Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1910-09-15
CHAPTER vi.

Up at the Desterle house Johnny
Johnson was alternately pulling his
front hair and pinching his palms to
keep awake. Johnny. with his usual
audacity, had ensconced himself for
the night in the death chamber. Two |
Associated Press men were with him;
two reporters from others papers and
three detectives. The Associated
Press Men wanted to smoke, but John
ny rebelled against either illumination
or smoking
II there's anybody comm back
here" he contended. IF he or she
smells smoke or sees lights, thers'll be
no comm"
Considering tho ashes and cigar
cite stubs that we found on the noor,"
suggested the first Associated Press
Man. the only way to invoke the
through smoke"
What do we want OF her ghost"
sneered Johnny. This Is no seance.
What we want is the fellow who made
the ghost"
Tho bivouac was nerve ra cking. The
old house apparently had a bounteous
rodent population and the little beasts
scampered back and forth in the walls
with spooky gambols. Every window
in the house ratified, and the pail OF
emptiness that always hangs heavily
in q deserted human hsbitation rested
"a dead weight-in the air.
Two blocks distant the elevated
trains rumbled DULY by, and the
morning parade OF the milk wagons
had not yet begun-to touch the Wis
ions of the night with the realities of
the day.
This is too much for mo-" cried one
of the detectives. Let get out and
take a breath"
The little group, all except Johnny,
arose with alacrity. He stopped alone
in the old house. and tried to keep his
eyes open and, failing, wondered why
| he didn't advertise the newspaper bust
ness a cure for insomnia and accrue
cash thereby, when
Whats that?" asked Johnny Of
himself. He heard with joyous ears
a scraping and sliding In the closet OPP
posite. whore he had picked up the
| gold and amethyst garter. 1t sounded
as II the Dashboard were being forci-
bly, removed. or. rather, as If someone
were endeavoring to slide 1t back. and
as II the board were sticking in an un-
| accustomed and stubborn fashion.
Johnny looked for a convenient cor
ner in which to duck. He couldn't At
| into the 1~swers of the chiffonier or
| the bureau, and the bed stripped of
| all its coverings, even of the mattress
and pillows, was fiat against the wall
| On a chance Johnny crawled beneath
1t. with one eye fixed steadily upon the
closet door.
He had not long to wait Stealthily
the door opened. and through the crack
came a CLEAN OF a pocket electric
| fiashlight. The man who was holding
the light whirled 1t hastily around the
| room, scanning 1t closely as II to make
sure he was unobserved.
| oh" groaned Johnny. and skunk
closer into the corner, rolling himself
still more tightly into ball, and pull
| ing his coat up over his fiery head. The
intruder walked over to the bureau
drawers and began to search hurried
| ly. They were empty, and at this dis
covery in each successive drawer the
man flung them shut with a gesture OF
disappointment.
The voices OF Johnny's returning
companions echoed through the CORR
doris and their footsteps sounded on the
stairway. The intruder put out his
light and started for the closet The
he passed the window Johnny distin-
guished his features clearly He must
have been at least fifty years of age. a
rather stoclSily built man, OF good APP
| pearance. with a tired face and dark
hair, thicl<ly streaSed with gray. He
| hurried into the closet and shut the
door behind him. and Johnny heard
again the struggle to slide the pane
into place.
who called, SOM" asked the fat de-
tective. Jocularly, he entered the
room. Did they leave cards for the
hull of us? Say, where is that brick
top. anyway"
Johnny, with considerable wriggline
and squirming, came out from beneath
the bed.
Funny how laundering much easier
1t is to get under a bed than out from
underneath It," he commented. rubbing
the dust from his knees.
You didn't get chased there. die
you, now7" came the question. Were
you seeing things, or what?"
'T saw enough" retorted Johnny
Guess I saw more than you did. anc
1t didn't cost anything for the vision
either. Here. Farley. let's have &
light; where's that pocket contraptior
OF yours?''
Farley brought 1t out, and Johnny
glorying in the Importance of knowing
something that the others did not. anC
reveling in ecuriosity and impa
tience of his fellows. STROBE maJestical
~ into the closet. When Johnny hat
ANYTHING tucked AWAY in his Uranium