The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-12-05

than it was to look away. SO ne con-
tinued to watch him, albeit but hazlly
conscious of the fact, because his
thoughts were occupied with matters
of vastly more importance to himself.
I That Is to say, at the time he fancled
they were of more importance; subse'
quently his opinions on this score un'
! derwent a decided change.
Only a few seconds later. in truth,
he regretted that he had not given the
man more of his attention-sufticient,
at least, to recall something of his
appearance. But even at that, he
never dreamed how nearly the cpl
sode affected himself at the moment,
nor did he have any premonition Of the
extraordinary events that were to en-.
sue in the immediate future.
The man was walking with certain
hating, indefinite slowness, the while
he studied the house numbers, as If
in search Of a particular one.
All at once he stopped stockstill.
Van Vechten, as it CHANGED, failed to
observe this, for his eyelids, heavy
with loss Of sleep, chose this precise
second to curtain the scene. Nothing
had yet occurred to prick his curiosity.
His lids dropped only for an instant,
to be sure; but within that brief space
the strange mans bearing had sud-
denly altered. He had thrown off his
irresolution, and had gone quickly up
the steps of the house directly oppo-
site. Van Vechten opened his eyes
only just in tims to see him disap.
pearing through the doorway, and the
door itself swing shut.
The Silent House! The House of
Mystery! The house wherein nobody
had even been seen to enter!
There was no mfstaking the fact
that Van Vechten was galvanized into
an alertness which, had it been almost
anybody else under the same condi.
tons, would have amounted to excite
ment.
"Say!" he demanded Of himself un-
der his breath. rs this pipe dream?
Or did somebody really 60 into that
house?" And after a reflective pause:
mo, I wasn't asleep" he deliberate.
ly settled the unwonted occurrence in
his mind: II saw the chap coming
along the walk. Let's see-what did
he look like? What was he doing?
What the dickens does It mean. any
how?"
There was nothing or nobody to an.
swer these puzzled inquiries. He was
convinced that he had remained
awake, although drifting along the Dor
derland of slumber. because he dis.
tinctly recalled having heard the clock
in the hall strike nine. He glanced at
his watch. Yes, only nine. So he
could not have been asleep, even for
second.
All OF which may seem a ridiculous
ly trivial matter to be the occasion of
so much concern; but anybody &C.
quainted with the circumstances
would not have thought so.
To begin with there was something
positively repellent in the very appear.
ance of the house across the yay.
Even the number on the fanlight-by
pure accident, 1913, for it was an old,
old number and not the true one at
all-was doubly and reiteratively un.
inviting to persons owning supersti.
tlous weaknesses. And who of US, 10
some extent, does not? Erected in the
days when high, narrow brownstone
fronts were accepted as the hallmark
OF affiuence, it still successfully re.
sisted the encroachments of improve.
ment which otherwise undermined and
beautified the thoroughfare.
At the time the Powhatan Club
moved into its new quarters Number
1913 was vacant, and had remained so
up to something like three months
prior to the opening of this story.
that Is to say, not quite two years,
How long previously to that 1t had
stood empty no club member could
say. During all the period within their
knowledge its begrimed facade had
been an eyesore and an object of exc
Grafton; somber and brooding. it was
sort of memento mort to the idlers
behind the big plate glass windows Of
the lounging-room, silent but per.
petual rebuke to the folly of their
lives; which attribute had more than
once called forth passionatelv resent.
full TRADE from some member who had
been unlucky at cards, or had con.
sumed too much alcohol the night he
fore.
Then one afornoon the club was
electrified. Tom Phiuncy had baen
staring unseeiugly into the street for
some minutes. II struck hin, al st
once that the windows and the f~o~+
door across the way were 10 lo--sr
boarded and that all the wjrs.es
wore blinds; the req stone stems r.,-r.
ever showed no indication Of having
been recently cleaned
7 say fellows" he abrutly sang ont
"thirteen-thirteen's oecupied!"
There was a concerted movement
toward the clubs window: evervhodv
present left of whatever he happened
to be doing at the moment and stooJ
silently gaping at the gloomy front
Blinds close-drawn," somebodv