The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1921-08-19
CHAPTER Il--continued.

CHAPTER ll--Continued.
-
''He's so motionleSs,' answered
Hugh. 'sThe bally fellow hasn't
moved q muscle since I've been here.
] believe he'd sit on hornets nest,
and leave the inmates guessing. Great
gift. Mr.. darlington. Shows strength
of viii but rarely met with--a mind
which rises above mere vulgar Gu
riosity."
at is undoubtedly a great gift to
have such mind. Captain Drum
mOnd." said darlington. Sand if it
isn't born in a man, he should most
certainly try to cultivate it. Shall
we be seeing you this EVENING"
Drummond shrugged his shoulders.
SIN the vaguest man that ever lived"
he said lightly. II might be listen
Ing to nightingales in the country !;
or / might be consuming steak and
onions preparatory to going to night
club. So long. >. Hope you don't
break down again so 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 mass
Of Drawn not too plentifully supplied
with brains, would have been puz-
Zled had they seen the look of 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 and no
Ieg-pull-but grim and sober reality.
In his imagination he heard the sud-
den sharp order to stop the instant
they were over the hill, so that Peter
i,son might have a chance of inspect
ing him; in a flash of intuition he
knew that these two men were no
ordinary people, and that he was sus-
pect. Two thoughts were dominant
IN his mind. The first was that there
was some mystery about the motion
less, unnatural man who had sat be-
side the driver: the second was a dis
tlnct feeling of relief that his auto
uatic was fully loaded.
THREE.
At half-past five he stopped in front
OF Godalming postoffice. To his sur
prise the girl handed him wire, and
Hugh tore the yellow envelope open
quickly. 1t was from Denny, and it
was brief and to the point:
"Phone message received. AAA.
Must see you Carlton tea day after
tomorrow. Going Godalming now.
AAA. Message ends"
With a slight smile he noticed the
military phraseology-Denny at one
time in his career had been signaler
and then he frowned. Must see
you" She shouldn't once.
He turned to the girl and inquired
the way to The Larches 1t was
about two miles, ae gathered, on the
GuiIdford road, and impossible to
miss. A bigglsh house standing well
back in It's own grounds.
ais it anywhere near a house called
THE Elms? he asked.
"Next door. sir" said the girl. "The
gardens adjoin."
He thanked her. and having torn
% the telegram into small pieces, he
cot into his car. There was nothing
for IL, he had decided, but to drive
boldly up to the house. and say that
he had come to call on Miss Benton.
gle had never been man who beat
about the bush, and simple methods
appealed to nina trait in his char
acter which many a boxer, addicted
TO tortuous cunning in the ring, had
good cause to remember. What more
natural, he reflected. than to drive
over and see such an old friend?
He had no difficulty in finding the
house, and few minutes later he
was ringing the front-door bell. 1t
was answered by. q maidseryant.
is Miss Benton in?' Hugh asked
with a smile which at once won the
girls heart.
sShe has only just come back from
London, sir" she answered doubtfully.
~ don't know whether :. .
''WouId you tell her that Captain
prummond called?' said Hugh as the
maid. hesitated THAT I happened to
ind myself near here. and came on
chance OF seeing herr"
once again the smile was called
into play, and the girl hesitated no
longer. .'Will you come inside. sir?''
she said. II will so and tell Miss
Phyllis
She ushered him into the draw
.tag-room and closed the door. 1t
vas charming room, just such as he
would have expected with Phyllis. Big
viEdows, opening down to the ground,
BE-. out on to a lawn, which was al
ready blaze of color A few great