The Elk Mountain pilot., 1923-07-26

"ouiu not become me- ala
an coadjutor. l will observe Do ,ho
movements of the enemy" WV
He climbed quickly onto ,,o .
aer OF high ground that divided 1ou .h"n
from the end of the pit and ro.,', 'ne,',
IN a Few moments.
obviously our Industrious
ulu not see her." he said: "tbev are
uoW searching the last of the cave :,
iheh It's time got back into m,na -
said Aimee turning to div h ,'''ne'
her retreat. eA mt"
Not SO exclaimed Bertrand ou,c,
W catching her by the hand "Tbot Is ~
place for you" 10 "o
"Why?"
The gentleman from Scotland w.,
WIN search 1t before he leaves-be took
my word for the moment, but he vii,
make sure. 1t was merely that he w,,
IN hurry. You must get out of thia
whiie you can; like your friend tho
.auy burglar. Come along!" said Rer.
trand, setting off at a run and nrII,no
her with him. P'''i's
You're right" calculated A,moo
with long strides they sped round tho
ciump OF bushes, Aimee in tow Of Rer,
trand. and, turning sharp to the rigb,
scurried up one of the steep paths tho,
led out of the pits.
Billy suffered yet one more shock ms
che pair of them came into his field of
vision. He gaped at them, hardly oble
TO believe his eyes. In a few moment,
they had passed; Aimee reached tho
Top OF the pit. and Bertrand glanced an
prehensively back in the direction of
the police. "
All clear " he. .gasped, utterly out of
breath. Get to the road-get ont of
sight. Back to the abbey, dear lady
and for PHYS sake stay there. for Won
are very wearing. Col"
THANKS, awfully!r painted A,mee
and departed as fast as her legs would
carry her De Jussac retreated into the
pit, moppfng his brow. Taking no no
tice of the frantic signals of Billy he
returned to the cave. dived into /,
took hurried look round and kicked
plenty of loose sand over pool Of oil
that was the sole legacy of the Sphinx.
de left the place with a sigh of relief
and, encountering the search party of
police, permitted himself to smile.
Nothing doing!" said Inspector Ark
wright. "Panke, will you go back?
Bring the car down over the meadow;
we'll get the man on it, clear the pits,
and set watch in the cave where we
found him." He moved towards the
late stable Of the Sphinx. "But I'm
going to look through this place and
make sure"
by all means, Inspector" said Ber-
trand yawning. 81 am mere amateur
All caves look alike to me- Mind the
briars; they prick most accursedly"
Arkwright's inspection of the cave
was brief.
ut is empty, but the place has been
used, and recently" he reported.
Strange they should not have chosen
it; it is the best hiding place in the
pit"
Perhaps they only recently discov-
cred this desirable residence, and were
about to shift their quarters" suggest
ed de Jussac. mo doubt. If few
watchful policemen ambush themselves
efficiently during the dark hours. they
will catch the amiable consort Of that
cutthrOat yonder. One hopes so. 1t is
painful to the law-abiding to know that
are at large. Particularly
when they are females"
Inspector Arkwright looked at him
and made no reply. Billy,
also, when the two rejoined him. eyed
de Jussac with extreme thoughtful
ness, and had some difficulty In sup
pressing his emotion. He was still
guard over Jake, who lay
upon his improvised stretcher and
gazed up at the sky with a singularly
beatific smile. De Jussac offered him a
cigarette, which he accepted silently.
Il think" said Inspector Arkwright,
''Fll call on you two gentlemen to as
sist me and we'll get him out Of this
want the place cleared"
1t was not an easy matter to carry
the gate and its burden out OF the pits.
By the time they had achieved 1t, the
car arrived from Jervaulx and wound
It's way over the fiat turf. Jake was
lifted into it.
II must trouble you to accompany
ne, Mr.. Spencer" said Arkwright.
Anything to oblige the police" said
Billy, squeezing himself into the front
Of the car. 1t was tight fit.
The journey to Stanhoe was made
almost in silence. When the car ar
lived at the police station Jake was
July disposed of, while Billy cooled his
leels in dingy waiting room that had
,een whitewashed some time during
he period when Sir Robert Peel was
the force. Presently In
;pector Arkwright Joined him. The in
,pector closed the door. and regarded
BILLY with a sphinx-like but family
eye.
'T think, Mr.. Spencer" he said
luietly, that you have no very high
opinion of my intelligence?"
wrong there" said Billy, politely.
cIa tho SfN1t- |