Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-06-27

I "what-what are you doing this
| to me for?" the man burst out in a
| shaken voice again.
| Captain Francis Newcombe made
no answer. He too had heard the
sounds in under here, but III Run
nslls were up to some more OF his
games IL would avail Runnells very
little now. Runpeils' body. II there
were by any chance some one ahead
I here In the darkness, made a most
| excellent and effective shield. 1t was
| inky black In here. and now under
| foot, as they went forward, in place
or pure sand there were rocks and a
slightly muddy bottom.
| His left hand deposited the sur
| Plus revolver in his pocket and IN
exchange drew out his fashlight.
He thrust the hashlight out beyond
| Runnells' side in front of them both
| and switched 1t on.
A cry broke on the instant from
Runnells' iips-a cry of terror.
Look! Look" Runnells cried.
This II q horrible, shiny. CHASTITY
hole!' Let me go--let me go. It's
it's a dead man"
Captain Francis Newcombe's jaws
had clamped. Into the focus of the
round white ray had come the big
| concrete pier that supported the
building in the center, slime draped,
green and oozy now with the tide
| still low; and nearer 1t again, a
black ribbon OF water. strangely like
silk In It's ripping under the light,
| for the sea wall way out beyond had
| pulled 1t here into the quiet almost
| Of q pond. Tapped at the shore. lap
ped and Tapped, as though striving
with hideOus patience to creep yet
another inch onward. and yet another,
and always another, that 1t might
reach a huddlcd thing that lay still
| several yards away. a
A huddied thing, eS'~F''e~
Catain Francis Newcombe pushed
Runnells ruthlessly forward until
they both stood over it. And now
the flashlights ray played upon it
upon twisted. crumpled form, n
dead thing. a man whose clothes in
places were in ribbons as though
the very body had been mangled, a
| man In a white shirt sleeve where
| the sleeve of the coat had been torn
away at the armpit. q man around
whose neck and across whose face
were long. horribly regular lines of
round. lurid marks. near purple now
against the bloodless skin.
And Runneils with scream
| shrank back and covered his face
with his hands,
MY Gawd." he screamed out in
terror. It's Paul" he screamed.
ITS Paul Cremarrc."
Paul Cremarre.
And the man was not a pleasant
| sight.
The slime. the water and the
mud! The Stygian blackness that
H9emGd IN
puny ray Of the fiashlight. The
hp-iap-lap OF the wavelets that
eehoed back I'm hollow, ghostly
whispers from the flooring of the
boathouse above. And Runnells,
grovellng. drawing In his brea tn
| with loud sucking sounds. Noises
or sea and air-indefnable-all dis
cordant--like imps in jubilee! 1t
was a Ghouls' hole.
But Captain Francis Newcombe
smiied-with thin parting of the
| lips. lie knew sudden elation, a
stupendous uplift. He found joy
In each OF these abominabie marks
on the face of the Thing that lay
. ~ 'he end or his flashlights ray
| They were not pretty-but they
were all too few,
Got our wind up. has it. Run.
| nells?' he sneered-and thereafter
Tor a moment. though he never let
hunnells entirely out Of the lights
| FOCUS, gave his fuller attention 10
Paul Cremarre.
The man was dead. wasn't hec II
was a matter that could not be left
/ In doubt--even when doubt seemed
! to be dispelled at a glance. He bent
! down over the other. An instant
examination satisfied him. The
man was dead. His eyes rolled
| over the body. and held suddenly
on one OK the mans hands. Rather
| pecunar. that! The hand was
ughtiy cienched. One did not ordin
| arily die with one hand clenched
! and the othef open. Something fell
to the ground. He picked IL up. II
was a large bronze key about three
tnches in length. Cupping 1t in
his hand so that RunneIls might
NOT inadvertently sec it. he stared
| at 1t speculatively for a moment
then dropped 1t into his pocket.
| This was interesting. decidedly IN
teresting-and suggestive, His
nashlight became more inquisitiye in
respect OF the immediate surround
ihgs. Those footprints. for instance
IN the half mud and sand, deep. ir-
regular. which. leading up to the
euse OF the water some four or five
Sards away ended where Paul
CIemarre now lay-and another
| series or footprints, a little 10 tbe
right. quite regular. which. though,
they also started from the waters
edge. lost themselves in the direc
ZION or the beach in front of the
boathouse.
Captain Francis Newcombe work
ed swiftly now. He searched
through the dead mans pockets
| transferring the contents, without
stopping to examine them. to his
own pockets--and then abruptly and
without ceremony swung upon Run
nells.
Wen finish this up in the boat
house," he snapped.
Runnells' reply was inarticulate
| Captain Francis Newcombe, with
his revolver again ut the small OF
| Runnells' back, drove the man be-
fore him-out from under the
reranda. up one OF the ramp like
bridges and into the little lounge
room OF the boathouse. Here he
switched on the highland with a
sudden. savage grip around Run
nells' throat, flung the man sprawl
ing into one Of the big easy chairs
Now. my man." he said. well
have our little settlemnt, since Paul
has already had his, l congratulate
| you-both. And perhaps you may
have q very early opportunity of
letting him know that 1 did not
overlook MIN In my Fluctuations
Very neat-very clever of you two
to play game like this. l must
confess that did not think Of Paul
| Cremarre In connection with what
has been going on. fancy that the
very fact Of YOU being here-the
three divided. as II were-must have
helped to act as sort OF mental
blanket upon me In that respect.
And even you I was forced to
| e. r