The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-02-24
CHAPTER x
The Hidden Room

room, a dusty, dingy apartment lined
with high closets along the walls-the
floor Uttered with an incongruous as
sortment of attic objects-two bat
tered trunks, clothes hamper, an old
sewing machine, broken-backed
kitchen chair, pair of dilapidated
dress-suitcases and shabby satchel
that might once have been a woman's
dressing-case-in one corner a grimy
fireplace in which, obviously, no fire
had been lighted for years.
But he also found Miss Cornelia
holding her candle to the floor and
staring at something there.
Candle grease!" she said, sharply,
staring at line of white spots by the
window. She stopped and touched the
spots with an exploratory finger.
Fresh candle-grease! Now who do
you suppose did that? 1t leads straight
to the fireplaceI' she murmured in
tones of Sherlockian gravity. Bailey
repressed an involuntary smile. But
her next words gave him genuine food
for thought.
''Its been going through my mind
for the last few minutes that no Chin
ney flue runs up this side of the
house!' she said.
Bailey stared. "Then why the fire.
placer
That's what Pm going to find out!"
said the spinster grimly. She started
to rap the mantel, testing it for secret
springs.
"Jack! Jackr 1t was Dale's voice,
low and cautious, coming from the
landing of the stairs.
Bailey stepped to the door of the
trunk room.
Come in,'' he called in reply. "And
lock the door behind you"
Dale entered, turning the key in the
lock behind her.
where are the othersf'
They're still searching the house.
There's no sign of anybody"
"They haven't found-Mr. Ander-
SOM"
Dale shook her head. "Not yet"
She turned toward her aunt Miss
Cornelia had begun to enjoy herself
once more.
Rapping on the mantelpiece, poking
and pressing various corners and sec
tons of the mantel itself, she remem-
bered all the detective stories she had
ever read and thought, with sniff
of scorn, that she could better them.
She raped on the wall above the
mantel-exactly-t was the hoE
low echo she wanted.
Hollow as Lizzie's head!" she said
triumphantly. The fireplace was OBJ
viously not what it Seemed-there
must be space behind it unaccounted
for in the building plans. Now what
was the next step detectives always
took. Oh, yes-they looked for panels;
panels that moved. And when one
showed them away there was button
or something. She pushed and pressed
and finally something did move. 1t
was the mantelpiece itself, false CRATE
and all, which began to swing out into
the room, revealing behind dark, hol-
low cubbyhole, some six feet by six
the hidden room at last!
'Oh, Jack, be careful !" breathed
Dale, as her lover took Miss Cornelia's
candle and moved toward the dark
hiding place. But her eyes had al
ready caught the outlines of a tall
iron safe in the COON, and in spite of
her fears, her lips formed a wordlesS
cry of victory.
But Jack Bailey said nothing at all.
One glance had shown him that the
safe was empty.
The tragic collapse of all their
hopes was almost more than they
could bear. Coming on top of the
nerve-racking events of the night, it
left them dazed and directories. 1t
was, of course, Miss Cornelia who re-
covered first.
'Even without the money" she said,
''the mere presence of this safe here,
hidden away, tells the story. The fact
that some one else knew and got here
first cannot alter that"
But she could not cheer them. It
was Lizzie who created a diverSian.
Lizzie who had bolted into the hall at
the first motion of the mantelpiece
outwards, and who now with equal
precipitation came boiling back. She
rushed into the room, slamming the
door behind her, and collapsed into a
heap of moaning terror at her mistress
feet. At first she was completely in
articulate, but after time she NUT
tered that she had seen ''him" and
then fell to moaning again.
The same thought was in all their
minds, that in some corner of the up
per floor she had come across the body
of Anderson. But when Miss Cornelia
finally quieted her and asked this, she
shook her head.
at was the Bat saw" was her as
founding statement "He dropped
through the skylight out there and ran
along the hall. saw him, tell you.
He went right by mew
Nonsense" said Miss Cornelia,
briskly. How can you say such
thing?"
But Bailey pushed forward and took
Lizzie by the shoulder.
"What did he look likeY'
'He hadn't any face. He was all
black where his face ought to be-"
''Do you mean he wore a mask?"
Maybe / don't know"
She collapsed again, but when
Bailey, followed by Miss Cornelia,
made a move toward the door, she
broke into frantic wailing
"Don't go out therel" she shrieked.
Hes there, tell you. I'm not crazy.
If you open that door, he'll shoot"
But the door was already open and
no shot came, With the departure of
Bailey and Miss Cornelia, and the re-