Show 0 9 butof the IN darkness inkiness ai kness by oar charles J dutton Z S ceat la ign ty by dodd mesa med ft a co C ine CHAPTER XIII continued 20 currie interrupted to say but john oha if the lights are turned out ut how ire we to know that you did not write babe nies messages sages yourself without a smile on ills his face bartley replied 1 I 1 did not intend gutend to turn out the light I 1 am going to do what few unis ever attempt to do that Is asee 16 see tf if we ve can secure a message on oil these slates in full light there have been so many frauds in slate writing pearces that a test made in the dark las big no value As he be spoke he tore the wrapping from the package and disclosed a number of ordinary school slates tied together with a string when he had cut the string and placed the slates on oil the table before him he added lou might claim that these slates already have a message written on them so I 1 will wash the surface of each with water it if there was any writing ox on them it will be wiped out with our eyes following every movement he took a piece of cloth dipped it into the glass of water and carefully washed one side of a slate As he be was beginning to wash the other side he paused and said to currle currie you ton may think f have not washed the slate thoroughly enough suppose currie you take it and wash the other side yourself make a good job of 0 it curries Cur rles earnestness was almost laughable as he took the slate and turned it over and over examining both surfaces when he be had finished he whispered to me there was not a darned thing on that slate 1 the same method was employed with the other states slates first bartley would wash one side then would call upon one of us to examine the slate and wash nash off the other side I 1 was nos left until the last and I 1 examined my slate very carefully before I 1 touched it with A ith the cloth on the side which bartley had washed little drops of water still clun clung the unwashed side was avas dirty but showed no traces of having been written on when I 1 had finished my task bartley took one of the slates and said you have seen there was no writing of any kind on these slates I 1 am going to give one to each of you miss bliss potter should place hers under her feet currie might sit on his bis the rest of you can place them uri under er your coats lie ile gave us each a slate elate and we did as he suggested I 1 Non wondered dered as I 1 placed mine under my coat just ahat hat hartley bartley expected to discover somehow the whole thing seemed so absurd lie he was so serious about it however that I 1 began to believe that she must expect to receive it a of some sort we sat silent and expectant pec tant tent 1 I for one feeling a little foolish cartley bartley who ho had glanced at his watch several times waited for five minutes to pass before lie said suppose currie you look fit at your slate currle currie grinned as if to say he be considered it all foolishness but did as requested As lie he glanced at his slate the smile left tits his face cs bs jaw dropped and ills bis eyes grew I 1 big with wonder ader lie looked at it several seconds as if lie he could not believe his ees then slowly passed it to me I 1 took it eagerly glanced at it and to in my turn was startled there however in a sprawling hand running across hie slate that had been blank a few moments before was written curre people who steal whisky out ot ataklt 10 at midnight will come to a bad end almost unable to credit my eyes eyes I 1 staged at the slate both sides had been so thoroughly washed that when currle currie had taken it they were still na wet et how the writing had bad gotten on the slate I 1 could not imagine bliss potter gave a sudden n cry she had bad risen to her feet with shining eyes holding her slate in one trembling hand band she tried to speak failed then cried triumphantly its a 0 message a message from mr I 1 knew it would come and sank back into her chair adding as it if unable to believe the evidence of her own sensis senses its lo in his own haud handwriting writing his ahls very own and he be tells me what abot to do bartley took the me slate from her trembling fingers a curious expression sion on his face ace he placed it on the table and we crowded round to exam line it this time the entire surface of the slate was covered with writing ln in the same aine sprawling hand that had written on curries Cur rles and n mine line the Ilet lette tew were large and looked as if the person who had bad written the message had been very weak too astonished to SP speak eak we bent and read all will be well with me if you aid those who are trying to discover who abo injured me for my pence peace do this listen to the medium and the mes case trailed off la in a large S its air writing bliss cried r potter excitedly 1 I recognize it there se was nothing on the th I 1 i placed ta slate aheu u in my Y feet on it j bartley faced her gravely with something lit la his hi manner that gane ga me the that t he an all ras not at sun surprised at what was happening then you are in absolutely sure it Is his writing lie he asked not trusting herself