7? Special gent? it w 1 w i ma gi?ixii& iyir ixciGiMip&iKmisiiL, & lung ifig& iri xzs lr(&l&llg& IF M IffsTZ: MTf U III rv HHM P.P P.P.P..PPJLgJULPJLPJLPJLSJL The Mystery of the Shadow on the Wall I ooooooosoo sao oooooooooooo oo .ONFOUND it, Duncan," said Hand, "what do yon think that I am, anyway? Take your spook stories somewhere else. What that hysterical family needs is a doctor, not a detective." "Do listen, Rand," I urged. "When you have heard mo out you can refuse the caso just as isily as you can now. I'll tako only minute or two of your time." "Well, get on with it, then. But )u know " "I know that you haven't a supersti. ous cell in your brain, and I thought hadn't either, but when I tell you lat I saw " Rand smiles In that ironical way of s. and I hastily beiran nnothpr utm- "You know," I said, "that I knew, in general way who tho Danvers were, 'cause my mother lives within a few ock of their house. However, they ivo not occupied it for a long time, :causc Mr. Danvers stayed in Europe r many years, as most of his lnter ts wero there. There Is a caretaker ho has a cottage In tho grounds, and I the servants havo been retained, that the placo is beautifully kept i. .nr. .Danvers aieu suuacniv or imp iroumn wn cn no on linrmrstnnrt id was burled on the other side in aly, I believe. The mother and Miss anvers, who is about twenty, and r brother, who is a year younger, ive just returned to America, with le inieniion or livinc in tnn stiarinna l uijiiKf. uiipi II iiiiiii ill I ii n ninmrpn ere uorn. "As you know, I went there to call nfr-hf T'linv wnra -Mnntlv frlpH renew the acquaintance and tried make me feel very much at home, it I Eoon saw that they were all f.;iumv iiprvniiM. niiiiiinmv I iprn as n choking kind of a scream from le back of the house. Danvers and I lRhfMl out. following thn sound. Hn . - .1 ..I "111. r. nnil ie s o"rase, meeting, on our way, a aid who gibbered out her terror at i and 'hen ran on. 'Yu can smile, Rand, all you .eare, cui i ten you wnar, l saw ac iay in that commonplace back ill uouid take that smile off of your ice r first, it Just seemed to mo ct hfo was a very queer arrange cii cf shadows along tho floor and i the wan and then I saw that ic. e (shadows moved, and that they ado 'he figure of a tall, thin man. I luldt t make out what tho motion 3ii Mte. until the shadow seemed drlYlv in IntaMolfv. lrti llfitii'oru nd I backed out of that hall, and wo ere cold with fear, Rand say what 3U lii'o to me. but I tell you I don't ant to see that shadow again, cut ng its own throat with a long, ugly loklng knife ugh!" "Is it always in the same placo?" "YeE." "How Is the hall lighted?" "With a single gas jet." "Was the gas lit when you saw tho i-mIow'" ' Ye, but it was turned low." "Whero does the shadow appear I ran where, in relation to tho posl n of ho gas Jet?" Iteond it as you look in from tho on i'1trance down tho hallway." I'oc it ever appear when tho gas net j t tl t think not." H' many tervants havo the Dan- ' Five or six, I think." "I c rides tho caretaker?" Yes " 'ocicn. or eight, In all. Quito a etinuo for a small family. Did you ay all tho servants wero retained dur lg the years that tho family wero lu lurope' "Yes, they were." "What was tho nationality of Dan ers?" "EdeIIeU or American, I suppose." "You suppose, eh? Whero did you ay he died?" "Ho is burled in Italy, but I don't now whero ho died." "Mies Danvers is a dark, tropical ort of a looking girl, isn't she?" "Why yes; but how" "It's tho sort you always admire, n't if" "Yce, I must say I am rather par lal to dark hair, being such a sandy aired Scotchy myself." The boy la dark, too?" "No, ho has light hair and palo bluo yes, like his mother, but his skin is warthy. It makes an odd combina-Ion." P.P.PXP-PiUULPJUUlPJLPJLg., . IK ooooooo ooooooooooaaaoooa "What did you say tho mother was like?" "I didn't say," I retorted, pleased to catch Rand at ono of his tricks. "No? Well, then, I will. She is a palo blonde, with nsh-colorcd hair, rather long, pointed teeth, a tall, grace ful figure, an aqullino nose and a face which may havo onco been cold ly beautiful." "You know her!" I charged, resent fully. "No, I never saw her in my liro." Rand's smllo is often frank and kind, but when I am trying to follow him through ono of his bafTllng calculations deduced, as In tho present case, from the very things that his Informer does not know I feel that smllo to bo a very exasperating one. He gave no heed to my protesting "Oh, come now, Rand!" but whistled softly as ho stepped about, getting into his coat. "You'll tako the case?" I hazarded, watching him. "Yes, I