Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-07-19

AAOAA 49, = AOSS oSORPNO OR oAN tOANAA7
ed him on the shoulder Il am po-
lice officer, Mr. Digby." he said, as o.
car wheeled around and faced him.
Your friend here, DR.. Halifax, has
warned you not to go into that house.
repeat his warning. There is danger
in wait for YOU"
For answer Digby thrust his hand
into his pocket, produced note and
handed it to me.
Read that, Halifax" he said, land
you will see why l cannot refuse to
enter the house"
tore the letter from its envelope
and read in the moonlight. Come to
me. am suffering and in danger. Do
not fail me. Muriel"
You are mad. Digby," said. "That
note is forgery.
"All the same, am going" he said,
crisply, and alone, too. don't want
any outside interference in what prom
ises to be family affair"
Since you are determined, them"
said Frost, remember that in case of
trouble we will be here to help you.
Furthermore, may as well tell you
that If you are not out OF the house by
one o'clock we shall enter it and make
sure that all is right"
Digby merely nodded, and walked
quickly up the drive. We watched
him ring the bell. The door was open
| ed by the negro servant, and he enter
ed. Frost and l settled down to our
long wait with the best patience we
could summon for the occasion. The
minutes seemed to crawl, IL o'clock
sounded from the steeple Of distant
church, then half-past. The house
remained wrapped in silence. Once
Frost whispered to me, and we listen
ed attentively. 1t certainly seemed to
me as though a dull muffled sound, as
of pounding or hammering, was faint
ly audible, but whether 1t came from
the house or not, it was impossible to
tell. At quarter of twelve the one
remaining window with a light in it be-
came suddenly dark. Still there was
no sign of Digby Midnight chimed
and the remaining moments went by
in intense anxiety. AS the deep boom
/ Vi one " ClOCh was ACdIO lilo 1A0QONS-
or laid his hand on my arm.
Come along, DOCTOR" he whispered
He whistled low as he spoke, and a
rustic in the bushes around us told
that Frost's assistants were on the
alert. We assembled the steps, and
we could hear the whirr of the front
door bell within, as the inspector press
| - AZ r., +hoV
had expected We heard the bolts shoot
back. The door was flung open, cleo
trio lights sprang into glare, and my
eyes fell on Mrs. Seattle.
! Rather an odd hour for a social
call, DR.. Halifax" she said, coolly.
May l inquire why l am so hon
ored?"
Frost strobe forward and laid his
hand on her arm with an imperative
| gesture.
81 am police officer, madam" he
said grimly, .and demand to know
where Mr.. Oscar Digby is. He enter
ed here at a quarter past ten tonight.
From that moment the house has been
surrounded and closely watched. He
| must therefore De mere.
Mr.. Digby is not in the house," re-
sponded Mrs. Seattle defiantly.
An adjoining door opened, and
Senior Merello made his appearance.
| She looked up at him and smiled, then
said carelessly:
Gentlemen, this is my brother,
Senior Merello"
The senior bowed but did not speak.
"Once again, Mrs. Seattle" broke in
Frost, what have you done with Mr.,
| Digby?"
HE is not here" she said, angrily.
You can look for yourselves"
Very WE'LL" said Frost, calmly.
"Then you, madam, this gentleman,
and all your servants are under ar
rest until we find him"
Mrs. Seattle eyed the inspector vim
dictively, but made no reply. The OPP
erations which followed were conduct
ed rapidly. The establishment, con-
sisting of Mrs. Seattle, her brother,
two Spanish men-servants, two maids,
one of Spanish extraction, and the
negro who had opened the door to us,
were summoned and placed in the
charge of one of Frost's detectives.
| Muriel Seattle was nowhere to be
seen. Then we began to search the
house. In the basement the large
cellar which had attracted Mrs.
Scaiffe's pleased surprise, had now
been fitted up as a laboratory. / ex-
amined it closely. 1t was evidently
used for the manufacture of chemi-
Gals on large scale. All the latest
chemical and electrical apparatus
were to be found there, as well as
several large machines, the purposes
of which were not evident. One in
particular I specially noticed. 1t was
big tank with a complicated equip
ment for the manufacture of liquid air
in large quantities. fingered here
quite awhile, and suddenly hideous
possibility presented itself to my mind.
Just then, however, remembered Mu-
riel, and turned to join Frost in his
search, wondering If any harm had
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