The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1916-12-12
THE HOUSE Of SECRETS
An Adventure of
Grant. Police Reporter
BY Robert Welles Ritchie
Story by Redne ingalls,
Story by Redneld ingalls,

| Halt! Hands upT' commanded a voice
ABOVE MIN crisply, and ne turned to see
the man covering him with a pistol
Ne1t tlIne you so poking your nose into
osnsr people affairs. remember to beware
OF mirrors. Mr.. Spy" said the ros- 80
an eVil grin. His left arm shot ont 80 :
luton on the wall and next nnornen+ ~.
aoof gave way beneath C,rant,- e."
mere was crash like the crscI ~ 49,
an eruption of stars-and he had nI,,rr-as
into oblivion Piungeo
when Grant came to he found h,ro..,r
= Us on some OF the tanks he had So,
ana the half light and must sr ,aJ seen sen
sesteo the cellar His nose told him tbs+
.He tshks contained oil and Gasoline II
Zee, leo 10 move and found himself tyicsa ~,
. siaho and foot. His head ached Woef,,,,-
~ liis was no time to bother about
= low window was Just above him ana
PC eontrived to swing himself aroma ~, ,,,,-
- ms rect were against IL He lsolaa
slsorousiy, and the glass gave vyav tn.
~ amt or considerable exertion he 49,
Sseo 10 swing around again and stand m
IN rev moments he had SAVED
through the rope around his wrists On ~
sharp edges of the broken -Isss - tn
WINDOW frame. He knew he could NOT
laVe oeen unconscious long for he could
teaf the crashing or the wireless overhead
proDapiy the black haired man making =
isport OF the spy and urging haste.
GIaht crawled through the window
sahhed away an iron grating and was i,
the open air once more. Wfthout s.os.s.- ~
lor breath, he hurried to his sladder,. and
dow SOilu lloor WIN
ana then he understood the reason for
lis sudden stunning fall. yaHning tran
aoor al the foot OF the stairs showed
where he had been quietly dronned &C.
the cellar AAioo
ant swung around the hole to the stairs
ana again was all but caught nanoins-
nearing a slight noise behind him as h.
s ss upward he turned and lodged Just In
time 70 escape the dubbed pistol in tbs
hands Of the black haired man Tnetan.IS,
lhe reporter grappled with him. There was
grim. Silent struggle, and the man was
neayeo up and shot over Grants shoulder
10 disappear down The open trap door.
Inc reporter turned at once and dashed
Ups sps'alrs. 1t was not for nothing that he
Lao spent three years at a telegram kev
len seconds later the operator at the
Bfooklyn Navy Yard was receiving a mes
sage that started a United States de-
stroyer TOT the nearby bay at top speed.
Du1 Grant was not out of the woods vet
rearing sound at the door as he pulled
on the head piece. he snatched IN char
ana all but Drained a handsome young wo-
man IN riding habit and puttees The
leader OF the wagon!
AT the point Of a revolver she backed
MN INTO cupboard. He thrust his foot
IN the way as she slammed the door
caught her weapon and promptly over
powered her and locked her in. He heard
excited shouts outside and the pounding
or Feet on the stairs and took to the roof
Several men In the uniform of q foreign
navy were below. as also the black haired
man. who looked very sick
There was a ven Of rage as they saw
him and a fusiliade of shots. some Of
them whistled uncomfortably close. Then
the captain In charge gave a command
and the firing ceased They wanted him
aiive But Grant thought he saw a way of
escape and snatched at It.
He ran to the iagstaff and srvarn1ed nm
It. Holding on by one hand. he got out
Knife with stout and serviceabIe nail file
blade. With this he notched and snapped
on the wires leading from the wireless
aerials, unlocked the latter from the flag
stan and. taking a firm grip on them.
swung out into midair. While the men
below yelled In amazement he swung
through great arc of circle and landed
in tree far beyond the telegraph pole, A
moment later he had dropped to the
ground and recovered his gun-and the
game was in his hands.
An hour later he was phoning Mansfield.
city editor OF The Chronicle It was a
peach Of a story. Submarine supply base
on Lond Observation-Disclosures of neu-
trality. ''But we bagged 'em ALL" he
chuckled- Cant beat your Uncle Sam
my!"