The Carlisle independent., 1917-03-15

silent in the darkness, listening. Then l he flashed on the torch again. Stand Ing out from the surrounding darkness, as in a spotlight, was the face of Sat suma. He bent over the inert heap on the floor. It stirred ever so slightly. Burke, though unconscious from the DioW or the Japanese's life preserver, was living. Returning to the desk, Satsuma resumed his interrupted search, hastily examining paper after 1 paper and then tossing it aside im- patiently. He was evidently unable to md that which he was after. Sud denly he again snapped out the light. His keen ears had heard, in the rear or the house, the tinkle of a key in a lock and the creak of a door cautious | ly opened. Then the sound of stealthy footsteps as the latest intruder, evi- den6y feeling his way in the dark ness, entered the sitting room. Sat l suma's retreat was cut of Straight l from the door of the laboratory came the footballs. Then a dim shape, blacker ever than the enveloping ! way, within yard of where Satsuma crouched, waiting The Japanese swung up his revolver, but in the l darkness his hand came in contact with shelf holding a row of test tubes and it came crashing to the floor. At that instant the man in the doorway sprang. Had his blow ] o6 tc ~Ix G. the time being. at least, have faded from this story. but as the Japanese was much shorter than his opponent, 1t went harmlessly over his shoulder and the next moment the two were locked in each others arms. The struggle in the dark was savage one. Each of the intruders supposed that he had been surprised by member of the household and fought desperately to get free. Round and round the laboratory swaye9 the two figures, so intertwined that they seemed like one Each tried to get at his weapon but his move was instantly anticipated and thwarted by the other. It was no un- even struggle, for the Japanese made up for his lack of stature in agility and knowledge of wrestling. They | lunged against table burdened with Rurke's experimental apparatus and over it went with a crash of shattered glass. They swayed against a book case and that went over too. Still clasped in their wild embrace. they reeled through the doorway into the | eli in Go
 ing to gain the window through which he had entered All at once a shriek ran through the darkened house Help! Help! Help, Police, Pc lice," Cleo, awakened by the uproar, stood at the head of the stairs. lamp in her hand. screaming frantically for | assistance. At the same moment Sat suma, putting into practice Japanese wrestling trick, grasped one of his op- ponents wrists with both hands and brought it downward with a terrific force, dislocating the shoulder. With a groan of pain the other relaxed his grasp and as he did so the Japanese leaped through the open window. En- sued a sudden silence. It was broken by Cleo.
 Daddy" she called in terrified ac- cents. Daddy, what has happened9 Daddy, why don't you answer? Dad dy dearest, are you there?" A faint groan from Burke. who was beginning to recover consciousness. was her only answer Summoning all her courage, Cleo, the lamp held high above her head, fearfully descended As, quak- l ing with terror, she reached the door 1 of the sitting room, a figure crouching in the shadows crawled painfully but | silently through the window by which Satsuma had made his escape and dis appeared in the outer darkness. Pass ing into the laboratory Cleo stumbled over the outstretehed form of her fa- ther, who was slowly recovering from the blow dealt him by Satsuma | Though he quickly regained his facul- | ties under Cleo's tender care the old inventor was badly shaken. Assisting him to his bed she bathed and bound his throbbing head. and clinging to his hand sat beside him until morn | ing.
 Dating from the night of the attack, Burke became acutely nervous, but de- spite Cleo's pleadings and the advice of Hope, he steadfastly refused to have anyone sleep in the house or to take any additional precautions.
 Tt is not me that they are after" he argued What they want is the secret of the submarine. But they can ransack the house from garret to eel lar and they will never find it.'
 Yet. notwithstanding his assumed in- difference to danger, morbidness seized upon him. He insisted that he was being spied upon Twice he excitedly summoned Cleo to the laboratory. in- sisting that he had seen face peer ing at him through the window, but when she arrived the face-if face there was-had disappeared. Morton. who had left Valdavia and was staying in San Francisco, again came to see him, but Burke remained deaf to the