The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-02-20

and closed again OnIy-and Liddy
always screams and puts her fingers
in her ears at this point--only now
! was not alone in the chimney room.
Z There was some one else in the dark
ness. some one who hreathed hard.
and who was SO close could have
! touched him with my hand.
| was in a paralysis of terror. Out
! side there were excited voices and
| iucredulous oaths. The trunks were
| being jerked around in frantic
! search. the windows were thrown
! open, only TO show sheer drop OF
| forty feet. And the man in the room
| with mo leaned against the mantel-
! door and listened. His pursuers were
! plainly hafiled: / heard him draw a
| long breath, and turn to grope his
way through the blackness. Then
! he touched my hand cold. clammy.
/ death-like.
| A hand in an empty room, He
! drew in his breath. the sharp intaking
| Of horror that fills lungs suddenly,
! he made no movement, / think alb
| solute terror had him by the throat.
J Then he stepped back. without turn
! ing. retreating foot by foot from The
! Dread in the corner. and I do not
| think he breathed.
| tween us. | screamed. splittingly,
| madiy, and they heard me outside
In the chimney | shrieked. Be
! hind the mantel. The mantel"
self across the room at nue.. and !
With an oath the figure hurled IT.
self across the room at me. and
screamed again. In his blind fury
he had missed me- I heard him strike
the wall, That one time | eluded
/ had got the chair. He stood for a
/ second. listening then-he made an
other rush, and ! struck out with my
weapon. / think il stunned him. for
! ! had a seconds respite when / could
, hear him breaking. and some one
! shouted outside:
I ''We--can't-get--in Iow-does
I -~tt-open
But the man in the room ha1
/ changed his tactics. I knew he was
! creeping on nae, inch by inch, and |
/ could not tell from where. And
I then-~he caught me. He held his
! hand over my mouth, and / bit him
/ ] was helpless, strangling, and some
/ one was trying to break in the man
/ tel from outside. 1t began to Yield
/ somewhere. for a thin wedge of yell
/ lo"iSh light was reflected on the OPP
poslte wall When he saw that my
! dSNd ildnt dropped me with IA curse,
then the opposite wall swung open
noiselessly closed again without a
. sound, and ! was alone. The intruder
was gone.
/ ..s..In the next ro0m L., | called. uildlk
The next room" But the sound OF
Z blows on the mantei drowned my
( voice. BY the time | had made them
/ understand couple of minutes had
! elapsed. The pursuit was taken up
/ then. by ali except Alex. who was de-
! termined TO liberate me When
! stepped out into the truuk-room. q
free woman again, | could hear the
+ Claa~ Far befsfW =>' ~ "a. &c. >-estts''.e
] must say, for all Alexis anxiety
! 10 set me free, he paid little enough
/ attention to my plight. He Jumped
1 through the opening INTO the secret
! room. and picked up the portable
safe.
II am going to put this in Mr..
! Halsey's room, Miss Innes," he said,
| and | shall send one of the .detec-
( tiVes 10 guard it." .-... .......-... ....
| / hardly heard him. 7 wanted to
| laugh and cry In the same breath
! To crawl into bed and have a cup of
| tea, and scold Liddy, and do any of
| the thousand natural things that |
had never expected to do again And
the air! The touch OF the cool night
| air on my face,
As Alex and I reached the second
floor Mr.. Jameson met as. lie was
grave and quiet and he nodded- eeff4-
prehendingly when he saw the safe
tTo Be Continued