might as well. Tom!" ho called out to the tall Sioux who Is his cook, bodyguard, chauffeur and friend, and who Is never far away, "Tom, Just run out and buy half a dozen sulphur candles the kind you uso for fumigat ing, you know. And Tom get out tho cur. We're going to whero did you say tho placo is?" "201G Old Roston road." I knew that tho whole Danvers fam ily felt a distinct sense of disappoint ment in tho "friend" whose shrewd ness I had recommended, but whom they did not know as the great detec tive, for Rand seldom wanted his per sonality exploited. Tho long hall whero I had witnessed tho ghostly apparition of tho night be fore was, of course, tho first thing to which we gavo attention. Rand walked its length twice, had us tell him ex actly where tho shadow was always seen, and asked to bo shown tho rooms and passages over it. From there he went to tho laundry, which extended, under the whole back of the house, but declined to let any of us save Tom accompany him. Dinner was announced soon, but it was an utter failure. Mrs. Danvers could not eat, young Danvers looked too serious for such a young follow, and even Rand looked graver than I had ever seen him. Happening to glance out into tho hall, from which tho dining room opened, I saw Tom's tall figure lounging among tho shad ows. Evidently we were keeping closo formation. "I want mamma to leave hero nt once," Miss Danvers told me, under cover of some light conversation which had arisen between her mothor and Rand. "Whero will you go?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders wearily. "Back to Europe, I suppose. Matthew and I wero wild to return to America and to this house. You know wo lived hero when wo wero children, and it was tho happiest time of our lives. We were always talking about Ameri ca and wanting to return, but father didn't care for it, and would never allow us to talk about it." She continued to talk of Europe, but I replied absently, for, In reality, I was listening to a conversation bo tween Rand and Mrs. Danvers, and the thread of connection which ran through it teased me. Was Mr. Danvers English? Ah, Welsh. That, no doubt, accounted for tho typo of beauty to which Miss Dan vers belonged. Mrs. Danvers "sup posed so" in so faint and disheartened a tone that I felt sorry for her, but Rand went on, praising tho old houso. How fortunate to havo servants so faithful that they would remain with a deserted houso for how many years? Fifteen, perhaps? Yes, It was fifteen, corroborated Airs. Danvers, again faintly. Of courso sho would ndvlso with tho family lawyer before disposing of tho property, as, no doubt, sho had deter mined on doing Yes, it was indeed a pity that ho was so far away. How did it happen that Mr. Danvers had all of bis business interests represented by an Italian? Sho hadn't said that it was by an Italian? Sho hadn't? How odd! Then, of courso, ho must havo known It In somo way; one hears all sorts of information. Strango though, wasn't it? Mr. Danvers must havo bad somo strong partiality for Italians even tho servants wore Italians and Sicilians, nt that Oh, but Mrs. Dan vers must know that those English names did not mean anything. All tho servants wero Italian oh, yes, ho knew Italians well. I knew that Miss Danvers must no tice my abstraction and sho, In her turn, began to listen to the one-sided conversation. Utter perplexity cloud ed her eyes as she listened, and finally indignation filled them, for her moth cr's voice was fainter and fainter and terror shook unmistakably In it. Wo both turned toward Rand in tlmo to sco tho. pale lady cast ono look at him, become paler than before and gently sag down in her chnlr. I sprang to my feet, but young Danvers had al ready caught his mother and was hold ing her up, his faco filled with dis tress. "Don't bo alarmed," Rand said to us, "sho will soon revive. Glvo her a drink of water, Miss Danvers, and loosen her dress n, little. Tom," as tho big Sioux came softly through tho door, "carry Mrs. Danvers to her room and stay with her, please. Miss Dan vers, please precede him, make your mother comfortable, and do exactly as Tom tells you." "You frighten mo," tho young girl said. "What is all this about? What did you do to frighten my mother?" "Nothing serious, I assuro you, Miss Danvers. I merely showed her that I understood something which sho had thought a secret. Pleaso go with her and trust me." Rand moved easily to tho door as they went, and continued to stand in tho doorway until we could hear that they had passed into tho room above and Bhut tho door. "Well," said he, coming back, "now