The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-03-11

sional etiquette, she determined to see for
herself that all was well.
Leaving the window open so that some
air might perCJlate into the house, she
slipped stealthily downstairs. She stopped
on the second floor, to visit her own room
and that Of Nurse Silver. All was quiet
and secure. In her own quarters. Mrs.
lies still snOred in the sleep of the unjust.
There were two doors in the patients
room. The one lead to the nurses room,
where Nurse Silver was still at her meal.
The other led to the landing.
Directly Nurse Cherry entered she knew
that her fear had been the premOnitiOn of
love. Something was seriously amiss.
Gl~endOwer's head tossed uneasily on the
pillow. His face was deeply flushed. When
she called him by name, he stared at her,
his luminous gray eyes ablaze.
He did not recognize her, for instead of
stella" he called her nurse"
Nurse, Nurse" He mumbled something
that sounded like "man," and then slipped
back in her arms, unconscious.
Nurse Silver entered the room at her
cry. AS she felt his pulse she spoke with
dry significance.
1--WE could do with oxygen now!"
Nurse Cherry could only look at her with
'ShaIl I telephone for DR.. Jones'" she
asked humbly.
1t seemed like the continuation Of an
evil dream when she could get no answer
to her ring. Again and again she tried
desperately to galvanize the dead instru-
ment.
Presently Nurse Silver appeared on the
landing.
as the doctor coming?"
Il can't get any answer" Nurse
Cherry forced back her tears. "Oh, what
ever can be wrOng?"
Probably & wet creeper twisted around
the wire. But it doesn't matter now. The
patients sleeping"
Nurse Cherry's face registered no com
fort. AS though the shocks of the last few
minutes had set in motion the arrested ma
| phinnTU of her brain Chn remembered Eu0-
denly, what she had forgotten.
The larder window.
She recOllected now what had happened.
When she entered the larder on her round
of locking up a mouse had run over her
feet. She ran to fetch the cat, which chased
it into a hole in the kitchen. In the excite
ment Of the incident she had forgotten to
return to close the window.
Her heart leaped violently at the realiza-
ton that all these hours the house had
been open to any marauder. Even while
she and Nurse Silver had listened, SILVER
ing, to the knocking at the door she had
already betrayed the fortress.
whats the matter?" asked Nurse Silver.
"NOthing. Nothing"
She dared not tell the older woman. Even
now it was not too late to remedy her
omission. In her haste she no longer
feared the descent into the basement. She
could hardly get down the stairs with suf-
lfcient speed.
AS she entered the Iarder the wire COW
cred window tapped in the breeze. She
ISGCuTcu II anu WAS just CnJcAAuE Tx AlbNA
en- when her eye fell on a dark patch on
the passage.
It was the fOOtstep of a man.
Nurse Cherry remembered that lies had
been in the act Of getting fresh coal into
the cellar when he had been called away
to make his journey. He had no time to
{ clean up and the floor was still sOOty with
: rain-sOaked dust.
D.. cleaned family. Stoopin e hastily, she
touched it. 1t was still damp.
2 At first she stood as. IL petriied, staring
D at it stupidity. Then as she realized that in
front of her Law a freshly made imprint her
nerve snapped completely. With q scream
e she dropped her candle and tore up the
stairs, calling on Nurse Silver. -
= She was answered by a strange voice. II
was thick, heavy, indistinct. A voice she
, had never heard before.
= Knowing not what awaited her on the
other side of the door, yet driven on by
q the courage of ultimate fear, she rushed
z into the nurses sitting room. No one was
|, there save Nurse Silver. She sagged bach
. in her chair, her eyes half closed, hel
q mouth open.
a From her lips issued a second uncOutl
h err.
S Nurse Cherry put her arm round her.
"What is it.? Try to tell me-"
It was plain that Nurse Silver was try
- ing. to warn her of some peril. she point
- ed to her glass and fought for articulation
Drugs! Listen! When you locked out
yOu lock in :"
Even as she SPOKE u6E eyes CuIueu u
horribly, exposing the balls in a bin
white stare.
. Almost mad with terror, Nurse Cherr
tried to revive her. Mysteriously, thrOug
- some unknown agency, what she had S
" dreaded had come to pass.
t. She was alone.
. And somewhere within the walls Of tn
- house lurked a being-cruel and cunning
who. one after one, had removed eac
&c. obstacle between himself and his OBJECTIVE
He had marked down his victim. Herself
ne
10. In that moment she went clean over th
edge of fear. She felt that it was not hel
self-Stella Cherry-but a stranger in ii
iii blue print uniform of q hospital nurse VIII
he calmly specialized on her course of actor
te It was impossible to lock herself in I'll
"a. patients room. for the key was stiff fro
= disuse. And she had not the strength
- move furniture which was sufficient
ID. heavy to barricade the door.
h. The idea Of fight was Immediately di
r. missed. In order to get help she wOul
la. have to run miles. She could not lea
= GlendOwer and two helpless women at Il
mercy Of the bafhed maniac. There WI
nothing to be done. Her place was /
tc- GIendOwer. She sat down by his bed al
took his HAND in hers.
The time seemed endless. Her wat,
= seemed sometimes to leap whole hours al
- then to crawl, as she notwithstanding
W. the myriad sounds in a house at nightfa
There were faint Tustlings, the crackiI
= Of woodwork, the scamper of mice.
- anu q AunU4C NAnAN0 0OhAC OAC <
rs to steal up the stairs and linger just GU
side her door.
te It was nearly three O'Clock when su
denly a gong began to beat inside h
temples. In the adjoining room was t
~ unmistakable tramp Of a mans fOOtstel
nv 1t was no imagination on her part. TIL
zee: circled the room and then advanced deli
erately towards the connecting door. S
- saw the handle begin to turn slowly.
~ In one bound she reached the door a
SS rushed on to the landing and up the stat
For a second she paused before her o.
LLy room. But it's windows were barred a
~. the door had no key. She could not
hot done to death there in the dark.
- As she paused she heard the footsteps
the stairs. They advanced slowly, driYi
SITS. her on before them. Demented with teri
III she fed up to. the top story, ~instinctiv
seeking the open window. She could 90
higher. At the attic door she waited.
lies, Something black appeared on the sts
MI case wall. It was the shadow Of her D
suer-a grOtesque and distorted herald
crime. Nurse Cherry gripped the bal
7oFS trade to keep herself from falling. Eve
thing was growing dark. She knew {
~ ~ she was on the point Of fainting when
was revived by sheer establishment and
Above the baIuStrq6n anDpqrnd fha n