Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1922-04-28

mans face. The man struck back
q heavy blow on the side Of Alen's
head which dlzzied him bu. left him
strength to strike again, and his
knuckles reached the mans face once
more, but he got another heavy blow
In return. The man was graphing
no longer; he swung Alan to one side
and of OF him, and rolled himself
away. He scrambled 10 his feet and
dashed out through the library, across
the hall. and into the service room.
Alan got TO his feet: dizzied and not
yet familiar with the house, he blum
dered against wall and had to feel
his way along II TO the service room;
ms he slipped and stumbled down the
stairway, n door closed Loudly Mt the
end Of the corridor he had seen at
the foot OF the stairs. He ran along
the corridor to the door; Il had closed
with spring lock. and seconds passed
while he felt In the dark for the catch !:
he found II and tore the door open,
and came out suddenly into the cold
air OF the night In a paved passage
way beside the house which led In one
direction 20 the street and In the
other to gate opening on the alley.
He ran forward TO the street and
looked up and down. but found Il emp.
ty then he ran back to the alley. At
the end OF the alley, where II inter-
sected the cross street, the figure Of
the man running away appeared sud-
denly out OF the shadows, then dis
appeared; Alan. following as far ms
the street. could see nothing more OF
him; this street too was empty.
He ran little farther and looked.
then he went back to the house. The
side door had swung shut again and
latched. He lie. himself In at the front
door and turned on the light In the
reading lamp In the library. The
electric torch still was burning on the
floor and he picked II up and extin-
gulshed It: he went upstairs and
brought down .hs shoes. He had seen
wood FIRE set ready for lighting In
the library. and now he lighted II and
sa. before 1t drying his wet socks be-
fore he put on his shoes. He was still
shaking and breathing fast from his
struggle with the man and his chase
after him, and by the strangeness Of
what had taken place.
When the shaft OF light from the
torch had flashed across Alan's face
In the dark library. the man had not
taken him for wha. he was--a living
person; he had taken him for spec
ter. His terror and the things he had
cried out could mean only that. The
specter Of whomf Not of Benjamin.
| Corvet; for one Of the things Alan
had remarked when he saw Benjamin
Corvet's picture was that he himself
did not look at all like his father. Be
sides, what the man had said made II
certain that he did not think the spec
ter was Ben; for the specter hat
"got Ben" Did Alan look like some
one else. then? Like whom? Evi
IDENTIFY like the man--now dead. for
he had a ghost-who had "got" Ben
In The big mans opinion. Who could
that be2
Alan got up and went to look a,
himself In the mirror he had seen ir
the hall. He was white. now that the
flush Of the fighting was going; III
probably had been pale before Will
excitement, and over his right eye
there was a round black mark. Altar
looked down at his hands: q li:tlt
skin was Off one knuckle. where h,
had struck the man, and his fingers
were smudged with black and sotty
dust. He had smudged them on tht
papers upstairs or else In feeling hi,
way about the dark house, and n
some time he had touched his fore
head and left the black mark. Thn
had been the bullet hole"
The res. that the man had said ha,
been a reference to some name; AlaI
had no trouble to recollect the name
and. while he did not understand 1
ut all. 1t stirred him queerly-"the MI
waka." What was thatf The quee
excitement and questioning that tn
name brought. when he repeated
to himself, was not recollection; 70
he could not recall ever having hear
the name before; but II was not com
pletely strange to him. He could de
fine the excitement Il stirred only Il
that way.
Sheriff. had believed that here Il
this house Benjamin Corvet had left
or might have left--a memorandum.
record. or an account of some sor
which would explain to Alan. his sor
the blight which hung over his III,
Sheriff. had said that II could hav
been no mere intrigue. no vulgar pei
sonal sin and the events Of the nigh
had made that very certain; for, plair
ly. whatever was hidden In that hous
involved some one else seriously, des
perately. There was no other way I
explain the Intrusion OF the sort @
man whom Alan had surprised ther
an hour ago.
The fact that this other ma
searched also did not prove that Der
jamln Corvet had left record in tn
house. as Sherrill believed; but
certainly showed that another perso
belleyed-or feared-it. Whether @
not guilt had sent Benjamin Corvt
| 4s.sVR h.