THE UNKNOWN FOURTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15025, 21 June 1912, Page 4

THE UNKNOWN FOURTH.

BY SIR WILLIAM MAGNEY, BT>, ' ■ Author of "The Master Spirit." " The Fall ?' f of a Star," " The Red Stain," " The Bed Chancellor," "The Man of tlj& Hour." \y ."Count Zarka." "The Amazing Daks," " Mystery of the Pnlcorn." Etc., Etc. COPYRIGHT. CHAPTER XXIV, Next day Rolt did nob set out for Kqtherton Hall until towards the end of the winter afternoon. Ho took the same course as on the previous evening, keeping under cover of the trees, and milking hid ,way round towards the place where he proposed to establish his watch. He had , provided himself with a packet'of sandwiches and a flask, for he intended to remain at tile point of observation if necessary for many hours. As ho came in sight of the house he •y ; noticed signs that tho family had gone. The windows of the principal rooms were shut- - ' * tered, and the whole place had already as- ' sumed a rather deserted appearance. He remembered Mr. Heyworth's telling him I j", that- ho was in a way breaking up his es-j tablishment in view of a somewhat pro- i longed absence, and that, a very small staff was being left at the Hall. That was altogether favourable to the detective's plans. His presence and watching wore much more likely to remain un- .. • known and undisturbed if a lot of servants wers not roaming about the place; for oven their master's injunction would not he likely to check altogether the domestics' curiosity. The early dusk of a January afternoon i -was falling as Rolt, approaching warily through the bushes, slipped quietly into ;v the halt-hidden summer-house. Some fifty or sixty yards away, directly in front of him as he sat at the back of the little v structure facing the open door, was the . place be meant to keep under observation; ; the spot where the stiletto had been buried. It, -was going to be a tedious waiting game, he told himself; but he had hopes of its leading to a discovery of which ho 'was 'particularly in need in order to make furtltffr progress in unravelling the threads { of the myntery. His knowledge of the , ways of evil-doers told him that nothing i, j 1 v was more likely than that the person who " * had ■ buried in haste the fatal instrument i ; , should be prompted—not altogether reason•sr ably," perhaps—to return and recover it with a view to finally disposing of* it where it could never be found. Not that the discovery of the stiletto "would afford any clue to the hand which V fjad struck -with it the death-blow. - Logi- ; /tailly it was quite safe to leave the thing iv. ' ■ vhere it had been - hidden. . But then, &•; ts Rolt know well, men who have a crime Jiff'? I 'upon their minds are not given to argue *" t quite logically. ■ They are not content, but fe; 'afraid, to let well alone; and, given a '. favouring'chance, they ' will always itch to V improve upon a reasonably safe position. They are afrai<J where no fear. is, and their terroru magnify their chances of detection, g . ' Rolt had lighted his pice,.. having no fear that the smoke would be seen in the 'C''. "' semi-liarkness, and so sat ruminating over. i 1 J the puzzle of that extraordinary case. But M| with all his' abstraction eyes wore, by fffofe training, ever . -c»n -• th© ■- alert, and -ho had :f, V- . not long taken up his station and made >' hims'if : : comfortable ■■ in the summer-house •when they were attracted by a movement in the stillness around him. 'fe '" V srom where he. sat he had an oblique view of ' the line of the shrubbery, which • fell away from the point where it commenced nearly, opposite to him. And it •) was thera, close to the edge of the trees, l* \ i that Roll became aware of an approaching figure ! ajpihat the' dying light i a the sky, v sV": just discernible by his sharp eyes, about f'HH-S a hundred yards away. With' a quick S| ~ .movement he took the pipe from his . I mouth, and 1 sprang to a watchful atten--sVv"'; lion. - Was he at last going to be re* !■"' warded,' :; and.• rather ■ sooner .than he could i • have anticipated?' Was this rather steal|p| ' ihily ; approaching person going to turn : ; v <wt to he Roushwn's . slayer?: ly Ha could' as yei. see only the upper part ! ;: / ; V of the advancing figure', 'the lower half bep| ' ing hidden by the herbaceous beds between' !•' * the* lawn and. the shrul>T»ery. As it came |^'- : on steadily, growing every moment more jp£> distinct, Rolt, leaning forward, watched mat with intense keenness.. Then suddenly, N ; /as the object of his attention arrived WMttly opposite . the summer-house and 6o 5. ■ came' more folly into view, the watcher ■f '. gave a sign of disappointment and relaxed 7 ?J - /' 1 somewhat : his strained attitude. It was K r* not the person he looked for, but a woman; ■ most likely one of the maid-eervanta returning from a shopping expedition to } ' ' Rothertou. , In his disguet he turned away; the '' J woman had no interest for him, and from , his point of view was not worth noticing. All he wanted was that she would' get quickly into the house and leave the coast ; ' •dear for a more interesting appearance. 