Show A DD MIA emoff OF tj ah ral 7 CM az POP T AMU F ea C me D blaut MIRY 1912 TH 1 PILL COMPARY 4 SYNOPSIS percy it A young in arci aregi ot of a lob job enters enter tho the ofal 0 alloma nos mccarthy of 0 new york ale mccarthy ham lust luat been threatened by nn an anonymous message ordering him to lc flee k europe ISu ropp lie ha does doea not take the ho mes seriously narrow darrow noen tit up the alie devator levator to try for a position with dr crox cdx suddenly tho the electric apparatus n m tho the atlas building koes goes out of busl bual jeaa ports are unable to locate tho tha ir 0 u all bt at once without apparent fabon electrio electric connections are res restored ored the irlie next evening mccarthy I 1 Is s warned sint unless he leaves nt at once for or europe L larn sign will mill be stint him at six prompt y at that bacur cur the tha entire electric tiia of now new york li 14 cut orr off percy nar dar ww w thinks he linn ham ft a clue ito he engates 10 6 help of jack warford Wn rford a college ath ote ete they visit McCart mccarthy and offer to mccartay by nin min town flown the cause causa of ills its mysterious mys terlow ar uble mccarthy him ham just received nn in ober ahr warning bv wireless at 11 1 loathly stillness falls alia on the atlas building out till all sound bound narrow darrow Is s arrested no IB he e leaves leavea tho the b lie B i urb t d because tie lie believes he Is on n the right track and that another pr tent lent will appear at six this time the ihal whole town la in thrown into anil all 11 hearing suspended suii under cover of tia lie confusion darrow barrow escapes from jall jail CHAPTER X if the lifting of the spell the rho spell lifted the city broke roar people sprang into rapid aid motion as aa though beleas from rom a physical lethargy all over arkid the reporter ile 1 it in a loud shout all over replied darrow you tont neeli nee to yell im pot not dent 1 I guess thata what everybody also in ba town Is doing lie he surmised certainly this remark was by tho the sample in the square every man was shouting at his neighbor to tho the lung aung straining limit of tits his ability throe three exporters exhorters exhort era ers their eyes ablaze with fanaticism began to thunder forth dire warnings of the wrath to tome romo and gained a hearing men boand fro aimlessly the gentleman with the side whiskers who looked alko the caricatures of the trusts having at last succeeded in making his imperial wishes known clambered into a taxicab and sat back apparently unimpressed after a mo nent the driver recovered sufficiently to tall fall into the habit of obedience and so 40 drove away while the three men watched a burly t individual with a red face came hurtling directly at them it they had bad not dodged hastily to one side they would have suffered buffered a collision the end of the world Is at hany hanim this man was wad sh leking lehing repent tl ro pent larry remarked the reporter with a grin gria lie ile keeps bar im hungry observed darrow eaten since noon free lunch suggested the report or r practically you wont bo be able to set any service anywhere how about that interview got anything to say bayt youre the busy little bee tonight said ald darrow but IN ill tell you what ill do ill give you a tip be at the atlas building at not later than nine tomorrow to morrow morning and stay at least until ten if you can fix it be oti on the tenth floor hunt up the united wire tosa loss man and make him talk then come to me afternoon paper stuff unless its exclusive said ue reporter report erl I 1 lasta ritty I 1 it obey my orders the most important purt part of it will bo be exclusive said bald darrow the reporter eyed him keenly why he be asked youre hallowell arent you I 1 thought I 1 mistaken I 1 saw you at work on that duane street murder case your work was good besides I 1 like tho the despa despatch and the afternoon papers paper aare are too soon for what aba t I 1 wane want last reason accepted others received and placed on file I 1 all right agreed darrow have it your own way only obey orders lie he entered the door of the bar and advanced on the lunch counter CHAPTER XI thirty seconds more at nine the following morn ng five men grouped in mccarthys McCar thys office talking earnestly darrow and jack warford broi been the first to a anavo rr tva 1 II mccarthy cCarthy did not beem surprised to see them nor did he greet them with belligerence well he demanded j well repeated repeat pd darrow sinking on one corner of the table youre r oure an old fool mccarthy what 9 good did you th think ink it would do you to arrest me 1 I intended to sweat you confessed confess d the boss frankly but I 1 was too busy sweat me eh demanded darrow anh some amusement so you decided not to did yo you u benco the lack of enthusiasm on the pert part of the police in effecting my recapture you amab alno I 1 caused all this did your orv 11 1 I dont know growled mccarthy but it you or the other fellow or whoever hoever or whatever it a think you can afi bluff me out ott you or ho he or its lefel ithalma aus all so youve been getting moro more wireless havo have you surmised darrow mccarthy cast a surly glance toward jack whom previously lie ho had ignored yes ho he admitted grudgingly darrow held beld out tits his hand