THE SECRET OF THE SANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14745, 29 July 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE SECRET OF THE SANDS.

, PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL . ARRANGEMENT.

—«3P— BY FRED. M. WHITE, Author of "Tregarthen'B Wife," " The Weight of the Crown," " The Edge of the Sword, ' " The Cardinal Moth," " A. Fatal Dose," etc. • ■" COPYKIGHT. CHAPTER IX. Foil a long time Sir Horace had understood that matters were not going well with him. By slow degrees the other banks in the town had been weaning, hie best customers from him. Occasionally he had to decline remunerative business from sheer lack of funds. Ho was not the kind of man to ask favours, or he might perhaps have shared these, good things with his London agents. He had a great idea, too, of standing well with his fellowtradesmen. It was pleasant to walk about tho place and be saluted respectfully by the people. The baronet was, moreover, kind-heartedho could never : listen unmoved i.O a tale of distress he'never pressed a man by any chance. There were some assets of the bank that the auditors would fain : have written off. . But Sir Horace had a weakness to regard them as money. When he felt anxious it afforded him a certain relief to put these sums to his credit.

Of course, he would pull round some day. Sooner or later things must take a turn for the better. Kennedy's loan would not be always round his neck. '"A cruel stroke of luck like this, he had never anticipated for a moment. There was a touch of the malignant about the way in which fate had played into the hands of hie enemy. '' '■■•■-■ . ' '. ■■ Yea, everything was clear now. No longer was he blinded by the sense of his own importance. He would not be called Sir Horace Amory of Oversands much longer. Within a week the story would be all over the place, and Amory and Sons a thing of the past. It was a frightful prospect. Yet, now that it had to be contemplated, Sir Horace, to his astonishment, was calm and collected. He did not seem to mind in the least; he was almost looking forward ito the peace and happiness which would I come when he had stripped himself of everything and retired to some little cottage. Ho wont out into the hall presently and called to Vera. As he did 60 he saw Lady Amory making her way slowly up the stairs. Usually she retired much earlier. Sir Horace saw . how the lights were sparkling on her jewels. Half that she possessed would set him free from all his troubles.. '■".•..-.■" Vera was not so full of trouble and misery herself that she failed to read the pain in her father's eyes. She had wondered why he had been so moody and preoccupied of late. Now she saw without being told. She knew that ruin had fallen on the house. A, smile trembled on her lips. "I will come and talk to you, dear," she said'. "You shall tell me all about it. I had no idea that things were so bad."

