THIS WOMAN TO THIS MAN

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3167, 15 June 1931, Page 2

THIS WOMAN TO THIS MAN

h-y C. N. and A. M. WIILLIAMSON. Mrtfeor of "The Lightning Conductor, "The Car of Destiny," "The Goldan Silence," "The Princess Passes," Etc.

(Published by Special Arrangement.) [COPYRIGHT.]

CHAPTER VIII. What Mary Remembered.

She was very young then. I ran against her again on board the "Mon archie about a month ago, crossing o\er to this side, and we picked up the threads of old acquaintance. She was staying at the Savoy when I left Lon don. As a favor to me, she might sei her uncanny accomplishments to work on this business. Only, sne'd have to meet you both, and see this house, l suppose, for I've heard her say she | couldn't do anything without knowing the people concerned, and 'getting the atmosphere,' as she calls it." "Oh, we must have her here!" cried Constance, and all the other women except Mary, chimed in with a musical babel of voices, begging their hostes? to invite them if the countess came No one thought it strange that Mr* N'elßon Smith should h« silent., for h«remark about the Countess de Sanr ago's beauty showed that she had al ready met the lady; but to anyone wbt bad turned a critical stare upon hei. Just then, her expression must -have seemed strange. She had an unseeing look, the look of one who has suddenly become deaf and blind to everything outside some scene conjured up by the brain.

There was great excitement tor the next few days at Valley House, and throughout the neighborhood, for the Annesley-Setons made no secret of the strange robbery, and the affair got into the papers. Lord Annesley-Seton granted short interviews, and Knight was also asked for an interview. Having spent most of his life in America, Knight had the theory that unless you wished to be misrepresented, the only safe thing was to let yourself be interviewed. He was accordingly so goodnatured and interesting that the reporters were delighted with him; and; if. he had been wishing for a wide advertisement of his personality, his possessions, and his plans, he could not have chosen a surer way of getting it. The two newspapers who had undertaken to boom the "Valley House Heirloom Theft" had almost limitless circulations. One of them possessed a Continental edition, and the other was immensely popular 'at home and abroad because of its topical {illustrations. Snapshots, not so unflattering as usual, were smartly obtained of the young Anglo-American millionaire and his bride as they started away from the Knowle Hotel in their motor, or as they walked in the garden. Though Knight had modestly disclaimed any personal acquaintance with the great Grayle, he was able to state out of his own knowledge that Mr. Grayle was convalescing at Palm Beach, in Florida, at the time of the robbery. Everyone in America knew this, Knight explained, and everyone in England might know it also, unless it had been forgotten. Knight thought that even if the clever thief or thieves had somebow heard of Grayle's whim, no attempt would be -made to dispose of the spoil to him. The elderly millionaire, though one of the most eccentric men living, was known as the soul of honor, and could not be tempted by stolen goods. *

What Mary saw was a copy of "The Morning Post." Knight's mention of tbe Countess de Santiago's power of clairvoyance at the same time with the liner "Monarchic," printed before her eyes a paragraph which her subconscious self had never really forgotten "Sensational Occurrence on Board the s.s. Monarchic."

