The Washington herald., 1910-11-19

ion" She thought of another girl per-
haps winning his love and wiping out
her memory. Her eyes filled with sud-
den tears
1T is wrong and selfish of me TO feel
Ike that" she murmured. Il love him,
and ought 20 wish him 90 be happy for
il is my own fault for having been so
weak as TO be lured into that awful
marriage
Moved by sudden impulse she went
10 her box, and, unlocking ii. drew out
the miniature she had guarded so well,
and which she had intended 10 give to
Sir Douglas when she last saw him. buI
had forgotten to do so. She found the
back where the mysterious instructions
were. and glanced at them again.
"One-two -three--four,' she read slow
Is. "Oh, | wish ! could fathom the Sc
cret. The luck of Luck House seems al
most too we'll hidden ever to be discOV-
cred, and yet / feel sure now that the
people who failed before did so because
they overlooked something that perhaps
was quite simple. 1t is always the SIM
plest thing that puzzles US most"
Then she glanced onee more at the few
lines under the figure:
When at midnight
The is highest.
Then seek tie aie
Where thy lack lest.
What does il mean7" she muFmured.
THE moon shines everywhere when IL is
highest. I suppose that really means
when 1t is FULL
She went 10 the window and dte%
aside the blind. Il was nearly four weeks
since the day that Stephen Usher and
! fu T.gn L.
and she remembered that there had been
full moon the night after AS she look.
| ed out of the window she saw that there
was a moon, full and luminous, and II
| seemed TO be Just above the tower in the
maZe-at least. 1t was In that direction
IL appeared TO be.
AS she looked. a sudden thought came
10 Rosemary, a thought that took away
| her breath and made her literally pant
with excitement. The tower-that quaint
| Out-of-the-way place where a secret
could so easily be held fast for years
without any one guessing it, The tower
upon whose roof the moon was now
doubtless pouring her soft light
Il wonder II / dare" Rosemary muir
INJURED. 1T might, of course, be all non
sense. but no harm viii come by my 60
ing and just looking about won't 60
| in, of course" she mused but the way
/ TO this hidden treasure would be outside
not inside, where those animals are that
| Keziah spoke Of"
Ten minutes later she had left the
house, and was walking with swift steps
toward the maze. where she had not
| been since the day when Sir Douglas had
almost surprised her there. The moon
| made everything look so white and
|
nervously, though her nerves were stung
10 such a pitch Of excitement that she
| would not have turned back for any
thing on earth. The knowledge that she
would perhaps help the man she loved
made her feel she could risk anything
| for his sake.
When she reached the maze she found
the little wooden gate unlocked, and she
/ passed through, glad TO find the first pos
sbie barrier out of the way As she
went in and out OF the winding maze
| she could not overcome a sensation Of
| fear. II was here where she had heard
| those awful cries and where she had
watched her lover come out and wipe
the sweat of some inward agony of his
| face.
When she drew near TO the tower she
/ glanced about quickly. The moon wal
/ JUS, above, bright and light az the sun
| and Rosemary wondered where she would
! find her first ciew 10 the secret. The
| tower had clear space OF about ter
| yards all round il, and down the steps
/ that led up into the tower there were
| four big boxes that had plants in then
| in the summer. but which now contained
nothing except hare branches.
Rosemary walked round the tower once
I -
/ where with her hands. even going doWT
| on her knees, she could find nothing n
/ the shape or form Of any secret hiding
| place.
Il suppose I was wrong" she murnur
/ ed. Il must try again some other time
! only / felt sure that II must be some
where near the tower. II is Just the sor-
| Of place in which should imagine 4
secret to be hidden TO- centuries"
/ Suddenly she stumbled and fell 10 ths
| ground displacing. as she did so. one
| OF the boxes in front OF the tower She
/ rose 10 her feet, an stepped down 10 pull
/ the box into its place. but she could no
/ move il. and then she saw that a small
| ring OF iron had been pulled up by III,
| forcing back OF the box
How od1, she murmuTed. This
| looks almost as though the box had beer
moved before, I wonder what it means
| Surely no one can be interfering Will
| them without reason.
The next moment she had uttered ar
/ exclamation. The box that had moved
was the fourth OF the row. and as she
| glanced at the iron ring in the ground
| an Idea seized her Il at perhaps she had
| accidentally stumbled upon a secret
If not the secret. She stopped down and
! pulled with all her strength, and at last
/ the iron plate beneath the ring began
/ 10 show signs OF yielding to the pressure
| put upon il, for suddenly it gave way
| and Rosemary found herself gazing down
/ into what appeared TO be stone stair
case leading into the bowels of the earth
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW.
| Copyright. 1909 By The North American COMPANY