THE VALROSE MYSTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19254, 17 February 1926, Page 18

THE VALROSE MYSTERY.

BY WILLIAM LE QXIEUX.

> CHAPTER XX— (Continued.) When Pain had finished, he collected himself sufficiently to put a question or two. Did he know anything of the nature of the poison or poisons that had been used to dispatch Valrose and de Boeck, •which had nearly effected their object in his own case, those poisons which removed the victim without leaving a trace known to the professional analyst ? . " I know nothing of their ingredients or composition," was the answer. They are. obtained from a little chemist's shop in Moscow. The proprietor is a .man of vasit scientific knowledge who devotes his great talents to . the destruction of his fellow-creatureM. A fanatic, like Thurston, without remorse or scruple. It Is from him that these agents, of death procure the mixture when the sentence of death has been passed. Of- course, you caii imagine they have more than one way of despatching their victims." "Do you know anything of Signora Ma.ttelli, oiice a friend of Valrose ?" was Pearson's next question. "I have net concerned myself much with the different crook organisations; they did not interest me in the same degree as the revolutionary ones,"' was Dain's prompt answer. " But now and again I cut across them at some particular point while pursuing my more legitimate investigations. I came across Signora Mattelli a few years ago in an hotel in Rome. I have a professional eye for these gentrj r , and in spite of her elegant appearance nnd very attractive personality, or rather perhaps because of it, I at once put her down as a crook. "When, a week after she left the hotel, a jewel robbery of some magnitude took place, I was. convinced that I had diagnosed her

correctly." .. " • " ~ ~f "You knew nothing of her I suppose. I may say I have up real interest in the' question, it is Jiimply curiosity." Dam . smiled. " She was a very attractive young woman, and I must confess my suspicions did not prevent me from being rather taken with h«i:r. So much so that although tracking crooks, either "male or "female, is not much in my line, I was curious to know something about her, too. She was not known to'the Italian polite, but then I don't usually go to the police fcr my information, I have recourse to underground channels. Pursuing my usual: subterranean methods I soon learned all there,wail to be,, known about Signora Mattelli." " Did valroso speak the truth, when he told me she was married to at man of that name?" queried Pearson. ~ " Quite true, she is married, and Mattelli is one of her husband's names, he is a crook like herself. She wiis the illegitimate daughter of an Italian peasant worriah by an .Englishman. She had an uncle, her mother's brother, who. vi;as : in this line of business and making a "good thing' but of it. As th e child gave promise of growing up into a very baautiful woman, he doubtless thought she might conns in very handy for his purposes, if she wire properly trained. Hi- adopted her, paying a round sum to his srStelijj'wW was probably glad to bo relieved of her maintenance, and had her educated eufßcfeUtly to be able to play the lady. She proved herself clever and adaptable and was very useful in these high-class ; jobs/Inhere they want an elegant-looking person to «py out the.land, on the track of valuable booty. "■ ' CHAPTER XXL ' "I suppose you do not know that she has lijeen caught quite recently in London-? She | was concerned in a robbery at Wimbledou wijh the man Berton who tried; to do me in, and they have a clear case Ijagainst her." " ]no, that is news to me. I re&S, of course, o» the shooting of Berton by a colonel somebody near Pinner. Wei?, no particular credit to either the Englijtlx or the 'French police in his case. The woilm its well rid of a very dangerous' criminal, So they have caught the elegant Mattelli, have they? Thiitviis something to the good for Scotland l-fird,- . at all. events. ' ' , " It ('truck Pearson that hia friend did not entertain a Very High opinion of.'the'official gpareiians of the latw, and, jiaid as'ifcuch, Dainj shrugged his shoulder's at v ; the tuegesti(>n, but made 110. answer.- -v i*y. v " last questiop and I have <;ione.. Do you think hist wife and daughter Imqfw anything of aide life?T : Dain was & tittle time in " I should say they are quite innoii'eht.' You 'must remember Thurston is a liighdassji practitioner, none of your yijtlgar criminals. And men of that type generally "hide the truth from their family as successfully. as they conceal it from| the outside world. Well; I have spent a longer time than I thought, and must; be off now. Good-bye, old man, forgife me for the pain I must have caused you. & Scotland Yard, will learn sarly tomorrow morning all that I have iust told you. rely upon-you to keep away Irom themlfor the present. I want to play this thing; off my own bat. You can understand that, I am quite sure." He was gone alter those last wcrds. in. his usuiil abrupt way, .leaving the ycung: man alone with his*, own miserablethoughts. ; r " >" . ! ,>; It yras a long time before Pearson was able to rouge himself from the stupor Into ; which; this horrible and amazing narrative . had thrown him, and envisage the situation in all its hideous nakedness, could realize the black heart and evil lioal that vero hidden beneath the> smiling and plausible exterior of the man to whom he had become so attached, could recognize tho awful fact that Cecils, his beloved Cecilo, in whom there seemed to dwell every noble and lovable quality, whom he adored with every fibre of his being, was the daughter of a covwdly ; asgassin. r _ There rose in him an overmastering longing to confide in somebody, but in whom could he place such a,confidence ? He had no near relatives, hardly more than cine or two people whom he could call friends in the real sense of the wcrd. And to what friend or relative could he entrust a story like this, forced as Be would be to listen to their ejaculations of horror, their profound regret that he had ever become connected with such a family. Suddenly the thought of Shaddock darted across him like a ray of light. True that, on taking his departure, Dain had assumed that he would keep sileiice till there was no longer need for silence to be.maintained. As a matter of fact, he had bwi.'TC too sttin'nfid to any when the request was made to him. „ And even if he had given that promise on the spur of the moment, ha felt pretty certain that in his present agonised frame of mind he would have broken it, Shaddock Jiad followed, the Valrose Mvsterv v.ith as keen an interest as his own, and tHwTT nimming he would know all that he knew himself. He could do tO . L ' am by anticipating his statesrjA'Sff jSAi!* ,Rom tim rang up the detective. Shaddock was too busy to answer him himself and sent.a subordinate, who took in his message that he wanted to see hirri urgently, at am* time Convenient. The subordinate came .back and informed him that his superior would not have a moment to spare for the npt of the daytime. If the business were sufficiently urgent to warrant him in taking a journey to Biixton would > e v?* 3 * the evening lio his house. • Wij,h that he hmd to rest contont. After wmt that, h..would be ture to avail him«3f c'/ Sltaddock s invitation, he had to Pjiss the weary hours from now till out for Brixton, ia same injiKh

