THE SOLUTIONS OF RADFORD SHONE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 151, 27 June 1908, Page 2

THE SOLUTIONS OF RADFORD SHONE.

[POBLISHID BT SPBCIAL ARRANGEMENT.]

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

HEABON HILL.

CHAPTER XII. THE FINAL ERROR.

The waiting-rooms where we receive informatory visitors at Scotland Yard are not upholstered in saddlebags or draped with silken hangings. The beefy, over-dressed young man who rose at my entrance wore an air of blended disgust and preoccupation —disgust at the hardness of the chair upon which he had been asked to "take a seat," preoccupation over the terrible business he had come to un- " Chief Inspector Mitford?" ho blurted eagerly, his large, stupid face quivering with agitation. \ I bowed assent and asked him what was wrong. - "Radford Shone is missing!" he announced, all short as one would tell you .that the king was dead, or _the bottom fallen out of the Bank .of , England—something too stupendous , for comment or explanatory remark. "Indeed," I said politely, cudgelling my brain for the half-familiar name he mentioned; then,- after extracting Radford Shone from one of mv mental pigeon-holes duly labelled as a well-known private "investi- ~ gator," I added: "That is almost a national calamity I presume.'' My visitor looked me over with a kindling eye. .."National 1" ;he exclaimed. "It will be a world-wide - one if. as I expect Mr Radford Shone has been foully murdered by the gang of criminals upon whom he had nearly closed his iron grip. And to me, personally, his loss will be " "Irreparable," I suggested, as ho floundered for his word. "Personally and financially irreparable," he' conceded. "I am bound to Shone by ties of affection —no, not quite that —by ties of respect for his enormous powers, and, er—for the little bit of cash I've put into his show. And to think that he is probably lying cold and dead somewhere, just because he has met his match, at last in—in Professor Mallandine I" "Professor Mallandine!" I repeated, really interested now, for 'this name was a very real one to me, preg- > nant with meaning. "CJome, sir I let mja have your information as briefly a3 possible, please." "With sundry deviations into side- ' tracks whence he had to be sharply recalled, Mr Samvel Martin unfolded his story. He and Shone occupied rooms, together in .Gower Street, and four nights previously his patron or partner, or whatever he considered the object of his adoration, had entered their joint sitting-room in sorry plight, carefully locking the door behind him. His clothes were mud-soiled, and bis forehead, when he removed his battered top hat, was " seen to be .disfigured with a band of sticking-plaster. Fora long time he had vouchsafed no explanation, but had paced the, room, apparently deep in. thought. Martin avowed that he knew him too well to question him when in that mood, but had watched him with, growing apprehension. "I am at the parting of the ways, Martin," h» had said at last, flinging' himself wearily into a "chair. "Either I inscribe my name in indelible characters on the- roll,, of fame in the next few days,, or I succumb,to the only-in-dividual; in, the visible., universe .^who is mf'yjapGT in subtlety. And' the price" <w£ defeat, if defeat it istto;fee, I will be^nry life, which has atreiady I been attempted three times to-day." •' ' , Martin'had expressed his symp^the- ! ' tic horror, "and Radfofd Shone had gone on to say that he was in active conflict with a dangerous confederacy of criminals dominated by one Professor Mallandine—a cultured predatory who directed world-wide operations in forgery, blackmail and. theft on - the" grand scale, with murder as their frequent attendant. Shone avowed that he only needed one link in 'the chain which he had woven round Professor Mallandine to complete' his enmash- ! ment and that of the whole of the j gang, after which he should be able to turn them over to the police. But the Professor was fighting him inch by inch for that link, and the odds were about even that the arch criminal would kill him before he reached his goal. "I am going to have some food nowi Martin, and then I am going out again," Shone had continued. "I shall in any case be absent two days, | but if I do not return at the end1 of three you will never see me alive again. _ I shall have lost the game and jpaid forfeit with my life. Mallandme is not likely to make another mistake in selecting his method and his tools- for my undoing." While he discussed a chop and a bottle of Bass he had thrilled Martin with an account of his hair-breadth escapes of the day. He had been i nearly run down by a furiously-driven van in Queen Victoria Street; he had been narrowly missed by a bullet from an air-gun fired form an empty house in Chelsea, and finally he had. been hustled off the crowded platform at ; Baker Street station in front of an advancing train, only saving himself by lying flat between the rails. When he had finished his narrative t- J"f 61*' Shone had retired to his bedroom, shortly to emerge in the disguise of a carpenter, white apron, oag of tools and all. Mr Samuel Martin had then accompanied him down to the front door to speed him on his fateful errand. s "I was a bit upset,'* my rt stout fntormant concluded. MYou see, we had chummed together for a goodish while, and it seemed hard to part with him like that, small beer though he thought me. I had never heardhim own before that anyone could best him at any sort of game, and it -looked as if he had a presentiment that he'd never come back."