that tho ladles are gono, let us go and visit the hall. You know, I haven't seen tho shadow yet." Ho slowly measured young Danvers with his keen, clear eye, and then quietly drew a pistol from his pocket THERE THE SHADOW and gave it to tho boy. "I can't stop to explain now," ho said, "but thoro aro reasons why I am glad you are so strong a fellow. Perhaps you will trust mo when I tell you that my name is Rand." "Not Lawrence Rand?" "That's my name." "Tho Lawrenco Rand!" Boyish hero worship rang in the excited voice, and Rand turned awcy, smiling a little. Even ho was not proof against that unfeigned admiration and awe. "Como on, then; all either of you havo to do Is to follow mo and do what I tell you. If by any chance I should not bo with you seo to Mrs. and Miss Danvers." Somewhero in tho tippor regions a door opened, very, very softly. I no ticed that Rand bad his hand In his right hand coat pocket, and I knew what it rested on thero. I showed tho boy, and ho and Idld tho same. Tho hint that Rand had given of danger to him self still rung In my cars, nnd I found that I was looking at tho well-known outline before me with a suddenly sick fe oil tig. At the door to tho passage Rand paused, and, prepared as I was for it, I could no moro help tho start I gavo than I could holp breathing, for tho shadow was there, moustrous, distinct, but stl, arrested in tho very midst of its liorrlblo gesture. Young Danvers smothered an exclumatlon nnd gripped my arm, and so wo three stood, for as much as twenty seconds, staring at tho Incredlblo thing. Suddenly Rand moved resolutely forward and stood directly opposite it. Then ho turned, facing us, and leaned against tho opposite wall. By Robert Naughton "Duncan and Danvers," ho said, in tho metallic voice which is his battle cry, "you boo that this hall is pan eled?" "Yea," wo breathed back. Some thing In his tono told us that we stood in gravo peril. "You seo tho gas jet?" "Yes, yes" "Count three panels away from tho gas Jet whore does that bring you?" "Within two panels of you," "Yes. Now, while I attend to some thing, you, Duncan, cover the door and windows at tho other end of tho pas sage; Danvers, turn your back to Duncan and watch tho other way. Anyono who is friendly to you will have a uniform on. Shoot anyono else you seo! Remember If nnythlng hap pens to mo seo at once to Mrs. Dan vers and " "Yes! Yes!" I said. Danvers, good boy, quietly turned his back to mo, and I shifted my hand so that my pistol lay just freo of my pocket. Rand nodded with satisfac tion, then ho turned his head back ward and Bald sharply, "All right!" Instinctively I knew that it was a signal, hut to whom I could not ima gine. Then he turned toward tho wall again and spoUe, to my astonish ment, in Italian. "Allora Presto Vennl a me!" There was no answer, but I could havo sworn that there was a confused movement outside the window. A sec ond thero was silence, during which, WAS, MONSTROUS, DISTINCT. faintly, ever so faintly, a step crept down tho front stair. It was good to feel Danvers' strong young body stiffen as he, too, listened. Thon Rand did tho last thing in the world which I expected; ho suddenly drew a very stout knlfo from his sloevo and drove it into tho wall, which gave, with a ripping, tearing noise. At that everything seemed to hap pen at onco. A slinking, crouching ilguro flung itself headlong from the door leading to tho servants' quarters. It had no uniform, so I shot. It crum pled up and lay twitching. Rand, without oven looking over hla shouder, continued to cut and slash tho sway ing wall, which suddenly debouched upon him tho limp body of a man and a stifling odor of sulphur, nnd through it all the shadow lay upon tho wall! Rand was stooping swiftly over tho body which had. fallen from tho panel ing, and at tho fateful lower door an other ilguro was creeping out. I rec ognized it as tho butler, susplcioned a weapon In his concealed right hand and fired. "This way!" shouted Rand, leaping toward tho front hall, and I followed him, turning for a last shot at tho threo figures who cloggod tho hall. "What what?" I Implored of him, as wo ran, but beforo he could answer wo had pushed out into tho thick of n struggling, cursing, screaming, shoot ing mass that dolles description. Tom, tho Sioux, standing on tho third stop of tho stair, towered over tho light, steadily firing into tho mass below, and I caught a glimpse of several po lice helmets, and then I grappled with a vicious little dark man who camo at me like a charging snake. , "Get him alive, If you can, Duncan!" yelled Rand's voice. In blind obedi ence, I