THE MYSTERY OF CROCKSANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18460, 25 July 1923, Page 5

THE MYSTERY OF CROCKSANDS.

; . BY FRED M. white... Author of "The Secret of the Sands," "The Devil s Advocate," " The 'Man with the .-'-.■ Vandyke ■Heard," '•• Edge of . y „- the Sword,'.' etc.

, • J' ';■) ■ '- ' \. y" (Copyright.) CHAPTER XIH. : The words slipped from ; Ellen's ; lips almost before she : was. aware that she had uttered them. She had hot intended, even in the _light of recent events, to fell her new friends who she was, but the sight of those well-known features had strangely affected : her, .: arid the words she had uttered had come ystraight from her heart. She possessed no photograph of her. father that had been taken in recent years, and the likeness that Evors produced was • a wonderfully good one. It caught i the expression of Gordon : Bland exactly—the easy smile, the pleasant, rather weak face, and the amazing good nature of the man. Ellen gazed at it for some minutes while the others waited for her to speak. ...>-:.; v. "It is a truly wonderful likeness," she said,' "and I hope that you will let me keep it, Mr, Evors.!' '1 • '.-. ',""<'•' l Certainly, if you put it in that way," Evors said. "But this is a most amazing thing, a most extraordinary > coincidence, that your father's daughter should be down here acting the part of private secretary to Sir Christopher Wrath. ' ; I;: suppose he ;■ has not the remotest idea who you "■, are " 1; "I hope not," Ellen smiled.. "It would i upset all. my'plana if he did-and; after all said and done/ there is no coincidence about it at all. > Sir Christopher was in search of a private secretary, and I saw. his , advertisementindeed, v I think y I should be justified in saying that he put the advertisement in my way." / "What do you mean by that?" .Ely asked.

Ellen found some difficulty in explaining She did not want to go into details on that point, - but : she had known—and I women always know those things—that Wrath:had taken a fancy to her at their first meeting. She had seen it in those bold, audacious eyes of - his, - she had noticed the } frank admiration y which Vin some men would have been flattering but in an individual like that, from whom she shrank naturally, the animal side of Wrath had filled her with a certain amount of wholesome detestation. But then at the moment when she met him first she had known all about that mysterious letter of her father's, and : she had already : made up her mind to get to the bottom of the mystery. And when she had decided to answer Wrath's advertisement she had felt in her heart of hearts that the post was as good as hers. In a way she had been trading on : a man's natural weaknesses where woman is concerned; but she did not want to discuss this even with Bly. ',::^^;r : ::v-;•:yy':y '.-V : : v-&± "I don't think it much matters," she said. "The fact is, I: am here in the old place where I spent some of my' happiest days while my parents were travelling round tho world, and I can assure you that I am not here entirely on sentimental grounds." •' 1 "You mean that you know something ?" Evors asked, eagerly. .*.,*' • "I know a great deal,''. Ellen replied. "I- know, though; I cannot prove it, that if justice had been clone I should be mistress of Crocksands Abbey to-day." y "You interest me more than I can tell," Evors said. ' "Would you mind: taking me into your confidence ? I don't mind telling you, : Miss i Marchant—l mean "Miss Bland—"

"I don't think that name had better be mentioned : for. the- present," Ellen smiled. "It might slip out at a highly inconvenient moment, 'and if that ■; happened I should probably have all my trouble for my pains. V' But this ■ I can ; tell you; after my father died :T;: found myself practically penniless. I decided to go out ; into the world and get my own r living. , You : see, \ I hadn't a single relative left. lam absolutely the last of my line, and, strange to say, the! name remark applies to Sir Christopher ]■■ Wrath. f You must understand, Mr. Evors, 4hat Crocksands is; or was,: entailed property. My .father was next in succession :to Sir 'l George^Bland-Mertoni' arid :if ho had lived he would have owned the Abbey to-day. v; Of course, ; Sir > George knew the position of affairs, and ; : made up his mind to cit off : the entail, so that the property would become mine in. case anything hap?ened to my father. But it j' was put off rom time :to time, /mainly because ' Sir George was a casual man arid "my father was nearly always abroad. But there came a time when something had to be done. If ;my father, had a son; it would not have ! much ■: mattered, because that fact would have stood between Sir Chris-, topher 'Wrath : f and the estate. I knew nothing at all about this when my father died in such tragic circumstances, but I picked up a good deal of -law during the two years I was with Mr. : Melrose, "arid I learnt that the deed barring : the entail had actually : been i signed by Sir George .: and subsequently sent to -my father, who was in the South of France at the time, for. his signature.: •: That : is an L absolute fact." ' . • '

