Show 1 ° roR r THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES = Br MEREDITH NICHOLSON 01 THE MAIH CHANCE ZELDA A thor rDANCQONCEIc bllllO hI IJobblIerllll CO Wprrlrbi CHAPTER XXIV Continued oJ think you aro quite right sir lid Bates He threw down tho re leer he hold in his hand and leaned a the edge of tho long table that on its side his gaze still bent on y Bckcrlng who stood with his over Lt buttoned close his dorby hat one on-e floor beside him where It had Illen as Bates hauled him into tho m lI The sound of n measured step of Le ono walking of a careful foot I a stairway was quite distinct I Ln remarked the slight stumble that had noticed before lVo were all so Intent on those steps l the wall that wo wore off guard I feard Bates yell warningly and Larry d I stoddard rushed for Pickering v had drawn a revolver from his ffercoat pccket and was about to fire I mo when Stoddard sent the weapon frlng through the air Only a moment now gentlemen Id Dates an odd smile on his face e was looking past mo toward the ght end of tho fireplace There erred to bo in tho air a feeling of a methlng Impending Even Morgan 1 Id his men halfcrouching ready for rush at me hesitated and Pickering anced nervously from ono to the Iher of us It was tho calm before e storm In a moment wo should be each others throats for the final uggle and yet we waited In the all I heard still the sound of steps r jbey were clear to all of us now Wee We-e jood there for what seemed an eter eg trI suppose the time was really It t more than 30 secondsInert wait b Eg while I felt that something must ippen the silence the waiting were tolerable I grasped my pistol and t nt low for a spring at Morgan and i ery man in the room was instantly f the alert lAll but Bates He remained rlgld I curious smile on his bloodsmeared e his eyes bent toward tho end of i ie great fireplace bak of me That look on his face held arrested a mbed me I followed it I forgot organ a tacit truce held us all again 5 slipped back till my eyes fastened o i the broad paneled chimneybreast I the right of the hearth and it was I ere now that the sound of footsteps Ig the wall was hoard again then it r ased 1 utterly the long panel opened a fmly creaking slightly upon its I ges then down into the room epped Marian Devereux She wore it o dark gown in which I had seen co Ir last and a cloak was drawn over I shoulders fir She i laughed as her eyes swept them the-m I I P < Ah gentlemen she said shaking aid ir head as she viewed our disorder ag Jilt wretched housekeepers you e lr steps were again hea d in the wall r d she turned to tho panel hold it I py en with one hand and put out tho rein her waiting for some one who fol e u wed her it is Then down into tho room stepped rpl grandfather John Marshall Glenn reil Glen-n His staff his cloak the silk hat we his shrewd face and his sharp ems Nk eyes were unmistakable HoI Ho-I 6f a silk handkerchief from thee the-e k Its of his frock coat with a charac der tic flourish that I remembered sg 11 i and brushed a bit of dust from lay i sleeve before looking rt any of us m pen his eyes fell upon me tf to VQood morning Jack ho said and m en gazed with mild curiosity about t room usdA God help us eU JH t was Morgan I think who screamed lOtN ese words as he bolted for tho rdta kea door but Stoddard caught and pal Id 1 him s and bank God youre here nlr broke f i th i In Hates sepulchral voice I H seemed to me that I saw all that dlO4 opened with a weird unnatural dls tness as one sees before a storm sg s fd outlines of far headlands that tho Ibe p fW light of day falls to disclose bN I1 I was myself dazed and spellbound I end t I do not like to think even now of da effect of my grandfathers appear In vu ce ° n Arthur Pickering of tho a deal f k that seemed verily to break him IW two I that ho Daggered then col led Wkeliiit head falling as ° > Dueh to Ike Di his n knees Larry caught him by its B COllar and dragged him to a seat Ii 13si1 ere he f Je huddled his twitching liands b his of 1 throat of Gentlemen rd ou said my grandfather seem to have ad N ves been enjoying your Who le y Ie Is this person 7 rltt POinted with his stick to tho otlt t from who was endeavoring to crawl 0 under the mass of broken 4 flats eit That Br Is the sheriff answered O tee t Oto teeA to A very dIsorderly man I must > k What say a11 se the have you been doing toni or lY cot to-ni sheriff so much Inconven Dldnt you know that that ci n4eller l Was likely to kill him at I bar atlelllen thing cOlt a thousand dollars fa liar You are oxPonslvo visitors Morgrmiand and Ferguson tool 1sg II O WM vuw VPlll T ijcn n 1 thought better df both r Good aro Its I morning Stoddard I A I J tv Uttle work for tho church militant iL this SonUeman7he Iniuoateo vHhL who was for onco ln his life without anything to say Mr Donovana friend of the house explained Dates Pleased Im sure gntl the old gen tleman Glad tho frlenS house has a friend It seems to have had enemies enough ho added and eyed the wreck of the room ruefully The good humor in his face reassured me but stilt i stood In onguetled wonder staring at him And Pickering John Marshall Glenarm8 voice broke with a quiet mirth that I remembered as tho pro face usually of something unpleasant Well Arthur Im glad to find you on guard defending the Interests of my estate At tho risk of your life too fates Yes Mr Glenarm You ought to have called mo earlier r really prized that chandelier immensely Im-mensely And this furniture wasnt so bad His tone changed abruptly He pointed to tho sheriffs deputies one after tho other with his stick There was I remembered always something InSinuating disagreeable and final about my grandfathers staff Clear out he commanded Pates see these fellows through the wall Mr Sheriff if I were you Id bo very careful indeed what I said of this af fair Im a dead man