Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-08-23

Maitland returned noiselessly b tho
door. His mouth had settled into .
hard, uayieldins, thin line: and q dan.
gerous light nickered In his eyeA
Temporarily the idler had seepped
! aside. giving place 10 the resi- AAn
that was Maitland--thc man ready 20
fight for his own, naked hands against
firearms, II It. need DO. True. he had
but to step into the gunroom to ma
weapons In plenty; but these must Do
then loaded to be Of service. ana
precious moments wasted In the pro-
cess-moments In which the burglar
might gain access to and make on
with his booty.
Maitland had no notion whatever OF
permitting anything Of the sort TO
occur. He counted upon taking MS
enemy unawares. difficult as he DO
lieved such feat would be. In the
case Of u professional cracksman.
Down the hallway he CROPPED his way
to the library door. his fingers ae
length encountering Its panels: II was
closed, doubtless secured upon the In
side: the slightest movement OF the
handle was calculated to alarm the
housebreaker. Maitland paused. DELHI
Grating another aud better plan. hav.
INK In mind = short passageway con-
Meeting library and smoking room. In
the library itself heavy tapestry cur
tanned its opening. while an equally
heavy portiere took the place OF door
To- nattral xYPf1aP
Of things q burglar would overlook
this.
Inch by inch the young man edged
into the smoking room, the door 10
which providentially stood Enclosed.
Once within. II was but . moments
work to feel his way to the velvet
folds and draw them aside. fortunately
without rafting the brass rings from
which the curtain depended. And then
| Maitland was In the passage, acutely
on the alert. recognizing from the con-
tinued click Of metal that his antngon.
! ist.to-be was still at his diflicult task.
Inch by inch-there was the tapestry!
Very gently the householder pushed 1t
| aside. ~
An insidious aroma of scorching var.
nish (the DARK lantern) penetrated the
passage while he stood on its thresh-
| old, feeling for the electric light
switch. Unhappily he missed this at
| the first cast, and-heard from within
a quick. deep hiss Of breath. Some
thing had put the burglar on guard.
[ Another instant wasted. and It
would be- too late. The young man
had to chance It. And he did. without
further hesitation stepping boldly into
the danger zone. at the same time
making one final. desperate pass at the
spot where the switch should have
been-aud missing II. On the instant
there came q click Of different cali
Der from those that had preceded It.
A revolver had been cooked. some
where there in the blank darkness.
| Maitland knew enough not to move.
In another respect the warning came
too late; his fingers had found the
switch at last. and automatically had
| turned II.
The glare was binding. momsatari-
ly; but the fash and report for which
Maitland waited did not come. When
his eyes had adjusted themselves 70
the sBddenly altered conditions. he
saw, directly before him and some six
feet distant. a woman's slight Agure,
dark cloaked. resolute upon its t~o
feet, head framed In veiiinS. features
effectually disguised In q motor mask
whose round. staring goggles shooe
blankly In the warm white light
On her part. she seemed to recog-
nize him instantaneously. On his. .
To be Continued Next Sunday)