Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-05
CHAPTER IX-Continued.

CHAPTER IA-Continued.
why should there not be some devils
brew where such men as Figuero and
Baumgartner foregather?" he asked him.
self. 1T exists, as / we'll know, and
Rosamund Laing is just the woman to SIP
it. l wish now that had insisted more
firmly on Evelyn's removal from the
Baumgartner gang. l was mad not tO
ask her to marry me at once. We could
have managed somehow. and she would
have borne the separation for year OIL
more.
Then it occurred to him that the two
hundred pounds worth of diamonds In
his pocket would almost have furnished
country cottage. and. to crown all
there was the exquisite folly of the BET
on a horse that his sporting friend de-
scribed as hopeless outsider. His misery
was not complete till the memory of an
other jewel ntruded itself-a ruby that
had waited two hundred and fifty years
for an owner. Certainly, Arthur Warden
experienced a most perplexed and soul
tortured journey to London.
He drove straight to his fiat. Two
kilograms awaited him. One must be
from Evelyn. of course. She had chosen
to send message there rather than risk
missing him at Ostend. But he was
wrong. The first he opened read: Baum
gartner and everybody else have gone. l
am coming to London. Staying at Sa-
voy. Rosamund.'
His brain was still confused by this
another, when his eyes fell on the con-
tents of the second telegram:
BLACK Mask Won Took you forties.
Congratulations. Dick
The perplexity in his face attracted the
sympathy of the hall porter.
Il 'ope you've had no bad news, sir, !"
said the man.
Warden laughed with harshness that
was not good to hear.
No he said, lust the reverse. I
backed a horse and he has won, at 40
to l."
The hall porter. like most of his class,
was sportsman.
Lord love a duck.' he cried. that s
the sort you read about but seldom see,
sir. Where did he run-at Newmarket?''
mo, at Ostend."
The mans hopes OF obtaining good ''in-
formation" diminished. but he was SUI
premely interested.
"Wot a price, he exclaimed. Did
you have much on. sir?''
Forty pounds
Forty pounds. Then you've won six
teen hundred quid!'' and each syllable
was a crescendo of admiration.
Warden threw the telegram on the floor.
Though the last twenty-four hours had
enriched him by nearly five years pay.
he was In no mood to greet his good for
tune as it deserved.
Yes" he sighed. Il suppose you are
right Unpack my traps. there's a good
fellow. 1 am going out and 1 want to
change my clothes
The hall porter obeyed, but he would
have choked If speech were forbidden. He
wanted to know the horses name. how
the gentleman had come to hear of him,
items that goaded Warden to hidden
frenzy. Yet the forced attention thus de-
manded was good for him. He described
Black Mask as "a Tartar of the Ukraine
breed and drew such a darksome pic
ture of the precautions taken by the
stable to conceal the animals true
form that the man regarded him as a
veritable fount of racing lore.
Such reputation, once earned, is not
easily shaken off. When he went out the
were in deep converse. He paid the cab
man at the colonial office, and his mind
was busy with other things. when he was
brought back to earth again.
Beg pardon, SIR said cabby. but
would you mind tellin' me the best thing
for the cup"
What cup?" demanded Warden, testify.
THE Liverpool cup, sir"
Beer. of course
He escaped. But the cabman took
thought. An eminent brewers horse fig
ured in the betting lists SO he drove
back at once to interview the hall porter
A joint speculation followed, and two men
mourned for many day that they had
not begged or borrowed more money
wherewith to win competence on that
amazingly lucky tip.
Warden did not expect to find any one
at the colonial Office who would attend
to him. The hour was nearly Z, and it is
a popular theory that at 4 o'clock all
secretaries and civil servants throw aside
the newspapers and other light literature
with which they beguile the tedium Of
official routine. He meant to report his
arrival in London and learn from door,
keeper what time it would be advisable
to call next day.
be received forthwith by silver haired,
smooth spoken gentleman. who asked him
to recapitulate the main points of his
conversation with the under secretary at
the foreign Office.
Somewhat mystif1ed. Warden began his
recital. After the first two sentences the
official nodded.
Thank you, Capt. Warden, 1 need not
trouble you further he said. you see,
we are not personally known to each
OtHeT, ana III Sucn an exceedingly Qol1Cate
matter as this threatened difficulty in Nj
geria-wherein knowledge is confined to
a very small circle-One has to be careful
that one is speaking to the right man.
did you think it possible, then, that
some stranger might have impersonated
me-" demanded Warden. his eyes twin
king at the suggestion.
quite possible. 1 have done 1t myself
twice, the first time successfully, the
second to the complete satisfaction of
our minister abroad, but hardly to my
own, as 1 had two fingers of my left
hand shot off while making dash for
safety
Certainly. reflected Warden, there were
elements In the life of Whitehall that
escaped public notice.
I'VE have sent for you because you are
wanted at once in West Africa" went on
the other. Letters to and from the Gov
ernor of Northern Nigeria have culmin-
ated in a cablegram from the governor
asking that you should be recalled from
furlough. Though you are attached to
the southern portion of the protectorate,
his excellency has the highest apprecia-
ton of your tact and ability. He thinks
you are the man best fitted to deal with
the natives of the disturbed region. 1t is
not proposed that you should return by
the ordinary mail service. We assume
that the departure of officers and others