"THE SHOT IN THE DELL"

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 66, 20 March 1935, Page 2

"THE SHOT IN THE DELL"

ii heart. Don’t put your Dan on too high a pedestal; and if you should find that he has clay feet, remember that there’s not one of us poor men that hasn’t.” It was only when we were halfway to the Plough and Daisy that I realised that in the interest of finding that the hall-door bell rang - perfectly Clegg had slipped away without enlightening the doctor as to the connection between Tregarthen beach and the murder.

"It seems fairly clear that Miss Joscelyn has no knowledge of that newspaper cutting,” I observed, ‘‘and also the doctor is very anxious for us to know that he was in all Monday •vening.” ‘‘As for Miss Joselyn, she may know of the existence of the cutting without knowing what use Dan made of it; but I think you’re right, I don’t think she does know anything about It.”

Absorbed in talk, we had come 'down the village at a good rate, and Were now back at the Plough and Daisy. As we stood in the porch we eould see down the length of the hall, with the staircase on our right, and, squeezed close against it, Cecil’s small office, the scene of Dan’s inter|dow "with Andrewe. Still nearer us livere the doors of the smoke-room and coffee-room, and I should now have gone to the former if Clegg had not caught my arm and drawn me back Into the porch. Holding up a finger for silence, he stood perfectly still, then, in a whisper, told me to go end keep watch on the stairs above the hall, and give warning by a pretended stumble if I should hear anyone leave a bedroom.

Obediently I slipped forward along the hall, and, running upstairs, stationed myself a few steps below the first floor-landing. Looking down, I saw' that Clegg had entered the office. From the fact that he stopped to examine nothing closely, I guessed him

to he searching for one particular thing. And, though it was not tmongst the' papers on the desk, he Booh" found it. The first drawer he pulled open was filled with typing paper, and in an instant he had taken a sheet, folded It, and slipped it into his pocket. And then, just when I was debating

Whether I.should stick to my poster run. .downstairs and join him, there came a subdued and diffident knock on the door that opened from the back of the hall into the inn-yard. Looking down at Clegg for orders T caught a warning glance, before he reached up to the lamp above his head and with a quick turn of his finger put it out.

A second later I heard the kitchen door open. I leant over the banisters, straining my ears to catch what might follow. There came the tap of slippered feet along the flags, the grating of a bolt, a rattle, the groan of

hinges, and a rush of cold air as the back door was opened; and then I heard Dan say in the surliest of voices: “I told you not to come here.” Next I heard a woman’s voice with lOmething of a Cockney whine in it, &ut deeper in tone than any Cockney;' “Is it true the fellow’s dead?” "Yes,” said Dan. "Shot himself?" I heard no answer; but Dan must have affirmed this, for the woman went on quickly, “Then I suppose you won't pay up?” “Oh, yes, I’ll pay up.” The tone was that of some one sick to death of an argument. “A bargain’s a bargain But you’ll have to wait. I haven’t got the money yet. And if you ever come round here again you shan’t' get ansther penny." “A nice one you are. You were pleased enough to see me once.” For all answer to this rally the door was slammed against her. I waited until I heard Dan’s retreating steps on the flags and the kitchen door open md shut, and then I ran downstairs, to bump into Clegg at the foot. “Come along,” he whispered. “We must see who it was.” And he propelled me towards the porch. In contrast with the darkness of the hall the roadway outside seemed bright with light, even although it. was under the shadow of the inn walls. Hoping to see the woman come round from the back of the building I looked quickly to my right, where a passage led to the yard; and it never occurred to me that we might not have the place to ourselves until I heard Clegg greet someone. It was Ingram. He strolled out from the shadow of the hedge opposite and joined us. “A beautiful night—too good to spend indoors,” he remarked. He looked up to the stars shining bright overhead, while I thought what confounded luck! What do we know? But perhaps Clegg won’t mind. He’s funny —Clegg. It seems the more the merrier with him. It certainly seemed now as if Clegg

didn’t mind. “See a woman go by?” he asked placidly, ignoring the stars - to gaze up into Ingram’s face with the intentness of a small child examining & stranger. “A woman?” Ingram smiled down at him. “On the warpath? Well, a Gipsy girl went round to the back of the inn a few minutes ago. Selling things. I’ve seen her here before. Pal of Dan’s, I believe. Would she be the woman you mean? No one else has gone by.” “Then we shall have to be content with her,” said Clegg. He swung swiftly round on his heel, for we could now,hear soneone coining down the inn. Sure eno.ugh.it.was.a Gipsy girl. “Harriet- Penfold,” Clegg breathed in my ear, and at the same moment the girl saw us, and, swerving in her stride, came across the road to, us swinging one,„o.f her baskets forward. "Buy a 3” rf sh.e was beginning, but as she caught„.sigh t of Ingram the

rest nf~hfir r anneal died, Jn hor throat, she._g.qyje a gasp. ■ swung round, and was qft..as„fast as sKo could walk up the -village..street., “Why, she’s _the , hussy who was playing witfT'm'y'car this' afternoon,” cried Ingram. "I recognise her now. No wonder she makes off. But I’m sorry I scared - her. If you. want to speak to her I’ll fetch her back.” Clegg was staring after the girt "Oh, no, I don’t want her,” he declared. “I don't,.always want people to, know that..l. take, an interest in them. And you see, I can probably find out all about her in the morninij

