The BLACKMAILERS.

Lake County Press, Issue 1067, 4 June 1903, Page 7

The BLACKMAILERS.

a stirring "Romance of England anb Hu*tralia.

By W. Murray Graydon,

Author of "The Thirlstones of London," "Reaping the Whirlwind," Ac

NUMMARY of Opening CHAPTERS, j Malcolm Frazer, a squatter, is , standing at the door of his homo- j stead, in the wilds of Western Australia, when his overseer, Jim Connop returns from the nearest settlement with letters and papers. While they arc talking together, a stranger, hatless and bootless, with mere rags about his emaciated frame, staggers up to them, and appeals for help. Ho is Charles Travers, who has accompanied Sir John Vallcngor on an exploring expedition. The party has been given up for lost. Sir John dies in Frazer’s house, after making a will in the presence of a local J .P. leaving an annuity to his nephew, Osbert Challoner, and the rest of his wealth to his adopted son, Laurence Douglas Vallenger, whom he had previously disowned in favor of Challoner. Challoner, ignorant of the tragic happenings in the bush, but hearing that the expedition had been lost, enters into possession. Laurence. or Larry, turns up from Australia and establishes his claim. Then Challoner and his friends hatch a conspiracy to blackmail the new heir to the Uurlingham estates. Hearing of his engagement to the daughter of Colonel Lovering, they produce a woman, alleging her to be Larry's adventuress wife, whom he believes to have been shot dead during a light with bushrangers, to whom she had betrayed her husband. Larry thinks he recognises her. His confession is overheard by the colonel, and a scene follows. Larry however, convinces the colonel of his bona tides, and the old oflicer becomes his best friend. Larry goes to keep an appointment with one of the conspirators, Teddy Margrave, and as he approaches the rendezvous, a shot is fired in the dark, and Margrave is killed. The police arrive, and suspicion points to Larry, around whom an ugly chain of circumstantial evidence, including the finding of the revolver near the scene of the tragedy, is woven at the inquest. With the advice and assistance of the colonel Larry evades arrest, and the old officer’s submarine boat, the Victoria, in which he has been working for years, comes in useful. The story proceeds with * CHAPTER XXI. A STARTLING ASSERTION. For the space of half a dozen tense, breathless seconds there was silence in the room. A pin might almost have been heard to drop as the two standing with the table between them, looked steadily into each other’s faces. Challoner edged a little further) off, and Goutran suddenly threw himself into a chair, the hot rage in his eyes superseded by a sneering, contemptuous expression. He took a cigar from a box and lit it with hands that were as firm as iron. 'Then he laughed. " You called me a fool,” he said. "It is you who are one—a blind idiotic fool. My dear fellow are you mad enough to imagine that it was 1 who killed pool - Margrave ? ” “ I imagine nothing,” Challoner replied in a low voice. *' i know as much as 1 want to know, and that's too much. You can’t impose on me with your pretty affectation of in- | nocence. I wish to Heaven that 1 had never listened to j our devilish | proposals. Rut I'll tell you one thing, Goutran ; I’m not afraid of i you, and I warn you that if suspic- ! ion falls on Vallenger, if he should be charged with the crime ” ” What then ? ” ” I won’t be silent. I’ll clear him at any cost.” Gontran laughed again. “Sit down,” he said sharply. Challoner obeyed. “Is there any danger of being overheard ? ” “ i don’t think so,” Challoner answered. “ We are alone on this floor For your own good though, I advice you to tell mo nothing.” “ For my own good,” answered Gontran, “ I intend to tell you everything. Come we’ll talk sensibly 1 admit that there is some excuse, under the circumstances for your j accusation. You probably believe that I shot Margrave as a last resort, to prevent him from acting the traitor, and that Vallenger unwittingly turned up,on the spot just in time to entangle himself in an ugly network of evidence.” “ I do.” Then you’re all wrong, I’m happy to say, ami 1 can offer you sound proof to that effect.” With an air of unshaken conviction Challoner studied his companion’s face. Where is your proof ? ” he asked in a hard voice, “ Here you arc,” Gontran said, ■ calmly, as he pulled a newspaper j from his pocket and tossed it across j the table. “ An extra edition of the I “Evening Courier,” Look inside and , you’ll find what ought to satisfy , your doubts. After tlie close of the : day’s proceedings the coroner advis- j cd a, warrant, thinking that the evidence justified the step. Rut Vallenger heard of this, and tied before Inspector Ilmnfield arrived to arrest him. And he set about it in a very cunning way. He rigged up one of his servants to resemble himself and sent Dim away in a trap to draw off the constables who were watching the house, thus clearing the coast. It’s all there—a special account. And Colonel Lovering appears to have connived at the escape.” Challoner had opened the paper and was reading it intently. R.v Jove ! ” he gasped, “ this is • a knockdown blow It’s 1 tie last tiling J looked lot Vallenger a fugitive-ilj iiiy from arrest ! A ; warrant out against him! Why , i

