WHO PAID THE DEBT ?

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1932, Page 15

WHO PAID THE DEBT ?

Sy unmmilHIllt’ll!!!

CHAPTER XIX.— (Continued.) I

I But had ho had no visitor? How! had that fresh loaf appeared on his! table, and what unseen hands had! refilled his water jug? It gave him an) eerie feeling, hut he would not give way to it, and forced ‘himself to eat! and drink that he might have strength for his enterprise.

Now for it I He leaned out of the window and scanned the ground carefully; he had no fear of not being able to get down safely, but how was he to get out of the yard again? As far as he could see at this distance there was no way of escape, but the great thing was to get free of the house, he must wait for the next step until the first was achieved. The knotting of the ropes was the allimportant part of the business and turning from the window he went to the corner in which he had deposited them.

They were not there. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but It could not be true that they were gone—lt should not be. true! He looked under the bed, under the chest of drawers, behind an old curtain that hung in a corner-—all in vain! The hands that brought the bread and water must have stolen the ropes.

This was the end! He flung himself down in the chair again; his elbows on, his knees, his head in his hands. If only he had heeded the farmer’s advice and not come by this ill-fated wood! If only—but. what was the use of if onlys? He must deal with things as they were and .not as he wanted them to be. Since he could not escape by the window, he would make another exploration of the house, the key was happily on his side of the door, and though he hated .the closed rooms and dark passages, that mattered nothing could he but find ,an exit. It was a brilliant day, and dusty as, the windows were, rays of light came 1 gleaming through. There was some, chance now of discovering the geography of the great rambling house, and he stood still at the end of the, passage, determined to fix its position with regard to the staircase before he went any further. Even by dalight it was not very easy, for the place seemed to be arranged on the plan of maze, but when he had reached the landing and taken a careful survey of all the passages that opened from it, he paused again at the' top k>f the staircase, for the sound of voices came floating to his ear—not the hoarse, unnatural tones of the madman, but the ordinary voice of an ordinary being. Here was a stroke of good fortune at last; since bread came to the house it was clear that someone must bring it and no doubt that was the messenger; if only he could get hold of him and send word to the landlord or the doctor, the door of his prison would soon be opened. Turning back quickly he went along the passage from which the voice seemed to come and soon found himself at the door with, the bolt that ho had fastened so uselessly on the previous evening. The door stood ajar now, and scarcely daring to breathe he pushed it open an inch or two and looked cautiously The room was a large one, and though the floor was bare of carpet and the ceiling was cracked and stained, it had a less uninhabited look than the rest of the house, for there were bookcases against the walls and on many of the shelves there wore old brown leather covered volumes, a table stood near one of the 'Windo™ 3 and before it was seated a man dressed in a grey suit, with a black skull cap on his head. A big book lay b - fore-him and with his Anger hefo - lowed the lines of ancient type, while he muttered to himself the words that he was reading. , , . go absorbed was he in his studies that ho was quite unconscious of the eyes that rested on him—so absorbed that, he did not hear exclamation of astonishment that bur ® t . Daryl’s. Ups as he recognised the Professor. CHAPTER XXI. But was it the Professor? Daryl stood rooted to the SpO'!, staring,..staring Ift utter bewilderment. Yet it is i he said to himself a one moment, and ‘No It is not!’ at the next. The familiar beard and moustache were gone, and the face, as far as he could see it, was thinner and paler, but it was Just so that Daryl had seen him again and again, poring -Over some book with his finger following the 1 nes and his lips forming the words that he read; the attitude, the gestures, all were his—it must be! it was. his eagerness made his pulses -race, the hand that held the door -shook and it ■scraped on its rusty hinges. And with the sound a sudden transformation swept over the solitary student; snatching up a. cloak that lay near, he flung it him thereby displacing the cap, which fell to the ground, revealing long, white draggling hair, and facing round upon the door he Started with blank.eyes For some moments he stood there while Daryl stayed motionless, sheltered by the shadow of the door then passing his hand over his br.o ho seemed to emerge from his fit of terror and dropping the cloak again he sank into his chair and turned back to his book with the words— Now let me see where I was.’’ - ■it was the Professor who spoke, there could be no doubt of that; Daryl had often heard those words on his lips when he had been interrupted in his reading; but what strange spell turned him at a moment s notice into another human being altogethei —a being the very sight of whom froze the blood in one’s veins? It was be wild ©ring, amazing, a puzzle to which there was no solution; but it was only for an instant that Daryl’s mind was occupied with it, for with a rush another ■thought swept in upon him if th Professor was here, might, not Emu ' be here too? ■ was it because she, too, was a. prisoner that Fate had hindered his escape from the house. Creeping stealthily away, he resolved that he would make no attempt to escape until, he had searched Cv ery hole and comer. But where should he begin? He had found already that many of the doors on the upper . floor were locked and he dared not make the slightest'sound for fear of bringinsr that dread form after him In. purThis particular passage seem.ea ■ be darker than any other'..part of I - house, for it was only hghted y ■ tiny window' at the end, bigh«P--the wall; but though candles and matches were In his - afraid to strike a light. With less feet he stole along, -aym® gentle hand on the doors that ® on either side, but making J - 1 to force them when he found tna they were locked; if none would P - he must find those ropes bind this madman who had Jhe power.

