Demon's Decoy

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 280, 26 November 1938, Page 13 (Supplement)

Demon's Decoy

Serial Story

SYNOPSIS. HA''ifA'J?"' •mploy.d .. Men. I# V er in *•*» York, whin h« suddenly dis'J*' without any reason. Two »*«i to *® so to Borria who Tit Mer,Ur * to Dr - John Beirut' cZ 2- hM ,* ••"•torium near bvhV«.- ? ar p i»ai ahe is disturbed aaaiatlnt lT #m — ° doct or'a young Stephen Payne, that ftr Bnrri. ?".* e A '• oomg on. Whan £*.?- i Introduces har to hla eolof?,®or Mero »- »ha raaliaaa ana onoa mat him in Profaaaor Aucr's ■KSrSf , but L h « it and" pro! ■SmSS„r know * u#r - That night someone cornea to hap door and warna lh ' plao *- Wh * n talla ?t w« J?. 6 * 1 . mornin 9. he thinks prob,bl », the doctor'a neurotic young niece, Mary (Morris, though other possibilities arc Mrs. Graham, trained" nurße! Per ' a " d " iM Hilton ' ♦ * ♦ ♦ CHAPTER IX. ELIZABETH was silent, toying with her fork, her eyes fixed on the tablecloth. When she looked up she found Stephen wptching her. "Well?" lie said. "'I find it difficult to believe that Vnrse Hilton did it," Elizabeth said. '"She seems so level-headed." Stephen nodded. "I think you can safely rule her out." "As for Mrs. Graham, why should she? She had already more or less warned me about the place —yesterday afternoon." "She did!" Stephen jerked himself up in his chair. '"What did she say?" "More or less what you did in the car coming out—that I was too young to he here that she didn't understand it." "Then elie feels it, too," Stephen muttered under his breath. "Stephen," Elizabeth r-aid firmly, after a moment's silence, "I'm tired of all this mystery. I think I have a right to demand that you tell me what's in your mind. You talk and act so strangely." Stephen smiled faintly, but hit eyes were troubled. "You are quite right," he said, "but, unfortunately, there is nothing I can tell you, because I don't know anything." u Mast Know Something " "You must know something. At least you suspect something." Elizabeth spoke coldly, tired of his beating around the bush. Her tone was not lost on him. He looked at her, meeting her eyes steadily. "I understand how you feel," he admitted, "and I'll tell you all I know. It isn't much, but it will explain why I was surprised when I saw you yesterday and why I do not understand why you were picked for this job." He paused, frowning, then went on. "When I first came here, a year ago, everything ran smoothly and quietly, and we all did our respective jobs without any clashes of personality. Dr. Morris was chiefly interested in research and did not like to have many patients, but we did have four, and two other nurses besides Xurse Hilton. It was not until—" The door opened suddenly, and Mrs. Graham stuck her head in. "It's high time you pot to work, young lady!" she aaid sharply. "And you, too, Dr. P&ync," with a severe look at Stephen. Stephen glanced at his watch and jumped up. "Right you are, Mrs. Graham." Elizabeth swallowed h/*r chagrin at the Interruption and followed Stephen to the door. He gave her a quick look, then was off. "Come along, miss," said Mrs. Graham. "You are to go to the study instead of the lab." Elizabeth followed the housekeeper to the doctor's study, which was at the back of the house and was connected with the laboratory. ' Dr. Morris, dressed -In white, greeted her perfunctorily, then indicated a litter of papers on the desk. "See what you can do about putting these notea into shape," ho said in his smooth voice. "Yea, doctor." "If there is anything you don't understand, I'll be in the laboratory." He left the room, and, in the brief second that the door into the laboratory

A Tale Of Romance And Secret Peril In The Near East

was open, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of Stephen and Professor Meres bending over a table. Then the door wa« closed. Elizabeth set to work. It was a type of work with which she was quite tatniliar. and after a few minutes she settled down happily, concentrating only on what she was doing, forgetful of time and place. "Miss Allen." ~S he , was so engrossed in her work that the voice startled her. She had not heard the door open. She looked up quickly to find Professor Meres standing near the desk. He smiled. At least, she took the grim, ace on his face to mean a smile. "I did not moan to frighten you," he said softly. "You didn't frighten me," Elizabeth answered, feeling strangely annoyed. '"\ou are a pood worker. Concentration 011 tlio job. I like that. However, it i* lunch time, so you must stop." Elizabeth glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was almost one o'clock.

"I didn't realise it was so late," she said. She rose and started to gather up her morning's work. Meres, however, motioned her to resume her place. Puzzled, she did so. He drew up a chair and sat down, facing her. "Misa Allen," he said, slowly and precisely, "you have a good memory for faces." Elizabeth felt a little tremor pass through her, but she met his eyes steadily. "Yours is not an easy face to forget," she answered auietly. "I saw at once that you recognised me, but I had good reasons for lying.'' He stopped and stared at her, his eyes so cold and penetrating that she had to look away. "I ask you to forget that you ever saw me before, or that you know I have met Professor Auer." "And if I don't?" Elizabeth asked the question almost in spite of herself. Meres stood up. "That will be to your disadvantage—not mine," he said slowly. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ CHAPTER X. Elizabeth also stood up. She was mystified, rather than frightened, by the profeseor's words. "I'm afraid I don't understand what harm it could do me to reveal that I

met you in Professor Auer's laboratory," she said coldly. Meres looked at her fixedly. "There is no need for you to understand." He put a hand on her shoulder and gripped so hard that she almost cried out in pain. "Say nothing—you understand? And know only one thing —that I am your friend." He dropped his hf.nd, and Elizabeth rubbed her ahoulder ruefully. I By Alildred Snow Gleason "Funny sort of friend," she murmured. Meres towered above her for a second. Then lie turned toward tlie door. There he paused. "You won't say anything," he murmured. With that, he left her.

