A TERRIBLE ADVENTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 11, 6 February 1909, Page 4

A TERRIBLE ADVENTURE.

■ I hiii! uot met Frank I'aretails for six Years not cilice the time when he, as a •'medical student, and 1, as a rising young •journalist, had both fallen in h>ve with lhe name girl. We had "been th.« best of chum.-, up to (he linn* that Jlellr Kvcr.-Jcy had com'. 1 upon the H-ene, a beautiful girl of nineteen. \\v both met her and were introduced at the wauie house. It was upon the occasion of a dance given by by aunt, Mrs. 'iiercsford Jiedford, and we both fell madly in love with her at lirst sight. Belle was a bit of a ilirt. and kept us i both in a state of mental excitement | and despair ad to which she really favored, l-'rank, i know, was not what

might be called a plucky wooer, whilst 1 never let an opportunity slip by ot showing the girl how 1 loved her, \\H«| the ultimate result that 1 proposed, add | was accepted. Frank's friendship lor | •me seemed to wane after he heard the news, and we gradually drifted farther and farther apart until, alter my marriage, when, as 1 have said before, we did not meet for some six years or mure. - 1 found Frank a good deal changed. The old boyish, jolly look had given place to a hard-set firmness about the mouth, and streaks of grey were already showing themselves among his vaveu locks. But what struck me most about Frank was the peculiar wild, resiles look that his eyes had. li 1 had not known him to be a suecessiul doctor •with ti large practice, I should certainly have thought those eves belonged to a man whose reason was shatteicd. How vver his conversation did not in tiny ..i,...'. ~<• {.inn nnhold such a the<3r>,

shape or iorm upuoiu hucu u and 1 looked forward with a certain | amount of pleasure to accepting h|> : hearty invitation to conic round to in* j place in Street and spend an hour or two afler dinner iu smoking and chatting ov'er old times. For obvious reasons he refused my invitation to dine, excusing lnmselt by thai he never went out. iu my heart 1 was secretly glad, as 1 kuow it ■would be painful to linn to meet m\ Wilting a eigar, I leisurely stvtilk-d round to Wimpole Street, and, knocking at the door of a peculiai'-lookiuj; house, 1 was let in by an unprepossessing eWerlv woman. . I found Frank seated in his sanctum moodilv pulling away at a pipe. NN ■l,e shook hands, I noticed more tluii ever that wild look about his eye=; but

[ put it down to his having been up all the previous night (as he told me| .it the bedside of a patient who was i«is»in" through a critical stage of disease. AVc had a lot to talk about, and time wore 0.1, and I began to think al.oul goiii- j hut he would not hear ot it. ° "We do not often meet, old fellow, 1,0 said, "and 1 want you to come and look at my experiinenting-iouiu upstairs 1 know YOU take an interest m "Jc!, 'thing,, and 1 have an invention thai 1 am sure will provide you lutn i-opv enough for all excellent article, as vou'r, will be the lirst eyes lhat have, barring mv own, seen what 1 feel is going lo cause a revolution in the uor d of surgery." . "He appeared so terribly anxious about my seeing his invention that 1 had not the heart to refuse hi ill, although it was getting late, and i knew Belle would be anxious about me. Lighting a candle, Carstairi signed to uic to follow liiiu, and 1 noticed as wc ascended the stairs that the wind and lain were heating violently against the windows on the landing. ■ I made some remark to this effect, and as Frank turned round to answer uie, I was struck by the extraordinary look that had conic over his face as the light of the flickering caudle fell upon it. lhe whole acrae ivt)» a peculiarly weird one. nvliat with the howling of the storm outbide. the rattling of the old windows, the narrow staircase, creaking at every step, lighted only by .tlic solitary caudle tarrieil bv the master of the house. 'Altogether, 1 began to feet a trifle uncomfortable, aud to wish I on ill) ■way home instead of about to view this new surgical mystery. "I carry oil all my experiments here, ■he explained, "as X lind it quiet, and it is right away from the servants, who

sleep at the bottom of the house; not one of them has ever entered this room. 1 believe they all look upon it as a species of Bluebeard's chamber, aad not one of them would venture up this staircase after dark to save his life;" and the speaker laughed in such a dry, hollow manner that it sent a cold shiver running down mv back, and made me wish more than ever that 1 was on my ■wav home. By this time Carslaii's had opened the door, and, touching a knob, the chamber was immediately illuminated by a bluish light that appeared to come from the

