The Washington times., 1913-04-19

"SAc stoAdAi6 vi WHAT lsll
NV like the roadway. Jeffrey and
w l. A mile down the road We
could just distinguish the pu-r
OF Jacks limousine. i used the last
glimpse of its headlights as it swung
around in the road for look at my
watch. 1t was Las O'Clock in the
morning.
We remained where we were without
moving a muscle until II was out Of
hearing Hearing and touch were the
only senses that gave us any contact
with reality at all for the night was
completely dark. The sky must have
been very thickly overcast. for there
tie profile Of the tree tops. Ii was still,
too. There wasn't a breath of wind
and there were none OF the country
noises that ordinarily fill the ear at
night.
We were as nearly as Jeffrey had
been able to guess. half a mile from
the main entrance TO Beech Hill estate
JEFFREY laid a hand on my arm. This
way" he whispered
What sense of direction ii was that
enabled him to keep the road l don't
know. Perhaps he could feel the ruts
with his feet accurately enough to give
him the direction.
Left 10 myself I'd have been lost in
three minutes. But Jeffrey moved along
as confidently as If IL had been broad
daylight. It's perfectly impossible to
Judge the flight of time under such con
ditions. and ] don't know how far we
had been walking when he suddenly
checked me with a clutch on my arm 7
could feel him standing as rigid as a
setter dog making a point
j strained my ears, but could hear
nothing except the rise and fall of rny
own brea athing
What is it, I whispered. II can't
hear anything"
He didn't answer. but / heard him
drawing in a deep breath through his
nose Then i realized that he had heard
nothing himself 1t was his sense of
smell that had warned him. and that
realization made me shiver somehow
Very cautiously he led me over TO the
right across the ditch and up on the
other side. where there was a springy,
soggy turf. Once there we started for
ward again. but much more slowly and
with infinite precaution against noise
Fifty PAGES along ] got the same warn
ing that had checked Jeffrey earlier
There was something homelike about il
though-something that. took off the
horror of the thing. IL was the smell
of tobacco. Some one there in the dark
was smoking pipe. faint puff of
air blew on the left side of our faces
and carried off the pipe smoke with it.
The smoker then was somewhere ahead
of US.
Jeffrey's arm signaIed me again and
once more we moved forward. but still
HOIt siu"ly. pidHllIiR tdtN IbOt Win
the utmost care, moving absolutely
without a sound.
The bank where We were walking
seemed TO be considerably higher than
the road At least we had climbed 10
get TO the top of IL. and | wasn't con-
seious Of having walked down again.
The pipe-smell grew stronger and
presently j heard sound-the deep,
regular breathing of some one asleep.
There must be two Of them. then. be-
cause the smoker was keeping his pipe
lighted.
/ was walking at Jeffrey's Ieft-that
is to say. at the side of the bank near
est the road. Suddenly my left hand
touched something and. in my surprise.
lost my balance a little and my weight
came down on IL rather heavily. II
isn't easy TO keep your balance walk
ing slowly in the dark. Did you ever
try IL?
The thing gave a little under my
weight, and yet IL resisted stoutly. II |
felt like stretched leather and the sur
face of II was gritty with dust. In a |
second j knew what il waE-the ex-
tended top of a carriage or automobile. |
a stronger Whit of tobacco came UP |
Just then and ! felt the thirg move
little under my hand and heard the
faint creak Of leather cushion The