MARKED DOWN FOR KILLING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 210, 13 June 1940, Page 7

MARKED DOWN FOR KILLING

By SYDNEY HORLER.

CHAPTER XI. RAHUSEN’S reasons. An hour later Carlimero was acting as host to 11 aim sen in the small house which he had taken under another name in the adjoining suburb of Streathain. It was to this retreat that ho came when he was not to be seen at th& Ronstadtian .Embassy. Under the name of ‘‘Charles Mott,” he was supposed by his neighbours to be the chief waiter at an (unknown) Soho restaurant. *■ “We are quite alone here,” he told Rahusen, “so you can talk quite freely. Tell me, my father’s friend, what really induced you to come- to London ? I had your message from Paris, saying that you intended to make the effort, 'which was why I thought out the plan which has proved so successful.” Rahusen, whose countenance had such an unnatural pallor that he had become known as “The Man with the Head Face,” reached out for a cigarette. • “My coming to London is really a piece of secret contemporary history, ’ he remarked with a mirthless smile. “But first of all tell me : how are you getting on with your esteemed confreres at the Ronstadtian Embassy?” “I hate the brutes they are uncivilised barbarians!” declared Carlimero. , , , Rahusen threw away the match he had just used, and blew a thin cloud of smoke. ~ , , “If the rest of the world knew how suspicious you two people are of/ each other, it would dismiss the threats of the propagandist Ikie Schroeder with the contempt they really deserve/’ he remarked; “you mustn’t take offence at that, my dear Carlimero, because you are sufficiently intelligent to appreciate the truth I know.” The other nodded. “Yes, I know the truth it is being driven home to me more deeply every day. We should have been better off alone. As it is, we are being dragged along tied hand and foot to Kuhnreich’s chariot. And that is going to prove a Juggernaut; killing all who ride in it.” “As a neutral I can watch the present international comedy with complete detachment,” said Rahusen. After waiting to see what effect the words might have on his hearer, jhe Man with the Dead Face continued. “I have come to join forces with you, the son of my dead friend, at the express command of Signor Brassiano himself/ “Brassiano?” So great was Cariiruero’s surprise that he stared for a few moments increduously at the other man. , . “Yes, Brassiano specially commissioned me to come to London and join forces with you, as I have already said. But before I say anything more, Rahusen went on, “I think I must explain why he did so. I referred just now to the deep distrust that you * Caronians have of your partners, the Ronstadtians —well, here is a story, for the truth of which I can personally vouch, which bears eloquent testimony .to that well-rooted suspicion. Disregarding fhe younger man s frown, Rahusen continued: “Six weeks ago, six Caronian engineers were sent on special command of Brassiana to the former Lavanian Armament Works at Pepo which Kuhiireich took over when he overran - Lavania —and now they have all mysteriously disappeared.” “Murdered?” “Undoubtedly. But not by the Lavanian Police, let me tell you, but by the Secret Police of Ronstadt. This ’ is what happened,” the speaker continued in. a level, detached tone, that added drama to an already dramatic tale.

DOUBLE ENEMIES'. “The special task of these six engineers was to obtain copies of the blue prints of the new, quick-firing, lightweight machine-gun designed, at the conquered Lavanian wprks, and also to inspect the jigs and tools required for making them. But Lavania, ever since being raped by Kuhnreich in that lightning coup of his, hated the partner of their loathed enemy almost as much as they hated that enemy himseif. They were aware, also, that the Caronian engineers should by rights have gone to the Ronstadt authorities and made their requests to them, blit it> was owing to the mistrust of their allies that the Caronians went direct to Pepo. “Leaving liberal bribes to ensure that they would get the right plans and guns shown to them, and not substitute plans, the Caronians then prepared to leave the country but they never reached the frontier:” “Why?” ejaculated the listener. The Man with the Bead Face smiled his mirthless smile. “For the very simple reason, my dear fellow, that the Lavanians intending to kill two birds with one stone, denounced t'qp Caronian engineers to the Ronstadt Secret Police, and the latter did the rest!” “Horrible 1” commented Carlimero, “horrible!” Rahusen shrugged. “Yes, horrible—if you are thinskinned,” he commentedj “but you Caronians would have dono exactly the same thing if the situation had been reversed. The supreme joke was that the real plans had been brought to London meanwhile. “Now,” he went on in a brisker tone, “yon will appreciate why, when Brassiano heard that | was hiding in Paris, he sent a special ’plane for me to go to Corsa. “I saw him in his private office, and it was‘there that he gave me my instructions.- I was to come to London to act as secret chief of the £aronian Espionage System, and amongst my duties,” here he lowered his voice, “was to keep a very sharp watch on the doings of my former employers.”

