Evening star., 1918-10-06

nerves and drugs and drink Then I
put him to bed as soon AS | could.
and rang up pal of mine at the war
office to take him in hand"
DO you believe" she asked Curl
ously, that he had really been robbed
of his formula?"
"Those amiable people who were in
terviewing him in the chapel seemed
to think so," Lutchester observed.
But you! What do you think" she
persisted. He smiled In superior fash>
ion.
II find 1t rather hard to bring my
take the trouble" he conf1ded. ~ have
heard it said In my department that
there have been thirty-onc new ex-
plosives invented since the beginning
Of the war. Two of them only are in
use and they're not much better than
Pamela nodded understandingly.
"All the same" she remarked. II am
not at all sure that was the case with
Capt. Graham's invention. There were
rumors for days before that some;
Sails bury plain. They had to cover
up whole acres of ground after his
last experiment. and man who was
down there told me that It seemed
just as though the life had been
sucked out of It,"
where did you collect all this in>
fOrmation?" her visitor inquired.
She shrugged her shoulders.
zone hears everything in London.
!. Lutchester was sitting with his flns
ger-tips pressed together. For a mo.
ment his attention seemed fixed upon
them.
"There are things" he said which
one hears. too, intthe far corners OF
the world--on the Atlantic, for in-
"You have had some news?" she in.
terruDted 4
ut is really private piece of In:
formation" he told her. "and 1t won't
be in the papers-not tho way the
thing happened. anyway-but ! don't
suppose there's any harm in telling
you, as we were both more or less
mixed up in the affair. Graham was
shot the next day. on his way UP to
Northumberland"
"Shot?" she exclaimed, incredulously,
Murdered. If you like the whole
thrill" Lutchester continued. "Of
course, we didn't get many particu.
lars in the wireless, but We gathered
that he was shot by some one pass
ing him in a more powerful car On 2
lonely stretch of the Great North
road" &.
Pamela shuddercd. She was for the
moment profoundly impressed. A GER
tain air of unreality which had hung
over the events of that night was sud-
denly banished. The whole tragedy
rose up before her eyes. The effect Of
it was almost stupefying.
Gave me quite a shock" Lutchester
con1ded. Somehow or other had
never been able to. take that night
a dash of melodrama' in it, wasn't
there? Seems now as though those
fellows must have, been in earnest,
though" -
and as though Capt Graham's for
mula," she reminded him gravely.
"WAS the real thing"
"Whereupon," Lutchester observed,
"our first interest in the affair re-
ceives a certain stimulus. Some one
stole the formula. To judge from the
connected with Henry's restaurant, 1t
wasn't they. Some one had been be-
fore them. Have you any theories,
Miss Van Teyl?'
~ can tell you who has, she replied.
"Do you remember when we were all
grouped around that notice-Mefiez-
Vous! Taisez-vous! Les oreillcs. en-
nemies vous ecOutent?'
"Of course l do" he assented.
"Do you remember Baron Sunyea
been standing by and heard every
thing Graham said"
Cant say that do" Lutcilester re-
GREETED. but remember seeing him
about the place" b
You promise to say or do nothing
. without my permission. II l tell you
something" she went on.
Naturally" :
See, then, how diplomacy or secret
service work, or whatever you like to
call 1T, can gather the ends of the
world together! Only a quarter Of an
hour ago that Japanese valet OF my
brothers, having searched my rooms
in vain, demanded from me that for
mula" -
Prom you?" chichester gasped.
but you haven't got it,"
"Of course not. On the o her hand,
Sunyea pitched upon me a. being one
Of the possible thieves, and cablcd his
instructions over"
ruptly.
tell you"
But come" he expostulated, the
things no use to you"
80 Baron Sunyea evidently
thought" she laughed "Well leave
that If you don't mind" =
Lutchester was still looking, a little
bewildered
II had an idea when ] came in," he
muttered, that things We're a little
scrappy beween you and the Japanese
gentleman"
She was suddenly serious.
"NoW that l have told you the
truth" she said, II really ought to
thank you. You certainly seem to
have a knack of appearing when
you are wanted"
"Fluke this time. I'm afraid" he
acknowledged. but ] rather like the
suggestion. You ought to see Il great
deal of me, Miss Van Teyl DO YOU