HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 1928.
PAGE THREE
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WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
Dr. Long Is visiting Bouthley Down,
to which he Is conducted by Ahmad
Dm, an Oriental. There he meets Mr.
Southley, whom a detective friend, Al
exander Pierce, had told him to watch,
and hia son Ernest Southley, Mr. Hay
ward and his son Vilas, and then Jose
phine Southley, whom he had seen faint
on the train. Josephine tells him the
story of Southley Downs and Its ghost,
which Is not the ghost of a human Delng
but of a tiger.
Dr. Long has a quarrrel with Vilas
Hayward over JoseDhlne. and flnda that
the Haywards have a strange authority
over the Southleys. He Is ordered to
leave Southley Dewns. The rain ore
vents him leaving at once. Dr. Lons
and Ernest go out on the road In the
rain looking for the tracks of a tiger
that Ernest says are there.
The elder Hayward Is later found
dead, his neck broken as if by a giant's
blow.
The coroner and police arrive In or
der to Investigate.
Because of the murder, Dr. Long must
remain at Southley Downs. All the
persons there are questioned by Inspec
tor Freeman.
Dr. Long becomes jealous of the love
he believes to exist between Vilas Hay
ward and Josephine. During the course
oi investigations of the crime Dr. Loni
becomes suspicious of a man name
Robin. He determines to watch him.
Robin turns out to be Alexander
Pierce, the detective.
Alexander Pierce and Inspector Free
man discuss the crime. Dr. Long feels
that his visit at Southley Downs Is
coming to an end. and regrets leaving
Ihe habitat of the girl for whom he
reels he has a hopeless love.
Josephine Suthley begins to show
some warmth toward Dr. Long during
the course of the investigations of the
murder. In the library. Dr. Long meets
vuas Hayward. Both watch the Orien
tal. Ahmad Dos, who Is half-obscured in
the dim light.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY.
There was an effect of silence
too, possibly induced by the accen
tuation of the faint sounds that
were present It seemed to me that
I could hear distinctly the rustle
and whisper of portieres dragged on
the floor by the wind. A window
shade wavered with the faintest stir
of sound. Then there were the
hushed, manifold sounds of the
night that came hushed and strange
through the noises noises so ob
scure that the ears had to strain to
perceive them.
Vilas's face was lighted by the
nearest candle. I could really see It
more plainly than any other detail
In the room. The fact fascinated
me at first. All other things were
dim and blurred and unreal; but It
was sharp and clear. And even this
early in the drama it had a quality
that was disturbing to the spirit He
had endured much these last three
days.
"Good God! Where Is every
one?" he exploded at last "Ahmad!
Ahmad Das!"
The servant arose and came near
him, half obscured in the Bhadows.
He stood straight and tall.
"Yes, sahib "
"Where Is everybody? Southley
and his son ought to be back by
now. What direction have they
gone?"
"I do not know, sahib. They told
me they were going- toward the
cottages of the laborers. But they
did not turn that way after they
had gone out the door."
"And Miss Southley? She was
to join me here."
"She has gone, too. I don't know
where. The detectives are spend
ing the day across the marsh on
the height"
"But It's time they were back by
now. Good Lord what did they go
there for, when the trouble is here?
Here, I tell you, and you know It
too, Ahmad. You know it too
devilish well."
"I do not know what the sahib
means."
"Damn your black face!"
Then Vilas tried to regain his
self-control. We saw him struggling.
The fight was inscribed on his face.
And it was a hard fight, too a los
ing fight For a long moment he
was quiet, and Ahmad Das resumed
his furniture dusting. He bent
lower and lower, and once more he
was on his knees.
And now I didn't look at Vilas.
My eyes were frozen upon Ahmad
Das. His position, as far as exter
nals were concerned, was one that
every housekeeper gets in many
times a day. But there was some
thing different about this. There
was a luxury, a passion, In the way
he spread his long body on the
floor. I can't describe it except to
say it was as if he felt a rapture
In it Nor was he calm any more.
There was a strange nervousness
upon him, like an Intense eagerness,
and his lips were drawn, ever so
slightly. He crawled about so slow
ly, his body so close to the floor.
Then Vilas spoke again in the
silence the words sharp and clear.
My eyes flashed to him. He ml
leaning forward in his chair, every
muscle set, every tendon rigid.
"Ahmad Das!" he commanded.
"Go and get some candles."
"I cannot, sahib," the Hindu an
swered from the floor. "They are
all gone but these two. Every one.
I can not bring more."
"Then I'm going out to look for
Southley."
"He will be hard to And, sahib.
There are shadows and water and
jungle between." Then Ahmad's
voice seemed to grow Indescribably
eager. "You will need a guide."
"A guide what do you mean?"
"If the sahib goes, I will take
him there. The sahib must not
start out in the dark alone! And if
the sahib has despaired of Miss
Southley meeting him here, ,and
wishes to go to his room, I will
go thence with him, too."
Vilas Hayward suddenly snatched
open the drawer In the table. For
an instant his frenzied hands thrust
at Its Interior; then he whirled to
ward Ahmad.
