The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-12-02
CHAPTER II-Continued

sible to the night prowler. A row OF
French windows at the rear gave
upon little terrace-below the ter
race the drive curved about and be-
meath the billiard room windows in
a hairpin loop, drawing up again at
the main entrance on the other side
Of the house At the left Of the
French windows Gf one faced the
terrace, as Miss Cornelia was doing}
was the alcOve door she spoke of.
When open, il disclosed a little a.
cove, almost entirely devoted TO t.
foot Of a flight OF stairs that gave
direct access TO the upper regions of
the house. The alcoye itself opened
on one side upon the terrace and up
on the other into a large buffers
pantry. The arrangement was obvi-
ously designed so that, if necessary,
one could pass directly from the ter
race TO the downstairs service quar-
tiers or the second floor of the house
without going through the living
room, and so that trays could be car
RED up from the pantry by the side
stairs without using the main stair
case.
The middle pair Of French windows
were epen-forming a double door.
Miss Cornelia went over to them
shut them-tried the locks. "Humph!
F1fmsy enough" she thought. Then
she turned toward the billiard room.
The billiard room, as has been said,
was the last room to the right in the
main wing of the house. A single
door led TO it from the living room.
Miss Cornelia passed through this
door, glanced about the billiard room,
noting that most of its windows were
too high from the ground TO greatly
encourage a marauder, and locked
the only one that seemed to her par
ticularly tempting-the billiard room
window on the terrace side of the
house. Then she returned TO the liv-
ing room and again considered her
defenses-
Three points Of access from the
terrace to the house-the door that
led into the alcove-the French win
dows Of the living room-the billiard
room window. On the other side of
the house there was the main en-
trance, the porch, the library and din
ing room windows. The main entrance
led int hall-Hving room, and main
door of living room on the right as
one entered, dining room and library
on the left, main staircase in front.
She sat down once more, and taking
a pencil and a piece of paper, drew
plan of the lower floor of the house.
"And now I've studied it." she
thought, after a while, I'm no fur
ther than if I hadn't AS far as 1
can figure out, there's so many ways
for a clever man TO get into this house
that I'd have TO be a couple Of Sia-
mese twins to watch it properly"
But of course she was not entirely
shut OFF from the world, even if the
worst developed. She considered the
telephone instruments on a table near
the wall, one the general phone, the
other connecting a house line which
also connected with the garage and
the greenhouses. The garage would
not be helpful, since Slocum, her
back to England for q visit. Dale
had been driving the car. But with
an able-bodied man in the gardeners
house
She pulled herself together with a
jerk.
''Cornelia Van Gorder, you're 60
ing TO go crazy before nightfau. If
you don't take hold Of yourself What
you need is lunch-and a nap in the
afternoon if you can make yourself
take it. You'd better look up that re-
volver Of yours, too, that you bought
when you were going to take a trip
TO China. You've never fired it off
yet, but you've got TO sometime today
there's no other way Of telling if
it will work. You can shut your eyes
when you do it-no, you can't either
that's silly.
Call you a spirited old lady, do
they? Well, you never had a better
time TO show your spirit than now 7"
Dale Ogden, taxing up from the
two o'clock train some time later, dis
covered the front door locked, to her
surprise, and rang for some time be-
fore she could get an answer. At last,
Billy appeared, white-coated, with an
inscrutable expression on his face
"Will you take my bag, Billy
thanks. Where is Miss Van Gorder-
taking a nap?"
NO. said Billy succinctly. "She
take no nap. She out in ST lbbery
sbctting"
Dale stared at him incredulously.
shooting, Billy?"
Yes ma'am. At least-she not
shoot yet but she say she going to
soon"
But, good heavens, Billy-shooting
what?"
shooting pistol" said Billy, his
yellow mask of a face preserving its
impish repcse. He waved his hand.
You 60 srubbery. You see"
The scene that met Dale's eyes
when she finally found the "srubbery"
was indeed singular one. Miss Van
Gorder, her back firmly planted
against the trunk of large elm tree
and an expression Of ineffable dis
taste on her features, was holding