to speak she simply nodded at that moment the bell ran rang and the tap butler passed roo through the room m on ill ills way to the door in the second before his return I 1 saw raw doctor king steal a look at tits his slate and from the startled look on his face I 1 knew that lie he too had received a message meeting my eyes he gave me a faint wondering smile and shook ills his head doubtfully the man whom the butler ushered in was the medium that bartley had bad secured in new york ile he was very tall and thin dressed la in black with white unhealthy face shifty eyes and hair a bit too long after he had bad been introduced bartley told us that we ue were vere to begin the at once the first thing to be done was to place the medium in a chair la in the corner and tie his hands and feet firmly roche boche was selected to draw the rope through the rungs of the chak chair tie his bis hands behind his back and place a gag in his mouth so that he could not speak he performed his task with the thoroughness of a police officer trained in the work and when he be wormed informed us that the medium could neither move nor I 1 believed him at bartless Bart leys suggestion we seated ourselves our seles around the table it wilm a small one not very heavy in construction we placed our hands bands on its surface as directed and linked them together by hooking the thumb and little finger of each hand around the finger of the hand next to it we were told that under no circumstance wore we to break this circle bartley spent some gome time in making sure that we were arranged in the proper manner I 1 was seated with currle currie on my left my little finger clasped around his thumb and bartley himself on my right he rose and turned off the lights then groped his w way a back to my side and a second later his finger closed around mine I 1 confess that I 1 felt a bit like a fool as I 1 waited there in the pitch darkness what we were doing seemed childish yet back of it all there was such a general air of expectancy that 1 I was tense with excitement the great draperies had been drawn over the windows and not even a ray of light penetrated the room just what it was that we were waiting for I 1 did not know something might or night might not take place the medium had said we sat in silence for a number of minutes minutes that dragged endlessly I 1 must confess that to roe me they were not the most plea pleasant I 1 had bad ever spent someone drew a deep breath it and I 1 thought the table had started to move then a silence followed so BO deep that I 1 could not hear bear even my neighbor breathing I 1 felt as if I 1 were all alone in the darkness only the reassuring touch of the fingers on each side of me drew me back to sanity suddenly when I 1 was least expecting it I 1 felt the table under my fingers sway back and forth for a second then fall back upon the floor with a little bang currle currie breathed hard barl as it if afraid and his grasp on my fingers tightened then without warning came a series of ten knocks faintly as it if someone were knocking at a distant door I 1 not tell whore where they came from they seemed to be la in the air on the floor door everywhere but on the table one thing was nas sure they did not come from t the h e direction in which the bedlum meil luni sat besides he be had been tied too tightly in his chair to have been able to make them silence again then more raps quick buic little running raps neer very IOU loud that would start and stop a second then trip nay away like little feet ru running to and fro are you there Bart bartless leys voice asked hesitatingly almost before tits his words had died away there came a series of loud raps almost falling over each other then bartless Cart Bart leys voice again cool but low can you communicate with us I 1 had expected that the raps would reply at once but instead there was a lung long silence several times bartley repeated the question and still no answer at length he asked shall ve me try some other method s raps answered tumbling over ea each ch other la in their eagerness and the table tipped so violently that I 1 expected it i would fall over it returned to an i upright position with a bang then silence again A deep moun moan from the lie direction of the medium startled me then more moans interspersed with sighs A shrill thin voice ghostly and far away said bald brokenly oh 0 oli 1 I ff feel you I 1 know you are there there A in i to breathe the table tipped a second time and a deep voice which teemed seemed in miller though I 1 could not place I 1 it t said 1 I aw au tere here here ere though you d do not see me I 1 was murdered dered by by what it might have added we neier neer knew miss bliss pott potter er suddenly cried out not in fear but in joy its mr ahls voice bartley Ear afraid that she might rise in her excitement and break the circle whispered to her and she settled back I 1 now recognized the voice as that of a little changed it la is trued true but enough like it to be b enn easily identified I 1 was too dazed to think the raps the darkness the voice olce v und the fear that was creeping into my heart were vere almost