The paragraph, seemingly forgotten but merely buried under other mem orles, had told of the disappearance on board the "Monarchic" of certain fln..pearls and rare diamonds which wer° being secretly brought from New Yorts to London by an agent of a great jew ellery firm. He had given the alarm, and had been blamed by the, chief officer for not handing the valuables over to the purser. The unfortunateman (who had not advertised the fact that he was an agent for Grayle and Company until he had to complain of the theft), excused this seeming carelessness by the statement that he had hoped his identity might pass unsus pected. His theory was that safety lay in insignificance. He had engaged a small, cheap cabin for himself alone, taking an assumed name, had pretended to be a schoolmaster on holiday and had worn the pearls and other things always on his person, in a money belt. Even at night he had kept the belt on his body, a revolver under his pillow, and the door of his cabin locked. Tet one morning he had waked late, with a dull headache and sensation of sickness, to find that his door, though closed, was unfastened, anJ that all his most valuable possessions were missing from his - belt. Some were left, as though the thief had fastidiously made his selection, scorning to trouble himself with anything but the best. The mystery of the affairwas Increased by the fact that, though the man (Mary vaguely recalled in his connection some rather odd name, like Jekyll or Jedkill) felt certain he had fastened the door, there was no sign that it had been forced open. It struck Mary as very strange, al most terrifying, that these details of the Monarchic "sensation" should come back to her so clearly now; but she could not doubt that she had actually read them; and the rest of tho story continued to reprint itself on her brain, as the unrolling of a film might bring back to one of the actors, poses of his own which he had let slip into oblivion. She remembered how some of the more important passengers had themselves suggested that everybody on board should be searched, even to the ship's officers, sailors, and employees of all sorts; that the search had been made, and nothing found, but that a lady supposed to possess clairvoyant powers had offered Mr. Jekyll or Jedkill to consult her crystal for his benefit. She had done so, and had Been wireless messages passing between someone on the Monarchic and someone on another ship with whom the former person appeared to be in collusion. She had seen a small fair man, dressed as a woman, hypnotising the jewellers' agent into the belief that he was locking his door, when indeed, he was leaving it unlocked. Then she bad seen this man who (she asserted firmly) was dressed like a woman, walk into his victim's cabin, hypnotise him into stilf deeper unconsciousness, and take'from his body-belt three long strings of pearls, and several magnifi cent diamonds, set and unset. These things she saw made up into a bundle. wrapped in Waterproof cloth, attached to a life preserver, and thrown overboard. Almost immediately after, she said, the life preserver was picked up by a man in a small motor launch let down from a steam yacht. The launcb quickly returned to the yacht, was taken up, and the yacht made off in the darkness. No life belt was missing from the "Monarchic." and even if suspicion could be entertained against any "small, fair man" (which was not the case, apparently), there was no justification for a search. Therefore, although a good many people believed in the seeress's vision, it proved nothing, and the sensational affair remained as deep a mystery as ever, when the "Monarchic" docked. "The Countess de Santiago was the woman who looked in the crystal?" Mary said to herself. She wondered why, if Knight had been vexed with | the countess for speaking of their

At an Impromptu luncheon at the Knowle Hotel, before the intended dinner party at Valley House, Lady An-nesley-Seton laughingly referred to the interest Society would now begin to take in the "romantic couple." "Everybody will have fallen in love with you already," she said, "from those fascinating snapshots in the 'Looking Glass.' They do make you both look such darlings—though they don't flatter either of you a bit. All the people we know will be clamoring to meet you, so you must hurry and find a nice house, in the right part of town, before some other sensation comes up and you're forgotten. How would it be it you took our house for a couple of months, while you are having a look around? Naturally, if you liked it, you could keep it on. We'd be only too delighted, for we have to let It when we can nowadays, and it would be a real pleasure to think of you in it." "If we're in it, you must bbth come and stay,,and not only 'think' of us, but be with us, mustn't they, Mary?' ? Knight proposed promptly. Of course, Mary said yes, and meant yes. Not that she really wanted her duet with Knight to be broken up into a chorus, but she longed above all things to succeed as a woman of the world, since that was what he wanted her to be, and she realised that the Countess of Annesley-Seton's help would be invaluable.

Detectives were set to work by the two assurance companies, who hoped to trace the thief and discover the stolen Fragonards and the jade Buddha; but their efforts failed ignozniniously, and at the dinner-party given in honor of the new cousins, Lord, and Lady Annesley-Seton rejoiced openly in their good luck. "All the same," Constance said, "I should like to know how on earth the things were spirited out of the house, and where they are at this moment. It ib the first mystery that has ever come into our lives. How I wish I were a clairvoyant. It would be fun!" .. "Did you ever hear of the Countess de Santiago, when you lived In America?" asked Knight, in his calm voice. He did not glance towards Mary, who sat at the other end of the table, but he must have guessed that she would tnrn with a start of surprise on hearing the countess's name in this connection.

