Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-11-25
CHAPTER XII.

VI 1IlOChlI6 laughter.
CHAPTER XII.
GODFREY is FRIGHTENED.
I was still staring about me-, that
hooking laughter in my ears, when
Godfrey joined me.
He got away, of course" he said
coolly.
Yes. and heard him Taught"
cried.
Godfrey looked at me quickly.
Come. Lester" he said, s%oothingly,
don't let your nerves run away with
YOU"
1T wasn't my nerves" protested, a
little holly. Il heard it quite plainly,
He can't be far away
Too far for us to catch him." Cod
frey retoroed, and, torch in hand, pro-
ceeded to examine the window-sill and
the ground beneath it. There is
where he Stood" he added, and the
marks on the sill were evident enough.
of course, ne had his line of retreat
blocked out" and he flashed his torch
back and forth across the grass, but
the turf was so close hat no trace Of
footsteps was visible. We went slowly
back to the house, and Cod
frey sat Town again to a contemplation
of the cabinet.
Its too much for me- he said, at
ooS AA- my way Sc4l 1llI0 lllS4t
drawer, I'm afraid, is with an axe.
But 1 don't wantt to smash the thing to
pieces
II should say not. 1t would be like
smashing h Venus de Milo"
Hardly so bad as that. But we
won't smash it yet awhile. I'm going
to o up the subject of secret draw
ers-perhaps I'll stumble upon some
thing that will help me-
And then, of course" 1 said, dis
consolately. ut is quite possible that
there isn't any UGH drawer at ALL"
II don't agree with o there, Lester.
I'll wager that fellow who was looking
in at us could find it in a minute"
He seemed mighty frightened lest
you should"
He had reason to be-" Godfrey re-
Joined grimly. IN have another try
at it tomorrow. One thing we've got to
AXE care of. and that is that our friend
of the burning eyes doesn't get a chance
at it first"
Those shutter are pretty strong,'' I
pointed out. And Parks is no fool"
Yes" agreed Godfrey, "the shutters
are pretty strong-they might keep him
out for 10 Enthusiastically longer than
that. AS for Parks, he wouldn't last
10 seconds. You don't seem to under
stand the extraordinary character of
this fellow"
DuIlilS your PerlOQ OIL eXaltdtlOn last
night" reminded him, you referred
to him rs tie greatest criminal of mod
ern times"
"Well," smiled Godfrey, perhaps that
was a little exaggerated. Suppose we
say one of the greatest-great enough,
surely. to walk all around us. If we
are at on guard. I think I would better
drop a word to Simmonds and get him
to send down a couple of men to watch
the house. With them outside, and
Parks on h inside it ought to be
fairly safe"
II should think SOL" I said. zone
would imagine you We're getting ready
to repel an army. Who is this fellow,
anyway. Godfrey? You seem to be half
afraid of him."
I'm wholly afraid of him, il he's
who I think he is-out it's a mere guess
as yet. Lester. Wait a day or two. I'll
call Up Sinlmonds."
He went to the phone. while I sat
down again and looked at the cabinet
in & kind Of -stupefacation. What was
the intrigue. of which it seemed to be
the c%enter?e Who was this man, that
Godfrey should consider him so formid-
able? Why should he have chosen
Philip Vantine for a victim?
Godfrey came back while I was still
cropping blindly amid this maze of mys-
terry.
IT'S all right" he said. "simmonds is
sending w of his best men to watch
the house" Ee stood for a moment
ing back tomorrow to have another try
at 1T" he added. 81 have left the
gauntlet there on the chair, so If YOU
feel like having q try yourself, Lester
Heaven forbid" I protested. "But
let o in. I hone I won't find YOU a
corpse here. GOdfreyi"
so do I! But I don't believe you
will. Yes. tell Parks to let me in
wheneyer I come around. And now
about Rogers
II rather thought I might want to
grill him tonight. But perhaps I would
better wait till I get a little more o
go on" He paused for a moments
thought. "Yes; I'll watt" he said.
III fina elG II don't want to run n risk
We went out into the hall together
and I told Parks to admit Godfrey,
whenever he wished to enter. Rogers
was still sitting on the cot. looking so
crushed and sorroWful that I could not
help pitying him. I began to think
that. II he were left to himself a day or
two longer he would tell all we wished
to know without any grilling.
I confided this idea to Godfrey as we
went down the front steps.
Perhaps you're right" he agreed. "I
don believe the fellow Is really crook
ed Something a happened to him
something in connection with that wo-
man-and he has never got over It.
Well. we shall have to find out what
1T was. Hello, here are Simmond,s
men," he added. as two policemen stop
ped before the house.
rs this Mr.. Godfrey" one Of them
.tYes said Co6frev