"But; my dear child," Sir Horace protested. " Surely it is not quite so—" " No, but it will be if you go into Shoremouth to-morrow with that anxious face. You are going to tell m© that we are ruined. I shall be able to bear it." , Sir Horace gave a sigh of relief. "Sit down by the fire," he said. ' "I want to have a ' long chat with you, Vera. We must try to-night to decide what is best to be done. Wo can't stay here." " You mean that wo shall have to leave Oversands, father?" "Yes. I sha'n't trouble to sell it, as the place is mortgaged to the hilt. I have had a good many misfortunes lately, Vera, and when I could stand it least I had Dick's debts to pay for the third time. Practically it is Dick who has ruined us. I ought to have refused after the first time—l should have led those people clearly to understand that they need not look to me again.. -But pride, which has always been my curse, stood in the way. There are other- tilings as well." _* You have heard bad news to-night, father?" . , ■-, "Yes. Young Bastable came and told me. It was very kind and thoughtful of him. I had not expected such delicacy in a Bastable." " • Who is also an Amory. Don forget that, dad.", " Well, I daresay that accounts for it. A considerable time back I borrowed twenty thousand pounds from old Kennedy. That money I have never been able to pay back. I did not worry about it, because Kennedy has always renewed ; in fact, he told me more than one© that I should benefit by his death. He is dead." * { ' „ ' , „ "'■; " Mr. Kennedy dead ! *We shall never see him again. Such a dear old man!" "And very fond of you, my child. Well, he is dead, and the management of his estate devolves upon Joseph Bastable. The twenty thousand pounds I spoke of falls due next week, and Bastable won't give me a day's grace. Ho will proceed against me, and the whole place will be talking. Can you see what it means? : Vera knew little of business, but she could see the size and weight of the weapon which circumstance had placed in Bastable's hands. : "Father," she asked, "why does that man hate you so?" "Because ho once did mo a terrible injury," Sir Horace said, in a low voice. "I had always trusted Bastable. I always trust everybody, for that matter. He was entrusted by me with a large sum of money. There was a financial panic at the time, and my old friend Cartwright, at Smeaton, had asked for help. He was in sore need of fourteen thousand pounds in gold. I sent it to him by Bastable. It never reached its destination. Bastable elected to go by way of the auicksands—the tide was out, and he and my other messenger wore going to cross the river by the stepping-stones. Bastable came back alone. His companion had slipped in the darkness and . was never seen again. The gold had vanished with him. You know what the sands are like. Well, ■ that was the story. It , was a lie, Vera. I cannot prove it, but . I'm sure that murder was done that night. From that moment Bastable began, to grow insolent and indifferent to, my interests. I discovered that he was making investments in Shoremouth—he who had not a penny ! He know perfectly well that I suspected him, for it was impossible for me to conceal my suspicions. lam telling you something now that I have kept to myself all these years. I need not say that this must not be mentioned to a soul It is strange that the son of the man who did me this injury should warn, me of my danger." "Ho is a gentleman, dad, and in a degree a relative." "Well, I am not going to wait for Bastable to strike. I can dispose of my business to one of the banks; in fact, I have had a good many offers. Skepton, the stockbroker, will "take Oversands off my hands as it stands. When everything comes to be settled up we shall have, perhaps, £300 a year to live on." "I shall not mind, father. We shallhave nothing to be ashamed of" She stopped, thinking suddenly of Dick. She rose from her chair, and crossed over to her father's side. Very tenderly she bent and kissed him.

"I'm glad you have told me this," she said. "I am proud that you should confide in me. I won't -worry in the least. Of course, it will be a terrible wrench to leave Overwinds. I love the place where I was born; there is not an inch of ground that has not its pleasant recollections. But I daresay. I eh all be happy elsewhere, and the luck may turn." "It may," Sir Horace agreed. "I have one or two promising ventures on hand. Still; the time is very short; dear. If I could meet this claim of Kennedy's things would be very different. I could amalgamate my business with one of the other concerns, and then we could go on." : "We are talking nonsense, ' Vera smiled. "I'm going to bed. Mind, you are not to sit up half the night grieving over these things." • " . \ / Sir Horace promised due obedience. But naif an hour later he was still sitting looking moodily into the fire. He came out of liis reverie presently conscious that someone' was moving about in the drawingroom. Nobody could have any legitimate .business there at that hour.

Lack of courage was not f one of Sir Horace's failings. He strode off towards the drawing-room. - One cluster of lights by the side of the fireplace was glowing. In the centre of the :" room . was Lady: Ambry, apparently looking for something. She had not yet taken off the resplendent white dress she had worn at dinner. The dusky hair was still piled up on her head, and she . shimmered , with jewels..-.;■'■ "What are you looking for?" Sir Horace 'asked. . v""./^'--—" '■'. ■•