MARY BRADFORD WHITING

ing himself into the likeness of the Professor, then search for tools and by some means or other break them He had reached the end of the passage now and he found to his surprise that it did not finish there as he had thought, but turned the co - ner and went on for a few yards tih It came to another door. Locked,, no doubt, like all the rest, but at least •he could try it safely, for m thL remote corner there was little feai ■of being overheard. Stepping quickly forward, he found that not only was the door fast, but the handle Itself seemed to be fixed in the rust of centuries No hope here, evidently! he was ° tn when a sudden sound rooted him to the spot. it was the sound of sobbing. “Enid I Enidl" the cry rushed to his lips, and seizing the handle again he shook the dOor as if he would tern it from its hinges. . “For God’s sake —who is DiCre The voice that uttered the wbrds was so wild and hoarse a one that n might have seemed Impossible to recognise it, but Daryl felt no shadow of doubt and stooping dOW ? al jAne hi? Ups to the keyhole exclaiming—- “ Enid! Enid! let me ini’ CHAPTER XXI. “ For God’s sake, who is it ?” The terrified question came again and once more Daryl bent to the ke “ h l° l ls I, Daryl, let He heard a fumbling at the lock and the sound of a turning key, then the door opened and he was face to face with—Ohl heavens! was lEn d? this pale, emaciated being with the hollow eyes and trembling white lips, he stood gazing, incapable Of speech. And then suddenly a flash of Joy ran over the face, transfiguring utterly and with a choking cry she held ou her arms—“ Oh, Daryl! at last! at ■He snatched her close to him In a passionate embrace every other thought swept from his mind in the rapture of finding her; but it was only a moment before she drew away from him. , ~ “Quick! quick! fasten the door! she breathed. “If he finds you—” He shut and locked it and she slipped a piece of wire round the handle and showed him how she made the lock secure. ; “I had to do it,” she said, “he found a way of opening it from the outside.” ~, . . She was white and trembling again and he made her sit down on a sofa that stood against the wall and knelt beside her, his arms round her, her head on his shoulder.'

“My darling! how did you come here?" he whispered. "Tell rne quickly—who knows how long we shall be left in peace I" " Tell me first how you found out I was here," she said, “ and how you got in. There are locks on the doors —I know, for I have tried to open them when I saw that he was asleep. Oh I Daryl, hold me! hold me I it is so dreadful—-" The sobs were coming again and he knew that he must be firm if he meant to help her. “ You shall hear my part of the story when we are outside,” he said cheerfully, “ but I must hear a little from you —•• remember, I know nothing since the door shut in my face. What happened when you Went in? ” Her breath still came in fitful gasps, but she managed to answer him. “ I felt someone grasp me while you were paying the cab and a hand came over my shoulder and shut the door. I tried Io see who it was, but he wore a mask and before I could -scream he. had a handkerchief over my mouth, tied my hands together and muffled me up in a cloak. He had a lamp in his hand and he dragged me into the conservatory and there—” she stopped and a fearful shudder shook her from head to foot.

" Yes, yes, I know,” he said soothingly, “I saw it too. Never mind that —how did you get out of the house? ” ‘■‘■lt was a knife that he went back for," she said in a low tone of horror, “ He picked it up and wiped it and put it in his pocket and then he took me to the cupboard under the stairs. I never, knew there was a sliding panel there till he took me under .it. We went through the next house and got ■out by a back window; then he threw away the lamp and pulled off his ni9.^lc* • “Did you recognise him?"

" No. it was too dark, and his hat was drawn down and his collar turned up. I tried to get away, but he held my arm fast and hurried me round the corner. I hoped and hoped that you would see us, but I knew there was pot much chance because we were too far away. Oh 1 how I wished that it was number 14 and not 1 that stood at the opening into the street!” It maddened him to think that he had been intent upon getting into the house while she was being dragged away only a few yards from him; but it was useless to dwell on that. “ Well then, where did he take you? ’’ “ To a house I had never seen before. A cab was waiting and he put me in and we went a long way; I thought he meant to kill me too, but as soon as we got to the house he untied me and took me to a room where father was waiting for me—-I did not know him at first because his beard and moustache had been shaved off."’ “ And you told him how you had been treated,?."

