Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-23
CONTINUED from Yesterdays starr

''why-why-you pup! You-you-
skinny, NANCY pup" he gasped, livid
with rage.
You're Judge of pups. Maybe the
kennel you came out of taught you
that" said 1, but 1t failed to teach
you how to investigate! Come on,
Sir Peter. Come on, Danny.
There was no attempt to stop us
and we got into the street. Old Sir
Peter took hold of my hand and
shook it nearly enough to take my
arm from its socket.
II congratulate you, young man."
he cried. Fifty years at sea and /
never heard a man licked off like it
before! And only one casual cuss-
word in the whole recital. That's the
wonder of it!'
1t was curious how the traditional
dread of the shipmaster for the police
had got the better OF the dignified
commander of the great liner and had
reverted Sir Peter back to the inno-
cent seadog, putting him at the mercy
Of common bully. But by the time
we had adjourned to the smokeroom
of a neighboring hotel the sailor was
himself again.
81 won't forget that. Mr.. Boom" he
said That fellow had got me so
fiummoxed that 1 thought 1 had been
in league with the pirates"
You ought not to have gone to
the Police Bureau at all, Sir Peter"
I told him. you should have re-
ceived all inquiries on your own
deck"
"I wish I had" he breathed. I'm
at home there-and even my King,
bless him, couldn't order me about"
was mad at the treatment of my
friends and we went to the hotel
stenographer, who took down a letter
to the chief of police, in which I
explained that Sir Peter and Dan had
been treated with extreme discourtesy
and that apologies were due to them.
They got letters of apology next
morning.
The incident, however, was symp-
tomato of the evaporation and be-
wilderment the authorities were ex-
periencing. The newspapers came
out with the most wonderful theories,
interesting enough to read. but not
the least helpful to those whose job
it was to solve the problem Of the
raids. The country was gone over,
as It were, with a fine sieve, without
the slightest result. The land and
air police were bitterly attacked by
the press and even the naval and
/
demnation. As time went on the old
ground had been turned over and the
old facts redressed SO often that the
public got sick of the affair and
skipped any items in the papers that
referred to the raids But business
confidence remained badly shaken.
Dan Lamonts Investigations of the
gold furnishing resulted in his findin 6
compounds of copper and hint OF
some radio activity. This seemed to
me absurd, but it fred Danny's en-
thusiasm, since he thought 1t indi-
Gated that the raiders had discovered
| some enlargement of the science of
| radio-activity as applied to the atomic
theory. He had the terriers tenacity
and he went after the thing from
every possible angle. worrying the
facts and himself until he developed
between the eyes a permanent furrow
of concentration. He bored after an
explanation of the mysterious sleep,
| too, and discovered at least one gas
| which, IL not lethal in its effect, was
tremendously anesthetizing in SO far
as 1t stunned the olfactory senses.
Properly, it might have been called
q lachrymatory gas, for it's effect on
the nose made the eyes stream!
The work on the three Merlins,
meantime, progressed rapidly at the
| workshops near Gardiner Bay and
had time to devote to social obliga-
lions. Dan and I dined two or three
times with Lord Almerio and Miss
Torrance and we all had q golfing-
flying party at Hazeldene during a
week end The workshops were
inspected thoroughly. and Milliken
and Miss Torrance formed a curious
compact of friendship that had the
effect of making my mechanic go
about with a ready grin on his nor
mally formidable countenance. She
petted him shamefully and even fiat
tered him into letting her take the
low stick Of his beloved Merlin. No
body could blame M1lliken for being
enslaved--Miss Torrance had a way
OF deserving any little service one
tmight do 1ex kers Rezeldsne and the