FATE'S INTERVENTION

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 16, 20 January 1939, Page 15

FATE'S INTERVENTION

By Captain A. O' Pollard V.C., M.C., D.C.M.

yHL day Arthur Rowland* met Kvelvn Felhani he made up his mind tliat lie wanted her. It did not matter in the least that she was engaged to his partner; in his code of life he took what he desired by fair means or foul. David Ihurnton muist l>e smashed. lie ' decided, and smashed in such a wav that Kvelyn would give him ii|i of her own free will. After all it was merely, anticipating an inevitable finish to "their business association; he had only allowed Thurston to join him 111 the first place in order to get control of his capital. It was easy enough to arrange. . Thurston knew nothing whatever of business, having only recently retired from the Air Force, and when Rowland* informed him that there was a hitch in the negotiations fur a South American mine in which they hoped to purchase a concession, Thurston believed him implicitly. " I here* just one jHMsihle chance of saving our capital," hinted Rowlands, gloomily. He apj>eared to hesitate, and David asked the expected question. "Well, what i* it? Of- course I'll do anything if it will help things." Rowlands craftily unfolded his plan. By great good fortune, he declared. Signorina Anita Elferenza, the real owner of the mine, happened to be in London. David was to make her acquaintance, appoint himself her escort, and insinuate himself into her good graces. If he did hijs part thoroughly, she might be persuaded "to give them the desired option. '"Hiere's only one part of the business you'll find rather irksome, I'm afraid," concluded Rowlands, laying his hand sympathetically oil David's shoulder. "You'll have to neglect your fiancee for a while. It would ruin everything if either of the ladies knew the other existed." David at once protested: he was quite confident that Eve would understand. But after Rowlands *lmd carefully pointed out how much hung on success, he reluctantly agreed "to be guided by the elder man's advice. "All right!" he announced brusquely. "I'll do wljat you say, though I don't at all like it. • If Evelyn makes a fuss I shall rely on you to put thing* right." Rowlands had summed up his man to a nicety. . Having passed his word, David •tuck to it. Evelyn found herself gradually ignored without being able to discover the reason. The skilful innuendo* of an ever, attentive Rowlands increased h®r imhappinesp. No one knew .better than he how to turn such a situation to his own advantage. The climax arrived on the day Evelyn entered the lounge of an hotel for tea and saw in animated conversation with an over-dressed girl, boldly made-up, who was obviously not quite a lady. He had failed to keep an engagement with herself. Rowlands in attendance offered a hateful sympathy which fanned the fire of her wrath. , The following day she returned David his ring. David was flabbergasted. Tt must be a mistake. A word or two of explanation from Rowlands and everything would be pvit right again. He hurried eagerly to the man whom he believed to be. hit! friend. ; He found him at the office and was at once struck by the change in his demeanour. A different Rowlands this; a hard-as - ce business man who listened I to his partner's story without softening. "I'm very sorry, my dear Thurston", lint we must allow Miss Pelham to know her own mind. It's probably on account of this"—he passed across a blue paper —"I expect she's heard; women are like that." David glanced at it quickly. A word caught his eye. He read it through again slowly, only "then half comprehending. "What does it all mean?" he asked a> length. "My good fellow, surely you can read? It means the mine is a fraud. Inhere never was a mine." '"But what about our money?" "Our money has gone; we've been had. It's an infernal -nuisance and has left me rather short. I'm sorry to have to trouble you just when this has happened. but I must ask you to pay me back the hundred or so you've had on account." David swallowed hard. His mouth seemed to have gone .suddenly dry. "I can't- —you know that quite well. I haven't got a bean." Rowlands shrugged his shoulders. ' "You shouldn't dabble in these risky American investments unless you can afford to stand the racket. Anyone will tell you that. I won't be hard on you though; I'll give you a week to find the money." The phraae echoed in David's ears for the rest of the morning—a week to find the money. How was he to get even . a part of it ? But even that was not the uppermost thought in his mind. Did Eve know ? Was this the reason she had turned him down. Anyway he was debarred from asking her nowj she might think he was , cadging for sympathy. Wandering disconsolately about the West End, chance brought him face to face with the American heiress. He raised his hat mechanically and would have passed on, but she seized him by the arm. "I was trying to find you." she announced briskly. "That damned swine has double-crossed me!" She spoke with a Cockney accent and Duvid stared at her in astonishment. Where was the broken English he had j been hearing for the past few weeks, j A vague suspicion formed slowly in his i mind. • Signorina Anita Elferenza stamped her foot impatiently. "Don't look at me like that; you've guessed it in one. I'm an actress and Fve been fooling you. Dead easy it was, too; you don't know much about women, do you? But stand me*a drink 'l somewhere and I'll p®t you wise to the whole game. The dirty tripe-hound! I'll teach him to try his tricks on me! Somewhere where I can have a double johnnie. I'm sick of all those cocktails INre had to put up with." David dazedly followed his com; pap ion into a public house,' and as soon as they were settled in a quiet corner of the bar she recommenced her diatribe. "Your girl has chucked you, bf course. That's what he was after, and I, poor mutt, didn't realise it. That, and skinning you of all your chink. My, bat you look green. Drink up and order another; you look as if you needed it." 1 David laughed harshly. > .. "Bring tlje bottle, waiter," he ordered I "Thia is an occasion!" |

