Evening star., 1922-07-23

SHE WAS PAST THE GAP
toms smash. It ruined thousands of
poor people, and only legal bubble
saved a criminal prosecution"
True" assented the secretary. but
it was old Drayton's fault We all
knew 1t at the time. Danny Drayton,
THE man who died at Flers." in
terrupted John Marston. And the
secretary looked at him quietly.
Perhaps; perhaps not. Mistakes
have occurred. But whether he died
capable Of even a mean thought. He
was not to blame"
II must beg to differ. sir" returned
John Marston. The firm was Dray-
ton & Son. The son was responsible
as much as the father. If one mem
Der of firm goes wrong, tho other
members must mako good. It Is only
fair to the public"
II see." answered the secretary
Then I wonder who the other mem
Der Of the firm can have been? The
e.
the son died in Flers." He looked
John Marston straight in the face.
That would seem to account for
the firm" returned the other indif-
ferently.
Except for one thing" said the
secretary, the significance of which.
strangely enough, has only just stuck
me. There's a certain old farmer in
this district who invested one hun
dred pounds with Drayton-all his
savings, Along with the rest, it went
smash. A month or two ago he re-
ceived one hundred and thirty-fve
source. Seven years interest at FIVE
per cent is thirty-five pounds" And
suddenly the secretary, usually one
of the most Unconditional of men,
leaned forward in his saddle and his
voice was a little husky. Danny.
you damned quixotic fool! Come back
to US. We can't afford to lose a man
who can go like you!'
l. fixedly in front OF him, his pro-
file set and rigid. For a moment
the temptation was well-nigh over
whelming. Every account squared
up; every loss made good. Then,
ringing in his ears, he heard once
more the yells and catcalls as he had
cantered past the stand at Aintree.
LAS I said to you before. SIR" he
said. facing the secretary steadily
{e T4h Mo-
making a mistake"
What Maj. Dawlish's reply would
have been will never be known. He
seemed on the point of an explosion
Of wrath when clear and shrill
through the morning air came Joe
Mather's gone away" The pack
came tumbling out of covert and
everything else was forgotten.
ITS the right liner" cried John
Marston excitedly. "Hangman's Bot
tom for a quid!
The fisld streamed off, every one, ac-
cording to his own peculiar methods
of breast-high scent.
They had gone two miles without
the suspicion of a check before the
secretary found himself near Sir HUI
bert.
It's Danny. Hubert" said the sec
retary as they galloped side by side
over a pasture field toward stiff
looking post and rails, calling him
self John Marston.''
The master grunted, glancing for a
moment under his bushy eyebrows at
tha fvyN
in front, who, despite his mount, still
lived with the vanguard.
"Of course it is," he snorted.
There's no one else who would be
where he is on horse like that. with
hounds running at this rate. What's
his game. David?"
"Quixotic tommyrot," snorted the
other. He knows know he's Danny,
but he won't admit it."
Has Molly seen him yet?" Sir HUI
bert glanced away to the left, where
his daughter, on a raking black, had
apparently got her hands full.
II don't know"
THE secretary, frowning slightly,
followed the direction Of the
others gaze. David Dawlish was no
lover Of young Dawson. He watched
the girl for = moment, noting the
proximity Of the blood chestnut to
her. Then he turned back to his old
friend. That black IL too much for
Molly, Hubert" he said, a trine un-
easy. He'll get away with her some
day"
You tell her so and see what hap
pens, old man." chuckled Sir Hubert.
Il tried once" Then he reverted to
the old subject. what are we going
to do about 1t, David, II 1t is Danny?"
There's nothing We can do" an
swered the other. ''Onicially, he's
dead. The war office has said SO. If
he chooses to remain John Marston
we can't stop him."
So for the time the matter was left.
The hunting field, when the going is
hot, is no place for idle speculation
and talk.
The pace by this time was begin.
ming to tell. The main body of the
hunt stretched over half a dozen
fields. Even the first flight section
was getting thinned out. And 1t wss
a. David Dawlish topped the slight
rise which hid the brook at the bot
tom Of the valley beyond-the notori-