The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-06-05

1y matched hard wood studded thick ly with nail heads, but no keyhole or latch Secure in the feeling that no one else could be in this outer passage, and completely baf1ed. ventured Co strike a match. The tiny yellow fame, ere it quickly fickered out in some mysterious draft, revealed an iron band to the left of the door, with slight pro- tuberance, resembling the button of an electric bell.
 Almost convinced that the pressure of my finger would ring an electric bell pressed the metal button. To my surprise and relief the only thing to occur was the slow opening of the floor inward, a dim gleam of light be- coming visible through the widening crack. I peered anxiously into the dimly revealed interior. It was base ment room, half the width of the kitch- en overhead, I should judge; the walls of crude masonry, the floor of brick, the ceiling, festooned by cobwebs, of ing and dim, came from half burned candle in an iron holder screwed against the wall, revealing a small ta- ble, two chairs, one without back, and four narrow sleeping berths made of rough boards. This was all, except coat dangling from a beam and a small hand hatchet lying on the floor. There was, in the instant I had to view these things, no semblance of movement or suggestion of human presence Assured of this, although holding myself alert and ready, slip ped through the opening Even as stood there, uncertain and staring about, a sharp draft of air extinguish- ed the candle, and heard the snap of the lock as the door behind blew back into position. About me was the black silence of a grave
 backed against the wall, crouching low, weapon in hand, scarcely ventur- ing to breathe, listening intently for the slightest sound to break the in tense silence. There must be another opening into this underground den one leading to the outer air-judging. from that sudden and powerful sue ton. The very atmosphere breathed had a freshness to it, inconceiyable in such a place otherwise. That sudden sweep of air could only have originat ed in the opening of some other bar rier-a door, no doubt, leading directly to the outside I had seen no occu- pant of the room. Without question it. was deserted at my entrance. Yet some one had been there, and not long before, as was evidenced by the burn ing candle. Nor, by that same token, did this same mysterious party expect to be absent for any length of time Apparently I had intruded at the very moment of his departure. Wherever that second passage might be- the for mer occupant of this underground den had evidently entered it previous to my opening the inner door. Still un- T-- 4efs
 ened some other barrier, and the re- sultant draft had extinguished the can dle and blown shut the door at my back This seemed so clearly the truth that laughed grimly behind clinched teeth The solution was easy. had but to discover the extnguished can dle, relight it. search out the second passage and waylay the fellow when he returned unsuspicious of danger.
 My groping search for the candle was finally rewarded by touch of the iron brace. I could clearly trace the form of the bracket and determine how it was fastened into place, yet to my astonishment, there was no rem nant of candle remaining in the emp ty socket. Grease, still warm to the touch, provedN conclusively that I had attained the right spot in my search, 1 yet the candle itself had disappeared Beyond doubt the draft of air had been sufficiently strong to dislodge it from the shallow socket, and it had fallen to the floor. I felt about on hands and knees, but without result. and finally, in sheer desperation, struck my last match. The tiny flare was sufficient to reveal the entire floor space as well as the wall, but there was no remnant of candle visible I ' hnir eIfxxnr oF xuood fI1o ] flame scorched my fingers, staring about in bewilderment. Then the in l tense darkness shut me in.
 I crouched back to the wall, pistol in hand, and it seemed as though the 1 blood in my viens had turned to ice. 1 How could the candle have, vanished l so comp1etely7 There was but one
 way to account for this occurrence
 some human, aware of my presence, had removed the candle, had stolen through the pitch darkness silently and as swiftly disappeared was locked in, trapped, and not alone.
 I confess for an instant I was panic stricken, shrinking back from the hor- TOT of the black unknown which en- veIoped me. could see and hear nothing yet seemed to feel a ghast- ly presence skulking behind that i'm | peneIrdOle veil My urSL 1nc1ludLlOH was to creep. back to the door and es- cape into the outer passage. Yet pride restrained me, pride quickly supplemented by a return of courage. strengthened up and advanced slow ly, testing the wall with my band, ev- cry muscle stiffened for action, listen ing for the slightest sound. encoun- tered nothing, heard nothing, until my groping fingers touched the rough plank of a sleeping berth. explored this cautiously, lifting the edge of a coarse blanket and reaching up to make sure the one above was also un- occupied Satisfied that both were empty, worked my way blindly along to the second tier. As I reach