THE HOUSE OF WHISPERS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 373, 28 June 1911, Page 3

THE HOUSE OF WHISPERS.

♦ Being a Strange Chronicle from the Note-book of John Lyon, Elucidator, Known as the "Lion of the Law."

By the Author of " The Castle Mystery/' etc., etc.-

PAttT 2^ Lyon's suspicions were fixed upon the black screen which covered the farther end of the chamber and he remain motionless no longer. Rising stealthily he stole up the length of the room, stepping with the silence and caution of a panther. A long, sobbing breath followed him, .and nineteen pairs of startled, uneasj eyes watched his progress. He paid no heed to the onlookers but pushed boldly behind the funereal shadow of\ the screen. For many - years John Lyon had been mixed with every phase of crime and bloodshed, ?. but even his iron nerves wavered at the sight that met him beyond the screen. Two chairs had been placed there, side by side, and two people were seated in them — a man and a ' woman. Both were dead, as the detective saw at a glance, and singed bullet-holes in thefr foreheads gave grim token of the manner in which they had come upon their, fate. Their attire was in keeping with the whole fantastic atmosphere of the case. They were in fancy dresshe as a pierrot with chalk-white face and stockinette cap, she as a Spanish dancer. Her dress was of purple and srimson, spangled with green seqfeins; i scarlet rose drooped 'in her hair, and a white one with spots of blood upon it, hung amidst the laces at her breast. Both the victims were young and handsome, and the ghastiliness of the crime-held the elucidator spellbound with'horror for a moment. For a space, whilst one might have sounted ten, he was motionless, his jaws squared, his eyes stern and glaring. Then he turned upon the other participants in the .weird comedy, which had of a sudden been concerted to tragedy in its grimmest aspect. " Enough of this fool's game," he sibilated. " There ".are two* dead people here. Search the house, and hold everybody, you find on the premises." Every man in the room was a trained detective, and they acted upon Lyon's astounding command without a moment's delay. Only Slythe and Jack Carberry stayed behind to help him with the task of removing the screen, and allowing the candlelight to illuminate the terrible scene beyond. Little or nothing could ■ be done there. The victims had been dead some hours, and there was nothing in the nature of a clue to be found. It was a practical certainty that tht bodies had been moved some time after the murders were accomplished.

" This is a terrible thing—a ter-ri-ble thing!" Slythe shuddered as the detective straightened up. " 1 can't make head or tail of it, and I am open to confess it. If you can untangle it, old feller, I give you best, once and for all." Lyon made no reply. He was. listening intently to the voices and footsteps of the searchers, and he fancied he heard the sounds of a struggle.

An instant later, his suspicions were verified in a manner t»s startling as it was horrible. ' In quick succession a series ol blood-chilling screams rang out ItJling every corner of the old house with tearful echoes. Then, as suddenly as one might close the door of a trap, silence came, and not a single sound reached the straining ears of the three men in the room below. "Foul play!" thundered Carberry, springing to the door. " I heard Pat Kelly's voice there, and Fox White's. By the living jingo, I believe they have been murdered !" His voice cracked on the final word, and he plunged wildly into the semigloom of the hall. Lyon and Slythe were treading close upon his be«ls, and together they stumbled up the broad staircase. On the landing Carberry came to a halt, and stood listening with quivering lips a - id dilatBd nostrils. The intense ard brood-, ing silence, so uncanny after the turmoil of the search, seemed to mock their puny efforts to pierce the stillness. Then, when the lack of sound was becoming almost noisy in their ears the whisper came again. It appeared to penetrate from the stairs behind them and all three men heard the voice distinctly. Vibrant wi^b an agony of warning, it struck upon their nerves like a now upon a violin string. " Fly the house, as ' you value your lives. I have warned you once, and this is my last "opportunity, and yours. Do not seeh to penetrate—" The words died in a choking gurgle. A moment afterwards the door of the claret-draped room closed with a hollow bang, shutting in the light, and leaving the three detectives standing motionless in the darkness. CHAPTER 111. THE MYSTERY GROWS DARKER. "No good standing here like fools," Slythe whispered, at last, hoarsely. "What's to be done, Lyon ?" '* Search," ejaculated the elucidator, Hie clothes rustled in the darkness as he fumbled in his pocket ; then a. blinding shaft ol electric light opened upon them as he pressed the bulb of a torch. " Th< other fellows aire somewhere up here," he added ; " it is up to us tc find them. Keep your shooters or hand." '"' •' " How . about the people below ?' ; asked- Slythe, regaining some of hit officious manner as the panic whict had gripped him faded. " Somebod: banged that door." I "Never mind them. Our first dot}