Elizabeth sank weakly into a chair. Was the man crazy, or was there really some significance in his threatening words? For the moment, she could find no answer.

Pulling herself together, ehe rose and made her way to the dining room. She was surprised to find it deserted, and only one place set at the table.

Aa ehe was wondering what to do, Ahmed appeared and pulled out the chair for her.

"Everyone eat In different place today," he said calmly.

SOLUTION TO BRAIN TWIZZLER No. XXVIII. As outlined on page six. JTERE'S how the figure can be cut into four pieces, which will form a square.

Elizabeth eat down. That the men might be too interested in some experiment to bother about food did not surprise licr. And Nurse Hilton might have separate hours for meals. But what about Mary Morris? Was she ill, or did she have lunch as weil as breakfast in her room? Unaccountably Elizabeth found herself worrying about the girl. As soon as 6he had finished her short meal, she went upstairs and knocked on the first door in her corridor. A petulant voice told her to enter. She went in and found Mary sitting by a window, a tray of untouched food on a small table in front of her. The girl's face brightened when she saw Elizabeth. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's you. I thought ..." Mary flushed slightly. "I told you several things last night," she said, obviously embarrassed, "and I was rather hysterical, too, I'm afraid—but everything I said was basically true. Only . . ." She hesitated a second. "Only 1 didn't tell you everything." Elizabeth sighed and wondered if she were in for more wild warnings, but Mary, sensing her attitude, 6hook her head. She paused, bit her lip, then suddenly threw back her head. "I'm in love with Michael Brown," she said defiantly. Elizabeth was startled. Through her mind rushed the picture of that scene in the garden and what Stephen had told her. . . . "You think he is crazy and you feel sorry for me" Mary Exclaimed impatiently. " He Isn't Crazy ! " Elizabeth flushed, angry with herself for letting her thoughts appear so clearly on her face. "I don't know him," she hedged, "so I can't say." "I can see that you have heard about him, though," Mary accused. "But Michael isn't crazy, and, if you feel sorry for me, you should feel a hundred times sorrier for him. I am unhappy only because of him, but he . . ." Her voice broke. "They will finish by really driving him mad," she ended in a whisper. "Don't talk nonsense," Elizabeth said sharply. "You can't understand such cases) and you mustn't brood over them." "I understand Michael's case—as you call It," Mary retorted, bitterly. "He came here six months ago to recover from typhoid fever, and he has been kept here ever since as a 'mental case.' He was no more mental than you are! But if they keep on as they've been doing, he'll become mental all right!" "Who are 'they'?" Elizabeth asked, unable to shake off the feeling that the girl was speaking the truth. "Uncle John and Professor Meres. But I don't think Uncle John is really to blame." Mary drew a long breath and plunged on unhappily. "My uncle is under Meres' thumb—though I don't know why." "You are not talking sense, Miss Mor. ris. What reason could Professor Meres possibly have for keeping Mr. Brown here ?" Mary shrugged. "What reason could he have for getting you here?" she ccfuntered. "Me ?" Elizabeth faltered. "I—l fail to see any connection." "So do I," Mary agreed jrrimly, "But I do know that Professor Meres ordered Uncle John to employ you!"

To be continued ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Peter Simple's Posers 1. Anthracite is a hard coal, a member of a sect, or the opposite to a parasite. Do you know? 2. An archipelago is either a small group of large islands or a large group of small •nes. Can you straighten this out? 3. What is a calabash? 4. Even if you have never heard one gaffing, you must know what a gaffer is.

5. Cathay is the poetical name for a country. Which country? 6. Are the Appalachian Mountains in Western Europe, Central Asia, or Eastern North America ? 7. Babuina is the feminine name for an interesting creature; what is the masculine? 8. Then there is the edelweiss, but what, exactly, is an edelweiss? 9. What are a ship's articles? 10. What are hallmarks? 11. "Gulliver's Travels" was written by Swift or Defoe. Can you say by whom?

12. What is copra ? 13. What is a mongoose? 14. What is the origin of the term "a baker's dozen?" 15. In which of Dickens' novels does Barkis appear ? I#. When he said "Barkis is willin'," what did he mean! 17. Who was the celebrated classical hero who took with him all the chief heroes of Greece to search for the Golden Fleece?

18. Was Beau Brummell a fictional or a real person? 19. Being (a) a New Zealander or (b) an Australian you should be able to state some strange fact about (a) a kiwi or (b) a kangaroo. This is not so much a test of knowledge as an exercise in ingenuity. 20. A circular storm in tropical areas had a dead calm in the centra. Is it called * tornado, a cyclone or a willy wfily? (Answers on "Laugh With the World" page.)