The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-05-20

, of those knives that contain all
sorts of things, including saw.
1t was one Saturday afternoon In
the summer holidays. ! came In
here from the garden as my ia
Their went out by that door into
the hall, leaving one Of these
mahogany doors open by mis-
take. 1t was the chance of my
life; In I slipped to have a look.
He came back for something, saw
the door standing ajar, and shut
II without looking In. SO there l
was In a nice old trap! l sim
ply daren't call out and give my
self away. There was a bit of
loose oilcloth on the floor"
There is STILL" said the de-
tective, already on his knees in
vestigating the floor.
81 moved the oilcloth, In the
end; hooked up one end of the
board, sawed through the next
one to 1t, had it up, too, and got
through into the foundations,
leaving everything much as / had
found 1t.
1.-The place is so small that the
oilcloth was obliged to fall in
pace II 1t fell anywhere. But
/ had plenty of time, because my
people had gone in to dinner. T"
"You ought to have been a
burglar. SIR" said Mr.. Drinkwater
ironically. But how did you
get out of the foundations?"
"Oh, that was as easy as pie;
I'd often explored them. Do you
remember the row l got into,
Blanche, for taking you with me
once and simply running your
frock?"
81 remember the frock!" said
Blanche.
1t was her last contribution to
the conversation; immediate de-
velopments not only put an end
to the further exchange of an
cient memories, but rendered 1t
presently impossible by remov-
ing CaZalet from the scene with
the two detectives.
Almost without warning, all
three disappeared down the
shift trap-door cut by one of
them as a schoolboy In his ia
theirs floor.
A lot of whispering followed
in the little place. Then Mr..
Drinkwater himself very courte-
ously turned Blanche out of the
library. So
She wondered what they were
doing under the floor. Under her
very feet she heard them NOV
ing as she waited a bit in the hall.
Then she left the house. 1t was
a long half-hour that followed for
Blanche Macnair, but she passed
1t Enthusiastically.
She turned her mind to dogs,
which in some ways she knew
better and trusted farther than
men. There was a dog at Up
lands, and as yet she had seen
nothing of him; he lived in a
large kennel In the yard. But
Blanche knew him by sight, and
decided to pass the time visiting
him.
The kennel, large enough to
admit a person, was just outside
the back door, which was at the
top of the cellar steps and at
the bottom of two or three lead
ing into the scullery.
Blanche found the poor old dog
quite disconsolate. There was
every sign of his being treated as
the dangerous dog Blanche had
heard he was. The outer bars of
the kennel were further protect
ed by wire netting, but Blanche
let herself in with as little hesita-
tion as she proceeded to beard
the poor brute in his inner lair.
And he never even barked at her;
he Just lay whimpering with his
fearful nose between his two
front paws.
Blanche coaxed and petted him
until she almost wept herself;
then suddenly and without warn
ing the dog showed his worst
side. Out he leaped, almost
knocking her down, and barking
horribly, but not at Blanche.
She followed his Infatuated
eyes; and the back doorway
framed a dusty and grimy figure,
Just climbing into full length on
the cellar stairs, which Blanche
had some difficulty in identifying
with that of Cazalet.
"Well, you really are Swept"
she cried when she had slipped
out just in time, and the now
savage dog was still butting and
clawing at his bars. "How did
you come out, and where are the
enemy?"
1.-THE old way" he answered.
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