"MYSTERY ISLAND."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20273, 5 June 1929, Page 20

"MYSTERY ISLAND."

.BY PALMER WHITE. t! .

CHAPTER XXI. WHICH TELLS HOW, IN TUB MIDST OF CHEAT TROUBLE, I FIND A GREATER JOY. " It's ' small matter what you do to mo," I said, as evenly as I .could, "but if you harm tho lady you aro keeping prisoner, then God help you, for the world will/ bo too small to hold you." My feelings must, have shown in my voice. Coming nearer and leering at mo he said. " Yon, I will kill, but tho lady, no,- sho is too beautiful to dio young. I havo ether plans for her." Tho evil' leer which accompanied these ,Words left mo in no doubt as to what these plans were likely to comprise. In that moment I saw red. The blood ' rushed to mv eyes and a flood of mad destructive hate surged into my heart. If my hands bad been free I would havo smashed them into his dark evil face. As it was, I stepped forward toward him and glared into his eyes. " You blasted cur!" I rasped, i* you! The words choked in my throat. I was gripped like a vice from behind by tho chauffeur who had been in attendance during tho wholo of this inteiview. Karnoff spoke a few words to Jiim in Russian. • . "Take him away, Serge, ho directed, " No. 2." , „ J , , So saying bo turned and walked back <ld\\n the cavern in tho directiou from which he had come, whilo my gaoler pushed mo back along tho passage in tho direction of the little dug-out. Taking mo to a small door which opened on the tunnel, bo stopped and drew tho bolt, openiug tho door slightly. I.hen to my surprise ho cut tho cords which bound my, wrists, and, with a vigorous shovo, projected mo into tho cavern. The bolt shot across, and I heard Ins footsteps dio away as ho receded along the board walk. I had changed ono prison for another, nnd my heart was heavy as lead within ine. , , The Cave was in darkness, save for a small beam of light, which filtered through a crack over the door. Coming, as I did, from the lighted machine room, I was unable to make out any object which this glimmering ray might have revealed to eyes more accustomed to tho darknessßut somehow I folt I was not alone. There camo a rustling in ono corner of tho cave —then a voice the dealest in all the world—said: " Ronald! Oh, Ron! Is it you?" There was no mistaking tho voice, and there was no mistaking the inflection in it. "Rita!" I whispered. "Oh! my own darling girl!" In another moment I was holding her in my arms, and was whispering the dear, foolish things which we all say in that glorious moment when we realise that our love is reciprocated. It seemed as if all the pent-up love of years had broken loose like a swollen dam released frojn tho. floodgates, and . was, striving to find expression in a torrent of tender woids and phrases, incoherent and jumbled, it is true, but nevertheless eminently satisfying. So did Rita and I discover a great light in thts darkness of our trouble. I cannot 'find it in me to profane the 'sacredness Of that wonderful experience by referring to it in greater detail. Those who have passed through the gateway of love will understand. Those who have not, will find consolation in the reflection that life yet holds for them a supreme and wonderful experience—the joy ot that great moment when place and time lose their shape and import in the first ecstatic glory of love requited. Truly a rap'd courtship, but the tree of love ' blooms quickly in a suitable environment, and after all there is no influence which is r/iore powerful in breaking down the bonds of convention than tho sharing of a common danger. Rita, I think, was the first to come back to earth. "Ronald," sho said softly. Now that we've found each other, we must try to find a means of escape. It would be hard to be parted now, dear, when we haye. only just come together in such a wonderful way." ' ' A lump rose in my throat, and I had to wait for a while before I could speak. God knows what awful thoughts passed through 7 my mind ere I replied, and yet when I did I spoke from my heart, for somehow there remained in me the feeling that this success of Karnoff's was only temporary, and that we should yet find some way to defeat him. " Rita." I replied. " Possibly I'm a bit unorthodox in some of my religious viey/s, but I believe that God never forsakes those who are fighting for the right. Ho won't forsake us. I've a feeling which I can't explain, but somewhere deep down in my heart is the conviction that there is a way out. Maybe we have got to discover that way, but I'm convinced as surely as I could ever be convinced of anything that we are going to win out. Let us /begin by making an examination of this place." Hand in* hand, wo groped around the walls, and between us felt every inch of the cave that we could reach. The walls were all damp earth, shored up mostly by rough planking supported by thick stakes of teatree. The roof, which I could touch by standing on my toes, seemed to havo the same iron ceiling supported by beams as the cavern in which I had recovered consciousness.

