THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 86, 10 April 1906, Page 6

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

By WINTHROP B. HARLAND,

Author of " Lady Elgin's Secret," " A Harvest of Shame," "The Elder Son, ■ " Lord Ash ton's Heir," etc., etc.

CHAPTER XL y A STRANGE TELEGRAM. So far there was not a gleam of light to redeem the darlcness which had fallen on the soldier's life since his eld com- ■ rade so strangely disappeared. The - principal of the firm in Sheriff's Court • was actuated by the best intentions when i he cited several instances that had ended ] to the satisfaction of all concerned, j though the outlook had been much more . sombre, but Major Lugard only shook ( his head. He was .haunted by Dora's \ sadly-expressed conviction that if her , father had been so near, and in safe keep- j ing, he would not have left her all this j time without a sight or a sign of him. , He took Mr Fletcher with him to his ■ \ clul>. and found that, true to his pro- j] misc. Mr Darlington had sent a message. It was a telegram of considerable length, and intimated that a man would be j sent with spec&l information later on. In substance the message was sufficient- j ' ly alarming, even to the experienced , Fletcher, for it suggested that the col- ' ' onel was perhaps being personated, and that the man who had lured him away j, had a double. ' "If the man who used Fletcher and Wyman's name is not genuine," one ! part of the message ran, "a very deep | and dangerous game is being played, j \ Let mc know." "What do you understand by that?" the major asked. "It is an old dodge, sir. There is not j . much doubt that the colonel has been ! ! spirited away, and the people who have done it have got some one . to personate him — made up as much like him as possible—and they could easily get two men sufficiently alike to puzzle us, one to be seen with the ' real colonel, the other to travel with his counterfeit: that would be done to throw us off the scent. The only bit of comfort in it is that the colonel is ' safe." "Safe?" said the major, in amaze- J ment. "How can he be safe?" : "I mean to say that they have not ! killed him, do not want to kill him, and •will not, unless they are driven to it as i a last resource. He evidently knows ; too much for somebody, and that : somebody wants "to keep him : out ' of the way for a time, per- ] haps till that somebody can realise his ■ property and get safely abroad. I say realise his property, because whoever 11 is doing this has plenty of money to do it with; and still I say the colonel is safe. I would stake mv reputation on it."' " . "Why should you be so sure, in the : face of existing circumstances '■■ " "We will put it as a matter of common sense, major. The colonel is in his private room, in a big hotel; no one— ■waiter, chambermaid, or manager— would go near him unless he rang. <He i does not expect either of his friends till three in the afternoon." "Well?" - « "At twelve a stranger obtains aclmis- . sion to him by a false pretence; an un- < scrupulous man, or he would not be engaged in such work—a big, powerful fellow, and "perhaps not so old as he looked, for the beard and spectacles may have bgen a disguise. Now the colonel has had a sunstroke, and suffers from heart disease, and a blow over the heart —it need not be a heavy one— would have killed him in a moment. The stronger could have left him there dead, walked quietly away, and taken the train for anywhere. There would have been an inquest. You would have been called upon to fgive evidence. The verdict would have been death from heart disease, and no one would have been the wiser." "You have formed a very curious theory," the major said. "I cannot think that the man who would keep him from his friends would hesitate at having him silenced at once and forever." x "That is where you are mistaken, sir. You were in the Indian Mutiny, and sent many a black rascal to his last account, thinking no more of it than you would of killing a mad dog: aud I do not suppose you ever lost a night's rest by it." "Never," said the major, grimly, '•'except w-hen I thought that some miscreant had escaped mc." "But you would not like to kill your Worst enemy deliberately?" "Heaven forbid?" "And that is the way with human nature ihe world over," Mr Fletcher observed, philosophically; "you may wish that a certain man was out of your way, but you could not destroy him or have him destroyed if you had time to think of it. Superstition is our great safeguard against crime of that kind, major. Your friend the colonel has an enemy who wants him out of the way, but he is the sort oi enemy who -would not like to hare a murder on his mind: if Colonel St. Hilary's death had been intended, he would have been slain at the hotel, where the man had a chance that may never occur again." "Unless the object was to entice him into some more lonely^place." "The lonelier the place the greater the likelihood oi discovery, my dear sir. A gentleman or' the colonel's appearance could not visit any of the slums without attracting attention. The haunts lof the criminal classes are well known to the police, and the police are constantly on the watch, although they rarely interfere. The colonel has not been taken to any low or lonely place; that he is # in safe keeping I have no doubt; but it is in some place that would never be suspected." 1 "Then how can you hope to rind him?" "As 1 have found many others. No one is so difficult to find as a man or a woman who away purposely and willingly. In cases of that kind we are often baffled at the outset by a change of name, or a disguise, or both. Take, for example, the case of a young wife who ran away from her husband, not with anyone else, mind you, but because she thought he did not care foilier. She put on a dark brown wig. cut oil' her own hair, which was almost