"Where's my pistol?" he cried.
"It was In the drawer."
"Perhaps one of the detectives
borrowed It for the hunt today "
Again Vilas flung into ms chair.
Again Ahmad went back to his
dusting. His motions seemed to
grow more sinuous, more silent
And now I looked In vain for the
cloth. He seemed to have dropped
it
"Does the sahib wish to go look
for Sahib Southley?" he asked. "If
he does, I will be glad to go with
him"
To me the words seemed charged
with some terrible kind of passion.
The effect that they had on Vilas
was not pleasant to see. The man
hood seemed simply to go out of
him. His lips were loose, his eyes
protruded, shaking hands reached
for the chair-arms.
"No, you devil!" 'he cried, his
voice rising. "You won't get me
out there, where you got my father."
"Sahib!"
"And I order you to get off the
floor. You're not working now.
Get up, or I'll kill you where you
lie!"
Ahmad Das got up. He rose very
softly to his full height He tip
toed across the room. And he blew
out the light on the little stand.
The shadows deepened. There
was only one candle now, the one
that burned on the table. And I
heard a soft whispered sigh from
Alexander.
"The man's a devil," he breathed
in my ear. "Vilas called him by
the right words."
"Thnn get up and save him," I
answered. "Do you want to see
Vilas murdered before our eyes?"
Hush and watch.
We watched. A long time there
was silence. Ahmad Das stood still
beside the extinguished candle.
"What are you going to do?"
"Do, sahib?" The answer came
at last, trembling with some un
earthly kind of passion. "It is not
well to be improvident with can
dles. The detectives might need a
brighter light when they return to
see what remains here."
Vilas tried to meet the snaky eyes.
"What do you mean?" he whis
pered.
"They will come back soon, and
want to talk to their guest One
of their guests Is gone you know
where. Yesterday they bore him
across the water. You only remain
and you are very dear to them,
Sahib Strumburg."
Vilas leaned forward. "Strum
burg? How dare you call me that?
My name's Hayward "
"Once Strumburg then Roderick
then Hayward what does It mat
ter, sahib? Names die when their
bearers die."
"But I'm not Strumburg. I tell
you I'm not '
"I will remember, sahib, that you
told me that But consider again,
and see if you don't want to make
me another answer."
"I ll never admit It"
"I will go from you for a min
ute, sahib just a minute into the
darkness and then I will return
And there might be other things for
you to tell me, too, when I come
into your presence a moment from
now. You really had no proofs that
Sahib Southley is wanted in prison."
But I have! You can t scare
me out of it."
"Both things you can answer
when I return to the sahib's pre
sence. It will be just a little mo
ment "
Vilas half rose in his seat, order
ing the servant to relight the can
dle. But Ahmad didn't obey. Rath
er he faded. The shadows hid him,
and darkness closed round him.
Yet it wasn't as if he had com
pletely gone. I knew, that he was
waiting somewhere in the darkness
Just beyond perhaps behind the
curtains, possibly in the hall. I
didn't hear or see him. I simply
knew he was there, and in a mo
ment more would come back into
the light for the answer to his ques
tions. A long moment passed away.
The house was tense and still. And
once more I looked at Vilas Hay
ward. He had his head turned over his
shoulder, and he was watching with
fascinated horror something that
approached him in the darkness.
I couldn't see what it was at first
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It was farther away from me. But
yet I was aware of the sense of
something moving something half
crawling, half sliding toward the
man in the chair. And then I saw
an irregular gray patch of shadow
that was not quite so dark as the
shadow around it a patch which
seemed to be moving. And all at
once it halted.
The Tiger of Southley Downs had
come again. The candlelight was
ineffective and dim, yet it showed
the outline plain. Even then I tried
to tell myself it was some mental
fallacy, a mirage or delusion that
could not possibly be true. I tried
to say it was the effect of light and
shadow; but the lie died before It
came to my thought It wasn't any
use to try to deny the reality of the
thing. There was the tawny hide,
darkened, of course, by the shadow,
the low-hung head, the great black
stripes. The details were obscured
but my eyes didn't need them to
recognize the creature. It seemed
to be lying close to the floor, in the
position a tiger takes just before
it springs.
And I couldn't say it wasn't true.
It would not have been so convinc
ing if Vilas had not seen it. too.
And I knew by the suppressed gasp
of the great detective beside me
that his eyes were also resting on
the thing. I think that he started
to whisper some message of won
der. But I didn't hear him. All I
heard was Vilas's scream.
He backed up against the wall.
his fingers at his throat. There was
no record left in my brain of the
sounds he made and the words he
said. Ahmad Das had returned.
just as he had promised, to get the
answer to his questions. The trans
formation was complete the tiger
soul at last in its own body. And
Vilas was ready to answer.
(Continued next week.) i
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The Shadow of Death
Hovered Over This House of Mystery
The Drane place ... a house as good as any in Westcote . . .
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Why did old Drane engage only servants suffering from
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World-Famous Author of "Pigs is Pigs," "Philo Gubb,"
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. STARTS IN THE
Heppner Gazette Times
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