I was a little puzzled about ventilation, for the air, considering the confined space, was not at all bad. The secret seemed to bo in a small hole either side of the door, through one of which I could feel a current of air coming. Evidently the whole was properly ventilated by artificial means. The cave was about 9ft. square and was innocent of any. furniture. In one corner was a pile of rubbish, which felt like the remains of steel-bound boxes, which probably had contained machinery. Alter, feeling around the door we seated ourselves on the pile of lumber arid begat] to cast around for a possible plan of escape/

My luminous watch told mo It was eleven in the morning, and an empty feeling in my stomach told me that it was a long time since I had eaten. Rita felt the same.

1 I wonder if Karnoff proposes to starve Us?" she queried. Apparently ho did not-, for an hour later ,the bolt was withdrawn and l the door opened slightly. A large billy of tea and somo thick slices of bread were deposited on the floor and the door was closed agdin.

We both did good justice tc tho plain fare provided. Personally, I was feeling pretty well done up, and I knew Rita must bo feeling likewise. So, before all tho tea was finishe'd I took out the flask, which I had taken from Brodi and poured a little of tho brandy into the can. I made Rita drink some and finished tho rest myself. Then we sat down again on the pile of lumber, much refreshed, to think things over again. While I had been drinking the lea an idea had "occurred to mo. Feeling round tho wall again I camo across one of tho supporting stakes, which had seemed on the 4irst inspection to be loose. It took half an hour of solid toil- to work it free, but in tho finish I had it out and stood possessed of a handy piece of wood about three feet long anjl a convenient thickness. It was not an elegant weapon, but I considered that it "would do well enough for my purpose. , jj ll I "unfolded my plan to Rita. Wo °uld wait until someone came to remove us. From what Karnoff had told 100, know that they would probably e ,®® h ero :l° tho last, but someone bound to ho sent for Rita. There Vas no l >omt m telling her that aspect

THRILLING DRAMA OF] LOVE AND INTRIGUE.

( cop trig nr.)

CHAPTER XXII

unnecessarily, so I kept that possibility to myself. There would bo trouble liefore they parted mo from Rita. On that I was determined.

My plan was simple, but, I thought, possiblo of carrying into effect. Whoever came, would give notice of his coming by slipping tho bolt.. When that happened l would station myself behind the door and, as soon as ho stepped inside, fell him with my club. We should then slip into tho passage and make a bold bid for freedom.

Rita, womanlike, asked what would happen if there wore two. I had thought of this_, and considered that wo should be able to tell by tho footsteps outside tho door if there were more than one. In that case I would let the first ono get inside and Rita would endeavour to partly close the door. Then I would put No. 1 out of action, and, disguising my voice would speak to No. 2 in Russian and get him inside when I could deal with him also.

It was a plan full of " ifs " but 1 could not think of a better and so after sticking my cudgel loose in tho wall where it would bo handy, wo sat down again in tho darkness to wait.

