The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1910-06-10
TIL CIRCULAR STAIRCASE


Ml--1--lkl IL
She moved at that, and, holding to
, Dy sleeve, we felt our way, with nu-
me:r4Is collisions, to the billiard-room,
and tlpA there to the drawing-room.
The lights came on then, and, with
the long French windows unshuttered,
had creepy feeling that each one
sheltered a peering face. In fact, In
the light of what happened afterward,
q am pretty certain we were under
surveillance during the entire ghostly
evening. We hurried over the rest OF
the locking-up and got upstairs as
quickly as we could. I left the lights
all on, and our footsteps echoed ca.
vernously. Liddy had stiff neck the
next morning, from looking back over
her shoulder, and she refused to go
to bed.
Let me stay In your dressing room,
Miss Rachel" she begged. IF you
don't I'll sit In the hall outside the
door. I'm not going to be murdered
with my eyes shut"
1t was IL o'clock when / finally pre-
pared for bed. In spite of my assump-
ton of indifference, / locked the door
into the hall, and finding the tran.
som did not catch, put chair eau.
tiously before the door-it was not
necessary to rouse Liddy- and climb.
ing up put on the ledge of the tran.
som a small dressing mirror, so that
any movement of the frame would
send it crashing down. Then, secure
in my precautions l went to bed.
did not go to sleep at once. Liddy
disturbed me just as / was growing
drowsy, by coming In and peering un.
der the bed. She was afraid to speak,
however, because of her previous
snubbing, and went back, stopping In
the doorway to sigh dismally.
Somewhere downstairs a clock
with chime sang away the hours
eleven-thirty, forty-fVe, twelve. And
then the lights went out to stay. The
Casanova Electric Company shuts. up
shop and goes home to bed at mid
night: when one has party, l be-
lieve 1t is customary to fee the com.
pany, which will drink hot coffee and
keep awake a couple of hours longer.
But the lights were gone for good
that night. Liddy had gone to sleep,
! as knew she would. She was a very
| unreliable person: always awake and
ready to talk when she wasn't wanted
and doing off to sleep when she was
/ called her once or twice, the only re.
| suit being an explosive snore that
threatened her very windpipe-then |
got up and lighted bedroom candle.
My bedroom and dressing room
| were above the big living room on
| the first floor. On the second floor a
long corridor rsu the length of the
house, with rooms opening from both
sides. In the wings were small cor
ridors crossing the main one-the
plan was simplicity itself And just
as got back into bed, heard a
sound from the east wing, apparently,
that made me stop, frozen, with one
bedroom slipper half off, and listen. 1t
was a rafting metallic sound, and it
reverberated along the empty halls
like the crash of doom. 1t was for all
the world as If something heavy, per-
haps piece of steel, had rolled clat
tering and jangling down the hard,
wood stairs leading to the card-room.
In the silence that followed Liddy
stirred and snored again l was ex-
asperated; first she kept me awake
by silly alarms, then when she was
| needed she slept like Joe jefferson. o.
Rip-they are always the same to me
went in and aroused her, and | give
her credit for being wide awake the
minute l spoke.
Get up" said, IF you don't wan
to be murdered in your bed"
Where? How?" she yelled vocifer
ously, and jumped up.
There's somebody in the house." !
said Get up. Well have to go t.
the telephone"
Not out in the half" she gasped;
"Oh, Miss Rachel, not out in thy
hall" trying to hold me back. But
am large woman and Liddy is small
We got to the door, somehow, and
Liddy held brass andiron, which il
was all she could do to lift, let alone
brain anybody with | listened, and
hearing nothing, opened the door q
little and peered into the hall. 1t was
a black void, full of terrible sugges
ton, and my candle only emphasize,
the gloom. Liddy sQuealed and drew
me back again, and as the doc
slammed, the mirror | had put on thc
transom came down and hit her or
the head. That completed our de
moralization. 1t was some time before
| could persuade her she had not beer
attacked from behind by a burglar
and when she found the miro
smashed on the floor she wasn't muct
better
CTo BE CONTINUED