The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1911-08-04


And DR.. Huntley?"
he always retires at eleven. unIess
we play at cards."
very well, with your permission
we will go home with you, Yes9 nun.
can will you telephone to Tom Rab.
way TO pack a suit case with our
clothes for tonight and tomorrow, and
take MS post opposite Khan Nadiian's
mousse watching who comes and goes
and waiting our arrival"
Rand then begged Mrs. BlashfeId,S
permission to have the Khan Join our
party, and after the opera we three
drove to Stxty-third street. We found
the house quite as Nadjian had told
u.s. distinctly detached, with the two
entrances.
In the Khan's apartments privacy
mad been sacrificed to art and there
was no means Of shutting them off
from the hall. The doors had been re-
moved and the doorways hung with
jade and steel bead portieres. His
hrst floor, the second floor of the
mouse, consisted of four rooms, all fur.
nlshed in an Oriental taste that was
most luxurious. The Khans own bed
chamber, in an alcove of which he
mad his bath, was decorated as the
interior OF a Cingalese house. The
front chamber on this floor was fitted
to represent a bazaar in Turkestan.
The dining room was paneled with
carved black woods in imitation of
the cabin of an ancient Chinese war
junk. The library, which was the first
room entered off the hall and which
then led, by three doors, into the din
ing room and the front and rear bed
rooms, was the most Enthusiastically dec
Grated of the four. 1t was designed
to represent the forest camp of some
northern sheik, the trunks of trees
being bookcases, while the Vistas in
the walls were sliding panels with
books behind them. The desk in the
center of the room was huge sand
stone rock, followed out to accommo-
date drawers which opened up at the
touch of knob. Grass mats carried
out the effect on the floor and in one
corner of the room, as if supported on
a rock and fallen tree was a bed
roll of rich stuffs, making a surpris-
ingly solid and comfortable couch.
What cigarettes do you smoker"
asked Rand suddenly.
Always Teofani. So does the doc
tor.
Does Coughlan smoke a Greek
Theopopulous? Here is the butt Of
one, still warm"
The Khan's eyes seemed about to
start from his head. He could scarce
ly answer that he did not know what
Coughlan smoked, but stood with his
eyes fastened on the bit Of cigarette,
following Rand's gaze at the smoke
still floating about the ceiling.
Have you a spool Of black silk
thread?" inquired Rand.
The Khan said he had not.
Rand walked slowly through the
rooms of the floor until his eyes light
ed on a red silk cord supporting an an
clent Tartar dagger.
MAY take that cord?" said he.
The Persian loosened the cord and
gave it to him.
Rand led the way back to the Ii
brary, and cutting a section three feet
long from the cord, unrolled the twist
and gave us each a strand.
Let us sit down here under this
strong light and carefully separate
each thread of the smallest possible
division. l want fifty threads of silk
as nearly like a-spider's film as l can
get them"
For an hour we worked at the diff
cult, tedious task in silence. The
threads then lay stretched on a sheet
of blotting paper, clinging lightly to
it's fuzz.
81 hope you will understand me,
Khan Nadiian, when I say that for
perhaps some days l must have aDso-
lute control of these two floors, your
movements inside TIE house, and, IN
fact. every detail of your establish
mEnt, II you WISH LIZ W
problem for you. Are you willing to
undergo some probably severe neon
Veniences?'
The Persian vowed he was willing
to endure torture if need be.
Very well, then" answered Rand
"sit down at your desk and go over
your papers and correspondence just
as you usually do; in fact, as If you
felt yourself perfectly safe from IN
trusion, while Mr. Duncan and make
a detailed survey of the other rooms
First. however, conduct Mr.. Duncan
to the skylight, which l noticed was
reached by a closet stairway and al
low him to look at it carefully"
knew Rand had some little plan
which he was not willing that Mad
iian-perhaps I also-should know.
We returned in about ten minutes
and he was still sitting smoking, ap-
parently just as We had left MIN. -!
observed, however, that almost all OF
the little quasi invisible threads Oh
Gill, were gone from the blotting pa
ner There were ten, perhaps, left.
"Remember, work for the next hall
. ,r;,ofo DaDnrS exact