THE TOKEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18680, 9 April 1924, Page 6

THE TOKEN.

■' ' »> ' BY LOTOS TRACY. Author of "The Second Baronet,'' "£•**' tow Island." "The How of Peril," One Wonderful Wish*," etc, etc..

(Copyright.) CHAPTER XH—{Continued.) Linton, with his two assistants, was instructed to stroll through the main thoroughfares of the West End, and keep a sharp look-oat lor those members of the gang whom they knew by sight. The exigencies of the public service forbid an exact description of the way in which the patrol was conducted, or the signals they could adopt when co-opera-tion was called for. However, no such intimate details of detective methods is essential, since that -which actually happened was far removed from the role allotted to the trio. ' . At noon, when Linton was in two minds as to whether he should telephone Curaon Street at all, and, if ho did, whether or not he ought to lunch there, lie was standing, by arrangement, in front of a famous restaurant near Oxford Circus when a wizened old man, of povertystricken appearance, asked him to buy a box of matches. The request was made in the husky accents of the born Cockney, but he chanced to glance at the would-be vendor's eyes, and caught a gleam in them that was curiously reminiscent of someone he know. Thereupon the voice changed suddenly. "Excellent I" it cackled. "You have all the makings of a first-rate cop ! Listen, and" treasure each word. Take that girl out to lunch. Then persuade her 10 go with you to a private show of a new picture called ' The Volcano' in a theatre, near the Strand a* half-past two. Ask for two seats at the door in the name of Mr. Zedyx X.Y.Z. backwards they will bo given you. Look at the picture, but don't discuss it in the theatre, except with high approval. No matter whom you may see thew, or what yon may imagine, do nothing whatsoever till yon hear ( from me at the main exit at four o'clock. Tell Jenks- and Blcnkey to meet yen there, too, and closo in behind Miss Mainwaring. She will bo fiuito safe but, if they look after her only, both you and they will know whom to hit if a row starts. If nothing happens, rush the young lady home, and he at the Yard at 5 p.m. In any case, don't leave her for a yard or a second ! Got all that V

"Yes," "Then boy a box of matches, and he off-" * . . . "As it happens, I am innted to luncheon at Curzojn Street." "Splendid ! On yonr way take a look at St. George's, Hanover Square. It's an ugly but most interesting ecclesiastical edifice." Linton's well-ordered brain was so intent on memorizing Furneaux's instructions, thus insuring their exact fulfilment that he did not grasp the meaning of the concluding words tirjtfl he was, in actual fast, gazing at tho gaunt exterior of the church 'in which *aany of London's "fashionable" maii'iafses are solemnised. Then he smiled at the conceit, though, truth to tell, he was by no means passed at the prospect of involving tho Honourable Peggy MainwE\ring in any "row," howsoever harmless it might be to her personally. He believed that to the little detective the chase wa3 the thing, no matter who suiTered hafore the quarry was run to earth. Why brhng the girl into it ? Was there not proof in plentv that the wretches they were Ipursuinc liad not a shred of mercy in their methods, and would sacrifice a whole theatreful of people if by so doing* they could secure their own ends ?

He had been takan by surprise in Oxford Circus. Could he * possibly have found Fnrneaux again he would have refused point-blank to include Miss Mainwaring in the afternoon's fixture. It was too late to act now. l}Qs last glimpse o! Furneaux showed the match-seller hobbling with decrepit steps into a tub© station. At any rat«, he resolved firmly to art as he thought fit it there was the slightest sign of possible danger to his pompanion -at. the cinema performance. In Bond Street he overtook two of the "Continental" men at intervals of forty yards, but, as neither seemed to see him, he', also, looked elsewhere. Still, he could not help wondering why they were sauntering so aimlessly through the welldressed throng which filled the narrow pavement at that hoar; being, as it were, more than ordinarily on the qui vive, he saw a woman turn into a manicure establishment whom be associated dimly with his recollection of the woman who did the marketing for Avenue House Dorking; gihould ha tell the other men of his suspicion ? He halted, and glanced . back, whereupon tho . nearest detective smiled and waved him on with a single finger. So, then, things were moving. That ."was satisfactory, at least. I II was amusing &> note how Mr. Hobbs l eyed him, and with what instant decision the butler classified him as belonging to the right set. And tbo seal was placed at once on an expert's judgment when Linton entered the drawing room, because Lord Robert Ferris -came forward with extended hand, and a hearty: " Nirver mora surprised in my life, old thing, than when Peggy told me you were coining here to-day. I didn't even know yon had ever met the child." * Now, Lintorj, full to the chin with hopes and fears, could not begin to guess to what extent-, if any, the Guardsman shared Peggy Mainwaring's fairly ample acquaintance with the topic of the hour. To make matters more difficult, she was

