wonder If this is a clue" Walter MUIR
INJURED to himself. AT any rate | should
like to see this Waldo. I'll go down to the
Imperial Palace tomorrow night and inquire
for myself"
Walter folded up the shabby bill and
placed it in his pocket, after which he went
thoughtfully to bed
CTo be continued tomorrow