Evening star., 1928-03-12
The Devils Mantle
A MYSTERY STORY.
By FRANK L. PACKARD.
By FRANK L. PACKARD.

him. point by point. step by step, pre-
cisely as 1t had done thousand times
before. The result was the same. With
out q shadow Of doubt. unless he OBJ
tanned evidence in rcbuttal, he was con-
dcmned from the start. Where did
ethics come in--how big a part did
ethics play? Should one commit suicide
for the sake--oh, damn It! The sake OF
what? Had he the right to make an
| effort in any way he could, even at the
| expense OF temporarily accepting the role
of guilty fugitive, to obtain the evil
dence that he must have and without
which, whether he gave himself up or
not. whether as Alec Dunn or not. and
whether as fugitive he was eventually
caught or not, the name OF Peter Blake
would be forever known as synonymous
with treacherous and Cold-blooded
murder? Had he the right to tight ior
his name and his life-Or was 1t the
| finer thing to do to play the martyr, ana
play. as Capt. Mumm had so pcrtlnentiy
| pointed out. into the very hands OF those
who were guilty? Here was cnance.
| The little shippers plan was practican!e.
What was the argument against II!
Logic. reason. common sense. an aoso-
lutelv clear conscience urged him unan-
| iom,isly and with almost savage I'M
patience to accept Capt. Mumm's offer
and vet he still hcsitated. Why? Mar
| ions face rose before him. Had she
ANYTHING to do with 1t? Was sne a
factor In the decision he was trying 10
makeP In what way? Why? 10 wnat
extent? Suppose She r..
Peter was conscious OF a lull In Capt:
! Mumm's voice. The little skipper nao
been talking for long while. hadn't ne?
Except for the opening sentences ne ne,
Peter. had not heard a word. Ine
rather over-carefully groomed secretary
was putting away his notebook. Inere
was something about Mr.. J. George JAM
rav's face that didn't experimenting
particularly wrong-but something weak
about the chin and mouth, and some
thing that gave the impression OF secre-
tiveness. Clever. though-undoubte
Or was 1t shrewdness? Anyway. lar
from a fool. The chap would have TO
be capable to hold the position OF secre-
tarv to a man of Mr.. Garth's obvious
wealth and position. Wealth! Position!
He hadn't thought of that before. Mar
ion was Mr.. Garths daughter. And ne,
Peter. was--wf1at?
Jaffray was speaking.
I'm much obliged to you, Capt.
Mumm. In sure" he said heartily
And Mr.. Garth will be. too-he has
taken the matter very much to heart
the loss OF life, you know However,
won't keep you up any longer except
that I'd-er"-he hesitated slightly
I'D like to ask you question on my
own account"
Fire ahead" invited Capt. Mumm.
Il told you before you weren't keeping
me up What Is it?"
Well" said Jaffray. "you spoke OF
having traded for years amongst the
islands: and. In fact, that you've just
come from the neighborhood OF FIJI"
Came from Fiji itself" corrected the
little skipper bluntly.
YES" said JafYray. Then perhaps
you've heard OF that Murchison case
the chap who was murdered on one OF
the islands OF the Talimotu group by
man named Peter Blake?"
Peter Strengthened up suddenly In his
chair. He glanced at Capt. Mumm. The
little red-haired skipper was readjusting
his shoulders on the pillow.
II have" said Capt. Josephus Munm
lazily. "Ieard about 1t In Fiji There's
a big reward out for him. isn't there"
"Five thousand pounds" said Jaffray
in slightly lowered tone.
Peter. alert and intent, watched Jaff-
ray now. Something In the mans
| voice seemed to strike note OF avarice;
and. somehow. the latent shrewdness
in the others expression seemed 10 have
accentuated itself. What was the man
driving at? He didn't suspect, did he?
Well" drawled Capt. Mumm. there's
a description OF him out. and 80 guess
somebody'll cash in the winning ticket"
Jaffray shook his head.
Continued In Tomorrow's Starr