Show THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES by MEREDITH NICHOLSON aalur ol of tilt MAIN CHANCE ZEIDA elt L i Py cwb almi by 7 H M abbo ll morrill 0 o CHAPTER X an affair with the caretaker I 1 read in the v until lato late hear bt ar ing tho the howl of the win outside with satisfaction in the and corn com foi foit t of tile great room hates brought lit in some sandwiches i and a bottle of alo ale at midnight if alire tin re H nothing more ir 1 ahat I hat la IS all blatch and he wen went t off sedately to hla his own quarters tors I 1 was failers less and in no moo nicol I 1 for bed and mourned tho the lick t f in my iny grandfathers I 1 moved about filim to helf taking town down ono one boul after and while bilo thus nabad naB td 1 I came upon a set eils I 1 0 of lariso larg 0 volumes volu moR extra illustrate in wate col ors of unusual beauty th a lower shell 11 and I 1 sprawled on tile the floor like ft boy with will a new picture book lbook in rny my absorption tiling the great vol unies about nui me thea abie on hinted subjects af pf pertaining to the french rench chateaux that eaux lit in tile tho last volum I 1 found a abeck of white tile note pap r no larger than my illy hand bond a forgotten book mark I 1 as and half crumple 1 d I it lit in my iny fin gers before I 1 noticed the liels of a a pencil sketch on oil one side of it I 1 ear car hod it to tho table and saiad it out it was not the bit of idle penciling it had ap appeared pared to bo be nt at first sight bight A scale had evidently lien fol followed lomed and the lines drawn with a ruler with wihib my grandfather had no doubt amused himself chere wits a long ions corridor indicated but of this 11 la I 1 could make nothing I 1 studio 1 it for several minutes thinking it might hive boon a tentative sketch of some pait of the house in turning it about under tile the candelabrum I 1 saw thill that in several places the glare had been rubbed flout the paper by an aa eraser and this d my curiosity I 1 brought hi ought a magnifying glass to bear upon the sketch the drawing had tin ende with a hard pencil and tho the eraser had removed the loail lead but a well mell defined imprint remained 1 I was able to make out the ha letters N VV 14 9 to C a reference ref emico clearly enough to points of the ho compass and a distance the word ravine was scrawled over a rough outline of a doore doorway ay or opening tit of some sort and then the phrase TUB till DOOR or OF lit now I 1 am rather an imaginative poison that la Is why ell cip aured my fancy it wits was lla ills efforts to make inake an architect a person who quarrels qu arrola with women abbit abo it their kitchen sinks of a boy who wanted to bo be an that caused me ine to bieak with my illy grandfather rate was busy with my illy that night for instead ot of lighting kiy aly pipe with the he little sketch I 1 was sti strangely angely impelled Im polled to study it seriously I 1 drew for myself mi self rough outlines of the interior of glenara glenarm house as aa it had appeared to rne nie and then I 1 tried to reconcile the little beetch with ev ery part or of it the door 0 at was as the charm charin vint that hold held me my curiosity was wai aroused as aa to tho the hid bid den dea orners of tile the queer old bouso round which tile tho wind nind shrieked ehrie hed tor ter mt meltingly men bitingly tingly I 1 went to my room put on oil my corduroy coat took ft 06 candle and went below one 0 clock in the th morning to la not the tha roost charing cher ch ering ln hour for or exploring the dark rece recesses of a strange house houe but I 1 it id r solved 0 o have a look at tho the ravine opening and do termine tt it nis sible it boro bore any je i elation lation to the rho dor of ile he wilderment all was quiet in the great cellar only hero here and there an all area window rattled dolorously I 1 carried a lap capo e I 1 line hue with mo ine and mide s of the length and depth of thu the sorrl dor der and of the chani bora that mote set ott it fai toni orn it I 1 hose hone asim a I 1 ent rt ni I 1 roy illy notebook tw for faither us ui and 1 11 t down ou on tin ra empty nail keg to hilti atillo the alae iab was certaine taini lit iti I 1 tile the candle at my 14 1 ot 01 1 h ir aed it I 1 A ith no hint of a draft but I 1 saw no solution of my problem I 1 was losing sleep for or nothing my grandfather a sketch was waa and I 1 rose and picked up my illy candle awning