The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-12-06
SYNOPSIS.

2ee s2ssaM;
SYNOPSIS.
CHAPTER I-Rudolph Van vechtsn. .
young man Of leisure, 10 astonished to
see a man enter No. 1918, house across
the street from the Powhatan club. The
house has long been unoccupied and 10
spoken of as the House OF Mystery.
CHAPTER II-several persons at regu-
lar intervals enter No. 1S13.
Van Vechten was eminently well
qualified to wait. since all his energies.
and such ambition as he possessed,
were directed toward that most labori.
GUS of all tasks, killing time;" despite
which, backed by considerable fer
tility Of invention, most of the min.
utes of each passing day fitted by
leaving him more bored than ever. So
he resolved to keep his station at the
window-all day If necessary-and sat,
isfy his curiosity respecting the mans
general appearance.
The first twenty minutes or 80 were
alleviated by lively anticipation that
the door would open almost any mo.
ment, and the man come forth; but
nothing Of the kind happened. The
house remained as still as it had been
for months. Not a blind was raised;
NO sign Of life was manifest.
Then the watcher began to grow
restless. As the minutes licked OF
and nothing occurred, he glanced at
his watch with increasing frequency.
Presently he rose and went over to q
push. button, upon which he pressed
with unnecessary violence, afterwards
Fastening back to the window under q
sudden apprehension that the man
might take advantage of his brief m
attentiveness to vanish-as the fellow
had caught him mapping before.
A cocktail was presently set beside
him upon . tabouret; he gulped 1t
down, then lighted q cigarette which
he began to smoke feverishly. But he
tossed 1t away after puff or two; he
had smoked too much the night be-
fore. and the tempered spirits could
not remove the furry taste from his
tongue.
Another glance at his watch: near
" an hour had he waited. for 1t was
now ten minutes to ten. Would the
fellow never appear?
And then Van Vechten's attention
was all at once diverted. He had or
dered and consumed second cock
tail, and was attempting q fresh cigar
cite, when he paused, the blazing
match suspended In mid.air.
He saw another and quite different
stranger approaching along the oppo'
site walk. He knew instinctively that
this could not be the first man, but his
manner copied that worthy's 90 pre-
cisely that Van Vechten was con-
strained to watch him instead OF main
tanning his improbable vigil.
He lighted bis cigarette, Tipped the
match away, and waited.
This second individual was walking
hesitantly. Just % the other had done,
and also seemed to be devoting his At
tention to the house numbers.
He paused before the house across
the way. There could be no doubt but
which was only imperfectly outlined
upon the red-curtained fanlight. Then
that he was searching for the number.
abruptly all signs Of hesitation van
ished from his bearing; he went de.
terminedly up the steps and rang the
bell.
At that very instant the clock in the
hall began striking ten.
First Of all, Van Vechten was struck
by this coincidence. Even before in
ventorying the mans semblance, he
asked himself how many had preceded
him; how many were yet to come. And
how did they time their arrival 80
nicely?
There had been something furtive
about the second fellows admittance,
Van Vechten recalled; not particularly
on the mans part, but suggested rath-
or by the narrow crack which the open
door at first disclosed, making one
think that the chain had not been re-
leased until after parley. And then
the aperture had widened only enough
for the visitor to squeeze his bulk
through, whereupon the door had
promptly banged shut. Van Vechten
retained merely a sense Of absolute
darkness beyond the threshold; not
the slightest glimpse had he caught
of servant or attendant. The door
might have been tended by invisible
hands.
Again he asked himself: Would the
incident be repeated in another hour?
The wait between ten and eleven
o'clock dragged with most exasperat-
ing slowness; but the self-appointed
watchers interest was at such high
pitch that he left his third cocktail un-
tasted.
AS the hour approached, he darted
quick glances along the street in an
ticipation of new arrival. And sure
enough, at a minute or two before the
hour here came a third muscular. reSo-