THE ONE GIRL IN A MILLION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19808, 1 December 1927, Page 20

THE ONE GIRL IN A MILLION.

BY LOUIS TRx\CY.

CHAPTER X.—(Continued.) Lawson , passed no comment. At any time he would have chuckled at fthe conceit that Knapp walking through CJgdar Hill, would attract less attention than when he was hidden in the cushioned depths of a fast-moving car. But his Bense of humour was not active juct then. He had swallcwed the pill administered by the detective, and was resolved to make the best of it. That. he should dream of winning the love of a girl like Joan was an idle phantasy, a fleeting vision born of night and the moon, and Furneaux's revelation of her prospective fortune had dispelled it ruthlessly. Already he was steeling himself against any repetition of such folly. It was highly probable that he might meet Joan many times during the next few weeks, because Knapp was bent on retaining him in Somerset until the formalities connected with the sale of Moorlands were completed, while there was the mqeeist and its developments to be considered. It was simply absurd that he should yield to an infatuation which could have only one outcome —complete disillusionment. This midsummer madness must end now and for ever. " Say," broke in the American's soft —it's melody was a personal trait ■which Lawson thought he would never get used to— 14 you're feelin kind o hipped, ain't you ? Come along an' look at the stars. There's noth ng so soothing »s the music of thu spheres. An' it's a bully fine night, too, though I've a notion the weather's on tho down grade. " Right-o!" laughed Lawson, as cheerfully as he could contrive. " Give me a lesson in astrology, Mr. Knapp. It may ipome in useful for business purposes. "Business!" repeated Knapp. "What's business got to do with tho constellations humming through space? D'ye think I ever believed that glorious Alpha Lvra was watching my deals in wood alcohol? No,'sir. I and my affairs cut less ice with that bright luminary than a mote dancing in a sunbeam with the clusters ok the Milky Way. But I a be several kinds of a plain fool u 1 didn't take advantage of the stars and -planots under whoso influence I happened to bo born. Gosh cling it. Why shouldn't-even a mote do a jig when it strikes its own pun beam ?" For some unfathomable reason Lawson •was instantly aware of a new eichor in his veins. It was ridiculous, of course, but the 'American's philosophy of lite seemed to • offer a brighter and better scheme than the morose and ( self-con-tained outlook which men like Sir Robert Manning deemed the only practicable one. If rumour did not lie the dead baronet's nature was hard and unsympathetic.. -He would have scoffed at Knapp and his horoscopes. If Knapp were poor, and tried to make a living out of his star-gazing, Manning, as a Snagistrate, would have sent,- him to prison. And quite rightly so, for a crebulous public must be saved from the absurdity of guiding its daily routine by jfiftie rising of a planet or tho setting oi the moon. "Lead on, friend! he said aloud. # Perhaps, if we're lucky, we may see 'Saturn ill-treating Uranu?, not for the first time, I fancy." For all that he had a most instructive fcour at the telescope. Knapp really understood the chart of the heavens. On that occasion, at any rate, he was a scientist; not. a charlatan. Nevertheless, walking back along the terrace, he shook : "hiss fist playfully at Saturn! ■v Next morning at Ilverton Lawson saw another side of the man. After a good deal of. professional sparring the contents of,the hall and the live and dead stock "On the estate were estimated at £15,000. Knapp sat at a table and wrote a cheque f;: for £12,000. - "That's my price, friends," he said. " Take it or leave it. There's a heap of old junk in the house, anyway. If I could please myself I'd, scrap the lot and buy nice,- clean, new furniture an" bright rugs, but Mr. Lawson seems to like some <sf the period stuff, an' I'd hate to cross him, so there's my final bid. What (about it ?" There, were frenzied protests, of course; fifteen minutes later Lawson placed the receipt in his despatch-case. At luncheon th? American was handed » note by the head waiter. It ran: — " Send in vour names to Mr. Hornby, C.K.F"

