The Washington times., 1918-03-08

mad? She would not have suffered
= then: she would have been uncon-
scioUs OF this terrible environment:
Perhaps she would hardly have felt
the panGs OF hunger and thirst
which would assaiI her before long.
And the darknessi In less than an
hour she would be in total darkness
again. and that was the terror she
feared most.
Buried Alive" She Sobbed.
To be buried alive. She had al
ways dreaded such u fate. and now
it was hers. Buried in the vault OF
her lovers ancestors. the Bora
dale tomb. Oh, II Harold should know
OF her fate and in what spot her
bones would bleach and decay, She
who should be his wife would lie
with dead and gone BorradaIes-
with them, bat not or them.
At last necessity urged her on.
She struggled up and took the can
die from its place. holding II care
fully and shading it with one hand.
She advanced fearfully. examining
every stair before she trod upon L.
The air was hot and oppresslvely
damp her forehead was wet with
perspiration and her flesh felt clam
my; II seemed as IN her dress clunR
10 her and impedded her movements
The vault reached. she began her
hateful task. On either side of',her
were recesses, each OF which com
tanned e coffin. So much she knew
but she made no attempt to exam
inc any one OF them more nearly.
Holding her candle aloft, she adj
Vanced slowly, searching on either
side for anything that might have
the appearance or a possible aper-
ture. There was nothing OF the
Kind. The collins were closely
stacked together. and there was no
trace OF any passage between them.
She saw now that the actual vault
was Of no great size, and that the
roof was low. She took the whole
exPsnse OF it in glance. and some
thing whispered to her: IT is here
that you must Tie,"
No Hopes of Escape.
The door that gave on the fur
thcr passage was "a solid as the
one which she had so futlIcIy
sought 10 open. Very Cursory cN-
animation was sufficient to satisfy
her or this. No effort OF her would
move it, nor was there any discoy@
cradle trace. of lock or spring. She
did not cry out or strike upon it
with her hands; what was tho
good: She was sure that no assist
ance would come TO her from that
side.
She was stjli confident that the
mad woman who had Ted herr INTO
this pit OF decay was Lillian. and
Lillian it was who had shut her in
the other door she fancied must
have closed automatically. Even in
her desperation she found excuses
for the woman.
She is mad-mad.' she muttered
to herself. oh. poor Lillian, to
have gone mad. She would never
have done this in her right senses,
and. besides, what object would she
have in hurting me? How would
my leath profit anyone connected
with the Adderley mystery Re
venEe l can unueTstand-i I had
spoken, for instance, and IL had
led them into trouble-bUt I have
done nothing TO incur this-nothing
nothing" $3.50.
She was leaning against the door,
painting after her eNertion. breath
ing heavily, for the foul air choked
her. A feeling OF nausea was COM
ing over her. and she knew she
could not remain where she was
much longer. Her candle, too, was
burning low. W.
Prays For a Quick Death.
"If I begin to think, shall go
mad" she whispered, awefully. I
must not think" Violent shoulders
conyulsed her. God" she cried
aloud, "send me a speedy DEATH"
Her voice re-echoed like the sound
OF savage mockery.
With a violent effort she drew
herself together. She must hasten
to the top OF the staircase. At least
there was fresh air there-a little
that filtered through some invisible
creyice or from beneath the door
she would not be stified to death by
this fetid atmosphere. 1t was as Il
bony fingers were gripping her by
the throat and pressing slowly
tighter. In a little while she would
have begun to struggle with the in
visible antagonist. this creation OF
her brain-she knew il, and she
would not let herself so.
AS she commenced her return
journey the light Of her candle fell
upon a niche in the wall which she
had not vet noticed. II was on. the
same line with the door to which
she had given all her attention. 1t
was rather higher than the re-
ccsses which contained the collins.
and by STOPPING man might enter
il. She lowered her candle and
looked within.
Discovers a Recent Corpse.
\ scream burst from her lips. for
she saw that the further end OF the
niche was occupied by a man who
Ieant in a sitting position against
the wall.
Her Impulse was TO nee, but
something restrained her.
He is dead and cannot hurt nae.
she muttered. What does It maj
ter that he is cofTiuIrss"' What can
anything matter to me now
she stood still FOR u Jew minutes,
and then a desire TO loo, upon the
face OF the dead took possession CT
her. How came he there "a re-
cent corpse. She felt certain that
ne could not ave been dead Ions.
for she Caught sight Of his face,
and IL was harJl, surkcn. some
thiu- else about aim. too. had
caught her eve. buzz she was rot Ger
tain what il was--he only had a
vague feeling that she must look
again.
once r,ore She turned slowly and
lowered the light. and. stopping.
gazcd fully at the man. whose open.
were placid. and his lips smiled.