The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-09-22
The
Mystery Of the
Silver Dagger
By RANDALL PARRISH
Author of "The Strange
Case Of Cavendish"
Illustrations by A. We'll
Illustrations BY A. We'll
Continued from preceding paxs)

the girl lived, and. although that was
doubtless lie intended to deceive, 1t
was no more than natural for him to
have thoughtlessly designated the
proper point Of the compass.
! advanced cautiously. finding the
narrow sidewalk one of boards. In very :
bad condition. 1t was only when at
tained the end Of this row of houses,
and came to the entrance Of a narrow,
dark alley. that i found the slightest
proof that ! was, by good fortune,
upon the right trail. 1t was above this
opening that the incandescent bulb
hickered dimly, yet, in spite of wind
and rain, gave me glimpse of the mud
underfoOt. The two must have been
the only ones passing that way since
the drfzzle began, for their footprints
were yet visible in the soft mud Of the
crossing as they advanced beyond the
safety Of the board walk. BY bending
low. and keeping my own shadow out
OF the way, ! was able to trace their
progress for two or three yards quite
easily. and then, to my surprise. the
footprints turned abruptly to the left.
and disappeared entirely.
To all appearances the two had pro-
ceeded down the alley. Black, unin-
viting. MS that gloomy passage ap-
peared. they must have turned into It
and groped their way forward. Where?
For what purpose? could think Of
hut one obiect-the Alva iron factory,
the mysterious meeting place Mt SIG
Cans street. >Beyond all question this
alley would skirt along the back OF
that building, and there would he an
entrance at the rear.
Dare ] go on alone, umarmed as !
was. knowing nothing Of what ] might
encounter? heS'tated, my heart
beating like n trip-h-mmcr. vet. aftpr
all the danger seemed more Of the i'm
aCination than reality. besides. I was
still young. and venturesome: tho situ-
alton appealed 10 me. and-well. the
memory 0c that girls face remained
strangely ins!stcnt. Odd rs II may
seem, her prcdicamcnt yielded r,c ~
reckless desire to have an. Immediate
hand in tho game.
] found two imprints of her narrow
shoe In the mud after the turn had
been made. then all trace vanished I
crept forward, envcloped in gloom.
keeping rs closely as possible to the
high board fence at the left. The way
was rough underfoot. and my progress
consequently slew, being anvinns TO
make as little noise as possible. The
passage was 50 black. lost all kncwl-
edge as to how far had gone, and vas
only aroused to my position by finally
coming up against n pile Of lumber
which completely blocked the further
end OF the alley. recalled dimly that
the passage swerved here, running
along the side Of the Alva factory. un.
I'll II reached Cans street. Then the
place sought was to my left, behind
tho protection Of this high fence, along
which had been 30 cautiously feeling
my way.
The silence was profound stupefy.
ing, uncanny. Against the lighter lead
OF the upper sky was barely able to
trace the upper story of the building.
but II was all black, a gloomy, desert.
ed hole. Any faith I might have had
that the two I had attempted to follow
had come there vanished az strained
my eyes "or some gleam Of light, or
any rtHe: sign to denote their presence
within. ! still believed they had
turned Gown the alley. but this was not
their goal; beyond doubt they had en-.
tered some gate along the way, and
mus escaped me entirely.
hardly know what impelled me to
grope my way back along the fence,
blindly feeling fo- q gate. Curiosity,
no doubt, and q lingering desire to
make certain Of what was inside the
barrier. The entrance was easily
round. mere wooden door, held by an
Iron clasp, which opened instantly to
my touch. ] stepped inside, closing II
quietly behind me, and stared uneasily
about through the enshrouding black.
ness.
My eyes, grown accustomed to the
gloom, made out dim outlines. encour-
aging further exploration. Discover.
ing ample space, and what felt to my
feet like q walk, turned the corner In
search. AT that moment the gate latch
clicked sharply. and l sank down into
the black ground shadow, every nerve
tingling with alarm. The gate oper
ated almost noiselessly, yet my strain
ed ears could detect it's stealthy move
ment. and hear the crunch of a heavy
1ootstcp on the cinder path within.
lhe fellow evidently knew his way
even In that darkness, for there was no
heSitancy In his movements, no uncer
tainty. He faded away along the rear
wall, and became aware that he had
turned about the further corner. That
would naturally mean there was n
door there. ] had evidently been
searching the wrong side.
Assured the man had vanished and
that he sought entrance to the build.
Ing through some passage well known
10 him, ] crept forth along the end
wall, crouched low I'm the shadow.
using every precaution against dis.
covery. All that was venturesome in
me held high carnival and nothing OF
danger now could have held me back
j reached the corner around which the
feilow had disappeared, but, I'm the in.
tense blackness, could perceive no
movement beyond, no sign of sny pres.