The Carlisle independent., 1917-04-12

They Reeled Through the DoorWay. lamp lighted and, stepping to the wall, she switched on the electric light.
 Good God, Whats this?" cried Hope, catching sight of Leyland's body
 Mrs. Delmar gave cry of horror. Its Francis! It's my nephewi Is he dead? Oh, is he dead? Whats happened to him?"
 No, he's not dead" said Hope, ex- amining the unconscious man, but he's had a terrific clip on the back of the head Looks as though some- one had hit him with life-preserver. He's coming around, though. He'll be all right in a few minutes"
 Here are the books on the table" said Cleo, recognizing two of her fa- thers beloved volumes. Poor MT. Leyland must have been looking at them when"
 She stopped abruptly. for from be- hind the curtains had come a muffled sneeze.
 Someone's hiding there-behind the curtains," she whispered grip ping Hopes arm.
 Crossing the room on velvet feet, Hope suddenly ierked aside the heavy draperies. As he did so Mahlin, who had slipped a black mask over the up- per portion of his face, leaped at him like a panther. Locked in each oth- er's arms the two men swayed out into the middle of the room. They hit carved cabinet filled with porce- lain and it went over with crash. They caromed from the wall to the table and from the table to the wall Cursing, grunting, snarling, straining, more like animals than men, they reeled through the doorway of the study into the upper hall. A rug. slipped from beneath them and sent them to their knees, but still they bat tied on. Nearer and nearer their des- perate struggle brought them to the top of the stairway. Hope, who was on top now, had his fingers on Nah. lin's throat. The house was in an up- roar now. Guests, servants and mu- sicians, attracted by the piercing screams of Cleo and Mrs. Delmar, rushed from the ballroom and stood crowded in the door below, watching the struggle at the head of the stairs as an audience watches a mock strug gle on the stage. Now the two were poised at the top of the stairway Then, amid chorus of screams from Cleo and Mrs Delmar above and from the assembled guests below, they rolled, with a terrific pumping, down the marble stairs. So intertwined that one could not be distinguished from the other, they burst into the ballroom, the frightened guests giv. ing way before them. Painting from exhaustion they rocked and swayed across the polished floor, reeled for 8 sickening moment against the low warning from the onlookers, plunged outward and downward into the dark ness. A terrific crash of broken glass told the mortified listeners that they had fallen through the roof of the con. servatory below.
 Throughout the desperate encoun ter Cleo had remained at the. top of the stairs, petrified with fear for Hopes safety, ciinging convulsively to Mrs. Delmar. AS the two figures plunged through the open window she gave a shriek of horror.
 He's killed! He's killed! I know he's killed!" she walled, and ran blindly, madly down the stairs.
 Seeing that the coast was now mo mentarily clear, Morton and Olga who had followed the others upstairs without themselves being observed and had witnessed the whole of th desperate struggle, slipped into thS empty study with the intention of get ting the books, which they fad seen. only moment before, lying on the table. But they stopped in astonish. ment on the threshold
 The books had disappearedl (TO BE CONTINUED1