Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-30
The Red Symbol
Continued from page 4

along, Anne" she cried, as we moved to meet
her Perhaps shall you later, Mr..
WYNN? You'll be welcome any time up to one
o'clock"
| put them into the carriage and watched
them drive away; then started on foot for
Whitehall Gardens The distance so short
that | could cover it more quickly walking than
driving.
The night was su1try and overcast, and be-
fore reached my destination big drops of rain
scattering down and the mutter of thun-
der mingled with the ceaseless roll of traffic.
l was taken straight to Lord Southbourne's
sanctum, handsomely furnished but almost
ostentatiousy businesslike apartment.
Southbourne himself, seated at big Amer
lean desk, was making hieroglyphics on a sheet
of paper before him while he dictated rapidly
to Harding, his private secretary, who mani
pulated typewriter close by.
He looked up, nodded to me, indicated
chair and table on which were whisky and
soda and an open box of cigarettes, and invited
me to help myself all with sweep of the
hand and without an instant's interruption of
his d1scourse,-an lmpassioned denunc1atlon OF
some British statesman who dared to differ
from him (Southbourne) some burning
question of the day; but did not listen. was
thinking of Anne, and was only subconsciously
aware of the hard monotonous voice until it
ceased.
That's all, Harding Thanks Goodnight"
said Southbourne abruptly.
He rose yawned, stretched himself, saun-
tered toward me, subsidized into an easy chair,
and lighted cigarette.
Harding gathered up his typed Slips ex-
changed friendly nod with me, and quietly
took himself off.
| knew Southbourne's peculiarities fairly
well, and therefore waited for him to speak.
We smoked in silence for time, till he re-
marked abruptly:
"Carson's dead"
nEAD!' CALCULATED in genuine consterna-
ton. / had known and liked Carson, one
of the cleverest and most promising of South
bourne's young men.
He blew out cloud of smoke, watched ring
form and float away as if it was the only inter
esting thing in the world. Then he fired another
word at me- "Murdered.''
He blew another smoke ring and there was
spell of silence. l do not even know whether
his callousness was real or feigned / hope it
was feigned, though he affected to regard all
who served him, in whatever capacity, mere
pieces in the ambitious game he played, to be
used or discarded with equal skill and ruthless
ness, and if unlucky pawn fell from the
board-why, it was lost to the game, and there
end OF it.
Murdered! 1t seemed incredible. l thought
of Carson as last him, the day before
started for South Africa, when dined to-
gether and made a night of it. If | had been
available when the situation became acute in
Russia few weeks later, Southbourne would
have sent me instead of him. | should perhaps
have met with his fate. | knew, of course, that
at this time special in Russia ran quite as
many risks as a war correspondent on active
service; but it thing to encounter
stray bullet bayonet thrust in the course
of ones days work, say during an emeute, and
quite another to be murdered in cold blood.
THAT'S terrible!" / said huskily at last
He was such splendid chap too, poor
Carson, Have detallS!
Yes; he found in his rooms, stabbed to
the heart He must have been dead twenty
four hours more
"And the police have tracked the murderer
mo, and don't suppose they will They've
many similar affairs of their own on hand
that an Englishman more or less doesn't count
The Embassy is moving in the matter; but it is
very unlikely that anything will be discovered
beyond what is known already-that it was
the work of emissary of some secret society
with which Carson had mixed himself up in
defiance of my instructions" He paused and
lighted another cigarette.
"How do you know he defed your in
structions?" | burst out Indignantly The
tone of his allusion to Carson rolled me. Don't
you always expect us to send good story, no
matter how or at what personal risk get the
material?"
lust so" he asserted calmly. "Bv the way
if you're in funk, Wynn, you needn't go. l
can get another man to take your place to-
night"