Evening star., 1927-04-30

at 10 every night and gets up at 6
every morning, and doesn't do any
thing more criminal than smoke
cigarettes. So they tell me-yet if
Harvey Hale wasn't one of the peo-
pie who tried to lift Miss Carew last
night I'm lunatic. l told Marsh
this, and the poor, mysterious hound
got so excited you might have
thought I'd given him information
that the murderer Of Brother John
was under lock and key"'
maybe his excitement was justi-
fed" said Bill. when are you MAX
ing your raid?"
"TomQrrow night--unless I get fired
from the job BEFORE" said Bullott.
You have had no word from
Tinker Lane?'
Bullotts grimace was the answer.
"He has got cold feet" he said
possibly one of the twenty-third de-
gree folk tipped him off that he was
running riskS--you can easily scare
that kind of fellow. Or what is
more likely. If there is any sort of
illegality in the degree they have paid
him to skip"
Bill shook his head.
Did they pay Brother John TO
skip" he asked, and Bullott did not
reply.
When Bill Holbrook reached the
third milestone on the Epping road
he found that his prediction was more
than fulfilled. AS far as he could see
the long forest road was covered with
cyclists and motor cars and the
chance of a repetition of the attempt
which had been made upon him was
even more remote than he had imag-
ined.
The third milestone was a little diff
ficult to discover; it stood back from
the roadway and was half-covered
with underground, but what lad an
especial interest for him was the
white envelope which must have been
placed there very recently, for the
wood was filled with strolling couples
and it was hardly likely that the let
ter would have escaped observation
had it been in its place any consid-
erable time.
Never doubling that it was for him,
he pulled it from the thorny briers
which held it in its place and, as he
had expected, he found his name
written on the cover.
Follow the red confetti" was all
that it said.
He looked around; there was no
sign of confetti, red or otherwise.
And then, peering into the cool
depths of the wood he thought he
saw something red on the ground,
and went nearer. Yes, that was it,
a sprinkle Of tiny red paper disks be-
meath a tree. He went a little dis
tance farther ON and now the trail
was clear.
1t led him along a welLworn path
and was so carefully laid that Bill
guessed that the average pleasure
eaalxaY aud ha iJlfarrIte1ta6 a dnzaO
indignant couples in their more ten
der moments of confidence) would not
notice it's presence. After while it
left the path, branching off to the
right and threading a way between
the trees. And now he met fewer
and fewer strollers. A quarter of an
hours quick walking brought him up
with two children who were lest in
the forest and the red trail served
to show them q way to the road.
1t was clear to him that the part
of the wood through which he was
now moving was one which was very
seldom visited by picnic parties. Ev-
cry few steps he took startled some
wild creature in the underbrush. He
had a glimpse of a hare flying to
his burrow; he saw a 1.-the, black
shape darting through the grasses in
pursuit of his quarry, and once he
disturbed q vixen with her prick-eared
litter. And the red confetti led on
and on, until it crossed a small
stream on the further banks of which
his unknown guide had left the paper
more thickly strewn that it might
not escape his attention
He had to climb the bank before he
came to a plantation of young trees,
so thick that it was with some diff
Guilty that he made his way into the
depths. He stood and listened: no
sound broke the stiffness of the quiet
forest; the dusk was coming, the light
in the sky had deepened to richer
and darker blue; the dying suns rays
shot slantwise, and when he reached
an open space his shadow ran at In