The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-04-01
'Where7 How" She yelled voclfer.

AHt ltltHHOut,
Not out in the hall" she gasped;
"1h, Miss Rachel not out IN the
hall" trying 10 hold me back But
am large woman and l.iddy Is small
We got 10 the door, somehow and
l.iddy held brass andiron. which II
was all she could do 10 lirt, let alone
brain anybody with. | listened. and,
hearing nothing, opened the door a
little and peered into the hall II was
a black void full OF terrible sugges-
tion. and my candle only emphasized
the gloom. Liddy sQuealed and Grew
me back again, and as the door
slammed, the mirror had put on the
transom came down and hit her on
the head That completed our de
moralization. II was some time before
could persuade her she had not been
attacked from behind by burglar.
and when she found the mirror
smashed on the floor she wasn't much
better
There's going to be a death" she
walled "0h. Miss Rachel. there's 90.
Ing TO be DEATH"
There will be-" said grimly, 'if
you don't keep quiet, Liddy Allen"
And SO we sat there until morning,
wondering II the candle would last
until dawn, and arranging what trains
we could take back to town. II we had
only stuck to that decision and gone
back before Il was too late!
The sun came finally, and from my
window watched the trees along the
drive take shadowy form. gradually
lose their ghostlIke appearance, be
come gray and then green. The
Greenwood club showed itself dab
Of white against the hill across the
valley, and an early robin or two
hoped around In the dow. Not un-
I'll the mill,boy and the sun came
about the same time did | dare to
open the door into the hall and look
around. Everything was as we had
left IT, Trunks were heaped here and
there, ready for the trunk-room, and
through an end window OF stained
glass came streak OF red aud vel.
low daylight that was eminently
cheerful, The milkboy was pound.
ing somewhere below, aud the day
had begun
Thomas Johnson came amblIng up
the driNe about halfpast sfx. aud we
could hear him clatteriug ,srolIid OH
the lower tloob opening shutters y
had. to- take kiddy TO heproom' lap.
sstilirs. howeyer~-she Nas quite. sure
she would md something upcauny. au
-faef, when HE did Not having ipby
the courage OF daylight, she was actliF
ally disappointed
Well. we did not go back TO town
that day
warned Liddy not TO mention what
had happened to anybody. aud tele.
phoned to town for servants Then,
after breakfast which did more
credit TO Thomas heart than his head
! went on short tour OF inyestlga.
tion. The sounds had come from the
east wing, and not without some
qualms | began there At first found
nothing Since then have developed
my powers OF observation. but at that
time was novice. The small card.
room seemed undisturbed | looked for
footprints, which Is, ! believe, the con.
yentional thing to 10, although my
experience has been that as clews
both footprints and thumbmar are
more useful In fiction than In fact
But the stairs In that wing offered
something
At the top of the flight had been
placed tall wicker hamper, packed
with linen that had come from town
II stood 81 the edge Of ,he top step
almost barring passage, and on the
step below II was long, frest
scratch For three steps the scratch
was repeated, gradually diminishing
as II some. object had fallen. strikinl
each one. Then for four steps nothing
On the fifth step below was a rount
dent In the hard wood. That was all
and II seemed little enough. excep
that was positive the marks had no
been there the day before.
( II bore out my theory of the sound
which had been for all the world ik
< the humping Of a metallic object dow
. flight Of steps. The four steps ha
been skipped ! reasoned that an iro
bar, for instance. would do somethin
Of the sort-strike two or three step,
end down, then turn over, jumping
few stairs. and landing with thud.
Iron bars. however, do not fa
downstairs In the middle OF the nigh
alone. Coupled with the figure on tn
veranda the agency by which
climbed might be assumed But--an
here was the thing that puzzled m
most-the doors were all fastene
that morning, the windows unmoles
ed. and the particular door from tn
card room TO the veranda had a con
bination lock OF which | held the ke.
and which had not been tampere
with.
! fixed on an attempt at burglar.
as the most natural explanation "a
attempt frustrated by tho falling I
the object, whatever II wss, that ha
reused me. Two things could nc
understand: how the intruder had @
capped with everything locked, An
why he had left the small silye