HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, FEB. 4, 1926.
PAGE THREE
U7te
MACE GAMG
A Sequel to Bulldog Drummond.
BVCYRL AfcMEilE sapp
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER I. To a fathering of anar
chists in Barking, London suburb, ZabolefT,
foreign agitator, tclla of the operations of
a body of men who have become a menace
to their activities. He is interrupted by
the men he is describing (the Black Gang),
who break up the meeting, sentencing some
of the participants to oondign punishment
and carrying away others. A memorandum
found on ZabolefT gives an address in Hox
ton, London, which the -leader of the at
tacking party considers of importance.
CHAPTER II. Sir Bryan Johnstone, di
rector of criminal investigation, hears from
Inspector Mclver, sent to arrest ZabolefT
the night before, of his discomfiture. He
had been seized and chloroformed and his
raid frustrated. Hugh Drummnd, man of
leisure and old friend of Johnstone's ar
rivea and tells of seeing the kidnapers and
their victims. He becomes an unpaid agent
of tha police, to be under the direction of
Mclver, and takes, up his duties at once.
CHAPTER III. A "Mr. William Atkin
son," ostensibly pawnbroker and money
lender, really Count Zadowa, director of
anarchy in England, does business in an
other London suburb. A mysterious stran
ger invades the premises. Count Zadowa,
after a brief glimpse f the intruder, is
strangely disconcerted,
CHAPTER IV. Drummond, having
knowledge of Atkinson's anarchistic activ
ities, arranges to burglarize the latter's
office to secure evidence of the fact. While
so engaged, with two companions, s bomb
is hurled at them from an adjoining room.
CHAPTER V. The explosion kills
"Ginger Martin," expert burglar whom
Drummond had employed to open Atkin
son's safe. Drummond and his friend es
cape, taking with them a bag they find on
the floor. Neither Drummond nor his com
panion at the time find out what it con
tains. CHAPTER VI
In Which There Is a Stormy Suprftr
Party at the liilz.
IT WAS just abo.it ihe tints that
Ginger Martin'a wife became, all
unconsciously, a widow that the
sitting-room bell of a certain private
suite in tho Ritz wr.s rung. The oc
cupants of tho room were two in num
ber a man and a woman and they
had arrived only that morning from
tho Continent. Tho man, whose sig
nature in the register announced him
to be the Reverend Theodosius Long
moor looked a splendid rpecimcn cf
the right sore of clergyman. Tall,
broad-shouldered, with a pair of
shrewd, kindly eyes and a great mass
of snow-white hair, he was the type
of man who attracted cttcntion wher
ever he went, and in whntcver so
ciety he found himself. A fai'-t twang
in his speech betrcyed his nationality,
and, indeed, he made no Btfcr-.t tf 1t.
He was an American, bon; and bred,
who had boon seeing finst hr-.nd for
himself some of the dreadful hcrrovs
of the famine which was ravaging
Central Europe.
And with htm hod gone his daugh
ter Janet -that faithful, constant
companion of his, who since her mo,
ther's death iiad :.evjr left him. She
was a good-looking girl, too though
perhaps unkind people might say
girlhood's happy dnys had receded
somewhat into the past. Thirty, per
haps even thirty-five though her
father always alluded to her as "My
little girl."
There was something very sweet
and touching about their relation
ship; his pride in her and her sim
doubtedly a charming couple, had
pie, loving adoration for dad. Un
been the verdict of their chnnco ac
quaintances so simple, so fresh, so
unassuming in these days of com
plexity and double dealing.
After dinner, because his little
Janet was tired, tho Reverend Theo
dosius and his daughter remained in
their suites.
And for two hours until ho got up
and rang the bell, the Reverend Theo
dosius was engrossed in work; while
his little Janet, lying on the soTa,
displayed considerably more leg than
one would have expected a vicar's
daughter even to possess. -And occa
sionally gurgles of laughter seemed
to prove that Guy do Maupassant ap
peals to a more catholic audience
than he would have suspected.
She was knitting decorously when
the waiter came in, and her father
ordered a little supper to be sent up.
"Some chicken, please, and a little
foie gras. I am expecting a friend
very soon so lay for three. .Some
champagne yes. Porrior Jouet '04
will do. I'm afraid I don't know
much about wine. And a little ichy
water for iy daughter."
The waiter withdrew.
"What time do you expect Zado
wa?" Janet asked.