"But did he sign it?" Evors asked, eagerly. : _ Ah, that I cannot tell you," Ellen said. "I am '. pretty sure"; that he \ did; but •'■-, if / the document i found /its way /back, again: t6.' the office of /Melrose"/and-' Clapstone it must haveJbeon mislaid. - You see, Mr. Melrose, who ,is/a ? very r good i friend of mine, /was laid up for a long time in consequence of a motor accident, arid for over eighteen months he never came near the office. > During thai "period ; everything was done by his; partner,; Mr. Clapstqne, whom Mr. Bly, of course, remembers perfectly well." "Oh, I knew the 1 blighter all: right," Birr said—"a real bad egg he was. //He played ducks ■; and drakes :: with - --•the'! old practice, speculating and swindling clients out of'', their • money, / until Jimmy Malrose came back and kicked him out. -/If Melrose had not :been a :bachelor; and a careful man-the firm/would have gone phut. But that has nothing to do with the case." • "Ah, there , you are /wrong," Ellen smiled. "It has : a ; great deal to do with the. case. : All - the time '- you speak of , Mr.! Claristone'iwasrobbing the firm in ! connection with some ; doubtful '(.. speculations he was interested in, together with ; the man who / to-day: ; is called Sir Christopher Wrath."

.'.,; "But he was in Australia," Bly cried. ■/•"' "So everyone thought," Ellen went on. "You 1 see, Christopher.:•; Wrath was ij the black 'sheep;; of ,- the family. He was ; sent abroad years ;ago; with an ? ollowance made him by Sir ■ Gecrge; strictly on the understanding that"hVclid; not come home. He broke his '• promise, and for some years he was in London - under ;• an assumed name/; leading an exceedingly dubious life. '; Mr. Clapstone ■ was in the secret, and it would probably never, have come out but for a certain Peter Gabb, ah old clerk in Mr. Melrose's employ. ' You see, I lodged with Peter and his wife, and he was \ the": only man who knew who I am, with the exception of Mr. : Melrose. It ; was he who i told me all about that deed, because he had actually seen it with ; Sir -George's signature attached,; and 'knew that ;it had been sent to the South of France for my father to sign. Whether he signed it or not is the important question. I am inclined to think that he did, and returned it to London. If lam correct," then it must have fallen into MrljClapstone's hands. You can see what a weapon ■it gave him. He, was.:. on the verge'? of bankruptcy, he dreaded.; the, return':.; of his partner, knowing what the consequences would be, ' and if Tie -had that deed he.would Ikuep it to bargain with." VI- '"Upon my word, you;: are la wonder- ' ful young 1 lady," Evors smiled. "Your mind 'is^ as logical as ; that of a man. ■/:■ I take it that you; came down here in your assumed name to see if you can find anything out. -Have you had any luck ?" .;* ' "I met your father in Mont© Carlo, as I told ' you. He seemed jto be a broken man, anxious and worn 1 out, with' lashadow of some ever-present' fear in his eyes. And then, because we had . been old friends in the past, and he was! bound to confide ;■ in someone, he told me. Yon know, myldear;young/lady^what; ah easy-going, kind-hearted: man he ' was, ; ana how careless he was about money matters. It appears that he got; mixed "up 1-with | ■ some sort of ■ adventuress in Monte Carlo, j and was doing his best to .. shield . her, Of J course, it was a; madly quixotic thing to;: do, but he would not even mention hep) name. ■ It appears -that v this "woman, lor i i more likely • some cunning , scoundrel be-

