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Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 305, 24 December 1891, Page 6 (Supplement)

CHAPTER V. HOW THE CHEQUE WAS PRESENTED. ' " The professor has bolted !" Impossible !' cried Herbert;, indignantly. ' What makes you think so?' 'Everything,' replied the detective. 'No unusual noise was hoard. Now you can'b overpower a man in tho dead of night and carry him off without creating some disturbance. Mrs Pm-floet fcella us that he used to keep a pood deal of money in the house, and there isn't a penny-piece to be found.' ' But that, ifc seems to me, might point to a robbery.' 'Might it?' paid Mr Wenlock, coolly. ' Do you imagine that a robber would be likely to take an aged scientific pack Ilia bag for him, put on his hat and\ overcoat and carry him off in the way of business ?' 'Pack his bag !' cried Herbert, beginning to feel shaken in his confidence in the impossibility of tho professor's having voluntarily absconded. ' How can you tell ?' ' Professor Puvfleefc was naturally a man of orderly habits.' 'He was,' assented Herbert, who had ceased to ask the origin of these to him almost miraculous intuitions. ' Look at the contents of these drawers. Somebody has been making , hay here among the underclothing. Burglars don't waste time over such things. You sco this depression on the bed, and thie lino of dust down tho middle of it—that's where the bag roßted.' ' Well, but he must be mad then !' exclaimed Herbert. ' t can't account for it otherwise. , ' Not at all. That doesn't follow in tho least Bless your heart, the case is by' no means uncommon. You would be surprised if you knew how often it occure without the public ever hearing a word about it. I could tell you dozen of instances in my own experience.' 'Bub is there not often some foul play at the bottom of it ?' ' Sometimes, of course. Not often. In this case certainly nob. Just consider. Here we have an ■ old gentleman—wife, troublesome, shall I say ?—wants peace and quietness, packs up, writes a cheque for five thousand pounds, payable to himself, and slip 3 off on the sly.' 'Bub why didn't he present the cheque himself? There waa nothing to prevent him.' ' What ! At a bank where he would certainly be recognised ? Where his departure might be already known, and whence he mishi easily be followed and traced ? Not he.' " 4 Well, but he must have foreseen the possibility of the cheque being sent bacjtfor reference, which, as it happened, actually occurred.' ' Probably he did, but he had to chance it. So much the better for us.' 'Why so? , 'As he made it for so large an amount, he ia persnmably short of cash. ' He will be easier to lay hold of.' • Well, what is to be done V asked Herbert, unable further to dispute the point. ' I'll do all I can. If I had only known a day oarlier, I'd havo had him in less than a week. As it 13, he has had ample time to leave the country unnoticed, and it may take longer ; but I'll have him, never fear. Could you oblige me with a. description of him *

'Thank you,' he said, as he casb his eye over the delineation which Mrs Purfleob, Gladys and Herbeit drew up between them, folded ie up and slipped it into his pocket-book. ' I'll let; you know how I get; on. Good afternoon. 1

' There, what did I tell you ? I knew that he would agree with me !' cried Bertha in triumph, when the departing detective had closed the door behind him. 'He has deserted me—left rao free ! 1 was sure of it,'

'.Shame upon you! , said Herbert, sternly, as Gladys fled from the sight of her step- mother's rapturous delight. ' Even if it is as you say and he thinks, that is no excuse- for so disgraceful an exhibition of joy. Even if you are glad, you might* at least .have the decency to conceal the fact before poor Gladys, who has little cause for rejoicing.' 'You are right,' replied Bertha, with a grim intensity thab caused Herbert to Hindi from her as from some poisonous reptile. ' She has little sense, and will have less.' ' What do you mean ?' he said ; but she had gono before he could prevent her. Convinced against bis will, as he had been, by the assertive personality ot the detective when that was withdrawn he began to waver ngviin in his opinion. It was so extraordinary, so unlike the lifelong habits, so foreign to the disposition of the old professor to take suddenly so reckless and ill-considered a step, without a word of warning to me his beloved daughter, without a thought of the sufferings that such a proceeding must inevitably entail upon her. No ! He would not, he could not believe it of him. Ib was beyond tho power of his imagination to conceive of any compelling force sufficient to drive him to such a course of action. He knew that sins long,, hidden had before then risen up to confront the gravest-seeming men and fright them from their propriety, but thab, he felt sure, was out of the question in this case. He knew thab men hud fled from the disgrace of irretrievable commercial ruin, but he knew also that no such disaster was threatening the urofessor. That the mere annoyance caused by his wife's unamiable temper should have worked upon him to such an extent, after he had endured it svibh irreproachable patience for so long, was incredible. He could not deny the reasonableness of Mr Wenlock's conclusions, he could not impeach the strength of the evidence against his own vague theory of some hideous deed, bub he would not admit even to himself thab Professor Purfleet had gone willingly.

In the meantime, the sole step likely to prove of use, that he was free to take, was in the direction of the bank, to make inquiries about the young man who had presented that mysterious cheque. He surely if he could be discovered, would be able to throw some light upon the professor's whereabout?, to reveal, at all events, where he had met him, and so furnish one link in the chain of possible identifications which he must have left lengthening behind him. A man cannot go any distance in London even in the most silent hours of the night without encountering some few of his fel-low-citizens who might have marked and remembered lm appeai'ancs, if they could but be found." : lie presented a sufficiently notable figure at an}' rate. His height, to be sure, was disguised . somewhat by a stoop, but he was still remarkably brisk and active for a man of his year,s, while his great head, with his long white hair and flowing beard and moustache, and keenf dark eyes shadowed by bushy brows, was sufficient to attract attention even in a crowd. Such a personality could not pass unmarked.