is to discover what nas nappened to our colleagues." Lyon suited the action to the word. As he ceased speaking he stepped forward and turned the knob of the door directly in front of where he stood. The result was disappointing; no Bluebeard chamber was displayed, but a room entirely empty save for a few scattered shavings upon the floor. _ "Nothing here," ne muttered, curt--ly, turning back. •■" Try that next door; Hark ! What is that ?" "Help,!" A cry, feeble, but unmistakable, drifted faintly to their ears, from the farther end of the passage. It was the voice of a man —and a man forced to the last limits of human endurance. The Lion of the Law was away before the other two realised the meaning of the sound. Grasping the knob, he wrenched at .it violently, but found the portal fastened. The lock was evidently a stout one, for it resisted his most strenuous efforts to force it without the aid of an implement. A second cry, even more faint and* whispering than the first, urged him to desperation. Spinning on his heel be motioned his two companions back a pace. "Charge the doc*< when I give the word," he hissed. •••Are you ready?" " Yes." " Then—go !" Crack)! A tremendous thud and a splintering crash of wood followed closely on Lyon's shout. Penruddock Slythe's weight alone was enodgh to rend the door from its hinges. All three men collapsed in a heap on the 'floor, and the elucidator felt a wild desire to laugh as he heard Slythe go down with a noise like a falling sack of grain. Scrambling to his feet, he brought the electric light into play again, and the blackness was wiped from the room as one might rub breath from a mirror. The light revealed a man stretched upon the bare floor, handcuffed and manacled. The boards were already deeply stained by * dark stream that flowed from a wound in his head and he seemed too feeble even to move. Lyon, recognised the blood-dabbled face at a glance ; it was, one of their own number—a private detective of some fame named Flemingson. " Don't mind me," the man whispered, faintly, as he met the elucida- , tor's eyes.'"Find the others, or they are all dead men. I was the only one who got away, and they gave me a crack over the head and slung me in here. The others—find the others." "

He fainted as the last words passed his - * lips and Lyon straightened up with a jerk. " One of you stay and see to this poor fellow's wounds." he said, quickly. *' He's lost enough blood to kill an ox. We must "-he paused, sniffing with long, deep inhalations, and then added, " Do you smell anything peculiar in tin air ?" •• Just what, I was going to ask you. I thought IcvSmelt gas a few moments ago."

"Gas be hanged ! It's not common gas, but nitrous oxide or I'm a Dutchman." Moving into; the passage, Lyon sniffed his way along for some distance. The- odours grew stronger by gradual degrees, becoming 1 almost overpowering as he reached the spot where the corridor . culminated in a closed door. He was a- man of few words and quick action when he thought the situation required it. Without waiting for Slythe's aid he produced a wire and proceeded to pick the lock, gasping as great waves of the etherous gas gushed to his nostrils. Clack ! The lock shot back and he kicked the door open, flashing his light into the room beyond. The scene that met his gaze was even more terrible than he had expected. By some infernal contrivance - the floor of the bedroom had been sunk a dozen feet or, more, forming a well which was rendered unscalable by the sheer smoothness of the walls. The whole room was reeking with fumes of gas, and at the bottom, huddled in attitudes of sleep, the detective could perceive the forms of the men who had with himself been iecoyed* to Lonesome. " Open every window in sight," he shouted to Slythe, who was stumbling up the passage, coughing and choking as the laughing gas filled his lungs. " They're all in here, every man jack of them. Phew !" He staggered back, his brain reeling, his head sick and giddy and ran down the corridor. Slythe was opening windows and doors like a madman, and the elucidator continued his way down the stairs. Below, the house was cloaked in darkness, and the utter silence seemed only'accentuated by the rattle and groan of shutters from above. He set the front door wide open, then hastened through to the back regions. Saving for the hall and the room where the detectives ; jiad waited, the mansion appeared be quite unfurnished. The dust of years clung to the sills and ledges, and an odour of decay and mould made mustiness in the air. The only sign'-, of human habitation lay in the bright fire which burned in the kitchen grate ; there' were also a few clean glasses and some silver upon the table. Having opened the back door —he found it already unbolted—and created a strong draught, he looked round for something in the shape of a rope, and was rewarded by the find of a length of stout new cord on the copper. With this about his neck he returned to the upper regions, and with the assistance of the other two men set about the task of rescuing I the insensible detectives from their unpleasant situation. '< •■ ' The venture was no longer one ol danger. The gas had drifted anc scattered in the strong currents ol air that were playing through tht corridors, and the atmosphere of thf room had become camparativelj clear, particularly below the flopi

