THE VENGEANCE OF HOP FI.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 163, 12 July 1928, Page 23

THE VENGEANCE OF HOP FI.

By PETER CHEYNEY.

•YKOPSIS or PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.

KSW READERS BEGIN HERE. JOHN RELPH. sa unemployed cz-oflicer. BMttf HENRI ZWEITT, a Swiss, who* life lie MT«d daring a poit-mr riot la Cologne. Zweitt takes Ralph to London. promising to find him employment. Next morulas' coon after Zwdtt's departare, a mysterious Chinaman appears at bis rooms. He declines to leave a message with IMp*. who is later engaged by the linn for which Zweltt works. The same evening Ralph ii«f u appointment with Zweltt at the ataop of one SALVATORI. in Abi*l Alley, near Piccadilly, toot the Swlm fail* to put in an appearance. Salvatori it obvi«maly in terror of aomethins, and begins t«Ulni Relph a strange story when he is interrupted. Relph promises to return tour, and as be is doing so observes a beautiful woman stealthily coming from the direction of the shop. He flnds Salvatori stabbed, lying on the floor and gasping "Zweltt did not come—The and of the story—Sour milk." On the floor of the ahop Relph discovers a soldier's identity bracelet bearing the name of an old friend "mlssiag believed killed" in ll»l«. Zweitt vanishes, anda police officer left in charge of bis room Is chloroformed. Stuck in a mirtor in his bedroom Relph finds a slip of paper beaering the picture of a German steel helmet and the warning: "Hind your own business and liva."

CHAPTER VI

'Mr. Relph"—the detective's quiet voice brought me back to earth—"l'm going to confide in you. Let me tell you tirst of all that we are, all of us who are connected with this business, in danger. Neediest to say, we shall do everything in our power to protect you. We are up against something big. I've handled a lot of bad cases, most of them successfully, but I realise I'vd met my match this time —-I'm up against brains."

i * tared at Jaffray in surprise.

"Don't misunderstand m.?, Mr. Kelph," he said. "We've got to get them or they'll get us. They'll step at nothing. Tbey don't know how much you jinow, but I've had to show my hand to-day."

"Then the newspaper report was right?" I said. "No, it wasn't," «aid Jaffray. "When I had that paragraph inserted in the •>apers I did it with th" express purpose oi misleading certain people. It *« {. iirely by accident tnat I stumbled on a theory which fits the pjg-9*w of Salvatori's half-told »t»ry, and our other slender theories."

Jaffray smoked in - silence for a moment, then he motioned me to sit down. I took the ri ikciy c'usiir be indicated, whilst 'id wa'.ku-i to the door * rid glaivsd ro>j.)l '-lie shop. Then ne rpti rned and drew his chair nearer to

mine. u "This is "what we're up against, Mr. Kelph,"_Jk Mid. "X know it sounds like a fairy story, and it's quite on the cards

that I'm wrong on one or two points. The thing which put me on the right track was Salvatori's tale. You remember he said that ten or twelve years ago he and Zweitt were employed by a firm called Moreatte in Milan. I got in touch immediately with the Italian police, who, by a coincidence, bad quite a fiuid of information about this firm, which they cabled to me. Before I tell you about that, however, I must interrupt myself to tell you this."

Jaffray drew his chair nearer to mine. His voice had sunk almost to a whisper. The night was so quiet that the lashing of the rain outside sounded weirdly loud and the wind moaned a dismal accompaniment.

"Outside the sacred eity of Peking," Jaffray went on, "there is a monastery. It is called the Monastery of Lt Tsu Chen. Although the priests were reported to have large quantities of treasure stored in the monastery, they were an industrious crowd and spent their davs making weird liqueurs and sweetmeats which they sold. They were good business men and had agents in every country of the world who sold their products for them. This Moreatte and Co., of Milan, were, apparently, their chief distributors. They seem to have been a pretty shady crowd. There were two partners running the business, an Englishman and a German. Suddenly, just before the outbreak of war in 1914, the business was shut up and the partners disappeared. Certain information came into the hands of the Italian C.I.D. They made inquiries and then—"

Jaffray suddenly stopped speaking. He motioned me to keep silent and listened intently.

"Listen —the music!" he whispered.