wrestled with an upraised hand which held a knlfo, nnd a low ered ono, which gripped a pistol, and tho last I remember Is that young Dan vers reached over and knocked tho knlfo away and that something hit mo a stinging blow on tho shoulder. When I returned to consciousness Rand and Danvers wero bending ovor me, nnd a policeman was skillfully bandaging my wound. "He'll do nicely now, sir, till tho sur geon comes," said tho policeman. "That's good," replied Rand heartily. "Well, Duncan, old boy, I'm sorry that brute winged you, but you have all tho glory of having captured ono of tho most despcrato criminals alive, besides neatly picking off two others." Young Danvers, who had left tho room for a moment, returned and told Rnnd that Mrs. Danvers was resting quietly, after her fright of hearing such a disturbance, nnd that sho wished tho great detective to know that sho wa3 thankful that tho wholo thing was exposed at last. "What sho means by that I don't know, sir," con cluded tho boy, "but she said that per haps you would tell mo." Rand gave the little short nod which is his sign of commendation as ho lit another cigarette. "Mr. Danvers," ho said, "I will tell all that I know as briefly as possible. Your father called himself by the namo which you now uso, but It was really Danelll." Ho nodded assenting, ly at the exclamation which broke from us both. "Yes, ho was an Italian, but his mother was an Englishwoman, and for reasons of his own he never acknowledged his paternity. Ho mar ried your mother, who was a New Eng land school teacher, under tho namo of Danvers, and I fancy that until late ly sho had no suspicion that it was not his right namo. "Your father was tho head of a se cret society, making its headquarters in Italy, and during tho years that you were abroad ho used this houso as a place of deposit for the most valua ble papers and property of tho socie ty, of which the servahts were all sworn members. The placo was a gath ering ground for every ono of tho members who camo over here." "But how could they about de positing things here, you know? Thero isn't a plapo In tho houso whero any thing could be hidden." Young Dan vers looked Incredulous. For answer Rand walked across to tho fireplace, fumbled about a little, and suddenly swung the wholo mantel piece out toward us. Back of it wero rows and rows of drawers, neatly la beled. We wero too astonished to say a word, and Rand walked about tho room, touching this and that piece of woodwork or carving, and at each touch revealing tho same thing lines upon lines of drawers quietly reposing there, back of the apparently blank wall. ' "You see," ho said to us, coming back from this demonstration, "tho wholo house is like that. Wo found a complete plan of the placo, with all of tho hiding places marked, on the body of the man who poses as your butler. Mr. Danvers never Intended that you or your mother should return here, I guess, but in such n society a man is never suro of carrying out his plans. Dying as suddenly as ho did, ho did not know that ho had been deposed and that people, inimical to his Inter ests, were put in his place. Tho wholo effort, of courso, was to frighten you Into leaving tho place and selling it. No doubt, you had offers for it beforo you came over?" "Wo did?" said Danvers; "a man In Italy said his brother had becomo wealthy as a contractor over here and wanted it for his home." "Of course you told hlra that you also wanted It for tho very same thing?" "Yes, wo did." "And tho word was passed on, so that tho llttlo entertainment which really shook all our nerves was ar ranged Tor." "Good heavens!" exclaimed Danvers, "I had forgotten nil about that shadow. What was?" Rand reached out to tho table for a llttlo black wooden box which was ly ing thero. On one side of It was a small opening, which ho turned toward tho opposite wall, and Instantly tho dread shadow sprang Into life thero. 'There is your ghost," Bald Rand. Ho opened tho top of tho box and took out a llttlo mannlkln. A string hung from Its back which, when pulled, mndo one hand fly up and saw at tho throat with tho wooden knife It clutched. "Insldo here," continued Rnnd, "Is a tiny, high process dynamo. This llttlo flguro was hung on dellcatoly adjustod wires in front of the dynamo; this llt tlo lover turned on the power, tho camera shutter in front focused tho thing and thero you are. All the op erator had to do was to pull the string occasionally and produce a first-class spook. Tho hoax was operated by a man who lay concealed back of the panel of the hall. Ho got up there through a place in tho laundry which