Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1909-07-01
v.

w arm. Now, when a pause
q came in the growing of the knocker,
q she made him hear her voice. and it
q was broken and vibrant with a threat
u Of hysteria. "Oh, what can it mean?"
"a II don't know" he laid a hand re-
q assuringly owe that which trembled
& on his forearm. THE police possibly"
u police" she iterated, aghast. "What
"a makes you think"-
q "a man tried to stop me at the door,"
N he answered quickly. 81 got in before
"a he could. When he tried the knocker
n a bobby came along and stopped him.
i'll The latter may have been watching
81 the house since then. It'd be only his
81 duty to keep an eye OIL it, and heaven
81 knows we raised a racket, coming
~ head first down those stairs! Now we
RI are up against it." he added brightly.
NJ But the girl was Juggling at his hand.
ID Come" she begged breathlessly.
aN Come! There is a way! Before they
S break i'm
VI But this manw Kirkwood hung
M back. troubled.
M "They-the ~police-are sure to find
sa and care for him."
s# $50 they WILL" he chuckled. "And
ss serve him right! He'd have choked
NJ me to death, with all the good will in
81 the worldu."
~ "Oh, do hurry!'
@ Turning, she sped light footed down
Ss the staircase to the lower hall. he at
@8 her elbow. Here the uproar was loud.
&&@ est, deep enough to drown whatever
S sounds might have been made by two
M pairs of flying feet. Flo all that, they
ss fed on tiptoe, stealthily, guilty shad.
sa oWs in the night, and at the newell post
swung back into the unbroken black.
ness which shrouded the Businesses
g& backward of the dwelling. A sudden
access Of fury on the part of the
hill alarmist at the knocker spurred them
aS on with quaking hearts. In half a
l# dozen strides Kfrkwood. guided only
#s by instinct and the frou-frou of the
aS girls skirts as she ran invisible before
him, stumbled on the uppermost steps
## of a steep staircase. Only a hand rail
hi saved him, and that at the last mo-
ss ment. He stopped short, shocked into
asA caution. From below came a contrite
whisper: "I'm so sorry! I should have
A warned you"
@ He pulled himself together, glarina
ga wildly at nothing. tits all right"
You're not hurt, truly? Oh, dc
come quickly"
a@ She waited for him at the bottom OF
8 The fight-happily for him, for he was
ss all at sea.
s "Here-your hand-let me guide you
sN5 This darkness is dreadful"
ss# He found her hand somehow and
tucked his into it confdingly and not
an uncertain thrill of salts
Faction.
s Gomez" she painted. Come! If
they break in
sg S1fed by apprehension, her voice
Failed her.
s# They went forward, now less impet-
ss1nously, for it was very black and the
sknocker had fallen still.
8 mo fear Of that" he remarked after
time. "They wouldn't dare break
IN"
Nh A futtering whisper answered him:
III don't know. We dare risk moth
Ing"
sI They seemed to explore, to pene-
a4rate, acres of Iubyrinthine chambers
and passages. delving deep into the
bowels of the earth. like rabbits bur-
flowing in a warren, bounded by bea-
giles.
M Above stairs the hush continued I'M
Isbroken, as if the dumb genius OF the
had cast q spell Of silence on
the knocker or else, outraged, had
ssmitten the noisy disturber with a
sM The girl seemed to know her way,
SNNhether guided by familiarity OF ny
SMntuition, she led on without heslta-
aaion, Kirkwood laundering in her
etwee confusion of impression
and dawning dismay, conscious OF but
#ADne tangible thing, to which he chung
8As to his hope of salyation-those firm,
sfriendly fingers that clasped his own.
~ 1t was as if they wandered on for
an hour. Probably from start to fin
3sh their flight took up three minutes
no more. Eventually the girl stop
bed, releasing his hand. He could hear
Ter ]syncopated breathing before him
s Ind gathered that something was
erong. He took a step forward.
What is it?'
SHz# Her full voice broke out of the OBJ
purity startlingly close in his very ear.
The door-the bolts-I can't bulge
8a hem"
Let me"
He pressed forward, brushing her
boulder. She did not draw away, but
1llingly yielded place to his hands at
pe ~fastenings, and what had proved
apostolic to her to his strong fingers
as a matter Of comparative ease.
et' not entirely consciously, he was
pt quick. AS he tugged at the bolts
was p%oignantly sensitive to the
ppue warmth Of her at his side. lie
puid hear her soft, dry sobs OF ex-
cement ana suspense p%unctuating the
net and vas frightened absolutely