WHAT HARGREAVES KNEW.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 305, 24 December 1926, Page 16

WHAT HARGREAVES KNEW.

BY REGINALD TEMPLE. CHAPTER XXV. A Strange Weapon. For a few moments Billie stared at Fairfield in blank perplexity; she was quick to observe the meaning of Jimmies remark about the ownership of Beggars End, but was astonished to find that he knew anything about it at all. "Yes. to whom does Beggar's End belongr"' persisted Jimmie. The answer was a storm of tears from the girl, who threw herself on the divan and buried her face in its cushions. ••It —belongs to you," she sobbed. "1 don't want it and won't have it, and I never meant you to know anything about it." "I'm afraid you will have to," said Jimmie smiling. Then he waited until her outburst was over, and presently Billie sat and faced Jimmie, and a dim smile overspread her features. '"I suppose it's occurred to you that you and I are cousins," she said. "Well, it hadn't as a matter of fact," answered Jimmie, but obviously we are. What a joke!" "Anyhow," , continued Billie. "What's to be done about it —I mean about Sir John's will. I suppose he will have left it to you." "SoHargreaves says, and he professes to know." answered Jimmie. "Weir I told father quite distinctly that I won't have the old place, although he is insisting at the moment that I shall. That was why I went to France to my aunt, Madame Dubois, to lies her to persuade him. She has written him a long letter, so perhaps it will be all right, in which case, I think the least you can say the better." "You forget there is such a thing as the law,"' observed Jimmie. "These things cannot be ignored you know. ' "'Well, I'm going to ignore it," maintained Billie firmly. "After all, you cair't make people have things they don"t want."' i Jimmie smiled at her determination, then, becoming serious, he said: "When did you yourself first learn that Sir John Fairtield was your father?" "Xot until just before he died." answered Billie. And even then my father —at least, I thought Mr. Romaine was my father —made mc promise not to divulge it to Sir John. Xow you asked mc a little time ago what paper I was after when I went to Beggar's End. I'll tell you." "I* knew from—my —uncle, Mr. Romaine. that Sir John had papers relating to the Russian affair —I suppose I you know all about it —in his desk, and that my —uncle, had once tried to get them from Sir John—well, 1 decided to get them, and 1 don't mind telling you why, providing you give mc a promise that you don't try to thank mc or try I to be sentimental or anything like that." "Very good," agreed Jimmie. "Well, I broke into Beggar's End to get those papers so that if Sir John died there would be no chance of you seeing them, and losing what is really your inheritance —so now you know!" For a moment Jimmie regarded her in silent admiration. Then he spoke: '"Well, I have promised, and I won't say what I would really like to say— thank you. Billie." Whereupon the subject was tacitly shelved for the time being, at least, and a little later, at Billies request, Jimmie took his leave, after gaining permission to see her again on an early occasion. On his way back to his room he gave much thought to the turn which affairs had taken. To him it seemed that it was unmistakably a turn for the worse, for not only was it clear that he could never hope to own Beggar's End, but it was quite clear also that in such circumstances he could scarcely ask Billie Romaine to marry him, for Billie was already rich through her uncle, whilst this new accession to Beggar's End made her more unapproachable than ever.

Returning to his rooms he was surprised by finding there a telegram from the Fairfield's doctor, reading as follows: "Suggest come immediately. Bumpus recovered consciousness, but unlikely live, constantly asking for you." Jimmie Fairfield immediately got into touch with Inspector Brent, to acquaint him of the telegram. "I think," he said, "you had better come with mc, for Bumpus seems to know quite a lot of things, and it may be that he wishes to say something which may throw some light on the murder of Sir John."' The inspector agreed, and in due time they arrived at the cottage hospital, where Bumpus lay in a little private ward. Before going to the cottage hospital they had called at Beggar's End, where Hargreaves met them. "1 believe, sir/ said the silky one. '"that Mr. Bumpus is in a bad way. It's very unfortunate, sir." "Host/" agreed Jimmie. "I do hope the poor old fellow will recover."' "Yes, I hope so, too, sir," said Hargreaves, speaking perhaps as far from the truth as he had ever spoken. He had grown afraid of Bumpus: he could see quite clearly that the knowledge possessed by the butler might easily bring down about him all his own little structures. The world without Bumpus would be a better place. Meanwhile, Bumpus lay dreamily in his little room at the hospital, into which Jimmie and the inspector were introduced. "Oh, Sir James!"' exclaimed Bumpus, endeavouring to rise into a more respectful position. "That's all right. Bumpus," soothed Jimmie, putting a hand on the old man's shoulder. '"I've just called to see how you are—you seem better." '"Much better . . . much better, sir I ... I'm glad to see you, sir, because there are one or two things I want to tell you. They've been on my mind something cruel. ... I hardly dare tell you, sir, but it doesn't matter, for I shan't be in this world long." j "Oh. yes; you will." said Jimmie cheerily* although he felt inwardly that Bumpus spoke the truth. '•Anyhow," he continued, "you tell mc everything you've got on your mind, and I'm "sure you'll not regret it." "Well, I wanted to tell you, sir, it was mc who stole the papers out of Sir John's dcsk —well, I didn't really steal them, but I knew they were there, and believe mc. as I'm on my death-bed, m\ only reason was to get to know some thing that I could put over that Har greaves, and I got it. sir—l got tlu unper hand of him. Don't trust him ! sir." "And where are the papers?" askec Jimmie. "They're in my old trunk at Beggars End," said the butler. "1 only took I them because Hargreaves had been tell i ing mc tales about the will, and it wai j the will I w-as after. Then I found thi ■ other papers with it. and took then i upstairs to read. After that I put then jin my trunk and forgot about them I until Sir John began to make a fuss j and then I was afraid, sir, to put then [back in the desk again."

"Oh, and you've got the will, have you 7" '"Yes, sir," said Bumpus, '"but it's no pood. Oh. sir. I wish I had never seen them papers, for it means that BeggarY End isn't yours nor any of the family's, but Miss Romaine's." "Well, as a matter of fact, she is one of the family, isn't she?"' "Oh. yes; oh yes —of course she is." wheezed the butler. "Well, and there I was thinking that Beggar's End was going into the hands of strangers." '"You needn't he afraid of that,"' said Jiznmie. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell mc:, "Xothing very much sir. but there's one thing I know which may throw a light on Sir John's death."' Inspector Brent was suddenly all attention, Jimmie had introduced him to Bumpus as a friend, and the old man was not aware that he was a police otiicer. '"You see. sir." went on Bumpus. "I'm only just guessing at it, but when Sir John was in Russia he got mixed up with a very funny lot of people. I was his valet there for a time, in the early days, so 1 know what I'm talking about. At that time the Czar was on the throne. and the place was overrun with anarchists and Nihilists, and one thing and another. There were intrigues and mysterious deaths, and I don't know what besides. There was one very strange case, and people thought it was murder, but it wasn't. The man was found dead in his room, in the fireplace, shot through the body, just like Sir John, only there was a bullet in that case. The affair made a big impression on Sir John at the time, because a man named Roubski told him afterwards what had happened, because the dead man had confided in him and shown him how he was going to do it. as he wanted people to believe he had been murdered."' "That's very interesting. Bumpus." observed Jimmie. "And how had he shot himself!*' asked the inspector.