The Argosy, Vol. 65, September 1898

About this issue

"Colonel Fane's Secret" by Sydney Hopps, serialized in The Argosy (September 1898), continues with Chapter XXX, "Hugh to the Rescue." Hugh arrives at a burning manor house where a governess and child (Master Frank) are trapped on the roof of a partially burning wing. After initial failed rescue attempts with ladders, Hugh devises a plan using ropes. He climbs an elm tree near the house, throws a clothes-line to the governess, who pulls up a heavier rope and secures it around a chimney with the boy's help. Hugh then descends, grips the hanging rope, and swarms up the wall hand-over-foot, scaling the second and third stories to reach the parapet. As he reaches the roof, he recognizes the governess as someone named Vera—someone from his past. The crowd below cheers as he pulls himself over the parapet. Chapter XXXI, "Saved," begins as Hugh crosses into the firelit space above.