The Shadowon on the Horse.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 70, 23 March 1910, Page 11

The Shadowon on the Horse.

By ALFRED WILSON BARRETT, Author of -ejlie Sirver Pin/ The House Over the Way," «A SaMiert Love," etc, etc.

CHAPTER XL So Daniel thought that his fiancee's brother had taken th« file from her house! Helton, realising in a flash all tint this might mean, gazed at his partner blankly, and Daniel looked- a way. -Yes, ALr. Haltou," «ke said, after a moment) "I have thought so since the jjjsi moment White showed the file to us 1 have felt it in my heart here—J {eals iat there can be no doubt that in some %ra y or another he was mixed up in \jl. Ridley's first accident. I hope that ~i maT be mistaken in thinking that there was a. connection between the first jfair and the murder.'' Qgjjies looked at kin with sympathy. "Daniel," he said quickly, "if I were to fee the cause, however innocent, of bringja; imfc=ppine« to you, old fellow, and $0" that charming lady, 1 should never jojjnve myself." Daniel turned his intelligent eyes firmly m Charles. "That is nonsense." he said, ►There is no question iiere of whether a giijjg will bring unhappiness or not. This is a question of right and wrong, a ques tioE of Miss Ridley's life and happiness. If Srbi'le's brother committed those dines we will find it out, and if he. did i commit them, if he wire twenty times }ier brother, ho shall be- punished." His face was hard and his voice, stern, gad Haltoß felt that he would keep his word, and lie almost wished now that he hs.6 never speken to Daniel on the sut> ject of the murder. And then the remembrance of the bravo yjidly City man came back to him, his conversation with Enid, his promises to do; and her mother, and he put the thewit of Eybille Lang-e aside. " After I aE even if it ware so, she would be well nd of the blackguard," he decided. ■What do you propose to do now, M fellow?" he asked. "look fox that maaGustave Lange —and tear the truth out of him," said DanieL, sternly. '" I draw the line, however, at making use. of Pvbiile for the purpose of finding him; and that will make our task rather a. difficult one. He JBsasmany biding places as a rat, and a3 many aliases as there are letters in hl3 name. We will look for him, though, Have you plenty of time?" Tes, any amount. I have nothing 'to do all day." "1 have nothing t/iat cannot wait, either," said Daniel; "Tie works are all right till the evening. Do you know I feel inclined to say I vron't. put my 'band to a , tool u,gain till I have got this weight off my mind." "1 know your feeling," said Charles; ''I have it myself, and this morning I dropped a l : ne to a friend of mine asking for a loan of five hundred pounds in ordel that I might give all my energy to the task." Daniel sighed. "I would have given five hundred pounds for you never to Lave spoken on the subject to mc," he aid solemnly; "but now that you have, I only see one course before mc, one duty, plain and simple, and -with your kelp I shall do that.'" "TPmtilt you, old fellow," said Halton, i leached. us hope to Heaven things j s3 turn out better than we expect." Daniel nodded, holding out his hand. '■Whatever happens couldn't make any difference 'between us two," he said, looking at Charles "with -his old affectionate glance; '"nor could it, I belies, between mc and Syibille titer. But I mustn't think of that." Charles returned fcis partner's clasp. "No, noting ■could nake any difference between us. DanieL" he said warmly; 'and as to Miss Laiige, she loves you, unless I am much mistaken, .more than many .brothers. Now, wl»ere are we going? "To Soho," said Daniel, looking re. Ee?ed. Both Charles and hie partner were young and energetic and, deciding to ( TOlk, they quickly made their way into the Mall and up Regent Street, turning elong Sha-ftesbury Avenne till they eunc to Old Comipi-on Street and the quarter where men of many nations Sourish. "You seem to know your way about fiiis neighbourhood," tsaid Charles, as iDaaiel dived down several short cuts and wand Jus ■way in and out of the email Btreets. His partner nodded. "I have knocked about a bit with French mechanics," he said. "They know more subout m-otor-<ais than most of our .men. They always congregate hereabouts. Syibille »nd I «sne sometimes to dine here and to look round. ■ She likes to hear hei native language spoken and taste French cookery, wjiica is very good at the "Goonmef and some of the other places. Ok! yes. I knew fhia neighbourhood -well enough." At the corner of <3-erra.rd Street the two companions collided with a foreignJookjag i»3,n. whom Daniel epoke to, " la 3iag. him iby a queer-sounding nickname. "This is Antinbri. Mr. Saltan," , ho. eidi introducing his chance-met ao •ipaintanee, '•■who acted as mechanic to ™zarro in some of tie races. Antinori. I frant to find a man." 22u3 foreigner, a q-jick. dark. little Salian, nodded. "A mechanic, yes, e-h i™ , - Daniel?" "No, he has nothing to do with moteTß - He is a Frenchman called Lange— Gnstave Lange." lie little Italian shook Ms head. "No. eotrt know," he said. "Only Italians I ™w. very .few French. But here is Gtoseppe Gttisti; die knows everybody." -And slopping a man who wae passing, ™put Daniel's tpierly to him. Gtristi, knew no nrwe than his friend. wit lie, in his turn, In/jair&d of a passer"J'i and soon Char!/« and Daniel had •Pute a small crowd about them, gestieuktiag and chattering, A man at last singled himself out from we throng and pronounced too name of "Bstave Lango with evident familiarity. He was a Frenchman, a villainous-look-jag rosea] about forty, -with hair cut a « brosse and a blue handkerchief round fusneek. "Gustave Lange," he said, fixing Dan•2l with his black ey«s, aad then turning & canning gkneo to Halten, vrho looked Pnart and well-turned-out, ""Yes, 1 www Gu.=Aave, no one better, And I mow where he is alwaya to be found. i" these gentlemen will eejue with mc, 1 'Sill shew ttiem the place." Daaiel naddad : aa.l dismissing tie ai>kg'og erewd with a gesture, their new Pojuainiance led the way in-te ; tirdour Street. \~y rileTe is this place?" asked Daniel, tie man, adding in Charles's ff«: "Just the kind ef chap who weald pew Gusta?e Lange! Ha leeks as if lias had escaped fr-ora the galleys." m ■was prtfbablo that tikes §tude ieaid