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terminable train of thought. He had not the heart to venture out to a restaurant tor a club for dinner, everybody would have .noticed his intense preoccupation. He looked at;, himself in the glass and could hardly' recognise his own face, so woefully " was its expression changed. In that brief space of time, he seemed to have aged, to have altered into a broken man.

He was thankful for one thing, it would be a little time before he saw the Thur- . stons again. He had seen Cecile and her mother' off that mormning on a visit to the Vermers, the parents of Cec.ile's school-friend, the girl who had once interrupted him when he was on the point of declaring his love. Thurston, contrary to his usual habits, was going down later in the day. They were not likely to return to London for the best part of a week. What a tender farewell she had bade him, how frankly she had expressed her, regret- at even this brief separation! If Thurston had * been left behind in London' by himself, he would have insisted in that breezy way, the recollection of w.hich now made him shudder, that he and Pearson should spend the evening together. And that would have been even greater torture than he was suffering at present. He must have made .some excuse, it would have been imopssible to face such an ordeal, to sit opposite and talk calmly about trivial things to the man who had tried to kill him. Even if the man were as callous as it was possible for a human being to be, some thought of pity for his innocent daughter might have stayed his hand. Or was his apparent love for her a part of the general pretence of his double life ? He must be destitute of all human feeling. lower than the -wild beasts. The weary hours passed at length. Shunning ohservatiop, he had sent his man out for the evening, telling him he should not require his services any more that night. He had dined on a, few biscuits which he found in the sideboard, and these he;could,hardly get down, so violent was his nausea against food in his disorganised condition. He got to Shaddock's house fairly late, so as not to- disturb the evening meal. He knew that the detective himself never retired to -bed'.till late. It was -his custom to withdraw to his own little private den about ten, and there meditate for some time over the problems which the day had brought forth. ► A maid-servant opened the door, and hearing the ring, came out in' the hall to meet him. A single glance of those keen eyes took in the evident signs of his visitor's perturbation. He could see at onea this was no ordinary visit. "You want to see me aione,, oh ?" he queried. Then pointing to the door of the room he had just quitted, "or will ! you go-.in there first?" When Pearson spoke, it seemed to both the speaker himself end his listener that his, very voice was changed. "Alone, if you don't mind. I don't feel up to company to-night." Wondering at the cause of Shaddock Jed the way up to his little den. When the;f got there, the,first thing he did was to go to the cupboard and fetch out the materials out "||f which to manufacture a stimulating drink. His visitor looked as if he required it. He placed an easy chair for Pearson, and handed him the glass. "Drink that down, old man, before you say a word. You look ghastly, as if you had received Borne terriple shock. I did not attach any particular ' meaning to your phrase of 4 urgent business,' or I would have managed to squeeze you in a few mmutos, I was frightfully busy Sll day, and everybody who rings me up uses the same phi-aste., But I see now it is really a serious matter.'*' "It could mot be more serious; I have had a shock the .effects of which will last to my "dying day," replied Pearson in a strain wl hollow voice. " This afternoon I have .found the solution of the Valxose Mystery." Self-controlled as ,h« was, Shaddock gave a start, and his eyebrows went up in his surprise. The gesture said as plainlv as words could speak that here was the' last quarter from which he would have expected the solving of the problem which had baffled him and his experienced agents so long. '. - >; •. Slowly and with many pauses'; occasioned- by "His .intense emotion, Pearson related itlie story which he had'heard'a few- hours ago ! from Dain. Shaddock listened: attentively till the young man had finished, /not interrupting him with a single question or comment. " And weishall receivo a detailed statement. efcriy to-morrow morning, will .furnish us. woofs, -.was ' his sole remark, when* the'! story, had been told. .

For a Wg time there was sileilce in the room. P&arsbn coilild see . that his friend* was thinking' hard by the expression on his face. * But' lie was evidently iu one ,of his taciturn . woods, land when these ..came oviar him,..if;;Svas. difficult to beat down the 'j guard -of,-reserve,. "And he did;notland you to secrecy in any way f ?" asked the detective presently, with one of his keen looks at his visitor. 4'^

Pearson explained exactly what had taken place upon this particular point, and Shaddock resumed nis former' taciturnity. The; young man certainly thought he would have shown more surprise at such a startling revelation. Was na secretly chagrined that the mystery of Yalroise's death had been solved without his intervention ? He had a good deal of professional touchiness, as Pearson had found out on more than one occasion. He hated the: intrusion of outsiders into his especial domain, and was "alVays ready to. attribute any success ■they met with more to luck than "judg-; "ment. It, was more than; probable -he wets bitterly jealous of what Dain had accomplished. l[To foe continued daily.)