THE HATE THAT KILLS

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 251, 20 October 1917, Page 17

THE HATE THAT KILLS

£j> NICHOLAS CARTER.

CHAPTER XI. ' PATSY ON THE TRAIL. It was nine o'clock that evening when Patsy Garvan arrived in Barrinsrton, not :too late to immediately follow up the chip that had brought him there. ! Patsy's first step, uowever. wae to jhunt up the local express office and have ■ hie suit ca*e sent to the Barrington iHoiwe. the leading hotel in this busy "and progTeesjve town, which fast was apjproaching the magnitude of a city. I Patsy also learned at the exprees office where Gideon small's garage was located. md thither he turned his steps. It was j half-past nine when he approached Ismail's establishment, which consisted of ja large livery stable and an adjacent I Uμ , .: motor vehicles having driven him j intii. tli • 'jusine3s. as is true of other .-ta'lman in nearly every progressive : !...'alit>. Having no fear of recognition in Baririnston. Pat<>- did not r.<eort to a diejgUWf. He sauntered by the livery stable. lin whit ii then- appeared to be nothing, .doing, and approach? i the open door of the In a front corner ua- an office, with a dkpla} ivindow rontainirj various reI juirpmentj. for motor-.ui=. ar.d in which I a tall, gaunt man ot nearly sixty was i standing at a higli desk, evidently makI ing entries in one oi his books. I -That miut be. hiawelf." thought gazing in at him. "Gee: he'll I r.evpr h p hun« for his beauty. He looks J like a huv, k. or a vulture. Mebbe's he a streak, of each. I reckon I'll go ?lo\v.'' f'atsy's first intention had been to enter anj openly question the man. confiding his identity and stating the nature of hie mission. He now judged from hie face, however, that Small might not be entirely trustworthy, or not above getting a dollar by treachery, if not by even crooked method*. "I'll beat around the bu3h a bit,"' Pat»v ear! to himself. "I think I can get his measure, all right, without saying too much. I'll have a whack at the lanky 'rube, at a',l events." I sauntering into the office and assumjma a business-like air. Patoy accosted him. i "Are \ou Mr. Small" , " he inquired. I "Ye*, that's m\ name." replied the man. turning from the .lesk. "Do you run this ;ilace?" I "I do." Sn-.al'. nodded. -'I run the place I and the pia c runs mc. What can I do for you?" "How about cars? Have you any for hire, with a chauffeur ?" j "Yes. to responsible parties.' , j "I'm all sir. as far ac that goes." Patsy assured him. "I'm a New York drummer. I'm selling ostrich feathers. Got a batch of them coining by express tomorrow, or next day. I want to slip round to a of the near towns and show some samples. I can cover the ground quicker with a car than by train." "I see." Small nodded again. "I gueee I can fix you." "Got a limousine?" aeked Patey. "Why >!'> you want a lir-ousine?' , .■fall's narrow eyes took on a sharper "quint. "So ;is to keep the samplca perfectly dry." Patsy glibly explained. "Dampnese i wilts them. I .font want to carry my trunks, you gee. only a quantity of loose !