To pass the tune and keep our nerves steady we talked of all manner of subjects. Rita told mo about her childhood and the adventures sho had had when working before with her father. Sho told nie of some remarkable things, which old Fanshawe, the man I had considered a bit mad, had done during the war. Although ho was admittedly a mystic and obviously moro than a fcriflo eccentric lie had, said Rita, accounted for more spies than any other single member of tho Secret Service. How ho did it was a mystery for ho always worked alone. Oscar Remington thought a great . deal of his extraordinary powers, which explained why ho lnid sent me to see him. lie's been right about tho 22nd. of February at any ate. I found out, to the answer to a question, which had been exercising my mind for days past. It seemed to me queer that Karnoff's instructions to his gang should havo been circulated in English. Rita explained that there were numerous reasons for this. For a start, all of Karnoff's men spoko English fairly well. They had, thought Rita, been specially picked for tho work, and moreover thero wore numerous members of tho Communist organisation in Australia who wero not Russians at all. Brodi, of courstf, was English, which explained why any memoranda ho made were in that language. Following this tho talk gradually became personal. Tho peculiar thing was that wo seemed to have known each other for years. We talked of what we'd do when we got out of this fix and finished Karnoff, and of a hundred other matters, which concerned only ourselves. At five o'clock another can of tea and some biscuits wero pushed through tho door, and afterwards wo heard men coining and going till ten o'clock. Then things quietened down and ominous silence reigned. Rita was a wonder. She never seemed to lose her nerve or let her faith in cuf final triumph. waver for a moment.. At half-past ten sho rested her head-against my shoulder as we sat and seemed to drop off to sleep. Poor girl, she must have been worn out, and no wonder, for what she had been through would havo killed some men, let alono a woman.

Perhaps I dozed too, although I did not intend to, for when I woke it was midnight, and a scratching on the door told me that one of our gaolers was outside. I shook Rita into quiet wakefulness, and, grasping my cudgel, slipped quietly over behind the rough portal. The tiino for action was at hand.

WHICH DETAILS THE ADVENTURES OP A CERTAIN MR. MAXWELL BETVEEN THE HOURS OF 3 A.M. AND MIDNIGHT.

The following account is the result of gleanings from various sources. Part I heard from Treaves the proprietor of the boarding house in the bay, and part from Millward, the fellow Maxwell roped in to help him, but the major portion of it was recounted afterwards by Maxwell himself.

Shorn of all unnecessary details it ran as follows:

It appears that when Maxwell;left me after having made such a deplorable mess of his night's duties, ho was still feeling pretty bad in spite of what I had deno to cheer him up. As he proceeded towards the wireless station, howecer, he began to get control of himself, and by the time he reached the boarding house where, the wireless plant iwas situated he had himself well in hand, and was indulging in a little mental self-castigation for having failed so badly. This feeling put him on his mettle and bucked him up wonderfully. It was a quarter to four when he knocked up the, proprietor, and gave him my note and the message to be sent over the wireless. Tho man did not believe his story at first, but he knew rne well, as I had often stayed with him, and my signature, combined with Maxwell's assurance that I would confirm it in person later in the day, satisfied him, and he dressed quickly and routed out the wireless operator. This was where Maxwell got his first set-back, and when Treaves really realised the seriousness of the position. The wireless man tried for half an hour, but could neither send nor receive anything. "There's nothing ■ wrong with my set as far as I can see," ho told the landlord, " Rut the atmosphere's just dead. 1 can't hear a single thing, and I can't make anyone hear me, either."

Maxwell knew from his own wireless experience and tho technical knowledge, which he possessed, that this could mean only one thing—that Karnoff had been sending out a ray, which would in some way deaden or jam any wireless communication within a certain radius. When he realised that there was no possibility of sending a wireless i;.ossago his mind turned to the alternative of sending a launch. It being summer there were a number in the bay, eleven to bo exact, and Maxwell roused up I lie lob one after the other, only to find that the same ray, which had rendered the wireless plant useless had apparently interfered with tho ignition systems cn tho engines, for not a single engine in sight would start.