Lady Amory glanced up vaguely. She seemed to see nothing for the moment. . "My box :of matches," she said. "I can do nothing without the' matches, you know. If I haven't got them, I can't make the sign. When they see the sign they grow frightened and run away. 1 I saw one of them yesterday in the road." . Sir Horace expressed his sympathy. It was best to humour the poor lady when she had one of those dark moods upon her. Amory stooped and picked a box of matches from the floor from behind a Chippendale table. He handed it gravely to his companion. "Is that what you need?" he asked. " I hopo you won't have any more trouble with that sign. Besides, nobody will worry you at this time of night." "They come at all Hours and in all guises," the poor lady said. " They are the boldest people in the world. But they are afraid of the sign." She stood with her head drawn back in an attitude of rapt attention. She was listening to something Sir Horace could not hear, and made a striking picture with her white dress and flashing gems. "You are fortunate to have all these, Maria," Amory said. He touched a fivepointed diamond star that blazed upon her breast. "It must be nice to walk about with a fortune on your dress. ' But at the same time it is foolish, not to say dangerous. Why don't you let .me take care of these things for you? Let me put them away in my safe. You have only to ask me when you want to wear them." 1 Tho woman drew back, with cold suspicion in her eyes. "No," she whispered, " they are safe with me. Only show the sign, and they dare not. touch one of my beloved stones. They. are all I have to care for." She fondled the stones almost affectionately. A sudden temptation gripped Amory. Here was an easy way out of his troubles. If only he had that diamond star he could defy Bastable to do the worst. He need not leave Oversands; he would retain the respect of his fellow-men, and hold his head as high as ever. " Give me one of these," he said, hoarsely. " Lend mo one for a time. Maria, I am in great distress. Try to understand what I am saying to you. ■ • Unless I have money soon I shall have to go away from here. I shall have to dispose of the place and take a cottage. All the luxury and comfort, you enjoy will be gone for ever. You can save me if you like." To a certain extent she did. understand. Her eves showed- that. But there was no answering smile on her face, nothing but suspicion and alarm and fear. With a low cry she -broke away from Amory's detaining hand and fled up the stairs. She locked the dressing-room door behind her, and proceeded hurriedly to remove a mass of jewels from tho drawers of a table. These she thrust between the mattresses of her bed. She was trembling from head to foot as she did so. " No, no," she whispered, fiercely, "not that way. Ho would .have robbed me if I had stayed with him longer. I can give them to nobody but Dick. . If the others come in the night I must be prepare 1" She took up the box of matches and arranged the strange signs upon the dressingtable. Then, with a half-satisfied sigh, she retired to her bedroom. CHAPTER X.

Do Lava and Sexton lay snugly in a dry ditch by the side of the drive. It was safe to remain there for the present and smoke cigarettes. By peeping through the bushes they could command a good view of the house. They were waiting till all the lights should be out before beginning operations. Their patience was being tried. As a general rule the lights of Overeands were extinguished by eleven o'clock, but it was past twelve now, and the study window still glowed, as also did one or two of the bedrooms upstairs. De Lava fidgeted. This waiting gets on my nerves," he said. "In action, my dear Sexton, I am the bravest of the bravo. My courage would be a telling theme for poetry. Your Walter Scott would ;1 have revelled in a character like mine. But when I have to wait and wait, I am like a timid schoolgirl. That is the window on- the loft." ; _ "Do you mean the one with the light in it?" Sexton asked. -.'. :

"The same, my friend. That is the dressing-room of our lady of the gems. Usually she seeks her blameless pillow at an early hour. She is, unhappily, of weak intellect; but that is rather a fortunate thing for us. Ah, the light is out!" Sexton shook in his shoes. Courage was not one of his strong points. He.was new to this kind of thing, and from, the bottom of his heart wished he was well out of it. Anything* calling for cunning or rascality he would have met quite coolly; but there might be trouble here, and bloodshed. as well. His teeth chattered. " It is good to have so stout a comrade," De Lava said. " But I implore you not to be violent, my dear fellow." "I'm not used to it," Sexton growled. "I can be cool enough in the face of some kinds of danger, as you know. I can face a judge and jury and lie myself clear out of the dock. That even you were afraid to do on a certain occasion. Besides, I am not frightened of a few lucifer matches on a table." ~-.-■;'.' ...;,"' . .'.

