Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-05-01
cAA.prR x.,.

The Empty Al msnt.
When Brttz CROPPED = way out OF
the soundest sleep he b known in
many . year, 1t was In tsolute t.
norance Of his whereabouts. He
gasped desperately several times be-
fore he returned to anything like his
formal breathing.
the Gmothertng dark was faint odor
unlike anything " the headquarters
mans experience.
II had q persistence all Its own, and
whom hs tried to persuade himself
his sensory nerves had played q trick
upon him. It wreathed into his nostrils
With unmistatable individuality.
Britx needed no effort to rise to tell
him he still was bound hand and foot.
and In tho drst instant Of his full
awakening he realized the silken gag
still held his speech In thrall. He bit
the ball Of silk savaSsly. and strained
his tongue until the roots ached In en-
deavors to force the gag out Of his
mouth. Al well might he, helpless as
TO hands ana feet - he was. have
tried to shake OF gorilla's grip at
his throat. Yet the seeming hopeless
ness Of his plight did not disturb him
greatly. He had been In worse places.
It was question Of patience. perse-
verance and pluck, and when it came
70 virile qualities. the famous Central
once man was abundantly and allit-
eratively equipped.
He tested his bonds-gently at hrst.
then vigorously. tnen with al =:
strength.
He was not sandow. but he had
abundance Of plant and seryiceable
strength. After many minutes passed
In vain efforts to free himself, no re-
Taxed his body and limbs for short
but complete rest, meanwhile bending
his mind to the task Of determining
whore he was. The result Of his men
tai endeavor was as fruitless a. the
other. All he knew at the end OF it
was that he lay on bare floor In a
room which. from the sound Of his
heels on the boards, he judged was
small. That thought suggested to him
means Of summoning help other
Ian vocal.
He began drumming on the boards
with his heels. It was firing work,
for his ankles were held 20 close that.
with his feSt beating in alienation.
he could not make much noise. To
make . sound likely to carry far. he
had to raise and lower his heels to-
gether-an achievement that sounds
easy until one has tried doing 1t many
times. With all his endurance he
could not keep 1t up for many minu-
utes at q stretch In the intervals he
strained his hearing for response.
None came.
Britz rolled over on his face. Al
his hands were tied behind his back,
his chin rested on the floor. and he
had little leverage by which to lift
himself. Several times he tried to
rise to his knees. only to slip
and braise his face on the hard floor.
Those mishaps wore painful. but not
discouraEinG to Q man Of Britx' reso-
luteness. Again and again he made
the attempt; again and again be
failed, but at last. with = mighty
heave that left him painting. he raised
himself by . catapult movement and
sat back on his heels, waiting to
catch his breath.
It was harder task to get on HIS
feet He could not do 1t in the middle
Of the floor. Slowly, carefully, he
worked his way on his knees to the
wall, against which he brRced himself.
Then, bit by bit. he bent his feet for
ward In . demllune until his weight
was on knees and toes. His progress
was 40 painful az 1t was slow, for the
silk scarf compelled his ankles to
bend n unison. II ct all. and even
when he had bent his toes to the
requisite point It was . great strain
to keep them there.
The detective, after brief pause
to gather his strength. set his shout
der against the wall and threw al his
force into single, vigorous push.
The movement almost threw him to
the floor again, but he recovered his
poise quickly and stood erect. For q
few moments he was content to revel
In the relaxation that was SO welcome
after his long continuance in .
cramped and PROSTATE position. Then
seconds forgetfulness. natural
enough to ONO accustomed TO his free
dom OF movement, almost undid the
work Of the last half hour. He tried
to step away from the wall, Obvious
to the scar that bound his ankles.
and pitched Forward heavily. He did
not fall to the floor. however, for