◆ SpookStack

“The oor of the dtudy Tew open ‘CHAPTER I ‘The Devil’s Go-Between Ts room was a tibrary -partly walled with bodks-sét in ‘recessed miches iand ‘miterspaced with panels of rich English walnut. ‘The house 'stooll two hundrel feet from the “street at ‘the ‘loop -df a winding drive- way, ‘Ueep im ‘its wide acre df Jawn Yotted with ‘trees, ‘Shrubs ‘and fancy “flower pots. “The*town was Royaiton, an exclusive suburb of Chicago. The hour was the hour of dusk. The occupants of the librany were three‘men, of strikingly different typés and ‘appearance, ‘The First ‘man, tall -ani ‘thirty-five, ressed ‘in -gray tweeds, strode -up-ard: ‘down in front of the Breplace Uke ‘ani animal in a cage. His face was worn with worry «tifil it Ieoked years older ‘than ‘his ‘body. The second man, ‘big rather than’tall, sat stiff ‘and -erect ‘insa feather arm ‘dhair, ‘his -civilian ser, ‘outlining ‘his powerful. frame with ll the authority of'a military uniform, The @ird man, thin ‘and dak ‘inj susty -clericals, -who -occupiedl a ‘seat-Of a Yess ‘Uignity, was an ‘individual known ‘to ‘Chicagd’s -thurth-wise press ‘and -public.as-the ‘Reverend Reuben Acton, smeek director of an obscure mission inks ithe ‘wlims. acknowledged as “The Parson” by his & More simply and -saltily