The San Francisco call., 1913-08-17


away in the direction of Pell street, as
did the others, 1t turned In my direc-
Ition.
| saw then that 1t was nasn, thin
Ito emaciaticn. For some reason he
turned his head suddenly and the light
from lamp fell full upon face. the
face not Of a Chinese. but Of white
man; face into which l had looked
but twice, yet face indeIibly axed
in my memory-the face OF Peter
johnson, the pretended castaway-
Before | considered the situation !
was across the street and at his heels.
But at the instant OF seeming success
lhe eIuded me in some strange way.
But, though he escaped my clutch.
Iiny eyes were more nin1ble- With
lthfm | followed him until saw him
ldrop beneath the cellar doors. An
other brief moment and ! was piung-
ling in pursuit down that short, steep
flight of steps
And, as misfortune would have it,
II must needs catci, my heel on the
ledge of one of the treads. and then .
lpoignant pain told me my ankle was
sprained
Fora minute | lay as | had fallen.
Then ! heard a sound. Very softly,
carefully, some one was closing the
cellar doors. Steadfastly mufiied
though it was, the faint crtaking OF
the hinges. shattered the spell which
held me and. in spite of the tortured
ankle, | managed to gain my feet.
But by now the silence reigned once
Iagain and in the engulhng blackness
] lost all sense of direction.
The suspense of the moment was
uncomfortable To stand there waiting,
not knowing when or from what
quarter | should be set upon, was
nervous torment so hideous that in
llsheer desperation | plucked my match
box from my pocket, drew forth q
match and struck it to blaze. AS it
glared forth | made quick searching
survey of my dungeon. To my amaze
lment, | was apparently alone.
My first thought was that Johnson
was in hiding and was waiting now
Ionly an opportunity to throw himself
upon me from behind But | very
soon discovered that he had fed
| The place into which had followed
him was evidently ! Chinese candy
manufactory. and cake bakery. The
space upon which had fallen was SO
Restricted that ] wondered how it was
possible for my quarry to have
reached the steps and reasccnded
without touching me or at least ac-
quainting me with his movement.
And marveled, too, that, twisting my
ankle as | did, | had not plunged at
a slant and struck my head upon one
or another of the crowding tables and
boxes with which the cramped base
ment was furnished.
Another match disclosed narrow
door in the board partition at the
lrear, and, fancying that perhaps the
elusive Peter Johnson had escaped by
that means, | lost no time in seeking
to investigate what was beyond. !
was somewhat surprised to find the
door unfastcncd. Once open, II re-
vealed smaller and more crowded
ROOM, warm and fetid. in whichFwere
packed no less than half dozen bar
reis of raw and cooked peanutss ar
ranged about a low stove on which =.
peanut filled cauldron was slowly
steaming.
|. Curiously interesting as ali this
would have been under ordinary cir
cumstances, experienced only sur
prised relief, for with my injured
ankle ! was in no fettie to cope with.
lcven the weakest adversary. Indeed,
now that this easement was afforded
Ime, my sprain suddenly asserted itself
with renewed exacerbation, sharp
twinees Of pain shooting TO my knee
and demanding instant relief.
In front of the low stove had no
ticcd a stool, and for this CROPPED
with the eagerness of the drowning
man after straw To my joy, laid
hands upon it and, drawing it nearer,
sank down with sigh Of satisfaction.
Gradually, now that my weight was
|removed, the pain lessened and
sense of comfort ensucd. j remember
thinking that I would rest few min.
utes and then take my departure as
had entered, for | realized that cellar
doors are fastened only from within,
] distinctly recall that | was con-
scious Of certain strange incongruity
of situation, but could hardly comprt-
hend in just what the i1conEruity con-
sisted. ! knew only that felt pleas
antly warm and drowsy and my
sprained ankle had ceased altogether
to pain OF annoy.
And then | was sailing in an open
hnaf ~ s<,;d,,;xxkx and pefAr Tohnar.n