The Black Hush

CHAPTER VIII. IN THE PENTHOUSE

THADDEUS HARMON was entertaining in his penthouse, atop the roof of the apartment house which adjoined the old Windsor Theater.

Perched upon a building of some twenty stories in height, Thaddeus Harmon’s penthouse formed an isolated spot. The millionaire had chosen it for that very reason. Here, tonight, he could entertain wealthy guests in absolute seclusion. In fact, Harmon was commenting upon that very fact.

Standing in the middle of a sumptuous living room with a long, thin cigar clipped between his fingers, the millionaire was addressing a dozen guests who were seated about the room. While he talked, Harmon waved his cigar toward an oddly shaped cabinet that stood against the wall. Strong and bulky, this article of furniture had a heavy, broad-hinged top.

“There you are,” remarked the millionaire. “Nearly half a million dollars’ worth of gems underneath that lid. The cabinet is unlocked. All I have to do is raise the lid, and the jewels will be accessible to anyone who wants them.”

The millionaire paused to smile while he drew a few long puffs upon his panatela.

“I am mentioning a few facts,” he continued, “because certain of my guests have expressed apprehension regarding the safety of my valuables. They have wondered why I run what they consider to be a risk — bringing these jewels up here, and leaving them apparently unguarded.

“Let me inform you that this penthouse is impregnable. Were it situated upon the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, it could be no safer than it is at the present moment.

“Whenever I bring my valuables here for display, I have detectives stationed in this penthouse, and also on the ground floor of the apartment building. They are private men, all capable and ready for any emergency.

“There are two ways to reach this penthouse. By elevator, the way which all of you came, and through the fire tower. Both routes terminate on the ground floor. In this room, I have a special alarm. It is operated on a system of its own. With it, I can immediately notify the men downstairs. There is also the telephone, but it is not necessary to rely upon it.

“Should any dangerous persons enter here — and entrance would not be difficult — they would find it quite a task to capture the jewels, with my men on guard. Should they succeed, they would find escape the great problem. The sounding of the alarm would enable the men below to trap them.

“No matter what might occur, my men below will remain at their stations in the lobby until they hear the special alarm, which cannot fail to work, or receive a direct telephone call from this penthouse. So be at ease, everyone. My possessions are quite secure.”

The guests seemed pleased at Thaddeus Harmon’s assurance. They had all learned that detectives were present; it was easy to pick out the quartet of sleuths who were stationed in the room. The additional precautions, however, came as an interesting revelation.

“When the rest of my guests arrive,” declared Harmon, “I shall show the gems to the entire company. There are only two or three who are not yet here. I expect them shortly.”

A few seconds after the millionaire concluded, the telephone rang. Thaddeus Harmon answered it himself. He repeated names of persons who were announced from the lobby. Then a pleased expression came upon his face.

“Ah!” he exclaimed. “You say that Mr. Lamont Cranston is calling? Yes, indeed! Tell him to come up with the others!”

Hanging up the receiver, Harmon announced that the final guests were now on their way to the elevator.

He added that another visitor was coming up with them.

“You will enjoy meeting Lamont Cranston,” he stated. “The man is a connoisseur where valuable gems are concerned. He has a remarkable collection of his own, and every jewel is unique. A great traveler, Cranston. I did not know that he had arrived back in town.

“His presence will be most welcome as I have acquired two diamonds which he may be able to identify. Wonderful legends attach themselves to certain gems. To me, such stories, when verified, are quite as valuable as the stones themselves.”

Thaddeus Harmon motioned to two of the detectives. The men strolled across the living room and stationed themselves beside the cabinet which contained the collection of jewels. The other pair of sleuths took positions near the outer door.

This was evidently the final precaution. As soon as the late guests had been welcomed, the curiosity of the visitors would be satisfied. With the jewels under competent guard, the collection would be viewed in safety.

Thaddeus Harmon turned toward the door of his living room, and glanced out into an anteroom which served also as an elevator corridor. He could just see the bulky door of the fire tower, past the row of elevators.

The millionaire’s gaze turned toward the elevator shafts. His manner seemed expectant. In fact, Harmon was as anxious to reveal his gems as his guests were to see them.

Soon one of those heavy elevator doors would open to admit the final members of the privileged group whom Thaddeus Harmon had invited here tonight.

A vertical row of tiny incandescents were set beside each elevator. Harmon noticed the lowest light of one row. The bulb flickered; the one above it lightened. The indicators changed in slow succession. This elevator was coming up. It was bringing the final visitors — with them Lamont Cranston.

Puffing his panatela, Thaddeus Harmon serenely watched the indicated progress. A quiet, gray-haired gentleman, the millionaire had a habit of forgetting all about him while he watched something that consumed his interest. He was entirely oblivious to the conversation of his guests as he counted the floors that the elevator was passing.

“Sixteen — seventeen” — Harmon’s lips were silently forming the numbers — “eighteen—”

The count ended. Without an instant’s warning, the penthouse was blanketed in complete darkness. Even the lights of the elevator indicator went out as the pall of gloom fell.

WITH all the thickness of a cloudy, blackened night, a fearsome darkness seemed to tell of impending disaster. Even the windows of the apartment were blotted out completely.

Impenetrable gloom had taken full command. The entire building was wrapped in a shroud that prevented the entrance of even a distant glare!

Yet the completeness of that dark was not fully comprehended by those who were within it. Other phenomena had occurred as well. With that stroke of blackness, not only the electric lights, but every other current-controlled device within the entire building had failed!

The rising elevator was stalled midway between the eighteenth and the nineteenth floors. Telephone service was automatically ended. The special alarm between the penthouse and the ground floor was rendered worthless!

Gasps of surprise and fright seemed muffled as they came from the lips of Thaddeus Harmon’s guests.

The sensation of a choking, suffocating power gripped everyone. The darkness had the reality of a solid substance. It menaced; it throttled; it brought a fear of blindness.

Those within the pall scarcely dared to move. Hands clawed feebly at chair arms. Persons arose to grope their way to a less dreadful spot; then dropped back to their seats, awed by the terrible sensation.

Caught by hideous alarm, Thaddeus Harmon spent every ounce of effort as he managed to move slowly back into the living room. This weird darkness savored of the unknown. Its terror caused the millionaire to tremble.

It was the strangeness of the thick gloom that produced this effect. Actually, those within it were free agents; yet the unbelievable condition of absolute dark could not be combated by these persons who were experiencing it for the first time.

A menace shrouded the atmosphere of the penthouse. The black hush had come; and in its wake, crime was due to follow!