"The Countess de Santiago?" Connie echoed. "No. What about her? She sounds interesting."

"She is interesting—and beautiful." Everybody had stopped talking by this time, to listen; and in the, pause Knight appealed to his distant wife. "That's not an exaggeration, is it, Mary?" Mary, wondering and somewhat startled, answered that the Countess de Santiago was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. This rivetted the attention which Knight had caught. He had his audience, and went on In a leisurely way. "Come to think of it, she can't have been heard of in your part of the world until you'd left for England," he told Constance. "She's the most extraordinary clairvoyant I ever heard of. That's what made me speak of her. Unfortunately she's not a professional, and won't do anything for anybody unless she happens to feel like it. But I wonder if I couldn't persuade her to look in her crystal for you. Lady An-nesley-Seton? She's an old acquaintance of mine. I met her in Buenos Ayres before her rich old husband died, about seven or eight years ago.

friendship, and of the "Monarchic/* as he had once seemed to be, he should refer to it now, calmly and openly, before these strangers at the AnnesleySeton's dinner party. She looked down the table, past all the other faces to his face, and the thought that came to her mind was, how simple and almost meaningless the rest were compared to his. Among the fourteen guests, seven women and seven men —though some had charm or distinction —his face alone was complex, mysterious and baffling. Tet she loved it. Now more than ever she loved and admired it! Tbe dinner ended with a discussion between Knight and Constance as to now the Countess de Santiago could be induced to pay a visit to Valley House. Like most women who had lived In Spanish countries, the countess was rather a "stickler for etiquette," her friend Nelson Smith announced, dubiously. Besides, her experiences as an 'amateur clairvoyant" made her quick to resent anything which had the air of patronage. One must go delicately to work to think out a scheme if Lady Annesley-Seton were really in "dead earnest" about wanting her to come. At this point Knight had an inspiration. "I'll tell you what we can do!" he exclaimed. "My wife and I—you're willing, aren't you, Mary?—can ask her down to stay over this week-end with us. Then we can invite you to meet her at dinner."

"Oh, you must invite us all!" pleaded a pretty woman sitting next to Knight. "All of you who care to come, certainly," he agreed promptly. "Won't we, Mary?" , •

"Oh, of course. It will be splendiJ if everybody will dine with us!" Mary backed him up, with one of the girlish blushes that made her seem so young and ingenuously engaging. "We can — send a telegram to the countess." She did her best to speak enthusiastically, and succeeded very well. No one save Knight and Constance guessed it was an effort. Knight saw, and was grateful. Constance saw also, and smiled to herself at what she fancied was the girl's jealousy of an old friend of the new husband , CHAPTER IX. The Crystal. Motoring back from Valley House to the Knowle Hotel, Knight talked jokingly of the Valley House party and their credulous superstition. "Every man Jack and every woman Jill of the lot believe in that crystal and clairvoyant nonsense!" he laughed. "I mentioned it for fun at first, but I'm afraid I went on, simply to 'pull their legs.' I hope you don't mind having the countess down, do you, child? Of course, I made it out to be quite a favor that so wonderful a being should consent to come at call. But between us, Mary, the poor woman will fall over herself with joy at the opportunity. She's a restless, lonely creature, and I have a notion that her heart's desire is to 'get Into society' in England. This will give her a chance. It's a cheap way for us to make her happy—and we can afford it." "Don't you believe she really is clairvoyant, and sees things in her crystal?" Mary ventured. It was then that Knight made her heart beat, by answering with a question. "Didn't you read in the newspapers about the queer thing that happened on board the 'Monarchic'?" "Ye-es, I did read It," the girl said, in so stifled a voice that the reply became a confession. . "Why didn't you tell me so?" "Because —the day I heard you were on the 'Monarchic' I couldn't remember what I'd read. It was all vague in my mind " "No other reason?" "Only that —that —I fancied " "You fancied I didn't like to talk about the 'Monarchic'?" "Well, when the countess spoke 01 it, you looked—a little cross." "I was cross. But only with the way she spoke—as if she and I had come over together on purpose because we were pals. That's all. Though certainly I've every cause to hate the memory of that trip! When did you remember what you had read in the newspapers?" "Only this evening." "I thought so! At dinner. I saw a look come over your face." "I didn't know you noticed me." "I'm always noticing you. And I was very proud of you to-night. Well! "Sou remembered." "About a man on board being robbed, and a lady—an 'amateur clairvoyant,' seeing weird things in a crystal. I thought it must have been the Countess de Santiago." "It was, though her name was kept out of the papers, by her request. She did tell people on board queer things about themselves —true things, they said; and they ought to know! As sure one way or the other if there was anything in her 'visions,' but people thought them extraordinary—even the captain. You see, a yacht had been sighted the evening before the robbery, while the passengers were at dinner. It might have kept near, witn lights out, for the 'Monarchic' is one the huge, slow-sailing giants, and the yacht might have been a regular little greyhound. It seems she didn't answer signals. The captain hadn't thought much of that, because there was a slight fog, and she could have missed them. But it came back to him afterwards, and seemed to bear out the countess's rigmarole. We're all inclined to be superstitious, I suppose. Even I was Interested. Though I don't pin my faith in such things, I asked her to look Into her crystal for me, and see if she could see what had become of my gold repeater, which disappeared the same night." "Oh!" exclaimed Mary. "So you had something stolen, too!" "It looked like It. Anyhow the j

