The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-09-24
CHAPTER Ix-Continued.

H.
He felt singularly wideawake, and,
after a while, he gave up attempting
to 90 to sleep. The new development
which had come to light that evening
was uppermost in his thoughts; and,
as he lay there, covered only with a
sheet, for the night was hot, the
whole vile scheme unfolded itself be-
fore his Imagination. The American
was right In his main idea-of that
he had no doubt; and In his minds
eye he saw the great crowds Of idle.
foolish men, led by a few hot-headed
Missionaries and paid blackguards to
their so-called Utopia. Starvation,
misery. ruin, utter and complete,
lurked In his mental picture; specters
disguised as great ideals, but grinning
sardonically under their masks. And
once again he seemed to hear the toe
toe Of machine-guns, as he had heard
them night after night during the
years gone by. But this time they
were mounted on the pavement OF
the towns of England, and the swish
Of the bullets, which had swept like
swarms Of cock-chafers over No Mans
Land, now whistled down the streets
between rows of squalid houses.
And once again a fly pinged past his
head.
With a gesture of annoyance he,
waved his arm. 1t was hOt-insuf-
ferably hot, and he was beginning to
regret that he had followed the earnest
advice of the American to sleep with
his windows shut and bOlted. What
on earth could Peterson do to him in
a room at the Ritz? But he had prom
Used the detective, and there it was
curtains drawn, window bOlted, door
locked. Moreover, and he smiled grim
ly to himself as he remembered it, he
had even gone SO far as to emulate
the hysterical maiden lady Of fiction
and peer under the bed. -.
The. next moment the smile ceased
abruptly, and he lay rigid. with every
nerve alert. Something had moved in
It had only been a tiny movement,
more like the sudden creak Of piece
Of furniture than anything else-but
1t was not quite like 1t. A gentle,
slithering sound had preceded the
creak; the sound such as man would
make who, with infinite precaution
against making noise. was moving
in a dark room: q stealthy, uncanny
noise. Hugh peered into the darkness
tensely. After the first moment Of
Surprise his brain was quite cool. He
had looked under the bed. he had
hung his coat Ia the cupboard, and
save for those two obvious places there
was no cover for q cat And yet, with
the sort Ut sixth sense that four years
Of war had given him. he knew that
noise had been made by some, human
agency. Human! The thought Of the
cobra at The Elms flashed into his
mind, and his mouth set more grfmly.
What II Peterson had introduced some
Of his abominable menagerie into the
roomf Then, once more, the thing
like . fly sounded loud in his ear.
And. was It his Imagination, Or had
he heard faint sibilant hiss Just be-
fOre3
Suddenly It struck him that he WIS
It terrible disadvantage. The thing,
whatever 1t was, knew. at any rate
approximately. his position: he had
not the slightest notion where It was.
And a blind man boxing a. man who
could see, would have felt just about
~ safe. With Hugh, such a conclu-
sion meant instant action. It might
be dangerous on the floor; 1t most GER
tainly was far more SO in bed. He
felt for his torch. and then, with one
conclusive bound. he was standing by
the door, with his hand on the electric
light switch. :.
Then he paused and listened intent
~. Not q sound could he hear; the
thing. whatever It was. had become
motionless at his sudden movement.
For an appreciable time he stood there.
/. his eyes searching the darkness- but
even he could see nothing, and he
cursed the American c0mprehensively
under his breath. He would have given
anything for even the faintest grey
light. so that he could have some idea
OF what 1t was and where 1t was. Now
he felt utterly helpless. while every
moment he imagined some Shiny.
crawling brute touching This bare
feet creeping up on him. -. He
pulled himself together sharply. Light
was essential, and at once. But, II
he switched It on. there would be e
moment when the thing would see
him before he could see the thing
and such moments are not helpful.
There only remained his torch; and
on the Ancre, on one occasion, he had
saved his life By its judicious use. The
man behind one Of those useful imple-
ments Is In blackness far more i'm
penetrable ttan the blacklist night, for
the man 10 front h daxzled. He can
only shoot at the tbrch: wherefore
hold 1t to one side and In front Of
Jon.
The light flashed out darling round
the room. Ping! Something hit the
sleeve Of his pajamas, but still he
could see nothing. The bed. with the
clothes thrown back the washstand |;
=