The Holly chieftain., 1914-01-02
D. FLETCHER pODINSON


hall which can be slipped on in a mo-
ment. May fetch it for you?"
You merely waste time, Mr.
Peace" told him, 81 will have moth
ing to do with an affair in which | am
nowise concerned"
This sculptor may be an acquain-
tance of your own" he said gravely:
''and while we are arguing his muir
derers may escape"
"Murderers?"
Yes. sir; murderers, The man has
been Strangled and robbed"
The position was most embarrass-
ing. He asked me to go into a part
of London that had always carefully
| avoided. 1t was sufficient to know
that filth, immortality, and crime exist
without personally inspecting the
muckheap. Yet there he stood, his
head on one side. staring at my toes
like an inquisitive terrier, and my ar
guments faded before his stolidity.
Why had Hendry ever let him in?
should certainly speak to the old ras-
cal about his
We'll, Mr.. Phillips"
If | agree to go. will you see to 1t
that l am not again troubled in this
matter?' | answered sulkily enough.
For will not be a witness or jury
man or anything like that. you under
stand?"
Certainly. l will see that you are
not further molested"
Then. in the name of common
sense. let us get it over as quickly as
possible" l said. kicking off my slip
pers and ringing the bell for my boots.
Big Ben was striking eleven as our
hanson trotted down the long EN-
bankment with its lights winking on
the rushing tide below Past the great
restaurants of pleasure, glowing with
shaded lamps from the windows of all
their balconies; into the silent city
where the tall Offices of the day lay
like deserted palaces under the moon;
over macadam, over Gathering as
phalt. over greasy wood pavement; so
we journeyed till of sudden we
dropped from wealth to destitution,
from solitude to babble. from the West
to the East. Costers bawling their
wares under spouting flares, fringed
the sidewalks along which jostled the
chattering masses Of the poor. The
section was largely foreign. The
patches Of color in some Italian shawl,
the long coats and peaked headgear
or some moujik, the clatter of the
! dialects seemed all the stranger from
the sullen London background of
mean shops. dingy lodgings, and low
beer-houses. For. in the shadows of
that underworld of the great metro
polls, sodden faces. cultural oaths,
dingy rags, the blow that precedes
| the word, are the manifestations of
the native born.
| In side street the cab drew to a
standstill. 1t was the mortuary, the
inspector told me- A young police
man at the door touched his hat, and
led the way down a passage to bare
stone chamber. On a slab In the cen
ter the body lay with an elderly man
in ill-htting clothes bending over it.
| he looked up as we entered and
nodded to the inspector
you were quite right, Peace" he
II,
strangling afterwards
They took no risks. DR.. Chapple."
They made n clean job of It," said
the elderly man. looking down at the
slab with his thumbs in his waistcoat
pockets. Never saw heater work
since-well, since | was invalided
home from India"
Thugs"
Yes; they did it nigh as well as a
Thug in regular practice"
The callous brutality of the conver-
satfon filled me with disgust I turn.
ed away, leaning against the wall with
feeling of nausea
And now, If | may trouble you. Mr..
Phillips, will you look at this moor
fellow, and see If you can recognize
him?" said Peace.
knew him well enough. The black
beard, the thin, hawk nose, the high
and noble forehead were not easily
forgotten. Talman had introduced
me to him at the Art Clubs Recep-
ton in July. whispering that he was
Pole and neighbor of his-a
deuced queer fish. though a clever
one, He had exhibited bust of Nero
at the Academy. which attracted much
attention.
And his name?" asked the inspec-
tor.
"Amarof. l believe him to be from
Poland; that is about all | know of
him"