ceiling. At first I could distinguish nothing in the room, but gradually my eyes became accustomed to the ligbt, and 1 saw, in Ihe centre of the room, what 1 tool; lo be a couch, but what L'arslaii's explained to me was his new operating (able I hat lie was about to patent. It had, he informed nic, taken him over four years lo complete, and was now as perfect as human liaieU could make it; as an old friend, lie had given me the lir.st sight of it. a,ml as be wauled me lo underslanil if perfectly, lie proposed (o explain its working in detail. I. began to l'eel verv uncomfortable about this time; but be assured me tliat.il' t would place unyself upon the table, as if 1 were a |iatient, he could explain the whole working of the mechanism in » tew

moments. I felt the only way out ol the diiliculty was to do as he desired, and reluctantly I laid myself down upon the couch. J was 110 sooner in a recumbent position than he touched a sprin" ami 1 found mv arms and legs tightly "ripped, as if Uiev were strapped down.

j was about to -speak, when he touched another spring and a. species of gag w:i3 forced over my mouth, leaving mo uttcr]v hWplo«s. T could see Omtairs iu tile ghostly blue light; a fiendish expression liad Lome over his countenance, ;m expression of hatred and triumph combined. ' Jli? blue lips i|uiveved with emotion, and ! ivild eye- appeared to be emitting }dui-h sparks of lire. ••At la*t. Henry llavclock. he hissed, between bi? clenched teeth. "1 can make voU i a little J the pain you caused mo - six years ago. Six years 1 have

wniMed— *ix long, weary years of toil mid misery—but you have come at lasi L Knew vou would come. But vvill Vou <?vor go away again? Will she ever see more? '.nine will (ell— time will ieir , , , . groaned feebly. 1 «a» bound .hand and- foot, and gagged, at Ih" ine'ev uf t.lii.r madman, for madman lie »va?:' and to add to the horror of the M-ene Ihe wind coinmenfed In li»wl inure 'loudly than ever. 1 could i'ear it sighing and moaning in the rhimne\ ol tin- g:trrc(, •'•Now Henry llavclock. eui.l iiiucl mv'persecutor.' 'i will explain to yon m'f idea, my invention, mv death tor n traitor, a coward, a liar, a sneak, a I. 01 Vnd lie. struck my helpless bn.lv with |Ms clenched fist, as lie worked lumselt of passion. , but thJ.t

Suddenly he appeared to curb his rage, and to be ashamed of his cowardly action, for he stayed his hand as he was about to strike nic again. I struggled violently to free myself, but I was as helpless as a newborn infant. Frank Carstairs had said truly I. was in his power. Myi life was in his 'liaiidb, in the hands of a madman. Ureal heads of perspiration rolled down my face; my heart sank within nic. My tormentor leant over me again. 1 could ?ee by his eyes he< was uot going to relent.

"lJeury Haveloek," lie said, slowly and Iwarsely—and every word appeared like ii knife being run Into my helpless body — l ''Henry llavelock, you are sull'ermg. I but your suflcrings arc nothing compared to mine. 1 sulVerod the tortures I <>f the damned for weeks, for years.'' .And his voice rose (o a shriek as ho glared at me. "But i will be merciful to you —you the traitor, the liar, the] cur; you shall not suffer for long." Thank Heaven! 1 thought. He was 1 going to release me. Carslairs wejit to the side of the room, and wheeled across what appeared to be a rtpecie<s of gallows. •*i will explain the working of this instrument," he said.

1 east my eyes upward, and found he had) wheeled it close beside the table, and i haw a circular knife suspended above liiy head. "Thi> knife." he continued. "J shall lower until iL touches your throat." And as he suited the action to his words, 1 felt Die cold steel on my neck. "I am now fastening the rope that holds it to the sidi of the machine. wires thai are lixed lo eaeh side of the knife L shall p/-s through the holes in Hi-'j table and fasten lo a strong spring Jixed; in the 1100; 1 . I shall place this candle, which, a» it burns, will rise in a spring | socket, beneath the rope, which it will

gradually burn away. Directly the rope is burnt through the knife will be released, and the springs beneath the table will act. drawing the knife downwards. Then, Henry Jiavelock, your time will,have come, your span of life will have reached its end, and you will live no more to betray a mortal's trust. Vou will sutler, but what will your sufferings be to mine? As a drop in the ocean/"' The madman paused and took out his watch, "ll is now twelve o'clock.'-' he continued; "it is a thick rope, and it will bo iwo o'clock before 't snaps; you have two hours to think,

