Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-21
CHAPTER XVI.

w W
All through that weary night my uncle ana
|, with Belcher, Berkeley Craven and a
dozen OF the Corinthians, searched the
| countryside for some trace of our missing
man, but, save for that tl-ooding sp.asn
upon the road, not the slightest clue could
be obtained as to what had befallen him.
No one had seen or heard anything Of him
and the single cry OF the might of which
the hostler told us was the only indication
of the tragedy which had taken place. III
small parties We secured the country as
far as East Grinstead and Bletchingly, and
the sun had been long over the horizon be
lore we found ourselves back at Crd~iey
once more, with heavy hearts and tired
feet. My uncle, who had driven to Reigate
in the hope of gaining some intelligence,
did not return until past / o'clock, aud a
glance at his face gave us the same black
news which he gathered from ours.
We held a council round our dismal break
fast table. to which MIR. Berkeley Craven
was invited as { man OF sound wisdom and
large experience in matters of sport
Belcher was half frenzied by this sudden
ending of all the pains which he had taken
in the training. and could only rave out
threats at Berks and his companions, with
terrible menaces as TO what he would do
when he met them. My uncle sat grave
and thoughtful, eating nothing and drum
ming his fingers upon the table, While my
heart was heavy within me, and l could
have sunk my face into my hands and burst
into tears as | thought how powerless | was
to aid my friend. Mr. Craven, a fresh
faced, alert man of the world, was the
only one of us who seemed TO preserve both
his wits and his appetite.
Let me see. The fight was to be at 10,
was it not?" he asked.
1T was to be-
Il daresay it will be, too. Never say die,
Tregellis. Your man has still three hours in
which to come back"
My uncle shook his head.
The villains have done their work too
well for that, ! fear" said he.
We'll, now let us reason it out" said
she coaXes this young man out of his room,
DO you know any young woman who had an
influence over him."
My uncle looked at me.
No. said he, Il know of none"
We'll, we know that she came said
Berkeley Craven. There can be no question
as to that. She brought some piteous tale,
no doubt, such as a gallant young man could
hardly refuse to listen to. He fell into the
trap, and allowed himself to be decoyed 10
the place where these rascals were waiting
for him. We may take all that as proved, /
should fancy, Tregellis."
Il see no better explanation said my
uncle.
Well, then it is obviously not the inten-
tion of these men to kill him. War; heard
them say as much. They could not make
sure, perhaps, of doing so tough a young
fellow an injury which would certainly pre-
vent him from fighting. Even with a
broken arm he might pull the fight off, as
men have done before. There was too much
money on for them to run any risks. They
gave him a tap on the head, therefore, TO
prevent his making too much resistance,
and then they drove him OFF to some farm
house or stable, where they will hold him a
prisoner until the time for the fight is over.
| warrant that you see him before tonight
as well as ever he was."E
This theory sounded so raa h1a that Il
seemed to lift a little Of the load off my
heart, but / could see that from my uncle's
point of view it was a poor consolation.
81 dare say you are right, Craven said he,
Il am sure that / am"
But it wont help us to win the fight"
That's the point, sir" cried Belcher.
by the Lord, | wish they'd let me take his
place, even with my left arm strapped be-
hind me-
Il should advise you. in any case, to go to
the ringside, said Craven. you should
hold on until the last moment. in the hope
OF your man turning up"
II shall certainly do so. And | shall pro-
test against paying the wagers under such
Craven shrugged his shoulders.
You remember the conditions OF the
said he. II fear It is pay or play.
No doubt the point might be submitted to
the referees, but | cannot doubt that they
would have to give II against you"
we had sunk into a melancholy silence
when suddenly Belcher sprang up from the
table.
MY God" he cried, listen to that!"
what is it?" We cried all three.
THE betting! Listen again"
Out OF the babel OF voices and roaring OF
wheels outside the window a single sens
tence struck sharply upon our ears.
Even money upon Sir Charles nomineep
Even money!" cried my uncle. 1T was