The Washington herald., 1914-05-31

| was expressionlees. His eyes, however
followed It, rested upon 1t still a. she
stood there with 1t under her arm.
They came down in a taxicab from
| town." she explained. MY dear friend
you must come and see me at the theater
some day. viii write to you. And now
goodby! Your car Is at the door. I am
30 thankful that your accident was NOT
more serious
| Knox was helped into his coat by the
butler. His small torpedo-shaped car
| was waiting outside. In front of 1t was
| Vera Custeneif's huge limousine. the
electric lights lit inside and out. piled
/ with white cushions. q bowl Of flowers
upon the table, little temple of luxury
A few yards away was a taxicab. Vera
Custeneif had paused to speak to her
two visitors.
TT is best" Knox heard her say. "that
you do not come with me. Mr.. Smith
I ~ not in the least suspicious, but one
never knows. One need chance nothing
Best. without a doubt, dear Vera
one of the two men replied. You are
sure-you are quite sure that there is nc
mistake this time about our little enter
/ priser
Her reply was In a distinctly lowe,
tone. Knox could only just catch the
words. He was absolutely unsuspicious.' -
she assured them. "I have always pro-
fessed to take no interest at all in these
matters. 1t was he himself who pro-
vided the opening. He believes, even
now, that I am taking an interest in
the situation chiefly because I read his
speeches and follow his policy"
One of the men laughed softly. you
women" he exclaimed: you fnd your
way through the chinks somehow! In
Paris and st. Petersburg they believe in
the man-an astute and great diplo-
matist"
"Hush." she whispered. II must 60
BACK to him now. He is impatient to
start"
Knox took his place in his car and
drove slowly down the avenue. A mo-
ment or two later Vera CusteneifY, with
his uncle by her side, shot past him and
turned into the London road at q great
speed. Knox followed in her wake for
q little over q mile. Then he slowed
down and finally came to a standstin at
the crossroads Straight on was the
main road to London: on the left, the
Canterbury and Dover road. He care
fully extinguished his lights and, leaving
his car. with the engine still going, on
the extreme left-hand side of the road.
stood for a moment and listened There
was no sound Of any approaching vehicle
II seemed obvious to him afterward that
without any conscious making up his
mind. without any definite idea even as
to his ultimate object he was completely
obsessed with one fdea-that brown pape-
packet was to be obtained at all costs.
He walked slowly a few yards down the
Dover road and deliberately turned his
short fur coat inside out With an eIec-
trio torch in his hand. which he carried
always in the toolbox of his car n.
stood waiting.
The sound Of the approaching taxicab
Secame audible at last The driver blev
his horn as he reached the crossroads.
KNOX stood In the middle Of the road.
about twenty PAGES down, his electric
torch blazing.
''Hi" he shouted. '.stopr'
With an exclamation from the driver
and grinding of the brakes, the taxi
cab came to standstill- Knox spranz
lightly to the side Of the vehicle. The
window was hastily pulled down One
OF the men leaned out
What Is the matterr' he asked
sharply.
My cars broken down." Knox replied.
Sorry: but I want some help"
The man who had spoken stepped at
once out on the road. His manner was
courteous but peremptcry. I'VE are
sorry." he declared, but IT is quite i'm
possible for US to orr you any assist
oiSc- SSi oLh a. OLlCc. uElNer. we VIII
take you to Canterbury or anywhere
upon the Dover road, II you like to sit
outside with the driver. but We are in q
hurry"
$50 am l." Knox replied. $50 here
goes"
He tripod the man up. who had been
on the point of re-entering the taxicab,
and threw him rather heavily Then, as
he thrust his head and shoulders iato
81 ~
scorched and his eardrum almost broken
as the fire from a pistol flashed past
him. His right hand reached the throat
Of his assailant. however. while with his
left he knocked the pistol up. In that
moment Of absolute confusion. he saw
the brown paper packet upon the vacant
seat With a sudden movement he
seized 1t and sprang back Just as the
chauffeur. who had tumbled down from
his box, intervened.
Don't let him get away with that"
the man called from the road. as he
staggered up. DO you hear?"
The chauffeur did his best. but ne was
heavy on his feet and Knox. who had
been considered a dodgy forward in his
not too-far-distant football days, shot
past him and leaped into his car. All
three men were now in pursuit Of him.
He slipped in his second speed, and his
car sHoed on down the hllL His pur-
suers gained at first. The taller man
was almost within reach. He seized the
back of the car. Knox. turning around.
dealt his fingers a tremendous blow with
the electric torch. A bullet whistlad
past him in the darkness. and he was
more than ever thankful that he was
running without lights. Another struck
the back Of the car, which by this time
was gathering speed, and a moment
later a perfect volley whizzed past him.
Then, apparently. they abandoned the
pursuit and returned to the taxicab. He
heard the shout OF one Of the men:
Fifty pounds. driver. If you catch
that carr
Knox smiled as he slipped in his fourth
speed. The idea of catching him was
absurd. His only trouble was that be-
fore very long he absolutely must stop
to light his lamps. He slipped through
the first village, which was fairly empty,
surprising only one or two wayfarers
by his noiseless approach. At the top
Of the hill on the other side he paused
and sprang out. He lit his lamps with
trembling fingers. In the distance he
could hear the beating of the engine
from the taxicab. and behind he could
see 1t coming down the hill. the twin
lights swaying from side to side of the
road in dangerous fashion. He breathed
a satisfied smile as he climbed once more
into the driving seat His fiaring head
lights showed him the road clean ana
bright before him. He glided smoothly
of, and slackened speed only when he
reached the suburbs Of London.
He drove straight to the lordly man.
eion NJ his uncle the Earl of Tamvortb