The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-08-17
CHAPTER IV--Continued.
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After listening intently for q min
ute or two, he put his head round the
curtain. The passage was deserted.
Tommy bent down and removed his
shoes, then, leaving them behind the
curtain, he walked ~gingerly out on his
stockinged feet, and kneellng down
by the closed door, ne laid his ear
cautiously to the crack. To his In
tense annoyance he could distinguish
little more; Just a chance word here
and there If q voice was raised, which
merely served to whet his curiosity
still farther.
He eyed the handle OF the door ten
tatively, Could ne turn II by degrees
SO gently and im~perceptibiy that those
In the room would notice nothing? He
decided that with great care 1t could
be done. Very slowly, a fraction Of
an inch at a time, he moved 1t round,
holding his breath In his excessive
care. A little more-a little, more
still-would II lever be finished? Ahi
at last II would turn no farther.
He stayed so for a minute or two,
then drew a deep breath, and pressed It
ever so slightly inward. The door did
not bulge. Tommy was annoyed. If
he had to use too much force, It would
almost certainly creak. He waited
until the voices rose n little, then he
tried again. Still nothing happened.
He increased the pressure. Had the
beastly thing stuck? Finally, in des-
peration, he pushed with all his
might. But the door remained firm,
and at last the truth dawned upon
him. 1t was locked or bolted on the
inside.
For a moment or two Tommy's In
dignation got the better of him.
"Well, I'm DID," he said. "What
a dirty trick !"
As his indignation cooled, he pre-
pared to face the situation. Clearly
the flrst thing to be done was to re-
store the handle to It's original posi-.
ton. It he let It 20 suddenly, the
men inside would be almost certain
to notice 1t, so, with the same Infinite
pains. he reversed his former tactics.
AL went well, and with a Sigh Of re-
nief the young man rose to his feet.
There was a certain bulldog tenacty
'abcut Tommy that made him slow to
sadmit defeat. Checkmated for the
rmoment. he was far from abandoning
,the conflict. He stifl intended to
'hear what was going on In the locked
room. As one plan had failed, he
must hunt about for another.
He looked round him. A little far
ther along the passage on the left
was a second door. He slipped silently
along to II. He listened for a moment
or two. then tried the handle. 1t
yielded, and he slipped inside.
The room, which was untenanted,
was furnished as a bedroom. Like
everything else In the house, the fur
niture was falling to pieces, and the
dirt was. II anything. more abundant.
But what interested Tommy was
the thing he had hoped to fnd. a COM
municatfng door between the two
rooms upon the lek BY the window.
Carefully closing the door into the
passage behind him, he stepped across
to the other and examined It closely.
The holt was shot across II. II was
very rusty, and had clearly not been
used for some time. BY gently wrig-
Cling II to and fro. Tommy managed
to draw It back without making too
much noise. Then he repeated his
former maneuvers with the handle
this time with complete success. The
door swung open-a crack. a mere
fraction, but enough for Tommy to
hear what went on. There was a vel
vet portiere on the inside of this door
which prevented him from seeing, but
he was eble TO recognize the voices