The Washington herald., 1919-04-25
Confessions of a War Bride

| ed to me a very long time. Prob.
ably It was to accustom his owr
eyes to the darkness. nevertheless,
! wondered il he could feel the pres
ence Of another human being close
] to him. or IL he could hear the sound
| of my heart which was humping sc
| loudly.
That obstinate organ continued to
pound like a drum long after Certeis
had turned down the passage which
led away from me and toward his
secret ladder. His retreating foot
steps were firm and even, and I decid-
ed that he felt sure OF his path
through the black tunnel.
I leaned against the wall in utter
weakness long after the echo Of his
steps had died. At last I moved up
to the door and concentrated my mind
upon h.
1 was surc that Certeis had not
used a key to open it. 1 must have
heard the sound. had he withdrawn
one from the lock. And 1t occurred
to me that as Certeis must como and
go through the door frequently, and
often stealthily, he would therefore
have II adjusted to open and close
with the least possible delay. It takes
/ time to insert and turn any key.
| concluded that the lock was con-
trolled by a secret button, or some
contrivance which would respond
quickly to the slightest touch.
1t would not be on the hinge side
| of the door. 1t would be placed SO
| that a person might slip through the
instant the door moved. Thus I lin
tied the field of my investigation.
felt along the top and down the right
hand side of the door frame and along
the adjacent wall for some bit OF
smooth surface which would yield to
pressure.
1 almost wore the skin from my
! fingers. Several times I was on the
point of giving wv the search. Then
, l pictured the impossibility OF living
alone with the rats. might, in q
good cause, get along without food
for a few days. but not withou,
| water.
But never once did I consider re-
turning to Certeis' house by way OF
| the ladder. That meant surrender
Tho thought of 1t drove me back to
| my task.
/ At last I found n nail head project
| ing slightly from the end of the thick
wooden threshold. I pressed this loose
nail carelessly with the edge Of the
sole of my shoe-and the door flew
wide so suddenly that 1t almost
! knocked me down.
I pushed 1t shut in haste, then ar
ranged my garments, brushed the
CRIME from my fingers and smoothed
my hair.
I was about to enter upon a new
| chapter of my existence. / must dc
SO with some little show Of a we'll
! ordered mind and body.
After 1 had assured myself that the
roll Of bills Tommy had given me
was still in my cloak pocket,
| touched that ma gic nailhead with my
toe once more and in a moment was
| face to face with my liberty.
Yet I had another mystery to solve
before I fed from Certeis' premises
| I stepped outside the wall and closed
| the door An auto veered to give me
room-it gave me an excuse for stop
ping a second and leaning against the
wall, but in that second I investigated
the outside threshold with my shoe
and came upon another loose nail ]
| tested it. 1t worked! And I knew
| that I could enter that tunnel as cas-
| lily as I could leave It! I might want
| to attend that Bolshevik conclave
some night.
At last I had Tony Cert and his pro-
Hun and Bolshevik plant at my
mercy.
But how-and to whom-should J
| betray him?
(To be continued)