The retort silenced De Lava for the moment, and he grew pale. \ " All right," he said. "I'll not chaff you any more. There will be just time to smoke one cigarette, and then to business." . ;

The cigarette finished at length, De Lava rose to his feet. He pushed boldly across the grass 1 until he stood under the window of the dressing-room. It was not far from the ground,, and, the wall being covered with ivy of ancient growth, the task was an easy one. • - .. - " The gems are in a drawer up yonder," De Lava whispered. " The thing is simpler than. I had imagined. Why was Iso generous as to let you come into this good thing Why didn't I keep it to myself?", ■ . :" " Because I shall be useful later," Sexton muttered. " Generous! You! lam surprised that you can pronounce ' the word. You couldn't spell it." " De Lava chuckled noiselessly. This humour appealed to him. " Give me the torch," he.said, "and the knife. Wait here and keep your wits about you. '■ If anybody comes in sight give a whistle. It's a .soft job for you, my friend'; .and one that you will be well paid for. Honest, too, by comparison with some of your exploits." With this De Lava proceeded to climb up the ivy. He speedily reached the window and pushed back the catch with the thin blade of the knife. A moment later and the adventurer was in the room ■:';■ ■ ■' ,; ''' • , ;•' ■ ■■ ■■:'■ '

He pressed his finger on the button of the torch and the tiny lance of brilliant flame shot out. Here was the dressingtable, and there the ' drawers where, so gossip said, the # mad Lady Amory kept her gems. Gossip for once in a way was correct, and De Lava could not know that he had come a day after the fair. With growing impatience and muttered curses, he turned one drawer .out after another. Finally everything in the table had been ransacked, but not a single gem was to be seen. .- . ~. , . , ,

With a furious oath De Lava flashed his light about the room. He replaced the cover on the dressing-table, which he had 1 disarranged, and as he glanced down the curses died away on his bloodless lips. The five matches! The sign of the dagger! The sight petrified him for the moment. The white lips quivered. "'■■■■.-':■ "Those fellows must be in league with the devil," he mattered. ."They read my inmost thoughts they know ' what I mean to do before I know myself. Now, this poltroon of a Sexton never heard of the gang. He did not know till just before wo left the Red House that I meditated this expedition to-night. Therefore, he is playing no tricks upon me. Yet there are the signs—'large, legible, menacing. The mere sight of them turns mv blood' to water."'.■•' ■ Ho was sweating from -head to foot, leaning against' the dressing-table for sup port. He was fighting desperately to regain control of himself. Gradually the colour crept back into his cheeks, and the trembling in his limbs ceased. After all, there could be no immediate danger, and the task of the evening was not yet done. ..-■ '' • ■■.■■■■ "

The gems roust be somewhere near. In ' all •■'■ probability : they were \ in Lady Aincry's bedroom. This increased the risk, of course, but De Lava was not the man to retire at the first indication of failure. He slipped out of the room and joined his companion. . ' . Sexton , sighed with positive ; relief. "We can be off now?" he asked. "There is nothing to wait for :, . "On the contrary," ,De Lava , said, drily, " there fis a good deal to wait for. There are. the diamonds, my dear sir." -• ".You don't mean to say you haven't got them Sexton said, dismally. , > "That's about the size of it," De Lava responded. "This doesn't appear to be our lucky day. The; diamonds are not where I expected to find them. Our fair friend has taken it into her head to hide ! them elsewhereprobably : in her bed I room." ■•:•'•'''•.■ ' ."* .

