The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-01-15
CHAPTER TWELVE.
Another Victim.

4
get inside the house again. ! re-
member knocking yiciously at Area
mas door, hearing him call out sleep
| iy and swearing at him disconnect
edly under my breath as ran
| down the hall. | must have awak'
/ ened him pretty thoroughly, how
ever. for looking back over my
| shoulder as | ran, and later as
knocked frenziedly at the door OF
the Cedar Room, saw his pasty'
white face, drawn and twisted,
staring at me as he toiled behind
half-dressed and shvering.
Downstairs doors slammed madly
dogs barked and women servants
screamed questions and explana.
tions, all in a breath.
Break the door down" Areana
was saying, jerkily. Don't you see
that 1t is locked on the inside?'
flung myself desperately against
the door, but the panels were stout
and my own strength made little
impression upon them. | saw a
little shred of powder smoke trail
through the keyhole and twist up
ward toward the ceiling. The sight
maddened me, and | flung myself
against the door again.
] ~. 81 fI1
bursting the door from the hinges
Areana was across the threshold
almost as soon as | myself, with
half dozen servants trailing af
ter him.
The room was quite empty. There
was no trace of Travers, alive OF
dead The fire burned low on the
hearth and there were many shad
Ows In the wide room. Perhaps
tnat was the reason why my fancy
played me strange pranks again.
imagined, as / had once before
that | saw for one moment a hor'
rible Shape, with cleaning eyes
in one corner OF the room. The
next instant the object of my fear
resolved itself into nothing more
/ formidable than low chair with
Travers coat thrown across it.
Where is he?" | asked Areana
stupidly. but he did not answer me.
| Il tell you | will raze the house
to its foundation to ferret out this
mystery"
For an instant. barely an instant,
| saw the real Areana behind the
guise which he wore habitually For
one moment, the snarling lips drawn
] back from the barred teeth, the pierre
! ing eyes that seemed to leap from
his white face like sword-thrusts,
filled me with a kind of horror.
Back of him | saw the hall half
filled with gaping, half-dressed SER
wants. The Cedar Room was filled
with powder smoke. Little thin
wisps of it eddied about the empty
room in the current caused by the
open door.
Areana looked at me curiously. 81
| think that we are both acting more
| like idiots than sane men," he said
apologetically. The truth is, was
fast asleep and having such horri-
bic dream that am hardly thor
oughly awake yet
Il left my friend in the room
here" | stared at him and stammer-
ed confusedly. 81 spoke to him from
the ground outside not ten min
utes ago. He cannot have left the
| house. The door was securely lock
| ed"
He looked at me blankly.
There is no possible way for
him TO have left the ROOM" said
decidedly. yet you see he is gone.
And he saw something-some one
| heard the pistol shots"
He turned savagely to the shiver-
ing servants.
GO back downstairs" he thun-
dered There is nothing that you
| can do
They trooped away a little re-
luctantly Now, Mr.. Reynolds" he
said sharply, we must investigate
this matter. | begged you. you know
not to put your friend in this
room. warned you of its evil
reputation. Now there is nothing to
do but to make the best OF a bad
a very bad-business'
did not answer him. was past
speech. I turned the gas to its high
est pitch and examined the floor