Show IF I 1 i m r chwiej Ch wies LO LOCK fc IK walk edmonds julior df ine the biver blade ahe e etc a CO BOOK 1 I the silent house CHAPTER 1 1 1 k k number 1313 an fl nudolph udolph van vechten entered the outer doorway of hia his club the lian liand deome some mission nit silon clock in the ball hall ins chiming the three quarter hour after eight the oung man mane a thin jensith e lips assumed a rueful curve and his brow fathered gathered in it scowl fifteen minutes yet until nine be he in muttered uttered in a tone ton of complaint blaring staring hard at the dial I 1 hall shall do until night the gode gods alone kno plague on euch such rotten luck luckl and having thui thus given audible ex lir pr birlon oslon lon of his fee feelings feell linis nit he the temporary irritation idith ath a resigned and sauntered listlessly into the luxurious but deserted loung jinx lux room overlooking the street where he dropped heavily into a huge bit loft on leather chair which stood facin facing 9 cne one of the nindo window ito immediately disco discovered ered that the chair wai was lu suffer ably hot and boun bounding dint to hia his tet fett glared round for an attendant k none nan as to be seen so he shoved the he stuffy chair away it lt wa wag too heavy beary to kick and jerked a cooler and arid more wore inviting willow one into its it place wherein therein he once more seated id himself C somebody ought to kick me tor ter having come mine here tore he be feelingly re he turned again to his hi incipient Inci plent contemplation of the hot treet street van vechten malat have told you at if be bad paused t Kiana balyo lyv bis feel feet thea too respecting hatan that bw hia attachment to lila his club waa was based upon some eert it of sentiment hta lender tender 0 modishly odi ihly attired figure and hia his finely chi chiseled cled highbred high bred feature features which wh eb were much paler than they hould should have liars neu were by no 0 meana means borange tt range Q 0 to their present rich and elegant slogan t eur sur round rounding lups in fit point of fact no member 1 of ot the powhatan more assiduously availed himself of tb the Is caubit privileges than did he be caong toe the 41 i baah of life hl intimates and rl eDd and ind the much loneer fencer list of ot who would have lilted ft hare share ili the closer relationship no ever thought of 0 calling for him at tite blo own handsomely appointed bachelor apart menta in the kenmore until the he powhatan club had bad first been tried and evea even then not before noon prior I 1 to 0 that k h u at i temptie to communicate alb willii ula ao so 1 had been frustrated by his ht V tj diplomatic valet Sar that 0 ory body had lone tons since anc learned that that he ho i was not in the hut habit of rising beere t twelve wel ee toek leek V ip alar therefore caphis appear 1 an WM was to e aad and die dis olk Jtb in season I 1 reluctantly as a the fact reut most lie be only with tote late 6 1 1 4 f 0 bat A T th h N t instant the clock in the hill hall J if began vivan striking tri king ten tom 9 0 houra hour th abe poker or bridee bridge table and f a multitude of cocktails w 4 a num nuin h ber berwa was known bauo by no man are save that s of 1 the 4 ilem ard ft lie carefully care full ind indexed tied and 1 preserved all the chick which van avel I 1 ten to promptly forgot spending I 1 too imo time or trying to Inter interpret pree too ris ny words ads let u enden Tor to make th situ atan y clear for it akas as all very strung the 00 V r in which the commonplace alt sit mation interlaced with bat hat follows folio 4 liere Iter ennd and this ahli ie in ahe the point to be i blought to the front und and borne in mind i w is a concurrence of time place and f individual which bad had laore 1 ore and jn in all would owr r happen aasin but which nore ore Lr soul ward aspect or of ode ono of thoe those F FM M asure and inexplicable tricks on the s f pt of pate rate ae as rare and mysterious ioui 11 f 6 as mu hroon contrived lo 10 poor mortal the he t of or a predicament i jl 0 atit bt at waterloo mer W cury blazed at midday mid told day on that mem arable occasion if it you have not tor for gotten this thi apocryphal footnote to history certain it Is at any rate tf it van vechten bad had been anywhere else also at hla his particular boar hour on thie this particular sunday morning be he would bare have missed witnessing an incident which presently was to jar him from the lethargy of hie his ennui canal as an as an if the rotation of th thal earth upon ita its axis were suddenly to be reversed and the incident but one att a start ling eerie series was oot not long in cu cief ning again from the hall floated the stately melodious chime nine with the fleet first dulcet neto van VAA vech tens regard fell idly upon a man who was passi tig along the farther hide aide of the street the first human being he had seen since taking up hie position at the window he waa was not at all in forested rested te in the man who vaa was entirety entirely unknown tt ti him but the stranger had advanced within hie his field of vision and it waa was much easier to follow him than it waa was to look away so go he be continued to watch him albeit bu but basily conscious coni cloua of tam tact fact because hi his thought