Smyrna times., 1911-08-30

before his feet touched soft earth. he
extinguished his light for an instant
and tried to pierce the darkness with
his eyes.
Before he snapped on the light again
he was startled into rigidity by the
sound Of footsteps treading the pas
sage overhead. They came rapidly |
with sharp. rapping clicks of leather
boot heels on stone. This was not the |
soft padding of felted native slippers; |
it was the tread Of a fearless man
wearing European footgear or perhaps
American boots like his ON.
Garland moved backward and away
from the steps until his back struck
sharply against a cold wall. There he
stood, part of the envelOping black
ness, while the footsteps stopped at
the arched door. and then by the fare
of a sputtering candle jammed in the
neck of a soda water bottle Garland
saw a pair of trousers descend the first
few steps. Then as the man came
down the candle fame lighted his shirt
front and reached his chin just as a
whiff of air from out Of nowhere in
particular extinguished the light.
Dash it all!' muttered the man in
English. and Garland felt a queer little
thrill Of relief that the interloper was
not a Chinese.
After some fussing and a final excla-
nation of disgust because he failed to
find another match about his person,
the newcomer flung his candle aside
and seemed to stop and consider the
situation.
Perhaps he heard Garland's carefully
controlled breathing, for suddenly he
asked. who's there?'
Garland hesitated and then decided
not to answer. Perhaps the stronger
would go away now that he was with.
out light. In the meantime he would
endeavOr to reach his goal by edging
along the wall against which he was
leaning.
His feet made no sound in the soft
earth. and he had made considerable
progress when he became conscious of
heavy breathing behind him, and he
knew that the newcomer was follow
ing in his wake.
Garland reached an angle Of the
wall. followed it around. turned again
and once again into a small square re-
cess which had window slanting up
ward to some cunningly cOntrived
! opening above ground which admitted
the moonlight to throw a silver cloth
over a stone table. On the stone table
was a small shadowy slit perhaps the
width of a dagger's blade.
The two men reached the table to-
| gether and in the moonlight stared
! pantingly at each other. The moon
lighted them up to their lips. and above
that their faces were in darkness
IF you've got a light for heavens
sake turn it on" grOwled the newcOm-
er impatiently. and Garland. as if il
was the most natural thing in the
world for him to have met g. fellow
white man on this secret errand OF
his. snapped on his lamp and threw
its broad white beam across the face
of-Harpeth.
Garland" said Harpeth stupidly
And then with fierce suspicion he
went on: You followed me. thought
better Of you than that. old man."
Il was here first" calculated Gar
land. I'm blamed if l don't believe
you're following me!'
You had an errand here" HarpetI
put the question hesitatingly.
"Yes, and yours is probably the
same" said Garland. with a trace Of
relief in his tones. 81 was fearfully
afraid somebody would find out anC
get the cinch on me, but somehow it.:
so cOnfOundedly spOoky down here In
glad of company. even If it's a riva
for He paused suggestively.
The black dagger?' asked Harpett
quietly.
Garland nodded 81 guess you've
met with Wah Sung Loo. haven't you
l saw him in Portland"
And | in Los Angeles" admitted
Harpeth. Did be sell you fnforma
ton concerning the black dagger
which contained one OK the biggest em
eralds in the world and which was
concealed by one Of his thieving an
cestors in this spot? Did he tell yoI
how you could reach 1t, and as he wai
dying and might never come back Il
this country he would sell a map o.
its location for $lOO? Well. he tolC
me the same yarn. and took a chance
on it too. Since 1 started. however
I've had a thousand misgivings tn,
chief one being that the olds rasca
didn't believe the story himself. be
! heve that to him it was a tradition
nothing more. and he made money on
Of it."
! "He stung me. too. and yet-rm go
ing to try for that black dagger. Har
peth. Here's the black dagger ne CAV,
me- suppose you've got its mate
I'll just drop 1t in this slit Well. b,
Jove. it touches something that's Civ
ing way! Now. what do you think o
, thatY'
The table top swung up and slippe,
back into a recess disclosing Il snal
square stone receptacle in which wa