had evidently been constructed re cently for that very purpose. Tho pan eling had been very skilfully cut away Just beyond tho gas jet, nnd heavy gauze substituted, strengthened with boards nt tho back and painted an ex act copy of tho real wood. Lying there, tho man could dimly bco Into the hall, but owing to tho gauze being right back of tho gas Jet It was lmposslblo for thoso who passed by to seo any thing suspicious, unless they were particularly looking for It. "Tho man simply lay there and chose his own time for throwing that shadow on tho wait. The gauze at one small point was very, very thin, tho box wns shoved up flat against it, and tho shadow appeared on tho opposite wall, being light or heavy according to tho tlmo of day, and according to whether tho gas was on full or not. Tho man who arranged that Htlo ap paratus must havo been a genius, In his own way. Tho Idea, of course, was to frighten everyono from tho house, and then to buy in tho placo for the society." Young Danvers drew a long breath. Ho had stood motionless during Rand's revelation of his father's criminality, but now he pulled himself together sharply. "I thank you, sir," he said, "for tell ing mo the truth. If you will excuso me now I will return to my mother and sister." Ho turned away, but al most Immediately camo back to ask, with an anxious face: "Do you think It Bate for us to continue living here, Mr. Rand?" "No," replied Rand, "for as long a3 a member of tho society Is left allvo they will watch this place and try to get revenge for what they will prob ably regard as an act of treachery on the part of your mother. The house is heavily guarded tonight, but I should advise you to go quietly away in tho early morning." When ho had gone I whispered to Rand: "Camorra?" "Yes." "Rand?" "What?" "You know what how did you know?" "I didn't, but thoro was Just ono thing I was suro of when you ilnlshed your talo of the shadow and that was that it must be thrown from the other wall, and as thero was absolutely noth ing to bo seen on the opposite wall, It must bo that somo ono was working tho thing from behind tho wall. Just as a matter of interest I looked up tho record of somo famous Italian criminals, for I was sure that somo Italian blood lay there. If you will remember our conversation, you will see why." I shook my head. "Well, Miss Danver3 typo Is tho Italian type. I knew that you espe cially admired Italian girls. How often have I teased you when you havo looked after somo black-eyed llttlo sweatshop worker? Then, tho boy having light eyes and hair and a swarthy skin; you'll hardly find any race but Italians and negroes in which tho coloring of tho skin persists aftor hair and eyes havo had a north ern stamp. Eugenics, you seo. "Now, who is moBt superstitious among tho nations of Europe? Tho Italians. Who would, most probably, havo tho imagination to evolve such a piece of deviltry ns that shadow? Itnllans. Who manages to kill off ob noxious people suddenly, so that they appear to die natural deaths? Hush! Yes, I'm afraid so. Well, aren't Si cilians fumous for that? And whero 13 tho stamping ground of tho most ini quitous nnd formidable secret society? In Sicily. And Isn't Italy getting too hot for them? And whero would bo the best placo to transfer their most im portant documents and possessions? To a new country, whoso government is such a fool that it does not rigidly inspect all comers? Eh? Well, there you have the train of reasoning." "And tho candles, Rand? What wero they for?" "Why, don't you seo? I had made up my mind that somebody behind tho wall was casting that shadow, and I smoked him out. Tom nnd I lit thoso candles, after wo had discovered the llttlo placo in the laundry wall whero ho got luto tho wall, and wo opened that placo, put the candles in and wedged a piece of tho furnace poker a piece of iron ns long as your body nnd two inches thick across tho llttlo spaco between tho walls whero tho person who had mado it camo down and out. You get tho idea? Tho man up above could not get down and put out tho candles and in n short time ho would bo suffocated, unless ho had tho nervo to call out for help. If he had, the wholo houso would havo heard him and his lifo might have been saved. I was expecting a flgh. any moment. Wo gradually got live of our men Into tho houso, secreted In 6tray corners around tho balls, and Tom kept his eyes open. Tho other fifteen guarded the outside and waited for tho sound of a struggle beforo they rushed In." "It sounds simple," I said, "but then It always docs afterward."
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