THE STOLEN SUBMARINE

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 200, 22 August 1904, Page 6

THE STOLEN SUBMARINE

By GBO-UHB GRIFFITH.

book m. CHAPTER 11. PIR VICTOR'S CABLE. -"I don't know what you must think of mo by this time," she said, turning towards him again, "but whatever you do it c-nnot be worse than what I think of myself. It would have been bad enough even if 1 had loved Arthur Erskine when I tempted him to commit crime; but I didn't. I only knew that he loved mc, ; and I used that knowledge, as I thought, to save myself from the results of ray miserable extravagance —and when you have read this you will see what a fate I hive brought upon myself, and what ruin _r,v action may perhaps bring upon tbe world." She gave the sheets of paper to Hillyer, T.'ho took them in silence, and went back to her chair. Then she went on: "Sir Victor sent mc two long cables. The longest one was the message, and the other was the key to the words. Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't know which, they crime just after my husband bad gone. When you have read the message you will be able to imagine what might ;iave happened; indeed, what may 51 ill happen, were he to read it."' Then she turned her head away from him. half hnrird it in the cushions, and covered her eyes with her hand. This is what Hillyer read: "Circumstance? have lately arisen which make it evid-nt that.l gave you to the wrong man. If I had known how high a price Sir Julius was prepared to p.ir I should have aried differently. For the treachery of which you were guilty Yith regard to myself and my brother no punishment could have been too great, aud I am sure that Sir Julius would have treated you very handsomely. "Certainly whatever treatment you had received from him would have been quite good enough for a woman who tempted an innocent man into crime by such means as you used, when all the while y.iu wanted to marry his brother simply fcrr-ause you thought that he could give ym an unlimited supply of that which you Mere plainly prepared to sell yourself for. "It now appears that Sir Julius was Tr.illy iv earnest in his admiration and affection for you, and circumstances have arisen which make it absolutely essential that you shall return at once and ac-c.-pt. not the offer he made to you before, but a far more splendid one which he has put before mc. and which ought certainly to commend itself to the consideration of one who has such exalted ideas as to the value of what money can buy as you undoubtedly have. "You will explain this matter to Arthur or not, as you please. That will not aiiect the issue in the slightest. Perec nally, I am a little sorry for him; but. Brill, a man must pay the penalty of his fault, and, after all, he knew the sort of bargain he was making. On the whole, perhaps, it might save trouble, if you said nothing to him about it. and just placed yourself in the hands of Dr. Cheu-yu. who is a great friend of Sir Julius and myself, and who will provide you wjth the proper escort and make every provision for your passage home. Dr. Chen-yu will call upon you. soon Bite ," you receive this. His introduction •will iie a short cable signed by myself in this cipher. "I do not anticipate that you will be lool_Bh enough to make any objections to this course of action: but, in case such »ii idea should suggest itself to you, it would he well for you to understand the very serious consequences which might result from your refusal. In "the. fir.t "place, I still retain tbe cheque v Inch you persuaded the man who is now your husband to forge. What I gave liiiu on his wedding day wao a good imitation, hut perfectly genuine. It is therefore still in my power to prosecute him for forgery. Your share in the transaction would, of course, come out in the trial, aud I need not remind you what very unpleasant family consequences this conviction would have. "Another reason for your compliance is that, to put matters quite plainly, differences have arisen between Pir Julius and myself on the question of war or peace, which only your agreeu-.ent to his terms can settle. Were they not j=cttled ,iie. results would be disastrous In myself, and you may be quite sure that I should not be over tender as regards the means I used to enforce your eomplianee in case of necessity. "Sir Julius Aekerman's interests are *t present on the side of intervention, and. therefore, general war. Mine are on the side of peace. If y>u accept the conditions and return to Europe at once there will be no European intervention, and my position will be saved. If not I Khali be crushed by the weight of his heavier metal, there will be almost universal war. and he will probably find means to make you come to terms, after all. "I am quite sure that when you have carefully considered the matter you will find the best of reasons for doing as 1 suppest and desire.—Victor Erskine." Hillyer refld this interesting document ?ery carefully the first time, and then he looked through it slowly again. Under ordinary circumstances it would have infuriated him beyond control, but what he read between the lines had a strong _.«beruig elfe.ct on him. For the time being personal considerations receded ; nto the background. for l.ere was direct evidence of a financial plot to bring about a world-war—that very war which he was determined to prevent —for the most sordid and despicable of human reasons. Somewhat to hi:; own surprise he had, for the time being, ceased to regard Leone Erskine ss Marian's sister, or as a woman who might possibly bring disgrace upon the name of the girl to whom he meant to f-ive his own name. These, after all, were personal considerations which could be. dealt with afterwards. Leone remained silent until he spoke, and when he hid speak his voice and manner were so completely changed that she sat upright in her chair with a start and looked at him. "I think. Mrs Erskine," he said, in a voice which was just ns coot and as quiet as though he had been discussing