thoughts were occupied with matters of vastly more wore importance to himself that la in to say ay at the time he fancied they were of more importance tubes his opinions lona on this score cor underwent a decided change only a few seconds second later la in truth he regretted that he bad had not giren given the man more wore of his hi attention at least to recall something om ething of bla his appearance but even at that be he never dreamed how nearly the tho pi ode ends affected himself at r abe moment nor did he hare have any premonition of the extraordinary eventa events that wen were to enu 14 zito in 10 the Imme immediate pato future Y vy V y the man waa was walking with witha a certain haltI halting 1114 indefinite slowness itow neu the I 1 bila 1 be studied the house number a if it IQ in eadeh search of a is particular one all at once be topped stopped stock still van an vechten aa as it chanced failed to observe this tor for hta his eyelids heavy with iowa lose or of deep sloop chose those thia this precise second to curtain the cene scene nothing bad yet occurred to prick hie his curiosity hie his lids drooped only for an instant to bo b urn sure but within that brief pae spat 16 the strange mana mans bearing bad had on suddenly altered he bad had thrown off hta his irresolution and had gone quickly up the steps top of the house directly opo su vaa van vechten opened him eye eyes oely only juit just IQ in time uwe to see him digap pouring through the doorway and the door itsell wing owing shut the silent HOBI hopt alu house of mystery My steryl the house wherein nobody bad had you been en on to enter there was a no mistaking the f fact ct that van vechten wae was into an which had it been alot anybody J else ii ailer mer the same maa would bare bays amounted t u beat went i 1 0 bayt he demanded dermand 4 of himself under noder hie his breath 1 I Is thia this a pipe dreamt pr or did somebody really go toto into that house hou ieT and after a pause pau no I 1 wan ailees he bo deliberately settled the lit unwonted ta in hid hl mind 11 1 aw saw the cb coring along mons the tho walk let lets see aee what did he be look like what was w he dolog what the dickens doe does it mean my y bodt I 1 there was nothing or nobody to aa an ewer arr these puzzled inquiries he waa was that he hod remained awake although drifting along the her borderland oc at lumber because he be dis dl recalled having heard the clock tn in the halt liall strike bine he lie glanced at hie his tee too al yain so he could not have ve been aaleen even to S ane nomad cond all or which may ny nm a ridle jy ty trivial matter t to be the occasion occa aloa of to 0 o much concerns conc ernt betany anybody body acquainted quain ted the circumstances we would auld no thare thought to 0 o to begin n 4 with there wai was ing 1 positively ely repellent in the very appear anc of the hones across the way L yen the number on the fanlight by pure accident it waa was an old aid old number and not uie we true one at sit all was doubly adrel and un alto persons pe raon owning super sti bious weaknesses and who of ui us to some extent does not erected erected in the day days when high narrow front laero were accepted as a the hall mark of it till atilt successfully Bucce fully restated the encroachment encroachments of improve tant which otherwise modernized and beautified tho thoroughfare alithe at the time films the powhatan club moved 1 into ita its new quarters qu artera number 1313 as a vacant and had remained so 0 o up tip to something om ething like three prior to the opening of this tory story that is in to ear say not quite ano ear ears ho hoa long previously 11 to that it bail bad stood empty no club member could say ay during all the period tied within their knowledge ita its begrimed facade hau haj been an in eyesore and an object of eap exp oi cration and brooding it agli a tort sort of memento blurt wort 0 lo 10 o the idler idiom behind tt the big plate glas glass window a of abo til room a ellent silent but per letual rebuke to 0 the folly tolly of their 1 aich attribute had more than once called forth a passionately resent all 1 tirade from some member who had bad aten unlucky at cards ot 01 had con I 1 turned too much alcohol the night be fore ore then one afternoon the club was wa electrified tom phinney had been staring unseeingly into the west tor for ome some nal minutes it truck struck him ill all at once that the window windows and the front froat door across aero the way were DO no longer boarded and that all the window windows wore blinds the red tone stone steps how ever showed no indication of having baying been recently roce otly cleaned I 1 say fellow lift ho abir abrusly sang out thirteen thirteen occupied I 1 there was a concerted concer tod movement toward the clubs window everybody present left jett off whatever he happened to be doing dolat at the moment and rod tood stood gaping at the gloomy front blind blinds cloe drawn somebody presently remarked wonder who it can bet ber what wai was learned during the wordless curious inspection wu was about all the information respecting number 1313 that th at waa wa a to be b e vouchsafed y 0 during the gu succeeding ec e edl n g months during that time it was scarcely car cely possible that any person could have