sunace. Liyon. stanqmg Deiow, looped the noose aboutxthe bodies of the inert men, and one by one they were tugged up to the floor above. All three detectives worked furiously, and in twenty minutes their task was accomplished. Some of the victims., were already regainining consciousness by the end of the half hour, and the sound of their wild, hysterical laughter made night hideous. Lyon and his companions led or carried them out on to the lawn, and there left them to walk or sleep off the effects of the gas, whilst they freed Flemingson from' his bonds. ; . That worthy was little the worse for his misadventure and when the head had been bandaged the four set forth on a tour of investigation. The whole affair had happened with such rapidity that until now -they &ad not been given time to think. Reflection only brought with it a bewilderment so deep as to be akin to stupefaction. Only the way in which the body of. detectives .had been overcome was clear. According to Flemingson they had been surrounded in the corridor by a ring of men armed with sabres, and been forced relentlessly into the He alone of the seventeen had escaped by ducking down and falling flat upon his chest, and he Was not found until the door had been closed, when his captors immediately made him prisoner with the utmost brutality. , " And I didn't get a chance to look at them either," he concluded with a wry smile. "My head was cracked open before I had a glimpse, but I fancy they were masked. It's a queer business anyhow." " It's a top notch in queer businesses !" palpitated Slythe flatly. " It's more than, that—it's insane! Why were we all summoned here, and by whom ? Who does this house belong' to and why should {hey take the trouble to— Ye gods, it won't bear thinking of —won't bear thinking of!" , ■"-?'.

"And who are those dead people downstairs ?" interjected Westcott in a dazed tone. " The ones in fancy' dress, I mean.", ".And whence comes that whispering voice, which conveys most timely warnings ?" the Lion of the Law, who was as puzzled as any of them,, rejoined. " And : where have the inmates of this bouse got to ? I give it up for tile present, anyway !" The others mutely agreeing with this decision, they set about searching the house, commencing in the cellars which showed no sign of having ' been trodden for ages. Above, however, a surprise of the most staggering nature awaited them. The house contained a large central hall, about which the smaller apartments were ranged like spokes round the hub of a wheel. As Lyon threw open the folding doors of the hall a cry of irrepressible surprise rang from four pairs of lips. The place was furnished in the most palatial way as a ball-room, and after the mould and dirt and squalor of the rest of the mansion looked doubly splendid. In silence, by the tiny glow of Lyon's torch they stood and gazed around at the decorations of the vast room. The floor was waxed for dancing and reflected their startled faces with the fidelity of a mirror; at one end a raised dias, gay with bunting, gave a glimpse of music stands and orchestral instruments; the walls were brilliant with great Florentine glasses in velvet frames, and masses of hothouse flowers and evergreens trailed from every available nook, partially hiding inviting settees and lounges, upon cloaks and ball programmes were scattered in wild confusion. In the gloom of the lofty ceiling a dozen huge candelabra showed dimly and multi-coloured waxen, candles burned and blackened. On the left side of the chamber between the velvet of a curtained archway the detectives caught a glimpse of a long table shining with white and silver, glimmering with banks of crimson roses. In silence they crossed the great sombre room. No words could have expressed half the interrogations that filled their minds ; they were as babe* brought suddenly into the presence oi something unimagiqed and titanicsomething defying the imagination and aweing conjecture to silence. .No code of criminal detection or precedent would meet such a case. • Passing under the archway they halted in the dining-room, bathed in a thousand 'refractions of light as Lyon turned the rays of his torch hither and thither. Silver and cut glass loaded the table, which might well have bent under the feast that lay outspread upon it... The viands were untouched, and their extent and variety . would have made to water the mouth of a Lucullus. The repast had been chosen by a gourmand, served by a past-master in the art of display. . " The little group of men remained motionless for a minute, staring. The only sounds that reached their ears were the demoniac shrieks of laughter from the grounds, and the 3low melancholy drip of melting ices. At length the Lyon of the Law moved forward, and in quick Buccessipt placed his nostrils to the rims of; a dozen wine-glasses, which showed < golden dregs in their bottoms. "« Poison, by Caesar !" he hissed. " Let us get on. There is som« great mystery here, and we must fathom it if it takes a life-time Heavens ! how those drugged fools laugh !" He shrugged his shoulders as a wild echo of merriment rang hollowly out of the night. It sounded fiendisr in that fantastic haunt of terror Then without a word he turned back to the door every nerve strained tc the breaking-point of expectancy. What else awaited them? What else ? To be Continued.