Evening star., 1925-04-14
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

grasp on my SlOuluSI.
You must calm yourself Capt.
Preston. We can do no good by los.
ing control"
Ieant back against the banisters.
The first shock was passing and my
brain was at work again. explained
as coherently as / could what had
happened on the telephone.
"She knows where Lavelle hid the
document" I ended. my God. They
may have killed her. too"
STEADY, man." said Rehmy quietly.
"They wouldn't do that. They're not
so foolish. They're far more likely to
have put her safely away"
His calmness restored my nerve.
I'VE must act at once" 1 said. ''She
may still be at her pension. We may
yet be in time to catch them"
De Blanchegarde, with his usual
impetuosity, ran down the broad
stairs ahead of us, so that when we
reached the entrance to the Secre-
tariat the engine of the car was al
ready running, and a moment ater
we were speeding TO the Boulevard
deS TranChees, where Beatrice lived.
Throughout the short journey l de-
liberately refused to think. for I veri-
ly believe / should have lost my rea-
son if l had faced the terrible poSSi-
bilities that suggested themselves. l
looked unseeing at the buildings
dripping with moisture (the town was
again enveloped in it's usual misp.
Once we were compelled to slow down
almost to a standstill at a crossing of
two streets, to allow the passage of
what I took to be the local fire bri-
Eade, which leSurely crossed our
path in single file on bicycles. They
wore large brass helmets and blue
uniforms, and carried hatchets, but
a IA - In in
great hurry, and their presence was
only forced on my notice by the sud
den slowing down of the car.
1t could not have been, l suppose,
much more than 10 minutes or a
quarter of an hour since I had heard
the receiver fall from the hand of
Beatrice when we found ourselves on
the pavement, ringing the front door
bell of a gray fiat building, in the
upper stories of which lights were to
be seen. 1t was dreary-looking
place and Beatrice's remark at lunch
con about horrid title pensions re-
CURED vividly to my mind as the door
was opened by tousled Swiss in shirt
sleeves and a green baiZe apron, with
a large smear of dirt on one cheek.
Rehmy, as leader of our party, re-
quested immediate speech with the
proprietor.
The man admitted us into a small
hall, which Smelled of mackintosheS
and vegetables recently cooked. and,
after some delay. on the ground that
the patron was probably in bed,
went off to find him, while we waited,
myself in an agony of impatience.
After some minutes, a comfortable
woman in black came down the stairs
TO meet us and inquired our business.
Her husband, she said, had gone TO
hn1 he n
him.
I'VE wish to see Miss Harvel i'm
mediately,' said Rehmy.
The lady shook her head.
THAT is impossible, Messieurs," she
said. Poor Mile. Harve has sudden
ly been taken i'll and"
But / spoke to her myself" I pro-
tested, when a gesture from Rehmy
silenced me. and l realized that it
would be unwise to awaken the Curl
osity or suspicion of the proprietress.
This Illness said Rehmy, is sud
den"
YES" continued the proprietress.
''She was here to dinner as usual and
appeared TO be in good spirits. But
shortly after 10 o'clock a hospital
nurse and a doctor arrived in an am
bulance. They said that they had re-
ceived a telephone message from the
friends of Miss Harvel, who had very
suddenly been taken seriously i'll. a
maid at once conducted them to Miss
Harvers room, and five minutes later
the poor lamb was carried down un-
conscious. She looked very i'll, indeed.
They have only just gone" she add
ed. barely 10 minutes ago"
Did they leave the address of the
place TO which they were taking Miss
Harvel?" asked Rehmy.
NO, monsieur"
Did you know the doctor?" said
De Blanchegarde, eagerly. Was he
local man."
4 couldn't say. monsieur. I've
never seen him before"
What was he like?"
Il didn't notice him particularly,
monsieur. But he had a golden
beard"
We all three looked at each other
! knew of only one man with golden
heard, and dread settled slowly down
upon me like a black cloud, obliterat-
ing every ray of hope.
The professor, whispered De
BlancheEarde.
We turned TO leave the pension,
Eehmy explaining TO the proprietress,
with the quick address of the trained
secret service agent, that we were
members OF the staff of the League of
Nations, who desired to see Miss
Harvey on urgent official business.
There is u last chance" l said, as
the street door closed behind us.
The Rue Etienne Dumont" cried
De Blanchegarde. And please God
we find some one there. Etienne, mon
ami, there will be no holding me to-
night. l shall shoot al sight"
AS we got into the car, Rehmy turn
ed to me.
Are you armed?' he said.
No l replied, I'm not
That question, which Rehmy put to
me in such a matter r-of-fact manner,
brought home TO me more forCibly
than anything else the utter night
mare in which | had become involved
since my arrival in Geneva. The aver
age traveller nowadays no more
thinks of carrying arms than he
would of travelling without a railway
ticket. But if ever q man needed
weapons ! needed them now.
Rehmy leaned forward and pulled
an automatic from a pocket in the
cars upholstery. He handed it to me.
Do you know this make?" he in
quired.
1t was a French army automatic of
small pattern, with two extra maya
zines of cartridges. l slipped it into
my pocket, as we speeded toward our
destination.
We swung sharp round a corner
and pulled up with a jerk in a narrow
street, which l found was the top end
of the Rue Etienne Dumont.
our further progress was rendered
impossible by a large and ever-in-
creasinS crowd which completely
blocked the narrow street.
What is it now?" said De Blanche
Sarde. as he jumped from the car.