SHORT STORY

He poured himself half a tumbler of spirit a.:;. 1 drank it neat. The lire ran tlir<»uj:li his veins. "Xow tell me the whole story," he requested peremptorily. The ]>seu<!o South American needed no urging. She was eager to air her . own grievance. She had consented to play the part of the required heiress i because she believed herself to Ik> RowLandr.' mistress. She had only dis- ■ covered that day that Rowlands had been using her merely to prepare the . way for her successor. 1 David listened silently to the sordid recital. Every now and again he re- , plenished his glass. The bottle was almost empty when she had finished. I He rose abruptly to his feet. His ; chair crashed clattering on the floor, i "Where are you going?" the woman i asked anxiously. There was a look in his eyes that frightened her. She clutched at his sleeve, but he roughly tore himself free. Without a backward glance lie left the liar. The hammers in his brain had ceased their pounding. The uncertainty in his mind had given way to a determination which grew with every second. He 110 < longer had any doubt of Kvelyn; Rowlands' whole vile plot was palpably transparent. There could only be one fitting punishment; the cad was not [ fit to live. i The unaccustomed quantity of spirit he had consumed strengthened his resolve. He was not drunk; merely drugI ged into an insensibility to normal life , which was donffnated by his intention. He went direct to his rooms and searched for the automatic pistol he had , possessed in the service. He cleaned it i carefully and loaded it. A final whisky I and soda. His face was set in inflexible lines as he set out on his errand. A car drew up to the entrance to the . block of flats where Rowlands lived, as he turned the corner of "-the street. He slipped quickly into the shelter of a doorway as Evelyn stepped out on to the pavement. So she was going to him then—already. All the suspicions he had put . behind him earlier in the day returned with added violence. His blood wan on fire, though he trembled as if he were cold. He would wait for five minutes so as to catch them together, he decided fiercely. As lie crossed the threshold of the building he almost collided with a man hurrying in the opposite direction. The man drew away with a nervous start. David recognised Rowlands' servant and smiled grimly. Was his expression so terrible that he made the man afraid of him? Rowlands' flat ww on the second floor. As he approached David noticed with surprise that the outside door was ajar. He crcjit quietly into the hall and listened. Voices, which he recognised as Rowlands' and Evelyn's sounded from a room on the right. Eve seemed to be pleading. Suddenly Rowlands spoke quite loudly. ."I'll give you your lover back on one condition. But before I tell you what that condition is, I'll just go into the other room and make out his cheque as a guarantee of good faith." Quick steps crossed the floor. Xow was his chance, thought David, and moved forward. His hand silently turned the door knob; his pistol was ready for instant action. Should he do it now or should he wait until Evelvn had left? A faint ratHe as Rowlands pushed up the lid of his roll-top desk. A pause. A startled half-strangled cry. A crack! The sound of a heavy fall. Silence. David flung open the door and took a pace into the room. Rowlands was lying in a crumpled heap before the bureau. A thin trickle of blood flowed from a nasty wound in his forehead. David'* heart turned suddenly to water. His knees quivered as though with an ague. His one thought was for Evelyn. To think she had been driven to this. Her head appeared round the door from the other room. There was a look of frozen horror on her face. Her eyes roamed from David to the body on the floor; then back to David. The two Stared mutely across the intervening space. One hand clutched abruptly at her throat. The other pointed tremblingly at the pistol in David's hand. "Oh, David!" she wailed miserably. "Why did you do it? Why did you do it?" The words did not immediately penetrate his deadened consciousness. He glanced down dully to see at what she wa« pointing. He lifted the weapon and looked at it as though he were seeing it for the first time. Then he laughed harshly, unnaturally. Surely he had not fired without knowing it? He couldn't have done. He was * outside the door when it happened. But was he? Could it be possible —-—? No, such thoughts savoured of madness, i Then a probable explanation occurred to him, and with a viojpnt effort he i pulled himself together. "My poor Eve! The brute deserved ] it, I know, but I wish with all my 1 heart it hadn't been you."

