The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-11-03


ing became suficIent for me to squeeze
through. felt As though / had re-
turned from the dead, the nervous re
action 50 great .that ] lay for d moment
on the floor wh6eefaI had fallen. un-
able to move. Hnew / was alone.
the space untelaSted. the walls as
bare as in that othes room from which
I had Ned. I knew this. and in my
exhaustion cared TO know no more.
Then ] staggered to my knees, and.
with opened eyes stared curiously
about. gathering my wits together.
Thee vas nothing to see but the
four walls. I tried the door, and II
opened silently. permitting me to
glanee out into . narrow dsrk hall
way. 0ncHrpeted. could dimly
discern the top Of q flight Of stairs
leading down to the story below.
Slipped out, and closed the door softly
behind me. being plunged instantly into
funereal blackness.
! CROPPED way FORWARD toward the
stairs, guided by hand against the
wall. until the touch Of the upper rail
assured me of my position. A narrow
strip OF carpeting-rag took II to
be from the feeling-extended down
the center of the stairs, sufficient to
muffie any footsteps, and paused
a moment listening for the slightest
noise amid the darkness beneath. All
remained still and mysterious; so that
I drew forth my shoes from a coat
pocket and slipped them on.
Twice the boards creaked ominousfy
under my tread. sounding terrific In
that silence, and causing me to hang
In suspense over the banister rail.
holding my breath in fear of discovery.
At last l attained the wider space at
the bottom. and sought blindly to ex-
plore my surroundings. but for the
carpet underfoOt, and a small sofa
encountered i'm a recess, would have
believed myself in a deserted house.
| knew was on the third floor, yet
there was no curve in the banisters.
showing 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 undraUed recess. for 1
suddenly brought up against table.
Uttered with papers and books.
Startled by this encounter into a
realization that l was lost in a strange
house at an unholy hour of the morn
ing, and that the slightest misstep in
that darkness might result In an alarm
to awaken every sleeper, for n few
minutes I did not venture to move in
any direction. Yet manifestly I could
not remain there indefinitely, and SO.
blindly choosing course, SET forth.
feeling a way cautiously forward until
first ran into chair, and then struck
one hand against side wall. fol-
lowed this latter as best could,
inspired by the thought that II Il con-
tinued this course long enough must
attain the opening through which
had entered the room. On the way
my hands felt the outlines Of a closed
door. and. in aimlessly groping about.
encountered key IN the lock. II
WAS so inserted us to be extracted
at the touch Of my fingers and instant
ly tiny Eay 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 we'll furnished, rather dimly
Illuminated by single shaded electric
globe. a handsome green rug ON the
floor iAfr hs,n
about the walls, ] could perceive the
outlines OF a bed at one side. barely
within the range of 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 q woman rested,
with some sort Of covering draped
about her. She lay with face toward
the wall. motionless. and to all appear
ances sound asleep.
To arouse her was the last thins
l desired, and would have slipped the
key back into the lock. and stolen
silently along in the darkness, had she
not suddenly stirred. ninging out one
hand as though In fear Of some dream
and turned partially. 80 that her face
became clearly visible. The sleeper
was Marie Gessler! For a moment !
could scarcely credit the discovery:
yet there could be no mistake. re-
membered too well every charsc scter.
istic Of the girl, to he deceived.
Yet what house was this that she
should be here7 How did it happen
that we were at the same place? Had
she come voluntarily; or a prisoner?
Had she been tricked into coming? or
brought by force? and was she held
here helpless to escape? l tried the
: door sOftly--lt was locked. This.
coupled with the fact that the KEY was
upon the outside. served to answer
the main question. However she
came, she was now being held n
prisoner. We must both be i'm the
same hands, I'm the unscrupuIous
grasp OF this desperate gang Of Grim.
ainals. determined to gain from us at
'rany COST the secret we were supposed
n to shnrei' I'hesitated, but for only a