Page:The Millbank Case - 1905 - Eldridge.djvu/121

 bridge that spans the river at that point. Here, upon the very brink of the river, fifty feet above the water, stood the small brick building of the Millbank National Bank. The bridge and the bank lay in shadow, for it was a moonless night and the street lamp at the entrance of the bridge was not lighted. Above the bridge was the dash and roar of the falls; below, the steady murmur of the narrowed current, between its rocky walls that rise more than fifty feet from the water's edge.

"Thunder!" he thought, "there are some creepy places around this town, especially when they can't sponge on the moon for light. If I was an inspired detective, I'd know whether there was any danger in that bridge. As I ain't, I guess I'll take the centre."

He advanced into the darkness of the drive, which was pitchy black, solid plank walls dividing it from the footwalk on either hand. He was half-way through, when he suddenly felt the presence of some one near him, though he could see or hear nothing. He stopped, and absolute stillness reigned, save the tumult of the water above and below. He had