Charlevoix county herald., 1919-01-17


dripping nails.s
So we went forward along the
dim length of the tunnel, where the
light showed the sheen OF moisture,
and the earth was sodden and fetid
beneath our feet.
Little by little, as he advanced. the
bits of torn paper fluttered and drop
ped to the floor from the fingers OF
Semi Dual. He was laying paper
trail to guide the steps of those who
came after.
| began to Jingle with a nervous sort
of citation as We pushed deeper and
deeper into the crooked channels be-
meath the upper city. thrilled as i
saw how completely it had all been
thought out and arranged. Nothing
had been left to chance.
Pushing forward toward the end OF
the matter, to the laying hands on the
central mind of the whole loathsome
aggregation, Dual laid a paper chase
for his hounds of the law to follow.
1t was a game of hare and hounds,
and the little rabbit held by the claw
of the hawk was the guide who should
lead us to the heart of the warren. ]
wondered just what we should find at
the end.
Dual spoke again.
1.-The liberty of Reich and his ally
is of short duration, my friend. They
came from the station and entered
this place. By and by, like Nemesis.
we shall overtake them and hale them
back from whence they came"
You used them as you used Lucille
them" l whispered.
He nodded. "The hounds must have
scent" he said shortly. when the
fox has gone to earth, one seals his
burrow before digging him out
Well, Dual had sealed the burrow.
If his orders had been obeyed, by
now strong squads of police were in
the other leads of the tunnels, work
ing inward toward us as We went for
ward.
Let the fox try for another exit than
the one we were threading and he
would merely fall into other hands
than ours. The result would be the
same-capture.
| smiled somewhat grimly as /
walked. The whole thing was so ex-
tremely simple in way, yet so unex-
pected.
looked back over the day. l saw
how Dual had led these people to
think him inactive. baffled, beaten, by
their counter stroke. He had led them
to think only Of their own success.
He had thrown them a second cap
tive and used their Selling of the bait
to expose a secret they still believed
to be safe. He had yielded as it
seemed to their demands and used the
ones they demanded to lay the trail
which should lead to their absolute
undoing.
Whom the gods destroy they first
make mad" l muttered as / walked.
Semi heard me. He turned his head
and smiled with quick flash of un-
Outstanding in the half light of the
tunnel.
Cor overconfident at least" said he.
We went on. We twisted and
turned. We took cross tunnels. and
turned again into longer, and at last
We came to door.
II was set in the side of what seem
ed to me to be wall of concrete. 1t
was made of steel like the door of
vault, and in its center it held the but
ton of a bell.
he h,,f nj
Of glass, to Judge by the fact that ii
showed light 1t was a peep-hole be-
yond any doubt.
l wondered how we were to pass
this barrier to our progress. Surely,
if we rang and they looked forth, they
would never admit us.
Dual settled the matter. He reached
up and partly unscrewed the bulb of
an incandescent so that its filament
ceased to glow,
The dimDess Of the tunnel increased.
Ii was as though this light had burned
out and left only it's more distant fell
low to tighten the gloom of the place.
On soft feet we advanced. and at
a sign from Dual l knelt down, close
to the steel leaf of the door, so that
the line OF vision from the peephole
passed above my head.
l drew out my weapon and held 1t
ready. l found my heart beating
quickly so that the little pistol Quiv-
cred and jumped in my hand.
On the other side Semi sank down
also. He whispered to the man of the
tongs, who, in turn, addressed his
captive briefly.
At the end he showed him up to the
door, and then sank slowly behind
him, using his body as a blind. In
the faint glow of the distant light he
was no more than a shadowy outline.
He muttered hoarsely. The hand
OF our guide went up and rang the
bell, paused, and rang again.
The light from the peephole fell on
his face. l saw 1t livid and drawn
with a double fear. He was caught
between two fates, as he saw it, with
small escape from either.
Yet he dared the one in the near