THE MYSTERY OF CROCKSANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18461, 26 July 1923, Page 3

THE MYSTERY OF CROCKSANDS.

BY FRED M. WHITE. - Author of "The Secret of the Sands," "Tho Devil's Advocate," " The Man with the Vandyke Beard," " The Edge o£ the Sword," etc.

' (Copyright.) CHAPTER XIII. (Continued). " T think I may say that I- have had a great deal," Ellen said. " I know, at any rate, that Mr. Clapstone is living at Crocksands." " What! " Bly cried. "Living here?" "Yes, and calling himself Stone. I had never seen him previously, bat something about the man attracted my attention, and I managed to get a snapshot of him on my camera. I sent this on to Peter Gabb, hoping,that he might be able to help me, and he wrote saying that the man who called himself Stone really was the late partner of the firm. He is down here now living at Sir Christopher's - expense, and, unless I am greatly mistaken, they are engaged in some racing swindles." Ellen went on to explain exactly what ' she had' discovered in that direction, and : then supplemented it with an account of ' the quarrel she had overheard between Wrath and - his confederate. " I think that proves what I say,!' she 1 went on. " This man Stone has. a hold 1' on Sir Christopher, some instrument by i which he could turn Sir Christopher out of the place to-morrow, and he is not going to part with it unless he ' can see his way to making a lot of money in hard I cash. "And now I come to another point. I have a letter in my possession which .;, proves conclusively that my father was alive two days after he was supposed to have taken his , own life at Monte Carlo. It matters very little how that letter found its ~ way into my possession, but it was the chief reason why I answered Sir Christopher's advertisement and came down here. What does it mean, Mr. Evors ? You knew my father, because you told Mr. Bly so. Can you help me | 1 in any way? " ' | "I begin to think-I can," Evors said. "Why, I was at Monte Carlo, and saw your lather the day before his death." Ellen drew a long breath. " That is amazing;" she said. "Mr. Bly told me that you were a friend of my father's, and that you were down here looking for certain information. But perhaps you will explain." Well, it's like this," _ Evors said. " Not lone before the Armistice I was rather badly gassed in France. When I pot better the authorities sent me to the South of France to recuperate. A month later, at Monte Carlo, I ran into your father. I had met him several times in Australia,: where we were on the best of terms, and I was delighted to see him. But I noticed at once that he was a very different man from the one I had known. I thought perhaps it was your mother's death that had made the difference, but after -short time I could see there was something deeper than that, and _ when ,■■■■ -our' father told mo that he was visiting 1 he coast on board Wrath's yacht, the • nnstar, I began to have my suspicions. h Of course, Wrath was not Sir Christopher then, and, so long as your father was alive, was not ; likely to be. And knowing; •is I did what happened in Australia, I was amazed to know that your father had so far forgotten certain incidents as to be even seen in Wrath's company, let alone be a guest on his yacht. I knew Wrath was posing as a rich man, and I knew, too, that he was a ' mere adventurer. I was also aware of the fact that he was next in succession to this _ beautiful property, and that constituted living danger to Gordon Bland. Why, if Wrath had only dared .he would have killed your father and thrown him overboard. But -in a way, I am putting the cart before the horse. ." Let me start at the beginning." "Is it necessary?"' Ellen asked;, a little impatiently. " I think so," Evors said. "It must have been eight or nine- years ago when I first met your father in Melbourne. . I was quite a soldier of fortune in those days, reckless and careless, and' only living in: the moment. Then .I met your father and your mother. Of course, both of us being Englishmen we foregathered, and were getting off very nicely when Wrath appeared on the scene. I- am treading on rather dangerous ground now, Miss Marchant, but I think I am justified in saying that before Wrath was sent, to Australia he was more or less engaged to your mother." . ' Yes, I think that was so." Ellen said. " But she subsequently married your father. I think they were. perfectly happy, though I am going to suggest that your mother's only real love was that engaging and handsome scoundrel : Christopher Wrath. \ One could see it. Nothing wrong, of course, but ti/ere are; some women who love admiration,. andwell —perhaps I had better not say any more on that particular point. But Ido know that there was a sort of estrangement between your parents, 1 and • that Wrath; though pretending to be the friend' of your i father, deliberately fostered it." " "I can't deny it," Ellen said, sadly. "My parents were estranged for. some time before; my father died. And if they hadn't been I.should never have found the letter to which I attach so much importance." ' CHAPTER XIV. ,; . . | " It is just as well; I think, to speak plainly," Evors went on. "I can prove to you, if you like, that. Wrath was the deliberate, cause of all that domestic unhappiness. He pushed his • way into your father's• lift! for. the double purpose