“ i began to tell him, but he would not listen; he said that we must start on a journey at once. He had packed a few of my things and brought them with him as well as a bag Of his own. The cab was waiting arid we drove all through the night and got here in the ea “M°wny e ’on earth should your father bring you to such a place? " he demanded, his arms tightening their jealous clasp as he realised what that ghostly house must have -looked like to her in the chill light of dawn.

" Because——” her voice sank and trembled — “ because he thinks that I am guilty and that he must' hide me. He told Me that we should be safe here for everyone thought the house was haunted and it was shunned by all the people round.” "But he can’t think you guilty!” said Daryl. “ According to your story he was already out of the house before we came back from the. opera.” “ Yes, but he won’t listen when I tell him so. It has always been very difficult to convince him that he was wrong about anything that he had Taken Into his head; he had kind of dreamy fits at times, as if he was living in a world apart—that was how Stefan got such a strange hold of him."

Stefan i It was true, then, that incredible tale that Rivers had told him, He longed, yet feared, to question her, and it was she who broke the silence. “Daryl,- there is something that I often longed to tell you, and yet I could not. If father had been left to his studies all this would never have happened; but he was drw.u by

people who found him useful because of his knowledge of languages. I can’t explain it to you—l don’t understand it myself; they kept things from me, and I never suspected that anything was going on until we were in Vienna. Stefan Wrangel was the ■moving spirit in it all, and—oh, Daryl, don’t be angry with me for not telling you—i told him I would never listen to him, but he vowed that he would never let me alone until I promised to marry him. I begged father to leave Austria, and when he would not I thought I would run away; but one day Stefan went off quite suddenly, only saying that he should see me again in Paris. I was always In fear when we first got there, but. he did not come, and then I met you, and after that I feared, nothing.” 'That was so sweet to hear that Daryl would have liked to answer it with a thousand caresses, a thousand tender words; but time was rushing on and he must make some plan of escape. “I suppose it was some, political plot?” he said. “It may have been—l know, anyway, that father-thought that he was working In some high and noble cause. But from one or two things that have dropped out, I fancy that this house was once used by a gang of coiners or forgers, who thought they were safe here from any chance of interruption." “And Stefan Wrangel was one of them?” “Y'es; I believe that some of them thought that he had betrayed them, and that they enticed him to London for revenge. Daryl ——’’ she crept closer to him, and hid her face against him—"i believe that they made him think that it was I who sent for him —that I had changed my mind." That did not trouble him, for he knew its falsity; but these astonishing revelations set his braip whirling-— the lives of Enid and her father had seemed to glide along so calmly, so peacefully, yet this seething turmoil had lain beneath the qpiet surface! He saw now that when he had declared that he knew all about them, he had been like an unconscious child playing on the thin crust of a volcano. “But surely you could have convinced your father that you had nothing to fear?” he said, thrusting these sinister thoughts aside. “It stands to reason ” "Ah, yes,” she broke in, “but what if reason has gone? He is always on the watch for pursuers unless he is asleep, or at the few happy times when he can Interest himself In a book and forget everything else in the .world. He would keep on coming in to see if I was safe, and that is why I invented a way of securing the look. I was in a different room at first, but there was a secret passage in it, and it did frighten me so when he came in at night I” He could feel her trembling in his arms, and his heart grew hot within him—-what a horrible experience! Enough to turn her brain, if not to kill her outright! “How do you get food?" he asked, with the hope of turning.her thoughts. “There is some man who comes; he brings food and . puts it through the barred windows of the shed in the yard. I .don’t know who he. Is; but I heard the driver of the , taxi say that a messenger would come once or twice in the week, and that if any communications were necessary they could be made through him. There is,a well in the back kitchen, so we get our water from there.” “But does your father mean to keep you here for ever?" “Oh, no. He says that he Is waiting for a letter to tell him that the coast is clear, and then we shall go abroad. I tried and tried to think of some way of letting you know, but it was no use. I did see some boys once—the only human beings in all these weeks —they were climbing on some trees near the house, and I opened the window and waved my arms; but they must have thought I was a ghost, for they Simply shrieked and slid to the ground, and made off like the wind. Since then I have not seen a soul till you came to-day. But, Daryl—you have not told me yet—how did you make him let you in?"

"He did not let me in. The door must have been on the latch fo? once and when I rushed up to the housefor shelter from the storm yesterday, I fell ag&inst It and it opened. He heard me ■and came down, but I did not recognise him, lie looked so utterly unlike himself.” “And did he not recognise you?" “No, he evidently had not an idea that it was me. He was very angry with me for coming and said that I should never go out of the house again.” “I see. that was his* love for me—he thought that you would give information about our hiding-place if you got out.’’. , , _ _ \ ghastly.form of love! So Daryl thought, but he kept the thought to himself. . ~ . "Well, you have been here long enough and I am going to take you away with me,” he said. “It is no use asking him to unlock the door, so we will make our escape, and when he finds that you have gone he will no quite ready to follow. Let me have" a look from your window.” She watched him anxiously as he made a survey.

