THE CRIME ON THE FILM.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 49, 27 February 1923, Page 10

THE CRIME ON THE FILM.

CIIAPTKR XXIII. T.. Irj- wind entered Julia liluir - * I'lawing'riiora iit The ( lmiury though • ■in' was sweeping from the ilnwn 1o tin , .-'•; i. wild it \wi-< IjiM.t in I lie onl-iil. v > ''I 111. A {iiTni fire of •■nil ninl fmfur 1"XTuiiriM) in iln- open hearth; Julia herpelf wus .-.=it«»d lip-Mi ihc liciii-kiti nif! In -front of it ami. Muring il'-'p i" 1 " tli« of the Ham.' :i~ if i" search of some omen then-. By lu-r fidn wai a. (.hallow silver .up of i-sirnvun Xei\ <if'thc pale-it straw ...lour ami the m«-t marvellous fra<!rsinc-e i" tho world. She vruf pmokinp n rlim brown cifjarettc. In'iin armchair on the oilier siilo of th>; fireplace and lnnkinp rtown at his fi"tet. silt Mr. Tlarper Blair, ns neatly drn-scil and apparently as tree from as ever.

"Yes." )u- said, "1 rofiri't to .-my that •there can now lie no tlouht oi it. Coastpnanls found portion.- of the poor pirlV clinking we.-hed up by tho tid« thi* morning. Tlie mystery of Mi<« llarlc.V* disappearance, is'solve.!. She met "t-r cloiiH by drowning."

ijiilia shiugfjod her shoulders. 'T supjp.igi- you and .funn-a A ipinfr killo.l hpr rirtweon you," she said. "Well. Iwyonil lpndirip you my maid and 'mc nr two lojJut Titll o thing* whirh asswtPil in lifr dJMippearnnrP, I kii"«- and want to lOamy nothing."

THair sipped his tea. then he purred. "But I should have thought a final saijsfa.tion like this would have relieved you. Julia. After all the };irl was your j-ij-al. She mu>t." he concluded with n pi£h, "have returned irom Ijimdun, and drowned herself in some Hj»ot along the ClßlSt."'

;Tlnrper Blair knew very well <h.it •Mjiriel Harley had never been to Londmi. but he 'did believe, as every one rise in the mystery of the abduction believed, that ' she' had been squeezed tlu-migh the porthole and so committed piucide. Four days had elapsed, and ♦ the body had not yet been rerojered, it seemed certain that the poor pijjl was dead.

Julia turned a sombre eye upon her Ibr&ther.

•Dead; - ' Fhe pxclaimod without any jfrelinp in her voice. "Well, as far as 1 am concerned, she is as powerful us ever flic lias been.' , ". . . Which is not saying miicli," siei brother broke, in quickly. "Antony is wholly yours. ■' I have not given yon my confidence nor have you asked for it. Harper. Julia said.'"A» v matter of fact. [Antony AVest ia not mine, not mine in %\\o very least." "tlut I thought. T certainly thought —" 'IXever mind what you thought, you *ve)cc deceived. There is no triumph in Biejely making him kiss mc, in drugging kin), hypnotising him. what you will, to Ipfievc that he loved mc above everything, when it all passed away directly rteSieard that the girl had disappeared. Ko} From that moment he has been beyoi|d my power. lie will never come tinker it again. The little game is jlnyed, and I have lost."' fgie smiled bitterly. "It is not, often tlii«t I lose," she went on in a niusing Voice, staring into the fire again as if Tecalling memories of the past. "No! It It hot often a man has escaped nte, but theipe it is, and I own—to you at any fate —my defeat." "alien you care for him no longer?' , Siie lifted her cup and tossed the dregs of tea into the fire, where they disappeared with a hiss and a little Cloud of steam.

''Like that," she said, "no more than lhat!"

A beautiful smile spread itself over Basper Blair's face. "How aU things wojjc together for good in this wonderful tivorld!" he exclaimed. "I had hesitated to tell you. but Mr. Antony West Is about to be removed from a world irhich can have but little further Interest for him." Julia stared at her brother. ■lie.said. "Well, I shall not lift i> finger to prevent it." A slow and cruel smile crept over her beautiful mouth. "fie spurned mc the other night," she ■ni(C in a low voice.'"He said that his «i><fle soul was full of Uuriel Harley, her name was the last thing le would hear in his ear at the moment Of death. I wonder if that will prove true!"' And again she smiled. Ttere was a little silence, and then Julia spoke again. "Slay I ask why?" she said. "Viping," Blair answered. "Viping is »ad with fear and hatred. Ilis infatuation.for this girl was the strongest thing that ever came into his life. To have him just at the moment of lis triumph has turned him into a ■laniae. He lives only for the thought ef revenge." "Poor fool!'" the woman said. "I thought he was a stronger character than that. You mentioned fear al=oV" "Yes, by a most extraordinary chance the girl had discovered the cipher in ■uiFic manuscript. The translation of it was found in the cabin after she had got through the porthole —all except the l-t page, which is missing. Either she took that with her, and it will be upon the body when it is found, or the breeze Blade by the opening of the 'door, when It was discovered she was gone, blew it ©nt of the porthole. I am informed that there was a flurry aud scurry of the papers.";

"This grows interesting. Why did she ■ot take her secret with her? " How do we know after-all-that-she intended to Commit suicide? She "may have Imped to ■vhit to land." ■ •

