SOUTH FROM MAYFAIR

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 23, 7 November 1940, Page 8

SOUTH FROM MAYFAIR

By PEARL BELLAIRS. ::

CHAPTER XVI

hawksfqrd finds something

“A “ship?” said Lorna. Sho looked al him questioningly, villi ii chill ut dread in her heart. “Yes,” he countered drily. “There are ships in the Pacific. Didn’t you know?” He began to walk quickly along the slope of the hill towards the patch ot bush ahead.

She went with him, saying nothing; she did not want to arouse any further suspicion that sho knew what he had in mind. But his obvious interest in the ship made her speculate excitedly. T>icl lie expect them to come by sea, whoever was coming to* collect information? As soon as they were within the shelter of the trees Tie began to walk up the hill again through them; they passed over the crest and down through the thick tangle on the other side. “I think we’ll go down to the sea now,” ho remarked. Did he, or did he not, know that she guessed why he had come? His tacit assumption that their quarrel was forgotten made her quiver with the knowledge of something afoot. / They picked their way down the steep slope of the hill towards the sea; it ended in a cliff, and the scrub growing on its edge hid the-shore of the lonely littlo cove below.

He led her through all the deepest thickets, so that it was only now and again that they glimpsed tl,ie sea; then they came to the boulder strewn bed ol a dried-up torrent and scrambled down it; the sound 9f the surf grew loud, the bushes thinned away to nothing, and they found themselves on the grey shingle of the shore. He moved forward on to it, looking to right and left, then suddenly checked his stride. Lorna, following him, saw a boat, half in the sea and half pulled up on the shingle, lying a hundred yards south along the shore. Her heart gave a leap. Hawksford turned at once, his lace expressionless, took her arm, and began to lead her back into the bed of the torrent where the cliffs came down on either side, hiding the boat from view. His fingers gripped her arm eommandingiy. s'." “What do they call , this place. Lorna found voice to say. “Gulliver’s Bay.” The information was not unexpected She dragged a trifle. “Where are wo going? J’d like to walk along the beacli.” “I think we’re going homo again, pretty soon. But I’d like you to sit here for a minute or two.”

They were out of sight of the boat, behind the tumbled boulders fallen from the cliff face.

“But why? I’d like to ”

“Doesn't matter what you’d like. Sit here, behind this rock. Do as I say, please. Wait for me here, and if I don’t come back in about five minutes, go home!”

“Wait for you here, and if you don’t come back, go home?” she repeated his words calmly, hut with a vast inward derision.

Did lie think she was quite so stupid? Was that how lie- had intended to get rid of her at the crucial moment? Had someone come in that boat to collect the information lie had brought, and were they waiting for him somewhere along the shore. She looked innocently at his preoccupied face. S | “Very well.” she said, meekly.

. He turned from her and walked out on to the shore again, turning south, in the direction of the boat. She climbed .on to the rocks so that she could see over the top of them. He strode quickly along the shingle, looking about him, glancing now behind, then at the cliffs above. A SHIP’S LIFEBOAT. She waited until he was within thirty yards of the boat, then'she scrambled off the rocks, ran after him. as hard as she could go. He turned a startled face at the sound of her feet on the shingle. “I might have knoivn you’d do that!” was all lie said, with a grim smile. He glanced to right and left, and she could see that every nerve in him was tense. She looked eagerly at the boat as they came to it. Tt was painted white, and it appeared to be a ship’s motor lifebpat. Suddenly Hawksford stooped and picked something up. He snatched it so quickly from the shingle and pushed it into his pocket, that she had no time to sec what it was. “What was that?” she said, her eyes vivid with suspicion. ' . He didn’t speak, he had moved round and was looking at the bow of the boat. She looked too. and saw the name in black letters: “31.5. Varna .Marti.”

Japanese! She Hashed a glance to sea, the smudge of smoke was still there on the horizon. Was it a Jananese ship out there, and had this ..lifeboat come from it?

Hawksford was looking into the boat. Was he looking for a message? "What had he picked up on the shingle?