of getting. money from him and seeking a . certain- mean and ' petty revenge. Well, he was v successful in both instances. But I did not know all that ; at the time. Wrath came along ostensibly with a proposal tjiat your father and ; myself should. share with him in the gold - mine he had. got hold of. This had been brought to ' him by a young man called Akers,; an Englishman whose great hobby was ■ acting. He was on the Australian stage, as was his sister ; Mary, who was really a talented and beautiful girl, and because ' of her popularity her brother was rarely out of an engagement. And it didn't take me long to realise that she was infatuated with Wrath. He could do almost what he liked with her. There are some women who cannot resist the great, strong, handsome animal of that type, and I am afraid that Mary Akers was one of : them. Not that he cared two straws about herhowever, .that has very I little to cio with the story. We scraped together a ' certain amount of capital i and j went up country— is, your father and j myself and; Akers, leaving your mother at a Melbourne hotel. Wrath was to have I - joined us. but at the last moment -' something prevented it and he ' remained behind. The gold mine was a swindle from start to finish, and all the monev found its way into Wrath's pocket. : But : that , was not the worst feature Vof the case. We were deliberately lured into a desert country without food and without 1 water, and we nearly died' of thirst. ; There was not an ounce of gold in the mine, so we turned back; and should assuredly have died on the way if we had not happened s by great good luck to run into . a lunatic Englishman who was trying to cross the desert in a motor-car. If he had gone another ten miles we should 7 have missed him, and he would : have. perished", as miserably as we looked like perishing. It was touch and go any way, but we just managed to run the car back to the fringe of-civilisation,-and . the situation was saved. When we got to Melbourne Wrath had vanished. So, by the way, had Mary Akers, though whether he had 1 anything to do - with that I don't know. ; The man was a thorough backguard, but I have to give him the benefit of the doubt; And that is one score I have gob against Wrath. A year or bo later, by a bit of good luck, I came into my share of .some. family property, and I returned to England. Fortune-brought me to Devonshire. where I mot Sir George BiandMerton. The old gentleman took rather a fancy to me, and allowed me to take I a long lease of this bungalow. Of course, i in those days I had no thought of ever meeting Wrath down here—in. fact, I had forgotten all about the scoundrel, and was quite content with this little paradise, of mine until tfjie war broke, out. Well, you know, all about- that. . And now I am coming to the real point." ='. ; :m-;-S; Evors broke off ' to light : a cigarette;' j •;' " v .-.-<»•* '/ • $ V*a' .* * • ; • •' ' ' •'

" I met your father in Mont© Carlo, V<u Jh I told you. He seemed :to be' a broken man, anxious ; and worn • out, with a: , ■ : : ; shadow of some ever-present . fear in his • j' 1 eye's. And then, because Iwe had" been old friends in the : past, and he wast..bound to confide in someone, he; told. me. You know, my dear young lady, what an easy-going, kind-hearted man -ho was, ana how careless l:;is was about money matters, it appears tti.t he got mixed . up . with some ijort of ■ .idventuress .. in Monte Carlo, and was doing his best to shield" her. Of course, it was a madly quixotic thing to , .;, do, but he would not even mention her name. It appears that- this woman, or more likely some cunning scoundrel behind her. had got hold of an acceptance drawn by a certain Lord : Maberley in favour of some friend of his, jjid your father had managed to get it discounted at a Monte Carlo bank by endorsing it and paying-, it. through his own account. Then, a few days later, the bill was pronounced to be a forgery, and Lord 'Maberley repudiated his signature. Instead of your father taking . the right cours.o, and telling the bank people how he had been' deceived, he did nothing of the kind. I suppose that infernal woman got round him with a flood of tears, and all that soirfc of tiling, and persuaded him not. to bring netname 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 this would be all right: It seems almost incredible .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 fact that there was a warrant out for- his arI rest on a charge of fraud and forgery, which meant a certain five years in a >' foreign gaol. I implored him to go to the authorities and get them to confront him with the woman in the case. But he said no; . he. had; given his word of ■ honour; the woman was not to blame, because she was shielding somebody in her - turn; and: if gaol stared him in the face to gaol he would go. And the next - thing I , heard was that your father had committed suicide by jumping into a stormy sea fromthe deck of the Sunstar there thetragedy ended, so far as I was concerned. I _ saw Lord Maberley, : and. offered to pay him the money for the sake of my .friend's name, but he would nothear of it. He ■ was greatly shocked and distressed, ana told me that if he had been consulted in the first place he should have acknowledged that forged signature as his own. Ho knew and liked . Gordon Bland, and would