The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-08-10

lie WdLCIeu DOTlS 10 up tHe slepS VI d
particularly evil-looking house and rap
sharply, with a peculiar rhythm, on
the door. 1t was opened promptly,
he said q word or two to the door
keeper, then passed inside. The door
was shut to again.
1t was at this juncture that Tommy
lost his head. What he ought 70 have
done, what any sane man would have
done, was to remain patiently where
he was and wait for his man to come
out again. What he did do was en-
tirely foreign to the sober common
sense which was, as a rule, his leading
characteristic. Something, as he ex-
pressed ii, it seemed TO snap In his
brain. Without q moments pause for
reflection, he, too, wen up the steps,
and reproduced as far as he was able
the peculiar knock.
The door swung open with the same
promptness as before. A villainous-
faced man with clOse-cropped hair
stood in the doorway.
"WellY he grunted.
1t was at that moment that the full
realization Of his folly began to come
home TO Tommy. But he dared not
hesitate. He seized at the first words
that came into his mind.
"Mr. Brown he said.
To his surprise, the man stood aside.
upstairs" he said, jerking his
thumb over his shoulder, second door
on your left"
Taken aback though he was by the
mans words, Tommy did not hesitate.
If audacity had successfully carried
him so far, 1t was to be hoped 1t would
carry him yet farther. He quietly
passed into the house and mounted
| the r~amshackle staircase. Everything
in the house was filthy beyond words.
Tommy proceeded leisurely. BY the
time he reached the bend in the stair
case, he had heard the man below
disappear into q back room. Clearly
no suspicion attached to him as yet.
To come to the house and ask for "Mr.
Brown" appeared indeed to be a rea-
sonable and natural proceeding.
At the top OF the stairs Tommy halt
ed to consider his next move. In
front Of him ran q narrow passage,
with doors opening on either side Of 1t.
From the n nearest him on the left
came a low murmur Of voices. 1t
was this room which he had been di-
rected to enter. But what held his
glance fascinated was q small recess
Immediately on his right, half con-
cealed by q torn velvet curtain. 1t
was directly opposite the left-handed
door and, owing to its angle, 1t also
commanded a good view Of the upper
part Of the staircase. AS q hiding
place for one or, at a pinch, two men,
1t was ideal, being about two feet
deep and three feet wide. 1t attracted
Tommy nightly. He thought things
over in his usual slow and steady way,
deciding hat the mention OF "Mr.
Brown" was not a request for an in
dividual, but in all probability a pass
word used by the gang. His lucky use
Of Ii had gained him admission. So
far he had aroused no suspicion. Bot
he must decide quickly on his next
step.
1t seemed TO, him that luck had
served him very we'll so far, but that
there was such a thing as trusting 1t
too far. To enter the room at the
left was q colossal risk. He could
not hope to sustain his part indefi-
nitely; sooner or later he was almost
bound to betray himself, and then he
would have thrown away q vital
chance in mere foolhardiness.
A repetition Of the signal knock
sounded on the door below, and Tom
my, his mind made up, slipped quickly
into the recess, and cautiously drew
the curtain farther across, so that it
shielded him completely from sight.
| There were several rents and Sits in
the ancient material which afforded
him q good view. He would watch
events, and any time he chose could,
after all, join the assembly, modelling
his behavior on that of the new ar
rival.
The man who came up the staircase
with a furtive. soft-footed tread was
unknown to Tommy. He was obvi-
ously Of the very dregs OF society.
The low beetling brows, and the crimi-
nal jaw, the bestiality of the whole
countenance were new to the young
man, though he was a type that Scot
land Yard would have recognized at
a glance.
The man passed the recess, breath
ing heavily as he went. He stopped
at the door opposite, and gave a repe-
tition Of the signal knock. A voice
inside called out something. and the
man opened the door and passed in.
affording Tommy a monetary glimpse
of the room inside. He thought there
must be about four or five people
seated round a long table that took
up most Of the space, but his atten-
ton was caught and held by a tall
man with close-cropped hair and a
short, pointed, naval-looking beard,
who sat ut the head Of the table with
papers in front of him. AS the new