to, repent; make the most of your time. 1 'will leave you aloue with your eon-| science/' And. placing the candle in position, he left the room, and. 1 heard liini turn the key in the door outside. At lirst I could hardly realise the terrible position this madman had left me in. Mechanically I counted his footsteps on the creaking stairs until 1 could hear them no more. Surely it was all horrible dream, a ghastly nightmare; but no—my eyes turned to that dreaded candle. There it was—it had already begun its awful work, and u

small wreath of smoke was ascciulhg to the ceiling. What had I done to deserve this fearful punishment ? Nothing absolutely nothing, i had won a woman's love in fair and square contest—that was all. A fearful, nameless dread crept over nie, and 1 must have fainted, for when 1 next looked at the candle 1 was horrified. to find it had burned a considerable way into the rope that held my life in its power. I had no idea how long I Jtad been in a swoon, and 1 had an awful feeling that 1 must have been unconscious for over an hour. Suddenly, t hoard a church clock striking without, lirst of all the three-quarters—was it a quarter to one, or two? 1 shall never, if I live to be a hun-

dred, forget the terrible fifteen minutes 1 passed—lifteen years it seemed to me —during which 1 thought of everything in inv past life; every deed I hud done, good or bad, came crowding before my excited imagination. The church clock commenced to strike again the quarters, and my heart stood still. 1 thought I must nave gone mad when one boomed out. and alt was still save the howling' of ;Dio wind without and the sighing and moaning in the chimney. 1 had auother hour to live; I almost wished it was two o'clock, that I might •be put out of mv misery. The wind howled more than ever, and 1 turned my eyes towards the fireplace and saw that a large screen stood in front of it, which 1 had not noticed before.

So strong was the force of the hurricane that it actually shook the house. ■Hours and hours seemed to pass as X ■watched that awful candle doing its terrible work; then the quarter struck, i'ortv-live minutes to live, I thought, as L listened to the wind whistling and moaning in the chimney, and I prayed that I might become unconscious again. 1 thougnl of my wife, and the agony of suspense she must be undergoing, and 1 thanked Hud that she did not know of my terrible straits. Then eauie a more furious gust of wind than anv other I had heard. There Uit- a tremendous hang. 1 felt my time had eoiuc, and I knew no more. "Harry, darling, my love, you are not dead! Speak to uie, dearest!'' were the next words i heard; and, slowly opening my eyes, i saw my wife standing

beside me. L stretched out my arms to her. 1 was free! A wild feeling of exultation filled iuy soul, mid 1 swooned once more. W hen 1 came round 1 was in my own bed at home. It took weeks before 1 regained my reason. Brain fever bad se" ill us a result of that terrible night, and it was not until months afterwards that i learnt bow i bad been saved. H appears that at two o'clock iu the morning my wife, who had sitting up for me in a fearful state of agitation, was startled by a loud ringing at the door-bell. Thinking i had returned, she van to the door, but, upon opening it, she could see nobody; in fact, the street was empty save for the rapidly-retreat-ing figure of a man. Closing the door, she noticed a letter in the box, which was addressed to herself. Bile tore it open. It contained these words: "Go to Xo. 5, Wimpolc (street. In s room at the top of the house you will Cud your husband. It will be all over at two o'clock." There was no signature. My wife, who was terribly alarmed, put on a cloak and bat, and, going to the nearest police station, sought the assistance of a couple of policemen, who accompanied her to the address given in the strange note. They had .some dillicully in making anyone hear; but, getting in at last, tliev demanded to see Dr. Carstairs, when if was discovered that his room was empty, neither had his bed been Mv wife ami the two constables made their wav to the lop of the house, and, lindin" tiie door of tbe attic locked, they hur.it it open, and l'ouud me unconscious in the awful position that 1 have described. At a glance they saw it was a case ol attempted murder. At first fney thought 1 was dead, but discovered that I was still breathing. Then they endeavored to move the knife, and, luckily, found that it was secured beneath the tabl... Having released the springs, liiey removed it, and cut the .straps lli.it

bound in* 1 . , It was a miracle alone that #aved my lilV, as it appeared Haiti a gu*t of wind hail overturned the. screen that stood in Trout »I Hie lireplaee, ami in falling it 1,,i1l blown the candle oh I- Tlu ' ''"l"' Hint lii'kL tin' knife was half-burnt tlironigh,. and. lliul il h j" , ■timely gust, nothing «mtil have, save" my life. , , . Frank Unrslairs lias never been heard ul' since; but that terrible experience has made me. a white-haired man at lliirtv. anil aged me fully tell years. W'iien Hie storm rages without ami ulivicks and moans in the clnmuey. ;i vails to my luiml that nijilit of horror ■when my life. was. saveil liy the whistling ■wind.