CHAPTER XIV.—THE FIRST DAY OF THE TORTURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 71

CHAPTER XIV.— THE FIRST DAY OF THE TORTURE.

ing woTds, throbbed and pulsed in his brain like fire. He realised at last the whole hideous and sinister chain of ©vents which had led to this awful catastrophe of his life. He saw jiow the two fiends, with supreme and marvellous cunning, had planned and ■olotted from Jt,he first for just this end. JCvery single detail of the past, from the first moment when Sir William Atherton had fallen in a faint upon the floor of the dynamo room at the works, '"now became part of one awful chain of circumstance — a chain which bound him to the jp-oto^-no p-nd horrid place in which' he young man's head sank upon the -, c, and he groaned aloud in bitter agony spirit. In bitter agony, indeed, but .it, at that moment, in fear.

Je saw that his life was now a thing forfeited and done, he had little doubt of that. And yet at that supreme moment of realisation his thoughts were unselfish, and went out with a terrible poignancy to the girl he loved. Was &he then to be, after all, the sport and plaything of the foul wretch whose letter lay before him? Would she be coerced into an unnatural and monstrous marriage with this devil? Even as he asked himself the question, there came a little flash of hope in reply. Ah ! he knew Sadie ; he knew her well. That proud, bright, free spirit would never consent to anything that would sully it and degrade it. He knew, as surely as a man could know anything; he knew it •with a great burst of absolute confidence and trust, that during all her life his love and his lady would be true. They could not force her into marriage frith the Spaniard : she was far too brave and resolute for that. Against all the machinations of iher father and de Toros she would remain serene, unmoved, and mistress of herself. As the thought came to him he laughed a little pathetic laugh -of triumph. Yes! though he must disappear for ever from her ken, though she would probably never 3cqow hia horrid fate, he believed with all his heart and soul that she would be true to him. No de Toros, no Wilshire would ever move that indomitable spirit. She had given him the kiss of betrothal, and for all time she was his.

Then once more bis head drooped in unutterable agony as be thought of all that bis disappearance would mean to her life. In this world she would certainly never see him more ; her whole happiness-, her whole life, would be ended, ruined, ana forlorn. For nearly half an hour he bent over the table in that sinister room, while the sunlight poured into it and gilded the brown of his hair in innocent and happy fashion.

At last "he had exhausted the capacity lor pain — his mind could bear no more ; he had been through the Valley of the Shadow, and, having felt boundlessly, was now powerless to feel. Then, quite swiftly and suddenly, like a Tush of warm blood to one who is frozen, cam©' the first hints and promptings of hope — that hope which springs eternal in ©very human, heart. He now knew exactly where be was ; lie understood precisely that he was placed *- a remote house,, which, by the devilish

O now Gilbert knew. In two terrible minutes the whole frightful and incredible truth was laid bare to him. The letter lay before him upon the table with its fine, spidery writing, and the words of it, the cruel mock-

ingenuity of Julius Wikhire, Ramon, de Toros, and their assistants, had been converted into what was, without doubt, the most elaborate and costly execution shed in the world. The experiences he had already undergone showed him that an. elaborate scheme of traps and surprises, all involving death or leading up to it, had been constructed. The_ vast resources of two great scientific brains had been employed in preparing tins prison house. Upon every side some hideous danger lurked ; at any moment the marvellous mechanism with which he knew intuitively he was surrounded might operate to his destruction. Yet the letter of de Toros had spoken of a week. He was to be tortured doubtless by th : s or that surprise. His brain, was to be ra-ck-ecl -with eurmice and awful anticipation. But, nevertheless, he realised that the final and unseen blow

