The Councillors of Falconhoe

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 104, 3 May 1923, Page 14

The Councillors of Falconhoe

CHAPTER XXXIV. IMPULSE. Meanwhile the fortes arrayed against the conspirators now hack in Berlin wore not idle. True. Jelicorae was playing Hie leading role but Knderbv and Farneombe were not idle. The Councillors were the various parts of a perfect machine, each of wlii.'h fitted into it- proper groove and worked silently without interfering with ■the rc-t of tl'ie apparatus. There was much for both Knderbv ami .Telicoree to do in the capital, where they had the full weight of the secret service of the Republic behind them. It was a critical time for the German Government, beset as it was by difficulties and dangers on every side and hardly knowing who to trust. The murderous vendetta directed against so many prominent republicans had excited the gravest alarm, and even the police seemed impotent to cope with tiip dangc". It was even possible that the •police were hand in glove with the very pan<* they were out to destroy. Had they also"been' bitten with the virus of renewed IJVussianism? Were they in the conspiracy to make the Russo-Uerman treaty a military one? It wag to answer this vital question that the Councillors of Falconhoe had been called in. They, at any rate, would not be likely to listen to the voice of the tempter: they would toe the last men in the world to welcome a new alliance destined from the first to wash Europe in a Mood-bath once more. And precisely because of the fear of that calamity, Knderbv and his companions welcomed the chance of scotching the deadly snake before it was grown to its full powers. Xo commission would have given them greater pleasure. From tlie very first Inez Sulviati had known what was going on, and so, to a smaller extent did the Pevensey girl*. They hail not had Inez" training, but they were equally resourceful and. as they had boon persona grata at Potsdam ■before the war. most of the aristocracy were known to them personally. It was easy, therefore, for these fascinating: and slightly impudent young women to pick up a good deal of information. They ■knew, for instance, what was the motive behind those frequent dinners of the Epicures' Club, they knew that a big conspiracy was being hatched ■behind iliose closed doors. and that the inner room contained archives that certain authorities would give their heads to see. They knew, too, tlikt Inez had fascinated the aged professor, and that she could turn him round her little finger. On the night of Inez's disappearance she had gone out presumably at about seven o'clock. Lady Peggy "and Lady Joan had been out for the afternoon on some delicate business, under the direction of Farneombe, and just before their departure, Inez had dismissed her maid with an intimation that she might have the rest of the day to herself, so that no one could precisely say at what hour she had left her hotel." She might have had tea in her private room, or, again, she may have had it served in the lounge. Anyway, she had gone, and for that evening, at any rate, there was no sign of her within miles of the Opera House. . ', For once in her life, slie had acted on the impulse of the moment. Despite all her wiles and blandishments, she had not succeeded in obtaining either the cypher or the key to the inner room of tjie Epicures' Club both of which she had hoped to obtain from the infatuated old Professor. He had gone off, almost at a moment's notice, telling her that he might not be back for a day or two, and upon this information Inez had promptly acted. She had at any rate the keys to the two club rooms, so about tea time on the afternoon in question she made her ■way quietly into the corridor -where the club rooms -were situated, and let herself in. She had no great expectation of finding anything out of the common there, but one can never be certain of that sort of thing, and at any rate, it •was worth trying. Then the unexpected had happened. Almost before she could realise her peril, the outer room was full of men. She had barely time to hide herself in the big wardrobe before the conspirators had come in. And there she stood for an hour or more in fear and trembling, listening to all they had to say. If she were discovered now, then she knew what to expect. She stood there, hardly daring to breathe, as one man after another left the room until Barrados was alone there, and just ■as she was congratulating herself upon an easy way out of the escapade, Barrados (lung back the doors of the hiding place and confronted her. "Well, I am Availing for you to speak," he said. '"To what purpose" Inez asked defiantly. "I suppose you know what I am doing here, and why?" "Of course I do," Barrados said. "You are here on behalf of those Councillors. You are one of them, and you have been ji great asset/to them for years. That fact has dawned upon mc in the last two or three minutes. It was an excellent idea to have a spy in the shape of a great priina donna, who travels all over the world without arousing the slightest suspicion. But, my dear young lady, you have gone too far this time,, and there can only be one end to this adventure of yours." '•Yes, I suppose so," Inez said listlessly. "You would not hesitate to kill a woman at this critical pjjint of your fortunes. But I believe you would much rather not." "It would be hateful," Barrados smiled darkly. "It would be still more hateful to let you go and take your ■word for it that nothing you have heard would pass your lips. I never trusted a man in my life yet, and, as for trusting a woman, ah, no. You are going to stay here until we make up our minds what to do with you. Now, don't cry out, unless you want mc to lay violent hands on you." "I have not the slightest intention of crying out," Inez retorted proudly. "What are you going to do with mc?" "Dear lady, I am going to gag you. I won't be any more violent than I can lielp. Then I am going to tie your hands safely behind jour back and truss you up in a chair. The chair will be placed in the wardrobe again, and there you -will stay for as long as it is neceseary. I BhaU have to consult mv friends fortaWe, at least, a«n«BniortabW ac X cumstanees permit, until I get wu l,ere this evening. It iU be late „„ ' jwpe, but that ' unfortilna tely cannot be helped. Suppose we Tff nf some anaestlieUc, and r e m o Jt « and. the wardrobe bodily to ?on? e place «• can keep , ou «

By FRED M. WHITE.

prisoner. We way have to detain you a week, or we may have to detain you three months."' Inez turned from Barrndos haughtily I enough, and not another word came from her lips till she was lifted bodily, rhnir and all, into the wardrobe, and there lefc to her own devices. She heard Barrndos' footstep* dying away in i tie distance, and then some hours, or a< it seemed, some years, elapsed. She sat there stiff and cramped, and dozing from time to time, until at length she came back to her senses to hear a big clock somewhere in the neighbourhood striking the hour of eleven. And down below, though she was not aware of the fact, two uneasy white-faced girls were discussing her fate. Lady Peggy and Lady Joan had. in fact, been talking about Inez for the last two or three hours. They knew perfectly well that she had been the victim of some foul play, and it needed no great intelligence to connect Ban-a-dos with the trouble. Knderbv and Farneombe were off exploring every possible avenue, and they had curtly refused to allow the girls to accompany them. They had sat talking Until they were reduced to a silence that was almost tearful. It -vas Lady Joan who had the inspiration. "What fools we are," she cried, jumpling to her feet. ''Inez i-s in the room .belonging to that ridiculous club. You I have forgotten how many times she has jdiscussed the possibility of exploring them. That is where she has gone, depend upon it. This afternoon Barrados and all his gang were here, and they stayed upstairs till about five o'clock. I was having tea in the lounge when they went out. 1 noticed they didn't look particularly happy, but I thought nothing of it at the time. It's just a elm nee, Pegg.v. Ltt's go upstairs and I see for ourselves. If the room door is locked we will get one of the porters to open it. These servants here will do anything for money. Come along." "What, altogether unarmed?" Peggy asked. I - Oli dear, no. We will take those j two little revolvers that Colonel KnI derby gave us. Those two silent autojmatics that he gave to us when we were at Falconhoe." They stole silently along the corridor, until they came at length to the i outer door of the clubrooms. Somewhat to their surprise, and greatly to their deliprht. tlie door was slightly open, and a slit of light showed behind it. On the table of the outer room was a hat and stick which the two adventuresses recognised as the property of Barrados. "'He is inside," Lady Pegay whispered. "And, T believe, alone. So we will tackle him at once."