"He should have been hero by
now. I don't know why he's late."
"Did you see him this afternoon?"
"No. I was down at the office, but
only for a short while."
The sound of voices outside the
door caused Janet to resume her
knitting, and the next moment Count
Zadowa was announced. For an ap
preciable time after the waiter had
withdrawn he stood staring at them;
then a smile crossed his face.
"Magnificent," he murmured. "Su
perb, Madame, I felicitate you. Well
though I know your powers, this time
you have excelled yourself. I have
the most wonderful news for you."
Reverend Theodosius bit the end
off a cigar and stared at his visitor
with eyes from which every trace of
kindliness had vanished.
"It's about time you did have some
good news, Zadowa." he snapped.
"Anything more d d disgraceful than
the way you've let this so-callud Black
Gang do you in, I've never heard of."
But the other merely smiled quiet-
"I admit," he murmured. "Up to
date they have scored a faint measure
of success exaggerated, my friend,
greatly exaggerated by the papers. To
night came the reckoning, which in
cidentally is the reason why I am a
little late. Tonight" he leaned for
ward impressively "the leader of the
gang himself honored me with a visit.
And the leader will lead no more."
"You killed him?" said th girl,
helping herself to tho champagne.
"I did," answered the count. "And
without the leader I think we can Ig
nore the gang."
"That's all right as far as it goes,"
said the Reverend Theodosius in a
slightly mollified tone. "But have
you covered your traces? In this
country the police get peevish over
murder."
The count gave a Belf-satisfied
smile.
"Not only that," he remarked, "but
I have made it appear as if he had
killed himself. Listen, my friends,
and I will give you a brief statement
of the events of the past few days.
I suddenly found out that the leader
of this gang had discovered my head
quarters in Hoxton. I was actually
talking to Latter in my office at the
time, when I heard outside the call of
an owl. Now, from the information
I had received that was the rallying
call of their gang, and I dashed Into
the passage. Sure enough, standing
by the door at the end was a hupe
man covered from head to foot in
black. Whether it was bravndo that
made him give the cry, or whether it
was a ruie to enable him to see me, is
immaterial now. , As I say he is
dead. But and this is the point
it made me decide that the office
there, convenient though it was,
would have to be given up. I was
completing the' final sorting out of
my papers with my secretary, when
the electric warning disk on my desk
glowed red. Now. the office was emp
ty, and the red light meant that some
one had opened the door outside. I
heard nothing, which made it all the
more suspicious. So between us we
gathered up every important paper,
switched off all lights and went out
through the secret door. Then we
waited."
He turned to the clergyman, who
sat motionless save for a ceaseless
tapping of his left knee with his
hand.
"As you know, monsieur," he pro
ceeded, "there is an opening in that
door through which one can see into
the room. And through that opening
I watched developments. After a
while a torch was switched on at the
further door, and I heard voices. And
then the man holding the torch came
cautiously in. He was turning it in
to every corner, but finally he focused
it on my desk. I heard him speak
to one of his companions, who came
into the beam of light and started in
to pick the lock. And it was then
that I switched on every light, and
closed the other door electrically.
They were caught caught like rats
in a trap."
The hunchback paused dramatical
ly, and drained his champagne. If
he was expecting any laudatory re
marks on the part of his audience he
was disappointed. But the Reverend
Theodosius and his little Janet might
have been carved out of marble, save
for that ceaseless tapping by the man"'
of his left knee. In fact, had Count
Zadowa been less pleased, with him
self end less sure of the effect he
was about to cause he might have had
a premonition of coming danger.
There was something almost terrify
ing in tho big clergyman's immobility.
"Like rats in a trap," repeated the
hunchback gloatingly. "Two men I
didn't know, and-well, you know who
the other was. True, he had his mask
on by way of disguise, but I recog
nized him at once. That huge figure
couldn't be mistaken it was the lead
er of tho Black Gang himself."
"And what did you do, Zadowa?
How did you dispose of one or all of
these men so that no suspicion is
likely to rest on you'.'-'
Tho hunchback rubbed his hands to
gether gleefully.
"By an act which, I think you will
agree, is very nearly worthy of your- i
self, monsieur. To shoot was impos
siblebecause I am not aufflrioatly !
cupert with a revolver to be sure of
killing them. No nothing so. ordin
ary as that. They saw me watching
them: 'I can see his eyes, Hugh,' sa d
one of them to the leader, and I re
membered suddenly that in the pas
sage not far from where I stood were
half a dozen bombs What is it, mon
sieur?" he paused in alarm at the
look on the clergyman's face as he
slowly rose.
