The Argosy, Volume XLIV — page 265: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

BY THE ENEMY’S WILL. greatest distinctness. Thev were not, for that reason, affy the more reassur- ing. The door in the lock of which I heard the key rattle was between me and a window. Dark as was the night, there was a certain amount of dim heht which came through the glass. That compassed the ability to see the outlines of what followed. For a moment the light was ob- scured; a square shaped, black patch seemed to come across it. I knew what that meant: the pushing open of the door was its cause. The black patch disappeared: the door was closed softly; I was made aware of that by a gentle click. There ensued a moment’s silence; but I knew that I was not alone. Still I remained speechless; made no movement; sat hidden in the depths of my chair. I imagined that a waiting game would be an excellent one to play —and played it. Then came to my ears a sound which startled me far more than the rattling of the kev im the lock had done. I held my breath! CHAPTER II. THE LADY BURGLAR. THE strange noise which caused that catch of the breath was one which had not been heard there since my occu- pancy of the rooms: the rustle of a woman’s dress. That which made the sound ad- vanced across the floor, my way: straight from the door into the room in which I was sitting. Still, having laid myself out to play a waiting game, 1 made no movement. I assign that as a reason for sitting still. In my heart I know that I was so paralyzed with astonishment that I could not have got to my feet if life it- self had depended on the uprising. The woman, whoever she was, having entered the room, paused for a moment in the middle of it. Wondering what she was doing, I was speedily enlightened; heard a _ little rattle: such as a half full box of 261 ‘matches might make when held in a trembling hand. In another moment there was a scratching noise, followed by a dim, fitful illumination. Sitting upright, I was more surprised than ever by what the light showed me. It revealed a young girl, apparently eighteen or nineteen years of age; very pretty, very pale, dressed in black. She seemed possessed of an absolute confidence that no one save herself was In the place. Her movements were devoid of the fearsomeness and care which one would look for and expect in the operations of a night marauder. Without even looking round, she walked straight to the desk at which I usually sat. Holding aloft the match, she cast her eyes about as if in search of something. By the start she gave on seeing the elec- tric table lamp, I knew for what she had been looking—candles, When I entered into possession of the chambers, it was to discover that the gas was not laid on. Assuming that candles had satisfied the previous ten- ant, they were by no means s0 satis- factory a light to me. I went to the expense of a small scale electric light installation. ~ It was easy to read in the girl’s face —by the hght of the match—her sur- prise at the presence of this kind of illumination. But it was plainly one with which she was not unfamiliar proved bv the fact that she immediately handled the lamp and switched on the heht. Replacing the box in her pocket, she dropped what was left of the match— the light of which she had blown out— in the pen tray of my inkstand: the tinkle of it was plainly audible in the silence. Had I been a character reader, I might perhaps have gleaned much from that. As it was, I was fully occupied in watching her. Her hand went out and pulled open the top one of the little tier of drawers in the table. It was an act of such con- vincing kind as to speedily terminate anv doubt I might have entertained as to the object of her visit. At this stage I freed myself from the Colin ElOOO Colin