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Show x.- t '. - U., i jmin T TiT - v "" 7 I V-- ' -- THE RICH COUNTY NEWS, RANDOLPH, UTAH A M 5 . ? :$$V A i The Mystery of Hartley House j By CLIFFORD S. RAYMOND $ Bluitrtited by IRWIN MYERS j '.i , . V CHAPTER XIII Continued. He was turning out the lights, but reversing the reasonable process. He went down the hall to the light at the stairway leading to his room and turnecT it out. Then' he came back, past the recess in which I stood, turning out lights as he went, and the last light he extinguished was the one at the foot of Mr. Sidneys i stairs. w ' Nw, thehall was In" complete drk- nesV fi )i vas qulpt. Jed," like ; myself, I guessed, was in hiding but for what s reason? Then T heard sthe faintest stirring near by. It 'came nearer.' I tried to keep from breathing audibly. I could hear another persons breathing. It was Jed, beyond doubt. He came Into , the recess where 1 stood. It was only- - five or six feet deep but fully twenty feet long. He was at one end, as nearly as I could judge. I was at the pther. - The 'situation, a product of supercau- tion, had grown ridiculous and also a bit .ghastly. Here were Jed and I, i stamjjnp in utter darkness in a small Wj'ecesl'lrtf the hall, he not knowing of vmy presence, I not knowing his pur-- . pose. ' I decided to make my escape.' I had,' as usual, my electric flash iri my pocket. If he heard me and challenged .. me, I could throw the light on him, challenge him, and say that I was en my way to the telephone to con-- , suit Doctor Brownell, and make him explain- - His position was the awkward one. I had an idea that even If he heard me he would not challenge. I made my escape without noise or' if I made any Jed did not Inquire; and I found the office door in the dark. I intended merely to use the flash, find Ihe telephone and do my errand in !he dark. But I had just flashed the tight once about the room when I heard a person at the door. This was . not a. stealthy person; the hand that touClied the doorknob was resolute. By this time nothing rational seemed reasonable. The house of mystery had so asserted Itself that one, hearing a noisC, hid. Before me, revealed in the single flash of light, was a tall clock and I was flattened against the wall the farther side of that great clock before the person at the door was in the room. The person carried a candle and It .was Mr. Sydney.. He was completely 'dressed and wore an overcoat and a cap which came down over his ears. His hands were gloved and he was ;. well protected against more severe weather than that of this crisp Octo- her night. 1 His candle lighted the large room obut dimly, and I felt secure, seeing immediately that he had a definite object He went to the comer of the room, took up a heavy cane which I had . often seen standing' there, and with, it in his hand went toward the door as if his business In the room Be was . were wholly done. "As he fiid so, I saw his face plainly In the candle light It was wholly changed ; - It Indicated ferocity, hate, malevolence, a bitter sense of injury a terrible face, hardly recognizable as that of the gentle, courteous, jovial Mr. Sidney. He closed the door and was gone. When 'Mr. Sidney had been gone a moment, I heard him open the front . door and heard him close It after him. ,;t should have followed him to the . i tried to preserve the normalities, taken as he was in such strange circumstances I . . Mr. Sidney I exclaimed' again, and my wonder was not simulated. You abroad tonight at such an' hour! He, made a violent effort, to keep his composure and succeeded. .I felt so well, doctor, he said, and I see so little of the place I love so much, that I took the only .chance I had this wonderful October moon and my faithful physician asleep and off guard, as I thought to. steal out a strength I ever knew him to have ; and moment. - But Jed Here purpose took hold of him again Jed, whom I always dreaded, was fol-- . and defied Concealment ; he became exlowing him.-- ' It may be wondered why I was not cited and caused me to have double Instantly In chase and why I stood dread of his tomorrow, Jed, call the worried and Indecisive. The only ex- penitentiary, he' commanded. There's I met him as I planation is that I knew, as surely as a convict .escaped.one could know anything by reason walked down the lane .toward the and conjecture, that whatever was' river. Call the' penitentiary Instantly. happening that night had happened He ran when he saw me, but I recog-pize- d him. It was the old fellow I this same night for a number of years In the past, and that whatever It saw working in the' library at the Call quickly. was, It had direct connection with the prison. . Jed took up the telephone. secret of the place which Mrs. Sidney so earnestly desired me.. not- - to posTell