ays.

"Spooky place, isn't it?" returned Frank.

* * * * *

And then they were both startled into immobility by a rumble that
seemed to shake the foundations of the house. Heavier and heavier
became this vibration, as if some large machine was coming up to
speed. Louder and louder grew the rumble until it seemed that the
rickety old house must be shaken down about their ears. Then there
came a whistling scream from the depths of the earth--from far
underground it seemed to be--and this mounted in pitch until their
eardrums tingled. Then abruptly the sounds ceased, the vibration
stopped, and once more there was the eery silence.

Rather white-faced, Tommy gazed at Frank.

"No wonder old Thomas beat it!" he said. "What on earth do you suppose
that is?"

"Search me," replied Frank. "But whatever it is, I'll bet it has
something to do with Leland's strange actions. And we're going to find
out."

He had with him the large flashlamp from the car, and, by its light,
the two made their way from room to room searching for the iron-bound
door mentioned by Thomas.

They found all rooms on the first and second floors dusty and unused
with the exception of two bedrooms, the kitchen and pantry, and the
library. It was a gloomy and spooky old house. Floor boards creaked
startlingly and unexpectedly and the sound of their footsteps echoed
dismally.

"Where in time is that laboratory of Leland's?" exclaimed Frank, his
ruddy features showing impatient annoyance, exaggerated to an
appearance of ferocity by the light of the flashlamp.

"How about the cellar?" suggested Tommy.

"Probably where it is," agreed Frank, "but I don't relish this job so
much. I'd hate to find Leland stiff down there, if that's where he
is."

"Me, too," said Tommy. "But we're here now, so let's finish the job
and get back home. It's cold here, too."

"You said it. No steam in the pipes at all. He must have let the fire
go out in his furnace, and that's probably in the cellar too--usually
is."

* * * * *

While talking, Frank had opened each of the four doors that opened
from the kitchen, and the fourth revealed a stairway that led into the
blackness beneath. With the beam of his torch directed at the steps,
he proceeded to descend, and Tommy followed carefully. There was no
light button at the head of the stairs, where it would have been
placed in a more modern house, and it was not