The Ozark spectator., 1916-09-01


 gave me no address. but said he was living near Portland place. think his object was to clear you if anything happened. When l got 1t 1 went to Scotland Yard. went over the details of the inquest and concluded that you were the friend. We made inquiries about you. Mir. Hannay, and found you were respectable. thought I knew the motives for your disappearance. not only the police, the other one, too and when got Harry's scrawl guess ed at the rest. I have been expecting you any time this past week."
 You can imagine what a load this took off my mind. l felt free man once more, for l was now up against my country's enemies only and not my countrys law.
 Now let us have the little note book" said Sir Walter.
 It took us good hour to work through it. l explained the cipher. and he was jolly quick at picking it up. He corrected my reading of it on sev- SCul 1OllllS. but l DttH lhilIN jiShl | on the whole His face was very grave | before he had finished, and he sat si | lent for awhile.
 "I don't know what to make of ii, he said at last. He is right about one thing-what Is going to happen the day after tomorrow How the dev | il can it have got known? That is ugly enough in itself But all this about l war and the Black Stone--it reads like | some wild melodrama If only l had more confidence in Scudders judgment! | The trouble about him was that he was too romantic. He had the artistic temperament and wanted story to | be better than God meant it to be. He had lot of odd biases too. Jews, for example, made him see red. Jews and the high finance.
 The Black Stone" he repeated. Der SchwarZe Stein It's like penny | novelette, And all this stuff about Karoldes-that is the weak part of the tale. for happen to know that the virtuous Karoldes is likely to outlast us both There is no state fin Europe that wants him gone. Besides he has | just been playing up to Berlin and Vienna and giving my chief some nn- easy moments. No: Scudder has gone off the track there. Frankly. Hannay, I don't believe that part of his story.
 There's some nasty business afoot, and he found out too much and lost his life over it.
 But l am ready to take my oath | that it Is ordinary spy work. A cer- tain great European power makes hobby of her spy system. and her methods are not too particular. Since she pays by piecework her black guards are not likely to stick at murder or two. They want our naval dispositions for their collection at the Marinamt, but they will he pigeon holed, nothing more"
 Just then the butler entered the room.
 "There's q trunk call from London, l Sir Walter. It's Mir. 'Eath and he wants tG speak to you personally. | My host went off to the telephone. He returned in five minutes with whitish face. ''i apologize to the shade | of Scudder." he said "I<arolides was shot dead this evening st few min utes after :"
 came down 10 breakfast next morn ing, after eight hours of blessed sleep, to find Sir Walter decoding a telegram | in the midst of mullins and marmalade. | His fresh rosiness of yesterday seemed a thought furnished
 Il had busy hour on the telephone I after you went to bed" he said Il I got niy chief to speak to the first lord and the secretary for war and they are bringing Rover over q day sooner. l This wire clinches H. He will be in London iii 5 Odd that the code word for sous-chef detat major general should be 'Porker,'"
 He directed me to the hot dishes and went on.
 Not that l think 1t will do much good. If your friends were clever enough to find out the first arrange ! ment they are clever enough to discov Y CT the change. l would give my head to KpGW where the leak is. We believ- ed there were only five men in Eng land who kneA about Royer's visit. and you may be csytsin there were fewer in France. for tbsy manage these things better there ! While I ate he continued to talk. making me, to my surprise. present of his full cQnadence.
 -Can the dtspqstt,c%s pot be chang l ed!" 1 asked.
 '"fhey could" he said. "But we | want to avoid that if possible They are the result of immense thought, and no alteration would ha ss good. Be sides. on one or two points change is simply Impossible Still. something could be done if 1T were absolutely nee essary. But yon zee the difficulty Hannay.
 Our enemies are not going to be such fools as to pick Royer's pocket or l any childish game like that They