Evening star., 1925-03-29

mother" would not have taken steps
so promptly to retrieve 1t.
Here was a touch of mystery that
set the wits pleasantly to work.
thought il over while I was shaving
and decided to talk to Beatrice about
it-a notion which gave to the prob
lem an added attraction.
I dressed as rapidly as possible and
rang her UP at the secretariat. II
was pleasant to hear the cry of as
tonishment with which she recognized
my voice, and still more pleasant to
reflect that she recognized It at all
on the telephone, too-after so long
an interval answered about 80
questions in as many seconds Cor SO
IL seemed), and then asked her 10
come to lunch with me. Luckily, she
was disengaged, and we arranged to
meet at the grillroom of the Hotel
du Lac at ! o'clock.
AS 1 was leaving the telephone ]
met the proprietor of the pension,
who hoped that ] had received the
note which had been delivered for me
that morning. The person who had
left 1t had informed him that it was
extremely urgent.
l took the envelope out of my
pocket, and saw that what l had at
first thought was an ordinary letter
did not bear a stamp.
l inquired who had brought il TO
the pension, and was told that it had
been delivered by lady, who had
come early that morning before ] was
awake, about $3.50. She had given in
structions that the note should be
taken to me the moment ! was called.
I asked what the unknown mes
senger had looked like. The proprie-
tor said that he had not taken par
ticular notice of her, but that she had
been slight in appearance. He could
remember no detail of what she wore.
except that, as she paused an instant
IN front of mirror to arrange her
hat, he had remarked that 1t wa
trimmed with a pheasant's feather.
rYou are sure she was young?" ]
queried
"One can never be sure" replied III"
proprietor Not more than %,
should say"
"She was not, by any chance, OLD
enough to be my grandmother"
suggested.
Certainly not" said the proprietor.
! thanked him for his Information
and prepared to go for a stroll be
| fore meeting Beatrice, TO see the tow
and to think at leisure over possiblo
ways and means Of solving my my
| terry.
|
| ceased though heavy clouds were still
| hanging over the city. l need mo-
trouble you with a description of my
! walk, beyond saying that | set out
vaguely in the direction of the uni
versity and eventually found myself
| in the Jardin des Bastions, marveliu=
at an incredibly ugly monument. Cal
win, Luther, Knox and Farel, twice
the size of life, looked out from the
1 81 ~ \ lfsars
stare, fanked by other figures and
scenes in low relief. Among them I
noticed the regicide Cromwell and his
secretary, John Milton.
| Suddenly a hand clapped me on the
| shoulder, and. turning around, I found
myself face to face with Jerry Gun
ningham.
Jerry had been the best of my bat
terry subalterns, and l had not seen
him since the day when he had been
carried off, a blood-stained wreck of
a man, from the remains of No. ,
gun, which had stopped a five-nine
on 1.-The glorious 1st OF July, 1916"
1 was shocked at the change in his
appearance. He had been something
of a dandy, particularly about the
cut of his tunic, and excessively
proud of his field boots. which had
been made by the most expensive
before me a medium sized man, thin
in the face. his forehead puckered
| with hard lines. He was slovenly
dressed, although the clothes he wore
were we'll cut, and he leaned heavily
on a rubber-shod stick.
Good Lord, jerry" I exclaimed.
What on earth brings you to Ge-
neva?"
and what might you be doing"
he countered.
| We walked across the gardens TO a
cafe where Jerry said the beer was
from Munich, and as he limped slowly
| by my side he told me of his life since
our last meeting. 1 found him as
changed in spirit as in appearance.
He had been the gayest and most de-
Ilightful OF companions. Now every
word was bitter and disconsotate.
Nor was this to be wondered at.
After spending months in hospital,
he had eventually been discharged
with a pension Of a hundred a year
and a permanently game leg (poor
old Jerry, the finest athlete OF his
year at Oxford. He had tried vari-
| Gus jobs, but never for very long.
Having a little money of his own, he
contrived to manage somehow. At
| the moment he was acting as tutor
to two boys, sons of a rich French
| war profiteer, who was anxious that
they should learn English, and had
made sufficient money out of the war
said Jerry with a savage sneer, to
Justify the employment of an ex-offi-
GER as a kind of superior servant. H..
had taken the job out OF general bore
dom. He was in Geneva with hi
youthful charges, he explained, for
| fortnight or three weeks, before tai
ing them up to the mountains for IL,
Winter sports.
CONTINUED in Tomorrow's Star)