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ty, “T’ll obey.”
i _ Old Broadbrim heard this conversation while he leaned against -
the door of the hquse, and then he withdrew.
He believed. that Merle would soon come out again, but he
waited in vain. .
He waited till nearly. midnight,
place, and then he went back. e
: Hastily changing his face by supplying a new set of whiskers,
I: _ he went up to the door and knocked.
oO There ‘was a shuffling of feet on the inside, and then the portal
be ; opened. |
. Old Danny stood before him with a light in his hand.
, The detective slipped past the little man and turned on him in
i: the hallway. . /
/ “What is it?” cried Danny,
i dropping his light.
tS “Merle is in danger. I want to warn him.
\. Old Danny gave Old Broadbrim a look
him like an, arrow.
“In danger? Merle?” he cried. “By the officers of the home
Pe government? I’ll show you where he is. This way.”
i _” He crossed the room and opened a narrow door.
| Old Broadbrim followed. He saw the shadow of a flight of
steps leading downward, and Danny, with the light, entered the
but no one came from the
falling against the wall and nearly
that seemed to pierce
place and cried:
. : “Come!”
~ “ , —
2 : : y CHAPTER VII.“
ee oe semen an NPI TERRIBLE DEATH-TRAP. ‘
Pes The detective found himself in a dark place with the ghostly
jensetsem, steps under his feet. . :
: ~.. A step in advance was the little ogreish figure of Old Danny,
his shoulders humped like an imp’s and his face twisted awry as
if at some time the flames had licked it.
._ wees os ATH gTad” you've come. to warn. Merle,” said the little man,
7 : looking over his shoulder, “You're very.good.” . .
ST . “Something had to be done,” said Old Broadbrim. “Merle’s in
danger and he must know.”
“Yes, yes.” : .
A chuckle followed the last word, and Danny’s face grew white
and ghastly. : ‘
The stairs seemed to creak beneath the detective’s feet.
He did not know whither he was going, but he thought that
Old Danny had taken the bait'and was lighting him to the man
he had tracked across the-sea. .
He intended to end the chase there and then. .
He would drag Merle Macray before the authorities of Mel-
bourne, ‘and would not relinquish his hold till he had the mur-
derer of Custer Kipp back in.New York. |.
- But suddenly he thought of the conversation he had overheard
between Old Danny and Merle concerning the person called
j Stareyes. °- | . . ;
” What did Merle mean about the tenth step? an
‘It came to Old Broadbrim’s mind like a flash of light in dark-
ness. © : : . 7
It thrilled him. / : : oS
i He had gone down six steps of the stairs, and Old Danny’s
fi light did not show him the bottom.
Barn“ Suddenly a wisp of wind
in total darkness. :
“My light’s out!” cried Old Danny. “But it’s all one. We're
almost at the bottom anyhow, and there I’ll strike a match.” °
Broadbrim made no reply, but hugged the nearest wall, for the
stairs cracked beneath his weight. :
a - “Come on,” said the old man’s voice. - ,
ji Broadbrim put out his hand, but he could not touch. Danny. .
co The little fellow had goz beyond his reach, and now he could
: not hear him. . . oo
: The tenth step! :
Perhaps the stairs was a death-trap and there was no tenth
step at all. . -
The thought startled the detective. / , :
| He stopped, and then, in a sliver of excitement which he could
. not suppress, he started back. ;
| “This way!” said a voice which he recognized as Old Danny's.
Broadbrim did not move. ..
He was lying along the stairs in the gloom waiting for some-
thing to show him the true situation,
OLD BROADBRIM WEEKLY.
extinguished the light, and they stood
9
“I’m down,” repeated Danny, far below. “Tt’s all right, sir.
This. way to Merle.”
Broadbrim started up again. .
If Danny had reached the floor beneath then why not he, too?
*He was more than a match for this old man with the ape-like
shoulders and scarred face.
And he had crossed the sea to find Merle Macray,
would not let him escape.
Once more, pistol in hand, the detective of
down the stairs.
He counted three more steps, and put his foot forward again.
But this time it touched nothing.
He fell back with a half-expressed cry of horror, and then tried’
to save himself from falling. ,
But he had retreated too late. |
In another moment the flight of steps seemed to tilt deeper,
deeper, into the abyss, and Broadbrim hung from the last one
over the dark death.
_It.was a terrible situation,
and now he
New York started
and he felt the strain of it all through
im.
He knew all now.
Old Danny had been too sharp for him,
He had recognized him as an enemy of Merle Macray,
taken him to the death stairs.
Broadbrim saw that his strength was leaving
He could not hold on much ‘longer, and when
would end forever.
Darkness was everywhere.
The figure of Old Danny
and had
him.
he Iet go his trail
had vanished, and he did not know
. what had become of the old villain. .
The American detective clung for life to the step.
He tried to pull his body up, but the flight seemed to recede
whenever he did so, and he taxed his. powers in vain. \
Somewhere in the. darkness, he did not doubt, stood Danny,
waiting for his doom.
The old scoundrel knew how to reach the safety point, but he
(Old Broadbrim) had been trapped. .
Why had he undertaken to hunt a man like
over the world?
To die in a trap like that?
At last he hung by the very tips of his fingers,
His body was already over the abyss, and he
seconds be compelled to let go and drop.
b Suddenly the stairs shook violently and a door opened over-
ead.
A light was seen and it streamed
Broadbrim saw.a man above him,
was Old Danny. :
The hump-backed demon was
had succeeded. :
‘Merle Macray all
as it were. :
would in a few.
over his face.
looking down to see if his scheme
and a glance told him that it -
There was a wolfish gleam in the little eyes and.a demonic’
grin on the thin lips.
Danny held the light over his head and saw Broadbrim as he 7
clung to the last step.
“You want Merle, eh?” he cried. “Well, you'll never see him.:
You will lie in the pit forever. It is bettomless !”
With that the light was swung over Danny’s
laughed derisively.
“Down you go!” he went on.
head, and he
“So you're thes wolf, on the
scent, and it’s a pretty game you're playing. Crossed the’sea to -
play it, eh? Well, now it’s all up with you, Scotland Yarder.”.. . -
Something, till then unseen, .was lifted above Old Danny’s head,
and came toward the detective like a weapon from a catapult. —
Broadbrim could not dodge. - : : \ :
The billet struck him in the face,
out of sight while the face of Old Danny was the last object he
saw in the light of the lantern. os re
Broadbrim struck ground far below the stairs, and after hitting
what appeared to be the sides of a narrow shaft.: Coe
But for this he would have fallen like a stone to the bottom of
the well, and been killed at once. |
As it was, he was stunned and for some time lay on his back
unable to move. - : : :
Darkness surrounded him, and
from the lantern overhead.
How long he lay there he did not know’ when a light
shot out
of the gloom above him. 8
back and forth, and then caught. the
He saw the light swing
impish grin of Old Danny's face - .
\
aN
and witha cryhe dropped
he could not see a bit of light.
t