The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-12-20

although he pretended to be innocent,
and a helpless prisoner. Later the
man fought with the outlaws against
us; after Jones was killed he even as
sumed command"
he has been hand and glove with
those fellows from the first, Colonel
chimed In Farrell hoarsely, 1--WE
known it, and told Lawrence so a
month ago. l only hope he was killed
down below. But what can have be.
come Of Claire?"
she never passed along here" in
sisted Mortimer, for l haven't taken
my eyes from that door"
Then she is hiding somewhere in
those front rooms. Come on, Law.
renee, and We'll search them"
We went out hurriedly, leaving the
wounded man lying helplessly on the
bed, and stepped carelessly across the
dead sentinel lying in the hallway.
The memory Of Peter required to me.
He was not the kind to desert his mis-.
tress at such a time. Stopping Far
rell, | stepped back to inquire. The
Colonel opened his eyes YEARLY at
sound Of my voice.
He Is not here" he explained slow
ly. Both Peter and Tonepah were
sent away to find a surgeon, and have
not returned. We anticipated no dan
ger here with Captain Grant present"
| ground my teeth savagely togeth-
er, recalling the ~treachery of the lat.
ter, his insults to Claire, his deceiv.
ing of Eric, his stealing Of papers.
hoping thus to ruin his own Colonel,
his alliance with Fagin, his selling Of
British secrets. Here was a villain
through and through and l hoped he
had already paid the penalty. II not.
| vowed the man should never escape.
But the thought Of the missing girl
came back, driving all else from my
mind. She was In none of those rooms
we searched, nor did We discover the
slightest evidence Of her having been
there. AS | stood in the Goor of the
deserted mushroom staring helpless
ly about, a sudden possibility occurred
to me. Ay! that must be the truth,
the full explanation Of her vanishing.
She had come flying up the stairs,
frightened, desperate-so far as she
knew, alone against Fagin's unscrupu.
lous band. She had not returned to
her father, or escaped by way of the
hall. Where then could she have
gone? The secret staircase, down
which she had hurried me, and which
was known only to herself. Eric and
Peter. I gripped Farrell's arm eagerly.
"You know this house welI--did you
ever hear of secret passages In it,"
~ have heard 1t whispered in Cos
sip" he answered, that such were
here in the old Indian days. Why?"
Because 1t Is true. The girl hid
me here from Grant. And that Is
where we will find her. The opening
Is there by the false chimney, but /
have no conception of how 1t works;
she made me turn my back while she
operated the mechanism"
He stopped down, and began search
along the fireplace, and I Joined him.
Together our hands felt ever every
inch of surface. There was no re-
Spouse, not even a crack to guide us.
AT last he glanced aside, and our eyes
met.
Who knew of this beside Claire2"
he asked.
Eric and the servant Swanson. She
told me she and her brother discov-
cred 1t by accident through reading an
old memoranda"
And the colonel is not aware Of
its existence?"
II understand not Do you know II
the boy livesf"
He left the room, and I heard his
voice calling down the stairs, but did
not distinguish the words Of reply. I
was still on my knees when he re-
HE Ia alive, but unconscious, Law
renee. Do you consider 1t impossible
for her to escape from here alone, pro-
she took refuge In this placer"
81 could find M opening. except IN
foreground, and that Is blocked now"
~shuddered at the thought. Besides,
she must be In utter darkness, for
used all the candles"
"Then we must get axes. and cut
our way in. Wait here, and will
bring up some Of the men"
/ Strengthened up as he left the
room, and my eyes looked into a
small mirror above the open crate.
Good H~eavens!\ Could that be my re-
lection! Bareheaded. my face streaked
with blood and dirt, my coat rags, my
shirt ripped to the waist. scarcely
looked human. In sudden burst oil
anger I reached out and gripped the
Jerking 1t savagely. Then
back. Slowly, with a faint
click of the mechanism. the mantel-
piece was swinging open.
CHAPTER xxxV.