Evening star., 1921-04-06

having n wing I. tea together yesterday at the
ANY friend Of Miss Benton's is,
| hope. ours" said Peterson, with
smile You've known her Ions
J "Quite a long time" returned Hugh.
I've have. jazzed together on many
occasions"
which makes it all the more un,
| fortunate that we should have delayed
thinking. Lakington. that that new
chauffeur is bit of a fool" =,
II hope he avoided the crash all
right" murmured Drummond, Po-
litely
Both men looked at him ''The
! crash" said Lakington. There was
no question of a crash. We just stop
Really" remarked .Drummond-
| think, sir. that you must be right In
your diagnosis of your chauheur
Peterson when something goes
wrong, for a feuah to stop his car
| by braking SO H. = hat he locks both
back wheels is 40 BON. as we used to
say in France. I thought. judging by
the tracks in the dust, that you must
| have been in imminent danger OF
Saps Se addea 5udciaiy safne sudden
order to stop would have produced
the same effect" If he saw the light
ming glance that passed between the
two men he gave no sign May !
| side-virginian the other: L wonder
i if 1 could help your man." he contin-
ued, when they had helped them
selves. I'm a bit of an expert with
Rolls"
How very kind Of you," said Peter
son. I'll go and see" He went over
to the man and spoke few words.
isn't it extraordinary" remarked
Hugh. how the eye Of the boss gal
vanizes the average man into &C
tisity? AS long. probably as Mr.
Peterson had remained here talking
that chauffeur would have gone on
tinkering with the engine. And now
yet 1 dare say Mr.. Peterson knows
| nothing about it really. Just the
watching eye. Mr.. Lakington. Won
derful thing-the human optic"
He rambled on with a genial smile,
| watching with apparent interest the
| car in front. Who's the quaint bird
| sitting beside the chauffeur? He ap-
peals to me immensely. Wish to
, heaven I'd had a few more like him
| May I ask why you think he would
! have been success at the job?'
Lakington's voice expressed merely
| perfunctory interest. but his cold,
stssly eyes were ,foad fiaed on Drummona snnmersd
| Hugh. THE bally fellow hasn't moved
| a muscle since rye been here. be-
lieve he'd sit on a hornets nest and
leave the inmates guessing: Great
| Of will but rarely met with-a mind
| which rises above mere vulgar curl
| osity."
TT is undoubtedly a great gift to
saG Issneon AGd 4 f isns born
in a man he should most certainly
try to cultivate it." He pitched his
cigarette away and buttoned up his
coat. Shell we be seeing you this
| evening""
Drummond shrugged his shoulders.
| I'm the vaguest man that ever lived"
he said, lightly. II might be listening
| to nightingales in the country. or
| preparatory to going to a night club
So long. You must let me take
| you to Hectors one night. Hope you
| don't break down again 50 suddenly.
He watched the Rolls-Royce start.
but seemed in no hurry to follow
| suit. And his many friends who were
wont to regard Hugh Drummond as
a mass of Drawn not too plentifully
supplied with brains. would have been
keen concentration on his face as he
stared along the white dusty road.
He could not say why, but suddenly
and very certainly the conviction had
come to him that this was no hoax
anu Ho tSB-puAs OuS BIliu anu DOUcI
reality. In his Imagination he heard
the sudden sharp order to stop the
instant they were over the hill. so
that Peterson might have a chance
of inspecting him: in ? Hash Of in
tuition he knew that iese two men
were no ordinary peop Q, and that he
| was suspect. And s-s he slipped
smoothly after the big car, now well
out of sight, two thout hts were domi-
nant in his mind. The first was that
there was some mystery about the
motionless, unnatural man who had
sat beside the driver; the second was
. distinct feeling OF relief that his
automatic was fully loaded.
(To be continued tomorroW.)