The Monticellonian., 1915-05-27


 Rise a when l heard the telephone ring 1t for his rudeness, which I knew had been purely absent-minded, heard him say Walter, meet me in half an hour outside that Florence Leighs house."
 
 Half an hour later was waiting near the house in the suburbs to which had been directed by the strange telephone call the day before l noticed that it was apparently de- serted The blinds were closed and a '.To Let sign was on the side of the house.
 Hello, Walter" cried Craig at last, bustling along
 He led the way around the side of the house to a window, and, with a powerful grasp, wrenched open the closed shutters. He had just smashed the window when a policeman ap- peared
 Hey, you fellows-what are you doing there?" he shouted.
 Craig paused a second, then pulled his card from his pocket.
 Just the man l want" he parried much to the policeman's surprise There's something crooked going on here. Follow us in.'
 We climbed into the window. There was the same living room we had seen the day before. But it was now bare and deserted.
 Come en- cried Kennedy, beckon- ing us on
 Quickly he rushed through the house There was not thing in it to change the deserted appearance of the first floor At last it occurred to Craig to grepe his way down cellar. There was nothing there
 Kennedy had been carefully going over the place, and was at the other side of the cellar from ourselves when I saw him stop and gaze at the floor.
 Hide" he whispered suddenly to us
 We waited a moment Nothing hap pened Had he been seeing things or hearing things, wondered?
 From our hidden vantage we could now see a square piece in the floor, perhaps five feet in diameter, slowly open up as though on a pivot.
 The weird and sinister figure of a man appeared. Over his head he wore peculiar helmet with hideous glass pieces over the eyes and tubes that connected with a tank which he car ried buckled to his back.
 Quickly he closed down the cover of the tube, but not before a vile eflluvi- um seemed to escape and penetrate even to us in our hiding places. As he moved forward Kennedy gave a flying leap at him. and we followed with a regular football interference. It was the work of only moment for us to subdue and hold him. while Craig ripped off the helmet.
 It was Dan the Dude
 What's that thing?" I puffed, as 1 helped Craig with the headgear
 An oxygen helmet" he replied. There must be air down the tube that cannot be breathed.
 He went over to the tube Carefully he opened the top and gazed down. starting back a second later, with his face puckered up at the noXious odor. Sewer gas" he calculated, as he slammed the cover down. Then he added to the policeman: Where do you suppose it comes from?"
 Why" replied the officer, "the St, James viaduct-an old sewer-is some where about these parts"
 Kennedy puckered his face as he gazed at our prisoner. He reached down quickly and lifted something off the mans coat
 Golden hair" he muttered "Elaines,"
 A moment later he seized the man and shook him roughly.
 Where is she-tell me-" he de- manded.
 The man snarled some kind of re- ply, refusing to say word about her Tell me" repeated Kennedy. "Humphi" snorted the prisoner, more close -mouthed than ever.
 Kennedy was furious. As he sent the man reeling away from him he seized the oxygen helmet and began putting 1t on. There was only one thing to do-to follow the clue of the po1dep strands of hair
 Down into the pest hole he went. his head protected by the oxygen helmet As he cautiously took one step after another down a series of iron rungs inside the hole. he found that the wa ter was up to his chest At the bot tom of the perpendicular pit was a narrow, low passageway leading off