Evening star., 1921-04-27
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

lEuHi Sthi
Gan safe" came a voice from be-
hind.
Then dot him one"
The Sleuth had d feeting vision OF
stars of all colors which danced be-
fore his eyes. coupled with stunning
blow on the back of the head. Vague
ly he realized the car was pulling up
then blackness. 1t was not till four
hours later tnat Il passing laborer,
having pulled him out from d not
overdry ditch, laid him out TO cool.
And. incidentally, with his further
sphere of usefulness we are not con-
get here somehow" Hugh Drum
3nond stretched his legs luxuriously.
~The fact that it was necessary to
crash your blinking bus in stray
field in order to avoid their footing
passport regulations is absolutely i'm
material. The only damage is d dent
in Ted's dicky. but all the best wait
ers have that. They smear it with
soup to show their energy. My
God. Here's another of them"
a Frenchman was advancing
toward them down the stately vesti
bule of the Ritz waving protesting
hands. He addressed himself in
yoluble crescendo to Drummond., who
rose and bowed deeply. His knowi-
edge of French was microscopic, but
such trifes were made to be over
come.
.Mais oui. Monsieur mon colonel"
!, he remarked affahly. when the
Gendarme paused for lack of breath.
"vous compreneZ que notre machine
await crashe dams un field des tur-
nipes. Nous avons lost notre direc
ton Nous sommes hittes dams
festomacs. Comme CT CONNIE
ca Vous comprenez. n'est-ce-
pas. mon eolonel?" He turned fiercely
on Jerry. Shut up. you damn fool;
don't laugh
''Mais. messieurs. vous n'avez pas
des passports" The little man.
torn between qualification at his
rapid promotion and horror at such
an appalling breach of regulations,
shot up and down like an agitated
semaphore. "Vous compreneZ; c'est
defendu darriver en- Paris sans des
passeports?'
"Parfaitement. mon colonel" con-
tinued Hugh. unmoved. "Mais vous
dams unheld des turnipes-non; des
rdenons. What the hell are
laughing at Jerry"
''Oignon@ old boy" spluttered the
latter "Rognons are kidneys"
what the dickens does that mat
ter?' demanded Hugh. '.Vous COM
prenez. mon colonel. nest ce pas ?
Vive Ia France. En-bas les boches:
Nous aNonS crdShe-
The gendarme shrugged his shoul-
ders with a hopeless gesture. and
seemed on the point of bursting into
tears. OF course. this large English
man was mad: why otherwise should
he spit in the kidneys? And that
his form of amusement. Truly an
insane race and yet he had fought
in the brigade next to them near
Montauban in July 16-and he had
Tor
Moreover. this large. imperturba h!e
nan. with the charming smile,
showed proper appreciation of his
merits-an appreciation not shared up
to the present. regrettabie to state,
by his own superiOrs. Colonel-par-
blue; eh bien' Pourquoi non?
At last he produced a notebook {;
he felt unable TO cope further with
the situation himself.
''Votre nom. M'sieur. sill vous
plait?"
Undoubtedly. mon colonel" re-
marked Hugh vaguely. Nous crash
"Ah, Mais oUi. mais oui. M'sieur."
"The little man danced in his agita-
ton. "Fous m'avez defa dit que vous
aEeZ crashe dams les rognons. mais
j desire vOtre nom"
"He wants your name. old dear"
murmured Jerry weakly
"Oh. does he?' Hugh beamed on
the gendarme.
You priceless little bird My name is
Capt Hugh Drummond"
And as he spoke. a man sitting close
by. who had been an amused onlooker
Of the whole scene, stiffened suddenly
in his chair and stared hard at Hugh.
It was only for second. and then
he was once more merely the politely
interested spectator. But Hugh had
seen that quick look. though he gave
no sign; and when at last the French
man departed. apparently satisfied. he
leaned over and spoke to Jerry.
See that man with the suit of
reach-me-downs and the cigar he
remarked Hes in this game; I'm
juet wondering on which side"
He was not left long in doubt, for