what he. said, for the engineer had not troubled to keep Ms voice very low, but he took no notice of the latter part of Daniel's speech. ".Not far. G'h! quite near, in lisle Street; just the nest turning," he said quickly. "It is, if you gentlemen don't mind, a. 'Cercle' club where some of us go to smoke and have a chat. But it is quite respectable. Do not be afraid." "We are not," said Daniel sternly. "Don't bother about us. Take us there, that i≤ aIL" The man nodded and led on, and in a minute or two he reached a house before which a small knot of men gossiped and smoked. The party had to pass a door-keeper, who scrutinised them closely from a little pigeon-hole, but it was evident that their companion was well known, and no objection was made to their entry. Led by the Frenchman they passed down a narrow staircase, into a large underground room, filled with men seated at long tables, eating, smoking, or gam- i bling, and, whatever their occupation, a.ll talking vigorously. Their guide motioned them to a table 1 in a corner, and, as a matter of form, asked them what refreshment's they would take. They ordered something haphazard, and, there being evidently no etiquette in the place, Charles produced a. sovereign and paid, the Frechman eyeing the gold he produced from Ms pocket greedily. Daniel, who had been surveying the room, turned to their guide after a moment. "Lange is not here," he said. The man gave a careless glance round. ; "Is he not?" he said softly, but palpably avoiding Daniel's keen eyes. "Ah! perhaps he will come soon. You do not mind waiting? It is comfortable here, is it not?" "When did you see him last!" asked Daniel. The man's glance wandered over the nearest fables, and he appeared not to hear the question, but on Daniel repeating it, he turned and fixed his eyes upon the engineer. "Let mc see," he said, slowly; •'when did 1 see 'him last? Why! I think it. was on the twenty-first of last mouth." Both Charles and Daniel started. That was the day on which Mr. Ridley had been found wounded by White, the constable. Instantly both of them recovered their presence of mind, however, and gazed keenly at the Frenchman. Had he noticed their start, they wondered? And thenhad ie had any ulterior motive in mentioning that particular date? It was impossible to say from his expression. His eyes, always tricky and cunning, watched them closely, that was apparent, but whether there was any special meaning in their black depths they could not guess. "'Ail!" said Daniel, at Hast, "the twenty-first of last month. That is some time ago. And you have not seen him since ?" "Not since," said the man. And then Daniel -did a queer thing. Apparently putting the subject of Lange from his mind, he drew a. briar pipe. from his pocket and tapped it upon the marble I top of the table. An obstinate lump of tobacco still remained in the bowl, however, refusing to be dislodged, and he looked round for something with which to remove it. Finding nothing suitable, he commenced to search his pockets, drawing forth at last the long but sharppainted file -which White had given him that day. "Necessity is the mother of invention," he said, with a glance at his -companions, and he dug the pointed end of the file into the tobacco. Haiton gave a quick glance at him, and then turned his startled eyes upon the Frenchman, who had half risen, and •was glaring at the file -with white, parted lips. DanieL, apparently ignorant of the effect his action had produced, continued to dig the tobacco from his pipe, and. finishing his task, replaced the file in bis mechanic's pocket. The Frenchman, whose eyes had roved wildly from the tool to Daniel's inscrutable features and back again, sank into his seat, and buried his long-pointed nose in his glass. And the engineer looked at Charles with a little flicker of the eyelids. For a moment the three sat silent, and then the Frenchman looked up. "That was Gustav-e who went by the doorway there," he said, pointing to the end of the apartment. "He has gone into the other room, where they play billiards. Wait one moment, and I will fetch him." He had hardly finished speaking when he had gone, pushing his way through the tables to the door. "He is off," said Charles quickly; "he won't come back." They half-rosp to their feet, looking after him; then Daniel sat down again. "We cant have a row here," he said. "We are strangers, and you see the kind of crowd they am. We must chance it, but I am afraid you are right." The fact became evident after a few minutes, for no sign either of Gustave Lange or their guide came to them, and by-and-by a waiter approached and pointedly asked with wnom they had entered. They attempted to explain, but the man, with a curt "Oh, he has gone long ago." stood waiting for them to get up, and there was nothing' for it but to take their leave. "I don't know whether I made a. success or a failure with my little surprise,' , said Darnel ruefully, as they emerged into Lisle-street; "but I am certain that joker recognised my file." "You are right," said Charles, as they stood for a moment looking about them. "I saw hie faoe change instantly when he looked at the file. He recognised it., and he fled promptly. It looks very much as if he had something to do with that attack on Mr. Ridley. How strange it would be if that were so, and we should light upon Mm by chance in this trayl" "Not altogether by chance," said Daniel thoughtfully. " You see, he heard us inquiring for Gustave Lange, and probably took us in there merely to pump us. Did you notice how he looked at us when he mentioned that date? I think he saw then what we were after, but a-s won't suspect us of belonging to the police; that Iβ one thing." "Let ns go and have something to eat, and thbik what we had better do," said Charles. "I am positively starving." " There's a littlo place over there—&e 'Betel da Boulogne' — which is quite "bod," eald Daniel. "Let us go there. Yes we will talk things over, I am rathe* worried at losing that Frtneh folAnd tliey turned into Qic Bfcfle seataupant,