.“It is an amusing situation, ironically commented Carlimero; “but a, very dangerous one, I should say.” “Dangerous? Yes, I„ suppose it is but you ought to know my record sufficiently well, Carlimero, to realise that danger has no threat for me.” The tlnn lips curled back to show wolfish teeth. “And after the reception that swine Strassber gave mo when by a mike Standish and Bellamy beat me the last

Story of British Intelligence Service.

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time I was here, I shall bo only to pleased to pit my wits against those of Ronstadt. Yes, most certainly I shall!” smiling again. Carlimero held out his hand.

“I welcome you not N only on your own behalf, Rausen, but also on tielialf of my country; we will work together —not only against England, as represented by Standish and Bellamy, but against Ronstadt, as represented ny that swine Greisner! at * * • Meanwhile, Greisner, on his way back to the Ronstadtian Embassy, was evolving another plan whereby he could both humiliate the man who had been rash enough'to insult him that night, and strike Standish a deadly blow—a blow from which this time there could be no possible escape. STANDISH IS FRACTIOUS. Sonia looked up from her newspaper as Tiger entered the dining-room. “What a dreadful thing to happen!” she commented. “My dear sweet,” he drawled as he bent to kiss her, “the world to-day is overflowing, simply overflowing, with dreadful happenings! And whatever this latest specimen is, I absolutely refuse to allow iif to interfere with my breakfast ” With that he strolled over to the sideboard and began to inspect the various dishes that were being kept hot.

Waiting until he had sat down ana commenced his porridge, Sonia continued with her remarks. “I know the world is full of dreadful happenings, darling/’ she said, ‘but these bomb outrages are getting too abominable. Why, according to the ‘Daily /Megaphone’ here, another took place in the Haymarket yesterday af-' ternoon. I saw something on the placards last night when I was going to the theatre with the Merrifields, hut I didn’t trouble to buy a paper. But here it is—” holding out the copy of that journal. Standish gave the headlines on the front page only a casual glance.

‘That new cook’s turnihg out very well,” he said, to his wife’s exasperation. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted better porridge than- this.” ‘Never mind your porridge; why don’t you pay attenion to me?” And again she held up the copy of her newspaper. But Tiger did not reach out to take it.

“I can see it quite well from here,” he stated, “and, my dear, if I don’t appear to pay as much attention to your remarks this morning as you would like me to do, let me say that in my opinion, the popular press of this country leaves a very great deal to be desired.” As though he felt the subject mastering him, he actually laid down his porridge spoon. 'What can you say of newspapers that devote their front pages to sensationalising out of all proportion an event like that,” nodding towards the paper she was still holding. “You were in the Haymarket yesterday weren’t yon, Tiger?” Sonia wenton. , Standish burst into a loud fit of coughing. “What is this?” he cried “Am I being watched or something? It’s unfair.”

“No Tiger, I- haven’t gone to the trouble of having you watched yet—but at the theatre last night I met Elsie Summers; it was she who said that she saw ypu and Benny standing on the pavement outside Louis’s shop yesterday about two-thirty.” “That’s right,” he replied brightly. “I’d just been into Louis’s to buy a few pipes.” “Then you must have seen this bomb explosion?” “Of course I saw it—but I don’t come blabbering home like some husbands, breathing -fire and disaster on the woman I love! You ought to know me better than that, Sonia.” “I know you quite well enough, my dear,” she remarked, . sighing, “And what’s the verdict?” “Need you ask?” “Well, I’d like to know all the same,” spearing at a kidney. But Sonia would not be drawn; instead of replying to this direct hint, she turned to her newspaper again. She was very much a woman. “According to the ‘Daily Megaphone’ the explosion might not have been caused by terrorists after all; they seem, to think that it was the work of enemy agents. ”- “Shopping this morning?” ' » She nodded. (To be continued).