them he ran east toward the sess. For these reasons, or upon this main 'road, said Mr. .Sidney in great instinct, I acted as I did and stood or. the porch listening to the unnaturally late whippoorwill and looking out toward the dark woods and thick-- ' ets which stood at the edge of the I knew passed into the dense black Then of the thickets by the path. Jed stepped forth and went quickly across the open. I went to the front entrance and stood on the porch. The hunters moon was at full, and the place was luminous In a soft, misty yellow light. -I had tremors, frankly felt the presence of tangible dangers, unseen, and of Intangible (errors. I never felt such oppression, doubt, distress and dismay In my life. , TMy patient was on p strange errand fat beyond any yellow moonlight. The tension was so great that I got a distinct shock when out of this wall of darkness came a figure running into and across the moonlit space toward the house. I knew it must be Jed, and I waited where I stood as ho approached. He barely had come into the shadow of the house w'hen another figure came out of the dark wall of the thickets and came slowly across the moonlit space. the steps, saw me Jed, running-u- p and gasped with astonishment, but rehimself with wonderful covered promptness. Inside, man, inside, and act natuCome ral, he cried. taking my In the office. arm He was so certain and so commanding that I did Just what I was told. Into the office, man, he said, still What are you .doing clutching me. abroad? This night of all nights ! But no matter. Into the office, and turn on the lights. Turn on the lights in the hall not all of them, but some of them. He ran to do It himself and was all flutter and activity. Then he ordered : Into the office now, and act natural. Youre a man of genius ; think of something we could naturally be at this time. Think quick man; its beyond me. What are you doing here? Good Lord, what are you doing here? I could have managed it without you. Why did you have'to be on the scene? And I can think of nothing ! You have severe cramps in the stomach, I said. Its not to be wondered at, considering the way you abuse your stomach. I may say you are the only human being I ever was glad to see drinking himself to death. You have now some premonitory sympYou have got me toms of gastritis. up. If I do not have a collar and tie on it will look more natural " . I tossed these articles and my coat behind a couch. And possibly If you were less clad It would help the Illusion. dq-In- Jed rid himself of collar, tie and reasonably convincing as physician What are your sympand sinner. toms? Youre a man of genius! Jed exWait a minute. claimed. He ran to the window, concealing himself behind a curtain. Hes almost here, he said, as he looked out on the ghastly white lawn. Then he came running back. The door had better be opened, he 'said, and he threw the door to the office open. Then he sat In one of the chairs and began to whine loudly. It's an acute shooting pain doctor, he said loudly and then he whispered : What ought It to .be? I heard the front door open and -- In the Candle Light. j front door, but Jed was somewhere the hall. I waited at the In half-ope- n door of the office. Presently I could care-- i jjpm r Jed coming down the hall, tondy now. He also went to the front 4oor, and J heard It opened and closed again. , I went to a window of the office which gave a view of the lawn. I could see one figure slowly crossing lead-tofba open apace toward the path Jed was down to tne river. landing justf outside the shadow of Ike 'house. The farther figure Mr. Sidney, as s' g ' 1 . Sick as I Can Be With - Jed. Pain,' Said agitation. He saw me and ran. But I recognized him. There 'could not be any doubt. Jed had the penitentiary on the teleYes, a convict, long trusted, phone. had walked out of the prison gates. It was the old man in the library. They were hunting for him had been for three hours in several different parties not because they - feared to hove him escape, but because he would be so miserable and unhappy in the open all night, and, liking him, they hoped to find him' and bring him back to shelter. He had no use for liberty; it would only torment and torture him, but some whim anyway, the old man was loose. ' "Hes on my place, Mr. Sidney cried to Jed in a voice I never would We cant have recognized as his. have convicts running about the place. They would have him in a few min- utes, said the man at the penitentiary, now that they had him located, and he would be as glad to get back as they would be to get him. That closed the conversation,' .and Mr. Sidney, with one flash of spirit showing in his eyes, gently and softly collapsed In his chair with a moan. Jed and L In alarm, 'got him to bed. CHAPTER XIV. Dr. Brownell came In the morning and found Mr. Sidney, as