Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-11-04

promptly. wv nat Is III YOU want me TO
do?"
II want you to put a cot in the hall
way outside the door of the ante room
and sleep there tonight. Tomorrow
l will decide what further precautions
are necessary"
Very good, sir said Parks. I'll
get the cot up at once"
There is thing more" I went
on. Il have given the coroner my per-
sonal assurance that none of the serv-
ants will leave the house until after the
inquest. l suppose l car rely on them?"
"Oh. yes, sir. I'll see they UNDER
stand how important it is"
Rogers. especially" I added, look
ing at him.
II understand. sir" said Parks
quietly.
Very we'll. And now let us go down
and lock up those rooms"
They We're still ablaze with light, but
both of us faltered a little, 1 think. on
the threshold of the ante room. For
in the middle of the floor stood a
stretcher, and on it was an object COW
cred with a sheet, it's outlines hor-
ribly suggestive. Blu ! look myself
in hand n entered. Park followed
me and closed the door
The ante roo had two windows and
the room beyond, which was a corr
ner one. had three. All of them were
locked, but a pane of glass seemed to
me an absurdly fragile barrier against
any one who really wished to enter.
Aren't there some wooden shut
tiers for those windows" I asked.
Yes, sir, they were taken down yes
terday and put in the basement. Shall
l get them?"
II think you'd better" 1 said. will
you need IN help"
NO. sir, they're not heavy. If you'll
wait here, you can snap the bolts into
n1o no who I lief fhnpo m fr0~, tho
outside"
Very WE'LL" I agreed, and Parks
hurried away.
/ entered the inner room and stopped
before the Boule cabinet. There was
a certain air of arrogance about it,
as it stood there in that blaze of light,
it's inlay aglow with a thousand SUBJ
tie reflections; a Haunting air, the air
of a courtesan conscious of her beauty
and pleased to attract a~ttentiOn-just
the air with which Madame de Monte
span must have sauntered down the
mirror gallery at Versailles, ablaze
with jewels, her skirts rustling, her
figure swaying SUCCESSFULLY. Some
thing threatening, too; something sim
lister and deadly
There was a rattle at the window,
and / saw Parks lifting one of the
shutters into place. I threw up the
sash and pressed the heavy bolts care
fully into their sockets. then closed the
sash and locked it. The two other win
dows were secured in their turn, and
with a last look about the room, I
turned out the lights. The, ante room
windows were 500 suffered in the
same way and with a sigh Of relief
1 told myself that no entrance to the
house could be had from that direc-
ton. With Parks outside the only
door, the rooms ought to be safe from
invasion.
Then, before extinguishing the lights,
I approached that silent figure on the
for h last time upon the
face Of my dead friend. 1t was no
longer staring and terrible, but calm
and peaceful as in sleep-almost smil-
ing. With wet eyes and contracted
throat, I covered the face again, turned
met me in the hall, carrying a cot.
which he placed close across the door
way.
There" he said: nobody will get
Into that room without my knowing
it."
NO." 1 agreed; and Their a sudden
thought occurred to me. Parks" I
said. lis 1t true that there Is a burglar
alarm On all the windows?"
Yes, sir. It rings q bell in Mr.. VAN
tines bed room. and another in mine.
and sends In q call to the police"
rs it working"
Yes, sir: Mr.. vantine himself tested
1t this evening just before dinner"
h why didn't 1t work when I
opened those windows Just now?" I
demanded.
Parks laughed.
because I threw off the switch, sir"
he explained, when I came out to get
the shutters. The switch Is in a little
iron box on the wall just back of the
stairs, sir. It's one Of my duties to
turn it on every night before I go to
bed"
I breathed a sigh of relief.
rs 1t IN again, O
1T certainly is, sir. After what you
told me-. I'd not be likely to forget it."
You'd better have a weapon handy.
too" I suggested.
II have q revolver. sir"
That's good. And don't hesitate to
use it. I'm going home-Tm dead
tired"
"Shall I call a cab. sir?"
mo. the walk will do me good. I'll
see you tomorrow"
Parks helped me into my coast and
opened the door for me. CHANGING
back, after a moment. I saw that he
was standing on the steps gazing after
me. I could understand his reluctance
to go back into that death-haunted
house: and I found myself breathing
deeply with IN relief Of getting u Of