The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-10-30
CHAPTER xII-Continued

"No go, darling" he muttered.
sand I'm afraid of making too much
noise. I'm going to try and force this
window"
Bya stroke of luck they had not TAX
EN- his clasp-knife, and by still greater
stroke of luck he found that the catch
on the window had been broken, and
that it proved even easier to open
than he had thought.
The next moment he had vanished
into the drawing-room. And now he
noticed that that strange noise which
he had heard while standing on the
lawn was much louder. AS he eau
tiously opened the door and peered
into the passage the very faint hum
became steady drone, while with
each successive thud the foor-boards
shook a little.
The passage was in darkness,
though light was shining from under
some of the doors. And as he crept
along in search of the stairs he heard
voices proceeding from one Of the
rooms he passed. Evidently fairly
populous household, 1t struck him, as
he tested the bottom stair with his
weight to see If it creaked. But the
staircase was old and solid, and the
stair carpet was thick, and at the mo-
ment Hugh was not disposed to
linger. Afterward the house seemed
to promise fairly fruitful field for
investigation; at present Phyllis was
all that mattered. So he vanished up
wards with the uncanny certainty Of
all his movements at night, and a mo-
ment later he was standing on the
landing above.
/, 1t was a long, straight corridor, a
replica of the one below, and he
turned in the direction in which he
knew her room must lie. And he had
only taken couple of steps when he
stopped abruptly, peering ahead with
eyes that strove to pierce the dark
ness. For it seemed to him that there
was something In the passage some
thing darker than its surroundings
And at that moment something sprang
out of the darkness, and he found him
self fighting for his life.
For a second or two he was at q
disadvantage, so completely had he
+ been taken by surprise; then the old
habits returned. And not a moment
too soon; he was up against an an
tagonist who was worthy of him. Two
hands like iron hooks were round his
neck, and the man who gets that grip
first wins more often than not. His
own hands shot out into the darkness,
and then for the first time in his life
he felt stab of fear. For he couldn't
reach the other man: long though his
arms were, the other mans were far
longer, and as his hands went along
them he could feel the muscles stand
ing out like steel bars. He made one
supreme effort to force through to his
opponents throat and it failed with
his superior reach he could keep his
distance. Already DrummOnd's head
was beginning to feel like bursting
with the awful pressure round his
throat, and he knew he must do some
thing at once or lose. And just in
time he remembered his clasp-knife.
1t went against his grain to use IT.;
never before had he fought an un-
armed man with weapon-and as
far as he could tell this man was I'M
armed. But 1t had to be done and
done quickly.
With all his force he stabbed side
Of loft 40 no rfl
a snarl of pain, and the grip of one
of the hands round his throat relaxed.
And now the one urgent thing was to
prevent him shouting for help. Lake
a flash Drummond was on him, one
hand on his mouth and the other
gripping his throat with the grip he
had learned from Osaki the Jap in
days gone by, and had never forgot
ten. And because he was fighting to
Kill now he wasted no time. The grip
frightened; there was a dreadful wor-
rying noise as the man bit into his
thumb-then it was over. The man
slipped downward. onto the floor, and
Drummond stood drawing in great
mopthfuls of air.
But he knew there was no time to
lose. Though they had fought in 81
lence. and he could still hear the mo-
notonous thud and the beat of the
engine, at any moment someone might
come upstairs. And to be found with
dead man at ones feet in strange
house is not the best way Of securing
hospitable welcome. What to do
with the body-that was the first In
:sistent point. There was no time for
Intricate schemes; it was a question of
taking risks and CHANGING it. So for
a moment or two he listened at the
door of room. then he gently opened
it. 1t was bedroom and empty, and
without further hesitation he dragged
his late opponent in, and left him lying
on the floor BY the dim light from
the uncurtained window, he could see
that the man was almost deformed, so