more than I 1 could bear silence again broken only by the uneasy moans of the bedlum then without warning someone cried in terror look 1 the stairs th the e stairs t almost in front of us was the stairway leading to the to tower er room the there re upon the top step was a tiny light unlike tiny any light that I 1 hall had ever seen it was hardly larger than a silver dollar of an unearthly whiteness then it began to grow larger and larger until it changed into a luminous arta floating la in the air I 1 heard someone gasp in fear then all was silence again the tight light continued to change cl iange now kow there were two tio arms then the trunk of a body and then out of nothing an entire human figure appeared glowing with a soft pale light in the darkness A mist misty y figure with ghostly feet and hands but no bead I 1 it began to float down the stairs a step at a time seemingly upon the air curdles Cur rles hand trembled under mine and I 1 controlled my own fear with alth an effort as I 1 pressed it reassuringly halt half way down the stairs a head bead appeared above the body one moment there was wag nothing there the next it a face with burning eyes and tangled hair I 1 knew instinctively whose it was it belonged to the murdered man A voice that seemed to come from the mouth said 11 1 I have come back to place my hand on the person that killed me the figure took a step toward us the table before us tell fell over on the floor with a crash and a voice almost at my elbow cried in terror for gods sake turn on that light dont let that d d thing touch we me As suddenly as it had appeared the figure vanished and we were mere left in the darkness CHAPTER XIV the murderer speaks who turned on the lights I 1 do not know As soo soon n as they flashed on we looked at each other inquiringly our eyes filled with tear fear who had cried out in terror and broken the circle drolet bartley motioned to us to sit down again and took his bis stand back of the table ile he seemed to me to be very weary and his eyes rested on us u sadly as if he were reluctant to proceed further it was not until we moved restlessly under his intent gaze that he be said 1 I am not going to make any comment on ahat we have just juat seen lie he paused for a second then added impressively but I 1 think I 1 ought to tell you that I 1 know who killed both and there wits was a murmur of astonishment currle currie looked at me appealingly but I 1 knew no more than he roche whispered to black and they exchanged looks of bewilderment bartley still hesitated as if he were very reluctant to continue 1 I know that some of you yon doubt if we can prove that mr was murdered you say there tire are no clues and I 1 admit that I 1 have never seen a case in which there were so few there is no doubt however that he be was murdered though it Is difficult to say what the motive was in the case of it was very simple simple roche gasped yes simple there was but one reason and one way and even one person that could have killed him this statement was too much for roche he shook his heard beard in bisbe aleto ller consider mr death tor for a moment hartley bartley continued after the party was over naked mr lawrence larence to stay behind and offered to sell him some whisky they had bad a drink then lawrence went home but we found three glasses showing that someone besides La laurence virence hat had drunk with let us say tills this third person killed hilled understand me I 1 do not believe that ft hen ben he came he be had any intention of killing him that came later we will assume that and third person ierson went upon the balcony for nhat reason I 1 cannot say but I 1 am sure that was the one that suggested going there no murderer would have selected it voluntarily as it a place in which to kill his victim lie ile paused for a second then continued after had been killed the thought occurred to the murderer derer that it was possible to make his death look like suicide lie he undressed the body in the room above the bedroom and later carried ills his clothing down stairs placing it on a chair beside the bed but he overlooked a stocking that had fallen on the hoor floor behind tile door of the room ab above ove crimi nals no matter how shrewd always make some mistake that betrays them this person drew the bedclothes up around neck it if he be had hit not done that I 1 doubt if we would ever have suspected that was wag murdered the shot took effect at once it would have been impossible for him to have drawn the bedclothes up around lils own neck and placed his hands by his side before lie died the doctors voice sounded perplexed as aa he said but mr burtley bartley this Is 13 oil all a rather one spun theory 1 I expected that soi neone would say any that bartley smiled it Is more than tan no unsupported theory however let us proceed erl the murdered mur derei deger went down to the living room and brought bark back with him to cords which he thre threw won on the floor of the room where the glasses cerp if iff being suicide was questioned then the finding of the cards would woula throw suspicion on the members of the card party TO BE CONTINUE IJ |