Above the sounds of the rain and wind outside I could hear a peculiar noise— Chinese music. It seemed to come from somewhere near, but the door between the shop and Salvatori's room was open and we could see that we were alone. I felt a chill creeping over me—the soft cadences of the music (it sounded as if a reed instrument was being played softly) held something ominous. I looked at Jaffray. His face was drawn. Very slowly his band stole to his hip pocket. Then, as slowly, be leaned over to me and placed hsi automatic nistol in mv "It's outside," he whispered. "Creep to the door with me, then ran at 'em. Don't be afraid to shoot!" My fingers closed round the pistol butt. I felt more secure. Together we crept to the shop door, bending low to avoid being "seen through the window. Then Jaffray flung the door open and * e rushed out into Angel Alley.

It was pitch dark qutside, but down on the right hand side of the alley I could have sworn I taw the figure of a man running silently towards Mole Street I

ran swiftly in this direction, but after a moment I stopped. I knew that there was little chance of finding my man in the labyrinth of narrow turnings. , A police whistle sounded—then another. I put the pistol in my pocket and hurried back to Salvatori's ahop. At the end of the alley I could 6«se a police bullseye flashing in the shop. I pushed open the door and entered.

A police constable was bending over Jaffray, who lay on the floor just in front of the counter. His face was distorted with pain and his eyes were closed. He breathed heavily and in a strange, gulping way.

There was a sound of running .feet and two constables and Stevens came in. Stevens spoke to one of the uniformed men.

"Over to Berners Street, quick, Jim," he said. "'Get Doctor Conway. I hope to God we're not too late!"

We bent over the prostrate figure. Very slowly. Jaffray opened bis eyes. His will was fighting with the strange thing which was throttling him. He turned his eyes slowly to me.

"Relph," he whispered hoarsely, while I bent my head to within an inch of his face. " Careful — secret road — don't touch—the sour milk!"

A hoarse rattle sounded in his throat and his head fell forward. The constable bent over him, then rose to his feet and touched his helmet.

Jaffray Jay still upon the floor. I gazed at the body of the man who, a few minutes before had been talking to me in the inner room.

I felt the weight of the automatic pistol in my pocket. He had given it to me. If he had kept it—?

A lump rose in my throat. 1 knew 1 had lost a good friend.

Seated in my bedroom in Conway's flat, I'tried to review the whole business dispassionately. Sleep was out of the question, J affray's body 1; y in the surgery at the end of the corridor. I was possessed by a great loneliness.

I had the horrible feeling that 1 was struggling in a net the meshes of which were drawing tighter and tighter about me. Jaffray's warning was imprinted on my brain —"We've got to get them or they'll gA us!" Unfortunately the death of the Chief Inspector had left us in a worse position than ever. Jevons, Jaffray's assistant, who was now handling the case, knew nothing except the few facts which I was able to give him, which, with the incomplete story oi Salvatori, were little enough to work on.

I had given Jevons a full and complete account of my last interview with Jaffray. He had listened carefully and then scratched his bullet head in perplexity.

"It beats me," he said. "Unfortunately Jaffray bad said very little of real importance about the case to me. I think it must have been only this morning when he stumbled upon the right track. The extraordinary thing about the whole business is this 'sour milk.' What did Salvatori and Jaffray in an! In both cases these words were practically their last. What did Jaffray mean by the secret road'? Who w; Moreatte. and what was the connection between the Chinaman .and Zweitt? It seems to me," Jevons had said, in conclusion, "that I've got to start right at the beginning again, and not love muck time, either 1"

Next morning- I started to read tbe correspondence books which Brandon had pointed out to me on the shelf above Zweitt's desk. I thought that there w-s a remote possibility that I might firi some clue. I was disappointed, however, for the books simply contained copy letters such as are usually sent out to customers, and related to shipmei or purchases and sales to or from diff ent well-known firms. I hoped that I might find some correspondence w!th ? firm in Milan, where Salvatori had told me he and Zweitt were originally employed, but there was nothing of the sort.

Brandon arrived fairly early, ana spent most of the morning in his office. Nothing had been said of Zweitt's pro 1 jed absence, and, as there was no mention of J affray's, murder in the papers I had not mentioned it.

