Show f i I Ih EFUA a I prise i and I l STORY elI at tno tI I I I men t drop THE HOUSE I lr1 wall tA THOUSAND t CANDLES By MEREDITH NICHOLSON s Anlhr ol THE MAIN CHANCE ZELDA DAHERON tic CoPlrlllb DUO bjr UukbtilMrlll Co J CHAPTER VII Continued i One thing only I foundthe slight j car of a hammerhead on tho oak ipiJncllng that ran around the bedroom bed-room The wood had been struck near tho base and at the top of evory j panel for though the mark was not perceptible on all a test had evidently fcteen made systematically With this a beginning I found a moment Iter a spot of tallow under a heavy able in one corner Evidently the urmturo bad been moved to permit faf the closest scrutiny of the paneling S Qlenarm House really promised to rove exciting I took from a drawer aj t small revolver filled Its chambers With cartridges and thrust it into my lip pocket whistling meanwhile Larry Donovans favorite air The Marche Funebre do Marlonnettcs My heart went out to Larry as I scented adventure adven-ture and I wished him with me but speculations as to Larrys whereabouts where-abouts were always profitless and gtjulto likely ho was In jail somewhere i The ham of whose excellence Bates ad hinted was no disappointment here is I have always held nothing Etter In this world than a properly jfakeil l ham and tho specimen Bates need before me was a delight to thee the-e 080 adorned was it with spices ep crisply brown Its outer coat and a 5 t ateUlUt first tentative taste be afore the sauce was addedwas like if dream of Lucullus come tine I felt that I could forgive a good deal in a cook with that touch anything short of arson and assassination DateR I said as he stood forth where 1 could see him you cook amazingly well Where did you learn o business 1 I can hardly say I know It sir Sour lamented grandfather grow very captious Mr Glcnarm I had to learnt learn-t satisfy him and I believe I did it elY it f youll pardon the conceit He didnt die of gout did hot I can readily imagine It No Mr Glenarm It was his heart o had his warning of it i Ah yes to bo sure The heart or e stomachone may us well fall as g 1e other I believe I prefer to keep my digestion going as long as possible j hose grilled sweet potatoes again If you please Bates The game that he and I were playIng play-Ing appealed to mo strongly It was altogether worth while and as I ato guava Jelly with cheese and toasted crackers and then lighted ono of my own cigars over a cup of Bates unfall leg coffee my spirit was livelier than SI any time since a certain evening on which Larry and I had escaped from Tangier with our lives and the curses of tho police Tho day had offered much material for fireside reflection and I reviewed Us history calmly There was however how-ever one Incident that I found unpleasant un-pleasant In the retrospect I had been guilty of most unchivalrous conduct toward one of the girls of St Agathas It had certainly been unbecoming in 5io to sit on tho wall however unwlll Llngly and listen to the wordsfew KUjough they were that passed between be-tween hor and tho chaplain I forgot the shot through tho window I forgot Plates and the interest my room pos sessed for him and his unknown accomplice ac-complice but the sudden distrust anti jfegntempt 1 had awnkenod In the girl tbj my clownish behavior annoyed mo mcreaslngly pjS rose presently found my cap and BSrent out Into the moonflooded woodward wood-ward the lake The tangle was not rent when you know the way there was Indeed as I had found i E faint suggestion of a path The noon gloilliod a broad highway across tho water the air was sharp and still followed the wall of St Agathas too to-o gate climbed up and sat down in ° the shadow of tho pillar farthest from the lake I drew out a cigarette and was about to light it when I heard a 8 und as of a step on stone There was I know no stone pavement at hand but peering toward the lake I saw a man walking boldly along the top of tho wall toward me The moonlight moon-light threw his figure into clear relief Several times ho paused bent down und rapped upon the wall with ant an-t ject ho carried hi his hand Tap tnp tap Tho man with the Rj comer was examining tho farther fSldo of tho gato and very likely ho would carry his investigations beyond it I drew up my logs and crouched Iff tho shadow of the pillar revolver fi8 hand 1 was not anxious to Invite ay encounter I much preferred toW to-W t It for a disclosure of the purpose that lay behind this mysterious tapping tap-ping upon walls flint tho matter was taken out of my own hands before I had a chance tot to-t bate IL The man dropped to tho gpund sounded the stone base under tttb gate likewise tho pillars evidently evident-ly 1 without results struck a spiteful crack upon tho iron bars then stood ut abruptly and looked mo straight in the eyes was Morgan tho care fiaor of the summer colony HfcGood evoniK Mr Morgan I said fte Line the re olor into my hand t t Ihcro was no doubt about ens our BA ho fell hack staring at t rne hard litstlnctlvly drawing th c urlt hammer his shoulder i as lhmlgliiate to fling ito it-o Iia e Just stay i bore Y01 + < r aro a mo Iona + IWoigan t snldcteC11rgilaaaantly and t el pod to a sits u position cm the for srR ter coca 5u lolling to eta trt i He stood sullenly tho hammer dangling dan-gling at arms length whllo my revolver re-volver covered his head Now If you please Id like to know what jii mean by prowling about hero and rummaging my house Oh Its you is It Mr Qlenarm Well you certainly gave mo a bad scare His air was one of relief and his teeth showed pleasantly through his beard It certainly Is I But you havent answered my question What were you doing In my house today Ho smiled again shaking his head Youre really fooling Mr Qlenarm I wasnt In your house today I never was In It In my life His white teeth gleamed In hIs light beard his hat was pushed back from his forehead so that I saw his eyes and he wore unmistakably tho air