Evening star., 1923-07-27

He caught steamer for Australia
late in the afternoon. I had this
wireless from him this morning"
Sir Timothy studied the two docu-
ments, read the wireless. There was
little change in his face. Only for a
single moment his lips quivered.
What does this mean?" he asked,
rising to his feet with the documents
in his hand.
TT means that those papers are
yours to do what you like with.
drafted the second 6ne so that you
should be absolutely secure against
any further attempt at blackmail. AS
! matter of fact. Though. Walter is
! will live to land in Australia"
You know that / killed Oliver
Hilditch?" Sir Timothy said, his eyes
fixed upon the others.
II know that you killed Oliver Hill
ditch" Francis repeated. IF I had
! been Margaret's father think that
should have done the same"
Sir Timothy seemed suddenly very
much younger The droop of his lips
was no longer pathetic. There was
| little humorous twitch there.
You. the great upholder of the
law" he murmured.
Il have heard the story of Oliver
Hilditch's life," Francis replied. Il
| was partially responsible for saving
him from the gallows. I repeat what
He held out his hand. Sir Timothy
| hesitated for one moment. Instead
of taking it he laid his hand upon
, Francis shoulder.
"'Ledsam." he said, I'VE have
| thought wrong things of one an
other. 1 thought you a prig. moral to
your finger tips with the morality of
the law and small places. Perhaps
| was tempted for that reason to give
you wrong impression of myself.
Rtt n !, ,f.,
Though 1 have had my standard and
lived up to it all my life, l am some
| thing of black sheep. A man stole
my wife. did not trouble the law
, courts. 1 killed him"
Il have the blood of generations of
lawyers in my veins" Francis de-
clared, but l have read many a di-
vorce case in which l think it would
have been better and finer if the two
men had met as you and that man
met"
II was born with the love of fight
ing in my bones" Sir Timothy went
on. In my younger days / fought
| in every small war in the southern
hemisphere. 1 fought. as you know.
in our own war. 1 have loved to see
| men fight honestly and fairly"
eft is a mans hobby. Francis pro-
| nounced
II encouraged you deliberately to
think" Sir Timothy went on, what
hdii the WoTlu nlnRS-lnat my par
| ties at The Walled House were mys-
| terious orgies of vice. They have, as
matter of fact. never been anything
of the sort. The tragedies which are
supposed to have taken place on my
| launch have just been as much mock
! tragedies as last nights, only l have
| not previously chosen to take the
| audiences into my confidence. The
! greatest pugilists in the world have
/ fought in my gymnasium. often, if
will
! there has never been a fight that was
not fair"
'I believe that" Francis said
And there is another matter for
| othy went on, "the matter of Fair
| fax and Victor Bidlake. They were
| neither of them young men for whose
| loss the world is any the worse. Fair
, fax to some extent imposed upon me.
He was brought to The Walled House
by a friend who should have known
better. He sought my confidence. The
story he told was exactly that of the
mock drama upon the launch. Bid
lake had taken his wife. He had no
wish to appeal to the courts. He
wished to fight. point of view with
which 1 entirely sympathized. ] ar
ranged a fight between the two. Bid
lake funked it and never turned up.
he met Bidlake. to give him the
soundest thrashing he could. That
night at SotoS caught sight of Fair
fax some time before dinner. He was
! talking to the woman who had been
his wife, and he had evidently been
drinking. He drew me on one side.
! Tonight. he told me. I am going
to settle accounts with Bidlake.
'Where?' 1 asked Here he answered.
He went out to the theater, I upstairs
to dine. That was the extent of the
knowledge / possessed which enabled
me to predict some unwonted happen
ing that night. Fairfax was a be-
drugged and bedrunken decadent who
! had not the courage afterWard to
face what he had done. That Is all"