THE SOLUTIONS OF RADFORD SHONE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 90, 15 April 1908, Page 2

THE SOLUTIONS OF RADFORD SHONE.

£PTTBIiIBHBD BY SPECIAL AKRANGEMENT.]

Being Narratives by Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department, and of the Provincial .Police, in respect of dealings with the eminent Expert, Mr Radford Shone.

COPYRIGHT. • Communicated to and edited by HEADON HILL. CHAPTER 11. THE BULLION ROOM. . . ■ • . ■-*•- ' .-- (Continued.) The Petunia sped westward over an unusually kind Atlantic, and we reached ihe fifth day out without any untoward development. Young Lancaster, when not on the bridge, was often with me, rand with the narrowing down of the hours which would end his suspense his spirits seemed to fall lower and lower. He talked gloomily to me of his, Ethel, and of his fear^ that a cruel fate would come between them. The bullion-room had evidently got baldly on his nerves, and he refused to be comforted by my sugfteslion that all must be well or Raaortl Shone would have made some fiign; . " ,

I his the celebrated expert had not done. There had been no sensational indication of the thief or thieves, no alar^nis and excursions in the neighbourhood of the bumon-room, or; indeed, anything to show that Shone was exercising any vigilance-whatever. He lounged,for the most part on deck, avoiding the poker and bridge players in the smoking-room, and living up to his assumed; clerical character by doing the civil to elderly ladie&, spending also-, some portion of" his time in

promenading with the Due de Vionyiile. The Hotiourabley George Dalrymple, otherwise Mr Samuel Martin, was equally assiduous'in improving his acquaintance with the Due's piquante daughter.

The more I saw of these strangely- | assorted fellow/passengersy thS- more I ■convinced I became that Shone's real personality; had not been divulged. No scion of the old regime would have been so affable to a mere specialist in •criminology as was the Due to Radlord Shone. Certainly no such gay ■dalliance as prevailed between Mr Samuel Martin and the Vioomtesse would have been permitted. No; I perforce stuck to my original opinion that Shone was ingratiating himself ■' with a view to reaping a greater reward when he should spring his great surprise upon us. If his researches should lead to the restoration of the stolen necklace, the Due's admiration would be enhanced by his having been innocently fooled himself. Or. &>uld it be that there' was a deeper undercurrent, born of some secret knowledge gained by Sh<*ne, that the Due and his daughter were themselves guiltily concerned in .he robberies. I put this theory away as - inadmissible, arguing that no detective, private, or official, would allow, himselt to loom so largely in the notice s -of his quarry. Besides, it was well established that these grandees had themselves been heavy losers by the raids on the bullion-room. We were expected to make New YoiK harbour on the afte*Booh of the sixtii day so dinner on the fifth evening bade fair to be a lively function. Ihe great, domejd, palm-decorated saloon was a blaze of electric light, illuminating brilliant toilettes fresh lrom Paris: speculation ran high on the probable winner of the lottery cm the ships daily runs; clean-shaven men with clear eyes and curt speech talked of the Wall Street prices received by Marconigram just before the gong sounded. For all that, for me, the_ place lacked its Hamlet, for Mr Kadtord Shone was/absent from table and so was Mr Samuel Martin. ' Glancing hastily round, lalso missed rtil Lancaster from "the place wnicn, as second officer, he usually occupied at the head of the third table when not on duty on the bridge. I knew that he had come off watch at six o clock, and was free till four in the morning—iirfact, I had been looking forward to a chat with him during tne evening. I was beginning to .woiwer what his absence portended Wiien there was a commotion at the door of the'saloo.n, and Shone's stout young friend rushed- in, labouring under the wildest excitement. * Ignoring the implied invitation of Heiene de Mericourt, who had drawn her skirts together to, make room for lnm at her side;^ he pushed his way to the head of the table, and whispered in the ear of the captain, who rose hurriedly and accompanied him out of the saloon. Guessing that the supreme moment had come, I, too, slipped out and followed them, the chase leading me, as .1 had expected, down to the main deck, along a corridor,, to the closed door of the bullion-room.: ' ■''' # <■■■■■' t. r^ere^ un<ier an electric lamp, stood Radford Shone, his dexter finger pointing dramatically to the iron door. ,