“Come!” he said to her abruotly. and took her ariii as though to lead her a wav.

“Wlmt wits that you nicked up?” Lorna said, summoning all her courage. “What is this Janane.se hoot doing here? I’m not going until T know!” She was aware of the reckless danger of attacking him like this, alone and single-handed. “Come along!’ He sot his jaw. and glancing to right and leit again, drew her hurriedly, towards the cliff, near at hand, where the sheltering sernh came down to the edge of the shore. “Let me go!” She hung hade and began to struggle. He shifted his grip on her to his loft hand, and then she saw that with the other he was drawing something free Irom the hip pocket of his slacks; a black, short barrelled gun, the reality of that sinister shadow she had seen on the hotel blind! Lor a horrible moment she fancied he intended to use it on her. She stopped struggling, and went with him quietly, and in a swift instant they were among the slirnhs on the side of the cliff, which sloped backward here.

A Serial Story ol' Spies, Adventure and Love.

(Copyright).

so that they could just scramble up the ..sliding shingle face ol it. the bush grew closely, on the hillside above. He drew her on into it. and a. moment later they were resting, out of breath, in the shadows under the beeches. He had slipped the automatic out of sight again, and Lorna staled at his lace as he sat tense, Downing, on the bole of a tree beside her. She said fearlessly. “You think 1 don’t know why you came here! But ycu’ro working for the Japanese, aren’t you? Yo\i were going to deliver information, to them here today. J didn’t know it was Japan that was getting the information until 1 saw that boat. I suppose it came in from the sliip out there to collect the information ?”

He bad been peering down through the leaves and! branches at the beach ; now he flashed her a look of frowning surprise. “That’s pretty good deduction !” he commented briefly. “Or did it, come with a message lor you?” she demanded. “What was that you picked up by the- boat? Was it a message?” She sat up, taut with defiance. Ho put bis band over bis coat pocket which: "bulged with whatever it was that lie had put in it. “It was a message, of a, kind', and, one I’ve been wanting,” he said. His lips tightened, and lie looked at her oddlv. almost sadly. “I shouldn’t have said some of the tilings I said to you this afternoon!!” -- “You seem to have thought, me all kinds fof a fool all along!” slue retorted .

She was scared at having said so much. Now. if ever, he had reason to get rid of her! • His expression changed to a. hard amusement.

“Well, what do you intend to do, if that’s your idea? Hand me ovcir to get a, death sentence or life imprisonment for espionage?” •

A MATTER FOR GUNS. She didn’t reply directly, only pointed out: “You shouldn’t have thought me such a, a fool! You could have got away as soon as you knew I suspected!” “I don’t know why in. the world T have so much compunction about you!”

And lie took her by the arm again, and began drawing her on hurriedly upward through, the trees. His voice was bitter:

“You’d as soon sec me in the doci-c to-morrow !”

That the thought should hurt him was balm to the avYnimls lie had inflicted on hpr vanity. But fear began to outweigh all other emotion as lie .pulled her after him, further and further into the tangled gloom. Where was he going? Why was he hurrying away? Would he allow her to go home to tell what she knew ?

The ground sloped less, they .were on the summit of the hill • now the, bush thinned, and she could see light ahead. “Whore are we going?” she keptsaying. “Where are you taking me? Let me go!”

And his only reply was. as,he burvied her forcibly’ along:

“Don’t let’s stop to talk about it now!”

They came cut of the hush into i big. lias in-like, depression, in the hills, with sloping sides all round, composed of grass and shingle and rock, with a few shrubs growing on them, the centre filled with a deep tract of bush. Lorna. surmised that the track to Kaikoura by which they had come must ho ; on top of the ridge on the far side, becaufie it was this valley they had looked down' into when they first saw the ship. Hawksford was hlurrying her down the open slope inwards the hush and she saw. with sudden relief. that he seemed to he trying to cut across to (lie irack. though there was a steep climb beyond the bush on the other side, of the valley. Suddenly then?’ was ly sound. A quick whine through the air just by Lome's bead—phew! Almost in the same instant the report of a rifle, seeming to come from the ridge behind them, shook the valley with a thousand reverberations. “Holv smoke!”

