Evening star., 1925-06-28

menace looked out Of him. I gripped
myself, remembered Q. Q.'s orders,
remained stolidly silent, bent over my
work again. do you hear?" My
shoulder was violently shaken. Open
that door, Or He had no threat
vicious enough for his anger.
glanced at him as coolly as l could
obviously my cue was to initiate the
Chief, at that moment quite unper
turbed, apparently engrossed in the
perusal of some documentary the fe-
rocity in his glare. saw his fingers
working-itching for a weapon which,
thank heaven, he did not possess-and
remained dumb.
Mr. Quayne merely turned over an
other page of the document he was
perusing with such concentrated at
tention.
His victim glared at him, opened his
cigarette case-I noticed, maliciously,
that 1t contained only one cigarette
struck a match, commenced to smoke.
The silence of that room, high above
the housetops, was like the grave. 1t
perpetuated itself, continued until
even I felt a strain upon my nerves.
The only sound was the deep breath
ing OF that man in the chair adjacent
to Q. Q.'s desk. Unobtrusively 1 kept
sharp eye upon him, alert to inter-
pose in that sudden pantherlike
spring I felt to be imminent. But
none came. Mr.. Darcy Vaughan sat
immobile, his lips pressed tight, smok-
ing with the tiniest Of puffs, evidently
Il could syrnpathiZe with hin-trying
to economic that one and only Gig
arctic to the last possible moment.
And the silence in that room con-
tinued, persisted till 1t seemed to ring
in my ears.
1 glanced at the. clock hand. 1t
marked half-past 5.
Mr.. Vaughan stirred.
Mr.. Quayne"
@. Q. lifted an eyebrow at him.
How long Is this madness to con-
tinue?"
Until I get your confession"
The silence continued. The ticking
of the clock became insistent. an OBJ
session to the ear. Its hands slipped
round-6 o'clock-a quarter past.
Outside the light began to die out Of
the sky. Within the room there were
already shadows. Long ago Mr..
Darcy Vaughan had got tn the end
Of his smoke. For what seemed an
age he had sat like statue, utterly
motionless. What was he thinking, 1
wondered. And still the silence re-
mained unbroken.
X X X
IT was shattered suddenly.
= "Quayne"' The man paused, wait
| ing for a movement of @. Q.'s head
that did not occur. II don't know
how long this farce Is going on-but
I'll count it as mitigation if you'll give
me a. cigarette"
But Mr.. Quayne had apparently lost
his sense of hearing. He. merely
picked another from the pile Of docu-
| ments at his hand.
Once more the room relapsed into
silence-into silence that grew
haunted, terrifying, vibrant with nlys-
| terious unuttered menace as the tw1-
| light deepened in the room-a silence
| that rang and yet was soundlesS. A
sudden mutter from the man in the
chair seemed only to intensity it
| How long, indeed, was this going on?
| I myself grew unnerved with the
strain, felt the impulse to use my
voice-to break this uncanny hush
| rise up in me, almost Irresistible. Had
I been sitting there with the guilt OF
murder on my conscience l could not
have refrained from shouting it aloud
to get relief at any cost from this In
| tolerable ordeal of soundlessness.
wherein the stark fundamental out
lines Of ones soul seemed automat-
cally to emerge. 1 should have
screamed that guilt, in hysteria. long
| ago. But still the man I could half
| in the gloom sat motionless and silent
| in his chair. Still @. Q. remained,
holding up a document to get the last
of the light. seemingly oblivious of his
presence. For myself, had given up
even the pretense of work. 1 sat,
gripped in that dead hush, and waited
W al ed-while the shadows
| thickened.
Suddenly I heard a sound-the
faintest little whir; and then
'He shall confess, Mr.. Quayne-
am determined on it,
| The voice came out of the gloom,
silent, deep-toned, vibrant with au-
| thority-the voice of the murdered
Arbuthnot! Even to me, who could
an instant later guess its source, 1t
came with shock to my nerves, un-
| canny from the fornless shadows of
the room. To the man in the chair
it came with the full force of super
natural presence-sternly inexorable
| in a ghostly omnipotence. He sprans
| to his feet. stood quivering.
| "What was that? Quayne, did you
hear that? Arbuthnot's voice! Il
| no it couldn't be - couldn't be-
| Quayne, his voice was strained with
terror,-'1et me out of this. I'm go
| ing mad! / can't stand 1t any longer!
@. @. apparently did not hear him
He did not move. One hand still held
of outside light; the other was out OF
| sight beneath his desk. Mr.. Darcy
Vaughan gasped. Once more he turn
ed toward me, and I saw his two
hands go slowly, quiveringly, up to-
! ward his head as he stood silhouetted
against the window. The man was
| gripped in a paroxysm Of terror at
those suddenly vocal shadows al
around him-at himself.
NO" heard him whisper to him
self, mo! 1t couldn't have been! II
couldn't have been"
! And then once more came that
solemn. deep-toned, authoritative
voice:
HE shall confess. Mr.. ouayne-l
am determined on itv'
A choked scream broke from the
tortured wretch.
Mono! Quiet. Arbuthnot! Il
can't bear it! Ill te1l-Iu confess
I'll confess! Quayne-Quayne! Hi
voice came almost in a shrek from
the shadows which hid his face. I'll
confess-Ill confessl Take It down
I'll confoss!'
| Q. .. laid down his papers.
Take down what Mr.. Vaughan die
tates, Mr.. Creighton" he said, quietly
Resume your chair, Mr.. Vaughan.
He touched the switch by his desk
and the room was suddenly flooded
with light.
Mr.. Darcy Vaughan. no longer tn.
spruce, well-groomed civil servant, bu
a haggard, wild-eyed wretoh-I wa.
startled at tho havoc the ordeal hat
made in hin-obeyed like q creature
drained Of volition. dropped heavil,
into his chair. took up my pei
and wrote as, quaveringly, gaspingly