The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-01
Copyright, 1915, by Lippineott's Magaz inc.
copyright. 1915, by Mcbride. Mast & Go.

|e Bride, Mast & CO.
himself recently had quilted. But in
one particular it differed. 1t was &C.
cupied-and by woman!
Arrayed in a gossamer nightrobe she
lay in the bed beneath the trap, her
sunken face matching the silken white.
ness. Her thin arms dropped listlessly
over the rails Of the bunk. and upon
her left hand M. Max perceived wed
ding ring. Her hair, fsxen in the elcc-
trio light, was spread about in widest
disorder upon the pillow and breath
of fetid air assailed his nostrils as he
pressed his face close to the gauze
masking the opening in order to peer
closely at this victim Of the cata-
combs.
He watched the silken covering OF
her bosom intently, but failed to de.
tect the slightest movement.
"Morbleu!" he muttered. els she
dead?"
He rent the gauze with a sweep OF
his left hand, and, standing upon the
bottom shelf Of the case, craned for
ward into the room, looking all about
him. A purple shaded lamp burned
above the bed, as in the adjoining
apartment which he himself had occu
pied. There were dainty feminine tri
fies Uttered in the big armchair and a
motorcoat hung upon the hook of the
bathroom door. A small cabin trunk
in one corner Of the room bore the mi
tials, IN. L."
Max dropped back into the incredible
library with stifed gasp.
"PArdieur' he said. 1T is Mrs. lie
roux that have found!'
A moment he stood looking from
trap to trap; then turned and surveyed
again the impossible walls, the rows
Of works, few OF which were Euro
pean, some of them bound In vellum
some ia pigskin and one row OF huge
volumes, ten In number, on the bottom
shelf In crocodile hide.
ut is weird, thisI he muttered
sNightmare!'-t turning the light from
row to row. ''How Is this lamp lighted
that swings here?"
He began to search for the switch
and, even before he found 1t, had made
would not only enable him more fully
to illuminate the library, but would
constitute valuable clew.
At last he found it, situated at the
back Of one Of the shelves and SET
above a row Of four small books, SO
that It could readily be reached by in
sorting the hand.
He flooded the place with light and
perceived at glance that length OF
white fex crossing the ceiling enabled
any one seated at the table to ignite
the lamp from there also. Then, re
placing his torch In his pocket and as
surfing himself that the iron bar lay
within easy reach, he began deliberate
" to remove all of the books from the
shelves covering that side Of the room
upon which the switch w.s situated
His theory was sound one. He ar
gued that the natural and proper place
for such a switch in such a room
would be Immediately inside the door
30 that one entering could ignite the
lamp without having to grope in the
darkness. He was encouraged, fur
thermore, by the fact that at a point
some four feet to the left Of this
switch there was Q gap in the book
cases running from floor to ceiling, 9
gap no more than four inches across.
Having removed every book from its
position save three, which occupied 8
shelf on a level with his shoulder and
adjoining the gap, he desisted YEARLY
for many of the volumes were weighty
and the heat of the room was almos
insufferable. He dropped. with a sigh
upon silk ottoman close beside him.
A short. staccato, muff1ed repor
split the heavy silence, and q little
hole appeared in the woodwork of thu
book shelf before which an instan
earlier NJ Max had been standing-ir
the woodwork OF that shelf which hat
been upon level with his head
In one giant leap he hurled himself
across the room as second bulle
pierced the yellow silk of the ottoman
Close under the trap he crouched
A yellow hand and arm--a hand an,
arm of great nervous strength and 0
the hue Of old ivory-directed a pisto
through the opening above him. A
he leaped the hand was depressed with
a lightning movement; but, lunginl
suddenly upward, Max seized the bar
rel Of the pistol and with a powerful
wrench twisted it from the grasp OF
the yellow hand. 1t was his OWL
Browning!
He drew himself upright, breathing
very rapidly, and looked through into
the room, the room which he had oc
cupied and from which a moment ago
the murdercus yellow hand had pro
truded.
That room was empty-empty as b,
had left it!
Mile tonneres, he has escaped me!
he cried aloud, and the words did mo-
seem of his own choosing.
Who had escaped? Some one, mar
or woman. rather some thing which
yellow handed, had sought to murdel
him!
Max ran across to the second traI
and looked down at the woman whom
he knew beyond doubt to be Mrs. L.