Grand Forks herald., 1917-02-15
North Dakota's Cfeatest
Classified Section
out Of sight long before I could get

round"
IT'S all very odd" I said. 'And
then again, 1t mayn't be anything at
all. Just friends or business people
anxious to see Senor vicenti."
I wished him good night and went
on home. l just had time to mix my
self lemon squash. and was drinking
1T. up in the library. where drinks
ana biscuits are always set for me,
IN case come home late and am hun
cry or thirsty. when 1 heard q loud
Knocking at one Of the front doors
near. l went out on the balcony and
found that it came from Number 49,
ran down stairs and along to it, ex-
pecting to find the pretty niece of
Senor Vicenti again seeking her uncle.
Instead OF her l found Brookes In Its
porch. The door was ajar, and as I
ran up the steps, he rang and knocked
again.
This is rum start, m'Lord," he
said. Il comes up the steps to take
q look at this door; gives it shove
and open it goes. l don't like the
looks Of it at all. The lock- as bin
tampered with an not tonight. I've
'ad me eyes on this ere 'ouse all the
evening. I think I'd better md Bar
u.
There's no need to fetch Barnett,
III go round it with you," said ].
Brookes hesitated a moment: then
he said: Very well, mLord," and
he opened the door wider and went in.
I followed him. The light of his
lantern cut but a small wedge in the
darkness Of the big empty hall. He
drew the door to behind us. / noticed
an odd unpleasant smell-not exactly
mnsty-hut rather like it. 1 could
not place it. though l was sure that
! had smelt it before. Then / stum-
bled over basket standing a yard
or SO inside the hail.
Brookes turned the light OF his Ian
tern on it: and We saw that 1t was
about two feet square and the lid
was shut. In the lid was an odd little
trap door about four jnches square,
and that was open.
Its rummy-lookin' basket. I've
never seed one with an extra lid like
that" said Brookes: and then he
added: ut do smell-like as II it 'ad
'ad an hanmal in it,
Yes: but what animal?" I said.
Il can't rightly call it to mind"
said Brookes. AS he spoke / took a
step forward and tripped over wire
stretched across the hail. about six
inches from the floor; and on the
quickly, high up in the house.
Electric burglar ALARM said
Brookes.
He stepped forward to take look
at the wire my foot had struck, his
own foot struck another wire running
parallel to it and set another shrill
bell ringing.
We stood quite still. was watt
ing for some one to call to us from
the top of the house. 1 was sure that
some one would call. But no one did,
nor was there any stir. only the
shrill bells rang.
Brookes swept the light of his Ian
tern over the floor of the hall. 1t was
mapped out into squares by net.
work of wires.
"1f there amt few" he said.
Rather silly to have the house full
OF burglar alarms and nobody in it to
hear them," 1 said
That's just it," said Brookes; and
noticed that we were both talking
in whispers
Then he shouted: "1s there any
one upstairs? It's the pleece."
There was no answer. One Of the
bells stopped ringing; the other rang
We'll. we'd better look into it," I
said.
Stepping over the wires, we went
round the hall trying the doors. All
OF them were locked and there were
no keys in them. Then Brookes foot
struck another wire and set another
bell ringing.
Then we came to the stairs. At
the foot of them we were brought up
short by a. barricade of barbed wire.
why. hang it all! The house is
fortified against an assault. This
isn't burglars I cried.
ITS a rum start said Brookes.
"And nobody would fortify an
empty house." I exclaimed.
Hush, I thought I card somebody
movin'," said Brookes; and then he
shouted: Hi. You there upstairs!
It's the pleece. Your front door
wants locking"
His voice went echoing away up
the stairs. about the landings and
died away at the top of the house.
alarm stopped ringing; and all was
The shaft of light from the lantern
left lot Of darkness about US; and
there was the odd smell.
eve must try upstairs" said.
Brookes turned his light on the
harricade: and I saw that 1t was a
feet high, half Of them hinged to the
banisters. half to the wall. They were
overlapping one another. BY draw
ing the nearest toward one and push
ing back to the next to it. a passage
was opened through the barricade. It
was not very difficult to make ones
way along. But it was slow going.
and 1t only let one man through at
a time. 1t was practically impassa-
BILE for woman, if she were wearing
a skirt. Moreover. one was helpless
inside it, since one had to keep ones
arms to ones sides. or up above ones
head. A man on the flight Of stairs
above could have shot down any
number Of men. through the banisters.
He would have been out Of sight to
any one standing in the hall. It was
plainly enough meant to stop an as
sault in force; and It was an odd find
in Garthoyle Gardens.
I started to get past it and worked
my way gingerly through the screens:
it was not very difficult and I did not
tear my coat. Then I held the Ian
tern to light Brooks through 1t. He
caught his thicker coat once in one
Of the barbs; but he disentangled It
without tearing the cloth.
We had Just come through. when
heard faint rustic higher up the
stairs. I turned the light of the lan1
tern on them. and ten steps up 1t fell
on snake-a snake with a big head
reared above its coils. It was so un-
expected, and everything was 80 odd.
that it looked to me as big as a ships
hAwser.
I gasped. and heard Brookes gasp.
"Oyer the banisters." cried.
Brooks was over them In q jiffy.
I threw the lantern at the snake,
slipped over them myself. and landed
on top of Brcokes.
We did not say ANYTHING. we start