The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-07-30

ing the barrel part of his hot-air
cabinet, and yelling for a doctor?
Bella came to a dead stop on
the upper step, with her mouth
open. She looked at Jim. at the
inadequate barrel, and from them
she looked at me. Then she began
to laugh, one of her hysterical
giggles, and she turned and went
down again. AS Jim and / stared
at each other we could hear her
gurgling down the hall below,
She had violent Mysteries for all
hour, with Anne rubbing her fore
head and Aunt Selma burning a
feather out of the feather buster
under her nose. Only Jim and
understood. and we did not tell.
Luckily, the next thing that oc-
Cured drove Bella and her nerves
from everybody's mind.
At seven o'clock, when Bella
had dropped asleep and everybody
else was dressed for dinner, Aunt
Selma discovered that the house
was cold, and ordered Dial to the
furnace.
1t was Dal's day at the furnace;
Flanagan had been relieved of
that part of the work after twice
setting fire to chimney.
In five minutes Dial came back
and spoke a few words to Max,
who followed him to the base
ment, and in ten minutes more
Flanagan puffed up the steps and
called Mr.. HARRISON.
l am not curious, but l knew
that something had happened
While Aunt Selma was talking
suffrage to Anne-who said she
had always been tremendously in
terested in the subject, and If wo-
men got the suffrage would they
be allowed to vote?-I slipped
back to the dining-room.
The table was laid for dinner,
but Flanagan was not in sight. /
could hear voices from somewhere.
faint voices that talked rapidly,
and after a while | located the
sounds under my feet. The men
were all in the basement, and
something must have happened.
l flew back to the basement stairs,
to NEE Mr.. HARRISON at the foot.
He was grimy and dusty, with
streaks of coal dust over his face,
and he had been examining his
revolver. I was just in time to
see him slip it into his pocket.
What is the matter?" l de-
manded. 'Is any one hurt?"
mo one" he said cody. "We've
been cleaning out the furnace"
with a revolver! How interest
ing-and unusual!" l said dryly,
and slipped past him as he barred
the way. He was not pleased; /
heard him mutter something and
come rapidly after me, but / had
the voices as guide, and I was
not going to be turned back like
a child. The men had gathered
around low stone arch in the
furnace-room, and were looking
down short flight of steps, into
sort of vault, evidently under the
pavement. A faint light came
from a small grating above, and
there was a close, musty smell in
the air.
81 tell you 1t must have been
last night" Dallas was saying.
"Wilson and / were here before
we went to bed, and I'll swear that
hole was not there then"
''It was not there this morning,
SIR" Flanagan insisted. "It has
been made during the day."
"And it could not have been
done this afternoon" Mr.. Harbi-
son said quietly. 81 was fussing
with the telephone wire down here.
I would have heard the noise"
Something in his voice made
me look at him, and certainly his
expression was unusual. He was
watching us all intently while Dali
las pointed out to me the cause
of the excitement. From the main
floor of the furnace-room, a flight
of stone steps curmounted by an
arch led into the coal cellar, be-
meath the street. The coal cellar
was of brick, with a cement floor,
and in the left wall there gaped
an opening about three feet by
three. leading into a cavernous
void. PERFECTLY black-evidently
a similar vault belonging to the
next house.
The whole place was ghostly,
full of shadows, shivery with pos
sibilities. 1t was Mr.. HARRISON
finally who took Jim's candle and
crawled through the aperture. We
waited in dead silence, listening to
his feet crunching over the coal
beyond, watching the faint yellow
light that came through the rag
ged opening in the wall. Then he
came back and called through to
us.
''Place is locked, over here" he
said. Heavy oak door at the
head of the steps. Whoever made
that opening has done prodigious
amount of labor for nothing"
The weapon, a crowbar, lay on
the ground beside the bricks; and
he picked 1t up and balanced it on
his hand. Dallas florid face was
almost comical in his bewilder-
ment; as for Jimmy-he slammed
a piece of Stag at the furnace and
walked away. At the door he
turned around.
why don't you accuse me of