The San Francisco call., 1913-08-10
PART FOUR
Continued from Last SundayJ
SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING
CHAPTERS

6rst the head fs cut from his portrait
while he sits in the room. Later II ~
found attached to n tree wsth Ioul
bullet holes through 1t. Suspicion
fastens on fhe Chinese servant OF .
man named Murphy, who lives near
through Philip Clyde, Camerohs
friend and neighbor. The next day
the servant is found dead aud Murphy
In arrested on suspicion, but iater re-
leased. Then comes the mysterious
shatterinE of mirror, and Cameroh
now coIIapses from shock. During MS
IIlness he finds a third letter ON ms
he5 This he gives unopened to Clyde,
who now takes Cameron's niece, Eve
Ivn (;rayson. into his confidence. Tne
letter fs found to contain threat tnat
Cameron will disappear on nxec date.
This they hide frem Cameron and per-
kuade him to go on a cruise. ne goes
with Clyde and trusted crew. heh'
one day easfasvay named Peter
Johnson is picked up by their yacht
and that night Cameron disappears IN
an entirely inexp1icHbie manner.
TWAS excited. More than that, !
1 was frantic, distracted, ratified
wanted to do a dozen things at once !;
to get answers to a score of questions
In a single moment. And the conse-
ouence may be imagined. For five
ten minutes, nothing was done what
ever. Then the searchlight was got
into play, but with paltry result. Five
or six miles astern we made out a
power boat. To the eastward steamer
with two tunnels was just coming into
range. The white sails of coasting
schooner showed to westward. Trail
ing in our wake was our squalid sal
wage. the dory of the fisherman.
Macleod, trained to coolness, re-
tanned his wits. Systematically he set
to work. Likely and unlikely places
aboard the yacht we're looked into
Before / knew what he was about we
were going back over the way we had
come with the searchlight swinging
in a circle and half dozen sharp
eyed seamen scanning every square
foot of rolling wave.
"I can't understand it," | kept re-
p6dLluS dlOuu- CdAl dhuCi sIeA-u A.
was standing alone, well forward,
leaning over the rail. Presently Mac
Leod laid hand on my shoulder.
I'VE can't do anything more than
we are doing, Mr.. Clyde he said, In
his matter of fact wey. For my part,
I can't understand it, either. but since
Mr.. Cameron's not aboard, there's only
one conclusion, and that is that he's
overheard And since there was no
one interested In throwing him there,
then 1t seems very clear that he must
have jumped"
"Jumped,' | cried, In irritation.
my God, mani Don't tell you that
l was not three feet away from him,
and only for minute or two? How
could he have jumped without my
hearing him?'
The captain shrugged his broad
shoulders
There's no other explanation" he
decided. conclusively.
You mean he committed suicide?'
Call it what you like, sir"
But there was no reason for him
to do such thing objected.
Il understand he's been pretty i'll,
sir
"He was i'll, yes. But he was on the
road TO recovery" And then, with
the realization that was speaking OF
Cameron in tt past tense, shiver
Of horror swept over me. / know
Macleod observed it, for he said:
There's been drop in the tempera-
ture in the last half hour. It'll be
more comfortable in my cabin, sir, if
you don't mind coming in and talking
the thing over a bit"
Good heavens! Macleod" | ex-
claimed. turning on him with nervous
savagery, do you expect me to sit
down and talk calmly at such mo-
ment? / can't. It's all | can do to
stand still here, for a minute at time
! feel must do something. It's tor
ture to have ones hands tied this
way"
Il think / know how you feel, sir
But walking the deck will do no good,
and If you could calm yourself enough
to talk it over quietly we might get
down to something that would guide
US, so to speak"
Guide us?' | repeated.
Yes, sir It's not impossible. you
know. sir, that when he went over
board he was picked up. You said
yourself, sir" he explained, that you
thought you heard the exhaust of
some sort O. craft not far away
1t was this reminder, think, which
brought back my wool gathering wits
and steadied me to perception of
the real Importance of the captains
plea. And SO it came about that, con-
trolling my futile unrest, was pres
entity seated in MacLeod's swivel chair,
while he fired pointed questions at
me.
Now, maybe it's none of my busi-
ness. Mr. Clyde, but in view of to-
nights occurrence | think it's peril