Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-01-06

~ OF A BRIDE
HHBIEUHHIIlHllfHITHHIlRRRRlHHHIIHI1IRHTFIIHHRH
Ny curiosity leads me
to discover q trap iR the
secret room.

Before / should require food, Donna
Camilla would come back, assured my
self Water / had in plenty. Doubtless
the chamber was very ancient hiding
place. probably it was part of the orig
inal structure Certainly the lovely
wood carving on the walls was hundreds
Of years old. But whoever had furnished
the drawing rooms and bedroom suites
with the modern elegance had seen,
had refitted this secret chamber az the
same time. 1t has four fountains, one at
each corner 1t was clean and dustless,
and it was provided with an abundance
of fresh air by some process of ventila-
ton which I did not investigate.
@Given plenty of water and OXYGEN
human being could live forty days and
nights, like Christ in the wilderness, I
had read and it was a comfort to recall
the fnct.
wouldn't let myself despair even in
the matter Of finding the secret spring
which opened the mysterious door. Of
course If 1t were controlled by pressing
upon a certain leaf or bud of the carved
woodwork, i would take me a long time
to escape. The quaint buds and bios
SONS bloomed much too generously, it
seemed to me. ran my fingers delicate
" over the most conspicuous parts of the
lovely wooden tracery. I was desperate
~ must get back to Bob at once Daddy
would be worried. Chrys would need
me.
mot a soul in the world. knows what
has become of me- repeated. Daddy, If
ne guessed, would burn the place down
in order to release me. And BObT Well
Bob was my husband. He was a very
jealous husband. Either he would mourn
4hn afo ri haI r1Vcg
that only death could keep me away from
hfn-or he might, as many a jealous
husband is accustomed to do-he might
think the worst OF me-he might fancy
that I had run away from hlm-to Ham
fIton Certeisi
'rYou never can ten," said to my
self, '.just which way jealousy will carry
a mani" Either way, I couldn't afford
to have my Bob harassed. We had been
separated so many times since our mar
Tiage that couldn't endure the thought
that poor Bob must worry about me-
That seemed even worse than any suffer
ing might have to endure myself.
With infinite wearying patience I
searched for some magical spring which
should force the door-pane1 to open.
hunted particularly for some worn spot
which should betray the repeated pres
and distressed me- Even the ornamental
ton Of the curiously patterned rug might
hold the secretI There was a hard-worn
spot in the very middle of the rug, my
good eyes told me- The color had been
rubbed off clear down to the warp. The
spot intrigued me. walked over to It.
knelt down by it and smoothed the sur
face with my fingers.
The tagging fell away beneath my
touchi I was suspended on the middle
Of the heavy rug, suspended above some
unseen well or stairway held up by the
very weight of the carpet which clung
to the tagging as securely, as stif1y as
board. threw my body away from
the following surface which rounded
slowly beneath me. Evidently I had
opened a way to some secret chamber be-
low the room where / was confined.
had but to roll back the rug to discover
perhaps a secret prison-"perhaps the
top Of the pit in which they bury the
poor prisoners who go mad and die in
this weird place. told myself
I felt along the edges of the square
hole In the floor beneath the heavy car
pe4-then 1 pushed myself away from
" in horror. When I had rolled safe
distance, sat up like Turk, with my
yes fastened on the shallow bowl which
had shaped itself in the middle of the
Aug-with my mind set on discovering
hat mysteries were hidden under it,
copyright, 1919.
ITO Be COntinued.)