hind 7 her, ' had got hold .'of an acceptance drawn by a certain Lord Maberley in favqur of some friend. ol! bJs r and'your father had managed ;.to get' ik "discounted •'■ - at a Monte . Carlo bank by. indorsing it - and. paying Jit through his : own account. : Then, a few days later, the bill was pronounoed »to be : a forgery, and Lord Matter- ■'■ ■ ■ ley . repudiated ■ his 'signature/ Instead ;. of > your father taking the right couirso, arid telling the bank people how he had been deceived, ho did nothing of tho kind,- {l ' '; suppose that infernal woman got round him with a flood of tears, and all that: sort of J' thing, and persuaded him riot to,bring tier;.=>■.. name into the case. At any. rate, your father took;.the .whole'.liability on his '/,..,. shoulders and acted as if he himself.were'. ' to blame. In his , careless way; he : offered >■-.■■■> to find the money as soon as he could raise; it, and'no doubt .thought that thisri ■"• would; be .-all right. %It -seems almost in- ■.>;".-.■.-• credible that a man . : could, be • such a fool,"' *.■.■/• but so long' as there ; .are \ pretty ■ adventuresses in the world this sort of stupendous folly will go on. = Then a morning or two later your father awoke to the taw. that there was a warrant out for his ar- - ■■•:--.■: rest on ya:; charge of fraud sad forgery, . '' , which meant> a certain five years in - a ' foreign gaol. I implored him to go to tha - - authorities and get them to i confront him y V: with the woman in the case. But he said - : j y no;- he had given his word r of. honour; the woman was not to blame, because she ■ was shielding somebody in:her turn; and • jif gaol stared him in the face:to gaol ho ;,; would go. 'And the next thing I heard was that your father had committed sui- ' -V . cide by jumping into a stormy sea; from ' the ; deck of ■-: the Sunstar—rand ...there \ the y,\ tragedy ended, so far as. I was \ concerned. , ;'li saw Lord y Maberley,y and offered to pay':. him the money for the sake of my friend's name, but: he would not hear of y it.^yH®.'; ; , , was greatly shocked and distressed, , and :• told me that if he had- been consulted in ; v . .-. the first place'he should, have acknowledged that forged ; signature as his ■ own." r - Ho knew and liked Gordon Bland, and . would have done anything for his sake,' 1 .' ' " That is true enough," Ellen 'said with tears in her eyes. 1 " Lsaw. Lord Maberley v:. myself, and he ' : : told ': me much : the : same:: C\ -.> thing. But then, you see,- my -father did 1.-V: not : commit suicide on the day when he •,- Jjy was supposed to .have thrown himself into _-if the sea. And that is the : mystery I have" ..> to: solve." ",' ' .'..." ' "{ T

