THE FOURTH MAN

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 114, 17 May 1933, Page 20

THE FOURTH MAN

CHAPTER XXXI. I could not give a coherent account of the next two or three hours even if it were necessary to the story, which it ia not. They were feverish hours of hurry, eager questions, rapid explanations, interruptions by the police, telephoning and telegraphing. I passed through them as a man in a trance. Just one thing was uppermost in my consciousness all the time—that by some miracle Olvcr had been cleared of the charge against him and that Marple too was out of danger. The man who shot Selwyn had revealed himself, and then had shaken off his mortal coil and paid his reckoning in his own way. I heard the policeman making puzzled inquiries and saw him taking laborious notes. I heard Pinson telephoning to the inspector at Bodmin, and saw him writing an elaborate ' telegram to Lomax in London. I stood by while, at his insistence, Mr. TregelHs gave, and the policeman wrote, a detailed statement of what had happened in the room, and ofithe conversation that had passed. Pinson said it was important to get this on record while it was fresh in the landlord's memory. And all the time nobody mentionec the name of Olver. , He was a spectatoi —a friend of Marple's. It was bette so, said Pinso'n. No need to show hin up and have him arrested before we had reached the bottom of the business. It was, however, made perfectly clear to the Cornish.police that they had lit up6n 'a much , more important thing than the discovery of Marple, and they agreed to the proposal that we should \ill remain at .the Porth Qnintle Hotel, under whatever police guard th'cy liked to impose, un,til instructions came from London. At eight o'clock in the evening the inspector from Bodmin arrived with thoso instructions telephoned to him from London by Lomax. He was to keep all the parties under observation and let nobody go until Lomax himself arrived in the morning. The excellent inspector naturally felt soro about our performance of the morning. It Was necessary to admit that we were not at Tregeagle's Pool by accident. ■ But Pinson, who took charge of the- explanation, managed it very neatly, salving the inspector's dignity as best he could, and saying that if there had been time to put him on the track of Goggles he would have done so. lie went away mollified, camped a constable in the hall of tho hotel, and left us to- our own devices till the morning. There was a lot to bo thrashed out between us. Marple wanted to know why and how we had "barged" in. We on our part were thoroughly mystified by the events of the afternoon, and still more by tho fact that Olvor, under accusation of murder, and Marple, a fugitive from the police, should have been discovered taking their ease in the only hotel in a Cornish seaside place. Our explanations were simple enough. Pinson related how the murder of his friend Selwyn had roused his wrath, and ho had determined to explore the circumstances to the uttermost; how ho had come to the conclusion that Olver could not bo guilty and had at first suspected Marple; how ho had struck the clue of the near-sighted man; and how the discovery of Selwyn's money in Marplc's house and the action of the police had decided us to warn him of his danger. Marplo was greatly concerned about tho attack on Juan, between whom and himself there was a strong tie of affection. We were able to assure him that tho little man was not seriously hurt and would soon be fit.

"What was the notion," Pinson asked, "wheu you hid Olver at the cottage? He could not hide there for ever." "All we wanted," said Marple, "was to get Pedro Estevan out of England. Whatever is strango in my conduct you can put down to that; the overwhelming desire to get him away. When ho had gone .we had plenty of evidence to prove Olver's innocence and mine, and the guilt of a man who had escaped." "Whom you had allowed to escape," Pinson corrected."Yes, whom ■we had allowed to, escape." "And why?" "Because Selwyn would have. wished it," was the surprising answer. "I can say no more than that. Don't ask me." ■ • ' "Very well, then; we won't go on that line. But hero: yoii arc, with Olver, out of- all concealment, living openly in a watering : place.. Why 1" "Part funk and part bravado," he replied. "I came down fom London in the hope that Pedro would be frightened away from England by the risk he ran. But on Saturday'l liad warning that he was still about and likely to find us out. Through.Juan—but no fault of Juan's, mind you. Ho heard in Bodmin on Saturday that'a person had been making inquiries "about me. I thought' it'time to shift. Didn't want Olver in a mixup. Nobody down here knew Olver. Anyhow, we had to risk it." ".Rather lucky you did," said Pinson. "If you'd been at the cottage last night—" "Ah, well, perhaps. But I sleep light and I shoot straight. All the same, I'm glad I hadn't got to shoot Pedro." There was a long pause. Then Pinson said, quietly: "I'm sure there's a lot of ipain in this story for you, Mr. Marple. What you'll tell Lomax to-morrow will be enough to satisfy him that Selwyn's murderer lies drowned in the Atlantic, and that you and Olver had nothing to do with it. So far as I am concerned, if you wish to tell us no more than that I shall be satisfied too. I feel curioue on one or two points only." "Fire away," said Marple. "The short-sighted man who was known as Pedro Eetevan was not a Spaniard pr. an Argentino or a dago of any sort, but an Englishman. Who was he ?"

