THE EARNEST PRINCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20474, 28 January 1930, Page 18

THE EARNEST PRINCE.

BY ERIC LEACROFT.

CHAPTER Xll,—(Continued.) " There's one thing about it," said IBetty, thoughtfully. "If we can't get out "they can't get in. Look! They've left •us the bolt on the inside. Mr. King gave her an approving nod. " See; that window ?" he asked. "It looks on the Victoria Embankment, which isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but it's a pretty street. In three minutes I could, gather a crowd under this window that would hold up all the theatre "traffic, and set the police tumbling over one another to get into this old inn and find out what it's all about. But those three minutes might be awkward for us. It wants thinking out, and I do my best thinking when I'm not liable to be disturbed. I guess they made a mistake >vhen they forgot that bolt." He moved toward the door, but at the eame moment the door opened and a man entered swiftly. In an instant the American's hands were at his throat, forcing him to his knees. But he met 110 .resistance, and a moment later lie sprang back, staring down at the dishevelled form, of Andre, the distinguished floor waiter, who crouched on the carpet, looking up at iiim with startled eyes.

" Don't move." said Egbert roughly. "I prefer you like you are. Stay there and answer my question."

The waiter made no movement. " First of all, what part are you playing in this game ?" The waiter did not reply. The other made a threatening movement.

"T can't make you speak," he said, *' but if you don't 1 shall pick you up and throw you out of the window." And, in spite of his age and-hie slight build, it was clear that the millionaire meant what he said. But the cool tones of the younger lady gave him pause. "Be good enough not to touch him, sir. I have said that he is my friend." " I heard you," agreed King Egbert grimly. " But he's got to speak for himself."/;

The princess paused for a moment. Then she turned to the waiter. "You may speak," she said; and the waiter bowed as deeply as a man can tow who is already on his knees. " Who are you working for ?" demanded the 'Americaa. , " i'or my mistress." " And who is your mistress." The Waiter bowed toward the princess, <who smiled graciously in acknowledgment. " You've got another guess coming, said the y little man. " You're working for The waiter .rose to. his feet, and looked 'into the other's eyes with a faint smile. "My princess comes first," he said, coolly. ' • , , , P i i King Egbert returned look for look, and shrtigged his shoulders. " You win," he said. ' She does—though I'm darned if I know why. el! > my lord, I guess you'd better tell me what I'm to do. ' . The waiter smiled again, and took quiet command of the situation. He had locked the door, he said, for fear that Mr. King might act hurriedly and raise a ™ ™ crv They must act silently and swiftly. He produced two revolvers and banded one to tne millionaire. " For a moment, he said, Iha e nut them off tho scent. It cannot be for Jong. They know that the princess is here, f have a car waiting be ow, driven by a friend. We. must take the princess to it by a difficult way. I will go ahead, aud you will guard her from behind. We musu hurry." . . , King Egbert was a man of quick de- " That, goes with me," he said, quietly. f.'Lead on, Andre." ... .. ... The-waiter glided into the corridor with the two ladies hard*on his heels. Ihe millionaire followed. Instead of passing the door ol the princess suite they turned sharpb through a passage that took them on to a leaded roof whence an ironrunged ladder dropped plump into a kind of well /in the heart of the great building. >sctty peeped over the edge and recoiled, but the princess" nodded at her witn a reassuring 'smile.- „ "Imagine that we are in my mountains, she said', and dropped • calmly over the | edge, following her guide. The descent seemed .endless.; Once the princess gave a little cry. and they all stopped for. a full minute until she said : <c I was giddy, but it is over. Let us They set foot at last in a courtyard j piled high with empty packing cases. Then came a tortuous succession of passages, storerooms and kitchens. Now and then a servant stood aside, round eyed, to let them pass. Once, a man in a white apron and a chef's cap stepped forward to bar their way, but at a whispered ■word from their guide lie gave them passage. At last they emerged through a narrow door on to one of the obscure streets that run fiom the Strand to the Embankment. A car was waiting for them. The two girls entered it without a word, and it slid off down the hill. The American looked Tound for Andre. He had vanished as silently as the car. " And/now," announced King Egbert to the deserted alley, " 1 guess I can go to 81 In three minutes he had reached his Toom by the normal route. He poured another glass of brandy and lit a fresh cigar. He did not notice the stealthy opening of his bedroom door nor hear the intruder's footfall on the deep carpet. He did not know that Andre, in his zeal for'the safety of his mistress, had omitted to- provide for the safety of her protector. He did not know that lie had served her at the price of his life.

