Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-25
CHAPTER XXN1
The Death Grip

STOOD in the middle of the, stone
x II aoor matchbox in hand. trying 10
S.,,,,e what he must do next. AS nearly
80 ne could Judge by his ohserNatols
during the afternoon, ana tne ~ ~ ,.a,,It
/ Of the steps and pasfagewaEas,,, a,,i ine in pro,,p
Z "a huiIdings, the keep or one end or the
hall two or three stories below the leNei
Of the chapel floor: Part OF the coTrIuo, ,.,
through which he had passeu Mas h,,;i,
tfrom the solid rock. and part was DUN
$nf masonry The wooden partition op-
posite him was obviously the peeinhlhs
AZ the used part of the castle put au
mitting that he couia pass D. t1e m fsared
"a strike another match, for peEohu 'ie
door perhaps some one might ne mCNinE'
II was now as nearly as RenWicK coui" c
judge. about one O'Clock f,,,iu tm iue nd va fbmnd
fhe partition. feeling it's SURFACE; Whlch
was made of rough boards loosely mar
ed together He put his eye to one o.
the cracks and peerlng IN, couiu ser air
which came through the Sits, slightly
aromatic in odor, warned nm mat tht
space beyond was surely connected WIN
4hs habitable part of the castle-a VINE
cellar perhaps or storage room. He
debated for a moment whether II was
wise to use another llght ana tnen az
last decided TO take the risk and az
matches were scarce, found the ancient
candle IN the iron lamp. which after
eputtering feebly for moment consent
ed to burn BY its aid he examined the
dust upon the floor of the crypt wnlch
showed the imprint of no footsteps but
his own; then the walls of the crypt.
discovering Immediately another door
which his eyes had missed in the carrier
glow of the match--a narrow door open
to the left of thick wood, with heavy
iron hinges. the fianges of which formed
Z the braces of the door ITSELF. He blew out
the candle and put II into his pocket.
Peering through the keyhole and seeing
nothing he lifted the latch and tried to
open it.
His efforts proved that it had been
unused for many years. for the hinges
had sagged, and some of its weight rest
ed upon the stone floor. But with an ef-
fort. he MANAGED TO move il an inch or
so Another effort swung il clear of its
stone SILL and at last he managed to
open it wide enough to admit the pas
sage of his body. But with this last at
tempt the rusty hinges rasped horribly;
and SO he waited in silence. listening
fearfully for any sounds in front or be-
hind him which might indicate alertness
: above.
Another passage lay before him. a
narrower one, which soon developed
straight flight of narrow stairs leading
upward. He stood for moment star
Ing. for the gloom above him seemed to
tighten. He sat upon the lower step and
took off his heavy boots, then crept up
the stairs noseessly reaching a land
ing dimly lighted by small slit of
window which looked out upon the night.
Pauslng here, he was enabled definitely
to establish his position within the castle
walls
Below him was the narrower gorge.
opposite him the Cliff upon which he had
crouched this afternoon. He was be-
meath one end of the hall, and from
: all Indications in an ancient secret
passageway, the existence of which
from Its condition had for years been
TQrROfteu
heavy wooden door upon his left This
ne examined as minutely as possible by
the dim light Of the loophole, peering
2 faint odor of gasoline. 1t must be
mere that Gortz kept the car. The plat
form was near the level of the rampant,
xhen. Renwick did not pause here long
{, 4pr he saw that the stairs turned an,
3 mounted again in the opposite direction.
.2 Henwick felt for his automatic, and
t wing his shoes on the landing by the
e window. again climbed into the dark
/ ness. Another landing-and before his
&yee, now sensitive to the slightest les
1sning of the gloom. a thin thread of
light crossed the narrow passage, ter
minating at his right In an illuminated
spot upon the wall. II did not emanate
- ne had at first supposed, from key
homes. where the Joints had turned to
i Dowder. He peered through eagerly. bu'
{ his range Of vision was small. covering
mersly a section Of paneled woodwork
h held his breath and listened for hi
3x1ncied he heard the sound of footsteps
SXes. there they were again, the slowly
1nbving footsteps of a man pacing I,
md fro-and then the footsteps halted
Mlddenly and voice spoke. 1t wal
& &kat Of Leo Goritz.
q Are you sure that you saw them ?"
There Is no mistake My eyes are
81 zsI5id they remain Ionsy'
3 HVoy twenty minutes or so but thes
8 ~ ~ ~ thing was impossible aut