Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1910-07-14
CHAPTER Il.-continued.

walled. "Oh, Miss Rachel, there's go
Ing to be "a deathp
There will be- / said grimly, '1f
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 it was too late!
The sun came finally, and from my
window j 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 dew Not I'M
TIL the milk-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 1t. Trunks We're .heaped here and
there, ready for the trunk-room, and
through an end window Of stained
glass came q streak of red and yell
low daylight that was emtnently
cheerful The milk-boy was pound
Ing somewhere below, and the day
had begun.
Thomas Johnson came ambling up
the drive about half-past six, and we
could hear him gathering around on
the lower floor, opening shutters.
had TO take Liddy to her room up
stairs, hoWeyer-she was quite sure
she would find something uncanny. In
fact. when she did not, having now
the courage OF daylight, she was tactu-
ally disappointed
Well, Wa did not go back to town
that day.
warned Liddy not to mention what
had happened to anybody, and tele-
phoned to town for servants. Then,
afterssa breakfast which did more
credit to Thomas heart than his head,
y went on q short tour of inyestiga-
ton. 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 a novice. The small card
room seemed undisturbed. I looked for
footprints. which is, II believe, the con-
yentional thing to do, although my
experience has been that as clews
both footprints and thumb-marks 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 q tall wicker hamper, packed
with linen that had come from town.
II stood at the edge of the top step,
almost barring passage, and on the
step below 1t was a long. fresh
scratch. For three steps the scratch
was repeated, gradually diminishing,
! as Il some object had fallen, striking
each one, Then for four steps nothing.
On the fifth step below was a. round
dent In the hard wood. That was all,
and It seemed little enough, except
that WGs positive the marks had not
been there the day before.
It bore out my theory OF the sound,
which had been for all the world like
the humping OF metallic object down
q flight Of steps. The four steps had
been skipped. reasoned that an iron
bar. for instance. would do something
OF the sort strike two or three STEPS,
end down, then turn over, jumping a
few stairs, and landing with thud.
Iron bars, however, do not fan
downstairs In the middle of the night
alone. Coupled with the figure on the
Sveranda the agency BY which II
climbed might be ssun,ed. But--and
I here was the; thing that puzzled me
most the doors were all fastened
that 1norning the windows unmolest.
ed and the part icular door from the
1 card room To the N eranda had d CON.
binntion lock OF which ! held the key.
and which had not been tempered
with.
fixed on an attempt at burglary,
/ Rs the most natural explanati IAN
attempt frustrated by the falling of
the object. what ever 1T was, that had
g reused Ine, Two ttings could not
understand how the Intruder had es.
cAped ID ever hing locked ana
he had left The small silver,
INA ich III the absence of q 3but ler i, a
renaained II! owns aira ver night 81
The afternoon a hack came ID
from Casanova, M th q fresh relay 81
ssery want The driY er took them VIII,
q flourish til tie erva ilfa, an 81 ~