The Lamar register., 1910-10-05
CHAPTER xxxi.-continued.

The slip had said chimney" 1t
was the only clue, and house as
large as Sunnyside was full of them.
There wRs an open fireplace in my
dressing room. but none In the bed
room. and as l lay there. looking
around. I thought of something that
made me sit up suddenly. The trunk
room. just over my head. had an open
fireplace and a brick chimney, and
yet there was nothing of the kind in
my room. ! got out of bed and ex-
amined the opposite wall closely.
There was apparently no flue. and I
knew there was none In the hall Just
beneath. The house was heated by
steam. as I have said before. In the
living room was huge open fireplace.
but It was on the other side.
Why did the trunkroom have both
q radiator and an open fireplace?
Architects were not usually cratic.
1t was not is minutes before was up
stairs. armed with a tape-measure in
lieu Of foot-rule. eager to Justify Mr..
Jamieson's opinion of my intelligence.
and firmly resolved not to tell him OF
my suspicion until ! had more than
theory to go on. The hole In the
trunkroom wall still yawned there. be-
tween the chimney and the outer wall.
j examined it again. with no new re-
suit. The space between the brick
wall and the plaster and lath one.
however. had new Significance The
hole showed only one side Of the Chin
ney. and ! determined to investigate
w In ha
side Of the mantel
had a blister on my palm when
ut last the Ratchet went through and
fell with what sounded like the report of
. gun to my overstrained nerves. sat
on n trunk. waiting to hear Liddy fly
up the stairs. with the household be-
hind her. like the tail OF a comet But
nothing happened, and with a growing
feeling Of uncanniness | set to work
enlarging the opening.
The result was absolutely nil. When
I could hold a lighted candle In the
opening I saw precisely what I had
seen on the other side OF the chimney
"A space between the true wall and
the false one. possibly seven feet long
and about three feet wide. 1t was in
no sense OF the word a secret cham
Der. and 1t was evident 1t had not
been disturbed since the house was
built. II was a supreme disappoint-
ment
II mad been Mr.. Jamieson's idea
that the hidden room, If there was
one. would be found somewhere near
the circular staircase. In fact. | knew
that he had once Investigated the en-
tire length of the clothes chute. hang
ing to a rope, with this in view. !
was reluctantly about to concede that
he had been right. when my eyes fell
on the mantel and fireplace. The lat
ted had evidently never been used I.
II was closed with a metal fire front.
and only when the front refused to
move. and investigation showed that
It was not intended to be moved. did
my spirits revive.
hurried into the next room. Yes.
sure enough, there was a similar man
tel and fireplace there. similarly
closed. In both rooms the chimney
fiue extended well out from the wall.
/ measured with the tape-line. my
hands trembling SO that I could
scarcely hold It. They extended two
feet and a half into each room. which
with the three feet of space between
the two partitions. made eight feet to
be accounted for. Eight feet in one
direction and almost seven in the 9th
er-what chimney 1t was!
But / had only located the hidden
room. I was not in 1t, and no amount
of pressing on the carving of the
wooden mantels. no search of the
floors for loose boards. none of the
customary methods availed at all.
That there was a means of entrance,
and probably a simple one, I could be
certain. But what? What would
find IL / did get in? Was the detect
i've right. and were the bonds and
money from the Traders bank there?
Or was our whole theory wrong?
Would not Paul Armstrong have taken
his booty with him? II he had not.
and IL DIR. Walker was in the secret,
he would have known how to enter
the chimney room. Then-who had
dug the other hole in the false parti-
ton?