of a man whoso conscience Is perfectly clear I was confident that ho lied but without appealing to Bates I was not prepared to prove it Hut you cant deny that youre on my grounds now can you I had dropped tho revolver to my knee but I raised It again Certainly not Mr Olcnarm If youll allow mo to explain = Thats precisely what I want you to do doWell Well It may seem strangehe laughed and I felt tho least bit fool ater tho flying figure of tho caretaker care-taker He clearly had the advantage of familiarity with tho wood striking off boldly Into tho heart of It and quickly widening tho distance between us but I kept on even after I e iscd to hrar him threshing through tho undergrowth and camo out presently at the margin of the lake about 50 feet from tho boathouse I waited in its shaduw for same time expecting to see the fellow again but ho did not appear I found tho wall with difficulty and followed it back to the gate It would be just as well 1 thought to possess myself of the hammer and 1 dropped down on the St Agatha side ot tho wall and groped about among the leaves l until I found It Then I walked home went into the library alight with Its ninny candles just as I had left it and sat own before the fire to meditate I had been absent from the house only fortyfive minutes CHAPTER VIII A String of Gold Beads A moment after I had flung myself down before the fire Bates entered with a fresh supply of wood 1 watched him narrowly for some sign of perturbation but he was not to be caught off guard Possibly ho had not heard tho shots in tho wood at any rate he tended tho fire with his usual gravity and after brushing tho hearth paused respectfully Is there anything further slr1 I believe not Bates Ohl bores a hammer I picked up out In tho grouuds a bit ago I wish youd seo if it belongs be-longs to tho house It doesnt belong here I think sir Out we sometimes find tools left by t w o J e < < A r g < y Iif > j 4 j t t t 1 l tii fk x < K 0 < < h > < Jfi Tit 7 I > If < i < t < Y 1 t n > t < f f < S v 1 e 0 if 1 d < q b t a 1t5 < b o a < t V < 1 > 1j j r r MY t Y + a i tt r t 4 SS S A < v I S CS tty n l t itr e 44t j < ry < r r I P < ti > k Y 44 H 55 t 2 G in 1 ra v > + 0 t y r 0 0A > A v S aL uwIIYhAN9d Vlbt1 t Like a Flash He Flung the Hammer Over His Head and Drove It at Me Ish to bo pointing a pistol at tho head of a fellow of so amiable a spirit 1 Hurry I commanded I Well as I was saying It may seem strange but I was just examining the wall to determine the character of the I work One of tho cottagers on tho lake left mo with the job of building a fence on his place and Ive been expecting II pecking to come over to look at this all fall You see Mr Glenarm your honored grandfather was a master in I such matters and I didnt see any harm in i getting tho benefit to put It soof his experience I laughed Ho had denied having entered the house with so much assurance assur-ance that I had been prepared for some really plausible explanation of his Interest in tho wall I I Morganyou said It was Morgan didnt you 1ou are undoubtedly a scoundrel of the first water j I Men havo been killed for saying less ho said I And for doing less than fire through windows at a mans head It wasnt I friendly of you I dont see why you center all your suspicions on me You exaggerate I my Importance Mr Qleuarm Im only the manofallwork at a summer resort 1 I wouldnt believe you Morgan If you swore on a stack of Bibles as high as this wall Thanks he ejaculated mockingly Like a flash ho swung the hammer over his head and drove It at me and at tho same moment I fired Tho hammerhead ham-merhead struck tho pillar near tho i outer edge and in such a manner that the handle flew around and smote me i smartly in tho face By the time 1 reached tho ground tho man was already al-ready running rapidly through the s park darting In and out among the i trees and I made after him at hot t speed The hammerhandle hart struck my mouth and tho whole lower half ot my face stung from tho blow I abused myself roundly for managing the encounter so stupidly and In my rage Orlll twice with no nlmhlltoHII1 I tho carpenters that worked on the house Shall I put this In the tool j chest slr1 Never mind I need such a thing now and then and Ill keep It handy Very good Mr Qlenarm Wo wero not getting anywhere the fellow was certainly an incomparable actorYou You must find It pretty lonely here Bates Dont hesitate to go to the village vil-lage 1 when you like I thank you Mr Glenarm but I am not much for idling I keep a few books 1 by mo for tho evenings An nandalo Is not what you would exactly call a diverting village I fancy not But the caretaker over at tho summer resort has even a lonelier time 1 suppose Thats what Id 1 call a pretty cheerless job watchIng watch-Ing summer cottages In tho winter I Thats Morgan sir I meet him occasionally when I go to the village hes 1 a very worthy person I should call him on slight acquaintance No doubt of It Bates Any time through i the winter you want to have him In for a social glass its all right with me When I plunged Into the wood in tho middle of tho next afternoon it was with tho definite purpose if returning re-turning to the upper end of tho lake for an interview with Morgan who had so Bates Informed me a small house back of tho cottages I took the canoe I had chosen for my own use from the boathouse and paddled up the alto The air was still warm but the wind that blow out > of the south tasted of rain I scanned tho water and tho borders of tho lake keI for signs of lIfemore particularly I may as wolf admit for a certain maroon < ma-roon canoo and a girl In a red tarao1 shanter but lake and summer cottages cot-tages were mine alone I landed and L began at once my search for Morgan There were many paths through the woods back of tho cottages and I fallowed fal-lowed several futilely before I at last I found a small house snugly hid away In a thicket of young maples I I VTO IK CONTIKT1KO |