-ample*. The business doesn't cut much Ii c i.i a «uall town, but I have to call and ccc customers just the same. Might ! ;,«,> \-m. if 1 rii int. You have a limoui -mc. haven't you?" •Yes. sure. "Wait a jiffy." said Small, "while I speak to my foreman. I'll be -ure the car has come in." Hf strode out of the office with the last remark, and Patsy then heard him J shouting: I "Joey! I say. Joey!" "Helio!" The response came gruffly from a rear .-orner of the garaire. and a stocky, redheaded man came whuffing out of the shadows in that direction. "Has the Peerless limousine come in yet?" Small shouted, walking toward the I other. "Yes. Tf cam" in yesterday morninz." '■Onod shape?" "Harrine the mud. It's all now." "You have looked her over, eh?" "Sure." Patey heard the foregoing remarks, but not what followed. He sauntered 1 out of the office and >aw Small talking jquietly with the man for a few second*. latter which he returned to the waiting I detective. i remarked. "He hx< charge of all of the jears. and looks alter the office when I'm I away. Sometimes I have to dust out for I a day or two. I was away yesterday land the day before. That'- why I wasn't sure the limousine had mmc in. It wae ] rented to a stranger several days ago." 1 "Stranger, eh?" said Patsy, pretending Ito je surprised. "Do you rent expensive j .-ars to strangers?" 1 "Not often, unless one of my own men 1 eoes with it. But this man brought a letter from one of my friends over in C'ragdon. one of the select men, so I knew he ,>ns all right." Stnnll explained, but I l»aMy thought he detected a slight gleam !in tin- ry.'.rage keeper's grey eyes. "'By : the way. .-peaking of the letter, here 'tis lon my dusk, right where I left it the day he railed here. That was last Monday.' , ■The Jay before the fire." thought |Patay; then aloud: "What ia his name? Is he" a drnmmer? Mebbe I know him." "Han;: it. I don't remember." eaid .Small, taking the top letter from a pile ion a crner of his desk. "I don't know las to hi<3 being a drummer. He was a 1 total stranger to mc. Here 'tis. His nairif Us James P.ailey. or Braylev. Twn t very plainly written. See for yourself." I'atay rzlanred ewiftly through the letter, yet retaining the contents carefuih in mind. It read: i "Sir. '-iieuti Rarrinjton.— Dear did.—This will introduce Mr. James Bailey, an old friend of mine. Anything . n i can do to accommodate him will be .iin-ere'- ap|jreciat t'■ He i? a man of tr.eans and entirely reliable. Ho tell s mc ■lie wants to hire a lircoiwin • for a few |days. 1 hope you an supply him. —Your ! friend. John Uarron. ("razdon." Patey looked up and nodded, noting i that Small was steadiiy watching him. j ■■■Jatr.tv. Bailey—rw,"that's right, sir." hp remarkp.i. "Does he live here in Bar"iiive it up." taid Small. "You know [as much about him as I do." 1 "I se,-- Patsy returned. "Well. HI let vo i kno'.v when I need the car. 1 have u> -.-ait fur mv samples." i "Ail right, sir. Any o!ii time." i Patsy r-a.v a little more, in fact, than i <niall then imagined. He saw Joey Meg- ; lin hurrying fretn a si-le door of the clad in a roujrli reefpr and with a -.voollen cap pulled over hid brow. His furtive glance toward the office, more-

