OUR SERIAL STORY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 186, 24 July 1911, Page 9

OUR SERIAL STORY

TRIPPED AT LAST.

BY

HEADON HILL.

CHAPTER XV

DOCTOR CHETM’YND S TEST. (Continued.) ‘■Ah. doctor!" be exclaimed, approaching the gate, "this is realty very curious, for uliough I had forgotton that 1 was pa-ssing your house you were actually m my mind at the moment. 1 have just been cabling on Mr Meldreth. to thank him for his daughter’s kind attentions to my little Lucitle, and he was full of your praasee.’’ "Mr MeJdreth consented to see rotir said Harold in uiiattected sur-

prise. i "Oh, y,-s; 1 was fortunate enough ■ to meet M iss Rose m the drive, and she very graciously smoothed my path ’to her "father. I spent an hour with ■ him in the billiard room, and he was • good enough to ask me to go agaan. ■ A sort of reciprocal arrangement, I don’t you know. 1 rather fancy that I I cheered him up just as Miso Rote i cheers up Lucille. Harold was gemunely glad to hear it, and said so. It showed him that Mr Meldneth was getting over his dread of meeting people, and tliat if the wily and importunate Kelly could be defeated, al irnight yet be well with him. And Kelly, evil rascal though lie seemed to be, did not strike Harold as belonging to the first flight of successful criminals. He was the kind of man to be bought for ready money at a moderate price—the kind of petty rogue who calculates his ill-gotten gains m "goes” of whisky. "Let, me introduce my father to you — Doctor Clievwynd, Colonel Gremlin.’’ cont inued Harold cordially. -I think I told you that I am only a I junior and very recent partner/' ! Doctor Chotwynd had stood m the ! background during the little colloquy, but Ids shrewd eyes had been busy ’ with the Colonel’s face, with the Col- . onel’s clothes and with the Colonel’s : d.-portmein throughout. _ Harold moved aside for him to come forward, and the old man availed himself of | the opjiortuiiity, extending his hand i over the gate. ■ i *Gkid to me»‘t you, sir.’ he said, i "You ate of rhe Indian Army, I be- ! Here. 1 also served in India many years ago.” ; " The Colonel returned ■ the hand--1 grip, firmly enough at first, but it ' S-emed to ' relax into uiiaccountabie \ limpness at the doctor s concluding I sentence. > •’That would have been before my ! time,” he replied, with a keen glance J at the rugged face, whose wrinkles . were eloquent of the flight of years. I The doctor bowed slightly. "You i must have been a very small boy when 'l left India, considering that it was ; forty years oack,” he said. _ "Still ■ we should have many things in com- ’ mon, for the (irn nt never change.-', they tell me, except supCT-lieially. Any way tlie language remains the same, and that being so perhaps you will permit me to enquire—Tutnbara mis-

1 1 age kaisa hail'” _ I ’Die Colonel’s face remained rigid . j and immobile. 'You are right,” he ' said slowly, dropping out his words with precision. "India has been well named the changeless East. And the answer to vottr question must be-—’ He broke off suddenly, and raising his hand to shade Lis eyes, gazed intently down the village street. "Ah, I thought 1 was not mistaken,” he went on quickly now . "I here is one of my rascally motor men coming out of the butcher's shop, and 1 particularly want to catch him. Good-bye, Cbetwynd ; good-bye, doctor. VVe must resume our chat about India another time.” M’ith which lie started off, fairly running down the hill. Harold shot a look of enquiry at his father, who was frowning at the garden gate, apparently in a brown I study. j "Patients can do as they like, I

i suppose, but that was almost rude, 1 I said the junior partner. "I have never known him behave like that before.” Doctor Chetwynd, lowering one of bis wrinkled eyelids over a bright told eve in an expressive wink, einitI ted a low chuckl.-. "No. my son. I , expect not,” lie made answer drily. 1 "You Lave probably never before s/>en I him questioned in a language wliien, I if he is what be piofi sses to he. he 'ought to understand, but which 1 shrewdiv suspect lie is protoundly ignorant of. It was quite an elementary question, coiresponding to the Comment vons js'itez veils of our friends in French. I merely asked in Hindustani alter the state o> his health.” Harold whistled softly. Then von don’t think that be has been in India at all. or that be lias be. n an j officer of the lodian army? he "More than ’hat,” replied Dr. ' ' Chetwy tid v. iih a queer smile. I ; s don’t believe licit ho has been a | i-li<-r. It is, howevfi. quite probable i ; that he has h. er. in the voluntee) s. I Barring the simLt disadvantage at i which he was placed pist now 1 should i sav that he was a gentleman.” | "But if you are right he must x- 1 a bare-fac’-d impo-tor!” Harold ’x- | j < laimed. ! " I’Li re are a go<U many of tnein ; altoiit in the -vt.>rht. ’ said the doclo: . ' shrugging his shoulders. "Fer-- ( warned, is ion- arimd, anyhow, a; o , lie can’t do inline damage here pro- | vided Lord J rev “•<■’.< agent has r <J-, the rent of the Shite House’ in advance. and he always takes that pr<- , caution, (’mm- Lox ! there’s the >ln - ! ner bell. That huh’ turn-up Las ! made me hungry.’ I (To be Voniinued).