l didn't he " Challoncr crumpled the paper and threw it down. " You swear to your innocence ? " he demanded. " By Heavens, need you ask ? I am as innocent as a babe unborn. , Can't you see that for yourself ? " " Yes, I do," admitted Challoncr; and he meant what he said. His j mind had been cleared of the black | suspicion, the certainty that had • rangled there all day. " Yallcnger's | flight proves him guilty," he added i with a deep sense of relief. " I've I wronged you " j " We won't speak of that," GonI tran interrupted. " I would have J thought the same had I been in your place. But now—well I'm glad it's all cleared up. Poor Beauty ! And I'm sorry for Vallenger too ! I hope he'll get away though 1 doubt it." " If they catch him will—will they " " Hang him ? " put in Gontran. " I'm afraid so." Challoncr shuddered. Neither spoke for a moment, but the same thought—a thought which they dared not express in words —was in their minds. The next heir to the property both knew, was Sir John Vallenger's nephew. The remembrance of this seemed to afford no contemplative pleasure to Gontran, and still less to Challoncr, whose face was haggard and scared as he poured out a drink. " And this is the result of our blackmailing scheme," he said bitterly. " Why did you tempt me, curse you ? I feel as guilty as if I had shot Margrave myself. You and I are to blame for his death and for Vallenger's crime." The lines of anxiety on Challoner's face deepened. He wondered what revenge Larry was capable of taking in the event of his having heard full particulars of the conspiracy from Margrave. Contrail's next remark seemed to indicate that he was ■ thinking of much the same thing. [ " 1 don't mind admitting that I'm a bit afraid of Vallenger," he said. " He hates me like the devil, and if he should happen to find out that I was in the neighbourhood on Thursday, he might go to work quietly, while he is at large, to divert suspicion from himself to me. So you might help me to establish an alibi, old man, if it should come to that." *' You have nothing to fear if you : are innocent," Challoncr replied. " One never knows—this is such I an uncertain world. However we'll | talk of that again. You need sleep j badly and so do I. Good-night. I'll r drop round in the morning." Challoncr, after his companion's i departure was in no mood for bed. " I don't know what to think." he said to himself. " Contran's talk of needing an alibi makes me doubt him again, though his story was plausible enough. And another thing, Colonel Lovering would never have helped Larry to escape unless he was convinced of his innocence. But why not face the charge if he was innocent ? That's the rub." # * * On Monday night the London pa- \ pens announced the discovery of the \ electric launch in Yarmouth harbour i mouth, and general credence was I given to the theory (hat Laurence I Vallenger and his friend Colonel Lovering were on board some saili ing vessel or steamer bound for a ! continental port, though the possibity of their destination being the other side of the globe was not overlooked. At all events, as the days ; slipped by, not a scrap of news flashed across the cable-wires to break the mysterious silence. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against the fugitive, j and Teddy Margrave's body was i j taken charge of by grief-stricken re- J ; latives and consigned to its last i j resting-place near the stately ancesI tral home among the Sussex downs. Jasper ITardesty assumed control of | Burlingham Manor, and at Burelands the discreetly-silent Yaxley looked after things as if his master were there to direct him. A rumour that Scotland Yard had received a communication from Colonel Lovering could not be verified, and an enterprising newspaper man, getting on the track of the colonel's daughter, and calling at Mrs. Dalton's house in Mayfair, was informed that Miss Lovering and her aunt had gone away and left no address behind them After this, except down in the little corner of Norfolk, the public lost interest in the crime, and found newer sensations to feed upon. Meanwhile during the week that followed Larry's escape, Osbert Challoner managed to shake off his | depression and to dull the accusing I voice of conscience. What lingering ! | doubt he may have had as to GonI trail's innocence was gradually dispelled by the influence of the lat- ■ ter's stronger mind and personality ; and, moreover, the need of raising a j considerable sum of money pressed j so heavily on both that they had j little time to think of other matters ! This delicate affair proved more dif- i ficult than on past occasions, but i satisfactory negotiations were not! yet in sight when, towards the close of the week, Challoner and Contrail, accepted an invitation to go out of town for a day or two. With half a dozen boon companions they started after breakfast on Fri- : day morning, on top of the four-in- j hand coach Skylark, owned and driven by their host, the Honourable; George Carswood. It was a beauti- ( fill September day, with ;( touch of I he dead summer in the mild and i sunny air. Ill'' coach pulled up for Ihcui at f the Gre\ hound, and laughing!y i <• i sislilig t li>' fiit i I'iti ie.s ol Iheii com yanionu, the two cliiub«.*d down and ■,

