Evening star., 1925-09-20

but two entrances and exits from
the police station. One was by pass
| ing through the charge room.' The
other was through a corridor which
ran behind the charge room and In
front of the row of six cells. At the
end of this passage was a door
stoutly fastened and always guarded
| Now, here was still another nnys.
terry for the Scotland Yard detective
to unravel when he came.
How had Pandora Haste escaped
from a locked cell. without break
| ing the door or wall, or leaving any
other sign of violence-in fact
without leaving any traces of hel
late presence?
Not only the police station and fits
neighborhood, but the whole towr
and It's outskirts were searched al
thoroughly as possible by the small
force Anson could command. Work
ers in the field, and men IN all sorts
! Of vehicles along the road were aues-
toned The railway station was Wis
tied. Nothing was left undone, and
nothing was found out. In what
| ever way the girl had managed to
disappear. she must. Anson thought
| have made her getaway" while il
was still dark.
Last night-for Sir Rawdon's sake
he had secretly dreaded the arrival
of the London detective. Now. how
ever, he was impatient for II. He
began TO believe in the guilt of the
girl. young as she was. for II she
were sharp enough to escape from a
locked cell where collusion seemed
impossible. she was sharp enough to
rid herself of a hated woman-yes
to do it in any one of a dozen queer
-
that at all events this cloud hanging
over the police station had silver
lining: Pandora Haste's flight to
avoid appearing before the magis
trates was likely to place Sir Rawdon
Wells beyond the range of suspicion
At half-past s precisely a gypsy
faced youth, whose clothes (and even
his noticeably thick black eyelash
were covered with dust. stopped his
motor cycle in front of the police
station. On his own request he was
taken at once to Anson, who stared
incredulously. almost stupidity. as he
announced himself: Detective "
Dagon, from Scotland Yard.
The provincial policeman's face
showed his mind so plainly that the
dark youth grinned: "They always
take me for nay own understudy al
first" he said. But I'm not SO young
as | look, you'll be glad to hear"
And, of course, he couldn't be
when one came to think of his rec
ord Nobody in England had heard
of him before the war. Then he had
come over with the first Canadian
contingent; and when he began to
be talked about by those "in the
know" it leaked out that he had been
boy prodigy in the detective world
nf a ha haA
Pinkerton, and had brought off A
wonderful coup which only youth
could have accomplished. In France
he had been ostensibly a dispatch
rider. motor cycling being his partic.
ular craze since boyhood. But that
was camouf1age. The young fellow
who could not have been more than
10 when he Joined up. had done some
glorified spy work" only possible
for linguist of unusual gifts. Abou,
the detectives Canadian antecedents
Anson knew no more than he had
been told through the telephone last
night in answer to question ad
dressed to a friend at the Yard
Dagon was said to be a name coined
by the young man out of the .sobri-
quet "Dago," which had been applied
to him as a child. Why he had beer
dubbed "Dago" no one knew, unless
it might be that he was dark enough
for an italian. and spoke that tongue
among others.
Since the. war he had remained II,
England. and his services had been
accepted by Scotland Yard
7 often find my youth and inno-
cence rather an asset the Cana
dian went on, showing the white
teeth that made his war-tanned skin
almost copper brown on contrast
WHO knows but it will help me to
make good in this case? 1 have q
sort Of 'hunch' 1t will, That's partly
why | asked for this job And one
other reason is that the family al
Hidden Hall Court has had Italian
blood in several generations. In
always interested in Italians. for In
supposed to be Italian myself Bu,
that's enough about me. Il suppose
you'll want TO take me right over t.
Hidden Hall Court. which my road
map tells me isn't far away. O,
do you want to talk things owe,
f1rst?''
Il think we'd best talk things owe,
first. said Anson, here on the spot
For we have had a mysterious occur
renee this morning. which is CLOSELY
connected with the case" Whereupor
he explained to the manor boy
from. Scotland Yard what had hap
pened IN Cell ).
That girl has done an Impossible
thing he finished. as he opened the
door OF the locked cubicle. Il must
say. take off my hat to her.
I always do that gladly to a lady
especially If she's young and pretty,
agreed Dagon.' Butt don't take il
off TO this one on the grounds tha
she's done an impossible thing. She
hasn't done anything