"MYSTERY ISLAND."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20254, 14 May 1929, Page 16

"MYSTERY ISLAND."

BY PALMER WHITE,

SYNOPSIS. Four men in the smoking room of an Auckland club, Barstow, a lawyer, Brockwood, a consulting engineer, Stoney Watson, ■Wlik manager, and Remington, who is on the club books as retired, discuss a client ivliom Barstow had successfully defended that day for the dissemination of seditious literature. Barstow says his client later thanked him. and whispered . Ihe lower oi Freedom. Remington insinuates that even in New Zealand sedition is a serious problem. That same evening Kemington tells Barstow that during the war he (Kemington) was on secret service disguised as a German otßcer, and hnd saved Barstow from faciug a firing squad. . ihe - aUe ![ now knows Remington as Captain lvrost ana realises why Remington had always seemeu so familiar. Kemington explains he is 111 New Zealand to counteract a revolutionary organisation. „ . . Mr. Remington further tells that his daughter Rita disappeared while with him in London, and that he received a noto from her saying she was trapped in Soho. but not to worry as she was suro no harm would come to her. The note ended with "Make believe." Remington took this to mean he must pretend he had given up secret service. He communicated with the head office to this effect. In a second communication Rita advised him to procure from a shop in Soho. a book entitled I lie Power of Freedom." This lio did, and became aware that the Soho shop v. a clearing house for Soviet communications. From there he followed the trail, which finally led him to Auckland where Soviet agent's are at work. He implores Barstow to join him in his work, which Barstow ngrees to do.

CHAPTER 111. MB. BARSTOW TAKES UP THE TALE. I awoke tlio next morning with the unsettled feeling which one experiences about three days from the end of a long vacation —a kind of restlessness and regret that the holiday is not longer, combined with an urgent desire to get back to work. In the clear, bright light of the morning, it was hard to realise that any trouble of the calibre of which Remington had indicated, was afoot, and harder still to realise that I was about to embark upon some strange adventure instead of settling down to my usual daily battle of brains and wits in tlio Law Courts. However, a cold bath bucked me up and I began to look forward to the change with the relish of a schoolboy to his first holiday. I had a lot to do. I had to make arrangements for the \ conduct of my side of the business while I woald be away, and that was a matter of the first importance. Remington and I had agreed the night before that for the sake of appearances I had better announce that I was taking a long holiday, and, to give colour to the statement I was to take the Niagara for Sydney. The trip would serve to keep Piemington in touch with any fresh developments at that end, and would give me a chance of judejing for myself of the state of affairs in that part of the ■world. I put in ten hectic days cleaning rip. I had to take my partner, Moorhouse, into my confidence. He would have to keep me supplied with any money I might require, as when I came back it would not be as Ronald Barstow.