Maxwell left the launch-owners cursing madly, and managed to get tho three yoUng fellows, who possessed tho orly sailing boat in tho bay to consent to run up in their yacht. Maxwell gave them my note to tho Police Superintendent and they started immediately, but inside half-an-hour they were back with tho story of an armed launch patrolling tho end of the island. They had been properly awed by the sight of a machine-gun and the threat, voiced in good English through a megaphone, to use it if they did not put about. Maxwell slipped up to the high ground on the point and verified their story. The launch was there all right and his spirits sank as ho realised that Karnoff had, figuratively speaking, jgot us all in a bottlo and was proceeding to insert the cork.

It was now getting on for five o'clock and Maxwell, after cautioning tho proprietor of the hostel to carry on. just as usual, repaired to the rendezvous . behind the gap in tho cliff. When fivo o'clock came and I did not appear he began to feel anxious. When, after an, hour, I still did not arrive, 110 felt definitely that somo misfortune must have befallen me, and hastened back to the boarding house in the hay. There ho found the wireless man nursing a wounded arm, in which a neat holo had been drilled by a bullet of small calibre. He, it appears, had been imbued with tho idea of lieliographing tho mainland, and, on tho rising of tho sun, had repaired to tho lop of tho nearest point on tho south-western side of the inlet. He had taken with him two mirror's and an assortment of gear .with which he hoped to make a rough

but serviceable heliograph. Ho had no sooner set the thing up when a bullet from among the pines smashed one of his mirrors to bits and a second ono damaged his ann. After that ho scuttled down the track for homo, feeling, very properly, that this was an occasion when discretion might well bo considered the better part of valour.

This happening convinced the crowd at the house that Maxwell was in dead earnest. I think, previously, that tho majority of them had been inclined to discredit his story, but this shooting affair, combined with the armed launch, and the useless stato of tho wireless, settled the matter and when Maxwell called for a muster of tho men folk in the big ballroom he got a solid response. Posting one man outside lo prevent any interruption, Maxwell explained briefly but clearly the strength of tho whole situation. Tho :expressions on tho faces of his hearers and tho remarks to which they gave vent would, ho told me, havo been amusing if tho business had not been so deadly serious. This was where Maxwell exhibited generalship which I did not, imagine bo possessed. He had thoroughly cooled down, and the responsibility of pulling or attempting to pull our irons out of tho tiro had steeled his nervo and cleared, so lo speak, his brain for action. First he decided that the Nitka, being tnoro or less indispensible to Karnoff and Co., must bo captured. This would take a fairly largo party.

Secondly, he had to rescue Rita and me, and in doing so. had to put oyer some stunt which would at tho same timp keep Karnoff busy and givo him something to think about.

After making a few inquiries of the wireless operator ho evolved tho following scheme: —

He first called for a volunteer who could handlo blasting powder. Millwaul, the man I havo mentioned as being ono of my informants in regard to this account, camo forward. Maxwell had found out from tho wireless m;tn that there was a considerable amount of blasting gear which had been left over from the operations on tho site for a septic tank. Millward examined tho stuff and vouched it all in order.

Maxwell then disclosed his plan, which was a fairly daring one. Ho had been told bv luo long ago tho exact situation of the entrance to Karnoff's dug-out. But Maxwell had a deeply rooted conviction that a wily fox like' Karnoff would not inhabit a p'laco with only ono exit. Somewhore, thought Maxwell, was another means of getting into or out of Karnoff's lair, and this ho resolved to fwid. He would wait until dark, and, taking Millward with him, they would feel their way along tho south-western ridge of hills, after which they would make r, wide detour to the east to reach tho place where they knew Karnoff's plant _ was situated. Then, instead of cutting in to get near tho entrance which was secreled ill (ho bush of which I havo previously spoken, they would carry on along the cliff top in tho long tea-tree and prospect for tho entranco which Maxwell was convinced must exist. They would take sufficient of tho blasting gear to create a considerable disturbance, and would use it as opportunity offered. So much depended upon tho correctness of Maxwell's assumption that there was ail emergency exit that ho didn't like to plan too far ahead in case bo had to change his mind in a hurry. Ho told me afterwards that he folt pretty desperate, and that if he failed to rescue us ho clidn t much care what happened to him personally.

