New Britain herald., 1923-03-16
BY E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM

vendetta begins between Michael
 sayers, noted criminal, and Sir Nor.
 man Groves, once Of Scotland Yard
 when savers beautiful houscmaid
 oanct. saves him from Sir Norman by
 shooting dead m officer sent to arrest
 nm. Janet becomes Sayer's wife
 and accOmplicc.
 In many exploits Michael escapes
 arrest by taking desperate chances.
 Janet IS m able assistant, but, be- cause he greatly admircs the many sood qualities he recognizes in her
 sir Norman deals with her lcniently. Tn the Leeds bank robbery Michael narrowly escapes capture and Is foced to flee the country. Janet
 fires out to . wealthy widow living at the Magnificent Hotel at Brighton and plots to steal her mistress diamonds. Her plans, however, are frustrated by Sir Norman, who tells this episode:
 know nothing of psychology, or any of the mental or nervous pre- nomena connected with the study of this abstruse subject. What hap pened to me during the autumn fol- lowing my visit to Paris remains in my mind unexplained and inexplic. able. l shall just set it down, because it becomes part of the story
 strong man, in the possession of vigorous health, living an out-of-door Fife in quiet country neighborhood. l suddenly became afraid. had the strongest conviction that some terrible disaster was hanging over mo. Every morning when took up my gun for tramp or stepped into my car for any sort of excursion, I felt chill presentiment of evil. It was not that I lost my nerve. I was still shooting and playing golf as well or better than ever. l drove my car and went about the daily pursuits of life with an even pulse. My fears were not analyzable, and it really seemed as though they reached me through the brain rather than the nerves. I felt evil around me, and looked always for an enemy. I woke often in the night, and I listened for footsteps, un- afraid, yet expecting danger. l al- tered my will and sent it to the lawyers. Several matters connected with the letting of my farms I cleared ID almost hastily with my agent. I was conscious of only one enemy in the world, and it was practically im- possible that he should be in England. 1 Yet I expected death.
 I was living at the time at Greyes Manor, the small but very pleasant country house which had come to ms with my inheritance. My establish n6n tn n Tor. There was my housekeeper, ] Mrs. Foulds, who had been in the service of my uncle, an elderly lady of GA, who had lived at Greyes all her life. was related to half the farmers in the neighborhod, and was pleas | ant, high -principled and altogether estimable person. Adams, her nephew, was my butler and personal servant. There was boy under him, also of the district. cook and three l1aidservants whom I seldom saw.
 . The only other member of my household was Miss Simpson, secre- tary engaged for me through we'll known office in London, to whom l dictated. for several hours day. ma terial for the work on crime which l had made up my mind to write, d. rectly l had relinnuished my post at Scotland Yard. She was a woman ot about fifty years of age, small, with gray hair parted neatly in the. middle, the only sister of a clergyman in Cambridgeshire. ln agreeable and unobtrusive person, whom l invited to dine downstairs once a week, put whom I otherwise never saw except when engaged upon our work, or ln the distance, taking her daily bicycle ride in the park or the lanes around.
 Out of doors there was Benjamin Adams, my gamekoeper. the brother of my Butler; and Searle, my chauf- feur, who came to me from place in Devonshire with excellent refer- ences, a simple minded and almost overingenuous youth. These com prised the little coterie of persons with whom l was brought into con- tact day by day. Not one of them could possibly have borne me any ill., will; yet .,ved among them, waiting for death.