THE FOURTH MAN

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 113, 16 May 1933, Page 15

THE FOURTH MAN

By R. A. J. WALLING.

(CHAPTER XXlX.—Continued.) He composed it in the post office. It was addressed to Mrs. Piiison at Adam Street: — "Detained in Cornwall day or two longer. Telephone to the girls. Love to Dora.—Noel." : That would be all that was wanted, ho said. Ho had told his wife to be ready at any-time to send a message to,Mies Akaster at Joan's house. And now, en route once more. The railway station was hie next goal. A car would be useless to Goggles even if ho could afford it. Ho would want to go wherever he went as inconspicuously is possible. We climbed the hill to the station. Pineon studied the time-tables. There had been two trains out to the main Hno since noon, and two in the other direction to the north coast. He went at once to the booking office. Yes, the clerk said, ho had been on duty for soma hours. "A man who was to have booked from hero to-day left hie very valuable glasses behind, and I've been trying to catch him up," raid Pinecn. "The poor chap's loss is serious. He's nearly blind without them. And he can't afford the loss, either. I wonder whether you've noticed whether an extremely short-sighted workman lias booked eince you've been I on ?"

"Had he a cut over his forehead?" aeked the clerk.

"Dear, me!" eaid Pin6on. "The poor fellow' must have stumbled already." "Hβ was here no more than an hour ago. I remember him very well, because he seemed to have some trouble to scrape up the fare, and he squinted at the ticket to see I wasn't doing him down, I suppose. But ho had glaeeee on."

"H'rn. Had he?" said Pinson. "Well, that's possible, of course. But where did he book for 1 Can you remember that ?" "Yes, he booked for Porth Quintle by the 2.15."

I "Thanks," eaid Pinson, •unceremoniously closing the interview. "Let's get a. look at the map quickly," ihe urged. "Where the deuce is Porth Quintle? And how do you get there? Goggles is gone to Porth Quintle and we've got to catch him before he arrives." i But we did not cafxih Goggles before he reached Porth Quintle. If we had overtaken him the course .of events might have been altered. Yet when we came to look at it afterwards we hardly doubted that Fate judged the fitness of thinge better thaa we did. Porth Quintle is & little watering place on the North Coaet, perhaps 20 miles from Bodmin. A cove with a golden beach beneath great brown cliffs, Iα few houses, a new hotel, and a little stone jetty* projecting into a pool where a few fishing boats shelter from the Atlantic winds and seas. The Beltane made short work of the distance, and by four we were descending the steep hill from the little railway station to the coast. The train on which. Goggles travelled we learnt had passed through half an hour before. Hβ was not to be seen on the road. I stopped the car in front of the bright new seaside hotel, which on one eide faced the jetty and on the other the Within two minutes we were in the thick of the crisis. We eaw a few stragglers, visitors and fishermen, looking curiously across- the patch of lawn as they passed. One or two stopped and frankly gazed, in at a long window. When I had switched off the engine we heard the sounds of a qnarrel inside the building. ... "Hullo!" said Tineon, jumping out. "Come along, Quilter— I think we're wanted. ,, .v i_ I a« he ran up the few steps and ruehed into the hotel. A servant girl stared along a corridor to the left with a startled look. . A man came , from somewhere and ran through the corridor. We went close on hie heels and buret with him into the room where voices were raised in high dispute. The tableau we witnessed in that white-painted gay little room, with its Ion?? window looking upon the terrace, was extraordinary. A squat, dark man in dirty .dress, with a great red angry wound upon Ms forehead, wearing thick plasees,; etood with hie back to the window shouting at another man who eat in a basket chair at the end of the room. The man in the basket chair was. Marple, Bernard Olver stood beside him, white-faced and terrified. Marple viae amazing. He seemed perfectly cool, and- when he said a word occasionally iii answer to the frantic ficreams of tlie. man in goggles he epoke quietly. Hβ had in hie ha-nd a revolver, with which he kept-the intruder covered*

A COLt>.

Author of "The IWerafield mystery," "The Third Degree," etc., ete.

(To bo continued daily.)

