Evening star., 1925-10-03
The Knocking.

- as 1t was so picturesque
moving pictures of it had
heen taken, say, by the company of
which Mr.. Magnani was ii star. But
The men who had been on the spot
through the war years were old, and
discreet or forgetful
The Masquer's business was to
strike bargain with Pandora. Haste
She was to tell him all she knew
about Rawdon Wells and Eve Carroll
Including the evidence which might
connect Rawdon with Ewes disappear.
ance. Pan was also formally to take
back in writing her confession of
Sulit. She was to state on oath that
she had made this confession in the
hope of saving Wells. but that. on
second thoughts, she found it impoS.
Slble to continue her perjury She
was to add that she had escaped from
the police station through the con.
nlvance of a. friend, and that she in
tended to keep out of the way until
the trial of Sir Rawdon was over
This to avoid being called upon as a
witness.
In return for writing such a letter
ran would be released by the Masquer
from her prison under the pool and
placed in a comfortable, commonplace ce
farmhouse. where the only restraint
would be her own word of honor.
Later Slt would ne Ireeu.
If she refused to comply with these
terms she would be kept where she
was for an indefinite length of time
Her obStfnaCy would benefit no one
rs In prison she could not again testify
in favor of Wells, and her escape from
the police station at .Ardry-le Mare
would be taken to mean that she had
lied and was afraid of being found
out. Besides, the Masquer hinted, the
lime might Nthpn II would hQ in
convenient to retain her in her present
quarters. 1t would, however. be still
more inconvenient to set her free
If she were an avowed enemy. AS
to the alternative, she might draw her
own conclusions.
Il have said that I would not harm
you except under great provocation,' ;"
the man reminded the girl. Buff
YOU insist on giving me great provoca-
tlon-you know the saying, Safety
first" l might he obliged to rid my
self of a menace"
Meaning me- Pandora asked.
Meaning YOU.
How would You do it," she cate
chiZed him. If YOU let the water in
here you'd spoil all the nice tapestries
and valuable old furniture. AS you
keep the place for your bachelor quar-
terS, that wouldn't suit you, would
it?"
Such means would not be neces-
sary. The Hidden family. who de-
signed and made this secret place.
didn't lose sight of the need for sup
pressing a prisoner occasionally. They
knew how to utilize the water with
out letting it damage their property"
This hint chilled Pandora's spine
more icily than if the man had de-
scribed the plan for eliminating su-
perfluous persons. Her imagination
supplied the details. She could see
herself, bound and gagged. shot up
into the deep green water of the pool,
as men We're sometimes shot through
tho Conning-tow of 4 submerged sub
marine.
Long years afterWard, when Ken
and Rawdon Wells We're old, her
skeleton might be found. when she
herself had been almost forgotten.
Perhaps the skeleton of the lost bride
of the legend was there now, and for
generations the fish had glided back
and forth among the ribs of that
once beautiful body.
Pan had always hated -the-tffought
OF drowning. Still. she would not give
UP. mo. I won't write the confes-
sion." she said. I've made one al
ready, and l don't want to alter it in
you can say or do will induce me to
change my mind. and l tell you the
same again. So you may as well save
your breath
She saw the man quiver with rage
and clench his fists. But she could
have laughed dreary laugh-be
cause she saw also that he was at
a loss how best to deal with such
obstinacy. He was furious, and would
thoroughly enjoy breaking her head
against the brick wall as a punish
ment, but to do that would be like
killing the goose that laid The golden
eggs. If she were dead she would
be worse than useless. But living,
there was always hope that sooner
or later she might yield.
When threats and arguments had
availed no more than a shower Of
pebbles against q stone wall Masquer
gave up for the day.
I'VE shall see," he said, what q
little starvation will do-'a blockade.
That's considered effective measure in
war. and it is war between us now.
You've eaten some of your food,
see, and there's more left. But it
won't last long. eke 1T out as you
may. l give you two days to come
to heel. At the end Of that time
/ will visit you again. Till then
au revoir!'
AS the man backed to the door be-
hind the tapestry Pan made a dash
not to escape; she knew that was
impossible-but to succeed where
she'd failed before, and snatch a
glimpse of what lay beyond. He
pushed her back once more, yet she
did see what she took to be Il mar
row passage. and on the opposite
side another door. The girl stumbled
onto the bed as the Masquer threw
her off. and the key had turned in
The lock before she had got to her
feet again. But at least she had some
thing to think of besides the mans
threats.
She thought of that door across the
narrow passage: and before her minds
eve she hastily Sketched n plan of the
reconstructed Hidden Hail." as she
now imagined it.
Its very simple" Pan told herself.
'For some reason they wanted sepa-
rate rooms down here, so they made
two small ones of this size by running
np walls and making "a passage just
wide enough for a man to squeeze
through. Now l know where the
voice that followed the echo came
from, Somebody is in room across
the corridor, and when | yelled the
person there yehed back. Then the
Masquer made a noise coming down,
and everything had to stop
Masquer might have gone to pay
visit to that opposite room. but Pan
thought not. Her ears were sharp,
and she would have heard his key
in the other lock.
Perhaps he was lurking outside. to
listen in case she cried for mercy
begged to be taken out at any price
rather than be left alone for two
whole days without food. Well, she
wasn't going to cry for mercy. She
would wait FOR a few minutes until
tlprp-ned