The Dolores star., 1923-09-21
The Secret Adversary

wilmington seemed to remonstrate
Win MIN, but he merely laughed.
"hy not, my friend? 1t is n name
most respectable-most common D,d
ne not choose 1t for that reason? All
l should like to meet him-Mr
Brown"
ihere was steely ring in Whiting.
toms voice as he replied.
who knows? You may have mot
him already"
bah y retorted the other. THAT Is
chiidren's talk-a fable for the police
DO you know what say TO mvseIf
sometimes? That he Is fahIa In
vented by the Inner Ring, bogy to
frighten us with. 1t might be So"
And 1t might not"
'T wonder or 10 :, ,,,o
true that he is with us and amongst
us. unknown to all but n chosen few
II so, he keeps his secret well And
the idea Is good one, yes. We never
know. We look at each other-one
or US Is Mr.. Brown-which? He com
mands-but also he serves. Amonr
".''' vi us. ANA no one
knows which he is. :"
With an effort the Russian shook
OFT the vagary OF his fancy. He looked
at his watch.
yes" said Wilmington. 1--WE might
as well 60"
He called the waitress md asked
for his bill. Tommy did likewise, and
few moments later was following
the two men down the stairs.
Outside, Wilmington hailed taxi.
and directed the driver to go to Wa
terloo.
Taxis were plentiful here. and be-
fore Whittington's had driven off an
other was drawing up to the curb in
obedience to Tommy's peremptory de-
mand.
Follow that other taxi" directed
the young man. "Dor't lose It."
The elderly chauffeur showed no
interest. He merely grunted and
jerked down his flag. The drive was
uneventful. Tommy's taxi came to
rest at the departure platform Jus,
after Whittington's. Tommy was be
hind him at the booking office He
took first-class single ticket to
Bournemouth, Tommy did the same.
AS he emerged, Boris remarked,
glancing up at the clock: "You are
early. You have nearly half an hour"
Boris words had aroused new
train of thought in Tommy's mind.
Clearly Wilmington was making the
journey alone, while the other re-
mained in London. Therefore he was
left with choice ns to which he
would follow. Obviously. he could not
follow both Of them unless Like
Boris, he glanced up at the clock, and
the trains. The Bournemouth train
left at $3.50. II was now ten past.
Wilmington and Boris were walking
up and down by the bookstall. He
gave one doubtful look at them, then
hurried into an adjacent telephone
box. He dared not waste time in try
ing to get hold of Tuppence. In all
probability she was still in the neigh
borhood of South Audley mansions.
But there remained another ally. He
rang up the Ritz and asked for julius
Hershelmmer. There was a click and
buza Oh, If only the young Ameri-
can was in his room! There was an
other click, and then "Hello" in un-
mistakable accents came over the wire
'"That you, Hersheimmer? Bercs-
ford speaking. I'm at Waterloo. I've
followed Wilmington and another
man here. No time to explain. Whit
tington's of to Bournemouth by the
$3.50. Can you get there by then?'
"Sure. I'll hustle"
The telephone rang Off. Tommy
put back the receiver with sigh of
relief. He felt lnstinctlvely that the
American would arrive in time.
Wilmington and Boris were still
where he had left them. II Boris re-
mained to see his friend off, all was
we'll Then Tommy fingered his pocket
thoughtfully. In spite Of the carte
blanche assured to him, he had not
yet acquired the habit of going about
with amy considerable sum Of money
on him. The taking of the first-class
ticket to Bournemouth had left him
with only few shillings in his pocket.
IT was to be hoped that Julius would
arrive better provided.
In the meantime, the minutes were
creeping by. Supposing Julius did not
get there In time. Tommy felt cold
waves of despair pass over him. Then
a hand fell on his shoulder.
"Here am, son. Your British traf-
fic beats description! Put me wise
to the crooks right away"
"Thats Whittngton-thcre, getting
In now, that big dark man. The other
is the foreign chap he's talking to-
I'm onto them. Which Of the
two is my bird?"
"Got any money with youT'
Julius shook his head, and Tommy's
face fell.
81 guess I haven't more than three
or four hundred dollars with me at
t,,o r,omant" aynlainpd the American.