CHAPTER XXX. I The man in the goggles seemed dimly to realise the arrival of other persons in the room. For a moment he ceased to shout and peered at us through his glasses. Olver, when he saw inc, had cried out, "Paul!" Marple caught eight and recognised mo with half a glance, but kept his attention fixed on the figuru of the man in the window. "Everybody had better stand back," eaid he. "1 can manage this alone." Then he addressed to the man a few words in Spanish, which seemed to renew and intensify his rage. "No!" he shrieked. "No, Marple 1 Speak your last words on °arth in your mother"tongue. You're going to die this time, Marple. Don't make any mistake about it." "You'd better go away," said Marple. "You're at a disadvantage. I don't want to take advantage of you. Go away." "I'm going away all right, Marple. But you're going first. You're going where poor Akaster went. You'll be glad to meet him again, eh? Say your prayers if you've got a god. I'm not going to miss you this time." Then I eaw something which made me shiver with a cold sweat. The man who had come into the room with us saw it, too, and made as if to rush at the speaker, but Piuson grabbed him by the arm. For the man in goggles had a Browning pistol in his hand, and he slowly raised it, straining hard through hie glasses in the direction of Marple. "Stop before it's too late," cried Marple, without changing position or moving liis eyes. "Stand clear, everybody. Bernard, get away from thie." As the Browning came to the horizontal Olver jumped away from Marple's side to where the three of us were huddled by the door. "Good-bye, Marple," said the man in goggles, taking a step forward. "I can eee you well enough now. I miseed you in the garden and killed another man instead. But no mietake this time, you scoundrel!" He 6tretchecl hie arm. There was a shot that made us all cry out, so sudden and eo alarming the concussion in that little room. But above all other sounds rose the scream of the man in goggles as ho turned and etumbled through the window, running across the tiny lawn to the road and out of our line of sight. Wo ran to Marple. He sat with the revolver in his hand aimed at the spot where hie 'adversary had been. "All right," he said. "I'm not hit. He didn't fire. It was I fired—got him in the hand, I think. He's gone. Let him go." We got somehow through the window to the graes plot. The man was then running, two fishermen chasing him, aloii£ the top of the jetty. His shriek* brought others running, too. Tho foremost fisherman was almost up with him as he reached the pier head, but without checking speed he went over and disappeared. Men at the ehore end of the Jetty untied a boat and puehed off. Other boats were manned and pulled quickly to the entrance of the little harbour. We stood, st. paralysed group, watching. "I hope," said Marple, "they -won't find the poor devil." J "Oh, sir!" exclaimed the man ■ "who had made a third to me and Pinson, with a shocked expression. "Best for everybody, Mr. Tregellis," said Marple. "I'm sorry thie Has happened in your house." That was. all that passed in words for a quarter of hour. We watched the boats flitting about the pier head, in and out of eight. They found nothing. At last: ... • "Xo hope for him now, said Mr. Tregellis, who- ecemed to be the landlord of the hotel." "The tide eete out strong. He'll go to sea under water. I doubt if they ever find him." "So that's that!" said Marple. It sounded callous, but I saw the expression on Marple's face, and it was full of grief, and I noticed that he put his arm for a moment about Olvcr's shoulder with an almost affectionate gesture. "Now, Quilter," he said, turning to me, "perhaps you'll tell ue what the devil brought you here, and who's, your friend t"

We trooped into the room. "How did you get here?" he went on. "There's more in this than a mere coincidence. Out with it." "This," said I to Marple, "is Sir. Pinson, the barrister, who was a great friend of Selwyn'e. He knows Bernard. It. would take a.long time to tell you why we're here." •Pinson and Olver had shaken hands on the lawn outside, and were now standing together. "How d'ye do, Mr. PinsonT' said Mavple. "Friend or foe?" "Some days ago—foe," said Pmeon. "For several days—neutral. This afternoon—friend. I'm very glad to know you, Mr. Marple. Congratulations on a narrow escape from eudden death. "Oh, that!" said Marple, waving away the idea. "Is T o- danger at aIL The poor devil eeemed blinder than, usual. He couldn't have hit me except by accident. It was only when he was waving tne damned thing across too. near to be pleasant that I let fly at hie. pistol hand. Where's the pistol,, by the _ way ? And, looking round, he picked .it up from the floor where it lad dropped from tha wounded hand of Goggles.

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