pot present. "My acquaintance with the young lady In question is quite recent and altogether official,"' he said. " You, as an old friend of the family, have realised 1 already what a bore it is that she should bo mixed up in this present excitement." " Well, yes. But it' 3 something big, -I'm told. jMines. going up in all directions, and incendiary bombs dropping down chimneys, and that sort of thing. It became serious when my battalion was pa; on a service footing this morning, with one platoon in each company ready to turn out at a moment's notice." *' So the scare has reached the War Office said Linton, trying to find some non-committal comment. "Yea, 1 had ft deuce of a job to get off this afternoon., but some Johnnie in Scotland Yard passed the cheery word to my 0.C., and here I am." At that moment Peggy herself hurried in. brimful of regret for being late. "Am I dressed properly for a cinema?". - the said. "I am told that Bobby and you are talcing me to see some wonderful film, bat what's the use of putting on specially glad rag 3 when the whole show is given in the dark?" , " We are rather at cross purposes, Miss Mainwaring," said Linton. ' 4 Who told von of a visit to a cinema? . I had an idea that the festidty, if it is one, was planned by one man only, anu that knowledge of ft would be confined to a very small circle." Jf . ... "Oh, Mr. Farneaux said nothing about that. I told him Bobby was joining us for lunch, and he said you could get three tickets as easily as two." "I shall not be in the least surprised "it turns. out that The Volcano' is wtitten and produced by Mr. Charles £«? Furn eau;c, of the Criminal IntH i n P°Partment. However, he has mo«M ° !l -] °? '">' m »nd, as I have been ttdnkSi* Ma ', Cried Ferris, do you risk?" 5 Ma »n^ an n ß is running any thin?'"* fa '■*"•** a *«« of such a " My notion is t:,W - land Yard is suffeS? STt ? S °°V of nerves," said the aUaCk I have not seen any indication of it " was Linton s dry answer. ' Luncheon is ready. I* m , all hungry. After a nofty meal even a , volcano won't seem so terrifying." Thus Peggy, who dreaded lest Linton '/.?_ should persuade the other man that she : ought not to be permitted to accompany s them to the theatre. V Didn't you say that the detective • person wanted your opinion about the .- • propagandist effect of this film 1" went on Lord'Robert'.' when they were seated at Sssfcbe. diningtable.. , .■ „ , , " Yes He believed I knew a-), much more -'about Mansion; ItfJewof*' £w*ies "• - -

than the general public that I should be able to judg;e how far it might be mischievous.**