(By H. L. Deakin) Instalment 20.

from Tonkin." * The first question Clegg put to the inspector on his arrival next morning concerned the gipsy girl. Tonkin was faintly amused by the question. "Gipsies? There are always gipsies in and out of the old' queries at Hingie; but they always come hack. Blessed if I know their names. That’s the sort of tiling Dodson's up in; you'd better ask him." “I will,” said Clegg gravely. lie took the slip of paper. Tonkin was bolding out to him. “Why, what s this?" lie asked. Tonkin was as proud as any mother with a new baby. “Good bit of work that for so early in the day, isn’t it? 1 round to the bungalow just now when I got out here, to inquire after Mrs Andrewe. And while 1 was waiting for some one to answer the dooi, a wire came for the lady. So when I’d ascertained that site was still too ill to receive visitors, I went across to the" post office and demanded copies of all the wires received at Trescobeas to-day. There was only this one, hut it’s enough for one day s haul, isn’t it.? “Most interesting,” Clegg Commended. He handed the message over to me, and I read: “Grieved to learn sad news. 11cturning lo Trcs’cobeas to-morrow. Du Tilleul.”

“Sent, off from Paris.” remarked Clegg. “Now how has lie learnt Ihe sad news? From the continental Daily Mail. I daresay.” . . “It’s reported it as a suicide, remarked Tonkin, “and they’ll leave it alone until they get, wind of it s being murder.” “Do you think you can get through the inquest without its getting out ? asked Clegg. “We can adjourn, sir.” ( “That’s it —adjourn. But. you 11 •have to think of some plausible excuse or they’ll smell a rat in the very fact of your adjourning. And, Tonkin—you won’t want me?” Tonkin hesitated.

“Best, for me not to appear.” suggested Clegg persuasively. “They’d only say. ‘What's oid Clegg doing there?’” Tonkin considered the matter wit.i judicial gravity. “I think we might do without you,” he said at last. “Good!” exclaimed Clegg. “That will give me time, then, to call on Mrs Andrewe.” “Bless you. sir. you won t want much time for that.”

“On the contrary,” murmured Clegg, “I expect our interview to take quite a considerable time." He enjoyed Tonkin’s amazement. for a moment, and then cut his questions short. “I shall see her,” he announced. “and before Du Tilleul returns, and that's some time early to-morrow, I suppose. She’s had quite long enough to think over that fine story of hers.” He nodded briskly to the .astonished inspector, who', after gazing at Clegg for some moments, glanced at me with an expressive shrug, picked up his hat, and went downstairs.

CHAPTER XI.

“We’ve a field clay before us, Foster,” Clegg presently remarked. “This return of Du Tilleul’s will give us more than enough to do. We’ll open the campaign by ringing the bell for George, and giving him a note to take over to Milleflcurs. “And wait for an answer,” lie commanded, when George appeared, and then without further words bent to to liis correspondence. I thought of mine, but my opening the door to leave Clegg brought forth the curt injunction, “Don’t go.” I obediently remained, but it was some time before he spoke again, and then, still without looking up, he asked, “if you were in charge of this case would you tackle Dan first on the subject of that letter, or his Gipsy friend?” I pondered the question. “I don’t know that T should tackle either of them," I said at length. “The whole thing’s perfectly plain. Ho and. she are old friends” (the suspicion that Dan and the Gipsy might at one time have been other than friends crept meaningly into my mind), “and it’s perfectly clear that she either gave Dan that newspaper cutting for a weapon in his fight against Andrewe, or the information that enabled him to get hold of it. And now that Andrewe’s dead she’s afraid he isn't going to pay up A’ “Exactly," Clegg agreed. “We can say that we know that, but wc still don’t know how Dan spent Monday evening, and I rather suspect Harriet might be able to tell us." “If lie won’t, say because lie’s afraid of its getting out that he was with her, you may be sure she's been paid to keep her mouth shut," I objected.

Clegg sighed. “And once her breed have made up their minds to silence there’s no known way of getting them to talk. T think we’ll try Miss Harriet Pen fold, but it’s all Lombard Street to a china orange that she’ll deny ever having spoken to Dan in her life. Well, the hoy’s got himself into a light corner. I hope Miss Joscclyn will take my homily to heart, pocket her pride, and show that she’s as good as the best of her sex'in readiness to forgive. And I hope Dan will trust her to do it. It’s our only chance, I’m sure, of getting him to talk; for he’d rather hang than ioso caste in'Miss Joscelyn’s eyes. But if he can’t improve on that alibi of his, I don’t know how we’re to save him.” He resumed his correspondence, to break.off a minute later to study Mrs Andrewe’s reply to his note. “She’ll see us this afternoon," lie announced, as if this were nothing surprising. “That leaves' this morning free, so after all you’ll be able to attend the inquest If you feci like doing so.” My satisfaction at this provoked the remark that-if I expected to And it. at all‘interesting I should be disappointed.- I didn’t believe • it,’ but nevertheless Clegg’s prognostication proved true, and the only interest provided by the proceedings lay in' the cleverness with which they were .adjourned before any secrets had been given away. After Sanders had identified the deceased, and Lathom had