Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-06-14

brief manipulation Of keys. and T
B. stepped into the hall. He listened
all his senses strained. for the
sound of warning bell. but none
came. Ella and the other man fol-
lowed.
"Better remain in tho hail." said
7. B. 1--WE shall have to chance the
guard not noticing what has hap
pened to the curtain, anyway; per-
haps he will not be around for some
time" he added, hopefully.
They made quick scrutiny Of the
hall, and found no indication OF
cables or Of wires which would sug-
gest that an alarm had been fixed
L. B. stole carefully up the stairs,
leaving the two men tos guard the
hall below. At every landing he
halted. and listened, but the house
was wrapped in silence, and he
searched the third floor without mis-
hap.
lie recognized the corridor, hav-
ing taken very careful note of GER
tain peculiarittes. and scratch on
the side of the lift door, which he
l
ference, showed him he was on the
right track.
Unerringly and swiftly he passed
along the passage till he came to
the big rosewood doors which Op-
ened upon the invalid's bedroom
He turned the handle gently, it yield
ed, and he stepped noiselessly thru
the door, and pushed the inner door
cautiously. The room was dirnly
illuminated. evidently by night
light, thought T. b., and he pressed
the door farther open that he might
secure better view of the apart
ment, and then he gasped, for this
| Was not the room he had BEEN in
before.
1t was a su,nptuously arranged
bureau, panelled in rosewood, and
set about with costly furniture.
man was sitting at the desk, busily
writing,by the light of table lamp:
| his back was toward T. b. The de-
tectiye' pushed the door farther open
and suddenly the man at the desk
| leapt up, and turning round, con-
fronted the midnight visitor.
T. B. had only time to see that his
| face was hidden behind a black mask
which extended from his forehead to
hisi chin. AS soon as he saw r. Is
standing in the doorway. he reached
out his hand. Instantly the room
was In darkness, and the door, which
T. B-,was holding atar, was suddenly
forced back as il by an irresistible
power, flinging the detective into the
corridor, which almost simultaneous
ly was flooded with light. T. b
turned to meet the smiling face OF
DR.. Fall.
The big man, with his white, ex-
pressionless countenance, was re-
garding him gravely. and with
amused resentment.
/ Where he had come from T. 3
could only conjecture; he had APP
1 peared as If by magic and was fully
dressed.
"To what do 1 owe the honor OF
this visit. Mr.. Smith," he said, IL
his dry, grim way.
"A spirit of curiosity" said T. B.
coolly. II was anxious to secure an.
other peep at your Mr.. Moole"
i And how did he look?" asked the
other, with a faint smile.
Unfortunately" said T. B.. II have
mistaken the floor, and instead o.
seeing our friend, have unexpect.
edly and quite unwittingly interrupt
ed a gentleman who. for reasons best
known to himself, has hidden his
/ face
DR.. Fall frowned
II do not quite follow YOU" he
said.
Perhaps If were to follow you
back to the room," said r. B. good
humoredly. you might understand
better"
He heard strange wailing sound
and a shivering motion beneath his
feet, as tho heavy traction engine
We're passing close to the house.
What is that?" he asked.
1T, Is one of the unpleasant con.
sequences of building ones house
over a disused coal-mine." said the
doctor easily "but as regards your
strange hallucination," he went on
4 should rather like to disabuse
1 your mind of your fantastic vision
He walked slowly back to the room
which T. B. had quilted, and the in
ner door yielded to his touch. It was
in darkness. DR.. Fall put his hand
inside the room and there was a clicl,
of a switch.
Come in" he said, and T. B
stepped into the room.
/ 1t was the room he had left in the
|'earlier part of the day. There wa.
the blue square of carpet and the
silver bedstead, and the same. yellow
face and unwinking eyes OF the pa
tient. The walls were panelled in
myrtle, the same electrolier hung
from the ceiling as he had seen on
his previous visit. Smith gasped and
passed his hand over his forehead.
YOU see," said the secretary, "you
have been the victim of a peculiar
and unhappy trick of eyesighE; in fact
MrN Smith, may l Suggest that you
have been dreaming?"
You may suggest what YOU like
/ said T. B. pleasantly. II should like
to see the room below and the room
above"
With pleasure" said the other;
there is a storeroom up above which
you may see If you WISH
He led the way upstairs, unlocked
the door of the room immediately
over that which they had just left
and entered. The room was bare
and the high skylight showed it to be
just as the doctor had described, a
typical storeroom.
You do not seem to use It," said
T. B.