"It did rather," I agreed reflectively. "Did you his.^instructions against such an unfortunate continr gency?"

"I suggested that the moment the three days were up I should inform the police in the eyenff of his not .haying returned," was the reply. "But Shone would not hear of it. He misted that ..I should let', five days go hy

before taking that step. We—he had rather a prejudice against the regular force, you know, Mr"lnspector." is. not unlikely," I remarked.' "How is it then, sir; that you have disregarded Mr Radford Shone's injunction by reporting to us when only three clear ■ days have pased? Doubtless you had good reason?" The normal expression of Mr Samuel1 Martin's- face was sheepish, though I could conceive that in happier mements it had capabilities of impudence. At my question his expression grew more sheepish than ever. "I shall get into dreadful trouble over it—if you find him," he stammered. "But you see I should , be awfully cut up if anything had Happened to poor Shone. If he has really been put away I shall have lost a good deal of money as well. So I decided that if he is above ground he had better be found—even if he wipes the floor with me afterwards. He is rather fond of doing that, and I expect that wil be the end of it. I shall have dueered his pitch in this Professor Mallandine business, and he'll make a mop of me if you find him."

"But you would get your money back," I said shortly. "There would be compensation in that, supposing we rescued him from tho clutch of this desperate viHianP" Mr Martin admitted' that he had suffered so much from the rough side of his friend's tongue that he would bear a little more gladly if he could "get a. bit of his own back." He had no deed of partnership or any dodur, meat showing Shone's indebtedness to' him. He explained, that if the great investigator had, 'as he put it, "fallen at the post of duty," he himself would have no, legal claim on any of the assertsi that might be left behind. They would all go to the deceased's next-of-kin—a brother, who' was.&..clerk' v ini' j the Probate Registry ,at;' Somerset: ( House. r" •"..;' ■:• r * "And," added Mr Martin ruefully, -. f'from what little I've seen of IVIr My- " land Shone he is not likely to loose his- grip on what the law-gives" him;" ; , "Well, you have stated a trulystartling case," I said. -"It is'.ftJittle" Gar ly—ten o'colck only—but I -think.'1 we will begin by looking up Professor Mallandine. I hardly anticipate that ' he will confess, but we shall clear the , ground if we scan get him to admit, . by word or manner, that he is in- . terested in Mr Shone." I led my visitor along the corridor to .the Embankment entrance .and fdl- .. lowed him into the hansom which drew up at my summons. He seemed surprsed that I was able to give the • driver the address of the Professor in Saville Street.

"Queer that you should know where he hangs out," said Martin. "I thought that Shone was the only one who had spotted him as-a/criminal." • "Mr Shone is quite entitled to that credit," I answered sedately. '*But I know of Mallandine in his respect^ able character—the side of him that he turns towards the public, -you know—the pose of a man of science." Martin took some time to assimilate this, and having done so suddenly grew nervous. "Bon't you think," he bawled in my ear as' the cab plunged into the thick of the Piccadilly traffic, "that it's taking a big risk to tackle a king of crime like this single-handed—er—that is }< for two of us only to go into what is probably a den of high-class cut-throats?"~ The phrase amused me. "I don't anticipate that they will be very high-class," I said. "You must remember that the prestige ol an official policeman is a useful make-weight against the genius .of a Radford Shone." -. ' ■ Mr Martin made a sorry attempt at appearing' satisfied, but wnen we stopped it was a jqtj nervous man who followed me up the steps to the door. At any rate there was no sign of prevarication or subterfuge in the manner our our reception. A smiling par-lour-maid at once admitted that Professor Mallandine was at home, and evinced no alarm at being asked to announce * 'Chief -Inspector Mitford of New Scotland Yard.