come or gone within the eighteen hour hours that are the liveliest of the twenty four without attracting attention at the powhatan for aa as the week weeks passed and the hade shades remained down by day and the window windows dark by night curiosity curlo elty grew apace the houie house be came cama more wore and more a fruitful topic of peculation speculation and with ita its ecret secret front constantly staring one in the face the least agn sign of life ur or activity must have been noted why should anybody want to main tain tala such persistent unnatural sion inquiry i at it the estates office building was productive of no enlighten meat ment considerable difficulty waa was ex perien ced la in gaining seem to the manager then he at once denied number eliae occupancy whereupon tom phinney felt that the committee waa was not beang treated with the deference which it unquestionably deserved o 0 see gee be here 4 6 tm aid said thumping the desk under the managers es nose your confounded housell hou sela situated right across the street from tron the powhatan Z I 1 for the r first time the managers eye contained a gleam glem of interact Int erect he interrupted 0 4 f 0 t mr deft percy y do bonner annor on an your house hoe committee he inquired tee IM he Is ls returned tom not receding recoding in the least from bis determined stand he waited a moment but aa as the gleam slum died ita in the mana managers sees eye proceeded i oar our body li to select you must be aware and we are an proud atthe of the quiet respectability of oar our neighborhood theres thres enough influence in oar our membership to run out anything cf of a shady nature mature we wont fund stand fora it in show 4 bip 0 4 I 1 the tho magager acknowledged sa a the justice of ot this ultimatum but merely aid said it if you se see or hear bear anything wrong ma Is cm out I 1 dont care khav ft a right to know who our neighbor are aro Insl stid tom inquire j of them said the manager manater 1 I cant tell you do you mean tor borsay say you dont know r incredulously fIn credulously just that the present tenant never cover api applied plied to us at all havo hav never seen him Ino intact fact occupancy of the house wao was arranged in quite another soothe manner really gentlemen that la in all I 1 am at liberty to tell you and the committee was bowed politely out L it was not tor for nothing that the house was called the house of mystery J CHAPTER if IA on the stroke of the hour A perpetual mien of impassivity which effectively repulsed advance es or on the part of the t be strang strangers rs and persons whom he digit liked wan was perhaps rudolph va van n V vech vh h tens badt noticeable physical char for an impassive face and the ease of manner which customarily accompanies 14 it Is due to ono one of two things either a bet met of sympathetic emotion emotions that are sadly atrophied or eike elbe an acquired belf self control so habit ual that every genuine feeling Is to per factly basked in either case habit Is not long in assorting itself and it has been shown that mr rudolph van vechten was capable of being startled and astonished on the present occasion therefore he did not long permit bis hie amazement to fia flaunt nt itself quite soon he was the same am individual whose pre presence bad had surprised the club attendant a few initiates previously it occurred to him by and by that while be he had missed witnessing the strangers Stranger 1 entrance into the house of mystery it did not necessarily follow that ho be must fall to see him ben bell he emerged sooner or later the man must depart van vechten was eminently well qualified to wait since alt all his energies and such ambition as an be possessed poes essed mere directed toward that most laborious of all tasks I 1 killing time despite which backed by a considerable fertility of invention most of tho the minutes of each passing day bitted flitted by leaving him more bored than ever so hu he resolved to keep his ai at the window all day it nece ne ceary seary and satisfy his curiosity respecting the mans general appearance the first twenty minutes or so were alloy by a alvel anticipation that ti ledoor would open almost any moment and the man come forth but nothing of the kind happened the house remained as still as it bad had been for months not a blind was raised no sign of life was manifest then the watcher vatcher began to grow res restless As tho the minutes ticked off aad and nothing occurred be he glanced at lit 1 watch with increasing frequency presently he rose tons and went over to a push pushbutton button upon which he pressed with unnecessary violence afterwards hastening back to the window under a sudden apprehension that the man blight wight take advantage of his brief orlef inattentiveness to vanish as s the tellow follow had caught him napping before r A cocktail was as presently set beside him upon a he gulped I 1 it down then lighted a cigarette which which he began to smoke i feverishly but he tossed it away after r a puff or two be he had smoked too much the night before and the tempered spirits could not remore remove the furry taste from his tongue 14 another glance states at his watch f near IJ an hour had be waited tor for li it was now ten ion minutes to ten too would the fellow follow never |