The Washington times., 1909-07-24

by the single smoky lantern which
illuminated il, was nicely long mar
row, tunnel-like cnamber with a
heavy iron bound doeg al either end.
The bTick-aTChed walls and ceiling
were damp and diScolored with moist
ure. and were, strangely enough
without any effort at that bizarre dec
Grafton in which the Oriental soul
delights. The floor was troddeu earth,
except at the one point where rested
the iron cover to the manhole, and
this was surrounded by q Few rows
of brick.
From the general appearance of the
place, Tom concluded that Il was not
subLellar as he mad thought at nrSt,
but an underground passaEeWay. con
Meeting two separate houses, PROBABLY
across the street from ole another, and
thus atfOrding an eTsy retreat for the
members If hard pressed IN either one
of their retreats.
These. however, 'v.Ue all matters of
future deduction, fer The present his at
tention was held wholly BY the figure
of the leader. who presented striking,
not to say, awe-iuspiriIig sight TO his
awakening eyes.
The mau was naturally tall. but his
height was aCcentuaLed 81 dark, flow
ing gown embroidered with represents
tons of deaths heads, which hung
loosely from his shoulders
To add to his singular appearance he
wore over his head hOOdlike mask
similar to those delineated in pictures
of the shostly attendants of the Spanish
inouisitiOn. but blazODHd across the
face in this case with the representation
of a human skull.
From behind The hollow eve sockets
Tom could see pair or dark eyes bent
upon him in sarcastic moclSery, the con-
iIpnctton giving en- effect Weirdiy and
indescTibably repulsive.
For several moments the leader stood
thus regarding his prisoner in silence
from behind his mask, but presently he
embarked upon a brief cateChism by
which he was able to elicit the main
facts concerning the others name and
occupation and the reasons for his fire.
Quent excursions 20 Chinatown.
Tom was quite willing to lie II he
had believed it would have helped his
case, but the truth concerning himself
was so Innocent and free from blame
that he decided 20 stick 10 IT, and re
turned an absolutely straight answer to
every question.
Still. in the end he could not tell
whether he had done Nsis1iy. or not
The dark eyes behind the mssK gave
no indication Of what tier owner
might be thinking. Their Expression
Of cold, cynical mockery roaIained un-
changed.
The leader paused as though to re-
fleet upon what he had discovered, then
stepping over to the manhole lifted the
cover.
Look down. ne babe, holding the
lantern SO that Moore could gaze into
the gloomy depths and see the swift
rush of the dark current below
"A man thrown in there" observed
the leader thOughtfully, doesn't last
long; the rats attend TO that" He
laughed harshly, and added:
Il don't suppose there is as much as
a square inch left by this line Of the
old dog we tossed in just now"
Tom had heard Of the ferocity of the
rats infesting the New York sewers,
and at this callOus presentment drew
back with an Involuntary ST dCder.
'Squeamish, eA?' sacred ire other
Look again, and think Of the fate Of
the man tossed in there alive, while
bound hand and foot with picture wire
Lucky he is, I say, if he browns at
once; for they tell me that a short
distance below here IS a sharp bend
where a body is almost certain to
lodge and that the rats are always
waiting there In large numbers"
Moore uttered An uncomfortable eX-
clamation Of honor.
Good heavens. man." he cried, ARE
you a human being or a gloating hend?
In mercy's name, why do you tell these
awful things TO me?'
Why repeated the other. BE
. cause I want you TO be prepared. You
must understand that no man brought
70 this room in your plight has ever
left il alive"
He pointed down to the open man
hole. They have al gone the same
wayl"