Evening star., 1925-03-06
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
flame Smith ..,.., =, s.rs,en RI. L ~. rsrrosra

corner without exposing herself to
detection.
She made up her mind that she
| would walt until she heard IL strike
and then explore the corner. She had
so thoroughly planned a period Of
waiting that II was with feeling of
| shocked surprise that she became
aware, even as she reached and
crossed the threshold of the study,
that some one was coming down the
stairs behind her. If she had been one
| moment later, If she had stayed,
sshe very nearly did stay, to look
out of the window and see whether
the night was fair, they would have
walked into one another at the top
| of the stairs. AS 1t was, she had
escaped by the very narrowest margin.
The door opened inwards, and she
| had just time TO get behind 1t and
close all but a crack, when through
| that crack she saw Raymond Heritage
| pass, wrapped in the same black
| cloak which she had worn the night
| before, only this time she wore be-
| meath 1T, not her linen overall, but
| the dress she had worn for dinner.
She held an electric lamp in her left
| hand.
AS soon as she had passed the door,
Jane opened it a little wider and came
| forward step.
Lady Heritage went straight to the
corner of the hall. She put the torch
down upon a chair which stood imme-
diately under Willoughby Luttrells S
| portrait Then she went quite close
to the wall and reached up, with her
arms stretched out widely. Her righI
hand touched the bottom left-hand
corner of the portrait and her left
rested in the angle of the corner
To - IT. \. IT..
| she had heard the night before.
Lady Heritage stepped back, took
up her light. and, going to the cor
| ner, pushed hard against the wall.
Jane watched with all her eyes, and
| saw section of the paneling turn
| on some unseen pivot, leaving a mar
| row door through which Raymond
| passed. For a moment she stared at
| the lighter oblong in the wall. then
| there was second click and the un-
broken shadow once again.
Tingling with excitement, Jane
stepped from her doorway and came
| to the corner. She must, oh, she
must find the spring, and find it in
time to follow. Raymond stood here
and reached up, but she was tall,
much taller than Jane. She stood on
her tiptoes and could not reach the
lowest edge of the portrait.
With the very greatest of care she
moved the chair that was under the
| picture yard or two to the left 1t
weighed as though it were made of
| lead instead of oak, and she was
| gasping AS she set it down, but she
| had made no noise Renata's cork
soles slipped as she climbed on to the
| polished seat, but she gripped the
| solid back and did not fall.
Raymond had pressed something in
the wall with both hands at once.
Jane began to feel carefully along
the lower edge of the portrait until
she came to the massively foliated
! corner with its fat gilt acanthus
| leaves. A cross-piece of the paneling
came just on the same level. She
| felt along it with light, sensitive fin
| gertips. There was a knot in the
wood, but nothing else. IF there Is
mother knot in the corner, I'll try
| pressing on them" she thought to
, , herself. and on the instant her left
hand found the second knot. She
pressed with all her might, and for
the third time that evening she heard
the little scarcely audible click. This
time it spelt victory.
In a curiously methodical manner
Jane got down, put the chair care
fully back into its place and pushed
Lady Heritage do. The paneling
yielded to her hand and swung in
| ward.
There was a black gap in the COR
ner. Jane passed through it without
any hesitation and pulled the panel
ing to. She meant to leave it just
ajar, but her hand must have shaken,
or else there was some controlling
spring, for as she stood in the black
dark she heard the click again. She
drew a long breath and stood motion
less for a moment, but only for a
moment. She had con e there to fol-
low Raymond Heritage, and follow
ner she would.
She put out cautious foot and it
went down, so far down that for a
sickening instant she thought that
she must oyerbalance and fall head
long; then. just in time, it touched
a step, the first of ten which went down
very steeply At the bottom she felt
her way round a corner, and then
with intensest thankfuiness she saw,
good way ahead, a moving figure
with a light.
The passage that stretched before