Evening star., 1908-01-12

/ have reason to believe that your uncle
has sustained some shock, perhaps arising
from the sudden receipt of intelligence hitherto
withheld from him, and would fail in my
duty if did not urge you to cast aside all
other considerations and return to England at
once.
The second letter was even more ex-
plicit:
The person from whom l have received
information of your whereabouts has called
on me-to-day, and the facts he has laid before
me demand your earnest consideration. He
is assured that the treasure hunting expedi-
tion you have joined is compound of piracy
and rascality, in which Mr.. Fenshawe is
dupe, having been misled by man who has
incurred the gravest suspicion OF felony The
Italian Government is taking steps to procure
this persons arrest, and, whether or not the
charges brought against him are substan-
tiated, it is an assured thing that the move
ments of the Aphrodite will be watched, with
view toward the armed prevention OF any
landing from her in Italian territory You
must know that have the strongest grounds
for this statement, or l would not dare place
my opinion in writing.
If you think it will serve any useful pur-
pose, I authorize you to show this letter to
Mr.. Fenshawe only stipulatlng that l am CIV
ing him friendly warning (Which will soon
be verified by events), and that my name
must not be used in any investigation he may
choose to make. 1t may help you to arrive
at a right decision if l tell you that | have
traced you with the help of Lieutenant the
Hon. John Patton Seymour of the Coldstream
Guards, who saw an advertisement inserted
in The Times and gave me the date OF
carriage accident in Buckingham Palace Road,
in which you seem to have displayed the
courage and resource that might be looked
for in one of your family. Inquiry showed
that the carriage was Mr.. Fenshawe's, and
one of my clerks, after visiting Mr.. Fenshawe's
house. was accosted by man who was able
to prove that he had accurate knowledge OF
your movements. l am told that he is writing
Mr. Fenshawe fully by this mail; so, in any
event, feel confident of your early departure
from Massawa, believing. as | do. that Mr..
Fenshawe will not continue to lend his name
to an undertaking OF bad repute
The third letter, that addressed to
King" was from William Fielding,
Confidential Inquiry Agent who re-
vealed himself as Forbes's informant.
He wrote in the same strain as the So
llcitor, and added:
| have directed the envelop to you in the
name under which you shipped on board the
Aphrodite, though | am aware that telegram
sent to you at Marseilles in your proper name
reached you. If you will kindly seek a private
interview with Mr.. Fenshawe, and tell him
how a man named Alfieri, with Others attacked
Baron Won Kerber at Marseilles, and robbed
and wounded him without any subsequent
pIOIcSI OA PolC, yOu VIII ASAP - oAAooAiA6
great wrong.
Royson was sitting on the balcony
veranda on the first floor of the Hotel
Grande del Universe when his astonished
eyes skinned rapidly through these let
tiers. Scarcely crediting his senses, he
read them again, word by word, striving
to extract from their cryptic sentences
that hidden meaning which lay beneath.
Outspoken as the solicitor was, he had
evidently left unsaid the major portion
of the strange story within his ken. The
new correspondent too might or might
not be the man whom Dick had seen in
Hyde Park and at Charing Cross station.
But the same curious guardedness was
apparent in each missive. The lawyer
dealt in generalities; the private de-
tective merely asked for the corrobora
ton of single detail in the statement
which doubtless awaited Fenshawe's
perusal among the letters now piled by
the side of Miss Fenshawe's chair
At the thought, Dick turned and looked
at Irene She was smiling at some quip
or bit of lively news in closely written
sheet. Near her, Mrs. Haxton was en-
gagged more deeply. The letter clasped
in her long slender fingers was as OBJ
viously a business document as Irene's
was the crossed and interlined product of
a feminine pen overhowing with gossip.