rhen a curious thing ching happened d tito the candle hose thin aln flame flama had I 1 jsn un nae sputtered Bp uttered and went out as aa a sudden gust swept tho the corri corridon doi I 1 had left nothing open behind rne me but soine one had battled ingress to the cellar by an gloning of which I 1 know knew nothing i I 1 raced faced tho the that led up it to ther back hall of the tha house when to rny my astonishment steps sounded be hind me and turning I 1 saw a roan man carrying a lantern canting toward me I 1 marked ills hla step atop lie lia wali wai on fai familiar nillar ground ali AB r atho him ahti b lifted the lani ian awn to lo a IY I 1 will hla his ayea and lc be the corlou cor lidor loi atall all with reig taa was t f y lal blo an anjain afre ae wa waa 40 e w 1 I i 1 th chhat baat Hat on conj tat wall all a 1 4 eard iby gnp own bornus ta a a 40 alii ent 61 I 1 biilly illy to the foor I 1 leaned against the wall where here I 1 stood and watched the he slow blow jf if the lanstein the small small re revolver olver with which I 1 had first fired at his living figure in the wood was in my pocket it was waa just as aa well to have it out with the fellow now wy my chances were as aa good as his though I 1 confess I 1 did not relish I 1 ill the thought of bring found dead the ineat next nio ining in th 04 cellar of my own house it pleased iiii nu budnot to let him approach in this wa unconscious that ho he was watched until I 1 should thrust my pistol into h his s tae fae ills ilia arms grew tired when he be was about ten felt feet frum from rno me and ho he dropped the lantern and hammer to its his side and swale under his breath impatiently then lie he began again with greater creator zeal As lie he panics cattle neatem I 1 studied his face lit in the lanterns lantern 4 leht with inter est hah ill hat bat was thrust back and I 1 could see ills his jaw hard bard set under his blond beard lie he took it a step sparer ran his eyes over the wall and his tap ping bg beginning inning elme clae to the ceiling in settling himself for the he new series of sti tikes lie he toward tile mo and I 1 could beat his hard bard bi athIng I 1 w wah dellbe tating how bow tit ix tit bt to throw upon him but no a I 1 wavert d ho be st plied swore at ills his III luck and flung the hammer to th blont thanks I 1 shouted h leaping aping for ward and snatching tho bantlin stand lust ebore ou nu ale aie with the evolved in rny my right hand and th h lante ante n held high in my left I 1 djoi njord ed its lutfi r consternation as ml m in the it a too bad wo we meet under tinder such st strange rano circumstances morgan I 1 said I 1 id 1 I begun to nilsa miss you but I 1 suppose votive vou blan sleeping Ble in the ditimer to gather strength for your night prowling ing himself lithely until his hl fincers clasped my throat the lantern fell front from my land hand and one or for the othar of t is a smashed it with our fet feet A wrestling match in that dark hole was waa not to my likina I 1 still held onto the revolver waiting tor for a chance to use it and meanwhile he tried to throw me forcing me bask against one side and then another of the cor with a quick rush he flung me away and in the same game second I 1 fired the roar of the shot in the narrow corr corridor dor was waa deafening I 1 flung my self on tile the floor expecting a return shot and quickly enough a flash broke upon the dark darkness neBa dead ahead and I 1 rose to ray my feet fit aliel 0 I 1 again and leaped to the of osite side of tho the corridor and crouched there wo we had adopted the same barno tactics firing and dodging to avoid the target mado made by the flash of our pistols and wAt watering eting and listen ing after tiro thu roar of the explosions it was a very pretty game but not destined to last long ife he was slowly retreating toward the end of the pass age where was Tre I 1 remembered a dead wall ills only chance was to crawl through an area window I 1 knew to bo there and this would I 1 felt suie auto give him into my hands after five shots bhola apiece thero there was a tiace the pungent smoke of the pow der caused me to cough and he laughed have you swallowed a bullet mr glenard glenarm Ol Gl he callet called I 1 could hear ills his feet sex aping on the cement floor he be was moving away from me doubtless intending to fire when he reached the area window and escape before I 1 could reach him I 1 crept wailly after him