Charlevoix county herald., 1918-10-04
The Web !
of Destiny
BY J. v. GlESY & J. 3. SMITH (
Authors of Semi-Dual Stories I
Copyright
The Frank A. Munsey Co.
The Frank A. Munsey Co.

voice, "but blessed if l know where
the switch is. Probably upstairs"
He swept the light to the ground at
OBI feet and showed it black, and
blotched with patches and streaks of
white.
when they were in here last
month the boys made em throw lime
around" the detective continued.
Thought maybe it would sweeten
,4e smell. If it did, l don't quite
B. Use. it. Hello! Look here!"
HE dropped the light close to the
floor, and bending forward we saw
the outline of feet pressed into the
wet earth of the passage. Not only
that, but they were the marks of shod
feet, and, judging from their size,
those of man.
McKabe. where's his next one?
Oh here. Good ways off. He was
still runnin' Well we got to chance
it. Well follow these tracks. Come
on"
We started onward A second light
sprang up, and realized that Dual
had drawn pockettorch also, and
was advancing side by side with Nc
Kabe.
So we went forward down the pas.
Aage. following the tracks.
The walls seemed to me to be o.
brick, covered with thin coating a.
whitewash. now smeared and streaked
and stained with the underground
seepage. There was no sound save
our stifled breathing and the drip
drip of water from the roof.
The ground grew more soggy, ever
muddy at times, beneath our feet.
The wavering points of light from
the flashes showed side passages lead
ing off from the one we followed on
either hand at every conceivable de-
gree and angle.
Save for the line of footprints we
would have been utterly confused as
oNdirection, for so far as l could see
theme was no way to distinguish one
Intel from another. One not ac-
>SSAinted with the anglings and turn
in9 of that place would have been
hopelessy lost inside of five minutes.
1t was a labyrinth, a maze, literal
web III the bowels of the hill.
Dual and McKabe paused and
brought us to halt. The passage
angled now and split into three new
tunnels, more narrow and not quite SO
high, and close by the right-hand pas
sage, our companions were bending
above some new object of interest.
Pressing forward we saw that it was
pressed into the earth, save at the
back where the heel had cut and torn
the surface of the floor.
Il guess Annie must have made
that" said McKabe quickly. Its
fresh if you notice. She turned here
an threw her weight on this foot as
she went around. It's a right shoe,
you can see. Well, they're ahead of
us all right. Reich must have spotted
this mark for he's followed-that is,
if he made these other tracks, which
i think he did"
But, great cats!" rumbled Shell
don. How could he see anything
a-tall in this place? How'd he follow
her this far?"
Speak softly, colonel" warned
Semi Dual "Mr. Reich or some man
did follow. We must go on"
Just beyond the turning of the right
hand passage was a door set into the
1fnh all ite
boards and he paused to try it. 1t
swung open and showed a tiny room
not bigger than a closet, which held
" Filthy cot covered by a moldy
!, bianket, on which lay bamboo pipe.
After a glance McKabe swung the
door shut, and we went on.
l heard Sheldon breathing at my
elbow, like one seeking to suppress
his feelings. Then he broke into
whispers as we walked.
my Lord, Glace, do you reckon
anybody lives down in this here Gel
lar? Why, what would be the use of
Twin at all in place like this? A
man might as well be buried alive"
"Yet some of them do" l replied.
my Lord!" he repeated softly and
lapsed silent, padding along at my
side.
Presently he spoke again.
AN McKabe thinks they've brung
Lilly down here. Poor leetle gal"
We went on. More doors appeared
In the wall, loosely built barriers be-
f.e the cell-like cubicles they closed.
But McKabe gave them no further at
tention.
Bent forward like a hound strain
ing on a leash he followed the foot
prints in the damp earth as they led
us on through the branching alleys.
Abruptly the roof of the passage we
followed came down till we stopped as
we walked and ended at little arch
like the door of a kennel.
We went to our knees before II,
and found the marks of other knees
before us. Crawling on hands and
knees we advanced. AS we passed,
The spotlights of the flashes showed
the Clipped surface of water-soaked
concrete. Plainly we were passing