The Daily Alaska empire., 1929-12-27

Cdpc.
 She must be near the torch by now An, she had iti Her finger pressed the button, but the fall had broken the light globe. Sickened for a minute, Peggy sat motionless; then, as the shuffling feet came nearer, it occurred to her to trip the man with the coil of rope, and she reached forward to grasp it.
 Her fingers closed on smooth, clamrny skin that wriggled under her touch. Peggy's own skin crawled and mortified, she shrank back. What she had taken for rope was snake, coiled in figure eight
 Scarcely daring to breathe, the girl squatted on the rocky ground. If she screamed the man would be upon her, if she sat still the snake.
 The shuffling steps drew nearer.
 Half fainting Peggy clutched the useless torch, her arm upraised to ward off the expected blow; in stead foot struck her side; a man lunged downward as the coiled snake struck-sinking its fangs deep in human flesh.
 Still outside Yew Lodge, Julia, with courage born of desperation, picked up a small porch chair and with all her strength heaved 1t through one of the living room win dows.
 Unfastening the inside catch, she pushed up the broken window and with the agility of monkey clam bered over the sill and into the house. Its stiffness and darkness caused her fresh fears, half con- quered, however. in her frantic anx- iety to locate Peggy Prescott.
 She had been at least 20 minutes striving to gain admittance; surely had her young mistress been able, she would have unlocked one of the doors to let her in? Therefore, it must be that Peggy had met with an accident or have been taken suddenly and seriously ill.
 Julia fumbled clumsily with the electric light switch. turning it off and then on before realizing that she had it lighted.
 h the first brilliant flash she saw Aquila Chase coming through the opened window and his unex- pected arrival in that manner was Ia contributory cause to her agi- tated switching off the light. When 1t next came on, Julia was stag gered to see him on her right; then her hair rose upright at beholding Aquila Chase apparently shaking hands with himselfi
 '.Mistah Quilerl Mistah Quilerlp Julia stumbled from behind the large wing chair which has effec- tually screened her presence.
 'whar's Miss Peggy at? Whar's she done gone? What done hap pened to her?"
 Under the barrage of questions Chase faced Julia in petrified si- lence for several minutes.
 Be quiet" he ordered, as Julia, receiving no reply, raised her voice, and he came step nearer.
 His growing alarm communicated itself to the already terrified girl and she yelled at the top of her lungs, swinging toward the stair case:
 Miss Peggy, Miss Peggy, oh, Miss Peggyl" Julia dodged Chase's ex- tended hand
 1 To shake her, to reduce her forc- ibly to silence seemed the only course to bring back her reason ing powers. Spinning like top, Julia evaded his efforts to clutch iher, all the while screaming Peggy's name.
 1 Heavy pounding on the front door reached Julia, even above the din she herself was creating, and she | flew to open it, admitting Sheriff Beach.
 | Whats going on here?p he de- manded. Sounds like bedlam had
 broke loose
 l "Whar's Miss Peggy? Amt yo'
 dcne got her wifi yo?'
 Beach shook his head, staring
 first at Chase and then around the
 living room. From where he stood
 the open section in the paneled wall
 was visible, and his stare grew in-
 tensified as Peggy Prescott reeled through the opening and sank to Itfc floor. ;.
 \ Julia was by her side like a shot, lifting her to sitting po- Isition.
 Iseggy's ashen lips moved, but the men were forced to bend their heads to catch what she said. Snake down there" she panted, struggling for breath, and pointed ! to the opening of the secret pas sage. Man too" She made a su- lprenie effort and her voice carried , to Obadiah Evans as, all unnoticed, he approached the little group. My
 gun-loaded-in table drawer-take , it-kill snake-in secret room-be- , low" Her head sank forward and i she lost consciousness.