watch went. And the countess herself lost a ring, some time during; the trip —a very valuable one, I believe. She couldn't 'see' anything for herself, but she sot a glimpse of my repeater in the pocket of a red waistcoat. Nobody on board confessed to a red waistcoat. And in the searching of passengers luggage—which I should have proposed myself, if I hadn't been among the robbed—nothing of the sort materialised. However, that proved nothing. Jedfleld's pearls and other trinkets must have been somewhere on board, in someone's possession, if the yacht-vision wasn't true. Yet tin. strictest search gave no sign of them It really was a miracle how they were disposed of, unless they were thrown overboard and picked up by someone in the plot, as the countess said." [ "Is that why you hate to think of the trip—because you lost your watch?" Mary asked.. "Yes. Just that. It made me feel such a fool. I left the repeater unde. my pillow, and next morning when i wanted to look at the time my watch was invisible. 'Then, there was all the business of the passengers being searched, and the everlasting * talk about the whole business. One goi sick and tired of it. I got tired of the countess and her crystal, too. - The Countess de Santiago wired her acceptance of the invitation, and appeared at the Knowle Hotel on Saturday, with a maid and a good deal ot luggage. Mary had secretly feared that the effect of the beautiful lady on the guests of the quiet country hotel would be overpowering. But she had under-rated the countess's cleverness and sense of propriety. The lady arrived in a neat tailor-made travelling dress of russet brown tweed which, with a plain toque of brown velvet and fur, cooled the ruddy flame of her hair. Her lips were less vividly red than before; and though she was as remarkable as ever, for her beauty, she was softer and pleasanter in manner as well as in appearance, and Mary's heart—which had difficulty in hardening itself for long against anyone—was toucned by the countess's grateful thanks for the invitation.

"You two are so happy and wrapped up in each other, I didn't expect you to give a thought of me," the beautiful woman said. "You don't know what it. means to me to be asked down here in the country, after so many lonely days in town, and to know that you and Don are going to give me some new friends." This was precisely the right note to enlist Mary's sympathy. Mary and Knight gave their dinner party in a private room adjoining their own sitting-room, and connecting also with another, smaller room which they had had fitted up to enshrine the seeress and) her crystal. As Knight had said, she seemed to take her clairvoyant power seriously, and insisted that she could do herself justice only in a room arranged in a certain way. A large number of hot-house lilies in pots were placed on the floor round the walls.