entered the pleasant old hostelry. The dining-room on the first floor was empty, and they had selected a table by the window overlooking the long reach of chestnut avenue, and given their orders to the waiter, when they were joined unceremoniously by a young gentleman with a ruddy complexion, a part of which colouring was natural, while the rest was' evidently due to a slight over-indulgence in drink. " J beg your pardon," he said, speaking rapidly and a trifle thickly " for taking the liberty to follow you here. Hut the fact of the inaij ter is—well, it's this way. I fancied I I recognised you two gentlemen when I saw you on the coach. I'm ' sure of Mr. Challoncr and 1 would almost swear that you arc Contrail | Car net." "My name is Garnet. And you? " " 1 remember you," Challoncr put 1 coldly. " You're Jim Nicholls." "I " Right you are—l was that once. We were Jim and Gontran to each I other in the old days," he went on addressing himself to Gon tran. ' I " I'm thinking of ten years ago and more. Have you forgotten that row iin Paris, on the Boulevard Mont- ! ; martre, near the Moulin Rouge and i how you knocked down the gen- | : darmc who had tackled me ? What a run we had for it ! And there was another night in a gambling-den, ' when you got me out of the clutches I of a couple of English rooks. That I saved me a matter of twenty thou- | sand francs. You were a good i friend in those wild days and I'm ! not the man to forgot such things. But do you mean to say you have ' , not recognised me yet ? " Gontran who had been forming a I shrewd estimate from the study of the stranger's appearance, now rose | | impulsively, and held out a hand. " By Jove, how could I have been 'so stupid ! " he cried. " It's Jim ! Connop—dear old Jim ! Sit down. ' I I'm delighted to see you again. You can't blame me —ten years have changed you a bit." " They have, and small wonder," replied Connop, as he pulled off his ' driving-coat and took a chair. " I can spare an hour," he said glancing at a handsome jewelled watch. " I intended to look you up at the first opportunity Gontran, but I've 5 had a lot of business to attend to. '" | What will you have ? Champagne?" > The others declined but Connop 1 ordered a small bottle for himself 1 and the first glass loosened his "" tongue a little more. J " Ah, it's good to be back in England again," he said. " I've had a 1 devil of a chequered career, but I've • come out all right in the end. 1 What a fool I made of myself after we parted in Paris ! You were a- " broad during those years, Gontran, when I flung my money right and left. The pater died and cut me off 1 with a shilling and for a time I was actually a billiard-marker in a saloon near Leicester-square. Then I drifted to Australia, where I led a dog's life, for it was no use trying to forget the past. And now, by gad, I'm on my feet again, and I'm going to stay there. An old maiden aunt —T hardly knew of her existence—considerately left me an estate in Suffolk and an income of sixteen thousand a year. It's more than I can spend for I've sworn off cards land racehorses, and my ambition doesn't run above a decent riding and driving stable, and a suite of chambers in the Albany. If ever you ! get heeled, old chap " "My dear fellow," interrupted ; Garnet, with a swift, and meaning I glance at Challoncr, "if you go about making offers of this sort you will find it a worse vice than cards or horses." " No offence, I hope," said Connop : " You were always a good friend of j mine, Gontran. It's a queer world j isn't it ? Now we're up and now j we're down. It's a terrible thing about Laurence Vallenger. I knew him before and after I came my cropper, and he was one of the best. But all the same, Mr. Challoncr, I think that the fortune he inherited should have been yours." " What do you mean ? " asked Challoncr. " Well, I'll tell you, though it's the first time I've ventured to speak ! of the matter," replied Connop lowering his voice, and bending -unstead- ! ily over the table. " I was manager !of I'Yascr's station away up in | Western Australia, when the three I survivors of that lost exploring j party staggered in there last December. And the man who died in the Travellers' Hut the same night, who signed the will that gave Burlingham Manor to Laurence Vallenger " " Was Sir John Vallenger," broke in Gontran. " Not a bit of it," said Connop. "He was no more Sir John Vallenger than he was you or I." * CHAPTER XXII. INTO THE DEPTHS. We left Colonel Lovering at the mouth of the Yarmouth Harbour, gliding towards the mysterious object that had risen to view in the deep shadow of the breakwater, and : which, in answer to his companion's ! startled exclamation, the colonel i had declared to be his sub-marine boat, Victoria. " The Victoria ? " Larry echoed in astonishment. " Here ? " " Yes, here. There is nothing sur- | prising in that, my dear fellow." i " But why 1 don't understand." j i " Watch sharp," interrupted the j colonel. ; With a splashing of little waves j the launch swung quickly round and j came alongside the submarine. Lar- j r.v reached out and caught the low I brass rail, and the next instant I from the open mouth of the manhole popped a bearded face. It was Langford. j " All light, sir ? " he asked. i " Yes," the colonel replied. " And j you ? " " Not a hitch of any sort, sir. 1 : came through clean as a whistle. Ah, she's a rare beauty is the Victoria. There was a brief interval of silence, during which a growing un- : rusirichs took possession of Larry. The rohtne! arid Langford waited and listened inljflfitly, slunving this

