The Raymer enterprise., 1923-04-12

board, and he rang at the same time
for the nurse outside his door and
for the steward.
SantoIne did not consider the pos
sibility Of robbery Of plate or jewelry
long enough to have been said to con.
slider 1t at all: what he felt was that
the threat which had been hanging
vaguely over himself ever sln,e War.
den's murder was being fulfilled. But
II was not Santolne himself that was
being attacked; It was something San
toire possessed. There was only one
sort Of valuable article for which one
might enter that room below. And
those articles
Santoine pressed all the bells again
and then got up. He had heard abso-
lutely no sound outside. as must be
made by anyone escaping from the
room below; but the battle seemed
over. One side must have destroyed
the other.
The blind man stood barefooted on
the floor. bis hands clasping In one Of
the bitterest moments Of his rebellion
against. and defiance of. his helpless
ness Of blindness Below him-as he
believed-his servants had been sacri-
ficing life for him; there in that room
he held In trust that which affected
the security. the faith. the honor Of
others; bis guarding that trust In.
volved his honor no less. And partlc-
ularly. now. he knew he was bound.
at whatever cost. to act; for he did
not doubt now but that his half-pris-
oned guest. whom Santoine had not
sufficiently guarded, was at the bot
tom Of the attack. The blind man be-
lieved, therefore. that II was because
Of his own retention here Of Eaton
that the attack had been made. his
servants hnd been killed. the private
secrets OF his associates were In dan
ger. Undoubtedly there was danger
below: but that was why he did not
call again at the other door for some
one else TO run risk for him.
He put his hand on the rail and
started to descend the stairs. He was
almost steady In step end he had frm
grasp on the rail he noticed that now
to wonder at It. When he had aroused
at the sound Of firing. his blindness,
as always when something was hap
pening about him. was cbtruded upon
him. He felt helpless because he was
blind. not because he had been In.
Jured. He had forgotten entirely
that for almost two weeks he had not
stirred from bed; he had risen and
stood and walked, without staggering.
to the door and to the top Of the
stairs before. now. he remembered. So
what he already had done showed him
that he had merely again to put his
injury from his mind and he could
go on. He went down the stairs al
most steadily.
The blind count- stairs. and he had
gone down twenty-one-a realized
fully his futillty; but now he would
not retreat or merely call for help.
"Who Is here?" he asked distinctly.
"Is anyone here7 Who Is here?'
No one answered. And now San.
toine knew by the sense which let him
feel whether II was night or day. tina,
the room was really dark-dark for
others as well as for himself; the
lights were not burning. SO an exal.
tatlon. a sense Of physical capablllty.
came to SantoIne: In the dark he was
as fit, as capable as any other man.
He stepped down on the floor, and
In his uncertainty as to the position
OF the furniture. felt along the wall.
There were bookcases there. but he
felt and passed along them swiftly,
until he came to the case which
concealed the safe nt the left side Of
the doors. The books were gone from
that case; his bare toes struck against
them where they had been thrown
down on the door. The blind man, his
pulse beating tumultuously. put his
hand through the case and felt the
panel behind That was slid back,
exposing tha safe; and the door Of
the safe stood open. Santoine's s
hands felt within the safe swiftly. The
safe was empty.
He recciled from It. choking back
nm ejaculation. The entry to this
room had been made for the purpose
which he supposed: and the thieves
must have succeeded In their errand.
The blind man. In his uselessness for
pursuit. could delay calling others to
act for him no longer. He started
toward the bell. when some scrape on
the fioor-h0t Of the sort to be &C.
counted for by an object moved BY
the wind-sounded behind him. San.
toine swung toward the sound and
stood listening again; and then, crop.
ing with his hands stretched out be.
fore him. he left the wall and stepped
toward the center Of the room. He
took two steps-three, four-wIth no
result: then his foot trod into some
fluid. thick and sticky and not cold.
Santolne stopped and put q finger.
tip into the fluid and brought II near
| HE po~a n was what ho sunnoeod 1,