The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-07-12

gag out Of my mouth, for by this time
1 felt like patient who'd been half
day in a dentists chair. he merely
emitted a sniff of scorn.
mot on your life!" he announced
with calm conviction as he reached in
f1ashlight.- You're going to do this the
way I say. You're going to walk ahead
of me to the room where that wall-safe
is. When I need to. III show light.
But whether it's light or dark, it'll pay
you to remember that this gun of mine
is within three feet of your ribs. You
get that?"
There was no choice left to me. What
he told me to do was compelled to do.
Nov get into that safe" was his curt
command, land by the back way!"
knew better than to cross him. So
I turned and walked steadily toward
the door. with Curatef Sam three PAGES
behind me, his f1ashlight in one hand
and his revolver in the other My cap
tor, however, cut any hesitation short
by flashing his searchlight ahead Of me
and catching me by the arm. Thus
holding me, he piloted me on through
the darkness, over polished hardwood
floors and cushioned rugs. until we came
to a door, which he opened with the
utmost caution. He pushed me through
this door. closed it after him, and felt
along the wall for a hght-switch.
The moment the light was on he
dropped his hand from my arm.
edged away until his curtly warming
gesture brought me to a stop. AS
had surmised. he ventured a survey Of
| the room.
was still terribly afraid of that ex-
traordinary little mechanism Of steel
and nickel which at the twitch of a
finger could spit death into my body.
/ And If you are in doubt as to the dis
turbing features Of this. some idle mid
night put a six-shooter into the hand Of
your best friend, a loaded six-shooter.
and request him to point it directly
at you for five or ten minutes. Merely
try it. The operation. you will md,
may involve slightly more tension than
you imagine.
But picture that same fully loaded
six-shooter. not in the hands of a friend.
but in the hands Of an enemy, and an
enemy who had already proved himself
to be a virulent one, as audacious as he
was determined, as evil as he was
crafty. Picture him there. as complete
master Of the situation, standing ready
to give that fatal finger-twitch at the
first movement from me which in any
way threatened his safety. Then per-
|
Citrate Sam commanded me to cross to
that waIl-safe and open it. meekly
stepped across the room and prepared
to carry out his orders.
Luckily, I knew the combination OF
that lock, and, armed with this infor-
nation. there would be no difficulty in
opening it. also knew that the
treasure which he expected to find
within that safe would not be there
What he would do when this discovery
was made could only surmise. But
there were other things that remem-
bered. Every moment of time that ]
gained, I knew, was to my advantage
There were other people in that house
and already the alarm OF burglary had
been sounded. Ferrie himself must be
doing something. And word had surely
been passed on to Wrinkle And at the
darkest moment, I argued. help might
come, help must come.
You're not trying to open that safe,
he announced in a tone of voice which
was disturbing in its quietness. To an.
swer him was out of the question. Blu
I turned and looked protestingly ou
from under my improvised canopy.
stared at him over my shoulder. no
only to let him know that I was still
there in my helplessness, but also t.
make sure OF his position.
At almost the same moment caught
the hum, low and nnuff1ed through the
closed windows, of a motor-car engine
somewhere outside in the grounds. My
captor Strengthened up at that sound
listening intentIy. Then he wheeled
suddenly about, with his ear to the door
panel. And as he did so realized thai
he was no longer looking at me.
The moment made that discovery ]
| ret ha
head. Then jerked on the insulated
wire which held the abandoned electric
drill. And the result was most unex-
pected. For the moment I jerked the
lights went out. Darkness enveloped
me. had scarcely time to realize that
at some place this wire had been cum
ningly attached to the house-circuit. In
thus forcibly breaking it away I had
ruptured the current feeding life to the
shaded bulbs glowing about me.
had, in fact, no time for thought, for
at the same moment that 1 completed
my maneuver by dropping fat on the
floor. in case nay enemy's little machine
Of death should bark out its leader
message at me. the library door wa:
flung open.
Then the darkness was cut by a voice
It was a mans voice. clear-noted and
authoritative. even while little throatS
Win OelD6rSIeIy restrained excitement
, rs anybody In this roor1f"
I knew. the moment that question cu
through the silence. that it was William
; en-Belpont himself speaking.
: knew too that Citrate Sam must have
) slipped back from that door. or to one
side of it. remembered that he mus
; be crouching there somewhere in tbs
surrounding blackness, with his sawed
} off revolver in his hand.
who is in here?" 1 heard the new
> conner once more demanding. could
also hear his footsteps and knew ht
! was cropping along the wall for the use.
J less light-switch. 1 felt sorry for him
} 1 dimly resented his unfair helpless
! ness. his pathetic ignorance Of his peril
t % I darted cat-like across the room
carrying the steel-drill with its wire:
dragging after it.
: I was fully half way across that room
: when I stopped short For between ms
= and the scarcely discernible oblong Of