San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-04-18

WIN lne SOllulIy VI hidIioSdHy anu
marble slabs. The wardrobe, es-
pecially, was as big as shop
window. Eighteen months dirt
lay everywhere.
Mr.. Brummelton took another
key from his waistcoat pocket and
opened the door of the wardrobe.
Then he stepped inside, closing
the door carefully behind him;
moving into the left-hand corner.
he ran his hand over the back of
this massive piece of furniture.
A small door swung wide. He
put his hand through the aperture
and presently a smaller door, cut
from the wall of the room, opened
as silently as the first. Mr.. Brum-
melton stepped unhe s i t a tingly
through both doors and found
himself in a gloomy attic, stacked
as full as a warehouse with house.
hold goods. Turning sharply to
the right, he began to move along
the wall in the direction of the
pokey window which lighted this
derelict lumber-room at one end.
A slightly larger window at the
other end was boarded up.
The room was low-ceilinged but
otherwise vast in its proportions.
Mr.. Brummelton, proceeding crab
wise along the wall, had quite a
good way to go before he came to
a strange clearing in the forest
of furniture.
The clearing was nine feet
square, or thereabouts. Directly
in front of the window, which was
set deep into the cave of the
house land had a broad window
ledge, was a flat-topped writing
table; in front of it stood swivel
chair and on either side an avn
chair No rugs covered the bare
boards but there was a small cleo
trio stove and, fastened down upon
the writing-table, a house tele-
phone. Mr.. Brummelton seated
himself in the swivel chair, I'M
locked a drawer of the table and
took from it a solidly bound note
book such as law statiOners sell,
with the word Diary lettered
across it in red. Before opening
it, he turned in his chair and gave
a long, cautious glance round the
room.
Sitting with his back to the
window, he had to right and left
of him and for yard upon yard in
front of him impenetrable piles of
disus d furniture. Sideboards
bore what-nOts upon their once
glossy tops, tables straddled upon
chests of drawers, and in the lap
of each sofa lowered a hall stand
that nearly touched the ceiling. At
the extreme end of the right-hand
wall, the top of door was visible,
but to anyone entering by this
door Mr.. Brummelton in his clear
ing was as safely hidden as a
snake in long grass.
Mr.. BrUmmelton swivelled back
to the writing-table and, opening
the diary at the first blank page,
he produced a fountain-pen and
began to write. He wrote steadily
for some fifteen minutes and then
flickcd back the pages of the diary,
reading and re-reading portions
written in small, mean hand
unlike his own. As he
read his lips moved and one might
have thought that he prayed.
at grows wOrSe-wcek by week
! can mcmorize lessw he said
with a sudden and intense
irritation. 81 could have sworn
that | decided that she should give
Comstock the name of Larne!
. But, Of course, | remem-
Der now-shc was to be vague
about her identity in case she and
ComstOck meet in Yelding's pres
cncc before Monks Yielding is
hers" He closed his eyes and
took his grey head in his hands.
A thin smile touched his lips.
80 How in Heaven can | defend a
man who keeps a daryl" he
and added: "But - the
diary is our salvation from per-
IitiOn."
The turn of the phrase soothed
him and he resumed his task.
Presently he began to murmur to
himself, but in an expressionless
monotone.
"Oncc she has clinched the bar
gain with the Drew girl, the coup
is entirely successful; ! can see not
ono single loose thread that might
trip US. Yielding and his solicitor
may rave but once Monks Yielding
is bought by her with her money
il is hers and the ore with it.
ComstOck will Individually go to
prison for a convenient period,
and, if he has sense, he will con-
tinuc to keep to himself a story
that no one will believe and that
he could not prove if they did;
The Drew girl, when she has sold
the house, can be dismissed from
the affair altogether"
He had swivelled slowly round
again in his chair and faced the
stacks Of furniture as though they
were a politely interested audience
and hc upon a lecturers platform:
The only remaining aspect of
the situation to be considcred"-.
he raised his voice slightly and
tapped a long finger upon the