Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-02-11
(Continued.)


This concealed stairway, wherever Il
was. could not be OF intermfna BILE
length, aud | had counted, / think, IF
teen steps OF that strange ascent when
II ceased. / heard q fumbling MS of
some one seeking a latch. and sudden
~ a light current OF air swept by me,
but its clean fresh quality was not in
itself disturbing. stopped and struck
q match smartly on the carpet and at
the same time clicked the switch. /
should say that not more than ten sec
ends passed from the moment the soft
rush Of air had first advertised the
opening Of a passage near me until the
hall was flooded with the glow Of tbs
electric lamps overheard. My match
had also performed Its office, but. find.
Ing the electric current behaving itself
normally, l blew 1t out. What ] saw
now interested me immensely.
In the solid wall near the stair and
almost directly opposite the trunk room
q narrow door had swung outwaTd-a
c0Dtrivance, SO light In It's con-
struction that 1t still swayed on It's
concealed hinges from the touch of the
hand that had released 1t. How II had
opened or what had become Of the
prowIer who had Unattached II remain.
ed to be discovered. 1t seemed imnos-
Eible that whoever or whatever had
climbed the hidden stairway had de-
seended. nor had ! been conscious of
q ghostiy passing az o the previous
night ] bad only my senses to apply
to this problem, and their efficiency
Was minimixed for a by fear.
The opening In the wall engaged my
attention at once. and / was steadied by
the thought that here was a practical
matter susceptible Of investigation. l
stepped within the door and lighted a
candle. and Just ms the wick caught
fire click went n switch somewhere and
out wen the hall lamps But. having,
SO TO speak. put my foot TO the mystic
rious stair. ! would not turn back, and
continued on down the steps.
Great was my establishment to fiud
that l had apparently stepped from a
new into an old house. The stair
treads were worn by long use, the
ghHoACf NNA tbtA ttftioSSo NhThn z
battered and cracked. and 1 seemed to
have plunged from the glory of Hope
field into some dim lost passage OF a
domicile Of another era that lay within
or beneath the walls of the Manor. As
slowly descended. holding high my
candle. / recalled. not without @ qualm,
the story of the British soldier whom
Tradition mr. cppnrotfttDp llutnd en- the
adte ~ Miss HOLSTERS property.
At the foot OF the stair l found two
rooms, one on either side Of a small
hall. and these also were clearly part
Of an old house that seemed to be
somehow merged into the Hollister
mansion. remembered now that the
mansion stood wedged against a rough
spar Of reck and that the front and
entrances were upon different lev
sss. and II was conceivable that the
h&ck part Of the mansion might inclose
these rooms Of an earlier house occu-
pying tha same site. why they should
have been retained was beyond me.
Through the carefully preserved win
dows. many paned and quaint. OF these
hidden rooms the Unfolding walls Of
the new house were blank md black.
One door only remained In this shell
OF the old house, and l hastened to ding
it open. still lighting my way with a
candle. Before me lay The coal cellar.
at which ] had merely glanced on the
morning after my installation ut Hope
Geld. now began to get my bearings.
] remembered two iron lids IN the ce-
mentcd surface of an area on the cast
ride Of the house where fuel was de-
posted. and. mounting a few steps that
were Of recent construction and had
evidently been built to afford communi-
cation between the remnant OF the old
house and the s~ubterranean portion OF
the new. ] found to my relief and salts
faction beneath one Of these openings
a short ladder. through which the court
might he reached. Here. then. the
manner Of ghostiy inGres, was Illus
tTnted by perfectly plausible means.
The I'd of the coal hole was entirely
wfthdra wp. and a bar of moonlight lay
Frightening upon n pile OF anthracite
at the foot Of the ladder.