The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-03-09
Mystery Of the Boule Cabinet
BY BURTON E. STEPHENSON
Copyrighted by B. E. Stevenson)

From the steamer, of counsel
l ought to have guessed az much
from the cut of his hair. He hasn't
been out of France more than 10
days or so. Excuse me a mo-
ment."
He hurried away. and five min
utes passed before he came back.
II 'phoned the office to send
some men around to the boats
which came yesterday. II he was
a passenger. some of the stewards
will recognize his photograph.
There is nothing else that | know
Of" he added thoughtfully, lex
cept that Freylinghuisen thinks he
has discovered the nature of the
poison. He says it is some very
powerful variant of prussic acid.
81 gathered from what he said
that ordinary prussia acid, which
is deadly enough, heaven knows,
contains only two per cent of the
poison. Frevlinghuisen says that
whoever concOcted this particular
poison has evidently discovered
new way of doing tor rediscov-
cred an old way-so that it is at
least fifty per cent effective. In
other words, IL you can get a frac-
ton of a drop of IL in mans
blood, you kill him by paralysis
quicker than II you put a bullet
through his heart"
Nothing can save q man,
them" / questioned.
Nothing on earth. Freylinghui-
sen thinks it is new discovery. |
don't. / think some one has dug
up one OF the old Medici formulate.
Maybe 1t was placed in the secret
drawer so that there would never
be any lack OF ammunition for the
mechanism.
Godfrey" | said. "are you still
bent on fooling with that thing?"
More than ever; I'm going to
find that secret drawer. And IL
the fAngs strike-well, I'm ready
for them. See here what | made
today"
He drew from his pocket some
thing that looked like a steel
gauntlet, such as one sees on suits
of old armor. He slipped II over
his right hand.
/ sat for a moment looking at
him, half in amusement, half in
sorrow. He caught my glance, and
put the gauntlet back into his
pocket.
well, what is it," he asked
quietly.
For answer. I got out the cable
gram and passed it across to him.
He read it with brows contracted.
That seems to put puncture
in our little romance, doesn't it?"
| asked, at last.
He nodded thoughtfully and
handed the message back to me.
well, in spite of this" he said
finally, 81 am stilf interested in
that cabinet, Lester. and now let
us go down and have a look at 1t
as we intended doing"
He said nothing more until we
stopped before the Vantine house,
but l could see, from his puckered
brows, how desperately he was
trying to untangle this quirk in
the mystery.
rang the bell in silence.
Parks answered Il almost in
stantly, and | could tell from the
way his face changed how glad he
was to see me.
| led the way into the inner
room.
well, there 1t u.s." said, and
nodded toward the Boule cabinet,
standing in the full glare of the
light. ut isn't too late to give it
up, Godfrey"
"Oh, yes, it u.s." he said. coolly,
removing his coat. at was too
late the moment you told me that
story. Why. Lester, If 1 gave it
up, | should never sleep again. y
He adjusted the steel gauntlet
carefully to his right hand and sat
down on the floor before the cab
met.
"I'll begin at the bottom" he
said. "If there is any spot 1 miss.
tell me of it,"
He ran his fingers up and down
the graceful legs, carefully feeling
every inequality of the elaborate
bronze ornamentation. Then he
examined the bottom OF the table
infinitely, but again without re-
suit.
I watched him with breathless
interest, but no hidden spring was
touched; no drawer sprang open;
no poisoned fangs descended.
don't know what 1t was-for
was conscious of no noise-but
some mysterious attraction drew
my eyes to the window at the far
Their side of the room. Near the
top of the wooden shutter, which
Parks had put in place, was a
small semi-circular opening, to al
low the passage of little light,
perhaps, and peering through this
opening were two eyes-two burn
ing eyes. -
Godfrey" l said. in a shaking
voice, don't look up, but there is
some one peering through the
hole in the shutter opposite u.s."
Godfrey passed his handker-
chief slowly over his face. Then
he leaned forward, apparently to
examine the legs of the cabinet.
"I saw him." he said, "or, rath-
err. saw his eyes. Rather fierce,
aren't they?"
They're tigers eyes," / said,
with conviction.
well, there is no use going
ahead with this while he is out
there. Even II We found the
drawer, we'd both be dead an in
slant later.