The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-08-10
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he rusted hands of the veranda
c elk pointed to little after l o'clock
when Varney stretched his tattooed
arms and yawned.
Time for bed, old SON."
Pennington, who was leaning on the
rail, glanced back over his shoulder.
"Tired?'
The other nodded.
Taken all round. it's been a rather
trying day. You won't be in too
much of a hurry to get away in the
morning?"
Cant say. It depends on circum
stances-and Mr.. Chai-Hung. You
won't mind if I hang about here for
a spell? I know where to find my
room"
Varney smiled.
do just as you like. of course
I'm not going to suggest that you're
feeling uneasy about recent events;
| but, in any case, Chang would raise
Cain long before any outsider could
reach the house" He bent down and
patted the creatures shaggy head.
Pennington held out his hand.
Goodnight, Varney. It's done me
a world of good seeing you so At and
fiourishing. I never worry; it wastes
so much time. But try to imatgine
I can think better when half the
worlds asleep"
He stopped there-rolling and
smoking interIninable cigarettes, and
each time he struck a fresh match
the hound that was cutled in a cane
| chair ierked up it's head. Presently
| Pennington extinguished the lamp. AS
| he came back to his original position
/ a sudden sound attracted his atten-
ton. The moon. sailing gaily toward
| a cloud-bank, threw sufficient light
/ to enable him to see that Narneys
! dog had not stirred. The sound came
again, this time from the patch of
blackness that indicated the opening
to the passage. Pennington loosened
the button of his hip-pocket and
walked deliberately toward the patch
His keen ear accustomed to the
slightest noise, all his senses alert,
he gathered that some one was retreat
ing softly as he advanced. He
stepped a couple of PAGES backward
and looked at the dog. The animal
blinked friendly up at him. squirmed
into a more comfortable position-and
resumed it's slumbers.
Pennington winked ominously at
the night, lit the cigarette he had just
made, and strobe whistling to his
| room. He closed the door careslessly
after him and turned the key Pres
emily he was moving about the room,
| humming softly to himself, with
hurricane-lamp burning merrily on
table by the bed. To a chance listener,
it would have appeared that he who
sees in the dark" had at last sue
cumbed to fatigue and was in the act
Of undressing; but in reality Penning-
ton was indulging in the amusing
pastime Of picking perfectly useless
| things up in one part of the room
and putting them down in another.
He removed his boots and knocking
out the light, stretched himself at
full length in his clothes behind the
mosquito-curtains.
Varneys spare room contained no
window, obtaining its ventilation from
the space between where the partition
walls finished and the rafters began,
and Pennington, tying the curtains
at the head end Of the bed in a knot
behind him, focused his eyes upon
narrow batten that served to finish-off
the rough edges Of timbering OF the
wall Immediately at his side. This
was the wall dividing the room from
the passage. There were two outer
partitions that rose higher than the
rest, and the fourth was the one
that backed on the room in which
the trader himself was sleeping.
He had been in that position for
roughly half an hour when he knew
rather than heard that something
was moving stealthily about the
building. Presently the movement
ceased altogether. and the man on
the bed caught the sound of meas
ured breathing that seemed to come
from somewhere close at his side.
Something passed softly along the.
woodwork, strained upon it, scratched
its surface faintly-and the breath
| ing sounded more rapidly in the re-
g1on of the roof
Most things are a question of habit.
Happenings such as these-which
might have held others helpless, par
alyzed with fear-acted upon Chinese
Pennington like a tonic According
| ly, while a black shadow-the slight
est degree blacker than the wall it.
self-slid slowly downward, Penning-
| ton did not trouble to move a muscle
until its lower extremity came well
within reach. And then--one arm
shot out with surprising suddenness,
his fingers fastened upon a brown
ankle-and the owner of the limb col
| lapsed in a heap on the floor
"Chong-Hee," said Pennington
softly. 81 have been waiting for you
for many hours""
He had slipped from the bed and
was cropping for the electric torch he
habitually carried. The form over
which he knelt moved convulsively
and Aattened out. nearly causing him
| to pitch forward on to his face. Pen
nington found the torch. The bulb
displayed a faint glimmer which
dropped Immediately into a dull, red
glow He swore softly under his
breath and shifting his knees until
they rested upon either arm of the
| oriental, struck a match.
A Second later he was upon his feet