after a moments hesitation heal tation mccarthy thrust forward a single yellow paper and darrow read aloud alond in spite of the hosa boss warning gos gesture turo Al mccarthy cCarthy the sign hns has been sent you anti anil sent sotir people you are stubborn but it shall not avail you yell you bod must go and within twenty four hours it will not avail you unless you go the celtic leaves tomorrow at I 1 noor noo you must KO go on that ship I 1 shall know whether or not you obey rn anft 0 once mobie moe I 1 shall warn you one moro more sign shall I 1 send then I 1 shall strike lies hes getting garru garrulous logs remarked darrow reflectively but hes relieved my mind better go gol go I 1 cried mccarthy halt starting to his feet not on oil your life darrow surveyed him calmly youre getting rattled said bald he be and tt it pay you particularly to try to bluff mo me A jacl jack rabbit of average firmness could stampede you in your present state of mind you think so BO sneered mccarthy 1 I know so BO and youre quite right if you attempt the game gains too long hell destroy you how demanded mccarthy tako take my word for it lie ha can do it if replied darrow mccarthy ruminated rumina ted drumming his thick lingers fingers on oil the desk find him said he at last lant 1 I intend to replied darrow bo be all right about your friends job conceded mccarthy with ti a nod toward jack 1 I fancy you wont have anything to do with it returned darrow pleasantly at this moment the door opened and hallowell entered he nodded to dar row and greeted 1 mccarthy nothing for you growled tho the latter darrow glanced at tits his watch ire ile will have in about five minutes said eald he to ta the reporter tho the fifth member of the party now entered in the person of simmons the united wireless operator on seeing the number gathered in mccarthys McCar thys office he came to a halt darrow immediately detached himself from tho the group and approached this man anything new he ha inquired in a low voice simmons glanced toward mccarthy now new about what he demanded stolidly any more messages from our mys mya ter lotis friend out in tho the ether to our equally mysterious friend at tho the desk 1 I dont know what you mean darrow surveyed him reflectively tills this Is a pretty big story ho he said at last and affects a lot of people if you really leaked well weil ho he with a jerk of ills hla head bead to aa 0 I 1 q 5 thundered forth dire warnings of wrath to come ward mccarthy Hc Carthy must bribe higher high or have a strangle hold on you for fair lie he looked around to see the bosn eye fixed intently on him smiled pleasantly and moved moed to one side simmons stepped forward handed mccarthy a deaper and went out the boss boas read tho the slowly and turned a little pale after it a moment or tie BO he surreptitiously drew out his watch percy darrow smiled lie he too held hi swatch in his hand thirty seconds more about lie he remarked plea pleasant sanDy the boss looked up startled the last thing he saw was the faintly smiling triumphant taco face of the young scientist then aben absolute blackness tell fell on him for several seconds astonishment held the of the room chained to their places and tor for that apace ot of time nu sound broke the deathly stillness then percy darrow spoke in his natural voice well jack he remarked it worked out to a second almost now vm im certain As though this breaking of the sia bl lence bad released a force hitherto hold 10 in repression tho the room filled with tumult and clamor with crashing banging and scurrying of heavy bodies A final concussion shook the air and then again abruptly silence fell bayl hallowells voice spoke up a trifle uncertainly ill stand formost for most any igind of a dark but this particular spook business Is getting on my nerves are you there darrow yeb yea im here answered the scientist well can you explain that phenomenon no menon onT that drawled darrow a slight note of laughter in his voice was that extraordinary upheaval of natural forces known as aa brother rother Il mccarthy I 1 going away from liere here hastily jack chuckled lie hit me on tho the way out remarked that young man ill testify lie was a solid spook the reporter was methodically striking match after match but without result after a moment tho acrid smell of burning woolen rose in the air are you dropping those matches asked darrow sure buro no good well good enough to burn holes in mccarthys McCar thys rugs stamp around a little to put them out aud quit IV it what next and how long asked jack what Is it have we gone blind or la is it a total eclipse or what 1 I dont know how long came back narrows darrows voice calmly next nest we will got get out of the building I 1 want to make some observations get hold of my hand well have to grope our way out it if wo tye could only get a light muttered hallowell you cant stated state s darrow they felt their way down the ten lights flights ot of stairs like blind men A few inmates ot of the building they jostled or passed or picked up on the way in the lower corridors darrow halted them Il heros leros another thing said he it if im right wo we should run out of this just eleven feet beyond the last elevator cage ile ho felt his way along the grill made four paces forward and uttered a little cry of satisfaction tho the two men followed him blindly As though stepping from one room to another they empt empro fod led into glaring daylights both involuntarily looked back the darkness hung there like a curtain just inside the outer walls ot of the building already a crowd had gathered to observe this new and strange phenomenon of the now celebrated atlas building it was a curious and a fa celious crowd but not awe awestricken stricken as it had been bean at ake tb first manifestations of this freakish upset of natural forces A man inan observing the flight of an aeroplane for or the first times loses his sense of strangeness inside of a few minutes and yet flying has been since the days of icarus considered one of the impossible achievements so the general public of manhattan were becoming accustomed to reversals of form in the affairs of the physical world the frivolous majority havsy discovered nothing to be apprehended from the phenomena save a few hours helplessness of a sort and mach to b bo gained through the savor of novelty I 1 were inclined to an amused or irritated attitude depending on the extent to which its occupations were interfered red with the minority took to religious meetings and interpretations darrows exit and that of his bis companions pan ions lons were greeted uproariously please go way an let me slee sleep pl sang one at the blinking men heres another shrilled a gamin get up the porter wants to make up your berth several of the crowd pending tile the usual arrival of the police to clear the corridor coi cot had ventured through the wide portals and were experimenting w with th ala strange quality ot of darkness one or two popped inside the curtain but emerged quickly look ing a little seared scared A bright youth made the discovery that it if one lighted a match and stepped within the blackness the match was immediately extinguished but that upon emerging into daylight the flathe flame came cama up again some one hap pied along with a plumbers gasoline casolin e torch immediately this was lighted and the experiment repeated the bearer of the torch astonished at the instant extinguishment of the name game felt with tits his hand band to seo see what could be the matter instantly he be uttered a yelp of pain and leaped outside displaying a badly burned palm there no name flame I 1 swear itt lt he explained excitedly but she burned just the tha same ile he rushed about from one to another displaying his tit lh aured palm to whoever would look darrow paid little attention to this gathering crowd first of b all he scanned a paper he held in his hand then plunged back again into the blackness jack warford and hallowell left together gether hesitated uncertainly Il hell willell be back the reporter decided finally and hos hes the man to tie to while waiting he be proceeded to pick up what information he be could from the bystanders it seemed that the first intimation of anything wrong as followed very shortly by the emergence of mccarthy disheveled hatless staring gasping the boss had stumbled into the street hesitated then started south on a run before any one c could 1 stop him ho he turned a corner and di alit appeared the excitement at tho the atlas building had distracted attention from him nobody wondered at his getting rattled and running away rue had stumbled forth vowing never to return to such a assorted adjectives building that Tha waa all there seemed to be ba to say nay in the meantime lma the crowd had increased from a few hundred to a thousands police appeared the corridors were cleared of all but 11 a few among these wore ware hallowell and jack warford the former as a reporter the latter as the reporters compan ion doctor knox and professor eldridge arrived shortly after a time darrow reappear reappeared eo sauntering quite calmly from the pall of darkness as though emerging from behind a velvet curtain CHAPTER XII the unknown unknown it now becomes necessary to glance in passing at the personal character of professor eldridge this man was in about his fortieth year tall spare keenly intellectual in countenance te nance cool possessed of an absolute reliance on the powers po vers of science beyond which tits his mental processes did not stray ills ilia manner was distinguished by a stiff unbending formality hla his expression by a glacial coldness of steel gray eyes eye and a straight line compression of thin n lips hlo his dress by a precise and unvarying formalism and tile his speech by a curious polysyllable polysyllabic stiffness tills this latter idiosyncrasy would in another have seemed either priggish of facetiously intended with protessor professor eldridge Eldrid ga it was waa merely a natural method of speech withal his scientific attainments were not only undoubted but so considerable sid erable as to have won for him against many odds the reputation of agrest scientist ills hla speciality it started south on a run few tenants remaining in the building such it might be called was diagnosis the exactness of scientific laws was so admirably duplicated by the exactitudes of his bis mind that he seemed able by a bloodless and mechanical ch anical sympathy to penetrate to the most obscure causes of the strangest events evants it might bearded be added that practically his only social ties |