New-York tribune., 1913-05-18
Confined bov page Z

FORBES heard the snap Of the switch but
ton. Instantly he was IN total darkness.
Then he heard the click Of the bolt He was
now locked in Presently his brain resumed
It's functions; he began to think IN little
sparks of thought, as in permitting electric
fluid TO enter q wire by degrees lcrblly. For
the last ten minutes he had been As com
plctelv hvpnotizcd as If he had been staring
for hours into a SWamis crystal. His irst
coherent thought was one Of those best lett
unspokcn. unwrittcn. He had entered, pic
turing IN hi, mind a familiar scene. SIX ia
miliar faces and this instead. II would
have hypnotizcd anyone.
\ blockhcad, \ sheep, To have allowed
himself 20 be trussed up this way, without
a single struggle without word. a ilne
detectivcl He strained at his hands, and
then al his ankles. but dcsistcd when the
chair threatened to topple over. On the
floor he would be absolutely helpless. 80
ne sat there in the dark, mouthing at his
handkerchief and trying % get his teeth IN
10 il.
The man had freshly skinned knucklc.
He would remember that when the police
came. He would never be able TO recall the
voice. so cffcctually muiilcd behind the cur
tain of the mask. In evening dress too, and
wore il to the manner born-hcrc in little
old New York. And it came upon him with
the daZzlcmcnt Of sunrise. The mysterious
burglar Of the newspapers! He recollected
some Of the drawings he had made OF heroes
in durancc vile, ironically rccollectcd them,
along with the balderdaSh they were sup
posed 10 illustrate Why hadn't he flung
himself over backward while the fellow was
tving his hands together? He was no IN
FAINT; he was athletic, strong as the average
man of his height and weight. He might
have got the upper hand Oh, rot! 1t was
all very we'll to think OF the things TO do
when il was too late. ANY battle could be
won il YOU fought it backward.
He began to swear again; cultural sounds
that started in his throat and ended bas-
soon like, in his nose. Dash the doorboy, to
have given him the wrong tioorl Some
where above or below they were waiting TOR
him; the cards were purrlng the chips click
ing musically against one another. DeuccS
Wild If YOU held a king and queen of any
suit, together with three deuceS, YOU could
call it four queens. or four kings, or a royal.
lust as YOU pleased. Open on anything; no
weary waiting for Jacks or better; something
doing every minute (t never occurred to
him that the burglar had already saved him
about fifty dollarS.)
And when the occupants Of this room re-
turned they would doubtless. and with rea-
son, hand him over TO the police, and the
deuce wild indecdD would be TO pay. More
over, he would never hear the last of 1t. He,
who had never left himself open TO ridicule,
would be the laughing stock Of the town!
Numbncss crcpt into his arms and legs.
He could not shift the handkerchief a Soll-
tary inch not a fraction Of an inch. Occa-
sionally ne heard sounds, s,-the lift door clos
ing, someone going up or down the stairs,
the rattle of a tar-of elevated train, the honk
Of an auto horn in the street below. Beautl-
full situation for !. Mortimer Forbes, the IA
nous illustrator. Hours and hours and
hours passed: at least, so it seemed TO him.
OF course it was Just his luck to strike a
place where the people kept ungodly hours.
He would not be able TO work for days. The
gold thread Of the stole cut ike a razor edge.
The bcggar might have left the lights on,
so that he could have found some amuse-
ment in staring at the furnishings and specu-
lating as to the taste OF the absent ones. But
TO sit in pure darkness ltor the blinds were
DOWN, his nerves all a-rack from listening
and waiting, his lungs aching for the want
of a deep breath, it was all mighty unpleas-
ant.
THANK Heaven someone was turning
KEY in the lock They had come at
Iocti He eu11rnlv found himself blinking