The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1913-10-02

he hpase With u, snid Titus
"a luptwl " snme sort The second
/ keyhole viii tw,ai thai mystery
{ ~lsi ~ r,rs'p Il AZ onre then" snid
lnwhr hnrstien,ly Had YOU not goi
: chew that ald Jim Rllth-u bad been
murgilnr CtlHts across the boplrr
far ~hnic tinr hrftu his draih this old
aiilarap wond never have been sus
eerttA
"Rlehi yen are lawior Now fnllow
ne ana hook ni TER yourselves Re
meiner ihr, arr doslerhe lot hu'
the rrwapi M th.lr capture Is some
hing Come unr Gaines turned bis
iehi sharp, 10 the lcfi and the Ave
followed him silently as hefore
Presently after passing through sev
eral small rellafs they emerged Into
large wine cellar There WIS an
tdpr Of spirits here, aud great ccbwebs
lung from the low ceiling The wine
racks were empty Of bottles but along
the north wall there stood row of
lNAut hNENHfiAfN i'Nfti~ WI fh'H n"'s
an cradles set on the ground
'Old Blithen must have been fond
" drink chuckled one OF tue detec-
lives. Tor such they really were
"Or a clever old schemrr." added
Gaines dryly lie stepped 10 door In
one corner uf the stone wall and lifted
great key into the keyhole,
The five watched him with tense In.
terest
The key grated and the door swung
toward them. revealing nothing save
another section OF stone wall
"Stungr muttered Titus.
mot AZ an You remember that An
derson reported hearing some conver-
sation about second keyhoe? Well.
this blum is the first keyhoe. Most
any one, finding II II blind door would
give up the search. but we must find
that second keyhole."
The youngest detective. OF all, Ike
Thayer had been examining the hogs
hends Now he called sharply TO his
leader
I've rot It. BY Jove, they're
clever sci Of rascas." he chuckled
When his companions were gathered
abont the central hogshead rhayer
took the light from Gaines hand and
held II close TO the spigot In the head
of the gnNpt cask
With twist Of his hand he removed
the spigot anA revealed u small round
opening, IN which was set brass lock
with small keyhole
"The second keyholer muttered
Gaines Good for you. Thnyer. Now
TO lay low and catch the fellow who
comes to open the door by way OF the
second keyhole."
Coueealing themselves about the
central cask. the six waited for sew
eral hours
Sometimes they talked about the
clever ~ hpme of old James Blithen.
who had made II nassageway through
his garden 10 the Canada side and
where entrance could be made into the
cellar through one of the great wine
casks
They spoke Of the ghost OF the cook
who had never existed. but whose
part w,ls evidently played by a Chi.
nese smuggler In this way. even aft
er Bithen's death tenants could be
Kent from the old house and freedom
given to maintain the nefarious bust
ness
Some one In Bodolph was carrying
on the business.
Who was it?
The name Of Dick Shirley was men
toned. and then there came a sudden
silence as u sound echoed on the stairs.
Gaines had extinguished his light, |
and they were in darkness The In
truder stepped softly and came direct
~ into the wine cellar, pausing near
the wine casks.
He flashed out n tiny electric torch. |
bent TO the keyhole. twisted the spigot |
out, inserted a key and swung open
the end of the cask.
He waited In the darkness again. and
Lawlor whispered to Thayer that he
had seen the mans face and 1t was
Dick Shirley.
This was the man who. outwardly |
leading an honorable life. was carry.