0? As 'he looked out again he saw with 1 » some impatience that the woman seemed in • ,no hurry; she had stopped dose by the j l ' ;'i place he had under observation,' and was |;?J''' standing looking at the house in what ' seemed a state of indecision. ;H Next moment Bolt's feelings of annoy- ' ance changed in a. flash to one of , intense jl l , surprise and excitement. That was no ■ maid-servant standing there, some thirty if* 5 --: yards away. Her dress— wore furs— !, she looked like—and by all that was won5 1 ' 'y! ' derful and mysterious it was no other than —Tliyrza Heyivorth. ! , ; In that instant Ilolt had recognised her. IJ 1 ; ; ■ The next she moved on towards the house, " - not going direct across the lawn, but keeping in the obscurity of the trees which fringed it. \ What was she doing there? - That, as soon as he had realised her v identity, was the thought which flashed i i to Holt's mind. She was supposed to be v;i • away; gone, according to the' announced : plan,' for a week's visit. And ho had seen her go. Why had she come back thus ■ • mysteriously to the house of which she had expressed such a horror? What on earth diet it all mean? In spite of his training, his coolness, his familiarity with more or less exciting situations, liolt felt himself trembling, not altogether with excitement, as he crept out of his hidingplace md followed the dark figure moving round under the ehadow of the trees. vv Why had she come back thus, in secret, a few hours after her parents and sister had left the bouse? On what surreptitious f . : errand was sliO; there? Such were the thoughts which surged into Boll's mind, questions on the answer to which he did I jg, : not care to speculate. ■SV /' Was it then, after all. he. that lovely v; girl, who had done the deed? Won lie ;i j - about to be forced to that conclusion? 11 .'■■■ seemed incredible, and yet it might be likely enough. The motive was all Had ; , the man Rouftbam—they knew something «L» 3 . A araCter , now-had he possessed , some hold over her, and in virtue of that ffcv''. resorted to threats and blackmail' r. It was not impossible; 'in Rolfs cxperisuch \il]aiiiy was cominon enough • accepting that theory, how did it ;P*explain tho motive which had brought her ... That was mvfterious indeed nnd ny of the dead man's conduct and Sit wan not impossible.; in Rolfs experience such villainy was common cnoueh • still, accepting that thcorv. how did it, ?explain the motive which had brought her back? That was mysterious indeed, and fjfikp theory of tho dead man's conduct and f'wahWWJd explain it. Why had this girl ' <one off 08-.ft.-fisit'as a blind and crept (MAck like a thieF ofiWctly the coast was , Look. at her now, keeping steal;tltflr ■'.<& her furtive way - to % house, yesihad, lisrer ~3eft,her while . these riw^W- ; and ' questions' were rushing his mind. < todteij presently and watched her as, having ; Wived in a line with the house, .she '«ara» round, treading softly on \the 1 i ctder ; making; it seemed,-;'for Sie door., • v - ' 'V she, .stopped, appearing, so far ka •i' i .ifjVtifcWoW sfliak© out through the darkness, ; 'iKtod--and to : be hesitating as to, • 'Th'cp'A Sudden deepening. l : >•'■ "''t m, a2o c - ' h?»en«d», and next moment* had passed throogh and I',' '' 1 *

f CHAPTER XXV. I Rolt waitijd for a minute or two, watching 'the reclosed door. - Then lid crept stealthily round by the way the girl had I gone till lie reached the billiard-room ! steps. Going close to the door, he bent | down, his car to the keyhole, and listened. Not a sound reached him. Indeed the intense stillness of the place almost suggested that what, he had just seen was nothing but fancy; that, save himself, no living thing was near. Then he remembered that a heavy portiere hung at the door, and that would effectually deaden any sound within. Very cautiously lie grasped tho handle and turned it, only to find that the door was locked. . : It was curious. Miss Heyworth had found no difficulty in. getting in. It looked as though tho door must have been left open. Tho lock was an ordinary* one, ho had examined it carefully on his first visit to "the house. If the door had been locked from the inside, the key would almost certainly have been left in, consequently even if the girl had provided herself with a duplicate she would not so easily have been able to use it. The whole business was supremely mysterious, and Rolt by this had become quite sharply determined to find out what it all meant. What he had to do now was to gain an entrance to the house, if j-ossible without disturbing any of its inmates. It was plain he could not get in by the billiard-room. He drew back from the door and, returning by the way he had reached it. gained the covert of the trees. His object was to try to effect an entrance, on the side farthest away