was expected, in extreme exhaustion. I explained that our patient had been, as usual the night prior to his alarming collapses, very animated and that after midnight he had stolen out of the house for a walk about the grounds, had encountered a convict escaped from the penitentiary and had come back in great excitement Restoratives were given Mr. Sidney, but Dr. Brownell said he respondshut. ed with more difficulty and more slowI have often told you, I said with ly than in other occasions. For sevloud professional dignity, that there, eral days he lay quite passive,' as is a penalty attached to such habits nearly inanimate as a living person as yours. Have you any nausea? could be. His immobile features, as "Sick as I can be with pain, said he lay unconscious, were set; and the Jed, groaning tremulously. expression, it seemed to me, was one I dont mind at all being aroused, of hate, Indomitable, steady, enduring Jed," I said, Just loud enough to carry hate. Dr. Brownell came once every three to the person approaching and to sound to him as if it were abnormal days for two weeks, during which time tone to Jed with me In the office. Mr. Sidneys recovery was painfully slow. His mind cleared and became That Is a part of my business here. I knew Mr. Sidney was standing in active long before any strength came So did Jed. Neither of back to his body. As soon as his mind the doorway. us betrayed our knowledge until the did clear, he was, in disposition, his strange apparition which we knew to former self. I thought that If such a be there said : thing were possible in so gentle a man, Up so late, doctor? Up so late, he was even gentler than ordinary. I am not exaggerating when I say that Jed? the benignity of the man was seraphic. Why, Mr. Sidney I I exclaimed. .1 thought I saw a change of mood He was, indeed, an extraordinary looking being. He had controlled his In him. There was, if I was right, a voice and his manner. Discipline was less insistent claim upon life. There was a yielding, an appearance of physfixed in his soul. But he had not controlled his expression. It was of the ical and spiritual acceptance of the wildest excitement. And yet how he law of thrse score and ten. If I were J1 v not deceived by little and Impressive signs I noted, Mr. Sidney was substituting complacently the will to efie for the will to live which had been In him conspicuously Indomitable. On Dr. Brownells last visit, he confirmed what Was in truth a fear. Has Mr. Sidney, to your knowledge," he asked, recently found a supreme satisfaction in any event? I said. None that I know of, . . coat and disposed of them in the same fashion. I said, we are Now, I Imagine, t&awHis Face Plainly V Copyright by Georga H. Dorao Co, ' -- 14 - J Why? ; He is different now from anything I ever knew him to be I always have believed that his cast, was out of our province, and that lift and death, for him, depended upor resolve nd that the resolve had i purpose. You have not found things wholly normal here, have you? No, I havent." There is something here, said Dr. I dont know- - what it Is. Brownell. You dont know what It Is, but depend on It, something of importance to Sidney has happened. It may not have satisfied his lifes resolve, but I think it has. For the present, he does not need me possibly never again. Jed observed the change in Mr. Sidney. Afterward I knew that he was a much more acute observer than L for the good enough reason that his observation had a background' of knowledge which I lacked. There was, no doubt directly as the consequence of this, an unbelievable change In Jed. He was very fond of Mr. Sidney. In our unhappy experiences with him, we had overlooked this fact and had frilled to use it as we could have. His affection for Mr. Sidney was the one thing greater than his cupidity and with their attendant train of malevolence, violence, surliness, brutality and treachery. He was convinced that Mr. Sidney was - about to die, and the thought He beaffected him tremendously. came gentle; he abandoned his rasping manner which, indeed, he never had carried into Mr. Sidneys room, was an Intermittent provocation elsewhere. He was more than' ever with Mr. Sidney, and each evening, after the others had gone, they had a bottle of wine which Jed drank ; but he did not go singing down the halls afterward. He - was quiet and considerate, courteous- to Mrs. Sidney and thoroughly friendly to me. October went and the brown month of November took even the white-oa- k leaves, and the woods stood in monoIsobel and I rode every chrome. morning, and just before the early sundown we usually took a short walk, to rustle the brown leaves underfoot and enjoy the sweetness of crisp air filled with the odors of a seemly decay underfoot Soon after sunset we were In Mr. Sidneys room. He greatly enjoyed to have