A_t_OF ot "The Angel of the _•*•*__•_," "Brethere of th* Cheley** "The White Wttefc of Majfakr." -The WorM Marten,"etc.

an ordinary matter of business, " that we shall be able to find a way out of this difficulty. lam more glad than I can say that your instinct impelled you to send that cable to mc. It was the very best thing that you could have done, not only with regard to the private circumstances, but, possibly, in the interests of the peace of the world." " The only question is, are you prepared to trust yourself absolutely in my hands for the present without asking mc for reasons for anything that I may think fit to do? I can help you, and I have the very greatest desire to do so, but those are the only condition_ which will make it possible for mc. There is a, great deal more in this telegram than you have seen, and I cannot explain it to you now, but I will later. Do as I ask you, and I will not only help you but save you. You have my word for that." "You can save mc, and you will! " she exclaimed, rising and facing him with her hands clasped to her temples. "Yes, I thought so; I felt so, when I asked yon to come. Something told mc that if there was any hope you could give it to mc. I will ask no questions, I will trust utterly to you and do just as you tell mc. What am Ito do';" Her voice shook so much that he was nfraid she was going to burst into tears. Dut for the present that relief was denied her. Her eyes had known neither sleep nor tears for three days aud nights. "Sit down, please," he said, " r.nd answer mc a few questions. But in the meantime it might be as well if you would be kind enough to ring and have some tea in and order mc a peg of brandy." c he rang a bell, and when the order had been obeyed and the boy had left the room, he said, in the same matter-of-fact tone: " icu evidently want a stimulant. and ss you must not break down just now, you had better take one. I'll have the tea, you take the brandy and soda. There now, just drink it cnieitly, and answer mc a few questions.' r She obeyed like a child. Her nerve" were beginning to break under tbe pcraiD, and she found an infinite relic; in submitting her will to this quiet, masterful young man and doing just atshe was told. " Now," he resumed, " I want you to tell mc whether Sir Victor Erskine ever had any idea of marrying you. I once heard a rumour that he had." " That is true," she said, speaking in a curious mechanical way, as though she were repeating a lesson. "He told mc so afterwards." " Yes,'-' he continued, " that is, I suppose, enough to explain the utter brutality of this telegram, and his carelessness as to what happens to his brother. I presume, therefore, that he forced you into this marriage under threats of exposure?" "Yes," she said again, leaning forward and lookiDg down at the mat at her feet, " that was the choice." "And I presume that he held out the same threats to your husband; any rate to oblige him to come here?'' " Yes, he told mc so after we were ni_.r?cd'. It was his way of taking revence. I suppose." "Now, tell hie, has your husband ever said anything to you about these international matters; for instance, has lie ever told you anything about a submarine vessel which" Sir Victor had bought and proposed to sell to one of the Powers?" "Submarine?" she replied, looking up again and shaking her head. "No. I don't think he knows what such a thing is except for what he has read in the papers, and I am sure that I don't." "Well, I'm glad to hear that," said Hillyer- "And now about this Mr. ChenYu. in whose care Sir Victor seems so vety anxious to place you. Have you heard anything from him yet?" ; \He called this morning, and presented his credentials, as he called them. He was very gentlemanly and polite, and seemed most anxious to do mc every serivce that he could." "Very probably! Did he leave you an address that you could write to him at ?" "Yes, I have it here." "Then will you oblige mc by sending him a letter at once, saying that your husband has unexpectedly returned, and asking him to come and dine with you this evening in order to discuss the object of his visit. I may say that I propose to be the husband for the time being. To tell you the truth, I know something about this gentleman, and 1 shall be very pleased to meet him. Moreover, there are several other people over in Nagasaki who would be still more delighted to see him. You will, perhaps, learn more about him later on, but it will be enough if I tell you that at the present moment everything depend? upon my getting bold of this particular man, and, therefore, a good deal depends upon you. "You must put all your troubles away from you for the present- I have given you my word of honour that I will save you, and I will. Within three days, if you will help mc, you shall send Sir Vic-1 tor Erskine a telegram which will very considerably astonish him, but you must help mc, and you can do that best by getting Mr. Chen-Yu here to dinner and playing the hostess to perfection. Send your letter, then go and have a little j sleep. You can do it now, for the danger is all over, I assure you; or, at least it- will be if you do just as I ask you and leave the rest to mc." I Ten minutes later Mark Hillyer wa* on his way back to the launch. As soon as he got on board she ran out to the is- i land again and returned with an addi- ■ tion of four to her crew. They wore j pigtails, and were dressed exactly as Chinese servants on any mail-boat or private yacht in Eastern waters would I be. The only difference was that under his blouse each carried a .3S Smith and Wesson revolver, and a short but very business-like dirk. (To be continued.)