Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-04-06
SYNOPSIS.

explains is his granddaughter, Alison
West. He says her father is a rascal and
a friend Of the forger.
CHAPTER u-Standing in line to buy
a Pullman ticket Blakeley Is requested
Rsr o@ aey Il S Sn Getans lover ten He
finds a man in drunken Stupor in lower
ten, and retires in lower nine.
CHAPTER III-He awakens In lower
seven and finds that his travelling bag has
disappeared and in its stead is another:
His clothes likewise have been exchanged
for others
CHAPTER IVAN amateur detective
interests himself in the case It is learned
that the dea1 man is Simon Harrington
Of Pittsburg.
CHAPTER v.-Henry Pinckney Sulli-
van is believed to be the name OF the
man who disappeared with Blakeley's
clothes and grip. He is suspected OF the
murder.
CHAPTER vI.-Blakeley becomes in:
terested in girl in blue. A dirk eao
blood stains are found in lower seven.
Blakeley comes under suspicion
CHAPTER vr-Circumstantial evil
dence against Blakeley is strengthened
The train is wrecked
CHAPTER vIII-Blakeley is rescued
from the burning car by tbs girl In blue.
His arm is broken.
the Carter farm for breakfast she tells
him her name is Alison West, his part
ner'S sweetheart
CHAPTER x-Allson's peculiar actions
mystify the lawyer. She drops her goid
bag and Blakeley, unnouced, puts IL IN
his pocket.
CHAPTER xI-He returns home and
learns from his landlady of strange hap
peningS.
CHAPTER XII-Blakeley learns that a
woman by the name of Sullivan, fellow
victim of the wreck, is in the hospital
CHAPTER xIII.-He also learns that
he is under surveillance and that the
Pittsburg police are looking for survivors
of the wreck.
CHAPTER XIV-BIakeley hears of
strange doings in a vacant house next
door. Investigation is without result
I was rather Unused. / put on some
clothes and felt my way carefully up
the stairs, the revolver swinging free
in my pocket, my hand on the rail.
at the foot of the ladder 1 stopped
and looked up. Above me there was a
gray rectangle of sky dotted with
stars. 1t occurred to me that with
my one serviceable hand holding the
ladder / was hardly in a position to
defend myself, that l was about to
hoist a body that am rather careful
of into a danger I couldn't see and
wasn't particularly keen about any
how. | don't mind saying that the
seconds it took me to scramble up the
ladder were among the most unpleas-
ant that recall.
1 got to the top, however, without
incident. I could see fairly well after
he %
but there was nothing suspicious in
sight. The roofs, separated by two
feet of brick wall, stretched around
me, unbroken save by an occasional
chimney. l went very softly over to
the other trap, the one belonging to
the suspected house. 1t was closed,
but I imagined / could hear john
sons footsteps ascending heavily.
Then even that was gone. A nearby
clock struck three as l stood waiting.
l examined my revolver then, for the
first time, and found it was empty!
l had been rather skeptical until
now. 1 had had the usual tolerant at
titude of the man who is summoned
from his bed to search for burglars,
combined with the artificial courage
VI II Gc4IA1lS. WIFI the discovery VI
my empty gun, / felt like a man on
the top of volcano in lively eruption.
Suddenly | found myself staring in
credulOUsly at the trap-door at my
feet. I had examined it early in the
evening and found it bolted. Did I
imagine it, or had it raised about an
inch? Wasn't it moving slowly as 1
looked? No, am not hero; was
startled almost into a panic. / had
one arm, and whoever was raising
that trap-doOr had two. My knees had
a queer inclination to bend the wrong
way
Johnson's footsteps were distinct
enough, but he was evidently far be-
low. The trap, raised perhaps two
inches now, remained stationary.
There was no sound from beneath it;
once 1 thought heard two or three
gasping respirations; I am not sure
they were not my own. 1 wanted des-
perately to stand on one leg at time
and hold the other UP out of focus Of
d possible revolver.
I did not seen the hand appear.
There was nothing there, and-then it
was there. ciutching the frame of the
trap. / did the only thing l could
think of; put my foot on it!
There was not a sound from be
meath. The next moment was kneel-
ing and had clutched the wrist just
above the hand. After a seconds
struggle, the arm was still. With
something real to face, 1 was myself
again.
Don't move. or I'll stand on the
trap and break your arm" 1 painted.
What else could threaten? / couldn't
shoot, 1 couldn't even fight John
sOni" I called
And then / realized the thing that
stayed with me for month, the thing
/ cannot think of even now without
shudder The hand lay ice cold,
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