Nor was there the slightest trace of flurry about the occupant of the room to -which she conducted us. He was a tall, thin, lean-faced man, with the stooping shoulderß.^df .the student, and

for the moment he was too absorbed in f manipi\lating the screws or a huge t ■microscope, to SQamuch.' as look up at jU^ vNot' till, he' had got the adjustment to his liking, did he favour me .and,.my trembling companion with t\y.o -pxejjcijig' glances—one for each, though mine;was accompanied by a curt nod. / "-You find.me,busy," he jerked out. "Is "it "anything urgent, or . serious, Mr Mitford." . . I answered his question with another. ".You haven't, by any chance murdered ' a gentleman named Radford Shone, hareyou, Professor? He reached over the.taole behind which he was standing—a table laden with scientific paraphernalia—and • lifted from'its-stand a test-tube half , filled with a colourless liquid. ' ■ J "For Heaven's sake take care! Martin breathed in' my ear. "It is a deadly poison, I expect, or an explosive or something, and he's going to , throw it; at us!"

I waved^the fatuous creature away and turned to the Professor. He leisurely screwed the test-tube into the receiver under the microscope, then thre;w at-me a. frosty smile. "No, I have not murdered Mr Radford Shone, though thejre is no knowing what may not happen if he comes my way," he replied grimly. "As it is, I have had no Iruck with him for a year or more." "Thank you," I said. "I felt sure that there had been some mistake. Good-day to you, Profesor Mallandine. I am sorry to have disturbed your researches. With which I pushed Martin out into the passage and thence out of the house. Glad as he was to be clear .of it, he was no sooner in the cab than he voiced his astonishment at my taking Mallandine's word so,easily. "You were so open with the old villian," he protested, " don't understand police methods, but Shone 'would have tackled him in a very different way." ''What wduld he have done?" I inquired politely. "Oh, he would have pitched him some yarn and drawn him out & bit. You hardly seemed to appreciate— pardon my saying so, inspector—that my poor friend is either dead or in very grave peril at the instance of that monster of iniquity." "On the contrary, I appreciate Mr Radford Shone's peril to the fullest extent," I made answer. "It may be more imminent than . even you imagine, Mr Martin. We will now proceed to Somerset House arid see if Mr Myland Shone can shed any light "on his brothers disappearance.'' But when we reached the Probate Registry a check was in store for us. The gentleman we had come to question was not at his post, and the information which I gathered from his fellow-clerks added greatly to Martin's anxiety. Myland Shone had received a telegram shortly after arriving at the office that' morning, in consequence of which he had obtained leave of absence for two days and had immediately gone away. The reason he/had given had been that he had to go\ into the country to identify some clothing that was believed to belong ;to a relative, and which had been found in a position that suggested- a fatal accident.

On this I saw the chief of the de-

partment, and learned that this was correct, and also the additional fact that the place to which Mr Myland Shone had been summoned was Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. The telegram was from the local police. Martin followed my interrogations with open-eyed and open-mouthed consternation. By; the time we had got out into the Strand again the suggestion that some dire misfortune had befallen,his friend had reduced him almost to tears.

"That fiend Mallandine has done poor Shone !'? he whimpered. ''What do you propose .to do about it, inspector? Arrest that old schemer in Saville Street?"

"I n^ust have some evidence against him first," I said glancing at my witch. "There is a train from Waterloo in three-quarters of an hour. If you will get over the bridge to the terminus I will join you there and we will run down to the Wight together. I must pop round to the Yard first and let them know what I'm up to." When, a little later, "I met him in the booking-office, he was more doleful thjin ever, and we negotiated the four hours' journey in alternate fits of moody silence and noisy lamentation on the part of my travelling, companion. Neter in my life had T been subjected to so many silly questions in such a short space of time, and, if for that reason only, I was heartily glad when the coach from Yarmouth set us down at the principal hotel in the picturesque little village at the back" of the Island. '

(To be continued.)