The balance of tho men from the liouso were to bo divided into two parties. Ono, a reserve of four, to cover tho tracks of Maxwell and Millward, were to secrete themselves in the bush to tho south of tho known main entrance, while the other party was silently to approach tho Nitka in boats which would lay in tho shadowy upper reaches of tho harbour till tho signal was given. Tho signal was to be an explosion. If Maxwell succeeded in blowing anything up, then tho other party was to attempt to take tho Nitka. _lt was a hazardous undertaking, tor, owing to an Act enforcing tho registration of arms, tho island had been almost denuded of effective weapons. 'J hey managed to muster six shot guns, two sporting rifles, and a revolver of ancient vintage. For tho latter, however, they could find no ammunition, but they took it along for show purposes only. Having made theso plans, Maxwell dismissed the gathering, instructing them to carry on just as usual. They played tennis, swam, and shouted as beforo, but Maxwell told mc that a close observer would have noted tho tension under which most of the men were labouring. Maxwell himself kept well out of sight, lie spent the day going over tho blasting gear, and in other preparations, tho nature of which ho never disclosed. Personally, I think he sought out some quiet spot, and in a silent, meditative way, prepared himself for the trial which ho know awaited him. I think that lie must have realised then, as perhaps he had never realised before, what the failure of our campaign would mean, for, although ho did not know the exact details of Karnoff's plan, ho know ho was up against men who would stick at nothing, and this knowledge, combined with tho fact that liita and I had been captured, made the burden of his responsibility lay heavily upon him. lie didn't appear for lunch, but at six o'clock lie ate a hearty dinner, and, as soon as it was dark, he and Millward, after shaking hands with the others, slipped silently into tho pines behind tho house and were soon lost in the darkness. Maxwell _ carried the sporting rifle, which ho inwardly deplored because of its length. Millward was laden with a small canvas bag which contained all that was required to carry out their programme as regards blasting. They struck the top of tho ridge without mishap and worked their way along in silenco. It was slow going. At halfpast ten Maxwell estimated that they were almost opposite to the entrance to Karnon's cavern and, if his calculations were correct, probably on top of it. Ho left Millward in a clump of teatree while he set out to prospect. Threequarters of an hour passed by without his return, and Millward began to get anxious. Fivo minutes later, Maxwell returned and Millward told me that even in tho darkness he felt his companion's excitement. Maxwell took him by tho hand and they made their way cautiously along'tho cliff for about twenty yards. There was a dip in tho land hero and they went down into tho hollow without a sound. Maxwell took him into tho deepest part of the dip, then turned sharply to tlio left, and proceeded for about ten yards. Then, parting the bushes, he signed to Millward to look/ Tho moon was just corning up, and the scene on which they gazed was bathed in a soft sheen of silver. For a start Millward could see nothing out of the ordinary, but, after a time, his eyes followed Maxwell's pointed linger and he saw what Maxwell had felt sure must exist.

Five paces in front of them was the opening of a natural cave. Screening portion of tho front, was a fairly large clump of teatree which Maxwell strongly suspected had been shifted thero for that purpose. Millward could see nothing strange in that, but when his eyes became more accustomed to tho light he saw what had made Maxwell so excited. I lie clump of teatree did not entirely cover the entrance. It was sufficiently large, however, to deceive a casual observer looking at it from tho front. Maxwell and Millward were looking at it from an angle and could see between tho mouth of tho cave and tho bush which was in fiont of it. There was a dark form hunched up in the entrance. Maxwell pressed his companion's arm and pointed. A stray beam of moonlight struck through the protecting bush and lit up a bearded face and d head clothed in a, rough tweed cap. " Sentry," whispered Maxwell. " Emergency exit. Must fix him up somehow." (To bo continued daily.)