The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1916-03-23

be present.
"She has been trying all sorts of
pretexts to get in, Just as Schmidt
has been trying to get into the cellar.
She even threatened me; but I be-
lieve have settled her for the time
| being. When she learns that it will
be quite as difficult to leave the house
tonight as it is to gain admission here
heaven aIono knows what will hap
pen."
At this Juncture there sounded a
light rap on one Of the doors. The
nurse, her eyes flashing with sudden
fire, glided swiftly but noiselessly over
to it and opened it. Then the nurse
deliberately and violently pushed the
intruder away, went into the hall and
softly closed the door.
A subdued murmur of voices came
to the man beside the bed. He was
morbidly sensible of the slow tick
took, ticktock of the tall old clock.
The sick mans regular breathing was
plainly audible.
In a little while the nurse returned,
unruflled, cool, capable.
| Ac V OA 1AOI4 Is d6clA1l Ill cAAS " "a
to the tall mans look of inquiry. ''She
insists now upon knowing the time
by this Clock
"And you told herr"
II did. She nearly tainted. .. You
are sure, are you, Felix, that there
can be no hitch?"
positive. Do you think I would let
you be imperiled? The wires are dis
connected at two points; at the con-
tact behind the clock dial, and right
at the coherer where it is damned
against the powder in q potato barrel
in the cellar.
"Ycu know, Helen, there was
theory advanced at the lime that the
French battleship Republique's maya
zines were exploded by means of some
advanced wireless method. Doubtless
it was only an imaginative story. But
this apparatus works, beyond dou' ::
Four times it has failed. Four times
Miss Won Hellwig has stolen in here
and set back the clock an hour SO that
Schmidt might have an opportunity TIC
tinker with his coils and adjustments
in an effort to find and correct its de-
fects. 1t is my belief that some of the
other servants have been bribed. ..
Well, we'll know who they are whez
the panic starts. :. There!"
A woman's piercing scream shat
tered the silence and persisted with
a hopeless note that froze the blood
There were mems muffled, strangled
curses, sounds of desperate struggle
and combat from various regions of the
house.
And then the old clock began erik
ing eleven.
VI.
Some weeks after the strenuous
night at Blackwater Felix and Helen
we're once more back in the Suther-
lands shabby, rambling old suite OF
Fifth avenue Offices, where the ele.
waited roars all day and all night. The
noise was music in their ears. The
burly chiefs features were quite as
illegible as usual; but Helen was eye
ing him intently with little puzzled
wrinkle between her brows.
II have it, Chief" she explained,
though ordinarily it would require a
clairvoyant to plumb the depths OF
your inner consciousness and fish up
any trace Of feeling that might be IT,
ing dormant there. But the fact is
I have just discovered it-that you
are genuinely glad to see uc back
again and don't know how to say So"
The chief cooked shaggy eyebrow
at her and his dull eyes fingered On
the happy, flushed face a. moment.
eyes," he admitted. and I'm glad
that we are not going to lose you,
either. I'll tell you all about it after
I've heard the balance of the details
of your stirring honeymoon adventure.
1t is something, you know, that can
! never be embodied in written re-
port"
It was Hazard who replied.
There is little more to tell than
you know, chief. That very day Hud.
mutt discovered the process for max
ing the 'hellpowder,' as he very ap-
propriately calls it, SO the plotters
would have gained nothing by having
succeeded.
''The only place Curtis men fell
down was In lack of technical
knowledge. Not that I'm an electrt-
clan myself; but when Helen told me
about the Won Hellwig woman's med
ding with the clock, why, I guessed
pretty close to the truth. Her in
timacy and heart to heart talks with
Schmidt, the butler, implicated him.
and, barring that they were uncannily
shrewd to suspect our motives. the
rest was easy. Mr.. Harmon took des-
| perate measures to blind them, and
I'm glad to know that he will get well.
There was panel in the wall be-
HAD the clock from which Schmidt
who is really a finished electrical en-
gineer-could work without much fear
of discovery. The wires were SO ar
ranged that after ali outside connec-
ton was closed, when the clock hands
! got to eleven contact was made, the