Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-12-16
cHAPTER I1-lcontinued.l

I promised to be very good; and then
laughing together. we chatted Of the
old days In Greece and Turkey, Of our
voyages to South America, and of sun
ny days In Spain. I had never seer
him brighter. When we went to beo
he kissed me twice and then said such
an extraordinary thing that l could
not help but remember 1t.
"Okyada and i will be working late
in the observatory" he said; there
may be n or two men about assisting
us. H)n't be afraid If your hear a
noise, Harriet. You will know it's all
right and that / am ware Of 1t"
/ did not press him at the moment,
but In my room / thought much
upon 1t all and was quite unable TO
sleep.
DaapdenA. az many knew, Is an old
Tudor mansion. My own rooms are
In the right-hand wing, and beyond is
the open park which runs right down
to the Bury road. Let me ask anyone
what my feelings must have been,
when, CHANGING to look over the gar
den at / o'clock that morning, / saw
as plainly as my eyes have ever seen,
the figures OF three men c%rouching be-
meath the wall.
AS IL TO magnify my fears, there
was the light Of our observatory shin
ing brightly across the park to tell
me plainly hat my brother was still
at work and that the invaluable Oky-
ada must be with him.
Judge, then, In what a dilemma I
found myself. My brother away at the
observatory, half a mile at least from
the manor! two old servants for my
bodyguardi a lonely house and strange
men seeking to enter 1t. Driven this
way and that by my thoughts. at first
! said that I would take Fan at his
49, - a a. III ill.,
q true coward in my bed. This | would
have done IL the doing OF it had not
been unsupportable. I could not lie.
My heart was beating so. every sound
so distressed me that l arose In des-
peration and, putting on my dressing
gown with trembling fingers, determ-
ined to wake UP my maid. Shall / ever
forget 1t, If / live q hundred years?
The dark landing when I opened nay
bedroom door. These could not af-
fright me. 1t was the whisper of voices
I heard below; the soft tread OF feet
upon velvet pile. All, those sounds I
shall ever rememberi
The men had entered the house, they
were coming upstairs. IL ! crossed the
dark landing to my maids room. as
suredly I should meet them. Step by
step / heard the thieves creeping up
stairs. Then I do believe / half
swooned with terror.
They were coming up. step by step,
TO visit n rob my brothers safe,
kept In the dressing room, where the
Japanese. Oyada, usually slept. This
much even my agitated mind i'm
pressed upon me. And you may i'm
agine my feelings when L say that the
rays Of the dark lanterns they carried
were turned upon the very door OF my
bedroom, which I had just hut behind
me.
Had they been diverted a hands
breadth to the right. they would have
discovered me. standing with my back
TO the wall, a helpless and, / do pro-
test, a pitiable figure. / heard them
shnt the door and lock IL behind them.
DTsaanS no 4 /
crossed the landing silently and en-
tered my maids DOR She heard me
with as little concern astif 1 nad been
ordering her to go shopping into Cam
bridge.
"The masters away in the park"
she said. Then we must fetch him,
mistress. TIL go myself. DO you wait
here with me until / am dressed.
I dreaded being left alone.
why, that's all right" she ex-
claimed Quite cheerily. It'll go and
call williams. They'll be off fast
enough, mistress, IL they get the di-
Almonds. Now, do you just sit here
quietly and think nothing at all about
II. TIL be there and back like mas
ter's motor car.
when she had gone, 7 locked the
door and sat all alon In the dark
ness praying. I make sure now that
Ii was not truly more than five min
utes when a terrible cry, something
SO inhuman, so dreadful as to be be-
yond all my experience. ran out
through the house and was repeated
80 ~xw~t x..Akf AtNA xrN~x a-A
seemed to echo. Unlocking the door,
I ran out to the landing calling, Fan!
Fan! for Gods sake. tell me what has
happenedI"
He answered me al once. my dear
brother. standing at the door of his
dressing room. / paeped into tine room
behind him. and then | saw something
| which he could not hide from me. A
man lay full length upon the floor, ap-
! ~parentfyf dead. BY his side there knelt
the japanese Okyada, who chafed the
! limbs OF the sufferer. Fan shut the
| door and. leading me away. he tried
/ to tell me what ii was:
my dear Harriet, you see what
comes OF touching scientific imple-
ments. Here's a man who wanted to
| look inside my SAFE. He quite forgot
that, the door OF 1t is connected up TO
a very powerful electric current. Don't
be alarmed. but go back TO your bed,
Did I no tell you that there would be
strange men about?"
"Ean," I said, "for PHYS sake, let
me know the truth. There were three
men altogether. l saw them in the
garden; they passed me on the stairs
They were robbers. Fan; you cannot
hide il from me"
you poor little Harriet. he said
kissing me, ''of course they were rob-
bers. / have been expecting them for
"a week or more. Did I tell you / should
be in the observatory? That was fool
ish Of me-
But there was q light there, dear
"Ah, yes, ! wished my guests &c
think me star-gazing. Two OF them are
now returning to London as fast as
their motor car can carry them. The
other will remain with us TO recuper-
( ate"
eEan,s / said, you are hiding some-
thing from me-"
MY lear sister" he replied. docs q
man In the dark hide anything from
anybody? When I know. you shall be
the first to hear. Believe me, this IL no
common burglary or I would have act
ed very differently. These are deer
secrets. I may nave to leave you to
search for them"
His words astonished me very much,
MY own agitation could not measure