"Then we had better return to our hotel," Sexton suggested. - .:■■ '»' "Without money to pay the .bill! My dear fellow, if you think I am going back now you have mistaken your man. An obstacle or —bah! what' of that ? On the contrary,' 1 :am more than r ever resolved to have those stones. I will enter the lady's room. If * she is asleep and I can get. the diamonds without disturbing the sweet serenity of her slumbers, so much the better. If I don't find them I - shall bo under the : painful necessity of awaking her. Ah, no; I will use no violence. "Henri De Lava is too devoted a slave of the sex for that. Stay here, but' keep your wits about you.". > Sexton groaned, -while De Lava slipped through the window again quite gaily. With the , electric ', torch in his . hand he crept into Lady Amory's room. He wj.;! slightly dismayed to find that the electric light over the bed was still burning. Lady Amory, however,, lay fast asleep, as her regular breathing testified. It promised to be an easy matter, after all. , But the diamonds were not to be discovered. At the end of half an hour De Lava had searched everywhere to no purpose. ,: His heart was hot with baffled fury and disappointment. His fingers crooked towards theV bed. If the worst came to the worst, he would not hesitate to wake the sleeper and demand to know where the jewels were concealed. He was spared the trouble. ; He turned as an exclamation fell upon his ears. Lady Amory was sitting up in bed, a wild fury, gleaming in her eyes. There was no suggestion of fear on her face. She sprang up and huddled herself into a wrap. ■■ -.."',' '' . " What . are you doing here ? ' she cried. De Lava . stepped back amazed. " Maria!" he exclaimed. " Maria !■ There is some mistake. Lady Amory—" > "I am Lady Amory. f Once more, what are you doing here The ■ words were cold and cutting. There was no mental weakness in the woman now. Her ■ eyes were bold and resolute; she knew exactly what she was doing. . '.' "I am Lady Amory," she went on. "What you are is only known to heaven and your own foul mind. I am the last person in the world you wanted ; to see. The shock of meeting you has given me back my reason, for the time, at -..all events. To-morrow' the cloud may fall again. Ah! I guess what you want.; You have heard of Lady Amory's diamonds." V " , •'' .: >De Lava bowed and smiled. ' You have saved me the pain of introducing a disagreeable . subject," he said. "You always were a wonderful woman, Maria. Behold me for the time being penniless. The confession is humiliating, but true. You have the wherewithal J i to set me on my legs again. The household is asleep,; nobody knows that I am here. It would distress me beyond measure to _ compelled to resort to violence, Maria." "Would it?" the woman asked, with a bitter sneer. "Then a heart and a conscience must have been born in you since last ; night. You will get nothing from me.);■• What you find you may keep. For an instant she glanced at the bed De Lava saw the look, and, like a flash, Eut the right interpretation upon it. He egan to "drag at the mattress. The whole thing came away on the floor, and the pile of flashing stones lay disclosed. With a chuckle of ; triumph the thief grabbed them. . This action roused Lady Amory to fury. The sane look faded from her eves, and she became wild and ungovernable again. She beat with her hands madly on De Lava's' shoulders, and raised her voice until scream after scream, rang through the silent house. With a muttered curse De Lava tried to shake her off, while the gems scattered themselves about the floor in a shimmering stream of blue and yellow flame. " , The din was at its height when Sexton uttered a warning cry. De Lava dashed to the dressing-room window and looked out. Sexton was struggling with .somebody, whilst another figure was climbing up the; ivy. ■' • ■ . "Drop back or I fire," De Lava said in a hissing, whisper. ■!.;'.," "If you don t stop I'll shoot the pair of you."'

. CHAPTER XI. Ronald promptly jumped to the ground. If the speaker was armed, this was a case where discretion was the better part of valour. Ronald and Dick ' had waited too long. ' Just as De Lava sprang from the window the " door "/of the bedroom was flung open and Sir Horace rushed in. By this time t De Lava and Sexton were running \ for dear life across the fields towards Shoremouth. Pursuit in the circumstances was dangerous. Besides, they were known to Ronald and Dickalthough both were ignorant of the fact ! that they had been recognised—so they might be arrested at leisure. Sir Horace put his head out of the window. Dick slunk back.

"I must not be seen," he whispered. I'll be off to my hiding-place. Tell my father it's a friend of yours, and don't let out. that you know those _ fellows. Remember, they are in possession 0f...' a secret that may be useful to us, .; Goodnight." ;. * :, • Ronald explained lip to a point. At Sir Horace's invitation he climbed up the ivy and entered the dressing-room. In the bedroom Lady Amory was collecting her scattered treasures.