Remington had all the papers and data which ho could not destroy, in a safe custody packet at the bank, upliftable only to his own order signed in front of the bank manager, and these he uplifted and let me have for two or three days to read up and get the general hang of things They made astounding reading. Naturally, Remington carried all he could in his head alone, but there was data which simply had to be put on record as- these files were to be made available to the police department when the time came for action. They contained an outline of the history of the Soviet ororgauisation? I questioned Remington, visited, but, the part which naturally interested me most'was the portion relating to iny own city. Remington had names on his list, the sight of which took my breath away. One would expect extreme labour to be weli represented at such a roll call, but here were the names of men and women in every walk of life. I rioted a lawyer, v;hbm I knew personally. A man I had always thought a decent fellow. A priest, a medical man. All names which were , well known in the city. How could they have become drawn into such a vicious organisation. I questioned Remington. He laughed and said. " Some of those people do not know that they are helping the Soviet or its agents, but they have dangerous sympathies and are being very cleverly made the unwitting tools of Russia. They are tlio kind of people who love to extol the half-baked doctrines of unbalanced foreign writers as something new and desirable, and to discredit the good old British constitution under which we live and move and have our being. They are down on my list for their own protection as much as anything, as you will see later. One or two have actually entertained angels (in the shape of the Soviet agents) unawares, and they are very definite links which have helped me in getting the strength of the Soviet work here." Remington also gave me a copy of " The Power of Freedom," which I was to learn by heart before 1 started. I packed it with a few old clothes and some tinned food in the back of my car, and ran out to my hut in the Waitakere Ranges for the week-end to clear my brain and prepare for the work before me. I am great believer in the value of solitude before a big stunt. It clears the brain and steadies ths nerves. The old Psalmist knew what he was about when lie wrote, " I will lift up mine eyes to ■the hills from whence cometli my help." I had often run out to the shack when I had a big case coming on, and I found that after a day or evening in quiet study and deliberation I could go into Court and knock spots off the barristers on the other side. Possiblv much of the success 1 had experienced in my work came from that source. At any rate, I thought so and felt that it would be a good thing at this juncture, so I drove out on the Saturday morning. I arrived at the hut at 12.30 p.m., and spent, the balance of the afternoon roaming about drinking in the cool fresh air of the mountains and collecting a little wood for the fire at night, for. despite the season, the night air was inclined to be chilly. T made a good tea of some pressed beef and new potatoes, which I boiled over the fire and after the meal sat down in an old armchair to memorise " The Power of Freedom." It was a fairly solid job. The book or pamphlet was only small, it is .true, but it comprised twelve pages of fairly small print, and must have contained at least eight thousand words. However, memorising was always my strong point, and by midnight I had nearly half of it pretty well word perfect. Sunday I spent roaming over the hills with a camera and returned in the evening raven ously hungry. By Monday afternoon J had the whole thing memorised in Tinglish and on Monday evening I began to test myself on parts of it in Russian. The result satisfied me. and. as I would have time on the trip to Sydney to brush it up. [ left it at that, knowing from experience that it is fatal in work of this kind to overtire the brain or make it stale.

I sat up late that night, thinking over the whole business. By what a queer lot of circumstances was I being drawn into the vortex •The Communist, Farneau, I bad defended in the Court who had whispered into my ear " Tho Power of Frcedon " and vanished into thin air Then * 10 mentioning of the incident at the club had brought forward Remington who ap-

THRILLING DRAMA OF LOVE AND INTRIGUE

(COPYRIGHT.)

parently wanted just something like that to happen before he approached me. Then the tell-tale list of names 011 the list in the secret package at the bank.

1 went over to the door and looked over tlio liills toward Auckland, the lights of which shone like ;i myriad stars in a mountain pool. Was Remington right'! Was it possible that working below the surface of our prosiac old Auckland, were subterranean movements' of terribly serious import, and that soon there would Hare forth deviltry of some kind with God knows what consequences. The thought sobered me and I went back in the hut and to bed feeling, perhaps a little despondent. The fresh glow of the morning however, brought back my old high spirits and I packed up with a light herb and headed the old car for home in the best of spirits. Whatever game was on foot I was committed to it, body and soul, and tlio prospect of adventure gave me a thrill I would not have thought possible to one accustomed to the more or less matter of of fact business of the law. Then there was Rita Remington. I did not want to let my mind dwell too long on thoughts of her. I had been a funny fellow where girls were concerned. I knew scores; played tennis with them, danced with them, swam with them, and yet they nover caused me a moment's thought. Lately I had begun to feel I was a member of that queer species for whom women have no attraction. Not that I had avoided their company—far from it, buj be it said to my credit, that 1 never led any girl to view me in the light of a suitor Don't think that I am taking a priggish pleasure, in saying this. I'm not. I am just stating facts. As a flirt 1 was the worst kind of frost, and the girls soon got to know it. Still, I suppose because the distant fields always look greenest, and because the unknown always fires the imigination, I must confess that I let my mind dwell on the possibility that if we did find the lach in question I might discover in her the one girl, who mattered, and about whom I would feel differently from the way in which [ regarded all other women.

I was still ruminating thereon when I drove thi car into the garage attached to the flats, and ran up to my, rooms to make myself presentable. The telephone rang as I was in the middle of a much needed shave.

Remington was on the other end of the wire.