David strode across the room and bent i over Kowlands' body. It needed only a cursory glance to tell him the mail . was dead. His brain was beginning to function again now. He turned briskly towacds where Evelyn stood, paralysed. "Look here, Eve, you must get out of > this as soon as you can." He spoke . with the tone of command he would have used in the service. "I'll do everything thats necessary. Take a cab and call [ "u a friend as far away from here as , you can get. I'll swear I spoke to you 011 the 'phone at your flat a quarter of an . hour ago. They mustn't connect you with having been here to-day." ; '"Why bother about me, David; it's you who must get away. Drive about in . a taxi until it's dark; then come to lue and I'll hide you somewhere." Her voice , broke; the realisation of wha< had happened was too much for her. She - began to cry quietly. "Oh, why did you , do it. David she asked brokenly. David stared at her in amazement. ■ There was 110 mistaking the fact that she genuinely believed him guilty. 1 "T didn't do it," he declared at last. ; 'T thought it was you—wasn't it?" 1 It was Evelyn's turn to look aston- > i shed. "You really mean you didn't shoot ' him?" she cried. ; "No, I haven't shot anybody. Look t here!" He slipped the magazine from his pistol and opened the breech. He ; was eager to convince her. "See, the i barrel is quite clean." A fresh thought - occurred to him. "He couldn't have : been killed by a bullet in any case or we should smell the smoke of the dis- [ charge." I "Why are you carrying a gun?" she ; demanded, not vet fully convinced. David decided to make a full confes- : sion; he was just beginning to realise the madness of his conduct. "I came here with the intention of killing Rowlands," he blurted out. "I thought you had broken off our engagement because I was a failure; I was cad enough to think you preferred Rowlands because he was successful. I—l didn't think life mattered any more when you 110 longer cared for me." He sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands. Evelyn fussed round him, longing to comfort him in his 1 wretchedness. "I've always cared for you, David, dear," she assured hini, fondling his hair with her hand. "I always shall, You're my man and I want you. Jt was only because of that woman—. But don't let us talk about that any more; it's all past and done with. The question is, what are we going to do now? Hadn't we better notify the police?" "I suppose we had; I wonder who could have killed him ?" "It couldn't have been his servant, I suppose?" "Xo, his servant's out; I passed him in the hall." A disagreeable thought brought a look of horror to his face. Evelyn was startled. "What is it, David? Why are you looking like that?" * "The servant—l passed him as I came in. He'll tell the police that I was looking furious.' They'll fliid out "that Rowlands and I had quarrelled. What shall I do ?" For the moment he wa« panic-stricken; if the real murderer had left no clues, he would undoubtedly be suspected. Suppose he were found guilty of a crime he had not committed. "You've nothing to fear, David," Evelyn pointed out. "It wasn't you who killed him." . David made a gesture of hopelessness. The effect of the drink he had taken had worn off, leaving him dispirited. "Suspicion is bound to fall on me," he persisted. "If I can't find out who—." He was interrupted by a loud banging on the outer d'oor. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall. A man, obviously a policeman in plain clothes, entered the room. "Excuse me coming in like this, sir. Your door was open and as I heard - you talking—." His voice died away as he caught sight of the ominously still figure on the floor. For a moment there was a deadly silence. Evelyn slipped her hand through David's arm. With the courage of her . sex in an emergency she took the initiative. Mr. Rowlands has met with an , accident. We're afraid someone must have crept in and attacked him." "Attacked him, eh?" 1 The detective slowly shifted his gaze to the speaker. Evelyn stared back : unwaveringly, the deadly scrutiny was transferred to David. David attempted : an expression of indifference, but only succeeded in looking acutely uncom- ! fortable. The policeman looked back to < the man on the floor. . ] , "I see! Have you notified the 1 station?" ' 1 David cleared his throat. "We were just going -to," he s explained huskily. 1 "I must ask you both to sit down," i requested the detective. He moved across to the desk, scrupu- ! lously avoiding the body, and lifted the telephone received. The short period which followed his

call seemed like ages to the two sitting side by side on the Chesterfield. The detective stood with his hands in his pockets, staring out of the window, whistling between hie teeth. Eve nearly screamed. David shifted his feet uneasily. Voices and footsteps at length sounded in the distance. The detective went out into the hall. Followed a low-voiced discussion, after which he returned with the local inspector and the divisional surgeon. Ignoring the two on the Chesterfield, the three men clustered round the body I of the dead man, and the doctor knelt down to conduct his examination. "There's no sign of foul play here," he declared after a few minutes. "This man died from heart failure and grazed his head in falling." « With a cry of relief David sprang from his chair. "Heart failure! But how—?" "A bad shock would have caused it," declared the doctor. "But he didn't have a shock." "Excuse me, sir, I think he may have done," interposed the detective, who was examining Rowlands' desk. He went on to explain that Owen Jenkins, Rowlands' personal servant, had been arrested at a neighbouring branch of a bank whilst trying to negotiate some bonds belonging to his master. The cashier's suspicions were aroused, ard he detained the man in conversation whilst an official of the bank fetched a policeman. "I had come round here to notify Mr. Rowlands when you told me he* was dead," he concluded. "No doubt when he opened his desk the shock of finding the bonds gone proved too much for his weak heart." David and Evelyn looked at one another with heartfelt thankfulness. Fate's intervention had saved them both from a lifetime of abject misery.