"I mj-self think, that was likely, but fL-liornien ailp. those who know the tides ■ay tluxt it is jitta*ly'impossible. | ~x . poet that in the hurry of her flight she forgot what she had left .behind, imagining thuv slie hud taken the whole of the cipher, wuereas she only took the l a »t ■And tne timig- itselfV •M.iM Ruduy was v.-ry . unning, cleverer tf.aii 1 gave lurn any credit for. The Ci|,h,r ff»i a coorUo Hateiutnt, in a very JeA line-, ol Ui.- wholf .ji Ins discoveries Ii ~,d.-.l by saving thai ti lrr ,. was a ' dupli'ai'- m-[ vi pajN'ra iv existence a duiilk-ati- -et ~: t1.0.M- thin w,-r.- in t B»f. N iianip already elo-i-d. and ilir liphr-r was jus< a i,ou( t<. giw the place where the duplicate pap. tr- wore rointiW when it bruke oft""- ---■! nai i> news, indeed." Julia said "X,,u 1 understand Vipiug-g statp of Blind }<etter thun before. He lus lost th<> girl fur cwi. and he knows tha-. thprr arc duplu-at* papers of tLobt which

(ATS, RIGHTS REBESVKD.)

By GUY THQFNE. Author of "When It Was Dark," mtc.

■■Which I'n.-t liim fifteen thousand pom.d> i.. olituin." said Blair, with a -milt-, "and- —" Tin , n'liinan put up one shapely hand. •Not Biiuilior word." she said. "When ! think vi it all my hones grind "ne n;.on tlie other. Vi'H >wore yon would never mention the thing asrain to mc. Kfc\i your |iroini-e. Harper, or imi may regret it '" •■(.Hiite -■■>. .fulia. Well. now you ninlrr-tunj that the ri'in>ivnl of \oung UY-t iia- become ;i nil , ! , .—ity. At any moment \ iping rear-" he may di--over tlifJi; papers, and we know what that will nu'iiii fur him. West dead, no one will have any more interest in the brurvli. Tin' papers arc doubtless hidden M'cui-ely. 11 they ever turn up at all it will not lie in VipillßS lifetime, and he dings to life despite his bitter disappointment." • lulia niM' from ilio great bearskin in- with n graceful movement. Going to one of the uncurtained windows she looked out. "It is snowing, snowing fast." she said. "Look."' P.lair joined her with his cat-like tread. It wus as she had .said. The terrace and hi wus were already covered with a sheet of dazzling white, and through the ({learn of approaching night great soft Hakes fell with a steady persistence. "I am constructing the last scene in that little cabin.' , Julia said at length. "It must have been marvellously dramatic! Fancy, if only it could have been lilnicd the girl discovering the truth at la-t! Suddenly knowing that the man who had captured her was one of the greatest scoundrels in Europe, that behind all his honours and distinctions lurked a low criminal soul, that he was certainly the instigator of old Rodny's removal. The shock! the sudden desperate attempt to win freedom or death. The agonising crush through the port hole, the cohl black water, the chill despairing end! Harper, here i≤ the material for a great tragic poem!' . The artist soul of the woman possessed her. She grew brilliant and animated. She i spoke quickly, and her .voice had timbre and resonance. "I should like to play that part for the screen some day! " she cried. "Harper, I could make it more real than it probably actually was. Some day in the future, when all .this is forgotten and 1 am at the very head of the cinema world, I may invent a scene like that!" The cold-blooded sensualist, that pure intellect divorced from all pity or moral scruple, regarded his sister with keen interest. She always thrilled, amused, and gave him food for thought. In hie supreme and devilish contempt for nearly all human beings except his monstrous self, the man always found: cause for wonder in this genius allied to hinj by blood. "You artist!" he said in admiration. " Well, some day, my dear Julia, by nil means carry out your design. By the way," he went on as they returned towards the (ire. "the removal of young West. is also a genius. How will that affect your plans for your work?" '" To some extent it will." she answered. " buti-not greatly, now.' *He is a wonderfully inspiring influence in the studio. From him I have ■ learnt very much. I understand his method. With the money now in the firm from Viping we shall go straight ahead. The loss of Antony West will be great, but it will only be temporary." ! " J am very glad to hear it, Julia. It is what I hoped. There is, therefore, no reason for delay, and I shall proceed with the affair at once." | He sat with his fingers joined together staring thoughtfully at the glittering silver of the tea table. ' ' I "I really think," he said, "that thie. ■will be my last professional effort. Viping, always generous about money, is in a state of mind when it is less than nothing to him. I am worth a hundred thousand pounds already, my dear sister, and within the next day or two I propose to add another fifty thousand to my store. So, say another forty thousand, for I will present you with a cheque worth ten thousand, or a diamond necklace, as you prefer. You are I younger than I. and qn a fair way to i make a large fortune for yourself, so I will not otfer more. But, when I die, everything I have will he yours. That you may count upon." " You are kind to mc, Harper, in your' strange way." the woman said. " You would not weep a tear if I were to die to-morrow. You would say 'a wonderful woman and a privilege to have known her,' and yo.u would drink my health >n some rare wine" at dinner. I feel much the snmcsaboiit you. I am a great artist and my work will influence the whole world. In your way you are an artist too. though no one will ever know it." Her face grew sombre again, and suddenly she gave a loud, discordant laugh. She tapped her brother on his knee. i " You," she said, " are the the Angel of Death,, and even now I seem to hefcf; the beating of your wings!" | (To be continued daily.)