Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-02-22
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! part of the work after twice setting
fire to a chimney
In five minutes Dial came back and
spoke a few words to Max, who fol
lowed him to the basement and in ten
minutes more Flanagan puffed up the
! steps and called Mr.. HARRISON.
/ am not curious, but l knew that
something had happened. While
Aunt Selma was talking suffrage to
! Anne-who said she had always been
! tremendously interested in the sub
ject and If women got the suffrage
would they be allowed to vote?-I
slipped back to the dining-rOom.
The table was laid for dinner, but
Flanagan was not in sight 1 could
hear voices from somewhere, faint
voices that talked rapt2,.y, and after
while l located the sounds under
my feet The men we're all in the
basement, and something must have
happened. I flew to the basement
stairs, to meet Mr.. HARRISON at the
foot. He was grimy and dusty, with
streaks of coal dust over his face, and
he had been examining his revolver.
I was just in time to see him slip it
into his pocket
What is the matter?" 1 demanded.
rs any one hurt?"
mo one," he said coolly. We've
been cleaning out the furnace"
with a revolver! How interest
ing-and unusual!" said dryly, and
slipped past him as he barred the
way. He was not pleased; heard him
mutter something and come rapidly
after me, but I had the voices as a
guide, and / was not going to be turned
| back like child. The men had gath
cred around a low stone arch in the
furnace room, and were looking down
+! short flight of steps, into a sort of
vault, under the pavement. A faint
light came from a small grating
above, and there was a close, musty
smell in the air.
81 tell you it must have been last
night" Dallas was saying. Wilson
and I we're here before we went to
bed, and III swear that hole was not
there Them
1T was not there this morning,
sir" Flanagan insisted ''1t has been
made during the day"
And it could not have been done
this afternoon" Mr.. HARRISON said,
quietly II was fussing with the tele-
phone wire down here. I would have
heard the noise"
Something in his voice made me
look at him, and certainly his express
sion was unusual. He was watching
us all intently while Dallas pointed
out to me the cause Of the excite
ment. From the main floor of the fur
mace room, a flight of stone steps sur
mounted by an arch led into the coal
cellar was of brick with a cement
floor, and in the left wall there gaped
an opening about three feet by three,
leading into cavernous void, perfect
ly black-evidently similar vault be-
longing to the next house.
The whole place was ghostly, full Of
shadows, shivery with possibilities 1t
was Mr. HARRISON finally who took
Jim's candle and crawled through the
aperture. We waited in dead silence,
listening to his feet crunching over
the coal beyond, watching the faint
yellow light that came through the
ragged opening in the wall. Then he
called through to us.
"Place is locked, over here" he
said. Heavy oak door at the head
of the steps. Whoever made that
opening has done prodigious amount
of labor for nothing"
The weapon, a crowbar, lay on the
ground beside the bricks, and he
| picked it up and balanced it on his
hand. Dallas ford face was almost
i comical in his bewilderment; as for
! Jimmy-he slammed a piece of Stag
at the furnace and walked away. At
the door he turned around.
'Why don't you accuse me Of it?"
he asked, bitterly. Maybe you could
/ find a lump of coal in my pockets If
you searched me-"
He stalked up the stairs then and
left us. Dallas and went up togeth-
err but we did not talk. There seemed
to be nothing to say. Not until had
closed and locked the door of my room
did I venture to look at something
that I carried in the palm of my
hand. 1t was a watch, not running-a
gentleman's flat gold watch, and it
had been hanging by it's fob to a nail
in the bricks beside the aperture.
In the back of the watch were the
initials T. H. H. and the picture of q
girl, cut from a newspaper.
1t was my picture.
C,HRPIER XVI