The Washington times., 1911-09-05

tink, and tink, and IL is done. / write
down. l give de recipe to my best che
-dere you arei
II need not even taste; 1 know how Il
will taste. 1t is like composing music
De great composers do not compose al
de plano"
81 see." said Racksole
1T is because work like dat dat yot
pay me tree thousand year." Rocco
added gravely.
Heard about Julese" said Racksole
abruptly.
"Jules?"
"Yes He's been arrested in Ostend,"
the millionaire continued, lying cleveriy
! at a venture. They say that he and
several others are implicated in q mur-
Ger case-the murder OF Reginald Dim
mock
His indifference was SO superb, so gor-
geous, that Racksole instantly OWNED
that II was assumed for the occasion.
1T seems that, after all. the police
first time / ever knew them to be worth
their salt. There is to be q thorough
and systematic search of the hotel to-
morrow" Racksole went on. II have
mentioned 1t to you to warn you that
is, of course, merely a matter of form.
You will not object to the detectives
looking through your rooms?'
Certainly not" and Rocco shrugged
his shoulders.
II shall ask you to say nothing about
this to anyone" said Racksole. THE
news of Jules arrest is quite private
to myself. The papers know nothing
Of it. You comprehend
Rocco smiled in mis- grand manner,
and Rocco's master thereupon went
away.
pocLsoIo 11,o. ,,ar,, 1,,ou .o,tsao5 ,,,ttb
the little conversation. 1t was perhaps
dangerous to tell a series of mere lies
to clever fellow like Rocco; and Rack
sole wondered how he should ultimately
! explain them to this great master chef
If his and Nella's suspicious should be
unfounded and nothing came of them.
Nevertheless, Rocco's manner, a
strange, elusive something in the mans
eyes, had nearly convinced Racksole
that he was somehow implicated In
Jules schemes-and probably in the
death of Reginald Dimmock and the
disappearance Of Prince Eugen Of
Posen.
That night, or rather about 1:3o the
next morning, when the last noises OF
the hotels life had died down, Racksole
made mis- way to Room No. Ill, on the
second floor.
He looked on the inside and proceeded
to examine the place carefully. square
foot by square foot. Every now and
then some creak or other Sound star
tied him, and he listened intentty for a
few seconds.
The bedroom was furnished in the or
dtnary splendid style Of bedrooms at
the Grand Babylon Hotel, and in that
respect called for no remark What
most interested Racksole was the floor
ing.
He pulled up the thick Oriental car
pet and peered along every plank. but
dtuNONyav III
he went to the dressing-room and final
ly to the bathroom, both of which
opened out of the main room.
But In neither of these smaller cham
bers was he any more successful than
In the bedroom itself. Finally he came
paneled casing of polished wood, after
the manner of baths.
Some baths have a cupboard beneath
the taps, with door at the side, but
this one appeared to have none. He
tapped the panels, but not a single one
OF them gave forth that curious hollow
sound" which usually betokens a secret
place.
Idly he turned the cold tap of the
path, and the water began to rush in.
he turned of the cold tap and turned
on the waste tap, and as he did so his
knee, which was pressing against the
paneling, slipped forward
The paneling had given way, and he
saw that one large panel was hinged
from the inside and caught with a
hasp, also on the inside. A large space
within the casing, at the end of the
bath, was thus revealed.
Before doing anything else Racksole
tried to repeat the trick with the waste
tap, but he failed; II would not work
again, nor could he in any way per-
ceive that there was any connection be-
tween the rod OF the waste tap and the
hasp of the panel.
Racksole could not see into the cavity
within the casing. and the electric light
was fixed and could not be moved about
like a candle.
He felt in his pockets and, fortunate
ly, discovered a box OF matches. Aided
by these, he looked into the cavity, and
saw nothing-nothing except a rather
large hole at the far end-some three
feet from the casing.
With some difficulty he squee zed him.
self through the open panel and took
half kneeling, half sitting posture
within. There he struck match. and
it was a most unfortunate thing that in
striking, the box being half open, he set
fire to all the matches and was half
smothered in the atrocious stink of
phosphorus which resulted.
One match burned clear on the floor
of the cavity, and, rubbing his eyes.
Racksole picked 1t up and looked down
the hole which he mad previously de-
scried
II was q nOlC dppdL OoNtOAhICoSp
and about eighteen inches square. The
curious part about that hole was that a
rope ladder hung down II.
When he saw that rope ladder Rack
sole smiled the smile of a happy man.
The match went out.
Should he make long journey. per-
haps TO some distant corner Of the ho-
tel for a fresh box OF matches, or
should he attempt TO negotiate that
rome ladder In the dark?
He decided on the latter course, and
he was the more strongly moved thereto
as he could now distinguish faint.
very faint, tinge of light at the bottom
of the hole.
with infinite care he composed himself
into the well-like hole and descended
the ladder. At length he arrived on
firm ground, perspiring. but quite safe
and quite excited.
He saw now that the tinge Of light
came through q small hole In the wood.
He put his eye TO the wood and found
that he had a fine view Of the state
bathroom, and, through the door of the
state bathroom, into the state bedroom.
At the massive marble-topped wash
stand in the state bedroom a man was
visible, bending over some object which
lay thereon.
The man was Roco.
A Continuation of This Story WIZ
Re Found In Tomorrow's
Issue of The Times.