from the domestic offices. For that purpose he had to make the circuit of the lawn, since it would never do for him to run the risk of attracting attention by passing the billiard-room windows. He soon gained the aide of the house I beyond and to this left of the billiardroom, and there proceeded promptly to ! look for means of ingress. He had not gone far .when on coming to the projecting bay window of the boudoir he, to his surprise, found one of tho long casements slightly open. Whether this had been so left by accident or design he had no time to wonder. He softly pushed the window back, peered into the cold, , gloomy room with its sheeted furniture, and then got over the low sill. From the window he made his way to the door at the farther end. He opened it quietly, and stole out into the hall beyond. In the absence of the family it was not lighted, and Rolt had to make his way forward in the gloom as best he could. But luckily he knew his bearings. Moving with the greatest care and circumspection, lie made his way along the continuation of the hall leading to the billiard-room. As he passed the baizecovered door which shut off the service quarters he just opened it and listened. In the distance, probably in the kitchen or servants' hall, he could hear the faint sound of voices. * So the domestics were well shut off from the principal part of the house, and were doubtless absolutely unsuspecting T that it held, other inmates. His professional view of the situation brought a grim smile to Bolt's face, as he Inflected on the easy work a housebreaker .would have in ransacking the place and getting off unmolested with his plunder. That was but a passing thought as he shut the Closely-fitting door' and went quickly to the billiard-room. This door was, he remembered, furnished like the other with a portiere. Ho bent down and listened, but could hear: no sound. He was, perhaps, scarcely surprised when lie turned the handle to find the door locked. It went to settle any doubt in his mind as to whether Thyrza Heyworth had gone beyond the billiard-room. :It was evident to him that she was still there. Had she left by the outer door she would assuredly first have- unlocked the inner. Now, why had she locked it, and what was she doing there? Rolt" tried to imagine what her errand could be, and utterly foiled to get anywhere near a ! shrewd guess. Yet that she was there for some secret purpose, presumably con- | nected with the tragedy of Christmas Eve, he was sure. And it became essentially his business to find out the reason, since in that doubtless lay the key of the mystery- The door was fast locked ;ho had no chance of getting any knowledge from that points He would have to go round to the' outside again and try if he could get a sight "of the room through one of the windows. He turned from the door and went quickly back along the passage. Ho had just reached a point opposite the baize door leading to the kitchen quarters when he heard a dulled crack, as of a pistolshot, followed by a cry. It came from behind him; from the billiard-room, he was sure.. A woman's shriek, it seemed ; muffled by the intervening door and curtain. . . ■ ■■ . ■ He ran back, turned the handle'of the door, and putting his shoulder to it tried to force it open. But it was too firmly set for yielding to his single-handed | efforts. Realising that, he rushed up the passage, into the hall, made a dash l through the room by which he had en- ! tered, and so out by the open window into the garden. In a few "seconds he was I round at the billiard-room outer door. It j was still locked. At a nonplus he stood there and listened. Not a sound came from within, The noise he had made, trying first one door and then the other, had provoked j no response. Had his ears deceived him? I No. That a woman had cried out in the billiard-room he was certain, as certain as that ho had seen Thyrza Heyworth enter the room. And with both doors locked on the inside it was almost a certainty that she was there still. Determined to get to the bottom of it-i he ran to the nearest window, broke,'with a large sportsman's knife he always carried, one of the leaded panes of glass l nearest to the fastening, put in his hand, turned the handle of the catch, pushed ! open the window and got through. The room was almost in complete darkness, for the curtains drawn across the windows' shut out what light there was outside. Rolt stood for a moment listening. He thought he heard a sound near him, a peculiar sound aa of a feeble, halfsmothered moan. He promptly took 'out t his match-box, and struck a light. Next instant he knew whence the sound had come, and he went quickly forward towards a dark object which lay on the floor by the bayed recess at one end of the room. The match went out, but before he had struck another he was sure of what it would show him. By its light he saw Thyrza Heyworth lying on the floor insensible, with a great streak of blood on her neck. (To be continued daily.)