Evening star., 1921-07-24

! LAS it is. my time is full occupied at
present; but later" He never lost
an opportunity Of resenting aggression
by emphasizing the democratic tendency
of the times. Mr.. Llewellyn John had
called 1t ..incipient bolshevism."
Later" cried Sir John in conster-
nation. why, dammit. sir! there
won't be an animal left in the country.
This thing has been going for two
years now; and those damn fools at
Scotland Yard
"If 1T were not for Scotland Yard"
said Malcolm Sage quietly. as he pro-
ceeded to shingle the roof OF the
church. the graveyard having proved
a failure, I'VE should probably have to
sleep at night with pistols under our
| pillows"
"Eh" Sir John looked across at him
with a startled expression.
Scotland Yard Is the headquarters
of the most efficient and highly organ
ICED police force in the world" was
the quiet reply.
But. dammit! II they're SO cieVer
why don't they put a stop to this tor
turing of poor dumb beasts?" cried
the general Indignantly. I've shown
them the man. It's Kinds; 1 know 1t.
I've just been to see that fellow
Wensdale. Why. dammit! he ought to
who Is Hinds?" Malcolm Sage sd-
dressed the question to Mr.. Callice.
He used to be Sir Johns head
gamekeeper1
"And I discharged him." exploded
| the general. ''rll shoot a poacher or
his dog; but. dammit! won't set
| traps for them." and he puffed out his
cheeks aggressively.
"Hinds used to set traps to save
himself the trouble of patrolling the
preserves" explained Mr.. Callice. and
one day. Sir John discovered him act
ually watching the agonies OF dog
caught across the hindquarters In a
wave of feeling in the voice. and a
stern set about the mouth.
ITS Kinds right enough" cried the
general with conviction. The mans
brute. Now will you
Il will write to you shortly said
Malcolm Sage. There was dismissal in
his tone.
FOR the next half hot" Malcolm
Sage poured over a volume of
press-cuttings containing accounts of
previous cattle-maimings.
without looking up from the book
he pressed three times in rapid sue
cession a button Of the private tele-
phone. Instantly Galdys Norman ap-
peared, notebook in hand. She had
been heard to remark that il she
we're dead three on the buzzer'
would bring her to life again.
.Whitaker and Inspector Wensdale,"
said Malcolm Sage, his eyes still on
the book before him..
When deep in a problem Malcolm
Sage's economy in words MADE, IL
difficult for any one but his. own st*.h
to understand his requirements.
without a word the girl vanished
and a moment later William johnson
placed Whitaker's Almanack on the
table. then he in turn disappeared as
silently as Gladys Norman.
Malcolm Sage turned to the caien-
dar, and for some time studied the
pages devoted to the current month
(June) and July. AS he closed ,uns tne
the house telephone. the signal that
he was through to the number re-
ouired. Drawing the pedestal instru-
ment toward him, he put the receiver
to his ear.
Mr.. Sage speaking. It's about the cat
business. . I've just
heard Of 1t. :. I've not decided yet.
want large-scale map of the district
with the exact spot of each outrage
indicated, and the date. Tomorrow
will do-Yes. come round. Give me
half an hour with the map first"
Malcolm Sage replaced the receiver
as the buzzer sounded. announcing
another client.
so there is nothing" Malcolm
Sage looked up inQuiringly. from the
map before him.
Nothing that even a stage de-
tective could turn into a clue" said
Inspector Wensdale. a big, clean
shaven man with hard, alert eyes.
Malcolm Sage continued his study
Of the map.
They're getting a bit restive, too.
at the Yard" the inspector contin-
ued. 1T was this. cattle-nafming
business that sent poor old Scott's
number up" he added. referring to
Detective Inspector Scott's failure to
solve the mystery. Now the gen.
erals making a terrible row. Threat
ems me with the commissioner.
For some seconds Malcom Sage de-
voted himself to his designs.
In response to a question as to what
had been done, the inspector pros
ceeded to detail how the whole
neighborhood had been secured after
each manning, and how. night after
night, watchers had been posted