Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1915-01-07
CHAPTER u.
he sIoepino House Mystery.

"HE clearing Of John Storm was
a nine days wonder. In court
Hassam Ali testified that
Burns had been seeking some
/, facts regarding the past ana that
he. Hassam All. had succeeded In
gliding him to a certain extent But
the name of Bienreith had never been
mentioned during those seances. He
could not imagine why Burns had com
mitted the crime. There was no EVIL
dence to be found that the two men
had ever exchanged a word He was
rather COMPOUNDED at the turn Of events.
The broken phrase but another
was an much a mystery to him as to
the court. 1t was inexplicable. Has
sam Ali received good deal Of con-
temptuous grilling from the district at
tOrney, but the witness answered every
question calmly and in detail. he ad-
mitted that he was disciple OF the
Hindu cult; admitted that he had the
Gift of second sight at times. There
were many who could testify to THIS
Hassam Ali finally left the witness
chair with honors in his favor.
A subsequent Investigation by the
police revealed nothing to his discred
IT so far as the law was concerned.
His past, from the circus days to the
present day. was as an open book. In
deed. Hassam Ali was himself the in.
stigator of this research. He wanted
II definitely understood that. while his
cult was not locked upon favOrably by
the police. he was not the object or
any 1ustifiable suspicion. His grave
air. his unfailing patience under the
Ribes of the interrogation. his frank
ness. all won him at least the respect
of his detractors.
The man Burns was buried at the
expense Of the city. and what was
known as the Bienreith case went into
the public archives as one more I'm
sOlvable mystery.
1t was remarked, however, among
his associates that John Storm lost
deal of his impetuosity and that In his
subsequent cases he was no longer
brilliant and erratic, but calm ana
steady. always extremely well fortified
within his facts.
New York city has without doubt the
most cunglOnerate population OF any
civ III the world. The only alien race
which does not find habitat in New
York is the Aztec, and that Is merely
because the Aztec is extinct. And
each race has quietly formed city or
its own within the greater city. There
are Little Italy, the Ghetto. China
town and heaven knows how many
Others, all familiar to sightseers. Bu
there il lot going ON in New YORK
among these aliens that even the pO-
lice never hear about except by purest
accident. Who can say he knows the
heart Of Chinatown unless ne actively
belongs to it2
On "a certain night two weeks after
the Bienreith case. recorded in the pre-
eeding chapter. ZudOra heard the CLOCK
chime the hour Of 3. She went up
stairs to her room and threw up the
shade for dnal glance at the heavens
and paused In Amusement Coming
toward the house was the strangeSt
procession she had ever seen. Tur'
bans. lowing robes and white panta.
lets here In this wOrkaday city OF
New York; She rubbed her eyes as II
striving to awake She looked again
They were trOOplng silently up the
steps. She next heard the thunder Of
the knOrker. which nobody used In
these days OF electric buttons She
then beCame alive to the fact that this
was reality. She reached the head Of
the stairs just as her uncle's Hindu
servant. AIMED. opened the door. He
bowed deeply and tremendously. he
was dressed a good deal like his
strange visitors.
ZudOra came down the stairs unde-
cided as to whether she was frightened
or merely upset The man who was
evidently the leader Of this strange
caravan advanced toward Zudora.
Il wish" he said IN broken English.
ITO zee him who is called Hassam All.
the giver Of light"
-0h. you wish to see my uncleT said
EudOra. greatly relieved.
And thou art bis daughterr
.HlM niaca VIII can hin"