way and that. Not a sound was to be heard in the immediate neighbourhood. The interior of the submarine craft was in utter darkness, as was the surrounding water for a ' considerable distance. The nearest lights were those on shore and the pier had lanterns right and left of the river mouth. 1 j " Everything propitious," said the rolonel finally. " We'll be off in a . moment, Langford—as soon as you have put the finishing touch. Now, Vallenger, down you go. Be careful how you step." | " Down where ? Into the Victoria ? " " Yes. After you. Make haste." Langford stepped out upon the deck, and Larry, climbing reluctantly into the manhole, descended the I ladder until his feet touched the I floor below. He was joined directly by the colonel, and as the two I stood in darkness, silently, they heard a faint, rasping noise, which j was presently followed by a spasmodic gurgling. "What's that?" asked Larry. " The electric launch," replied the colonel. " She is filling and sinking." " Going to the bottom ? " " Yes, to cover our tracks." Langford came down and spoke a ; few words to the colonel. Then as a single electric lamp shed a faint ; glow, as from a red hot coil of ■ I wire, he took his place at the wheel. With a lapping, murmuring sound the little vessel was in motion. " Don't be alarmed," said the colonel as his arm was invountarily touched by Larry. " We are still on the surface." Larry groped his way to a chair ' and sat down. He felt a stifling 'sensation, though the manhole was ; open and there was a current of air in the cabin. His brain was in a tumult, and he could not focus his j thoughts. For less than half an j hour —it seemed ten times as long ! to him—the steady rapid movement 'continued. Then the colonel went up I the ladder, and having closed the i cap over the manhole, and screwed it tight, he descended again and made • a sign to Langford, who stepped to a lever and pulled it. Instantly ! there was a pumping noise under- '■ foot, and next a peculiar feeling of sinking. ' I "Do you observe how promptly 1 she responds, Vallenger ? " said the colonel. " We are going below the i surface now. What you hear is the ! water being forced into the reser- • j voirs that form the bottom com- . partment." '■ j With that he touched a button and a flood of silvery electric light made the scene as clear as day. The settl- • ing movement ceased with the slackening of the pumps, and as Langford returned to the wheel and gave it a twirl, the Victoria went ploughing ahead. Larry saw the j dark-green dash of waters against j the thick glass of the look-out win- ! dows, and it was a relief to turn : his eyes to the luxurious fittings of : the cabin. The leather-covered furniture, the oak panellings the cosy I bunks, the rows of lockers were ; familiar to him ; but he noted other I things which had not been there before—cases of wine and provisions stowed in odd nooks, and maps, charts and various instruments of navigation spread on the table. There was not much space to spare — barely enough indeed for the three men to move about with