"Pedro Eetev.an, Pinson," said Marple. "As Pedro Estevan he died; Pedro Eetevan let him be. His crime and his identity are sunk with him in the eea."

"Very well. That's one taboo," Pineon said. "Next, the money found in your desk belonging to Selwyn. Of course, there wae no question of stealing. You didn't want Selwyn'e money." "I will tell'you what Tshall tell the police," answered Marple. "It will be the truth, but not the whole truth. I expected a visit from Estevan. There were rea6one why Selwyn and I wanted to keep him away from England. We were .-prepared to give him considerable sum 3of money to keep him away. We thought we might persuade him, I was,

By R. A. J. I WALLING. Author of "The Merafield Mystery," "Th» Third Degree," etc., eta.

"But ho wasn't," eaid Pinson. "No, I know," said Marple sadly. "He must have come to himself almost, a>s soon as I left him.', It was a choice for mo between alarming the girls in Selwyn'e house and going for help on my own account. I'thought I would get hold of Olver or Quilter quietly at the front of the house, and so I went back through my pla«e. Then I eaw Olver bolting, as I thought, and I dragged him in. He can tell you what happened to him." CHAPTER XXXII. Wo looked towards Bernard. "I don't understand it-all, even now/' said he, "because there are things thai Marple won't tell me. I had a long talk with Selwyn, and toward the end I'm afraid we got rather hot. Ho "would give me no reason for warning me off Evelyn—at any rate, not a word of sense. Said he forbade it for reasons which he considered good. I aeked him whether they were reaeons concerning Evelyn or concerning me. He said both. More than that I couldn't get out of him. I thought !he was unjust and unfair, and told him so." "Rather strong, Olver," Pinson said, "considering all he'd done for you." "Perhaps, but I felt very warm about the unreasonableness of trying to keep me and Evelyn apart. In fact, I spoke back sharply when he dragged up what lie'd done for me. He said I didn't know half he'd done or why he'd done it. I eaid I'd rather be independent of him and under no obligation. Hβ called mo an ungrateful ass. You can imagine how the row developed." "And all tho time," eaid Pinson, "he was on pine and needles about something else." "Yes, of course, I see that now. He was very restless. He would sit down at his table and flick over the leaves of a book. He would get up and go to the window, and come back and get up again. All of a sudden he turned round to me and said, 'Leave me now, Olver. Come back in ten minutes. I'm going into Marple'e. 5 I left the study as he passed into the garden. I stayed about ten minutes in the dining room, went back to the study, found he was not there, returned to the dining room, came out again—" "And that," said I, "was when I met you in the hall 1" "Yes. I stood talking to Quilter, worrying all the time about Selwyn and his strangeness. Then I thought I would go and eee if he was in the garden, or perhaps I would go through to Marple'e, as it was getting late and time for me to be leaving. So I walked down towards the gate in the wall, and there I found him lying on tho lawn." (To lie continued daily.)

prepared to find all the money myself, but Selwyn felt some responsibility and insisted on sharing with me whatever it might cost. Ho drew a large sum on Friday and turned it over to me on the Saturday. As it happened, we never had a chance to try to buy off the poor devil." "Becauee you didn't see him that night, and before you got back from Acton, he had shot Selwyn in mistake for you. That's clear. But I don't quite eee how you knew what had happened when you did come back from Acton and caught Olver running off and dragged him into your house." "I never was at Acton," said Marple. "Ah!" cried Pinson. . "Light indeed! Mr. Weeks of Acton must be a really good friend of youre." "A very good friend indeed, and, for an excellent reason,, much concerned to help me that night." "When I left Selwyn's I went into my own house and stayed there waiting for Pedro. I eat in the dining room half an hour —the time Selwyn was reading the Riot Act to young Olver here.' Pedro did not turn up. I should think it was about ten past ten when I heard a noise in the garden." "And Selwyn heard it, too." "I think he probably did. He may have thought it was me. Don't, know what he thought.- But he got rid of Olver and went down his own path. I was slower than .Selwyn. I had to get my windows unfastened. When I got out I saw somebody climbing out of the garden, swinging himself over "by- : the lilac treee at the bottom. I went after him, but when 'I had taken ' the wall iie was nowhere to be seen. I searched about for five minutes in. the lane by the allotment gardens, thinking he might have gone there. • Then I gave it up and came back. I waited in the dining room eome minutes more. Then I thought of going into Selwyn's. As I paesed through the gate I saw Olver's whites flitting up the garden. Then I came upon Selwyn, lying on. the lawn. Ho seemed to bo quite dead."