CHAPTER XIII. There was nothing to show that the [Milan had been the scene of an outrage that would have its repercussions in two continents. There was the usual crowd of wclb dressed and leisurely folk in" tho lobby, the famous orchestra was playing to early lunchcrs in the equally famous grill room, and the well oiled machine of service was running as smoothly as ever. But a policeman accosted the young men at the door of Mr. King's suite and enquired their business. At. a word from Winfrey they were admitted. " Mr. Tully's in there now," snjd tho man.

A slim grey haired man came forward as they entered and, after glancing at Hilary, introduced himself to Winfrey. " Tully, of Scotland Yard," he explained. " I'm /in charge of this affair. You're the nephew ? Quite so. I shall have to ask you a few questions." " I guess it's my turn first," said the young American. "What kind of police is it that can't protect its visitors from thugs and robbers? Hay, you'll have to answer for this. Where is ho?" The detective motioned to the inner *oom. Winfrey went in. Ho remained for. no more than a minute. When he came hack ho seemed a changed man. His agitation had left him, his mouth was set in' a grim line. He walked up to the detective and held out his hand. " I spoke hastily," he said. " I quite realise iliafc my undo wasn't under your protection. And I guess this wasn't an ordinary robbery." The detective agreed. *'lt wasn't n robbery at all," he defchred. "So far as I can see nothing ams beep touched. Mr. King had a con•iperafclo sum of money in his wallet and

A ROMANCE OF LOVE, CRIME AND MYSTERY.

(COPiniGMT.)

