The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-08-11
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WLlENAMANMARRES
1henoafomwhlh the ply SEvENDNSwaS made
BYMARY ROBERTS RINEflART
Author d nEORllNl STARAH.'' TE MANN LOwFHIh
opvyrisht, 1909, TAs Bobns- Merfsa carspazy

around her. She saw the kettle at
once.
What are you doing with boiling
water on the fioor?" she said TO me,
with her returning voice. Don't YOU
now YOU will spoil the floor" The
ruling passion was strong with Aunt
Selma. as usual.
could not find out the trouble
from any one people appeared and
disappeared carrying strange arti-
cles. Anne with a rope, Dial with his
Ratchet, Bella and the kettle, but l.
could get a coherent explanation from
no one When the guards finally de-
cided that Jim was In earnest, and
that the rest of us were not craving
out q rear window while he held
them at the door. they came in, three
of them and two reporters. and Jim
led them to the buffers pantry.
Here found Anne, very ~h4te |
and shaky. with the pantry table and
two chairs piled against the door OF
the kitchen slide, and clutching the
chamois-skin bag that held her jew
els. She had a bottle OF Burgundy
open beside her, and was pouring
herself glass With shaking hands
when we appeared, She was furious
at Jim.
81 nearly tainted" she said hysteri-
cally. II might have been murder
ed, and no one would have cared.
wish they would stop that chopping
I'm SO nervous | could scream
Jim took the Burgundy from her
with one hand and pointed the po-
lice to the barricaded door with the
other,
.That In the door to the dumb
waiter shaft" he said. THE lower
one is fastened on the inside, in some
manner. The noises commenced about
eleven o'clock. while Mr.. Brown was
on gaard.-Therc were scra ping sounds
first. and later the sound of falling
body. He reused MIR. Reed and my
self, but when we examined the shaft
everything was quiet and dark. we
tried lowering q candle on string,
butt was extinguished from below.
The reporters were busily remov-
ing the table and chairs from the
door,
III you have a rope handy" one OF
them said, Il will go down the shaft
tDal says that all reporters should
have been policemen, and that all pc
licemen are natural news gatherers.)
THE cage appears to be stuck, half
way between the floors" Jim said
They are cutting through the door
in the kitchen below"
They opened the door then and eau
nothing to be seen. l touched Jim
gingeriy on the arm.
rs it's 1t Flanagan" / asked,
shut in there"
'No-yes--I don't know" he re-
turned absently. Run along and
don't bother. Kit lie may take to
shooting any minute
Anne and / went out then and shut
the door, and went into the dining
fnYs ut
course the bullets might come UP
through the floor. Aunt Selma joined
us there, and Bella and the Mercer
girls and we sat around and talked
in whispers, and Leila Mercer told
OF the time her grandfather had had
a struggle with an escaped lunatic.
In the midst of the excitement Tom
appeared in bath robe. looking very
pale, with a bandage around his mead,
and the nurse at his heels threaten
ing to leave and carrying bottle OF
medicine and a spoon. He went i'm
mediately to the pantry. and soon We
could hear him giving orders and the
rest hurrying around to obey them
The hammering ceased, and the 81
lence was even worse. II was more
suggestive.
In about fifteen minutes there was
a thud, as If the cage had fallen, and
the SOUND or rect ruSHlHg uo"H the
cellar stairs. Then there were groans
and loud oaths. and everybody talk =
ing at once, below, and the sound OF
a struggle In the dining room We
all sat bent forward, with straining
ears and quickened breath, until we
distinctly heard some one laugh. Then
We knew that. whatever 1t was, 1t
F@was over, and nobody was killed.
The sounds came closer, were COM
ing up the stairs and into the pantry.
Then the door swung open. and Tom
and policeman appeared in the
doorway, with the others crowdtng
behind Between them they support
ed a grimy, unshaven object. covered
with whitewash from the wall of the
shaft an object that had Its hands
fastened together with andcuffs, and
tat leered at us with pair OF the
most villainousiy crossed eyes l have
ever seen.
None of us had ever seen him be-
fore.
MIR. Lawrence McGuirk. better
| known as 'Tubby.'" Tom said cheer
fully. "A celebrity in his particular
line, which is second-story man and
ali-round rascal. A victim of the
quarantine, like ourselves"
ITO be Continued.)