Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-08

'I shan't be here" said. "You can tell
your friends I've gone.
She turned on me like a flash
She was hard as flint again
Nen!' she cried. you stay here
NO" ! answered with equal force. mot
" Orders are orders and you and
! must obey"
But who is Stelze that he should give
orders TO me?" | cried
WHO is % She spoke aghast.
- And you Yourself" continued,
were saying e.. e"
When an order has been given, what
you or | think or say is of NO account"
tne woman said, at is an order you and |
know whose order. Let that suffice You
stay here! Good-night!'
with that she was gone. She closed the
door behind her: the key ratified in the lock
ana realized that | was "A prisoner I
heard the woman's FOOTBALLS die away down
the corridor
That distant clock clesved the silence of
the night with twelve ponderous strokes Then
the chimes played pretty jngling little tune
that rang out clearly in the still, rain-washed
air.
! stood petrfed and reflected on my next
move
Twelve o'clock had eight hours grace
pefore Stelze, the man OF mystery and might,
arrived TO unmask me and hand me over to
the tender mercies Of Madame and of Karl.
Before o'clock arrived I must-so | sum
med up my position--be clear Of the hotel and
In the train for the German fronter-if
could get train--else | must be out of Rot
terdam, by that hour
But I must act and act without delay
There was no knowing when that dead man
lying on the floor might procure me another
visit from Madame and her myrmidons The
sooner ! was out of that house of death the
better
The door solid the lock was strong
lhat discovered without any trouble In
any case. | reflected the front door of the
hotel would be barred and bolted at this hour
Of the night, and | could scarcely dare hone
to escape by the front without detection even
II Karl were not actually in the entrance
han. There must be back entrance to the
hotel. | thought, for had seen that the win
dows Of my room opened onto the narrow
street lining the canal which ran at the
back OF the house.
Escape by the windows was impossible
The front of the house dropped sheer down
and there was nothing to give one a foot
hold, But | remembered the window in the
bathroom giving on to the little airshaft
| That seemed to offer slender chance of
| escape.
For the second time that night / opened the
| easement and inhaled the fetid odors arising
| from the narrow court All the windows look
| ing, like mine. upon the airshaft were
| shrouded in darkness only a light still
| burned in the window beneath the grating
| with the iron stair to the little ward what
| was at the foot of the stair I could NOT
descry, but | thought | could recognize the
outline of a door.
From the window of the bathroom to
| the yard the sides of the house, cased in
| stained and dirty stucco, fell sheer away.
Measured with the eye the drop from, the win
dow to the pavement was about fifty feet
| with rope and something to break ones
| fall it might, fancied, be MANAGED
| From that on. things moved swiftly First
| with my penknife l ripped the tailor's tab
| with my name from the inside pocket of NV
| coat and burnt 1t in the candle nothing else
| had on was marked, for had had to buv a
| lot OF new garments when l came out of the
hospital | took Semlin'S overcoat hat and
| bag into the cabinet de toilette and stood
| them in readiness by the window AS a
| precaution against surprise / pushed the
| massive mahogany bedstead right across the
| doorway and thus barricaded the entrance 10
| the room.
From either side Of the fireplace hung two
| bell-ropes twisted silk cords of faded crimson
| with dusty tassels. Mounting on the mantel-
| piece, I cut the bell-ropes off short where
| they Joined the wire. Testing them l found
| them apparently solid-at any rate thew
| must serve. / knotted them together
Back TO the cabinet de toilette / went TO
| find suitable object to which to fasten INV
| rope. There was nothing in the little room,
save the washstand and that was fragile and
| quite unsuited for the purpose | noticed
| that the window was fitted with shutters ON
| the outside, fastened back against the wall.
| lneN ndu not Deen lbucneu 1Or
should say. for the iron peg holding them
| back was heavy with rust and the shutters
| were covered with dust. | closed the left
| hand shutter and found that it fastened
| soldy to the window-frame by means of
| massive iron bolts, top and bottom.
| Here was the required support for my rome
| The poker thrust through the wooden slips OF
| the shutter held the rope quite solidly. l at.
| tached my rope to the poker with an experi
| knot that had picked up at a course in twins
| knots during preposterously duh week had
spent at a base in France. Then dragged
from the bed the gigantic eiderdown pin.
| cushion and the two massive pillows strip.
| ping off the pilow-slips lest their whteness
| might attract attention whilst they We're ful.
| hllng the unusual mission for which l des
| tined them.
At the window of the cabinet de toilette
| listened a moment All was silent as Tn,
! grave. Resoutely l pitched out the elder
| down into the dark and dirty alrshaft
sailed gracefully earthward and settled witt
a gentle flop on the stones of the tiny yard
The pillows followed. The heavier thud the,
would have made was deadened by the bii
lowy mass of the eiderdown. Semlns ba,
went next and made no sound to speak Of
then his overcoat and hat followed suit
| | noticed. with a grateful heart, that tn
eiderdown and pillows covered practcal
the whole Of the flags of the yard.
l went back once more to the room an