Evening star., 1917-08-19

whole body to relax till she presented
the picture OF one calmly asleep. Then,
as they continued to gaze at her with
fascinated eyes, not knowing what to
expect, they saw something white
escape from her lap and slide across
the floor till it touched and was stayed
by the wainscot. 1t was the top page
of the manuscript she held, and as
some inkling of the truth reached
their astonished minds she sprang i'm
petuously to her feet and, pointing to
the fallen sheet, cried:
DO you understand now? Look
where it lies. and then look here.
She had bounded toward the wall and
was now on her knees pointing to the
bottom of the wainscot, just few
inches to the left of the fallen page.
"A crack" she cried, under what
was once the door. It's a very thin
one. hardly perceptible to the eye. But
fallen paper and. drawing it toward
her. pushed it carefully against the
lower edge of the wainscot. Half of it
at once disappeared.
II could easily slip 1t all through"
sheet and leaping to her feet in tri-
umph. You know now where the
missing page lies. Mr.. Spielhagen. All
that remains is for Mr.. Van Broecklyn
to get it for you.
.I am sorry,' he began. "if the paper
lies where you say, and I see no other
explanation of it's loss, I am afraid it
will have to remain there for this night
at least. The cement in which that
door is embedded is thick any wall ::
II would take men with pickaxes pos
sibly with dynamite. to make breach
there wide enough for any one to reach
in. And we are far from any such help"
Mr. Corneirs state of mind can be
imagined. In an access of mingled re-
Gret and despair. he cast glance at
Violet. who. with a nod of understand
ing left the little room in which they
still stood. and approached Mr.. Van
rs there no other way of reaching
that place."
There is way" he now conided to
her in tone as low as her own, but
it can only be taken by a child"
Not by me?' she asked. smiling down
at her own childish proportions.
He reached out his hand and touched
one of the satin folds crossing her
shoulder.
You would soil this irretrievably." !"
said he.
There is stuff in the stores for an
other she smiled.
Il will buy the stuff. If you will dare
the darkness and intricacies of our old
cellar. ] can give you no light. You
will have to feel your way according to
my direction
II am ready to dare anything"
He left her abruptly.
II will warn Miss Digby" he called
back. she shall go with you as far as
the cellar"
Never had Violet experienced a
greater depression of spirit than when
she stood with Miss Digby before a
small door at the extreme end of the
cellar.
First: It was such a small door,
Secondly: Though she had listened
carefully to Mr.. Van Broecklyn's direc-
tions and was sure that she knew them
by heart she wished she had kissed her
father more tenderly in leaving him
that night for the ball Did this mean
fear? She despised the feeling if 1t did.
Thirdly: She hated darkness. She
knew this when she offered herself for
this undertaking. But she had prom
ised and she would fulfill. So with a
brave smile she stopped to the little
door. and in another moment had
started on her journey.
For journey the shortest distance
may seem when every inch means a
heart throb and one grows old in trav-
ersing a foot. At first the way was
easy. But presently she came to a turn.
beyond which her fingers failed to
reach any wall on her left. Then came
a step up which she stumbled, and far
ther on a short flight. each tread of
which she had been told to test before
she ventured to climb it. lest the decay
ened the wood too much to bear her
weight. One, two, three. four, five
steps, Then a landing with an open
space beyond. Half of her journey was