Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1915-08-26

You know I carry this" and I drew
out my revolver from my hip pocket
But signore. have a care for your
self" cried the Italian. laying his hand
upon my arm. you are a marked
man. Ali do l not know" he ex-
claimed b~reathlessly. IF you go out
you may run right into-well, the fatal
accident"
Never fear, olinto." l replied re-
a%ssuringly. Il shall keep my eyes
wide open. Here. in London. ones life
is safer than anywhere else in the
world, perhaps-certainly safer than
in some places / could name in your
own country. eh?" at which he
grinned.
The next moment he grew serious
again, and said:
81 only warn the signore that If he
goes out it is at his own peril"
Then let it be So" l laughed, feel
ing self-confident that no n could
lead me into a trap. l was neither a
foreigner nor a country cousin. l knew
London too well. He was silent and
shook his head; then, after telling me
that he was still at the same restau-
rant In Westbourne Grove, he took his
departure, warning me once more not
to go forth.
Half an hour later, disregarding his
words, / strobe out into the Strand,
and again walked round to the Jun
ior." The short, wintry day had ended,
the gas lamps were lit and the dark
ness of night was gradually creeping
on.
Jack had not been to the club, and I
began now to grow thoroughly uneasy.
He had parted from me at the corner
of the Strand with only a five minutes
walk before him, and yet he had ap-
parently disappeared. My first impulse
was to drive to Noting Hill to inquire
of Muriel if she had new of him, but
somehow the Italians warning words
made me wonder if he had met with
foul play.
l suddenly recollected those two
men who had passed by as we had
talked, and how that the features of
one had seemed strangely familiar.
Therefore | took a cab to the police
station down at Whitehall and made
inquiry of the inspector on duty in
the big, bare office with its fiaring
gas jets in wire globes. He heard me
to the end, then turning back the book
of Occurrences" before him, glanced
through the ruled entries.
81 should think this is the gentle
man, sir" he said. And he read to
me the entry as follows:
P. C. 462A reports that at 2:07 a. NJ,
while on duty outside the National Gal
iery, he heard a revolver shot, followed
by a mans cry. He ran to the corner of
Suffolk street, where he found a gentle
man lying upon the pavement suffering
from a serious shot-wound in the chest
and quite unconscious. He obtained the
assistance of P. C.'s Elsa and 343A, and
the gentleman, who was not identified,
was taken to the Charing Cross hospital,
where the house surgeon expressed a
doubt whether he could live. Neither P.
C.'s reCollect having noticed any suspi-
cious-looking person in the vicinity.
JOHN PERVICAL, Inspector.
l waited for no more, but rushed
round to the hospital in the cab, and
was, five minutes later, taken along
the ward, where l identified poor Jack
lying in bed, white-faeed and uncon.
scious.
The doctor was here a quarter OF
an hour ago." whispered the sister
And he fears he is sinking"
"He has uttered no words?" l asked
%anxiously. MADE no statement"
None. He has never regained con
seriousness, and l fear, sir, he never
will. 1t is a case of deliberate murder
the police told me early this morning.
l clenched my fists and swore q
fierce revenge for that dastardly act
And as l stood beside the narrow bed
l realized that what Olinto had sale
regarding my own peril was the actua
truth. l was a marked man. Was
never to penetrate that inscrutablt
and ever-increasing mystery?