flaxen, dressed like a widow, and we were nearly two years finding her." ""But you did find her?" "Oh, yes; it is only a question of time. Another case was a stockbroker's clerk, who got clear away with seven or eight thousand pounds; went to Mexico for a year, came back sunburned and clean shaved, pretended to be a missionary, mads friends with a Nonconformist minister on the south coast, and actually started a chapel of his own, where he did uncommonly -well. He was a teetotaler, too, so could always keep his own counsel; but I had him at last. It is only a question of time, as I said just now." ''Do not let this be a question of time," the major said. "The sooner you find St. Hilary the heavier your reward shall be." "We will take your word ior that, major. What 1 wanted to show you is that the chances of finding the colonel are better than they were of finding either of the persons I have mentioned. Ho is being detained against his will; he will take the slightest opportunity of escaping or making his place of captivity known, or bribing those who may be set to watch him, and.wherever he may be I shall find him.*' •'I -wish I felt as sure of that as you seem to be. Do you approve of Mr Darlington's suggestion, the offering of a reward?" "There are two ways of looking at it," Mr Fletcher observed; ''and Mr Dacre's idea is not to be disregarded; the offer of a reward, a big one, might cause him to be set at liberty; on the other hand, it might bring matters to an unpleasant crisis for the colonel; and there is another thing to be looked at, the offer of a reward would alarm the young lady, "Miss St. Hilary. For my own part, I think it is the last step that should be taken, and then only when all other means have been tried." Major Lugard accepted the opinions of his more experienced companion, whose arguments in favour of the colonel's ! safety made him feel more hopeful. , By the time they arrived at Canon- I street Mr Dacre had returned. He was resting, worn and haggard, on the dining- | room couch: his right arm was in a sling, and -when he rose, slowly and in pain, to meet them, Lugard, as he intro- I duced'Mr "Fletcher, noticed that Dacre's face and temple were discoloured by a bruise. I "You have been hurt," the major said, anxiously. "How did it happen?" "It is' nothing much," Dacre replied. "I was thrown out of a cab; the horse stumbled on the slippery road, and I, being half asleep, was net so quick as | usual. Have you brought any news?" "Very little; and you?" J "Yes", I am glad "to say. They were 1 kind enough to send a man with mc from Scotland Yard, a clever fellow; and.it is i eleas\ from the inquiries he made, that the colonel did come to London yesterday , evening. He had two companions, and a i gentleman was waiting for the tnain, evidently expecting them." "And you think that St. Hilary was one of the party?" "There can be no doubt of it. A gentleman answering to his description in every particular, was addressed as colonel by the others. One of the porters overheard them, and after some conversation, it then being past eight, the colonel asked what -time the next train left for Dover." "For Dover?" "Yes. The porter told him at about a quarter to ten, from London Bridge; and the colonel, who was full of suppressed excitement, looked at his watch, and seemed to chafe at the delay. Que of his companions, a tall, elderly man, endeavoured to dissuade him from the journey, but the colonel silenced him with a" stamp of his foot, 'like a gentleman who was* used to ordering people about,' the porter said. Then they adjourned to the refreshment room, where the colonel had a. cup of coffee and something to eat. Then, with the tall man, he took a cab for London Bridge. The others walked away." "And what did your detective do?" Mr Fletcher asked. "Went on to Dover. I would have gone with him, but he told mc. as politely as he could, that I should be rather in his way than otherwise." "So we were told at Scotland Yard," the major said. "And I have no doubt you would be. What did your detective think of the porter's information?" "The inference was clear to him. The man who had been waiting at Euston must have told St. Hilary that Crombie was on the alert, and had escaped them. He will possibly cross the Channel, and try to make his way to some country where the extradition laws are not in force." "That is what Mr Crombie would do. if it is Mr Crombie they are following. But there is another side to the question, Mr Dacre. Had you called at our office, you would have learned that we did not send anyone to the colonel at Diverpool. The man, whoever he may be, is no agent of ours." - Mr Dacre looked at him in incredulous surprise. "Not your agent?" be said. "That* is so. sir. He may be one of our discarded employees, a fellow named Harvey: "but we shall soon be able to tell, as Harvey can be found and produced within four-and-twenty hours. But a more serious view has been suggested, and my own impression is that the suggestions is not far from the truth." "And what is the suggestion?" "That the gentleman who came from Crewe last night is not the colonel at all, but simply someone who is personating him; and his companion is purposely made up like Harvey, to throw us off the^scent." "You frighten mc," Mr Dacre said, trembling from head to foot, in spite of the iron nerve that was one of his leading characteristics. "You open up such a terrible supposition; I would not have it cQine to his daughter's knowledge for all I possess. The man was not your agent, and you think that the colonel is. being personated?" "I do,-sir; and I think several other things that I shall act upon in time. But you have done your best, and I do not wonder that you are unnerved. The accident has shaken you, and you have undergone enough- fatigue to tire out many men not half your age." . ."Do not think of that," Mr Dacre said, with much emotion. "Call upon mc at any hour of the day or night, and I <will come if I can be of any service. Call upon mc for any money that may be necessary, andi you shall have a cheque immediately. Whether it.is for ten pounds, ten hundred, or ten thousand. Heaven Jcao-wa, I (would