"Bombs!" ho snarled. "Bombs!"
Tell me what you did, you dreg!"
"Why," stnmmered the frightened
hunchback. "I threw one into the
room. I no longer wanted It as an
office, and . . . Ah, heaven, don't
murder mel ... . What have I
done?" '
, His words died away in a dreadful
gurgle, as the clergyman, his face
diabolical with fury, sprung on him
and gripped him by tho throat. He
shook the hunchback as a terrier
shakes a rat, cursing horribly under
his breath and for a moment or two
it seemed as if tho other's fear was
justified. There was murder, in the
big man's face, until tho touch of the
girl's hand on his arm steadied him in
hia senses. With a last spasm of fury
he hurled the wretched Zadowa into
a corner, and left him lying there;
then his Iron self-control came back
to him.
"Get up," he ordered tensely, "and
answer some 'questions."
Trembling all over, the hunchback
staggered to his feet and came into
the center of the room.
"Monsieur," he whined, "I do not
understand. What have I done?"
"You don't need to understand!"
snarled the clergyman. "Tell me ex
actly what happened when the bomb
burst."
"It killed the three men, monsieur,"
stammered the other.
"Curse the three men!" He lifted
his clenched fist, and Zadowa shrank
back. "What happened to the room?"
"It was wrecked utterly. A great
hole was blown in the" wall."
"And what happened to the desk?"
"I don't know exactly, monsieur,"
stammered the other. "I didn't go
back to see. But it must have been
blown to matchwood. Only as there
was nothing inside of importance it
makes no odds." '
"Did you look in the secret drawer
at the back of the center opening?
You didn't know there was one, did
you? Only I knew of Ha existence,
and short of taking the desk to pieces
no one would be able to find it. And
you took'the desk to pieces, Zadowa,
d:dn't you? Just to kill the leader of
this trumpery gang, Zadowa, you
cursed fool!"
Step by step the hunchback was
retreating before the other, terror
convulsing his face, until the wall
brought him to an abrupt stop.
"You blew the desk to pieces, Za
dowa," continued the Reverend Theo
dosius standing in front of him, "a
desk tnat contained the six most per
fect diamonds in the world, Zadowa.
With your wretched bomb, you worm,
you destroyed a fortune What have
you got to say?"
"I didn't know, monsieur," cringed
the other. "How could I know? When
were they put there?"
"I put them there this afternoon
for safety. Not in my wildest imag
ination did I dream that you would
start throwing bombs about the
place."
"Perhaps they wen; not destroyed,''
st:inriiered the huchbark hope:. lily
"In which case they are now in the
hands of the police. You have one
chance, Zadowa, and only one. It is
that those diamonds are not in the
hands of the police. If they are, and
you can get them I will say no
more."
"But if they have been destroyed,
monsieur?" muttered the other.
"Then, Zadowa, I am afraid you will
share their fate."
Almost indifferently the clergyman
turned back into the room, taking no
more notice whatever of the wretched
man who followed him on his knees
begging for mercy. And tlien after a
while the hunchback-pulled himself
together and stood up.
"It was a mistake, monsieur," he
said quietly, "which f deeply regret.
It was, however, you must admit,
hardly my fault. I will do my best."
"Let us hope, then, for your sake,
Zadowa, that your best will be suc
cessful. Now go."
He pointed to the door, and with
out another word the hunchback went.
The girl rose and came over to
where the man was standing.
"What diamonds are those you talk
about?"
The man gave a short, hard laugh.
"I didn't tell you," he answered.
There was no object in your knowing
for a time. I know your weakness
where jewels' are concerned too well,
my dear; I got them the night before
last in Amsterdam. Do you remem
ber that Russian Stanovich? That
wasn't his real name. He was the
eldest son of the Grand Duke Geor
gius, and he had just arrived from
Russia.
"The man who took that overdose
of his sleeping-draught?" whispered
the girl barely above her breath.
The Reverend Theodosius smiled
grimly.
"So they decided," he remarked.
"He confided to me the night before
he came to his sad end what he had
been doing in Russia. His father had
hidden the family heirlooms from the
Bolshevists, and our friend went over
to retrieve them. Most ingenius the
way he got them out of Russia. Such
a pity he had a lapse with his sleep
dope."