"Queer thing!" he commented. "That little man can talk the hind leg off .1 dofr, but he don't waste any ink, does he 1?" ■ ' "It is surprising that he wrote at all," _ said Lawson. " I am 9uro the average representative of Scotland Yard would not be so outspoken. He tells us everything, it would appear—sometimes even " more than we want to know." " I don't quite get that." VNo ? Forgive me ! It was an idle yv jibe at life in general." Fortunately for Lawson's sake, because his bitter comment was a slip, they were joined by Mr. North, who, of course, had been present at the earlier gathering. He was voluble in praise of Mr. Knapp's way of dealing with his professional and their lawyers, but had little to say when asked how public opinion Wjis vearing in regard to the Cedar Park affair. ■" You want me to speak my mind, f know," he said seriously. "There can . be no doubt that Ilverton is dead against Miss Joan. I'm dashed if I know why. But—there it is: I'm told she has left the Court, arid I haven't heard where has gone—don't want to hear, in fact. I am hoping that the adjourned inquest will clear the air a bit. Her lawyer should put some leading questions, ....and get her to explain mora convincingly why she took her brother off in such a frantic hurry last Wednesday night, and tried to avoid being seen. That's what sticks in people's gizzards. Why such ; .secrecy on her part ? Of course, I shouldn't be discussing the case at all. but with you two gentlemen it's different, ' Knatpp seemed to wait for Lawson to reply, but that young man remained \ obstinately dumb He was literally afraid ■'J* to talk of Joan c.b all. His was not the -J temperament that permits a man to smile, and smile, arid be a villain. If he - 'struck out in her defence he would be altogether too aggressive, which might ' . do her harm. ■So the American answered : V You, Mr. North, as foreman of the " jUry know quite well that the young lady spoke up fine at the inquest. What you mean, I take it, is that the points you raise should be hammered home. 'I -Well, perhaps you're right. There's nothing more variable than the collective view of a community, especially when it's unanimous. Sometimes a crowd can be stayed by any old gas-bag standing op a soap-box at a street corner, an' next day, at the same time an' place, they wouldn't listen to of the Apostles. North laughed uneasily. He was a ! gx>d citizen, and wanted to do his duty without fear or favour, yet he could not . afford to quarrel with a client like Knapp. " I agree with you entirely," he said. '*l am going as far as I dare when I say that Miss Joan's friends will bo well advised if they recognise; public prejudice in this matter. Why not cater to it, if I may use tho phrase?" -"But do people still think Anthony Burke killed his uncle?" The estate agent hesitated. He affected to look around for a waiter, and made sure that none of his fellowtownsmen' was listening, for the Black i Bull *-was a popular rendezvous at Juncheon time.

FASCINATING STORY BY A LEADING WRITER.

(COPSniGUT.)

" I really ought not to express an opinion one way or the other," he said, " but, you can take it from me, Mr. Knapp—there will be no other verdict by an Ilverton jury unless some convincing evidence to the contrary is produced next Friday." " I've a hunch that you Ilverton folk are in for a nasty jar, 'Mr. North. . . . Well, well. Must you be off ?" for North wa3 greeted by an acquaintance and seized the opportunity to escape. " Come and see us when all this worry is over. I want you, to give me a few pointers about Devon cattle. They seem to fit in with the landscape round here." " Don't you worry," he added, beaming benignantly at Lawson. " That lad knows where he gets off. He'll be strong for Joan on Friday." " But he was trying to tell us that this precious jury is inclined to regard Miss Burke as an accessory after the fact —a grave indictment in a murder case," growled Lawson. " Listen to me. young fellow," said Knapp earnestly. " Ain't that steak an' kidney pie good ?" " Yes." " Eat it, then. You stand on me. North, an' his jury, an' that old crabapple; Matthews, will fade right out of the picture when Furneaux gets busy. Besides, there'll be hell to pay to-night. If we've nothing better to do we'll drop in on North to-morrow, an' you'll hear him pipe a different tun«." The main road to Cedar Hill was black with people going to, the churchyard. Every kind of vehicle was in use, while hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women walked. No one could have forbeen the size of the gathering. Superintendent Grainger had collected some fifty policemen from various parts of the county, thinking, reasonably enough, that such a force could maintain order and keep open the approaches to the village. In the result, it was lamentably insufficient. The polico managed to clear a way for the funeral procession from the Court, but the hearse bringing poor Anthony Burke's body from Ilminster took fully two hours in covering a distance for which one quarter of the time would have sufficed in ordinary conditions. Knapp and Lawson. after crawling four miles, elected to send the car to tho Hall by a side road, and mingled with the crowd for the remainder of the way. Tho interment of Sir Robert had actually begun. before they caught sight of the church tower. There was an almost dangerous press of sightseers in the village street. All sorts of rumours were rife. Mrs. Burke had fainted. Miss Joan was at the grave-side, " follerin' her brother, bold as brass," as one woman put it, so she evidently did not even know that both bodies were to be interred in the same vault, while tho Ilminster cortege was still a mile away. At three o'clock it seemed to be literally impossible for aught tavp a tank to plough through the mob, but » dozen mounted policeman prancing along later and caused a panic. People overflowed into gardens and sought refuge in the houses, greatly to the of tho lawful occupants. Ultimately, some minutes after four, the Ilminster hearse reached the church gate. It was followed by a limousine containing two veiled women and a man. A hostile demonstration was just beginning when the man leaned out and said loudlv:—

