The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1921-05-20
CHAPTER ll-Continued.

mes so mOClO1leSS, answered
Hugh. "The bally fellow hasn't
moved a muscle since I've been here.
/ believe he'd sit on q hornets nest,
and leave the inmates guessing. Great
gift, Mr.. darlington. Shows a strength
of will but rarely met with-a mind
which rises above mere vulgar Gu
riosity."
ut is undoubtedly a great gift to
have such a mind, Captain Drum
mOnd," said ~Lakington. "And 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.
"I'm the vaguest mar that ever lived"
he said lightly. 81 might be listen
ing to n%ightingales in the country
or l might be consuming steak and
onions preparatory to going to a 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 a mass
of Drawn 0 too plentifully supplied
with braies, 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 I'M no
leg-pull-but grim ana sober reality.
In his Imagination he heard the sud
den sharp order to stop the instant
they were over the hill, so that Peter
son might have a chance Of inspect
ing him; In q 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 notion
less, unnatural man who had sat be-
side the driver; the second was a dis
tinct feeling Of relief that his auto
matte was fully loaded.
THREE.
AL uull-DdSI live liz slcpf'' ~ "
of Godalming p~ostoffice. To his sur
prise the girl handed him q wire, and
Hugh tore the yellow envelope open
quickly. Ii was from Denny, and it
vas brief and to the point:
"Phone message received. AAA.
Must see you Carlton tea day after
tomorrow. Going Godalming now.
AAA. Message ends"
With q slight smile he noticed the
military phraseology-Denny at one
time in his career had been a 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, he gathered, On the
Guildford road, and impossible to
miss. A biggish house standing well
back in it's own grounds.
SIS 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
I'D the telegram into small pieces, he
got into his car. There was nothing
for 1t, he had decided, but to drive
boldly up to the house, and say that
he had come to call IN Miss Benton.
He had never been a 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 a few minutes later he
was ringing the front-door bell, 1t
was answered by a maidservant.
us Miss Benton I'M" Hugh asked
with a smile which at once won he
gisl's heart.
"She has only just come back from
London, SIR" she answered dOubtfully.
II don't know whether . :"
"Would you tell her that Captain
DrummoOd calledT" said Hugh a. the