come to life again and I know a great deal that I dldn know before I died Nothing gentlemen fits a man for life like a temporary absence from this cheerful and pleasant world I recommend you to try It Pickering sat silent not sure whether wheth-er ho saw a ghost or real flesh and blood and Larry kept close to him cutting off his retreat I think we all experienced that bewildered feeling of children who are caught in mischief by a sudden parental visitation My grandfather went about peering at the books with a tranquil air that was disquieting dis-quieting He paused suddenly before the design de-sign for the memorial tablet which I had made early In my stay at Glen arm House I had sketched the letterIng letter-Ing with some care and pinned It against a shelf for my more leisurely study of Its phrases The old gentleman gentle-man pulled out his glasses and stood with his hands behind his back readIng read-Ing When he finished he walked to where I stood Jack ho said Jack my boy His voice shook and his hands trembled trem-bled as ho laid them on my shoulders 1Iarll1nho turned seeking her but the girl had vanished Just as well ho said This room Is hardly an edifying edi-fying sight for a woman I heard for an Instant a light hurried step in the wall Pickering too heard that faint fugitive fugi-tive sound and our eyes met at the instant In-stant it ceased The thought of her tore my heart and I felt that PickerIng Picker-Ing saw and knew and was glad They have all gone sir reported Dates returning to the room Now gentlemen began my grandfather grand-father seating himself this little secret se-cret of mine was shared by only two persons One of these was Hates broke ho paused as an exclamation i and ho went on from all of us enjoying our amazementand the other was Marian Devereux I had observed ob-served for years that at a mans death his property often gets into the wrong hands or becomes a bone of conten Sometimes tion among lawyers and tho old gentleman lau hedan competent or die executor proves fooled in thoroughly honest I was JoT Pickering The money you owe and you were so rrfn Is a large sum delighted to hear of my death that you out I was really didnt ovon make sure perfectly lUl of time way You were Sg accept Bates surd ror It and lag to Hates carried it off I I must say that splendidly blood Pickering rose the surging i at In his face and IIcreamed again Dates pointing a ahaking finger atthe I man 1n e iw sern You impostor you perjurer The law will deal with your case To boauro rn 7 sure resumed my grand father calmly Hates dill make false buyI 1ffidnvlts about my death but possl It was In a Pickwickian sense sir said Bates gravely And in a righteous cause declared my grandfather I assure you Pick Bring that I have every Intention of taking care of Bates His weekly let tors giving an account of tho curious manifestations of your devotion to Jacks security and pence wore nlono worth a goodly sum But Hates The old gentleman was enjoying him self hugely Ho chuckled now and Placed his hand on my shoulder Bates it was too bad I got those missives of yours all in a bunch I was In a dahablych on tho Nile and they dont have rural free delivery In Egypt Your cablegram called me homo before I had finished reading the letters But thank God Jack youre alive There was real feeling In these last words and I think wo were all touched by them Amen to that cried Bates And now Pickering before you go r want td show you something Its about tills mysterious treasure that has given youand I hear the whole countrysideso much concern Im disappointed in you Jack that you couldnt find the hiding place I designed de-signed that as a part of your architectural architec-tural education Bates glvo me a chair The man gravely drew a chair out rof the wreckage and placed It upon the hearth My grandfather stepped upon it seized one of tho bronze sconces above tho mantel and gave It a sharp turn At the same moment Hates upon another chair grasped tho companion bronze and wrenched It sharply Instantly some mechanism < I j 7 Ti A g ry 1 a rl r s 1 1 t u I ffh1LiIk i Ii i I Down Into the Room Stepped My Grandfather n creaked In the great oak chimneybreast chimney-breast and the long oak panels swung open disclosing a steel door with a combination knob Gentlemenand my grandfather turned with a quaint touch of humor and a merry twinkle In his bright old eyes gentlemen behold the treasury treas-ury It has proved a better hiding place than I ever Imagined It would Theres not much here Jack but enough to keep you going for a while We were all staring and the old gentleman was unfeignedly enjoying our mystification It was an hour on winch ho had evidently counted much It was the triumph of his resurrection and homecoming and he chuckled as he twirled the knob In tho steel door Then Bates stepped forward and helped him pull the door open disclosing disclos-ing a narrow steel chest upright and held In place by heavy bolts clamped Into the chimney It was filled with packets of papers tied neatly with tape Jack said my grandfather shaking shak-ing his head you wouldnt be an architect and youre nbt much of an engineer either or youd have seen that that paneling was heavier than was necessary Theres 200000 In flrstrato securities Bates and I put them there Just before I went to Vermont Ver-mont to die Ive sounded those panels a dozen times I protested Of course you have said my grandfather but solid steel behind wood is safe I tested It carefully before be-fore I left Ho laughed and rapped the floor with his staff and I laughed with him But you found the Door of Bewilderment Bewilder-ment and Pickerings notes and thats something No I didnt even find that Donovan Dono-van deserves the credit But how did l you ever come to build that tunnel If you dont mind telling met He laughed gleeful I TO DE CONTINUED |