The Bronze Hand | Page 4

be, and
doubtless are, rings of forged steel of peculiar workmanship. If there is
one on the middle finger, my cause is lost, and I can only await the
end." Her cheek paled. "But if there is not, you may be sure that an
attempt will be made by some one to-morrow--I do not know whom--to
put one there before the office closes at noon. The ring will be

mine--the one stolen from my hand just now--and it will be your
business to prevent the box being opened for this purpose, by any
means short of public interference involving arrest and investigation;
for this, too, would be fatal. The delay of a day may be of incalculable
service to me. It would give me time to think, if not to act. Does the
undertaking seem a hopeless one? Am I asking too much of your
inexperience?"
"It does not seem a hopeful one," I admitted; "but I am willing to
undertake the adventure. What are its dangers? And why, if I see the
ring on the finger you speak of, cannot I take it off and bring it back to
you?"
"Because," said she, answering the last question first, "the ring
becomes a part of the mechanism the moment it is thrust over the last
joint. You could not draw it off. As for the dangers I allude to, they are
of a hidden character, and part of the secret I mentioned. If, however,
you exercise your wit, your courage, and a proper amount of strategy,
you may escape. Interference must be proved against you. That rule, at
least, has been held inviolate."
Aghast at the mysterious perils she thus indicated in the path toward
which she was urging me, I for one instant felt an impulse to retreat.
But adventure of any kind has its allurements for an unoccupied youth
of twenty-one, and when seasoned, as this was, by a romantic, if
unreasonable, passion, proved altogether too irresistible for me to give
it up. Laughing outright in my endeavor to throw off the surplus of my
excitement, I drew myself up and uttered some fiery phrase of courage,
which I doubt if she even heard. Then I said some word about the
doctor, which she at once caught up.
"The doctor," said she, "may know, and may not know, the mysteries of
that box. I would advise you to treat him solely as a doctor. He who
uses the key you now hold in your hand cannot be too wary; by which I
mean too careful or too silent. Oh, that I dared to go there myself! But
my agitation would betray me. Besides, my person is known, or this
ring would never have been taken from me.

"I will be your deputy," I assured her. "Have you any further
instructions?"
"No," said she; "instructions are useless in an affair of this kind. Your
actions must be determined by the exigencies of the moment.
Meantime, my every thought will be yours. Good-night, sir; pray God,
it may not be good-by."
"One moment," I said, as I arose to go. "Have you any objection to
telling me your name?"
"I am Miss Calhoun," she said, with a graceful bow.
This was the beginning of my formidable adventure with the bronze
hand.

II. THE QUAKER-LIKE GIRL, THE PALE GIRL, AND THE MAN
WITH A BRISTLING MUSTACHE.
THE building mentioned by my new-found friend was well known to
me. It was one of the kind in which every other office is unoccupied the
year round. Such tenants as gave it the little air of usefulness it
possessed were of the bad-pay kind. They gave little concern to their
own affairs and less to those of their neighbors. The public avoided the
building, and the tenants did nothing to encourage a change. In a
populous city, on the corner made by frequented streets, it stood as
much alone and neglected as if it were a ruin. Old or young eyes may
have looked through its begrimed windows into the busy thoroughfare
beneath, but none in the street ever honored the old place with a glance
or thought. No one even wasted contempt upon its smoky walls, and
few disturbed the accumulated dust upon the stairs or in the
dimly-lighted hallways.
Had a place been sought for wherein the utmost secrecy might be
observed, surely this was that place. As I neared the door upon which I
read the doctor's name, I found myself treading on tip-toe, so impressed
had I become by a sense of caution, if not of dread.

I had made every effort to be on hand at precisely ten o'clock, and felt
so sure that I had been the first to arrive that I reached out to the
door-knob with every expectation