The Lamar register., 1921-07-06

The car slowed up De1Ore the pVSt
ONCE and Hugh got out. There were
one or two things he proposed to do
In London before going to Goring. ana
II struck him that wire to Peter
Darrell might allay that gentleman's
uneasincss II he was late In getting
down. So new was he to the tortuous
ways Of crime. that the foolishness
Of the proceeding never entered his
head; up to date In his life. II he
had wished to send a wire he had
sent one. And so 1t may be deemed
sheer nuke on his part, that man
dawdling by the counter aroused his
suspicious. He was perfectly Or
dinary man, chatting casually with
the girl Oh the other side; but 1t
CHANGED that, just as Hugh was hold
ing the postoffice pencil up. and gaz-
Ing at Its so-called point with an all
OF resigned anguish. the perfectly or
dinary mHn ceased chatting and
looked at him. Hugh caught his eye
for fieeting second; then the con-
versation continued. And as he turned
TO pull out the pad OF forms, II struck
him that the man hnd looked away
just trihe too quickly. E.
A grin spread slowly over his face.
and after a moments hesitation he
proceeded to compose short wire.
He wrote II In black letters for addi-
uonal clearness;. he also pressed his
hardest. as bentting blunt pencil.
Then with the form in his hand he ad-
vanced to the counter.
How long will II take to deliver
In LOndon?" he asked the girl.
The girl was not helpful. 1t de-
pended. he gathered. on variety Of
circumstances, Of which not the least
was the perfectly ordinary man who
talked SO charningly.
Il don't think I'll bother, then"
he said. thrustlng the wire into his
pocket. Good morning. :"
He walked 10 the door, and shortly
afterward his car rolled down the
street.
With what the girl considered pecu-
liar abruptness, the perfectly ordinary
man concluded his conversation with
her. and decided that he too would
send wire. And then. after long
and thoughtful pause AT the writing
bench, she distinctly heard an unmis-
taxable "D-n" Then he walked out,
and she saw him no more.
Moreover. IL is to be regretted that
the perfectly ordinary man told u lie
little later In the day, when giving
his report to some one whose neck ap-
par~ntly inconvenleneed him greatly.
But then = lie Is frequently more
tactfuI than the truth. and To have
announced that the sole result OF his
mornings labors had been to decipher
wire addressed 10 The Elms which
contained the cryptic remark. "Stung
again. stiff neck. stung again" would
not have been tactful. So he lied.
ms has been stated. thereby showing
But though Drummond chuckled TO
himself as the car rushed through the
fresh morning air. once or twice u
CLEAN that was not altogether amuse-
ment shone In his eyes. For four
years he had played one game where
no mistakes were allowed; the little
Incident Of the pOstofiice had helped
to bring TO his mind the certainty
that he had now embarked on another
where the conditions were much the
same. That he had scored up to date
was luck rather than good manage
ment. and he was far too shrewd not
to realize II. Now he Was marked.
and luck with a marked man cannot
be tempted too far.
Alone and practically unguarded he
had challenged a gang Of international
criminals; gang not only utterly un-
scrupulous. but controlled by u mas
ter mind. OF Its power as yet he had
NO clear idea: of Its size and imme-
diate object he had even less. Per-
haps It was as well. Had he realized
even dimiy the immensity OF the Is
sues he was up against. had he had
but an inkling Of the magnitude Of
the plot conceived In the sinister brain
Of his host OF the previous evening.
then. CHEEKY optimist though he was,
even Hugh Drummond might have
wavered. But he had no such inkling,
and SO the CLEAN IN his eyes was but
transitory. the chuckle that succeeded
II more whole-hearted than before.