have done anything for his sake." "That is true enough." Ellen said with >" tsars in her eyes. " I saw Lord Ma.ber!ey myself, and he told me much the same thing. . But then, you see, my father did not commit; suicide on the day when ho was supposed to have thrown ; himself into ; the sea. And that lis the mystery I have to solve." ■ * " We must do our best ,to help you,' Evors said. "I am ( con-raced that there is one man who could tell us all. about it if he . would,, and that man, of course,. is Christopher Wrath; There is somo secrethere which I have suspected for a long time, but what , you have just , told me ; n connection ; with" what ' I know convinces me of it. But we can't do any more at present."''' ' " - "I am afraid not," Ellen said: ; "Ana now, really I must be getting back. Past. seven o'clock! Probably Sir . Christopher has» returned by this time, and' if- ho misses me— ~ . • She broke off and rose to her feet. . She walked up the woodland path towards the Abbey with Bly by.her side. " Upon my word, my dear girl, this' is a most extraordinary! tiling," the latter said, "It would he a topping business if - you' turned out to be mistress of Crock- ; sands Abbey after I; all. And, - whatever , happens, - you have-'two friends here you. can rely upon. - But look, here, Ellen — he went on, with a sudden change ;of manner. He was no t - longer the /inconse- . > - quent boy, but the bird, tight-lipped man. of the world he had proved himself earner in... the "afternoon—'.' I : don't . like •!the:,- idea • '' of yov-r being: under th* sime roof as that bla l '" 'I'd. Oh, I 'Tcncbv; why he''wanted ■ , ■ you uo.vn here. Perhaps yon - don't quite • 1 realise what- an attractive and beautiful girl !. you are.'; 1' hate, to talkliko.,' this,"' - but" ; ; "Oh, I am perfectly safe,;-' if that is | , what: you meau,'/ Ellen:; ; said, i calmly. r -: " And I have a friend at' the Ab'iey—aaici: - that's the housekeeper, Mrs. Amberley. .• : - I can't tell you . top much, because tho l secret; is not entirely .'mine,.V brtv , Mrs... 'j;T: Amberley: has' a' hold : v"ci.v Wrath, and she ' j': will use it if necessity, arises. i! And now I really, must' fly.; Don't:detain, me • any . : longer. .' No,; you mustn't kiss me, in case :'■■■■. . .anyone t happens: to be . looking." . . : . Wrath had not-, returned when Ellon. r got back to the Abbey, neither did* he do - so- until it was / nearly- dark: ? When? ho v came he - was in one of his blackest t ;- moods, so that Ellen was glad t<} make an excuse and seek the seclusion of her own: room a little earlier than usual.':, She sat there in •>; the darkness for quite; a , io"g ."-j. time, thinking over the amazing and exciting events of . the afternoon. How long she. sat' there she - hardly,,Jcnew;until? the - r big clock in -the' Tower droned out the' hour: of. midnight, , and the : whole house • .seemed to be. steeped: in ■ slumber. She ■ / arose and turned down one of; the- electric - lights as : she- proceeded to undress," but .■: ~ she was feeling anything but tired still, and, looked about : her. for a soothing 'book to read for an hour or so. Thei.'e .waii; nothing in the room, -so. throwing a • long,.' dark cloak . over her . night attire, • she • crept along: tho corridor; in the;" direction ■ of. the musicians' gallery;. where 1 there iifaa something in the shape of' a; library...; : She. knew every inch of e way. in the' dark, she had < been there jai-hundred. times' before, so that she was not in the. least - ' ' afraid' of coming- in; contact -', with - the works of art and the old oak chests with " which the , corridor was lined.!. In an ■ alcove in the gallery she' turned 1 : on . one : light, and, having found the volume she- . : required,. pushed up 'the. switch;, anil- in • ' her bare feet walked along until she came-. - * to her bedroom , d>oiv Then she ; looked.- • over' the balcony into the hail below, and. saw that someone had flicked on one . solitary spot of electricity there. . Secure in " her black guise, she - 'leant over the . J i carved oak rail to see what, was going on. A moment later Wrath appeared, carrying, in hie hand a large basket, which he placed on the table, and then disappeared, returning, a little' later- with; a cold chicken on a dish, some bread, butter, and salad, and a bottle of wine, which he carefully placed in a basket- and : - covered, with a napkin! He was no longer wearing , his evening dress, but a suit of shabby old tweeds, and on - his | feet were rubber-soled tennis shoes, so I that be did not make the slightest 1 sound. He took up - the' basket and, crossing the 1 hall, turned into the vestibule, and very ! silently left the house.• . Where was he going, and what did it all mean? Ellen asked herself. On tho impulse of the' moment she ha«J; ; half "a ■ mind to follow,, him, but in her ' s<Janty attire that was impossible, though ■ the . night was warm enough.■' Where was he carrying that food, and for whom was it intended? Ellen made up her mind that she would wait: there until Wrath came , ; back. Then she drew back as another - figure crept furtively across" the ; tfrll, 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. ,;C- : i';:'■ :V-' ; At any rate, she was getting: on, for here was" one more mystery to add to the • many with which she was surrounded. ' • {To bo. continued daily.) .' i