"Is there anything missing?" Ronald asked. , *• < / ' Lady Amory glanced at him suspiciously. She understood the question. "A diamond star," she said. "I have everything else. To-morrow I will send them all back to my cottage.- Give me the matches so that I may make the sign again..'".; "■:■■• ''..",'■ _ ' Sir Horace led the way into the din-ing-room. "She doesn't know what ; has happened," he said. I'm greatly obliged to you, Mr. Bastnble, and very_ sorry the poor woman has lost. the diamond star. '

A good night's rest did wonders for Sir Horace. He slept soundly in spite of the burglary, to the details of which Vera listened with some uneasiness." -,' :

;!> Nothing of this bind had occurred at Oversands before, and the knowledge that the house could be so easily entered was disquieting. Lady Amory was taking her breakfast upstairs as if nothing had happened. She had entirely forgotten the exciting events of ; the previous evening. "I had my hand on the fellow," : Sir Horace said. _"I believe I would have collared him if he had not put out the light. The coolest hand I ever came across. He was armed, and threatened to shoot young Bastable, who tracked him here] Bastable was waiting below with a friend of his."' ;;•:'';;'./

Vera smiled faintly. She was wondering what her father would have said had he known who Ronald Bastablo's friend was. ' ";•. .

"The thieves got away with nothing?" she asked. ;■' , ''.-'■ '■'"•■ : v'.' ■'■

"Unfortunately, no," Sir Horace explained. "I. was in time to prevent wholesale plunder, but the diamond star Iliad vanished. It's very annoying^,. but your aunt has • nobody to blame but herself. I have worries and anxieties, without this additional burden on my shoulders." * "You will bear them bravely," Vera smiled. ■;,■''■'':"'"''.. ■';■ ,

"I hope' so, .my dear. I am not likely to forget that I am an Amory. But there is no hurry, my dear child, ; no hurry, I assure you. ; My ; post-bag this morning is exceedingly 'satisfactory. -I hear ) that one •;[.' of : my speculations":- : has turned out magnificently. ; It is too early to speak'.certainly, but there is J; more than a chance;that we may never leave Oversahds. But we s will go"into the matter more fully later. Meanwhile, there is no cause for anxiety, none whatever." : ;.-;Vera ■.listened..- with relief. It was a real happiness to see her father so bright I and cheerful. He was carrying himself know with, all Ins old easy dignity.

"Then you need not be; afraid of Joseph Bastabje?" she asked. i "Certainly not," Sir Horace* said. "Metaphorically speaking, -- I 'can. snap : my fingers in his face. I am spared that humiliation." : -,"*,.' „-.

- Vera turned presently to the morning paper.- It was her habit ■) to glance through it; after breakfast. Public ; affairs were dull apparently, for the editors continued to make the most of the "Safe Mystery." ; .The disappearance i of, the law-" yer, Bowen, was still the topic of tho day. There "were columns of it. ' Vera was interested, because Howen had been a friend of Dick's. .-

'=.; But this was not all. The editor _of the Daily , Review had discovered a l, side issue of the case and given prominence to r it. Vera read the paragraph with a pale face and a sinking at her heart : "■■■■■" A; curious thing in connection '■ with the 'Safe Mystery '. has come to ,light. It seems that for the last two days nothing has been seen ?of Mr. Richard Amory, of the Stock Exchange, who was an intimate friend of Mr. Bowen's. Mr. Amory, who is the only son of Sir Horace Ainory,. of Shoremouth, left his "lodgings two days ago immediately after breakfast, presumably on his way to business. He has not been seen since. Inquiries at Mr. Amory's office give . some > colour to the statement that Mr. Amory is on a flying visit to-Paris, but it is somewhat strange that , these two gentlemen, who are so intimate, should be missing at the same time. Mr. Amory's relatives profess to ■be quite easy in their minds."

It was an unfortunate paragraph. Directly she had read it Vera telephoned her father at the bank. He refused to take it seriously. 1 ...:-,

" The papers must say something," be replied. "You may depend upon it that Dick is all right. If ho had wanted money he s would have let mo know. Why, the boy has no business ,to look after. He's either in Paris or Monte Carlo. You mustn't detain me now; I have two or three people waiting to see me."

(To be continued on Wednesday next.)