comfort. " Where are we going ? " asked I Larry. " You shall know that presentlyI in the morning," replied the colonel. " 1 feel as if 1 were choking," exi claimed Larry. " It is getting more and more difficult, to breathe. Will we never rise to the top again ? never taste the fresh air and see the ' stars ? This cursed thing is a cofj fin." " My dear fellow you are a victim of sheer imagination." declared the colonel. "There is plenty of air—the supply lasts for hours. You are thoroughly unstrung and unnerved, as you might naturally expect to be considering what you have gone through. The unpleasant sensations will soon wear off, and you'll fell as comfortable under the sea as you would on top of it." " But how long is this going to last ? By Jove, Colonel, you sure- | ly don't intend to run over to the Continent at a stretch ? " " You can have a mouthful of J fresh air and a peep at the stars I whenever you like, if j'ou insist on i it," replied the colonel, evasively. ! He opened one of the lockers and I mixed a reddish draught in a glass from the contents of two bottles. " Drink this," he said " it's a wonderful potion for upset nerves, and it will put you as right as ninepence in five minutes." Larry obediently tossed off the i drink, detecting a slight bitter flavour like fine claret. The five minutes were not half up when his eyelids grew heavy and an overpowering sense of drowsiness crept over him. He tried to rise but dropped back in his chair. He realized that he was slipping to the floor, and with his last glimmer of consciousness he saw the colonel bending over him. Then all was a blank. * * * " Where am I ? " ' It was the first question Larry ; asked himself as he woke from his j heavy, dreamless slumber that had j held him for hours. j " Hullo," said the colonel \ looking round. " Good morning, ! Vallenger." i " It is morning then ? " " Yes, you slept through the night." " You drugged me, colonel." " You needed a sleeping draught, and I gave it to you," admitted the colonel, "it seems to have accomplished its purpose. How are you feeling ? " j " Pretty fit." " And you've lost your fear of the j Victoria ? " " I believe I have," Larry confessed ; and he was surprised to feel that it was so. " Where are we now ? " he added ; " and when are we going to the top ? .' " We've been up for a supply of i fresh air and come down again." , was the reply. " As for our present. , wh«ittii)out*, 1 should Juds« we are <

about ten miles off Harwich. You are as free and safe as a bird, Vallenger, and all the police in the world wouldn't be able to find a single clue " " Hush ! " interrupted Larry with a jerk of his arm towards the man at the wheel. " Oh, Langford's all right," the colonel bent over to whisper. "It was necessary to take him into our confidence, and you can trust him as you would inc. For a short cruise 1 might have managed myself, but"— " Ah, then, it's not a short cruise Don't you think it's time to end this mystery colonel ? Where* are we going ? " "In a word—to Australia," was the calm reply. (To be continued.)