The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-12-17


not more than ten steps a few
minutes before g shadow, a sign
Of any kind, would have caused him to
hesitate and would have restrained him
even from formulating his doubts Now
he vas not in the least astonished 20
ind the door. unlocked when ne turned
the knob Logically it was far more
natural 10 md the garden gate unlocked
than the house door. The gate would
have offered no obstacle TO the burg
lars One OF them could easily have
scaled The wall and unlatched II from
within The house door, however, was
a formidable barrier. II was hardly
likely that Il had been left unlocked Tor
the night Here. indeed was myS-
terry Not even the possibility Of being
taken for burglar ana OF being
received as one restrained him now
For all that. when he heard the tap
ping Of his heels in the hail he stopped
Involuntary He searched his pockets
for match and found none Then ne
took OIL MS revolver and CROPPED on
guiding himself only BY sliding his open
hand along the cold, Ciamnlv wall Sud
denly his hand shot out into space He
thrust forward 0ne foot, then the other,
and struck an object which gave forth a
sound different from that Of his tap
ping heels STOPPING low, he fUmbled
about in the dark and felt q step and q
strip OF carpet, the velvet touch OF
wall. He Strengthened himself and
reached for The b2lustrade. The wood
crealled-
Without considering what he did
without knowing why-be climbed to the
next story instead of first exploring the
ground floor. He counted twelve steps,
came 70 little landing and felt the
wall Everywhere his hand met the
same smooth, unbrOken surface. be
continued upward and counted eleven
steps, after which he paved the air.
#H-
Now came the task Of guiding himself
and, above all, OF making his presence
known
The inmates slept more than well for
apparently no one heard his steps The
staircase had gTOaned and creaked
twenty times, but no one had called out
TO HIM Despite all his care the house
door had grated audibiy on its hinges
eye was watching him from behind
some curtain Perhaps q finger was
held in instant readiness TO press a
trigger Realizing his danger he felt
nevertheless, that after all his only
risk was bullet. IN order not to
Brighten a possible watcher he called
out
sis anyone there2"
No answer He repeated his qUes-
ION IN a louder voice:
Il anyone there2'
After a few seconds he added: Don't
be afraid"
No answer.
''They do sleep here! That makes it
al the harder for me have no desire
20 fan over something and break my
neck, simply 70 crafty a Whim-'
he thought a while. Then at the top
OF his lungs he beloved:
open The DoiiceT'
He could not restrain a smile How
did ne happen TO think Of calling pO-
Hceg' Victor Barton, constantly en-
gagged in dayinE the police department
for its bluDCeTs, was now invoking It's
police land now he laughed outright
rarely wasted 3 thought on him, nor On
burglars. for that matter At that hour
two dTOwsy officers. with their helmets
tipped back and their hands in their
pockets, were discussing, in the middle
Of a nearby street, the various COOKS
and maids Of their acquaintance In
shed, farther on. three policemen mem
hers Of the mounted squad had tied
their horses and were playing a gaulS
with the ETeaSieSL pack OF cards that
an Paris could produce The pOlice2
He ideaHZed himself into a sleeples5
guardian Of the public peace. He con
trasted himself with the men VINO We're
employed 10 maintain law ana order
What an article he would write to
morrow He chUckled as he thought
how he would expose their stupid neg
hge1Ce. He, q mere newspaper re-
porter, would teach them their calling.
Naturally = shrieking headline would
top the article
But that nnaefc word police was
nuTnur disturbed the majesty Of that
silence At first he thought the tTIck
was too obvious 10 deceive any listener
But gradually he reSal1ed his assur-
0uCe-
His eyes were growing accustomed TO
ehe gloom He began 10 distinguish OBJ
4nCtS- A few steps in front Of him he
saw q vague glImmer- BY fitting MS
head be discovered that this glimmer
vas reflected BY the floor He walked
toward IL and found that Il was a win
che closed shutters Through the Stats
ne caught a glimpse Of the garden
Farther out he saw dark strip when
was probably the boulevard he hard
y tarried to drink in the charm Of
the moonlight and OF the sky studded
with stars Nothing ciashed more with
his hot temperament and his fighting
spirit than this silence he had en-
tered this house 70 find out something,
and find out he would
He swept around IN 2 sem1circle.
cropping his way along the wall. He
came TO a door, pulled the knob toward
him with ali MS strength TO prevent
anyone from opening it within, and lit
''For Gods sake. don't fire and don't
be afraid1T
He counted three. and. receiving 10
answer, opened the door violently IN
stead OF meeting with resistance. as he
expected he fell prone, so sudden was
his entry IN a Wild effort to clutch
something and save himself he knocked
over q chair.
This. time they VIII hear me-" he
thought
But when the noise had died away
not a voice broke the silence not a
murmurs rot a whisper.
The burglars were wiser than 7 am
he thought The crib is empty and
they knew IL They took their time
and did not even trouble themselves
about locking the door after them No
wonder 7 got IN so easily"
HIS hand fell on an electric switch
he turned It a brilliant light flooded
g large room When his surprised and
blinking eyes after a second. accus-
toned themselves to the glare, they be-
held q spectacle so unexpected, SO ter
Tible that he felt his hair stand on end
He gaSped and gave a Mortified CRY
The room was in the widest disorder.
From an ODen closet piles Of linen had
been thrown out on the carpet Towels
had been torn into strips, now stained
with blood and strewn about Drawers
had been pulled out and the papers they
contained scattered On the wall near
a curtain, were the marks Of a bloody
hand and bloody fingers The mirror
over the mantei was cracked. Bits Of
broken glass shimmered on the floor
The dressing table was Uttered with
bloody linen tags A wash basin had
been overturned and the dirty red water
It contained had spattered the marble