As Herbert) pursued his way, occupied with these and similar reflections, he found himself unconsciously seeking in each wayfarer some prominent characteristic of face or apparel by which he could in future recognise him, and he was astonished - to find how slight bad been his observation formerly and how little remarkable there was in most people. If this were so when he was purposely endeavouring to find some distinguishing mark, how improbable was it that a mere wanderer should remember a casual encounter with a stranger to whom his careful attention would be in no wise invited.

The cashier at the bank be a personal friend of Professor Purfleet's, and having more than once met Herbert at his house, willingly gave,him all particulars concerning the young man with the cheque. He had come in almost immediately after the bank had been opened, and his early arrival had first attracted the speaker's notice. He had advanced pretty briskly toward the paying-out department, but catching the cashier's eye fixed upon him, had faltered and appeared to hesitate. There was nothing in his face or figure, he was certain, to lead him to believo that they had met before. After a moment's pause, the young mar once more advanced with obvious nervousness and tendered the cheque to the clerk. In response to the usual signal arranged between, them, the latter had passed it over to him. Carefully he had examined alternately the cheque and the bearer, who had unmistakably become more and more embarrassed beneatli this close scrutiny.

' Satisfied as I was of the genuineness of the signature, the man's uneasy manner so aroused my suspicions that I determined to proceed with caution. " This is for rather a large amount," I said. " Yes," he answered awkwardly,"it is rather unusual." •There was something about his voice that was not altogether unknown to me. " Did Professor Purfleetgive you this himself ?" I asked. "Yes." " And you are to take the money to him personally ?" " Yes." He confined his answers, as far as possible, to monosyllables, I noticed. "I am sorry to inconvenience you," I remarked, " but I cannot pay this without first consulting the professor. I have no doubt that it is all right, but we have to be careful, you know." I never saw such a startling change come over any man, He turned quite white. "What!" he cried, with a ring of undisguised alarm in the words. " Not pay it !" " Not now," I answered, more convinced than ever that something was wrong. " Tbi3 afternoon or to-morrow morning I shall doubtless be able to oblige you." "Not payib!" he exclaimedagainin a voice that wag almost a wail. 'Tarn very sorry,' I said, 'but I cannot.' He paused for a moment, pale and aghast, and then stammering hurriedly: 'Very well; I will call again to-morrow,' he turned and hastened away. I had, for an instant, some thoughts of detaining him, but the signature I knew was good, so that it was rather a tickliteh matter, and I let him go unhindered.' • That was unfortunate, , said Herbert. ' You do not know, perhaps, that P-rofessor Purfleet has disappeared.' 1 Disappeared ! You don't say so,' exclaimed the horrified cashier. Briefly Herbert related to him evil that there was to tell. • What a strange, what an extraordinary affair !' said tho cashier. ' The young man, of course, has nob returned to claim his money,' remarked Herbert. ' He has not.' ' I thought as much". If he does, you will arreet him at all hazards. You "see how important his evidence might be. Now, can you describe him to me ?' .' He was tall,' answered the cashier, reflectively, as if drawing from a mental image; 'five feet ten or eleven, I should say. Dark hair, eyes, and moustache. Decidedly good-looking, and' with the air of a gentleman in spite of his uneasinesa. None, as far as I remember, straight.' ' Do you recollect what he was wearing, by any chance ?' ' Nothing particularly conspicuous. General effect, dark. Stop ! There was something odd about his hat, which gave him an old-fashioned or rustic appearance. Ib was, I fancy, lower 5n feho crown and

broader in the brim than it is the fashion to wear them now. .

'Not much to go upon, , thought Herbert, despairingly, when ho had taken leave of his friend, the cashier. 'He must; be traced, however, though it won't do to advertise.'

That this method of endeavouring to unearth him would be dangerous, if nob fatal, to the success of his plans, he did. nob doubt. That Professor Purileet, fearing, a~ the detective had puirgested, to go in person to the bank, should have employed an ordinary messenger to draw the money for him was quite probable, but that he should have told the man ho send the reasons he had for not going himself was too absurd for credence'; and yet, if he had nob done so, what, was there to account for the young man's nervousness and distress? Why, moreover, had he shrunk from too cioso observation when engaged upon a simple matter of business? The detective might be very clever, bub there was something unaccounted for-— something which, if discovered, would pub a new complexion altogether upon the affair.

He bought an evening pamper from a boy who passed him, hoarsely vociferating: ' Winner !' and the first thing that caught his eye was an advorf.isinont :

MISSING. — A s'onllcman aced sevcnty-flve. Hair, beard and mous!;u;bo long and white. Believed to have bom \v«-uriag dark overcoat and tall hat. and to have carried a bag or portmanteau. Any information concerning his whereabouts, or leading to his ideniiticiuiori. will be amply rewarded. Apply to WENLOCK, 335 Gra-smere Street, E.G.

(To he Continued. )