ready to fire on oil the instant but not wishing to throw away my last cartridge lie was waa now vera ver near tho the end of the corridor I 1 heard his feet strike some soine boards that I 1 remembered lay I 1 f or 4 01 ll 11 va A loll 1011 ho he flung me away and in the same second I 1 fired youre a tool fool lie he growled lie ho was recovering horn tits hla fright I 1 knew it by the gleam of hla his teeth in ills his yellow board beard ills ees too moving restlessly about lie ile odly edly know the house hotter better than I 1 did and was considering tho the best means of escape I 1 did not know what to do with mith him now that I 1 had him bini at the point of it a pistol and in my ignorance of hla his motives and my lily vague surmise Bur rolae as to the agency back of him I 1 was fillad with nith you t hold that thing quite so ao near lie ho said bald staring at me I 1 lit in kind glad tt it annoys annon s you mot gan I 1 bald I 1 A ant you to ull me how you got in ii here re lie ile I 1 canto tit in by th allx kitchen window it if i wu ou must know I 1 got lit in before nour our solemn jack orail of an biales ti ados locked tt it tit U and I 1 v allt all I 1 down to the end of tin lit past pas po then ho he indicated the he it ith it a gill lit hi jerk ot of ills his li ad a i si al lit it until it was waa time to tro 0 o to work if ion can cant t lie ile better than that aou ou try again raco race about now and march I 1 put pit new energy canei py into my tone and ha be turned and walked before mo me down damn the cairl corridor coi dor tn in the direction from which he had come no e were I 1 date daie sao ba a pretty pair ho he tramping dg ack godly beffie ne itie I 1 following at his lapels with lit hla lantern und my pistol not so fist fast I 1 admonished 1 b me he be mockingly lie ile was ft as no coni common trion rogue I 1 felt the quality in him with ith a certain nd ad nilia tion for hta his talents I 1 at hla hie heels poling the muzzle ni itlo ot of the reviver against hla his back from time to line to keep him ass aas red of my mv a device that I 1 was aa to regret a leond later acu allori we ft a were I 1 should ludge judge ahmit abbit ten ynide frolka the end ot the opt idol fit at that moment I 1 tid will with the ole point of tho 00 revolver na its backward ni mr aima hla his had and r D e about tile the turn on the floor there and nd I 1 was nerved fox 01 a shot and a hand to hand sti ug gle if it came to that I 1 waa inas sure that lie he sought the window I 1 heard Ms his hands handa on the wall mall as he felt foi it then a breath of cold air swept the passage and I 1 knew that he ha must bo be draw ing himself tit up to the opening I 1 fired and dropped to to tile tho noor floor nith alth the roar of the ex e I 1 heard him bini ell but the ex pecked return shat did not follow the pounding of ray my heair seemed to anaik the passing of houis I 1 foales foaled foe was m as placing ajla ing some trick r cupping toward rne me perhaps to flie file at close ranse range or to grapple with roe me in tho the dalk daik the told cold air whistled into the corridor corrId nr and I 1 began to feel the chill chili of tt it being fired upon Is enough but waiting in the daik for or the shot Is intolerable I 1 lose and walked toward the end of the passage then ills his rem elvei vei fl dished and roared ahead the paine came of it so BO near that it blinded me and the wad of the burned ond end stung my cheek I 1 fell forward daul and blinded but shook myself mi together in a moment and got upon my illy feet the of all no longer blew into the passage morgan had taken bini himself self off through the window and clofed it utter after him I 1 ma male to sine allie of this by going to the window and feeling it with my hands I 1 went back and groped about for my canalo which found without MITI culty anti anil lighted I 1 then ie lelur turned ned to the window v ando to exandine the catch to my utter nt it was as faso fas bened with staples ata plea bilven deep into the sash saah in fix such a way that it could not possibly have been opened with out an expenditure of time and labor my eyes cm smarted from the smoke intake of at the lait shot an aal my cheek stung where the wadding had struck my race face I 1 vars allye alive but in wy vexation and pt no not I 1 fear wholly grateful for toy my aaa safe it wai how ever vr come to feel arre i bad wand viv benonly en duluc TU 1131 CONTINI |