"Great news, old man!" he said, " But 1 can't tell you over the 'phone, and I must not be seen meeting you publicly from now on, but I'll see you to-night. You know the beach at the end of Heme Bay Road ?'' I said i did.

" Well go there at eight to-night, and at the western end you will find a dinghy with ' Rosa ' in raised letters 011 the stern. There will be a couple of oars in it, too. Take thfc boat and row out till you come level with the point and whistle the first two bars of the second movement of Drdla's Souvenir. Know it?"

Fortunately I did. " You wili then be picked up by a motor-launch of which I have the use, and we will run down the harbour and yarn the thing over. It's too important to talk of anywhere where there's a chance of being overheard." 7.40 that night found me on a Heine Bay car. I didn't think it worth while to take my motor-car as Remington could drop me anywhere along the waterfront when the *" korero " was over. Arrived at the Heine Bay terminus 1 walked down to the bottom of Heme Bay Road, and sought the beach. I hact no difficulty in finding the rowing boat, which wai arawr up under the lee of a boat shed I dragged it to the water's edge shoved off and jumped in. 1 pulled out till I thought I was opposite the point. Then shipping my oars, I let the boat drift gently with the ebb tide.

It was jut on eight o'clock. So softly but clearly I whistled the air directed — the first two bars of the second movement of Drula's " Souvenir." The tune was immediately taken up by someone not far away and two minutes later Remington steered alongside a small motorlaunch. We diopped the anchor out of the dinghy, and I climbed aboard the launch. For a while Remington said nothing. He busied himself about the engine, which he let right out, then, heading the launch up the harbour, he seated himself by the tiller and commenced :

" I suppose you're wondering what I've go! for you ?" " Naturally," I leplied.

" Well, listen," he continued, " You will remember that I told you, that the man I think is one of the heads of the criminal outfit had been staying at the Palatial apparently leading a blameless existence. Well, on Saturday he was joined by a man from Sydney and he has made arrangements to go back_ by the Niagara. It looks to me as if something has gone wrong over there and that the business he was apparently waiting here to complete has somehow gone astray. Hence the hurried trip. The Niagara goes on Friday. You must go in it. There is more behind this move than meets the eys. You think it signifies nothing, but it conveys a great deal to me, for 1 am convinced that their Australian Headquarters are located in Sydney. This fellow, Brodi, lias been waiting here like Micawher for something to turn up, but with this difference that the event to turn up has in this instance been planned and now apparently something has gone adrift. I want you to see if you can get a line on them in Sydney. " The next thing is that I do not believe that any upheaval of any magnitude is being engineered here by the Soviet agents proper. I dont' think it possible. The people mentioned on the list you saw are certainly the unwitting tools of the Soviet, but most of them are, at worst, links in the line of communications, and sorno of their thouses have been the meeting-places of the Communist agents. I do not anticipate much trouble from them."

"Labour here is more or less sane. There are hot heads and extremists in the ranks, it is true, but there is no ultrainflammable material, which could be kindled into a blaze of any magnitude. There's a wonderful amount of common sense amongst the working people, and, thank God, a staunch spirit of loyalty to their country and to their employers which makes a serious upheaval if not exactly impossible, at least well down on the list of probabilities.

"Right! Assuming that we rulo out the probability of a largo labour upheaval engineered by the Soviet that leaves us with the activities of Brodi to answer for lie is not hero for nothing. I have thought the thing over from every possible angle and I am convinced of several things:—

"First: That the trouble being ongineomJ is primarily criminal. That >s to say there is some big coup planner] which is designed to put. the gang in funds in case anything untoward happens. They must prepare for the possibility of extinction at any moment, and this coup is designed to fill their coffers. "Second: That the Soviet agents arc more or less in the background this time. Instead of blazing the (rail as before they are practical!v figureheads in the qauie. They mav bo more, deeply concerned, but it is difficult to see how at the present moment. " Third: " That Brodi's trip'to Sydney is the beginning- of the big businesswhatever it is—and incidentally I believe, as I said before, that something has miscarried and that, he is going back to set things in order before the big push. The man who came over by the Niagara went back yesterday by the Ulimaroa." *Korcro: Talk. (To be continued daily.)