The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hidden Places, by Bertrand W. Sinclair

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Hidden Places

Author: Bertrand W. Sinclair

Release Date: April 11, 2006 [EBook #18150]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIDDEN PLACES ***

Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

THE HIDDEN PLACES

[Illustration: He did not shrink while those soft fingers went
exploring the devastation wrought by the exploding shell.
FRONTISPIECE. _See page 128._]

THE HIDDEN PLACES

By BERTRAND W. SINCLAIR

Author of

_"Big Timber," "Poor Man's Rock," etc._

A.L. BURT COMPANY
Publishers New York

Published by arrangement with Little, Brown and Company
Printed in U.S.A.

_Copyright, 1922,_
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

_All rights reserved_
Published January, 1922.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THE HIDDEN PLACES

CHAPTER I

Hollister stood in the middle of his room, staring at the door without
seeing the door, without seeing the bulky shadow his body cast on the
wall in the pale glow of a single droplight. He was seeing everything
and seeing nothing; acutely, quiveringly conscious and yet oblivious
to his surroundings by reason of the poignancy of his thought.

A feeling not far short of terror had folded itself about him like a
shrouding fog.

It had not seized him unaware. For weeks he had seen it looming over
him, and he had schooled himself to disregard a great deal which his
perception was too acute to misunderstand. He had struggled
desperately against the unescapable, recognizing certain significant
facts and in the same breath denying their accumulated force in sheer
self-defense.

A small dressing-table topped by an oval mirror stood against the wall
beside his bed. Hollister took his unseeing gaze off the door with a
start, like a man withdrawing his mind from wandering in far places.
He sat down before the dressing-table and forced himself to look
steadfastly, appraisingly, at the reflection of his face in the
mirror--that which had once been a presentab