And now the Reverend Theodosius
was snarling like a mad dog.
"By heavens, girl do you wonder
that I nearly kliled that fool Zadowa?
The coup of a lifetime, safely brought
off. Not a trace of suspicion on me
not a trace. And then, after having
got them safely into this country, to
lose them like that. Why, do you
know that one of them was the rose
diamond of the Russian crown
jewels?"
He was pacing up and down the
room, and for a while she stood
watching him in silence.
"I'm glad I didn't know about them
till now," she said at length, "I
might not have stopped you killing
him if I hud. And it would have been
rather awkward."
He gave a short laugh and threw
the end of his cigar into the grate.
"No use crying over spilt milk, my
dear. Let's go to bed."
But little Janet still stood by the
table watching him thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking ubout?"
. "I was thinking about a rather pe
culiar coincidence," she answered
quietly. "You were too worried over
tlio diamonds to notice, it but it
struck me instantly. The leader of
this gang this huge man whom Za
dowa killed tonight. Did you notice
whnt his Christian name was? It was
Hugh Zadowa heard one of tho oth
ers call him by name. Hugh, mon
nmi; Hugh and a huge man. A co
incidence, I think.
The man gave a short laugh.
"A very long one, my dear. Too
long to bother about." .
"It would be a pity if ho was dead,"
she wont on thoughtfully. "I would
have liked to see my Hugh Drum
mond again."
"If he has been killed, it your sup
position is correct," returned the
man, " it will do something toward
reconciling me to the loss of the di
amonds. But I don't think it's likely.
And incidentally he Is the only side
show I am going to allow myself dur
ing this trip."
Little Janet laughed softly.
"I wonder," she said, "I wonder.
Let us, as you say, go to bed."
CHAPTER VII
In Which Hugh Drummond Makes a
Discovery.
THE prospect in front of Count Za
dowa, alias Mr. Atkinson, was not
a very alluring one, and the more
he thought about It the less he liked
it. Either the diamonds were blown
to dust, or they were in the hands of
the authorities. In the first event he
had the Reverend Theodosius to reck
on with; in the second the police.
And for preference the police won in
a canter.
He was under no delusions, was the
hunchback. ThiB mysterious man who
singed all his communications by the
enigmatic letter X, and whose real
appearance was known probably only
to the girl who was his constant com
panion, so wonderful and varied were
his disguises, was not a person whom
it paid to have any delusions about.
With a shudder Count Zadowa re
membered the fate of certain men he
had known in the past, men who had
been employed, even as he was now
employed, on one of the innumerable
schemes of their chief. No project,
from the restoration of a monarch to
the downfall of a business combine,
was too great for the Reverend Theo
dosius' Longmoor. All that mattered
was that there should be money in it.
Why he should be interesting him
self in the spread of Communism in
England it was not for Count Zadowa
to inquire, even though he was the
head of that particular activity. Pre
sumably he was being paid for it by
others; it was no business of Count'
Zadowa's.
As he undressed that night in the
quiet hotel in Bloomsbury where he
lived the hunchback cursed bitterly
under his breath. It was such a cruel
stroke of luck.
He had already decided that his
only method lay in going down to the
office the next morning as usual. He
would find it, of course, in the pos
session of the police, and would be
told what had happened. And then
he would have to trust to luck to dis
cover what he could.
Punctually at half-past nine the
next morning he arrived at 5 Green
street. As he had expected, a consta
ble was standing at the door.
"Who are you, sir?" The police
man was barring his entrance.
"My name is Atkinson," said the
count, with well-assumed surprise.
"May I ask what you're doing here?"
"Haven't you heard, sir?" said the
'constable. "There was a bomb out
rage here last night. Is your office
upstairs?" .
"A bomb outrage?" Mr. Atkinson
gazed at the constable in amazement,
and a loafer standing by began to
laugh.
"Not 'arf,- guv'nor," he remarked
cheerfully. "The 'ole ruddy place is
gone to blazes." '
"You dry up," admonished the po
liceman. "Move along, can't you?"
"Orl rite, orl rite," grumbled the
other, shambling off. "Not allowed
to live soon, we won't be."
"You'd better go up, sir," contin
ued the constable. "The inspector is
upstairs."