When they had -finished *>""r dinner and emerged from the table d'hote, it was already dark, and lisle Street was quiet and deserted. Hardly a boul was in sight, and they strolled along, smoking their cigars, each deep in his own thoughts, till, coming to Che corner of 'Wardoursfcreet and Coventry-street, Daniel pulled up. " Well, I suppose there is nothing more to be done to-night," he remarked: "both Gustave and his friend, if they are in ' communication, will probably make them ' selves scarce for the rest of the evening, and to-morrow -we shall have a better chance. But Mr. Gustave is a slippery ' customer, and may not be easy to find,! even to-morrow. I cannot bring myself ; to ask Sybille if she knows where he is i to be found, without at a'i events telling ' her why we want to see Tym., and 3 dread to do that before it is absolutely necea s&ry." "Don't, , said Haltom, quickly, ; it would certainly be cruel to frighten her, when, after all, we are certain of nothing. We shall soon put our hinds on this Gustave. It is I quite evident that he frequents this neighbourhood and is well known here."' Daniel, who had 'bsen looking about him, did not reply at once. He was back in the other direction up Wardourstreet. '•Funny!" he said at last; "I thought for a. moment I caught sight of our friend the Frenchman. He was standing there at the corner, by that foreign book shop, talking to another man." Halton followed the direction of his glance, but could see no sign of the two men his .partner had described, and ' Daniel himself turned back again at , last "I must have been mistaken," he said "at all events they are not there now. Let mc see, you are going to Dukestreet, I suppose. I will walk as far as that with >-ou, on my way to Victoria, if you like." They turned and made their way across Coventry-street and into the Haymarket. A little -way down this thoroughfare Daniel paused once more and looked round. "Thought I saw him again," he said. "Let's go into Jermyn-street quickly. It is quieter there than here, and if anyone's following us we shall have a better chance of seeing them." They did as they said, walking slowly I on, apparently engrossed in conversa- j tion, but keeping a careful look-out, nevertheless and by and by it became evident that the engineer had' been right, and that they were certainly being shadowed. For Jermyn-street was quiet at that hour of the evening; it was easy to see both before and behind them for some distance, and they soon became aware that two men were following them stealthily and cautiously, step by step, keeping just near enough to lose sigut, of them, yet far enough away to dodge into an open doorway or the shadow throw!, by a lamp-post the moment they should turn round. "They're following us," said Hal-ton. "It is probably that Frenchman and a friend. They want to find out who we are." "Let us dodge round the nest corner and wait," said Daniel quietly. "Don't let them see that we have noticed them, though." Pretending to be. quite unconscious of their pursuers' presence, they turned down a narrow street, and, going a few steps, dived into the darkness of a con- , venient doorway and waited. They could hear the stealthy footsteps along the street they had left, and draw near the corner, and the soft sound of whispering voices reached them, making their pulses beat quicker. Then the footsteps paused. For a moment there was a dead silence, Charles and Daniel hardly daring to breathe. Then another whispered consultation appeared to take place round the corner, and there came a stealthy shuffling of feet. Had the shadowers become aware of the trap that had been j laid for them, and were they trying to I nose out its presence? In any case, the shuffling and whispering continued, and no one rounded the corner. The suspense became at last unbearable, and Charles turned to his companion. "I can't stick this any longer," he whispered; "you can run, so can L Let's pop out and catch them." Daniel nodded. "Eight you are," he said. "It's no use going on like this; you take one and I'll take the other; are you ready?" Charles pinched his arm. "Yes," he said; "one, two, three, come oil!" And then darted out. (To be continued next Saturday. 1