The Washington times., 1917-07-29


Of his nrst Newspaper and had made
good 30 quickly that he had been
promoted over the heads Of q lot Of
men who had been reporting for
years. And the fact that he was
universally liked, In spite Of this. Do
scribes Tommy CArIston perfectly.
When he had nothing important o.,
he was in the habit Of dropping In
now and then to see his old friend.
Inspector Dryer, and It was during
one OF these calls that he heard about
the IRE on Elm street
Hurrying from the police station
into the street, he passed Bert Far
Der. another reporter, who had Just
driven up in . Ford and had left II
standing at the curb.
Anything onT- asked Farbsr, not
ing Carleton'B haste
"No-nothInE important" drawisd
Carleton, and passed on
Carleton Takes q Chance.
Farber sauntsrsd into the station
house. with q ehuckle Of gles, Carl
ton Communicated the Ford and set
on for the ere In high spirits.
He hardly expected to get big
story-but you never can tell, ana
he always liked fires
Driving with the reckless speed
he allowed himself since he knew
intimately most Of the members OF
the police force, he hAde the run TO
Elm street In record time, arriving
before the IRE engines, which had
more than twice as far 70 coma
A few pedestrians stood with the
policeman who had discovered the
blaze, staring up at the house from
the street. Tom descended from the
car at the curb and approached on
the run
as he advanced
II don't know" answered the
policeman. i've rung the bell and
knocked, Apt can't seem to get any
answer"
c.rlton looked I'D At the Window
Looks tenantsd. though" he Cd
TurninE, he dashed around the side
of the house toward the rear. There,
he stood a. far on as possible. Ano
leAning against the. fence iookeo ~
YnGaIn 10 see II there were Stknala
Of distress floating anywhere Hhe's
v ere none.
AZ he stood there. then, wonderins
.Whether II was worth while to break
In and Investigate or not-hs soo'
denly heard some one speaking on
the other side Of the fence
AFataI Mistake.
HI,ool,r' cried the voice, In . hoarse
vhi.per. They haven't noticed that
the house is afre! They're going INT
Let them so!" cried another voiee
.xpltantly. Wen sneak up behind
them and lock the door. rhsn-rll
be rid Of them as well a. OF nS
others I've already trapped IN nere'
Come along?
Tom Cartoons eyes gleameoi ~
turned and peered through
in the fence
o,ars me Hpeakers. And they were
sdvnneInr. stealthily now, toward tns
rear of the house.
Carleton raised himself 70 the Sos
~ the fence for a better view. Ae
saw the high priestess and her Lol'
IIovara-unaware of their impending
danRer-entering the rear OF tn'
housa through a little door that theJ
bsd forced open. And close oehine
than but still unseen by them eams
The high priestess and her Arab
nassad through the lower region o.
| the house without mishAp and gainee
the hall. There was not yet any
smoke downstairs, % their SUSPICION
were not aroused
| 9oveyer. now . heavy door barred
tbsIr way. What lay behind II theS
| could not guess The formal dra"ine
room and the dining room were opei
and dark and empty OF occupants
| They had seen that
nut was this room empty: Or wsr'
there hidden foes lurking there!
Tbsv forced back the heavy spring
Iork and opened the door to inVesn
| gate. One by one-cautiousiy-tn
passed within
But meanwhile Carslake had conn
nm close behind them aud was watch
ing them from an angle In the nan
and Tom Carleton was watching Mn
The instant that the high priestes
and the Arabs were we'll within IN
room. carsiake darted forward ant
slammed the door upon them Ihen
laughing grimly to himself. he turn
ed a lever in the wafnscotinS near oy
This lever set In action CERTAIN
tremendous weights that controlls'
the walls OF the room in which IN
Arabs were trapped. These waH
worked like q pAperpress, comini
together slowly-very, very slowly
and crushing anything In their path
He Confronts caTslakeN
Terrified cries went up from tn
Prisstess and her followers a. the
realized this. They threw themselVe
upon the door, beating at II wit
their ists-but It would not yield.
Outside, in the hallway, Tom Carrie
ton saw Carslake lock the door an
turn the lever, but he had no tde
of course, what frightful machtner
the man was setting in motion j
was enough, though, that he wa
seeking to imprison three human be
ings in q burning house; and Tor
advanced angrily.
Here! What are you doing there?
he cried.
| CarsIake turned with a snarl. fur
ious at finding himself discovered.
What do you meant" he askeC
who are you, anyway? What a.
you doing in my house?"
"I'u answer all those question