" We must do our best to help you,'-' j Evors said. ;'' I am convinced,that. there is one man who could tell us all about it :-/,:•• if he would p. and that man,. of s courses, is-; i ■•' Christopher Wrath. There is some secret here which I have suspected for a lons time, but what you have just told ma : in connection with what I know convinces ,ii : ' me of it. But we can't do any-noro fit- y t present." i "I am afraid not," Ellen said. '-'Ax/a. now, really I-must, be getting back. Past.. •/ seven o'clock! Probably Sir Christopher - has returned by this time, and if he' misses mo—" , ,~\ '. . „ '. She broke off and rose to her ! et. She"///-/-; walked up the woodland path towards the - , Abbey with Bly by her-side. " Uponvmy word, my dear girl, this is a £ most extraordinary ' thing," the latter,- ' said. "It would be a topping; business if you turned out to be mistress of Crock- - sands Abbey after all. And, whatever happens; you have two , friends hero you ;.; can rely upon. But look here, Ellen "—-• he went j on, / with a; sudden % change y of : ;,/ manner. Ho was no longer the inconsequent boy, but the hard, tight-lipped mail -* '. of the world he had proved himself earlier l in the afternoon —"I don't like the idea V V of your being under the same roof -as that f ~ blackguard. Oh,' I know why he wanted you down here. -■ . Perhaps • you don't \ quit© -V. . ; ; realise ; what ,an i attractive' "and beautiful ' i girl you are. I hate to talk like this, ' i | but*—" ,'• . ; :.:.■ " Oh, I am perfectly safe, if that is I what you mean,'.' Elfen said, ■ calmly. " And :I ; have a '■) friend at i the Abbey—and ■ -,t ■ 5 -;£' that's the housekeeper, Mrs'.' Amberley. : '■', I can't tell you too much, because the "' secret is not - entirely mine, - but Mrs. Amberley has ? a;: hold oyer Wrath,' and she • will us<) it if necessity arises, , And now . I really must fly. Don't detain me any : - longer. No*, you mustn't kiss me,' in case anyone happens to be. looking." ; •" ■{ ' Wrath had ;,; not returned when Ellen -~ -.. <-. got back to the Abbey, neither did he 06 . '....■ so .until" it was nearly dark. When he ' came 'he was ■in one ;of "s. his ;"j Slackest;' ["■ moods, so that Ellen was glad to make'tto \- y excuse and seek the seclusion of her own room a little earlier than usual. She eat . there in the darkness for quite .a wag . , time, thinking over the amazing and e;t- ' oiting events of the afternoon. Row long ~; she sat there' she hardly knew, until the big clock in the Tower droned- out the hour of midnight/and : whole house f seemed to be steeped in slumber.'-'. She ; : arose and turned, down one of the electrio lights as she proceeded to undress, but she . was / feeling anything but tired still, and looked about her for. a soothing book \L to read for an hour or so.y There;: was ...-■-. nothing in the room, tx>) throwing a long, ■•■'- dark cloak over -her night -. attire, -tthocrept along the corridor; in the" direction -;• of the musicians' gallery/ * where ther« was,' something in the shape,* of a library. She knew every inch'of the way in 'tha ; % dark, she had been there a hundred times before,., so that she was not in the least afraid of coming ; in. contact with ; the works of art arid the old oak chests with which the corridor was . lined. 'In- an alcove in the gallery she turned on one - ■.:'. light, and, hi tying found the volume -she ■: required; pushed up the switch, ' and. in ' her bare, feet talked along until she came to her bedroom door. Then she ■■'< looked ■■ over, the balcony into the hall„ below, .and ■: ',' v. saw that , someone had * flicked , on one - Solitary :spot of electricity. there. Secure in : '"'.■'■>!'■ her black I guise, she ; leant '.-.-over the carved oak rail to ■ see'whati, was going on. ; '- A moment later Wrath appeared, - carrying in his hand a large basket,'which ha , placed on the table, and then disappeared, returning, & little : later , with -.a -cold .•'-' chioken on a dish, some bread, butter', and salad, and. a bottle of: wine; -which ,- '. he - carefully : placed in : a basket and covered with', a -.\0 napkin. ; He" ; was nof - '{,:, longer wearing his evening dress,' but a..'-. suit of shabby old tweeds,v and oh., his feet were rubber-soled "tennis shoes, .so ' ■''- that he did not make the slightest sennd. He took up the basket and,.?crossing ; the V -■. : hail, turned into the vestibule, and very : silently .left the house. -> " Where was he going, and what did ft all mean . Ellen asked herself. On - ttio , impulse of the moment she had half a " • mind to follow - him, ..but in her scanty '<■•.. attire that wis . impossible, though the '. i, night was ; warm enough. Wherp was he '..■'. carrying that food, and for whom wss.it k intended!' Ellen made up her mind that :'■;■:-• she would" r wait there, until. Wrath came - '•-■•.' back. Then, she drew back as another '. figure crept furtively across . the ■ hall, ' evidently bent upon keeping Wrath ; under ' close, surveillance.; The newcomer glanced over" his- shoulder, and the feeble light • fell on the face of the man Stone. ,Then he vanished in Wrath's direction, and Ellen, greatly wondering, turned into her- own ; room. \" ~' ■ At any'rate,-she-was getting ; on, for' [ here was one more mystery, to add to the ( P many with which she was surrounded,, , ,; (To bo continued dally.7 ;,: