Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-11-06

to shoot smoothly up into the biack
mesa, safety chains clanking beneath
the floor Hickey fumhled for the
electric light switch but, finding it, i'm
mediately shut the glare OFF again and
left the car in darkness.
Safer he explained. sententious
"Anisty II shoot, nd they says he
shoots straight"
Floor after floor in ghostly straits
slipped silently down before theil
eyes. Halfway to the top. approx
mately, Hickey's voice rang sharply
in the volunteer operators ear.
stop er! Hold 'er steady. T'other's
comm down"
Maitland oheyed, managing the cal
with greater ease and less jerkily as
he began to understand the principle
Of the lever. The cage paused in the
black shaft, and he looked upward
Down the third shaft over, the other
cage was dropping like plummet. Z
block of golden light walled in by
black filigree-work and bisected verti
cally by the black line of the guide
rail.
"Stop that there carl"
Hickey's stentorian command had
no effect; the block of light continued
to fall With undated speed.
The detective swasted no more
breath. AS the other car swept past
Maitland was shocked by report and
a. h3,,, ,oir a
his revolver.
The defamation was answered by 3
cry. scream of pain, from the lighted
csse. 1t paused on the instant, like
a bird stricken awning, some four
floors below, but at once resumed its
downward swoop.
Down. down! After emf" Hickey
beloved Il dropped one. by God!
T'other can't"
.'How many in the carr" interrupted
Maitland, opening the lever with .
firm and careful hand.
only two, samc's us. hit tn teller
what was ,runnin' it.
Steady" cautioned Maitland. de-
creasing the speed, az the car ap-
preached the lower floor.
Tht other had beaten them down;
but its arrival at the street level was
greeted by short chorus of mad yells,
q brief fusillade Of shots-perhaps
Ave in all-and the clang of the gate.
Then, like ball rebounding, the cage
swung upwards again. hurtling at full
speed.
Evidently Anisty had been received
in force which he had not bargained
for.
Maitland instinctively reversed the
lever and sent his own car upward
again. slowly, waiting for the other to
overtake it. Peering down through
the iron lattice-work he could indis-
tinctly observe the growing cube OF
light, with dark shape lying huddled
in one corner of the floor. A second
figure, rapidly taking shape as Anisty's,
stood by the controller. braced against
the side of the car, one hand on the
lever, the other posing a shinins
thing, the fesh-colored oval Of his face
turned upwards in a supposititious at.
tempt to discern the location of the
dark car.
Hickey, by firing prematurely, lent
him adventurous aid. The criminal re-
piled with spirit, aiming at the fash,
his bullet scattering against the back
wall of the shaft. Hickey's next bullet
rang with a bell-like note against the
metal-work, Anisty's presumably went
wide-though Maitland could have
sworn he felt the cold kiss of its
breath upon his cheek. And the lighted
cage rocked past and up.
Maitland needed no admonition to
pursue; his blood was up, his heart
singing with the lust of the man-hunt.
Yet Anisty was rapidly leaving them.
his car soaring at an appalling pace.
Towards the top he evidently made
some attempt to slow up, but either
he was ignorant of the management of
the lever, or else the thing had got
beyond control. The cage rammed
the buffers with a crash that echoed
through the sounding halls like peal
of thunder-claps; it was instantane-
ously plunged into darkness. There
followed splintering and rending
sound, and Maitland, heart in mouth,
could make out dimly dark, falling
shadow in the further shaft. Yet ere
1t had descended score of feet the
safety-clutch acted and. with a third
tremendous jar. shaking the building.
the car halted.
(To Be Continued.)