Evening star., 1921-04-20
CONTINUED from yesterdays Starr


1--WE have staged a little coined,
| for Peterson's especial benefit ant
We are hoping. for tn chest
! "Oh, boy. do be careful" She looked
at him anxiously. I'D never forgive
| myself if anything happened to you
I'd feel it was all due to me. ant
I just couldn't bear it,"
Dear little girl" he Whispered
tenderly, you're simply adorable
even for you would 1 back out OF
| this show now" His mouth set in {
| grim line. IT'S gone altogether too
far. and they've shown themselves to
be SO completely beyond the pale thai
it's got to be fought out. And wheT
it has been" he caught both he,
hands in his land we've won
/ why then. girl o mine, we'll get Peter
| Darrell to be best man"
| Which was the cue for the com
mencement of the last and Longest
| interlude, terminated only by the sud-
den and unwelcome appearance of a
| motor bus covered within and with
| out by unromantic sightseers, ant
! paper bags containing bananas.
! They drove slowly back to Guild
ford, and on the way ne told her
| briefly of the murder of the Amer
| leans secretary in Belfast and his
g, interview the preceding afternoon
with the impostor at the Carlton.
| It's tough proposition" he re-
! marked quietly. They're absolutely
seems unlimited. 1 know they are
after the Duchess of Lampshre's
pearls: L found the beautiful Irma
| consuming tea with young I.aidley
| yesterday-you know. the duke 5
| eldest son. But there's something
more in the wind than that. Phyllis
! something which, unless I'm a mug
OF the first water. is an infinitel y
| larger proposition than that"
| Inc car drew up at the station and
he strolled with her on to the plat
| form. Trivialities We're once more
banlshed: vital questions concerning
"hen 1t had first happened-by both
whether he was quite sure it would
| last for ever-by her; what she could
possibly see in him-by him: and
wasn't everything just too wonderful
for words-mutual and carried mem.
con.
Then the train came in, and he put
her into a carriage And two
minutes later, with the touch of her
lips warm on his, and her anxious
iittle cry, Take care. my darling,-
take care" still ringing in his ears,
ne got into his car and drove off to a
motel to get an early dinner Love
for the time was over; the next round
OF the other game was due. And it
struck Drummond that it was going
to be round where a mistake would
not be advisable
AT quarter to 10 he backed his
car into the shadow of some trees
mo- not 1ar from the gate of the Elms.
Inc SKY was overcast. which suited
MS purpose. and through the gloom
or the bushes he lodged RAPIDLY
toward the house. Save for a light
IN the sitting room and one in a bed
room upstairs. the front of the house
,ess,,, Mss III aarkness. and, treading noise
lessly on the turf he explored all
round 1t. From downstairs room
on one side came the hoarse sound
or mems voices, and he placed thar
as the smoking room of the gang of
ex-conVicts and blackguards who
ao[ihed Feterson's staff. There was
one pedroom light at the back of the
mouse and thrown on the blind he
could see the shadow of a man
AS ne watched the man got up and
moved away, only to- return in a
moment or two and take up his old
It's one of those two bedrooms
at ALL . 'ei
Then he crouched in the shadow Of
s6me t6 shrubs and waited. Through
e the trees to his right he could sec
the Larches, and once, with a sud
den qulckening of his heart h.
thought he saw the outline of the
glri show up in the light from the
drawing room. But it was only for
second, and then it was gone.
He peered at his watch; it was lust
10 O'Clock. The trees We're creakinp.
gently in the faint wind all around
him the strange night noises-noises
"hlch play pranks with a mans
nerves-were whispering and NUT
tering. Bushes seemed suddenly to
come to life, and move: eerfe shapes
crawled over the ground toward him
:-ngures which existed only in his
imagination. And once again the
him.
He remembered the German who
had lain motionless for an hour in a
little gully by Hebuterne, while he.
from behind a stunted bush, had
tried to locate him. And then that
one creak as the boche had moved
his leg. And then the end.
On that night. too. the little hum
mocks had moved and taken to
themselves strange shapes fifty
times he had imagined he saw him:
fifty times he knew he was wrong
IN time. He was used to it; the night
| excitement. And thus it was that as
he crouched in the bushes, waiting
Tor the game to start, his pulse was
as normal and his nerves as steady
as if@he had been sitting down to
supper. The only difference was that
in his hand he held something tight
gripped.
At last family in the distance he
heard the hum OF car. RAPIDLY it
grew louder. and he smiled grimly
to himself as the sound of five un-
lnelodinus voices singing Justify struck
his ear. They passed along the road
in front of the house. There was a
sudden crash-then silence; but only
| for a moment.
Peters voice came first:
You priceless old ass. you've ram
| med the blinking gate"
1t was Jerry Seymour who then
took up the ball. His vol ce was in
"Preposhterous. Perfectly preposh-
ferrous. We must go and apologize to
the owner. I .
absholutely 3. musht apologize
:, Quite objectionable. You can't &C
gates. Out of queshtion. -
| Half-consciously Hugh listened, but
now that the moment for action had
| come, every faculty was concentrated
on his own job. He saw half a dozen
men go rushing out into the garden
! through a side door. and then two
! more ran out and came straight to-
ward him. They era shed past him
and went on into the darkness, and
for an instant he wondered what they
were doing. A little later he was
destined to find out.
bell. and he determined to wait no
longer. He darted through the gar
den door. to find flight of back
stairs in front of him. and in another
moment he was on the first floor. He
walked rapidly along the landing