" Well. That's all right Don't yon agree, Linton?" " Yea. I suppose bo. The truth is that Mr. Furncauz has enlightened Miss Mainwaring rather thoroughly. I was merely given orders, and am carrying them out." From that instant Linton stifled his doubts. He asked no more questions. Not till long afterwards did he learn that Furneaux had pulled the different strings which brought him to the private view of " The Volcano" in company with Peggy and Lord Robert. If the Little 'Un of the Yard ever wishes to change his profession he can always earn a competence by manipulating marionettes, because, on that summer's day in London, his tiny frame and super-active brain were controlling the movements and even the destinies of a great many human lay figures. There was nothing out of the common in the manners or appearance of the semi-theatrical crowd which gathered for the private view of "The Volcano," a fixture which in the screen world, somewhat resembles a repetition generate on the legitimate stags, though the picture, of course, is seen exactly as it will ba presented to the public at a later date. The box office raised no difficutly about the additional seat. Indeed, Linton noticed that the businessliko young woman in charge did not so ranch as look at him when he mentioned "die. Zcdyx." They were shown to places in the front row of the gallery—the l>est possible position, in factand, after an orchestral selection of modern Russian mnsic, the lights went ouit, and the title and other preliminary announcements of the forth-coming piece flickered into brilliance. " The Volcano " was announced as " an allegory," and the audience was not left in doubt many minutes as to the nature of the message it conveyed. The poor old world had been torn asunder so many times already to bring about modern conditions, and the results were so poor, it would seem, that an even greater catastrophe than any yet achieved by volcanic or seismic action (these weris «kin ? it was held) was necessary before She millenium could arrive. Some quite thrilling scenes of Etna in eruption were sandwiched between largetype condemnations of society as at present constituted. By devices which Linton could not begin to explain, busy towns and smiling villages were swallowed up by subterranean fires which one had seen gathering volume and fury in the bowels of the earth. Similarly, crowds of people in fashionable open-air restaurants, the occupants of grand stands on racecourses, gamblers entering the Casino at Monte Carlo, and promenaders on the sea front at Deauvilleall genuine pictures of these, taken in vivid sunshinewere blown into nothingness by the efforts of certain "reformers " who worked secretly in underground dungeons. Out of a bewildering chaos soon appeared a quite convincing sequence of events. Just as surely as unseen earthforces broke a whole city into fragments so did modern civilisation melt before the lava-stream of what was called the "new freedom" among the nations. A royal procession "faded" into a march of the unemployed. The glitter of ill-earned wealth was replaced by the poverty from which it was wrung. Let any man be rich and honoured, ho was purely doomed to destruction; let him bo hungry and in rags, he was proclaimed the avenger. Certain char>?ttrs, ma;a and female, became recognisable types. The spectator followed the struggle between capital and labour, the representatives of worn-out " laws " and of new eocial "agreements," with the Bame breathless interest a "movie" audience shows in a race between an express train and a motor-car hurrying deadly rivals to the ultimate crash. The inevitableness of the outcome was a moststriking feature of the performance, which

ended as it began, with Etna in convulsion, and a new Sicily of pretty houses tenanted by rather scantily-clothed hnman rising in glory ont of the ruins. the lights wero switched on again, a gasp of relief came from the crowded house, and a buzz of excited conversation broke out. Lord Robert Ferris forgot momentarily the embargo placed on disapproving comment, and turned to Peggy with a guffaw, half of anger and half of amusement. "What frightful tosh!" he cried. Peggy kicked his anklet **Not at all," she said. "Tit's an awfully clever picture. 1 -want to see it again, heaps of times. Fm sure I missed a lot of minor effects of the utmost subtlety because of the way in which the main story gripped the attention." Linton, who had followed the wht>le production with rapt interest, being convinced that what he was witnessing was a most powerful exposition of Monsieur Lefevre's pet schemes —in several instances he recognised the quite definite characteristics of the explosives and fiery gases used—brought his wits back to the instant demand on them. "You, go in front," he. muttered to Ferris, as they all three emerged into a crowded gangway. "Keep close to Lord Robert," he added .to Peggy. "Don't get separated from him by anyone, even if j yon have to use your elbows. I'll assist, j so don't be surprised if I propel you onward with some force."

However, no one interfered with them ! in any way. The entrance hall was,! packed, (if course, as everybody knows every other body in a professional crowd, and opinions concerning the film were clashing with hasty arrangements for impromptu tea parties in neighbouring restaurants. It was a relief to breaths fresh air, and see daylight once more. "Ah !" sighed Petrgy, erring in her turn, "this is pood. The blessed sunshine drives that horrid volcano out of one's mind !"

Linton saw Jenks and Blenkey near the exist, each taking his job rather seriously, and staring hard at the crowd pouring into the street. They were only looking for Miss Mainwarine ,and himself, but their steadfast scrutiny seemed to disconcert three men crossing th» pavement to a waiting limousine, Linton, suddenly aware that he recognis;ed tho walk of two out of the three, was tempted sorely to dash forward and thus disobey Furneaux's quite explicit orders. * Fortunately, he was saved from this unpardonable offence. The two ex-soldiers, wholly unmindful of their own definite job, exchanged glances and probably' words of fiery comprehension, but were so taken by surprise that the three men were inside the kat before they sprang at the door with a shout. Blenkey was tho nearest, and reeled back with a dagger thrust through his throat as the car leaped into movement. "Oh, what is it V wailed Peggy, who had not failed to notice the actions of her waiting escort : Linton, trying to convert his two eyes Into twenty, shielding her with his body, and holding himself tense for a spring if necessary, whispered over her shoulder:— " I think Lefevre is in that car, end he may have got away, all because those chaps did not do as they were told, and no more !" (To be continued daily.)