“Yes, I think it may be done,” he said, drawing in his head again. “Your window is near enough to the wall for it to be possible to drop on to it, and from there it would not be difficult to get to the roof of the shed. I must lower you by a rope—is there anything here we can use?" “No, nothing; the sheets and blankets are like tinder.”

* “Then 1 must go and find the curtain ropes. I managed to get them clown and took them to my room, meaning to escape by them; but he got into the room while I was asleep and carried them off." “But you can't go!” she cried. “He would be sure to hear you and come out, and then all chance would be gone.” “We must risk that," he said resolutely. “And 1 had better go at once; he was deep in his books when I saw him as 1 came down the passage, but he Is sure to rouse up before long.” He laid his hand on the door and told her with a smile to keep up heart, he should be back in no time. But the door was locked, and locked on the outside. CHAPTER XXII. He stood by the window, his hands in his pockets, his forenead knit into a heavy frown; while she leaned back on the old moth-eaten sofa, her face hidden in her hands, her slender frame shaking with the sobs that no efforts could repress. The momentary gleam of hope had made the disappointment all the more cruel —so cruel that it was unbearable. She despised herself for her weakness, yet her tears were not wasted, for they roused him into action. “Don’t despair, darling!” he said. "T have told you that I will get you out and I shall keep my word. You say that -there is no secret passage, into this room?" “No that was why I got him to let me come here. • But I am sorry now that I did."

“Never mind, we will try another way. I shall get. out of the window creep along the stone coping lliat I see under It and climb in at the next window; then I will come and undo your door and we will go together and look for the ropes.”

He pushed up the sash as far as it would"go, but she sprang up) and rushed across the room to seize his. “You can’t do it! you mustn’t!” she cried. “One false step and you would be dashed to pieces.” He took the little white fingers that held him and kissed them tenderly. “You must let me try,” he said, “1! is my only hope of rescue as well as yours.” , , £ .. . His own rescue was the last thing that he was thinking of, but he knew that it was the right chord to touch: she could dare for his sake what she wduld have shrunk from for her own. Her frenzied clasp relaxed and she stood aside while he climbed out of the window and -lodged his feet on the coping. Her breath came in sobbing gasps—she did net date to look —yet she must look—and leaning out she watched him creep along the perilous path and pause under the next window.

Suppose it should be locked? To turn would be impossible on that narrow ledge, to remain on it equally so—he must fall! there was no help for It 1 she could not look any longer, yet she could not move away. ■ Slowly, slowly, he raised one hand and managed to raise himself by sheer strength of muscle. Thank heaven, the window was open 1 she saw his head disappear, then his shoulders—he was safe, Incredible as it seemed ho was safe 1

The window through which he had climbed led into the passage, so that she knew there was no fear of another locked door to bar his way; only a few moments and she should hea'r his. step, her prison would be opened and he would be beside her again. But the moments slipped into' minutes—half an hour passed—an hour —not a sound broke the deathly stillness of ■the house, and wound up to the last pitch of nervous tension she beat upon the door in a mad effort to break it down, then sank upon the ground, exhausted and despairing. Daryl had known that he was setting out on a desperate adventure, but he told himself that if he could succeed in getting in at the window the worst would be over and a thrill ■of triumph ran through him aS he scrambled through and alighted in the passage. Now to unlock Enid’s door—then to hunt for the ropes! He hurried on eagerly, then stopped short as he turned the corner, for there In the distance flitted a shadowy figure, a figure with a bundle -of ropes under its arm. If he lost sight of those ropes all chance would be gone, and he started off in pursuit—the landing came- Into sight—the staircase —but no! the figure turned down another passage, he pressed after It—it entered an open door —*the door of the room in which he had spent the night •—he was Just in time to see the ropes carried to the open window. Another moment and they would be gone! He dashed across the room and tried to seize them and at the fierce resistance -that met him a wave of fury surged through him and he caught the bony frame in his arms and tried to force it down upon the bed. But frail as the form looked, there was an uncanny strength in it; it would not be forced down, and looked together they staggered to and fro, till suddenly Daryl’s foot slipped, they fell back against the wall—it gave way before them and together they crashed through into the secret passage. , • . . There was only one hope now—to seize the ropes, push his adversary back and shut him in. But as he scrambled to his feet the door slipped back into Its place and the click of a spring lock told him that he and the madman were imprisoned together in the darkness. (To be