, 1908-03-12

Her Brilliant Cheeks Were a DeIIaht
to the Eye.
bed, and mourned the lack OF variety
in my grandfather's library. / moved
about from shelf to shelf, taking down
one book after another, and while thus
engaged came upon a series of large
volumes extra illustrated in water col
ors Of unusual beauty. They occupied
a lower shelf. and 1 sprawled on the
floor like a boy with a new picture
book in my absorption, piling the
great volumes about me. They were
on related subjects pertaining to the
French chateaux.
In the last volume l found a sheet
lof white note paper nj larger than
my hand. a forgotten book mark, | as.
gers before | noticed the lines of a
pencil sketch on n side Of it. l car
Tried It to the table and spread 1t out.
1t was not the bit of idle penciling
1t had appeared to be at first sight. A
scale had evidently been followed Inc
the lines drawn with a ruler. With
such tribes my grandfather had no
doubt amused himself. There was a
long corridor indicated, but of this l
could make nothing. I studied 1t for
several minutes. thinking 1t might
have been a tentative sketch of some
part of the house. In turning 1t about
under the c%andelabrum 1 saw that in
several places the glaze had been
rubbed from the paper by an eraser.
and this piqued my curiosity. I
brought a magnifying glass to bear
upon the sketch. The drawing had
been made with a hard pencil and the
we'll defined imprint remained.
was able to make out the letters.
N. W. Y to Ca reference clearly
enough to points Of the compass and
a distance. The word ravine was
scrawled owe a rough outline of a
doorway or opening of some sort. and
then the phrase:
THE DOOR OF BEWILDERMENT.
Now l am rather an imaginative
tured my fancy. 1t was his efforts
to make an architect "a person who
quarrels with about their
kitchen sinks!) Of Il boy who wanted
TO be an engineer that caused me to
break with my grandfather. Fate was
busy with my affairs that night. for.
Instead Of lighting my pipe with the
little sketch l was strangely impelled
to study it seriously.
~ ~ ~,,H ~.fraA Of
the interior of Glenarm House as 1t
had appeared to me. and then | tried
TO reconcile the little sketch with ev-
cry part OF 1t.
The Door Of Bewilderment" was
the charm that held me. My curiosity
was thoroughly aroused as to the hid
den corners of the queer old house,
round which the wind shrieked tor
mentingly. / went to my room. put
on my corduroy coat. took a candle
and went below. One O'Clock In the
morning is not the most cheering
hour for exploring the dark recesses
OF a strange house, but | had resolved
TO ave q look at the ravine opening
and determine, II possible, whether 1t
bore any relation 10 THE % of Be
Wtlderment."
All was quiet In the great cellar
only here and there an area window
ratified dolorously. | carried a tape
line with me and made measurements
OF the length and depth of the corri'
dor and of the chambers that were set
on from 1t. These figures / entered In
my notebook for further use, and sat
down on an empty nail key to reflect
The place was certainly substantial;
Tue candle at my feet burned steadily
with no hint of a draft; but ! saw no
solution of my problem. l was losing
sleep for nothing; my grandfather's
sketch was meaningless, and / rose
aud picked up my candle, yawning.
fhen a curious thing happened. The
candle, whose thin fame had risen I'M
HsVeringly, %sputtered and went out as
d sudden gust swept the corridor.
! had left nothing open behind me,
out some one had gained ingress to
.ne cellar by an opening of which l
Knew nothing.