The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-01-24

Win Ills leet Deduuk III HlleTnuIlOu,
he could not make much noise TO
make a sound likely to carry far, he
had to raise and lower his heels to-
gether-an achievement that sounds
easy until one has tried doing It many
times. With all his endurance he
could not keep It up for many minu-
utes at stretch. In the intervals he
strained his hearing for q response
None came.
Brltz rolled over on his face AS
his hands were tied behind his back,
his chin rested on the floor, and he
had little leverage by which to lift
himself. Several times he tried to
rise to his knees, only to slip
and bruise his face on the hard floor
Those mishaps were painful, but not
discouraging to man of Britt reso
luteness. Again and again he made
the attempt; again and again he
failed, but at last. with a mighty
heave that left him painting. he raised
himself by catapult movement and
sat back on his heels, waiting to
catch his breath.
IL was a harder task to get on his
feet. He could not do It in the middle
Of the floor. Slowly carefully, he
worked his way on his knees to the
wall, against which he braced himself.
Then, bit by bit. he bent his feet fog.
ward In a demilune until his weight
was on knees and toes His progress
was as painful as It was slow for the
silk scarf compelled his ankles to
bend in unison, If at all, and even
when he had bent his toes to the
requisite point It was a great strain
to keep them there.
The detective. after a brief pause
to gather his strength, set his shoul-
der against the wall and threw all his
force into single, vigorous push.
The movement almost threw him to
the floor again, but he recovered his
poise quickly and stood erect. For n
few moments he was content to revel
in the relaxation that was SO welcome
after his long continuance in
cramped and PROSTATE position. Then
seconds forgetfulness, natural
: enough to one accustomed to his free.
dom Of movement. almost undid the
work OF the last half hour He tried
to step away from the wall, oblivious
to the scarf that bound his ankles,
and pitched forward heavily. He did
not fall to the floor. however, for
something sharp and hard stopped
him, He found himself wedged be.
, tween a metallic framework and the
wall. A venomous hiss and the con-
tact Of his bound hands with hot
metal told him he had fallen on
steam radiator, and as the kissing
sound Increased he guessed tho shock
had broken the little safety valve
close to the top OF the curved pipes.
II the detectives position had been
perllous before 1t was extra hazard
Gus now. He was gripped In the Jaws
formed by the radiator and the wall,
and neither hands nor feet at liberty,
It seemed next to impossible for him
to free himself. he kicked and strug-
gled furiouGly, the hiss OF the steam
constantly growing louder, and
In his endeavor TO escape. he bent for
ward until his face was scalded by the
rushing steam. The pain OF that mis-.
hap aided him. however, for the In
voluntary recoil II caused eliminated
In final effort that loosed the grip
In which he was held and sent him
staggering in series of twofooted
hops along the wall.
Bracing his shoulders once more
against the wall, Britz began another
series OF vigorous attempts to break
the silken scarves, or TO slip out OF
them. Exerting all his strength, he
strained alternately at wrist and
ankles, and ground between his teeth
the little ball of silk that blocked his
voice. But 1t was all to no purpose.
His captors knew their trade, and the
clinging bonds, while yielding, did not
give at any point sufficiently to set the
sleuth at liberty. Suddenly thought,
swift and keep as a saber fash, Glove
It's way straight through his perplex-
ity. That which imperiled his life
should give him liberty. lie sidled
along the wall until he stood beside
the radiator at the end away from the
safety valve. Pressing against the
edge OF the metal the scarf that held |
his hands, he began swinging himself
from side to side. The corrugated |
edge of the ornamental ironwork |
served as saw, and although more
than once the man gasped as clouds |
Of steam whirled about his head, in
fewer minutes than would seem PROT
able the metallic edge gnawed its way |
through the silk, and the kerchief |
parted with abruptness that sent |
Britz reeling back against the wall
and crashing headlong to the floor.
His hands were freel And as that
welcome realization followed the jar
ring impact of his head against an
angle of the Dashboard, Lieutenant
Britz laughed softly as with busy fin
gers he loosed the scarf about his
ankles, snatched the gag from his
mouth, and, with single shake OF his
shoulders that rippled the kinks out OF
his cramped muscles, strobe 10 the
window and flung up the sash One
deep intake of good. cold air, then half
"a dn1au mora and ha faIt a.. "a a.