he was still wearing a gold watch and two valuable rings. No, there .must have been another motive. That is where I need your help. You see we're quite in the dark as td your uncle's personal affairs." . " I'll tell you all I know," Winfrey promised. " But I'm afraid it isn t going to help you. But I'm going to find the man who did this if it takes me the rest of my life.'* Mr. Tully s questions were few, but much to the point. The answers threw no light on the millionaire's death. The old gentleman had been stabbed between the shoulders. The murder had not been discovered until ten o'clock that morning, ' when it was noticed.that the waiter who was exclusively attached to Mr. King s suite was missing from the hotel. Another servant had been sent up to the suite and had found ,him dead in his chair. The doctor who had examined the body believed that ho had been dead at least eight hours. There was no sign_ of a struggle. The description of the missing waiter had been circulated all over the country and a watch was being kept at the ports. Mr. Tully had high hopes of the man being brought back in the course of the day. "It wasn't lie," said Winfrey decidedly. The detective looked at him shrewdly. " Oh, I know it'll look black against him," the young man went on. " For one thing,he was the only man beside my uncle and me who had a key to the suite. But I guess I can size a man up well enough to know that. Andre didn't have anything to do with this thing. He isn't the type." "That remains to be seen," said Mr. Tully grimly, "when we catch him. If he wasn't mixed up in it, why did he run away ?*' The question was unanswerable. Winfrey confessed that the man's disappearance was not at all "in conformity with the opinion that he had formed of his character. " I took to the fellow," he confessed. "He wasn't an ordinary type. A darned good waiter, but I had the impression that he was better than his job. You'll say that tells against him, and you may be right. All I can say is that this Andre wasn't just a low-down dago. He' struck me as a white man and a fine fellow. If I'm wrong—" Winfrey's eyes grew sterner and lie clenched his fists "If you're wrong," said Mr. Tully quietly, "you can t safely leave him to us. Anyway, he'll have to account for his movements when we catch him. And just as a matter of form, Mr. King, I'll just make a note of the place where you spent the night. I take it for granted that you didn't come back here." Winfrey stared, then smiled. " I guess you'j-e right," he said. " Andre isn t the only man who wasn't in his accustomed place this morning. Well, Mr. Inspector, I spent the first part of the evening at your Royal Opera House. And 1 spent the rest of the night outside a house on the edge of Putney Heath. But I guess that isn't altogether my secret." He glanced at Hilary. " Shall I tell him ?." Hilary's heart beat faster. Mr. Tully was looking at him with a new interest. It-had not occurred to him that a side wind on this affair of the millionaire's death might biing his own movements within the ken of Scotland Yard. But he nodded quickly. " Of course you must," he agreed. Winfrey gave an account of his journalistic enterprise of the night before, leading to his vigil at the Putney villa, s The house, he said,' was called" Fairlawn," and he described its situation with some exactness. He added that he had succeeded in intei-viewing . the distinguished victim of the outrage at Covent Garden and had then come away. He did not say a word to .connect Hilary with the affair. The young man could have embraced him for it. The detective made a note of his story. To Hilary's relief lie made no sign of regarding it as unusual or lacking in frankness. The Covent Garden affair, he said was in other hands than his. The Yard ! was looking after it, all right, but he didn't know any details. It was obvious that he could not spare any interest from the case in hand. He went on to question Winfrey about the dead man's affairs. " Had. he any enemies ?." , Winfrey shook his head. #He was the kindest man in the world. I-suppose nobody can reach such a position as his without making enemies of a sort. But his whole life had been open, the life of a frank and generous gentleman." Winfrey was confident that there was no skeleton _ in the cupboard, no hidden episode in the life that had come to such a tragic end, the- detective reflected. " But on the face of it," he said, " it looks like a crime of vengeance." Winfrey agreed. He added quietly that he meant, to see to it that it was avenged. Mr. Tully shook his head. " There isn't going to be any vendetta about this," he said quietly. " You must leave this to the police, Mr. King, and to the law of England." "There's a higher law than that," said the young American soberly. Mr. Tully looked puzzled for a moment, but changed the subject. He gave them a glimpse of his working theory. ' It amounted to this. He did not share Winfrey's confidence in the character of the man Andre.. The waiter's disappearance was damning. On the other hand, there was no reason to suppose Andrs had a personal account to settle with the murdered man. If the crime was a crime' of vengance, the reason was to be sought in Mr. King's great wealth. In other words, Mr. Tully believed the murder io be an anarchist outrage. The affair at Covent Garden showed that the enemies of society were still active in spite of Scotland Yard's relentless warfare against their organisations. Like all foreigners, the man Andre was registered with the police and his record would soon show whether there was any reason to associate im with the anarchist underworld. Even if it didn't—- " Well," said Mr. Tully hopefully, "we don't pretend to know them all. It may bo that wo shall uncover a new nest of them. I shouldn't wonder"—his glance wandered to Hilary, but it looked guileless enough—"l shouldn't wonder, if this murdsr and the shooting at Covent Garden aren't part of an organised demonstration by these vermin. There may he more violence before the day's out. Well, we're ready to take up the challenge." Winfrey brushed these speculations aside. " All that, matters," he said quietly. " is to find the man who killed my uncle. I take it you've examined the room thoroughly ? " < \ j ' Every inch," said the'detective, " of every room. I've spent three sojid hours here this morning, and I don't fancy I've missed anything bigger than a pin's head. Net result, nothing. I'm afraid wo shan't any further until we catch that waiter. I don't think we shall have to wait very lone."

On this hopeful note Mr. Tully took his leave, promising to let Winfrey know at ">nce of any promising development. Th( young American threw himself inlp a chair, staring at the ceiling, and it was some, minutes before Hilary summoned con race to speak to him. ] " leave you." ho ventured at last. Winfrey came back to earth with a start. My dear fellow, I hone you won't, lou promised to lunch with rn'e, and I'm romg to hold you to your promise. I'd like you to stay." (To be continued daily.)