El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-01-22
CONTINUED From Yesterday.
Copyright 1905 by the Bobbs-Merril1 Co.

distinctly hear footsteps.
On the chimney In the chimney
1 called with all my might, and was
rewarded by a piercing shrek from
Liddy and the slam of the trunkroom
door
felt easier after that, although the
room was oppressiVely not and
enervating. had no doubt the search
for me would now come in the right
direction, and after little, dropped
into a doze. How long I slept 1 do
not know.
It must have been several hours,
for 1 had been tired from a busy day,
and 1 walked stiff from my awkward
position. I could not remember
where 1 was for a few minutes, and
my head felt heavy and congested.
Gradually I reused to my surround
ings. and to the fact that in spite of
ventilators, the air was bad and grow
ing worse. 1 was breathing long
damp and clammy. l must have been
there a long time, and the searchers
were probably hunting outside the
house, dredging the creek, or beating
the woodland / knew that another
hour or two would find me unco1-
scious, and with my inability to cry
out would go my only chance of res.
cue. It was the combination Of bad all
"a
Quate ventilation was coming through
the pipes / tried to retain my con
seriousness by walking the length OF
the room and back, over and over, but
l had not the strength to keep it up
so sat down on the table again, my
back against the wall
The house was very still. Once my
straining ears seemed to catch foot
fall beneath me, possibly in my OWL
room. l CROPPED for the chair from
the table, and pounded with it frantic
ally on the floor But nothing hap
pened; / realized bitterly that If the
sound was heard at all, no doubt II
was classed with the other rappings
that had so alarmed us recently.
And them heard sounds from be
low me, in the house. There was {
peculiar throbbing, vibrating noise
that I felt rather than heard, much
like the pulsing beat Of fire engines il
the city. For one awful moment
thought the house was on fire, and
every drop Of blood in my body gath
cred around my heart; then 1 knew. Il
was the engine Of the automobile, and
Halsey had come back. Hope sprane
up afresh. Halsey's clear head and
Gertrude's intuition might do what
Liddy's hysteria and three detectives
had failed in.
After a time I thought 1 had beer
right. There was certainly something
going on down below; doors were
slamming, people were hurryine
through the halls, and certain higf
notes of excited voices penetrated tt
me shrilly. hoped they were coming
closer, but after a time the sound.
died away below, and was left to the
silence and heat, ITO the weight OF the
darkness, to the oppression of walls
that seemed to close In on me and
stifle me.
The first warning had was
stealthy fumbling at the lock OF the
mantel-door. With my mouth oper
to scream, / stopped. Perhaps the sit
uation had rendered me acute, per
haps 1t was instructive. Whatever i
was, I sat without moving, and some
one outside, in absolute stiffness. raj
his fingers over the carving Of thu
mantel and-found the panel
Now the sounds below redoubled
from the clatter and Earring 1 knew
that several people were running VI
the stairs, and as the sounds ap
preached, l could even hear what the!
said.
Watch the end staircases!" jamie
son shouted. "Damnation-there's NJ
light herei" And then a second later
All together now. One = two -
three"
The door into the trunkroom haC
been locked from the inside. At th'
second that it gave, opening agains
the wall with a crash and evidently
tumbling somebody into the room, the
stealthy fingers beyond the mantel
door gave the knob the proper i'm
petus, and-the door swung open, anC
closed again. Only-and Liddy al
ways screams and puts her fin9ars IL