" This is Mrs. Anthonv Burke and her | aunt, Miss Benacre. Will yon who are I nearest tell others, so that Mrs. Burke I can follow her husband's remains in ■ peace.'" The appeal was successful. There were murmurs of sympathy. It was impossible to doubt that the sequel must have been a very different one if Joan were seated in that car. "Let's get out or this!" murmured Knapp to Lawson, since they happened to witness the incident. " T guess we can reach the Court by a detour, if that's the house up there among: the trees. And now's our only" chance, bov. When this crowd leaves the church it's not goin* home in a hurry, or I've never seen the I makin's of a riotous mob before!" CHAPTER XT. THE STORM BREAKS. A half-crown proffered ,to a village youth secured an efficient guide. He led them through orchards and paddocks to a cart-road which soon curved toward the stables and cattle-sheds of Cedar Park. A locked gate did not stay them, but a stableman came running and shouted angrily that entrance to the house and grounds was absolutely forbidden. Another half-crown persuaded him to consult a policeman on duty behind the barred and bolted entrance to the quadrangle. Explanations followed. This man, greatly doubting, bade the stableman ring at the main door and see if the gentlemen were really to be admitted. Luckily, Mr. Hornby was not far away. He welcomed thorn warmly enough, but did not attempt to hide his anxiety. " Nover, in all my experience," he said gravely, " have I seen such a crowd in this part of Somerset. And its aspect is most sulle:n and threatening. I have sent an urgent message to Grainger that he should concentrate all his men in the neighbourhood of the house and let the mob disperse as best it can. You see, Miss Burke has not arrived, and she is considerably over-due." " Why is she coming at all ? " demanded Knapp. " And, if she has to be here because of some legal tomfoolery, why didn't she make the trip hours ago when the roads were empty ? " Hornby was too agitated to resent this somewhat drastic criticism of Joan's counsellors. " Who could have foreseen so much excitement and hostile feeling ? " he protested. "We English are law-abiding folk. Mr Knapp, and this country in particular has always been noted for its good behaviour when political passions are let loose during a parliamentary election. But the murder of Sir Robert and the death of his nephew seem to have brought an evil spirit among our people. Why cannot they be content that the law should take its course ? There can ba no other outcome. Why, then, this hostility to Joan, for that is what it all amounts to ? " The American might have answered, but Lawson struck in with a savage directness which almost startled the other men. Will Miss Burke be escorted here by ( the Rector of Yare ?" he said. " Yes. That is the arrangement." ■" which road will she come?" " The direct way is through Ilverton, but we advised a more circuitous route, by a side road which skirts two sides of the park." "Is anv guard stationed there?" "No It was not thought necessary, except at the corner near the Court, where there are a few policemen. Soon there should bo a score or more available." They were talking in the spacious entrance hall Lawson glared fiercely at a number of servants clustered near the door which led, he guessed, to the kitchen and other offices, because Soames stood there, keeping his cohort in order. Without another word to Hornby or Knapp he strodp rapidly toward the j groun, and. ignoring the women, scowled at the men He picked on one whoso square shoulder" and erect carriage be-, spokf an ex-soldier " You are well acquainted with the estate ? " " Ves. sir," came the surprised answer. "There must be a path through the woods leading to the road on the other side of the park 7 " ' sorting from the orchard gate." " Very well Take me there at once." " But, sir—" " J understand. You have been told to remain hero, but it will not waste more than a minute or two of your time to point out the way. Then" you cfln l'eturn." (To bo continued daily.)