The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-07
By MARY ROBERTS RINEHART.

| llttIo rear O1 what ldN beyond, VIII
which ] twisted and turned the knob
1t moved. but nothing seemed to hap
pen, and then ] discovered the trouble
/ pushed the knob vigorously to one
side, and the whole mantel swung loose
from the wall almost foot, revealing
a cavernous space beyond.
] took a long breath. closed the door
| from the trunk room into the hall
thank heaven. / did not lock it-and
| pulling the mantcl door wide open,
! stepped into the chimney room. | had
| time TO get hazy view of a small
| portable safe, common wooden table
aud Il chair-then the mantel door
| swung TO. and clicked behind me.
| stood quite still for a moment, IN the
| darkness. unable to comprehend what
had happened. Then ] turned and beat
| furiously at the door with my fists.
| 1t was closed and locked again, and
my fingers in the darkness slid over a
smooth wooden surface without a sign
of knob
] was furiouslv angry-at myself.
at the mantc door, at everything. |
did not fear suffocation; before the
thought had come to me | had already
seen a CLEAN of light from the two
small ventilatiug pipes IN the roof.
They supplied air, but nothing else. The
room itself was shroudcd in blackness.
sat down in the stiff backed chair
and tried TO remember how many days
ono could live without food and water.
When that grew monOtonous and rather
painful, | got UP and, according to the
time hoDorcd rule for people shut in
unknown and ink black prisons, | felt
my way arouud-it was small enOugh,
goodness knows. ] felt nothing but a
splintcry surface Of boards. and in en-
deavoring To get back into the chair,
something struck me full jn the face,
aud fell with the noise of thousand
gathered up my nerves again, | found
it had been the bulh of swinging
electric light, and that had it not been
for the accident, | might have starved
to death in an illuminated sepulchcr
I must have dozcd off | am sure
! did not faint. I was never more
composed in my life. | remember
planning, ii ] were not discovered, who
would have my things. ] knew Liddy
would want my heliotrope poplin, and
she s fright in lavender, Once or
twice | heard mice In the partitions
and so ] sat on the table. with my feet
on the chair. | imagined ] could hear
the search going on through the house,
and once some ono came into the trunk
room; ! could distinctly hear footsteps.
''In the chimney, In the chmney.'
| called with all my might, and was
rewarded by piercing Shrek from
Liddy and the slam of the trunk room
door
/ felt easier after that although the
room was oppresslvcly hot and cncr-
waiting. ! had no doubt the search for
me would now come in the right direc.
ton, and after a little, I dropped into
a doze. How long ] slept | do not
know
II must have been several hours. for
I had been tired from a busy day, aud
] wakencd stiff from my awkward po.
sitlon, ! could not remember where
] WAS for few minutes, and my head
felt heavy and conCcstcd. Gradually ]
reused TO my surroundings, and 10 the
fact that-ip spite Of the ventilators
the AR was bad and growing worse.
was breathing long, gaSplng rcSpira-
tlons, and my face was damp and clam
my. must have been there long
time, and the scarchers were probably
hunting outside the house. dredging
the creek. or beating thc woodland !
knew that another hour or two would
find nc unconscious. aud with my I'M
ability TO cry out would 90 my only
chance Of rescue. IT. was the combiua.
ton of bad air and heat, probably, for
some inadequate ventilation was com
ing through the pipes. ! tried 10 re.
tain my consciousness by walking the
length Of the room and back, over and
over, bur had not the strength TO
keep it up. so I sat down on the table
again, my back against tho wall
The house was very still. Once my
straining cars seemed to catch n foot
fall beneath me. possibly in my own
room ] CROPPED for the chair from the
table and pounded with il rrautically
on The floor. But nothing happened;
realized bitterly that if The sound was
heard at all, no doubt it was classcd
with the ether rapPings that had so
alarmed MS recently.
1t was impossible TO Judge the eight
Of time. I measured five minutes hv
counting my pulse, allowing scycnty-two
beats to the minute But IL took ctcr-
mites. and toward the last ! found it
hard TO count; my head was confused.
And thcn-l heard sounds from be-
low me, in the house. There was a pc.
cuiar throhhiug, Vibrating noise thot
felt rather than heard. much like
the pulslug beat of fire engines IN the
city For ono awful moment | thonght
the house was on fire, and every drop
of blood i'm my body gathered around
my heart; then | knew. Ii was the
engine Of the automobile. and HaIsry
had come back. Hope Sprang up afrcsh.
IaIscyjs clear head and Gertrude : IN
tcria and three detectives had failed
IN.
After a time ! thought | had been
right. There was certainly something
going on down below; doors were slam
ming, people were hUrrying through the
halls. and certain high notes Of cy-
cited voices penetrated to me shriIly.
| hoped they were coming closer. but
after a time the sounds died away be
low. and I was left TO tho silence and
heat. to tho weight of tho darkness, 10
the oppression of walls that seemed TO
close in on me and stifIc me,
The first warming I had was n
stcalthy fumbling at the lock of the
mantcl door With my month open 10
scream. I stopped. Perhaps the siiua-
ton had rendered me acute perhaps IL
was instructive. Whatever il was,
sal without moving, and some one out
side, in absolute Stiffness ran his FIN
gers over the carving Of the mautel
aud--found the panel.
Now the sounds below rcdoublcd F,
from The clattcr and iurrmg | knew
that several people were running up
the stairs. and as the sounds Ip-
preached. ! could even hear what they