Mr. Atlinkson needed no second in
vitation. Viewed by the light of day
which came streaming in through the
great hole in the wall the ruin was
complete. In the center and it was
there Mr. Atkinson's eyes strayed
continuously even while he was ack
nowledging the greetings of the in
spector stood the remnants of the
desk. And as he looked at it any faint
hope he may have cherished vanished
completely. It was literally split to
pieces in every direction; there was
not left a hiding-place for a pea, much
less a bag of diamonds.
The inspector was speaking and
Mr. Atkinson pulled himself together.
He had a part to ploy, and whatever
happened no suspicions must be
aroused.
"I feel quite staKRered, inspector,"
His glance traveled to a sinister-looking
heap in the cornel- a heap
roughly covered with an old rug. It
was stained a dull red, and from un
der the rug stretched out two long
streams of the same color streams
which were not yet dry.
"What on earth has happened?"
"There seems very little doubt
about that, sir," remarked the inspec
tor. "Evidently their idea was bur
glary. What happened, then, of
course, is hard to say exactly. Pre
sumably they started using explosives
to force your safe, and explosive is
funny stuff, even for the expert."
The inspector waved a hand at the
heap in the corner.
"And he poor devil, was quite an
expert in his way. One of the
three men, Mr. Atkinson or what's
left of him, Ginger Martin an old
friend of mine."
For a moment Mr. Atkinson's heart
stood still. ' One of the three men!
Then, where in heaven's name were
the other two?
"One of the three, inspector," he
said at length, steadying his voice.
"But what happened to the others?"
"That is the amazing thing, sir,"
answered the inspector. "I can but
think thnt though three men entered
the office downstairs, only Martin
could have been in here at the time
of tho explosion." He pulled back
the blood-stained rug, and with a
shudder Mr.' Atkinson contemplated
what was underneath. The mangled
remnants had formed one man and
one man only. Then what, he re
flected again what had become of the
other two?
They had been in there the leader
of the Black Gang and one of his pals.
Wherefore, somehow, by some miracu
lous means they must have escaped,
and the soul of Count Zadowa grew
sick within him.
Suddenly he became aware that the
inspector was asking him a question.
"Why, yes," he said, pulling him
self together, "that is so. I was leav
ing this office here, and had removed
almost everything of value. Only
some diamonds were left, inspector
and they were in that desk. I have
somewhat extensive dealings in prec
ious stones. Was there any truce of
them found?"
The inspector laughed grimly.
"You see the room for yourself,
sir. But thnt perhaps supplies us
with a motive for the crime. I am
afraid your diamonds are either blown
to pieces, or In the hands of tho other
two men, whom I have every hope to
lay my hands on shortly. There is
no trace of them here."
In the hands of the other two men!
The idea was a new one, which had
not yet come into his calculations, so
convinced had he been that all three
men were dead. And suddenly he felt
a sort of blind certainty that the in
spector though in ignorance of the
real facts of the case was riht in
his surmise. Diamonds are not blown
to pieces by an explosion; .-leathered
they might be disintegrated, no. He
felt he must get away to consider
this new development.
He crossed over to the jagged hole
in the wall and looked out.
"This has rather upset me, inspec
tor," he said, after a while. "The
South Surrey hotel in Bloomsbury
will always find me."
"Right, sir!" The inspector made
a note, and then leaned out through
the hole with a frown. "Get out of
here, you there! Go on, or I'll have
you locked up as a vagrant!"
"Orl rite, orl rite! Can't a bloke
'ave a bit o' fun when 'e ain't doing
no 'arm?"
The loafer, who had been ignomin
iously moved on from the front door,
scrambled down from the leanto roof
behind, and slouched away, mutter
ing darkly. And he was still mutter
ing to himself as he opened the door
of a taxi a few minutes later, into
which Mr. Atkinson hurriedly stepped.
For a moment or two he stood on the
pavement until it disappeared from
view; then his prowling propensities
seemed to disappear as if by magic.
Still with the same shambling gait,
but apparently now with some definite
object in mind, he disappeared down
a side street, finally coming to a halt
before a public telephone-box.. He
gave one rapid look around, then he
stepped inside.
"Mayfair 1234." He waited beating
a tattoo with his pennies on the box.
Things had gone well this morning
very well.
"Hello, is that you, Hugh? Yes,
Peter speaking. The man Atkinson is
the hunchback. Stopping South Sur
rey hotel, Bloomsbury. He's just got
"into a taxi and gone off to the Ritz.
He seemed peeved, to me. . . . Yes,
he inquired lovingly about the what
nots. . '. . What's that? You'll tod
dle around to the Ritz yourself. Right
ho! I'll come, too. Cocktail time.