give more than that tor clasp the colonel's band, and see him reunited to his child." "Major Lugard has already placed' itbe case in my bands," Fletcher said; "and, apart from what may be at ..stake . professionally, I have a personal inteT--1 est in the matter, as our name has ■ been used, and the colonel has -jeen one j lof our most liberal Clients. But -why, 'the name of Crombie should have been : pitched upon as a lure is a mystery to mc. We searched the world over for him, years ago, and proved, beyond doubt, that he was dead." "You are sure of that?" Dacre said. "We do not leave much Toom for dispute, sir, nvhen time and money are no object—as they were not then. Even the colonel was satisfied until recently, when one of his friends thought be travelled with/ him in the same train from Scotland. Ho had [better have held his tnogue. He only set the colonel on an idle quest, and placed him in this danger." j "He bad better have held bis 'tongue," 'Mr Dacre assented. "It is those busy meddlers who do most of J the mischief; and but for hint we should have had the colonel with us mow. Will you excuse mc if I retire? IMy arm is painful, and my head aches. Shall I send Dora to you?" "■Where is she?" "Lying down. She has not slept since yesterday." ' "Do not disturb her," said Lugard; "and pray stand upon no ceremony with mo. Have you consulted a docton about your injuries?" "Oh, 3 r es, a friend of my own. I am more shaken than hurt; but at my age a severe shaking is not easily got over. Ring f° r anything you want, and use this bouse as your own." "Thanks," said the liiajor. "I am sure of the welcome, but I cannot consent to bring my bachelor habits into your orderly establishment. My man is looking out for- some rooms for mc." "I am rather forgetful." Dacre said. "Your man has been here some time, and I have been wondering why his face seems familiar to me.'" "He was one of the waiters at the Cornwallis,' said Lugard. "I only engaged him last night, and be. will be. very useful in our search, especially useful as he can identify the man St. Hilary -went away -with." Mr. Dacre faltered in the. steps he was talking toward the door. He was clearly beginning to feel the effects of his accident and the long journey of the previous day. The major gave him his arm to the stairs. As they stood there for a moment there was a sharp knock and a ring. The butler came from his door at the end of the hall. "The postman, I think," he said. "But there is no letter in the box." He opened the door, not to the postman, but to a messenger with a telegram. Obeying a sign from Dacre, the major opened it. "From the colonel," he said. "He is at Boulogne." "Read it." said Dacre impatiently. " 'From St. Hilary to Dacre,' tlie major read. " 'Am on the track and nearly sure of him. ■ He in hiding somewhere in this town. Will write if not back tonight. Love to Dora." "That is worth a king's ransom," Dacre said, fervently. "How glad the poor child will be!" , "It will set her mind at rest for the present, if it does nothing else," said Fletcher, taking the telegram from the major's hand. "Let mc have-this for the present, please." "What are you going to do?" the major asked; "Have the sender of it detained at Boulogne, whether he is the colonel or not. If he is the colonel, our anxiety must be our excuse; and whether he is or not, he shall be detained till we have crossed the Channel to identify him." (To be continued daily.)