Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-14

TT had been the opinion of Dolly
Molloy that John, on awaking from
his drugged slumber, would find
himself suffering from headache
Events proved her a true prophet
John had been all his life a rather
absteminouS young man. But, on GER
tain rare occasions dotted through the
years of his Sojourn at oxford, he had
permitted himself to relax AS for in
stance, the night of his twenty-f1rst
birthday boat race night in his
freshman year and most notable
of all, the night of the university foot
ball match in the season when he had
frst found place in the oxford team
and had helped to win one of the most
spectacular games ever seen at TWickcn-
ham. To celebrate each of these events
he had lapsed from his normal austeri-
ty, and every time had wakened on the
morrow to a world full of grayness and
horror and sharp, shooting pains. But
never had he experienced anything to
| compare with what he was feeling now.
He was dimly conscious that strange
things must have been happening to
him. and that these things had ended
by depositing him on strange bed in
/, q strange room, but he was In no con-
dttion to give his situation any sus-
tained thought. He merely lay perfectly
\ still, concentrating all his powers on the
difficult task of keeping his head from
splitting in half.
When eventually, moving with exqui-
site care, he slid from the bed and stood
: up, the first thing of which he became
aware was that the sun had sunk so
, considerably that it was now shining
almost horizontally through the barred
! window OF the room. The air, more
over, had that cool fragrance that in
dlcates the approach of evening.
Poets have said some good things in
their time about this particular hour of
the day, but to John. on this occasion,
1t brought no romantic thoughts, He
was merely bewildered. He had started
out from Rudge not long after II in the
morning, and here 1t was late after
noon.
He moved to the window, feeling like
Rip Van Wrinkle. And presently the
sweet air, playing about his aching
brow, restored him so considerably that
ne was able to make deductions and
arrive at the truth. The last thing he
could recollect was the man Twist
handing him . tall glass. In that
glass, 1t now became evident, must have
lurked the cause of all his troubles.
With an imbecile lack of the most ele-
mentary caution, inexcusable In one
who had been reading detective stories
all his life, he had allowed himself to
be drugged
1t was bitter thought, but he was
not permitted to dwell on on it for
long. Gradually driving everything
else from his mind, there stole upon
him the realization that, unless he
found something Immediately to slake
the thirst that was burning him I'D, he
would perish OF spontaneous combus-
ton. There was jug on the wash
stand and, lettering to it, he found it
nercifully full to the brim. For the
next few moments he was occupied, to
the exclusion of all other mundane
matters, with the task of seeing how
much of the contents of this Jug he
could swallow without pausing for
breath.
This done, he was at leisure to look
about him and examine the position of
affairs
That he was a prisoner was proved
directly he tested the handle of the
door. And, as further evidence, there
were those bars on the window. What
ever else might be doubtful, the one
thing certain was that he would have
to remain in this room until somebody
came along and let him out.
His first reaction on making this dis
covery was feeling of irritation at
the Stiffness Of the whole business
Where was the sense of it? Did Twist
suppose that. in the heart of peaceful
worcestershire, he could immune a fell
low in an upper room of his house?
And then his clouded intellect began
to function more nimbly. Twists be-
havior, he saw, was not so childish
as he had supposed. It had been i'm
perative for him to gain time in order
to get away with his loot, and, John
realized, he had most certainly gained it,
John became active. He went to the
door again and examined 1t carefully
A moments inspection showed him that
nothing was to be hoped for from
that quarter. A violent application of
his shoulder did not make the solid
oak so much as CULVER.
He tried the window. The bars were
firm. Tugging had no effect on them
There seemed to John only one course
10 pursue.
He shouted.
It was an injudicious move. The top
OF his head did not actually come of,
but it was a very near thing. BY a
sudden clutch at both temples he man
aged to avert disaster In the nick Of
time, and tottered weakly to the bed
There, for some minutes, he remained,
while unseen hands drove redhot rivets
into his skull.
Presently the agony abated. He was
able to rise again and make his way
feebly to the jug, which he had now
come to look on as his only friend
He had just finished his second nom
stop draught when something attracted