Putnam patriot., 1915-02-12

feet, although the walls on either side as 1 explored them with my hands. were still of closely matched wood The passage. now high enough to per init of my standing erect led toward the rear Of the house, presenting no obstacle other than darkness. until came mp suddenly against heavy wooden door. completely barring fur ther progress. As near as could fig ure 1 must be already directly beneath the kitchen and close in against the south wall. No sound reached me however. from above. nor could l. with ear against the slight crack. distin- guish any movement beyond the bar rer Cautious lingering revealed close ly matched hard wood studded thick iy with nail heads but no Eeyhole or latch Secure in the feeling that no one else could be in this outer passage, and completely batfied. ventured to strike a match The tiny yellow flame. ere it quickly dickered out in some mysterious draft. revealed an iron band to the left of the door, with slight pro- tnbprance resembling the button of su 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 fo occur was the slow opening of the door inward, q dim sleam of light be- coming visible through the widening crack. peered anXiously into the dimly revealed interior It was base ment room. half the width of the kitcb- en overhead, l should judge; the walls 0f crude masonry, the floor of brick, ihe ceiling. festooned by cobwebs, of rough hewn beams. The light. flicker ing and dim, came from half burned candle in an iron holder screwed against the wall. revealing a small ta be. two chairs. one without d back. and four narrow sleeping berths made of rough boards. This was all, except a coat dangling from q beam and small hand hatchet lying on the floor. There was, in the instant l had to view these things. no semblance of movement or suggestion of human presence. Assured Of this, although holding myself alert and ready. 1 slip ped through the opening. Even as stood there. uncertain and staring about. a sharp draft of air eXtingnish- 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 q grave.
 backed against the wall, erouching low, weapon in hand scarcely yentur- ing to breathe listening intentiy for the slightest sound To break the in Ieuse silence. There must be another opening into this underground den one leading to the outer air-judsine from that sudden and powerful sue ton. The very atmosphere l breathed had a freshness to it, inconceivable 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 l had seen no occu- pant of the room, Without question 1t 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 1 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- aware of my presence, he had unfast- ened some other barrier, and the re- sultant draft had eXtinsuished the can dle and blown shut the door at my back This seemed so clearly the truth that l laughed griinly behind clinched teeth The solution was easy. 1 had but to discover the exfinguished can de, relisht 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. 1 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. proved conclusively that l had attained the right spot in my search. yet the candle itself had disappeared Beyond doubt the draft of air had been sufficiently strong to dislodge 1t from the shallow socket, and It had fallen to the floor l 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. held the silver of wood. until the flame scorched my fingers. staring about in bewilderment Then the in tense darkpess shut me in.
 crouched back to the wall. pistol in hand and it seemed as though the blood in my viens had turned to ice How could the candle have vanished so compieteiyf There was but one way to account for this occurrence some human. aware Of my presence. had reutoyed the candle. had stolen through, the pitch darkness silently and as Jswiftly disappeared. was locked 1in. trapped and not alone.
 I Hess for an instant l was panic stric. en. shrinking back from the nor TOT 9f the black unknown which en- velopAd me. could see and bear nothinE. yet l seemed to feel a ghast- ly pntscnce skulSing behind that i'm penet fable veil My first inclination was fo creep back to the door and es- capet into the outer passage. Yet N 6n iFt