The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-09-16
BY Randall
Parrish
Author of
"The Strange Case
Of Cavendish"
Copyright, by Randall Parri:h

4 bdu lieu. ! kHcW JHls, duu Ill lily
exhaustion cared to know no more.
Then ! staggered to my knees, and,
with opened eyes stared ~curiOusly
about, gathering my wits together.
There was nothing to see but the
four walls. l tried the door, and it
glance out into a narrow dark hall
way. unexpected. l could dimly
discern Me top of a flight Of stairs
leading down to the story below. |
slipped out, and closed the door softly
behind me. being plunged instantly into
funereal b%lackness.
CROPPED a way forward toward the
stairs, guided by a hand against the
wall. until the touch of the upper rail
assured me OF my position. A narrow
strip of carr eting-rag | took 1t to
he from the feeiing-eXtended down
the center OF the stairs, sufficient to
muff1e any footsteps, and | paused
a moment listening for the slightest
noise amid the darkness beneath. All
remained still and mysterious; so that
| drew forth my shoes from u coat
pocket and slipped them on.
Twice the boards creaked OminOuSly
under my tread. sounding terrific in
that silence, and causing mi to hang
in suspense over the banister rail,
holding my breath i'm fear Of discovery.
At last | attained the wider space at
the bottom, and sought blindly to ex-
plote my surroundings. But for the
carpet underfoot, and a small sofa
encountered in a recess, ] would have
believed myself in a deserted ho,:se.
| knew ! was on the third floor. yet
there was no curve in the baIhsters,
showing a way to the next flight Of
stairs. nor could | locate them by any
effort. AS the result of blindly cropping
about, lost all sense of direction and
must have wandered into a side room
through an undraped recess. for I
suddenly brought up against a table.
Uttered with papers and books.
Startled by this encounter into q
realization that l was lost in a strange
ing, and that the slightest misstep in
that darkness might result in an alarm
to awaken every sleeper. for q few
minutes | did no venture to move in
any direction. Yet manifestly l could
not remain there indefinitely, and SO.
feeling a way cautiously forward until
| first ran into a chair. and then struck
n hand against a side wall. fol-
lowed this latter as best l could,
inspired by the thought that II I con-
tinued this course long enough l must
attain tlfa opening through which l
had entered the room. On the way
my hands felt the outlines of a closed
door. and, in aimlessly cropping about.
encountered a key in the lock. 1t
was so inserted as to be extracted
at the touch of my fingers and instant
" a tiny ray of light shot forth
through the vacated hole. 1t was such
a relief In the heart of that darkness
as to cause me to quickly bend down
and endeaver to view the scene within.
1t was evidently a chamber of some
size, and well furnished. rather dimly
~ q ShhSiC SatduCu CiCStIl "
globe, a handsome green rug on the
floor, and numerous pictures hung
about the walls. l could perceive the
outlines of a bed ut one side. barely
within the range Ut the vision, and
opposite this an ornate dresser, with
three mirrors. But what my eyes
rested upon with greater interest was
a luxurious leather couch beside the
further wall on which a woman rested,
Ewith some sort OF covering draped
about her. She lay with face toward
the wall. m%otiOnless. and to all appear
ances sound asleep.
To arouse her was the last thing
/ desired. and I would have slipped the
key back into the lock. and stolen
silently along in the darkness. had she
nj suddenly stirred, flinging out one
hand as though in fear Of some dream,
and turned partially. SO that her face
became clearly visible. The sleeper
was Marie Gessler! For a moment l
could scarcely credit the discovery =;
yn+ there could be no mistake. re-
mem. cred too well every character
istic Of the girl. to he deceived.
(TO BE CONT1NUED.)