was not to be just yet, and the mere chance of respite induced once more a certain hopefulness. He was young, he was strong, he had a weapon — he looked almost humorously towards the great steel poker which lay upon the floor, — and, above all, his own knowledge of mechanics and of electrical science was far above the average. Might it not be possible that, with extreme caution and wariness, he might circumvent the succession of traps which he knew awaited him? With that thought couyage returned in a flood. It was to be war then — a war between him and the unknown — a forlorn hope indeed ; but had not the most glorious victories crowned the forlornest hopes? Then and there he resolved to put away all fear, all~mental agony, and devote himself entirely and" solely to his own preservation. If it was, "indeed, the mouse declaring war upon the lion — well, then, the mouse must make a good fight bsfore extinction. The old North Country spirit of his ancestors awoke in him, and the man who rose from the table and stood erect was a man arrayed for battle. Then Gilbert's habit of ordered thought, his business instincts, returned to him. j The long training in his father's office I had taught him a lesson which stood him in good service now. The first thing, obviously, to be done was to explore this den of engines in which he found himself, and to explore it with the utmost care. He took up the long bar of steel and moved towards the door, treading warily, t^ving the carpet with each footstep — for who knew what hidden spring or pitfall might be concealed beneath the gaudy Turkey flower- work? Nothing occurred, and he opened the door and stepped out into the v hall, still lit by^ the electric light and empty, as before. A thought came to him, and he .picked up one of the pillows. It might serve as a shield in case of an unseen assailant — it might be useful in some way ; he would take it with him. Grasping it in his left hand, and with the poker in his right, he opened the door exactly opposite to the great front door at the other end of the hall. He saw before him a staircase of some width, carpeted, and lit, as before, by electric lights. With a bitter smile, he noticed that the bulbs weTe those manufactured at his own works. Then, slowly, with infinite care, he mounted the staircase. Two long corridors stretched away to the right and the left at the head of the stairs, and he was confronted by a vista of doors on either side. It did not seem to matter much which door he opened first, and so he boldly tried the one immediately before him. It swung open easily enough, and he found himself in a large room furnsished as a bedroom. The windows were of frosted glass, so that he could not look out into the country beyond, and* all, 6ave one of them, was heavily barred, as the window of the dining room had been. It seemed, however, that the window which was not covered with the network of iron had been in process of becoming so, when the workmen had been interrupted 1 , for one bar of the lower part of the window was already half fixed in , its place. Here, at any rate, was a ' chance left by the carelessness of his enemies, and with renewed hope he walked up to it. Could it be that, after all, so soon the gate of freedom was opened? That de Toros had overlooked one weak point in their .plot? The one bar that was but half fixed in its place could not be charged' with the electric current. His technical knowledge told him at once that the circuit could not be established ; and, resting his hand upon rtT with great confidence, he found that his surmise was correct — it was just ordinary iron, and no more. He pushed aside the hasp of the window with great- ease and flung it up. At last 1 Before him. stretched the dear familiar Yorkshire moors, and far away on the horizon the smoke of his own beloved Moorchesteor mad© a purple haze in the sunlight. He leant far out of the window inhaling the fresh air with intense gladness. Down below be saw the whole expanse of the moat and garden with, its high encircling wall. It was a sheer drop of some thirty feet into the moat, but there wias an adjacent iron gutter pipe which, if it would only hold, might be used as a ladder of descent by a man so athletic and in such good training as be was. He gave a little delighted chuckle ; never had the outside world seemed so desirable and fair. But even as he laughed to himself he became once more a victim to the hideous cunning of his adversaries. The window frame, innocent enough to* all appearance, fell with a tremendous crash upon bis shoulders, pinning him half in and half out of the room. The force of the blow was so intense and fhe pain was so excruciating that he was on the verge of swoonang, and it was only the fresh air in which, by fiendish mockery, his head was prisoned that prevented him from losing consciousness. At it was, he felt that the whole of his body was momentarily paralysed by the terrible imDact

of the weighted frame. His legs seemed like sticks of lead, and though his hands wero outside hanging down the side of fhe wall, he could not lift them to gain a purchase on the window sill, in the effort to raise the crushing weight upon his shoulders.

For five long minutes he remained there, sick with apprehension, feeling almost certain that he had received some spinal injury which robbed him for ever of the power of movement. He - groaned aloud in his agony ; his strained, despairing eyes roved over the lonely moor in futile appeal. No living thing nor person was in sight, save two swallows — free and; happy birds ! — who circled in the mdddle distance with little cheeps and twitters of joy. Then even as he gave up hope and resigned himself to death he felt the weight upon his shoulders slowly lessening. The window rose up again, and with a mighty effort he fell back into the roomand lay impotent upon the floor. He cou^d not move, but he saw the window slowly descend and! an iron network slip down before it, shutting- out the light of day. There was a little spit and crackle as the hidden bars fell into place, and he knew that once more the electric circuit was established, and that thds pretended opportunity of escape was but another instance of the cruelty and cunning of his foes.

It was long before he was able to regain the use of his limbs, and when at last he did so his shoulders, where the iron had falleD upon them, burned as if they had been branded, and every muscle seemed bruised and strained as if he had been upon the rack. Yet even now, though hope seemed gone, the indomitable courage of tne man remained. He resolved that if, indeed, death and torture were to be his portion, he would at least fight a good fight before he was overcome.