over, convinced Patsy that he was off on some mission >ma!l had directed a few j moments before. This conviction alone was enough to start Patsy after the red-headed fore- j jman. He sauntered out of the office and ' j left the garage jihit in time to see Meglin turn a near corner. Patsy followed him without much ' I haste, lest he might be watched, and. ! upon turning the same corner he quickly I adjusted a simple disguise and knocked i his soft felt hat into another shape. i j Then, quickly crossing the street.! ! Patsy discovered Meglin under an arc | light ;i block away, where he appeared to. be waiting for a trolley car. ; Pat=y arrived on the same corner half a minute later, bat again crossed to the | opposite side of the street. It was one of the main streets Of the town, brightly lighted, with many of the stoiea etill open and many people about. I Patey knew that .Meglin would not ; I recognise him. ;;nd he waited and watched , the fellow. He had not long to ' wait. An open trolley car was approach- j .ing, and Merlin stepped out from the sidewalk to bo:ird it. A sign on the side of the car was quickly read by Patsy: ' "Barrington. Dryledge. and Cra?don." | "Gee! that hits mc all right." he said; to himself. "This is the trolley line to L The <**ir is i>ollll2 tnv wjiv. He crossed quickly back of the open car. boarding it from the opposite 6ide from Meglin and takinn the third sen* back of his quarry. The run did not prove to be a long one before Meglin made another move. Something like three miles were covered, and the distant lights of a small and scattered settlement then came into Patey turned to a man who was seated next to him and inquired: "What town is that!" The man laujhed expressively. "Dryledge." he replied. "But 'tisn't much of a town." "T see it is not extensive." '"There isn't more'n half a dozen families in it. They only stay because they haven't money enough to get away." "Xo business there?" queried Patsy. "None worth the name." said the other. "There used to be some big stone quarries !■. mile or so away, but they went to the bad. and played out long' ago. Som? of the workmen used to live | here, but most of them have quit and got out." Patsy herd the car bell ring and saw Meglin ewina round on hie seat. A moment Liter he sprang from the car and turned back in the direction from which it had come. "That hits mc. all right, if he keeps looking the way he is going," thoupht j Patsy, dropping from the opposite side j of the car and quickly seeking the she!- j ter of a high, scragg'ang hedged on that side of the road. Meglin. then some thirty yards away, was turning into a lane running to the right. They were still some little distance from the settlement, and Patsy wondered why hi* quarry had left the car at that point an! was making off in that direction, in « Inch he could see no eign of any dwellings. Sticking close to the hedge, leet Meglin might have become cautious and turned back to be sure that he had not been followed. Patsy crept as quickly as possible to the corner of the lane. He then discovered his quarry some lift" yards away, dimly discernible in the starlight, and hurrying on through the narrow wav, apparently with no thought of an espionage. Patey then pirsued him with less misgivings, and had no difficulty in keeping him in view. Something like two hundred yards had b*-en covered, and a turn in the lane then broucht a solitary light into view. It appeared to be in the window of a small dwelling. This was confirmed half a minute later by the detective. He had brought up at a low wall at the end of the lane. A small house occupied a. plot of ground to the right. It stood some fifty feet away, and beyond it was a. considerable tract of dry meadow. Farther away was a long, low shed, the door of which was closed, ;md the i!*c for which Patsy could not then conjecture. Joey Mezlin had leaped over the wall an 1 was hurriedly approaching the old and faded dwelling. At the same moment the lipht vanished from the window. Presently, even before Meslin arrived at the door, the fifrure of a man came into view beyond the house, evidently having come from a rear door. This man's face wae not discernible to Patsy, mvinj to the distance, but his figure and attire could be quite distinctly seen. He was a largo, finely proportioned man. erect, and with broad shoulders. and he was dad in corduroy trousers and a leathpr jacket and cap. "By Jove, if that isn't the rascal who figured in that Boston job. I'll eat my 'hat." thought Patey, the moment he saw him. "He's got on the sort of suit an aviator wears. Can it be that he——" Pater's thoughts were interrupted by a - r v that came from Meglin. who r-aiight sight of the man a moment later than the detective. "I *a\. old man!" he shouted. "Hold on!" The man turned as quickly as if he had been struck a blow. "Who's there?" be (ried in sonorous tones. "Meglin.'' "You, Joey? What the devil sent you here?" "Wait a bit and I'll tell you." j "*;ee: Am 1 >ioing to lose this?" ' thought Patsy, gazing around. "Ther-'s jn'i way of getting nearer to the rascals." ; The man had halted *ome thirty yards j , beyond the house, "here Meglin has-' tened to join him. and the distance from i the wall back of which Patsy was crouch- ' I ir 2 iw much too great for him to hear! what afterward passed between them. For nearly ten minutes they stood ; there, talking in su-bdurd tones and Meg- ■ 'liii β-ftll frequent gestures, all of which ' 'convinced Patsy that his visit j 'g:irase an 1 the inquiries he had made! I were the subje.-t of their discission. I "By Jove. I'm uii-s.ii!: something of iimportance, as sure as I'm a foot high." I he said to himself, chafing under his inability to approach the two men without ' being detected. "I'd give a leg to hear what they are saying. Gee whiz! they; are off for that shed. This may open up a chance for mc. after all." j He seized the opportunity and ran I across the plot of jjround to the house. < around a corner of which he then con- | tinued to gaze. j The two men in the meantime had I arrived at the shed. which was some eighty yards from the house, ay.d then they were engaged in swinging open two broad doors that covered nearly the entire front of it. Patsy could not -ep what it contained, i however, and he lost sight of the men ' when they entered the low building. J

"By gracious. I might ?tea[ round and get back of it." he nmttered, quicklysizing up the possibilities. Before he could undertake that move, however, something else caught hie eye. Meglin and hii- companion were pushing out of the shed a huge iattioelike object with broad uinc*. the n.uure of which vv,i~ instantly obvious. "lireat guns! it's a monoplane,'' thought Patsy, intently watching them. —That -lied is the hangar. ! was right about the big fellow"* costume. He is [goin:: fir a ni.'ht :!:ght in that machine." j Patsy iv.-i.N only partl> right, for both were going. He watched them make their preparation and mount to their seat-. ' Presen'ly the noise of the motor reached hi- ears an-i the huge propeller began U whirl. Patsy - ;i w the machine