The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-15
(Continued.)

Altenburg was still alive and Grim bleshaw satisfied himself by a super ficial examination that there was no danger in delaying the operation on the crushed bone, which was made almost impossible at this moment by the lack of sufficient light. The my stery of the occupancy of the house isolated as he was. was to him of more instant importance than aught else, and he immediately began a thorough examination of the room he was in to the end of satisfying him. self that the men. of whose presence he had had such startling evidence and who must be the perpetrators of this outrage. were actually gone.
 He came at once upon evidence that the room had already been searched with a ninuteness that had taken no little time. Drawers were open and their contents laid upon the floor. Even the strips of rag carpet that lay between the door and the bed. and the bed and fireplace, had been pulled aside Under the bed itself. where he looked with the thought that some one might still be concealed. he found evil dence of search.
 Before he went downstairs again he once more tried the door of the op- posite room only to find it still locked. He also listened for some little time, but did not catch again the sounds which he heard beyond the door when he first came. He made certain also that the door of the lower room was fastened, and then had to face the question of closing and locking the front door. It seemed to him. on that calm consideration he had not before given it. more apt to be source or menace than escape. and therefore ne closed it before passing into the room with the secretary. This, too. showed evidence of the thorough work of the intruders. One drawer in particular had evidently been broken open by the exercise of considerable force.
 Near the pool of blood on the floor lay heavy iron ruler. which showed clearly by the blood stains and num- ber of white hairs that adhered to it that it was the weapon with which the crime had been committed. Under standing fully that even the position in which this ruler had fallen from the murderer's hand might be of inn portance he was at pains not to touch or move it.
 Again in the Kitchen the question of securing assistance became press ing. He was absolutely ignorant of the whereabouts of Barber, and he dared not leave the house to ascertain The injury to the telephone proved purpose to cut off. for considerable time at least, all chance for help. and while this seemed inconsistent with the summons to himself. it stood out toe clearly to be ignored. The unraveline of the mystery would have to be de ferred, but even now it was a passing perplexity.
 Up to this moment he had forgot entirely the woman servant She was likely to be in bed somewhere. but the question of importance was, where: She now seemed his one means of ob- taining aid Back of the kitchen was a narrow passage. which appeared te lead te buttery. and from this pas sage he discovered a steep stair. which ran to a loft above the kitchen. Ii must be here that the woman slept. His foot was on the stair when from the direction of the road arose loud clamor of shouting and what seemed like an attempt at singing. a babe that was apparently approaching the house.
 He hurried back to the kitchen There the shouting sounded still loud CT, but remained incoherent. He threw open the door, and as he did so man staggered out of the darkness, made 3 lunge for the door. missed it and tried again. This time he bolted through struck his foot on the low sill and fell into the kitchen at full length. Tc his disgust Griinbleshaw found that he had on his hands a drunken Can adian. so drunk, in fact. that he die not stir from the spot where he fell but drifted off at once into loud snoring sleep.
 While he was considering the situa- tion from the viewpoint of this new complication, there arose the sound o! rapidly driven vehicle without. I was going in the direction of the road and he reached the door in time only to catch Barber's voice urging on ths already frantic horse. He shouted but might as well have shouted to the wind. The boy whipped the horse harder. and in a moment Grim bleshav stood silent. listening to the fast-less ening sound of the wheels.