South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-05-02
The Room
A Mystery Story by Wads-
worth Camp
CONTINUED
SYNOPSIS

Bobby Blacxpurn - suspected OF the
murder OF his grandfather. Sllas BlacE,,
burn, who vas found dead With a small
hole AZ the base Of his bru~. In an
abandoned and locked room OF mis- home.
the Cedars. Cfrcumstansial ev 2
points 70 the guilt Of Bo0by, who IL IN.
able 70 establish an alisi a. result o.
life" In New York, spent In company
Of Parades. from Panama. and Marie.
s s9,as shscT n3 nssr he Ssdsrs and goes
20 the house, where be meets bis cousin,
Katherine, and Graham. friend. Al
agree that mystery surrounds, the death
Of the old man, who was one OF many
Strange signs Invariably mark tie Occa-
siOE OF a death in the room
Because Of that very assurance his
fear of the room was melted. Could
any subtle change overcome him
here as IL evidently had the others?
Could there be repeated in his case
return and a disappearance Ike his
grandfather? There was. as Raw
! Inns had said, no way in or out for
an attack. Therefore the danger
must emerge from the dead. and he
was helpless before their incompre-
hensible campaign.
The whole illogical. abominable
| course of events warned him 10
/ bring his vigil 10 an end before il
should be too late. urged him 10 es-
/ cape from the restless revolt of the
dead who had dwelt in this room.
| And ne wanted TO respond. He
/ wanted TO 90 TO the corridor and
I confess 10 Rawlins and Robinson
1 that ne was beten. Yet he had
| begged 50 hard for this chance! That
/ course, moreover, meant the arrest
/ OF Katherine and himself i'm the
morning. For a few hours he could
suffer here for her sake. Daylight, if
| he could persist until then, would
bring his release. and surely it could
MT be long now.
He shrank back. Steadily it had
grown colder in the old room. He
shivered. He drew his coat closer
about him. What termerity to in
wade the domain of death. as Par
edes had called it, TO seek the secret
of unquiet souls,
He ceased shivering. He waited,
tensely quiet Without calculation
he realized that the moment for
which ne had hoped for was at hand.
| The old room was about 10 disclose
| its secret but would il permit him
| 10 depart with his knowledge? He
forgot 10 call. He waited, helpless
and terrified, against the wall. He
heard a moaning crow, faint and
distant the voice they had heard
in the forest and at the grave. But
1t was moro than that that held him.
Fe knew now what Katherine had
I heard across the court, heraldng
each tragedy and mystery. He
caught a formless stirring. Yet on
( the bed there was no one. Fortu-
nately he had not gone there
He tried TO call out. realizing that
the danger could find him if it chose,
but his throat was tight and it per
mitted no response.
His glance hadn't wavered from
the wall above the stained pillow
There was movement there. Then
he saw A hand protruded from the
| blackness of the panelling where
they had sounded and measured
| without success. IN the ashen, un-
natural light from the snow the long
fingers of the hand were like the
feelers of a gigantic reptile. They
wavered feebly. and he became con
WINGED that the hand was inmate
| rial, that il was unattached to any
body. If that was so it couldn't be
the hand of Katharine. At least he
had proved that Robinson and Raw
Inns had been wrong about her That
sense of victory stripped him of his
paralyzing fear. II loosed the tight
band about his throat. He called.
He could prove the immaterial ma
ture of the repulsive hand wavering
from the wall.
Crying out, he sprang TO his feet.
He flung himself across the bed.
With both of his hands he grasped
the slender inquisitive fingers which
wavered above the stained pillow.
and once more his throat frightened.
| He couldn't CRY out again.