The Washington times., 1912-09-22
CHAPTER Nv.
A Run and a Shock.

r nearly o'clock in the morning.
~ with nobody, presumably, to
n switch them on or off. the cleo
trio lights in Graftons own Of
fice had gone out!
, For a moment he was absolutely cer-
tain of the fact. Short as had been his
view of the wi lows. he felt wholly
positive that the had been brilliantly
Illuminated, and that, at the very in
slant of his turning, the illumination
had vanished.
But as he stood and stared at the
black wall, five blocks behind, the i'm
probability Of the affair confronted him.
Doubtless he had been mistaken-the
lights had been In one of the other Of
floor below. Probably one of the few
late tenants was Just leaving his place
OF business: that must have been 1t.
And yet the rooms directly above him
We're occupied by French. the architect
and French had been in New York ful
more than week. And the rooms be-
low were rented by Drake the lawyer,
who had passed the best part OF a
month in bed with rheumatism.
Grafton muttered in his perple kitty,
and stared on. Whether he cared to
admit ii or not. II was very unlikely
that the lights had been either above
or below his rooms and the precious
contents.
Well-it was his own office. then. and
Parker had turned on the lamps for a
final look around. That was like Par
ker. for in his scrupulous care of all
things pertaining to the big building 1t
mad probably occurred to him to glance
about when his employer had left, In
search of possible stray matches or ci-
gar stumps that might have made trou-
BILE.
But there was just a little flaw in that
theory, as Grafton discovered after a
moments consideration. Parker began
his tour at the top and worked down
through all the offices and suites. At
ton recalled very vividly now. he had
pressed the watchman's button III a
nom on the tenth floor.
The short walk with Elsford and theiI
parting had consumed perhaps fifteen
minutes; Graftons wait on the corner
and his own covering of another hNe
blocks might have been good for an
other ten.
That made twenty-five minutes al
least, which must have elapsed since
their watching the clock. and Parker 6
tour rarely consumed more lhan hall
an hour. In short. he must now be
somewhere about the third f1oor-and ne
could not have turned out those lights
not two minutes back.
Having made this quick calculauon
q chill ran through Grafton. the queer
sight had not been his imagination: u
lad not been caused by Parker; and II
not b. Parker. then by whom.
Elsford's gloomy forebodings swept
over Him with the force Of dire proph.
ecy. Had his office been entered, and
hv some one interested in obtaining pos
session Of the ColsOn notes? Was there
a man in the neiShborhood SO expert
and daring that he had undertaken tn'
Job of opening Graftons impregnaplt
safe? ~
And II so was the safe really impreg'
nable: and if it were not had the early
morning visitor succeeded in making on
with the contents"
The questions surged through Gra'
toms mind with speed almost stupetN
irp He stepped out briskly for tn
Grafton building. and any sense %
shame had vanished altogether
4 block was behind. and his suspl
cons had turned to certainties-his OF
fee had been entered. He glanced III
aeain at the building, half expecting t.
see the light once more but sometime
in the very blaCkness of the big eNpans
seemed to hint that the damage was al
ready done.
1t was an odd notion but il impresse'
Grafton powerfully at the moment: n
ouickened his walk and Nuickened
again III til at the third block he wa
running at top speed toward his offices
now glanCing ahead, now glanCing up
ward again The wall remained abs
.mtely dark and blank. " seemed :
have no intention OF supplementinE IN
BIZ OF odd information already GjNel
its owner.