Hawksford snatched her nearer to him instinctively, then, caught her hand and began to run. “The hush!” he cried. “Quick!”

Bewildered, Lor mi. ran at.his side for all she was worth. Phew! Bang! Lorna’s hat sailed away. Breathless, the two pelted through the last ten yards of shelterless scrub into the trees. They were well hidden among the shadows in the thicket when they stopped. He was still grasping her hand.

“I didn’t expect that!” lie said tersely. “They mean 'business, all right!” “It —it. hit .my hat!” gasped Lorna. “Yes, they’re after you too. We know too much nmv!”

He let go her hand, and took the automatic from his pocket., broke the breech and assured himself it was in order. “If 1 had a rifle!” lie said. “This thing is no good for this sort of work!” “But who are they?” Lorna. breathed, staring, her dark eyes wild with wonder in her pale face. “Arei they the people from the boat? Yon can’t be the spy. then, or why are they shooting at you?” “Yo. I’m not the spy. I've been pa.i.d by the Intelligence to track the spy — and you’ve been hindering me no end mv dear!”

She was so paralysed l»y the discovery, that he had to pull her doiwln lieside him into the shelter of a closer thicket. He smiled slightly as lie peered anxiously, gun in hand, towards the .rays of light which marked the open ground from which they had come.

"My job a's chauffeur gave tile a good opportunity to kee- my eyes opeiii!” he told her.

•She crouched there, staring at him. his big hard body, bis hard brown lace, the. eyes two points of blue light, alert lor danger. She forgot the peril which threatened, the mystery still unsolved.

“So you’re not a spy?” she breathed. “Yon’rre not a thief?”

“I’ll lie m corpse, and so will you,” ho replied. “If we don’t gat out of here!” Oh. wlmt a fool she had boon! She gasped aloud: “Wluit it foci!”

“I’vo been the fool, iu< got us into this jam ! This is too good a chance for them to got rid of us. Shot in the hack in tht*so hills, and taken out. in the boat to that ship out there and dumped overboard in mid-ocean!” "But arc you sure of what is happening? There was no one down by the boat !” she said. "They wore down there. While you were asking me questions 1 saw them —that is, 1 saw a chap standing. on the edge of the hush a bit of a 'way along (lie shore. He ran. into the bush again ; they were all in there, 1 fancy, and he’d been left to watch. He was y, little chap, a Jap, i think, and carrying a rifle. That’s why 1 got away as quickly as possible.” “Wc must geL back to Kaikoura immediately!” Lorna cried. “Isn’t there a- coastguard patrol, we could warn?” “Yes, my dear, but we’.re trapped here! Once we move out of these trees we’re on open ground in every direction, and w.e can he potted by anyone above!”

Even her shame and weinorse for the mistake she had made about him faded before the desperate realities facing them. Some other time, if there ever was another time for them, she must adjust herself to the truth* and her feelings about him ! “Stay here!’ he said. And he half rose and began to creep forward, so that he could gee the rise of open ground to the ridge. “No, no!” whispered Lorna. “Be careful!”

She was palpitating with fear, every moment she expected to hear the hang of the rifle and see him fall among the leaves. She crept after him. “Go back!” be said.

She stopped' where she was. and he crawled forward. Suddenly—ping! A bullet smashed into the drunk of a. tree nn inch from, his shoulder, where ho had made the leaves shake as he advanced. He dropped flat, then wormed hi.s way rapidly back tio her.

“Let’s get further in!” he said. And they* crept in among the trees into the; innermost thicket. There was a stagnant creek among the beeches, they crouched with their hacks 'against the hank beside it, and listened. All was silent among the sun-flecked shadows except for the twitter and rustle of birds. A .fantail with its pirouetting, dancing flight, hovered nearer and nearer to them, in am ecstasy df curiosity.

(To he continued)