Give you full details then."
The loafer stepped out of the box
and shut the door. Then, still suck
ing a filthy clay pipe, he shambled
off in the direction of the nearest
Tube station. A slight change of at
tire before lining up at the Ritz
seemed indicated. ' . -. '
And it would, indeed, have been a
shrewd observer who would have iden
tified the immaculately dressed young
gentleman who strolled into the Ritz
shortly before twelve o'clock with the
dissolute-looking object who had so
roused the wrath of the police a few
hours previously in Hoxton.- The first
person he saw sprawling contentedly
in an easy chair was Hugh Drummond,
who waved his 'stick in greeting.
Peter Darrell took the next chair,
and his eyes glanced quickly round
the lounge.
"Have you seen him, Hugh?" he
said, lowering his voice. "I don't see
anything answering to the bird grow
ing about the place here."
"No," answered Hugh. "But from
discreet inquiries made from old pimply-face
yonder I find that he arrived
here about ten o'clock. He was at
once shown up to the rooms of a gent
calling himself the Reverend Theodo
sius Longmoor, where, as far as I can
make out, he has remained ever since.
I want to see the Reverend Theodo
sius Longmoor, Peter."
A ball of wool rolled to his feet,
and Hugh stooped to pick it up. The
NTT" .
Wbemomj
- .-"
VuiT-s'pi; ,,,,
1
MOT
owner was a girl, sitting close by,
busily engaged' in knitting some ob
scure garment, and Hugh handed her
the wool with a bow.
"Thank you ; much!" she said
with a pleasant smile. "I'm afraid
I'm always dropping my wool all over
the place." '
"Don't mention It," remarked Hugh
politely. "Deucid agile little thing,
a ball of wool. Spend my life pick
ing up my wife'j. Everybody seems
to be knitting these jumper effects
new."
"Oh, this isn't a jumper," answered
the. girl a little sadly. "I've no. time
for such frivolities as that. You see,
I've just come back from the famine
stricken parts of Austria and not
only are the poor things hungry, but
they can't get p coper clothes. So just
a few of us are knitting things for
them sick sizes, you know big, me
dium and small."
"How fearfully jolly of you!" said
Hugh admiringly. "Dashed sporting
thing to do. I must tell my wife about
it. She's coming here to lunch, and
she ought to turn 'em out like bulletj
from a machine gun what?"
The girl smiled faintly as she rose.
"It would lj very good of her rf
she would help'," 'she remarked gent
ly, and then with a slight bow, she
walked away in the direction of the
lift.
"You know, old son," remarked
Hugh, as he watched her disappear
ing, "it's an amazing affair when you
really come to think of it. There's
that girl, with a face far superior to
a patched boot, and positively oozing
virtue from every pore. . And yet,
would you leave your happy home foT
her? Look at her skirts five inches
too long; yet she'd make a man an
excellent wife. A heart of gold, prob
ably, hidden beneath innumerable
strata of multi-colored wools."
Completely exhausted he drained
his cocktail, and leaned back in his
chair, while Peter digested the pro
found utterance in silence.' A slight
feeling of lassitude was beginning to
weigh on him, owing to the atrocious
hour at which he had been compelled
to rise, and he felt quite unable to
contribute any suitable addition to
the conversation. Not that it was
required; the ferocious frown on
Drummond's face indicated that he
was in the throes of thought and
might be expected to give tongue in
the near future.
"I ought to have a bit of paper
to write it all down on, Peter," he
remarked at length. "Where are we,
Peter? That is tho question. Point
one; we have the diamonds more
by luck than good management. Point
two; the hunchback gentleman who
has a sufficiently strong constitution
to live in the South Surrey hotel in
Bloomsbury has not got the diamonds.
Point three: he, at the present mo
ment, is closeted with the Reverend
Thodosius Longmoor upstairs. Point
four: we are about to consume an
other cocktail downstairs. Well
bearing that little lot in mind, what
happens when we all meet?"
A slight stare was his only an
swer, and Hugh continued to ponder
on the obscurity of the situation in
silence. That several rays , of light
might have been thrown on it by a
conversation then proceeding -Upstairs
was of no help to him; nor could he
have been expected to know that the
fog of war was about to lift in a most
unpleasantly drastic manner. "
"Coincidence? Bosh!" the girl with
tho' heart of gold was remarking at
that very moment. "It's a certainty.