' Got your key, .captain?" he said. Yes; why?" stammered the blunt old sailor,, who was shaking all over with apprehension. _" Because the thief is inside. I c£ ave suspected him from the first, but 1 *IP.ci hls heels so closely that he put r to the last nighl" replied Shone, who. was evidently jiot going to lose one jot of his triilmtfc _ I shadowed him here just Ibefore nSwIV^ % ndin S the door ajar, pulled it to and1 shut him in." stePl t 'm ?^ hers Ambled with a a key frJf aJ, hIS- neck and Produced -d^£ g tlle^Xth?^ s-of hil thp 10-M-a*. --L- t£l tms> having set *4f(£- » a M f od PMI quite see how, exceS that hi dl} l too many g Un^ for ™i h' e;™es goitiu to do with me, sir?'' * &re y°U takf^uCkl^^,l^^ captain sadly,,f or Lancaster Alt one or his favourite officers. *** ' *

f T? llV na^ c Tnext few da^s the downfall of Phil Lancaster, though not effacea from my memory, was driven into the background of my thoughts by the official routine I had to undergo in New York for taking over mv ; prisoner, '/Flash Taylor." This was at last satisfactorily concluded in time ";tor us to take berths in the Petunia . <>t her return trip, and we boarded the steamer at the Flower Line dock aivlNorth River ten minutes before she *4st off. I had purposely cut it fine,

to give my gentleman no chance of making.a dash for liberty.

Not till we were out in mid-river, heading for Sandy Hook, was I able to' ielax my.viligance; after coming to a clear understanding with Mr Taylor. As long as he behaved\ himself he was free to come and go; on deck as he pleased till we touched at Queenstown, when I should have,to ask him to retire to our cabin while the steamer was in communication with the shore. Thus my only risk of losing him would be if he jumped overboard during the voyage—-a risk which, as a student of human nature, I was fully prepared to take. Flash Taylor was the sort of rascal who, when out of prison, enjoyed life far too thoroughly to want to end it by suicide. . _ These preliminaries amicably settled, >ye were on the best of terms with each other, and together we amused ourselves by taking stock of the other passengers. They we're, of course, a different set from those on the outward voyage, and I soon found that the^ehief interest centred in that young and popular eer, Lord Ravensbury, who was taking home his American bride, nee Hiss VanderbiltWaldorf, the daughter of the multimillionaire. The young couple had engaged what was known as " the honeymoon suite," and their appearance "or otherwise in the saloon for meais was being freely canvassed by the loungers in our vicinity the promenade deck. *"" '•'I am in a position to inform you, ladies and gentlemen, that his lordship and the countess will certainly take their places at table. The obstacle that might have prevented it has been happily removed^', said a wellrremembered voice.'

" Oh, tell us! do tell us!" came the choius from every one within earshot. ' • '

Radford Shone, his clerical attire abandoned in'favour of a suit of grey tweed, and with Mr-Samuel Martin at his elbox, stood .forth and, nothing loth, took^ up his .parable. , "It was . a little matter of Lady Ravensbury's : million-dollar tiara, her father's wedding-present," he announced sententiously. "They were reluctant to let it out of their sight, and equally reluctant to deposit it in j the bullion-room on account of certain rpbberies therefrom on previous voyages. . But they have now consented to entrust this priceless treasure to the ship's stronghold, since the captain was able to assure them that it would be as safe there as in the vaults of' the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. lam a jnodest man, and cannot tell, you why." ' "I can, though," Mr Samuel Martin blurted out, blushing furiously. " This is the-celebrated ■Mr Radford Shone, the greatest detective of nic age. He caught the thief on the voyage out—one of the ship's officers, who is down,below somewhere, going home in irons." A buzz of admiration went up, in the midst of which Shone took Martin's arm roughly and walked him off, as though annoyed by his aQulation. A soft chuckle at my side caused me' to turn to "Flash Taylor." My prisoner's dissipated face was convulsed with strange spasms. -~ 'Mouth watering over that tiara?" I chaffed him. { "No, it wasn't that. I'm no cracksman, and it wouldn't be much of a game with you -aboard,, Mr Royds," Taylor replied affably—for he was a genial rogue who- bore me no malice. "I was just thinking what funny fools there are in the "world When I've done my little bit of time I'm blessed if I don't set up as an expert investigator. Set a thief to catch a thief, don't you know." (To be continued.)