After Brandon returned from lunch he started clearing his office of the mass of litter and packing cases which were stre—n about the place. It seemed that the office cleaners were not allowed to clcan his room, and he performed this task himself pretty thoroughly. I thought it rather strange that he did not ask my assistance, and I was sorry for this, as 1 had made up my mind to examine his room as soon as an opportunity presented itself.

The conviction had been growing in my mind that Brandon knew very much more about the mysterious disappearance of Zweitt than he had said. Why had Zweitt been so anxious to procure the job for me ? Was it because his disappearance had been arranged be'"■irehand, and he knew that s eone would be required in the office? I could not quite believe this theory when I remembered his strained expression and the peculiar remark be had made on the day of bis disappearance. He haJ seemed to be in fear of something I wondered if Zweitt wm, dead—if he had fallen a victim to the same mysterious agency which had beer responsible for the deaths of Salvatori and Jaffray. Why had he asked me if I would do him a good turn if the occasion arose when it should 1 a necessary ?

Brandon left the office early. I tried his door, but it was locked as usual. I made up my mind that if I could obtain his key by some means or other I would take an impression of it and get a duplicate made. Brandon had been, even more taciturn than usual during the day. He seldom spoke, and When he did it was o give some direction as to work to oe done.

When he had gone about ten minutes I started to make a thorough examination of the outer office. I pulled out the desks, moved the furniture and examined every nook and cranny in the place. [ was jnst replacing Zweitt's desk - when a knock sounded on the office door. I walked over and opened it.

On the threshold stood a man wear lag tbe leather apron of a carter. He handed me a paper, which, *ou examina'.on, proved to be an invoice for several dozen bottles of liqueurs.

"Where am I to put the stuff, guv'nor?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "Unlets yon bring it in here. Where do ~ou usually put it ? Have you delivered here before?'' -- • -

yus." he said. "We deliver here every month. An' we usually puts the stuff down in the vault. There won't be inn 'h room left 'ere if we dumps it in this orfis," he continued, looking round. "I suppose the vault door is lo I asked.

"IH go down an' see. Sometimes it ain't. I'll feave the 4tuff 'ere fox now."

He went outside and reappeared ir a moment with a large packing ca=e which he pulled and pushed into the office. Then he tramped off down the stairs.

I waited for five minutes, but the carter did not appear, so I went downstairs in search of him. There was no sign of any cart or truck outride the building, nor had the doorkeeper *een anything of 6uch vehicle.

It struck me that it mipht l>e useful for me to have a. look at the Brandon vault, and I quickly descended to the basement. The vault door was \ery securely fastened with an ordinary lock and an iron locking bar Bnd padlock. A sudden thought came to my mind I remembered that Salvatori* had said that Moreatte's offices consisted of a ground floor office and vault. Was it purely coincidence that the geography of Brandon's offices was practically the same?

I returned to the upstairs office and putting on ray things, locked up, wnd with a final glance round set off i'or Oxford Street. I had proceeded some way down Cannon Street when an idea came to me and I quickly retraced my steps to Brennan's Buildings. I went up to the office, and taking tbe oflif* paste pot I made my way down to the basement. I put a little of the paste at each end of the locking bar where it would remain unnoticed and a tiny piece on tbe padlock arm. Then I scrutinised my work carefully. Any attemp* to open the door of the vaults won id result in the seals formed by the pa te being broken. The conviction was growing stronger in my mind every moment that the key to the ZweittSalvatori mysteries lay in Brandon's offices, and I made up my mind to search the place thoroughly the following evening.

When I arrived at Conway's flat I told him of mv decision.

"I think you're taking a bit of a chance, Relpb don't you?" he said. "Why not leave the matter to Jevone?"

I told him that Jevoos bad no possible excuse for searching the offices. At least I had an excuse for remaining late on the premises, but if Jevons' men did the job some explanation would have to be made to Brandon and that was just the thing I did ,not want to happen. If I discovered anything there would be lots of time to tell Jevons about it afterwards.

"By tbe way," I asked, "did your further examination of Jaffray's body reveal anything?" "Nothing beyond what 1 have already told you," he answered- "His body was taken away early this morning and I received a message trom the Home Office pathologist that tbe cause of the death was strangulation, but by what means the experts could not say. Poor old Jaffray, he was sueh an excellent fellow."

(To be aonUnuad daily.), m