He began to realise that in all probability no single room, in this old house was 6afe for him. It might, indeed, be that all the chambers did not contain some engine of destruction, but how was he to judge or know? Would it not, therefore, be wiser and safer to remain where he at present was? It was unlikely that each room contained more than one trap. He knew of the enormous difficulty .and the great amount of mechanical work that ' must have confronted the plotters in the construction of this elaborate house of torture. He knew also that they had! not been in possession of Mantrap Manor for any very considerable time. It was I more than likely, therefore,' that four men, I even so . skilled and capable as Wilshire ; and his assistants, would not have had ' time to do more - than this.

But even as he .realised tlie probable wisdom of remaining where he was, he thought of something which, strangelyenough, had never occurred to him ! before. , How was he' to live? Was slow starva- j tion to be added to his other perils? The I influence of the drug whioli had been administered to him had now passed off. The terrible shock he had just undergone had. curiously enough, removed the last trace of its influence. He was hungry — i horribly hungry, — and, ior all he knew, ' there was no food in this accursed house, ■ and, at any rate, to seek it would doubtless be fraught with hideous consequences. For a full half-hour, while the sun climbed upwards, until it was full mid- ' day, he crouched upon the floor like a ' hunted thing, turning over this last and most pressing problem in his mind. If, indeed, any chance remained at all that he might circumvent his destroyers it was essential that mind and body should be nourished by food. The answer t' this question came in a singularly unexpected fashion. Suddenly, ; as he crouched there, he heard a wliirring, clicking noise proceeding from the opposite wall. Hia heart began to beat furiously, and his mouth was hot and dry. What did this portend? What horror now awaited him? He grasped the i massive poker, his only weapon, and | waited i

A cupboard opposite him swung slowlyopen, and a little table apon indiarubber wheels shot out into the middle of the room, grew slower in its movement, and stopped. He remained still, not daring to approach it, until he saw that there was no electrical connection between it and the carpet, and that it had been projected by a coiled spring at the back of the cupboard, which, he could see extended and glittering like a snake of steel. He went cautiously up to the table, and found that a sheet of paper was fastened to it with dTawing pins. On the sheet, in the same spidery writing as the letter he had read with such' terrible realisation in the dining room, the following words were traced : — It is no part of the programme to which the Senor Don Gilbert Atherton is to be subjected that he should be starved. It would be idle to deny that in this contest of wit against wit the senor_^js placed at a great disadvantage. Yet, m order that the sport should be prolonged 1 and afford all the pleasure to its inventors which, they originally designed for themselves, the senor is to be givn *be^bpportunity of recruiting his energies to meet the next attack. Therefore, when the gong sounds it will sound for a truce of an hour. , The senor may descend to the dining room with perfect safety, where he wtl! find food waiting for him, 'neither tampered with nor drugged. For a whole i hour, upon the word of the proprietors of this house, respite from all danger or

interference is assured,

Gilbert considered the matter in all its bearings. He was inclined to believe tha,fc what was written upon the paper stated the fact. He knew how terribly strong his adversaries were, how hopeless his own condition was, and, therefore, he realised that their malice would oe the more gratified by allowing him to continue in sometbjag—like- health and strength while thej employed their mysterious

weapons against him. Was it worth while? That was the question he asked Himself. Would it not be better to remain where he was and die quietly and hopelessly than to give these fiends the opportunity of lengthening and protract- , ing his long agony? •

But, even as he asked himself that question the answer came. No ! it was his duty as an Englishman and a sturdy son of the North to fight and fight and fight, let the outcome be what it may.

Tae "gong" — what did that mean? Why, of course, it meant that food, by some means or other, must be conveyed tf» the dining room before the gong sounded. Therefore, if he rose now and crept cautiously down the stairs, he might possibly catch someone- in the very act of preparing the meal, or if it were to be done by means of the marvellous mechanism at the command of Wilshire and de Totos, then, at any rate, he might detect the means and , gather data for future action. He took off hi 6 boots, grasped his weapon once more, and crept slowly out of the bedroom and down 'the old oak stairs.

In the silent hall lie waited for a moment, and listened intently outside the door of the dining room. He could not be certain as he waited whether hs had closefl the door when he had first gone upstairs. As far as he remembered he had not done so.

Now, at any rate, it was certainly closed , but no sounds came from the interior. He was about to enter with the idea of concealing himself somewhere in the N room if he could find a place in which to" do so, when the whole air was filled by the deep booming of a gon.<*. The sound seemed to come from the other side of the hall opposite to the dining room. He leaut across the carpeted floor and flung open the door, behind which the deep metallic music seemed to be. He saw before him a room entirely unfurnished. The boarded floor was covered with shavings and dust, festoons of cobwebs hung from the ceiling. But in the middle of the floor was an electric gong, the hammer of which was still vibrating noisily, and above it was a piece of white card upon which was printed in large black letters :