When later on she saw her guest dressed for dinner, Mary realised even more vividly the-genius of the artist vhn had olanimd th« picture. For thp Countess de Santiago wore a cllngim? gown made In Greek fashion, of a rfupple white material, shot with silver threads. She wore her copper-red bair In Greek fashion, too, with u wreath of emerald laurel leaves. She would gleam like a moonlit statue in ber Illy perfumed, purple shrine, Mary thought, and was not surprised that the beautiful lady should achieve an instant success with the county folk who had begged for an invitation to meet her.

The Countess de Santiago did not seem to mind in the least answering questions about her powers, which everyone asked across the dinnertable. The Nelson Smiths' guests -listened breathlessly to every word she said, and were enchanted when she promised to give each one—men and women—a short "sitting" with her crystal after dinner. Nothing was-said about the purple room, so that the surprise of it could not help being impressive. It was a delightful dinner, well-thought-out between the host and the head-waiter, but no one wished to linger over it. Never had* "bridge friends" been so eager to "get to work" as these people were to take their turn with the Countess de Santiago and her crystal; At Lady Annes-ley-Seton's suggestion, they drew lots for these turns, and Constance herself drew the first chance. She and the gleaming figure of the countess went out together, and ten or twelve minutes later she returned alone. "Well? Has she told you anything wonderful?" A clamor of voices joined in asking the question. "Yes, she has," replied Constance. "She's simply uncanny. She has told me in what sort of place the heirlooms are now, but that we shall never see them again." So saying. Lady Annesley-Seton plumped down on a sofa beside her .hostess, as the next person hurried off to plunge into the mysteries. "I feel quite weak in the knees," Constance whispered to Mary. "Has she told you anything yet?" "No," said the girl. "I don't—want to know things." She might have added: "Things told by her." But she did not Constance shivered a little. "The woman frightened me with what she knew. I mean, not about our robbery. That's a trifle. But about the past. That crystal of hers seems to be—a sort of Town Topics. Dear Mary, you must ask her often to your house when you're 'finding your feet' and I'm helping you—in London. I prophesy that she'll prove quite an attraction. Why, it would almost pay to have a room fitted up for her in purple and black, with relays of fresh lilies." There was no anti-climax that night in the success of the countess with her

"clients." They were all deeply impressed, and some of them really startled. Not one woman said to herself that she had perhaps been tricked into giving the seeress a "lead." There was nothing in the past hidden from that crystal of hers, and the dark eye* which gazed into it. As for the future apparently her predictions were as re markable as her knowledge of what had been, and she must have given people flattering accounts of their characters, as everyone thought the analysis infallibly correct. What h pity, the women whispered, to eacl other, that such an astonishing pei son was not a professional, who coulc be paid in cash for value received. A* it was, she would expect to be reward ed with invitations.

And before the evening had come u> an end. the Countess de Santiago had had several invitations for town and country houses. To be sure, they wertrather informal. But the beautiful lady knew when to be lenient, and so sh» accepted them all.

"She told me. that our stolen thingsare hidden away for ever, and that we'll be robbed again," Connie said to her husband on the way back to Valley House.,

"She told me the same," said Dick "And I hope to goodness we may be We've done jolly well out of that last affair."

"Yes," his wife agreed. "The only thing I don't like about, it is the mys tery. It makes one feel as if some thing might be hanging over one's head, like a sword in the dark."

"Over the trustees' heads!" laughed Lord Annesley-Seton. "Ours aren't threatened. I only wish the other night could be what the Countess called the •f rst of a series.'" "The first of a series!" Constance repeated. "What a queer expression' What was she talking about?" "She was—looking in her crystal, answered Dick, slowly, as if something he had seen rose up again before his eyes.

Constance was pricked with curiosity. "You might tell me what the woman said!" she exclaimed. "You haven't told me what message she had for you." . "I've just said that she prophesied we should be robbed again." "That's only one thing. What, about the rest?"

"Oh, a lot of stuff which wouldn't particularly interest you." "You can keep your secret. And I'll keep mine," remarked Dick AnnesleySeton, aggravatingly. "Anyhow, for the present, we'll see how it works out." "See how what works out?" the wife echoed. "The series." (To be Continued).