the family about him, not engaged in entertaining him or waiting on him, but occupied in any amusement or work that could be undertaken by his fire. Jed had a cot moved in and spent the night with him. He did not want the nurses to have this office, and as he was perfectly competent, I consented. It was an intensely happy and intensely unhappy experience for me. Mr., Sidney, I was convinced, would not live to the hepatica season. Isobel had permitted him to follow the changing seasons from spring to winter by bringing him flowers, and his delight at seeing the first hepatica had been as great as hers in bringing It to him. Isobel could not realize that her father was' dying. No one would have been so brutal as to tell her pr would it have been brutal? But Mrs. ShV ney knew, I knew, Jed knew and Ml. Sidney knew and was happy. , ' The day before Christmas came with a driving snow which set in with ad east wind early in the morning.' It was a real Christmas snowstorm, heavy, persistent and driving, but not unkindly. In the afternoon Morgan of the Metropolitan agency came, driving with -- difficulty through the drifted banks of snow in the roads, to see me again. I was full of apprehension as I told Jed to show him in. His mood was different from what it had been before, when he almost raged out of the house. It seemed to me everybodys mood was changing. ' Nevertheless a childs fancy came into my mind. Outside was the storm through which traveled fierce animals of northern forest, and here, out of the storm, came the werewolf. we have Doctor said Morgan, done a great deal of work, since I saw you. I told you we would, because the case interested me. We have traced Mr. Sidney through every known operation and act so long as we can find him as Mr. Sidney. Every act Is honorable; many of them are acts 'of astonishing charity and kindness. That is so far as Mr. Sidney exists.V Hes self-lov- e, bnt-whi- ch changing. -- , (TO BE CONTINUED.) ' Frolicsome Birds and Fishes. ;' The crane will amnse Itself sometimes by running round in circles and ' throwing small pebbles and bits of wood into the air. Other water-bird- s can any time be observed at their froilcs, cleaving the water or diving after each other. - X' Eruptions of the Skin I Cause Torturous Itching cx x x x x x x x. x;x x x x x x x x xbecause it is such a thor- .-X If , you are afflicted with any form of skin disorder, you are well acquainted with the flaming, burning itching that these diseases produce. 1 orders, oughly satisfactory blood purifier. It cleanses the blood of all impurities, and thus counteracts the effects of the germs that attack the. skin. Begin taking S.S.S. today, and if you will write a complete ' history of your case, our medical adviser will give you expert advice without charge. Address Chief Medical Adviser, 158 Swift Laboratory, Atlan' Skin diseases are caused by an impurity or disorder in the blood, and there is no real and genuine relief within your reach until such impurities are removed. S.S.S. has given great satisfaction in the treatment of these dis ta, Ga, Joy for Edward. Appalling Thought Mary Louise, seeing little Edward What a miserable old world this would be if retribution were dealt out with five bright pennies in his hand, to each of us according to our fool put her chubby arms around his neck and said:. Lets play house. deserts. Hamilton Herald. Smiling her very sweetest, she said : Nothing so upsets the even tenor of Now, Ill be the mamma, and you he a womans ways as the insinuation the papa, and well play this is your that her hat isnt on straight. pay day. Another Royal Suggestion Griddle Cakes and Waffles From the New Royal Cook Book - is an art in flapjack pancakes, griddle cakes or wheats, call them what you wilL But it is an art very easily and quickly acquired if you follow the right recipes. -The secret, of course, is Royal Baking Powder. THERE Griddle Cakes-I- K cups flour H teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder 1 eggs IK cups milk i tablespoon shortening Mix and sift dry Ingredients; add beaten eggs, milk and melted shortening; mix well. Bake lra- -. mediately on hot griddle. Waffles cups flour 4 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder K teaspoon salt IK cups milk 2 eggs 1 tablespoon melted shortening Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; add milk to yolks of eggs; mix thoroughly and add to dry Ingredients; add melted shortening and mix ln beaten whites of eggs. Bake In hot waffle Iron until brown. Serve hot with maple syrup. It should take about IK minutes to bake each waffle. well-greas- BAKING POWDER AbsofutclyPura Msde from Cream of Tartar, derived from grapes. FREE StJ,0?;1 Cook Book scores fr.ten,"dp-Wri- t of ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO. Pulton Street, New York City. 11 |