Whether he's got tho diamonds or
not I can't say, but your big friend
of last night, Zadowa, is sitting down
stairs now drinking a cocktail in the
lounge." 1
"Amazing though it is, it certain
etmom
SUBSTANTIAL
HAINES CITY
CTUALLY built on actualities that is Haines
. City. There is no flagrantly exaggerated
tale of things that may be- done; instead, there
is to ofTer to the investor a long list of accom
plishments by the residents and developers of
Haines City.
These accomplishments are in the form of solid,
substantial improvements, working constantly for
the Haines City of the future rather than tempor
arily for tho Haines City of the minute.
Substantially there is a character of prime im
portance to every investor. For example a pro-,
pram of city improvement which will pave every
street in the city; ample water and sewage fa
cilities; plenty of homes to be provided under a
$5,000,000 building program for the next few
months; and a community of neighbors desirable
because of their never-failing interest in Haines
City.
Surrounding all this activity is a countryside
where an increasing number of fanners and grow
ers are producing the necessaries of life. Their
presence means that the aforesaid substantiality
is not confined to the city. It is the substantiality
of a whole district.
REALTOR
llllllllM riaiiMH lifr llllllMl I .III SSSI I 11 ill SSI, asisssi
ly looks as if you ware right, my
dear," answered her father thought
fully. "Of course I'm right!" erled the
girl. "Why, the darned thing la stick
ing out and barking nt you. A big
man. Christian name Hugh, was in
Zadowa's office last night. Hugh
Drummond is downstairs at the mo
ment, having nctually tracked Za
dowa here. Of course, they're the
same; an infant in arms could see
it. His wife is coming here to lunch.
You remember her that silly little
fool Phyllis Benton? And they live
in Brook street. It might b worth
trying. If, by any chance, he has
got the diamonds well, shell be very
useful.' And if he hasn't," she shrug
ged her shoulders, "we can easily re
turn her if we want her."
The Reverend Theodosius smiled.
Long-winded explanations between
the two of them were seldom neces
sary. Then he looked at his watch.
"Short notice," he remarked; "but
we'll try. No harm done, if we fail."
He stepped over to the telephone,
and put through a call. And having
given two or three curt orders he
came slowly into the loom.
"Chances of success very small, I'm
afradi; but as you gay, my dear,
worth trying. And now I think I'll
renew my acquaintance with Mr.
Drummond."
With a short chuckle he left the
room, and a minute or two later a
benevolent clergyman, reading the
Church Times, was sitting in the
lounge just opposite Hugh and Peter.
Through half-closed eyes Hugh took
stock of him, wondering casually if
this was the Reverend Theodosius
Longmoor. And when a few minutes
later the clergyman took a cigarette
out of his case, and then commenced
to fumble in his pockets for matches
which he had evidently forgotten,
Hugh rose and offered him one.
"Allow me, air," he murmured,
holding it out
"I thank you, sir," said the clergy
man, with a charming smile. "I'm
so terribly forgetful over matches.
As a matter of fact I don't generally
smoke before lunch, but I've had such
a distressing morning that. I felt I
must have a cigarette just to soothe
my nerves."
"By Jove! that's bad," remarked
Hugh. "Bath water cold, and all
that?"
"Nothing so trivial, I fear," said
the other. "No; a poor man who
has been with me since ten has just
suffered the most terrible blow. I
can hardly have believed it possible
here in London, but the whole of his
business premises were wrecked by a
bomb last night."
"You don't say so," murmured
Hugh, sinking into a chair, and at
the table opposite-Peter Darrell open
ed one eye.
"All his papers everything gone.
And it has hit me, too. Quite a re
spectable little sum of money over
a huhdred pounds, gathered together
for the restoration of the old oak
ehancel in my church blown to
pieces by this unknown miscreant.
It's hard, sir,-it's hard. But 'this
poor fellow's loss ia greater than
mine, so I must not complain."
The clergyman took off his spec
tacles and wiped them, and Drum
mond stole a lightning glance at
Darrell. The faintest shurg of his
shoulders indicated that the latter
had heard, and was r.s much in the
dark as Hugh. That this was the
Reverend Theodosius Longmoor was
now obvious, but what a charming,
courteous old gentleman! It seemed
impossible to associate guilt with
such a delightful person, and, if so,
they had made a bad mistake. It was
(Continued on Fwge Six)
PS