Charlevoix county herald., 1918-10-04

picked up the steps turning to the left.
The floor sloped sharply and led us
down hill. We ran forward now and
came to a blind end, beyond which
there was nothing but solid earth.
l heard McKabe exclaim softly. He
swung around and began searching
the floor more closely. The footsteps
led quite to the end wall and stop
ped, turned back and stopped again
in front of a little door not over three
feet high.
Huh" growled McKabe and fell
upon it.
1t swung outward, and without
hesitation he ducked through, with his
light swinging before him.
"Come on" he called deeply, and
waited while we followed.
We stood in a little room, floored
with rotting boards. On one side
steep wooden stairway ran up, and be-
yond us was yet another door. The
detective NODDED to the stairs.
lone way out" he observed dryly;
"but Reich seems to have gone
straight on"
He dropped his light upon a bit of
damp lime lying beside the opposite
door, crossed the room and pushed
the door before him.
We emerged into a passage so low
that we walked with a stoop. 1t was
lined on either side by little doors not
over two feet high. They were just
about large enough to admit human
body, creeping.
1t seemed almost inconceivable that
they had been designed as even tenn
porary abode for human beings.
We crept along it, still led by the
prints of shod feet, sometimes now of
a man, sometimes of woman, some
times of both.
heard McKabe whispering to Dual
and pricked my ears to listen.
1--WE an idea that il they brought
the girl in here they'd stick her into
one of these cribs" declared the de-
tectlve. 1T would be just about i'm
possible for any one not wise to the
place to get this far in. If it wasn't
for the trail we've had We couldn't
have done it in thousand years.
what gets me is how the fellow
who made it ever done it unless he
followed the marks of the woman and
blotted them with his own. At that
he must have had light.
"Well, all I can say is, he had his
nerve They could grab a man an
croak him like rat down here, an
nobody's ever know. See here. He
was walkin' along here. He'd quit run
MIN. We'd better go SLOW"
His whisper died away and the ST.
lence came back.
The passage turned at right angles
and ran both ways. We crept to the
end and the trail led down-hill. On
the instant the lights in the hands of
McKabe and Semi died.
/ glanced forward and found the
cause.
There before us, as we crouched
under the low, pressing roof, for the
III
light. 1t shot from one of the kennel
like doors and streamed across the
tunnel, striking in an oblong blot on
the opposite wall.
1t was faint, like the glow of
candle, yet in the gloom of the pas
sage it struck out distinctly and as
We watched it wavered and paled and
frightened as though from flicker
ing flame.
We crouched and listened with ev-
cry nerve drawn tense. AS we turned
toward the light we had seen that
the footsteps we had followed ran d.
rectly toward it.
Whether they passed the light beam
think we all asked ourselves what had
happened in or in front of that light
ed room.
Had, we come too late after all?
Had the nan Reich rushed blindly
to his death in this underground bur.
row?
Had some one splung upon him and
sunk knife into his body?
Was he even now perhaps lying
there in the shadows beyond the wall
of light?
Yet there was nothing to answer.
No sound filled the low walls save our
own beating hearts and low breath
ing. After a moment of painful wait.
ing Dual began to move forward. Nc
Kabe joined him, and Sheldon and l
followed. So we came to the light and
bent down to peer inside of the little
door,
1t was merely a cell, with a board
cot and box on which stood little
glass lamp with flaming wick. Nc
Kabe thrust in his head and shoulders
and crawled through and On the in
slant he spoke.
Come on in here, quick"
There was suppressed excitement in
his tone and as quickly as the space
would permit we obeyed. The room
heightened beyond the door to an or.
binary height, and we rose to find Nc
Kabe standing beside the cot holding
crumpled woman's kimono in his
hands. He turned with this to Shell