THE ORANGE TAXI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20640, 12 August 1930, Page 16

THE ORANGE TAXI.

BY C. D. LESLIE. (COPYRIGHT.)

SYNOPSIS. Emerging from the Minerva Club in sn apparently dazed condition, a tall, faßhlon-ably-dressed cirl ia driven to her flat in an orange-coloured taxi. The driver has to rouse her from a stupor on reaching Birkenhead Mansions and ia bidden to wait while she fetches the faro. On the nonreturn of the gir.. the taximan goes in pursuit discover* from the porter thnt per name is Miss Feo Sark, and enters her apartment. She is seated smoking, and bids him help himself from a wallet. He wonders whether she is drunk or drugged, but a keen scrutiny reveal* that she is suffering from nicotine poisoning. He. remonstrates with her, makes tea and brings her out of a eemi-trance. Then be obtains her promisu to give up smoking. • inere has been a change in the driver s tone of voice, and, attracted by the transformation, Miss Sark presses for his name. It isobvious that he is a gentleman. Smith is the name he prefers to be, known by. There is an exchange of confidences which ends in Smith being engaged as cousm and protector against fortune-hunters (Pa™cularly against one, Constantino. Smith is to adopt the role of Sir Arthur Sefton—the owner of the title being _ and little known. Arrangements are made | for a meeting at the Minerva on the mor t row, and Smith depnrts. Outside he is accosted by a police inspector and a constable, who accompany him to his taxi. Inside is the sprawling. form ° f i-,i£ws' Examination by the inspector foIl<w ; ' Strangled," be exclaims. and it. etr ■ne, young man, you know moro about this than you pretend." <!mith is called upon to give an account nf his rnovementß during the three-quarters of an Cr the taxi has been ""attended He speaks the truth up to ® £°' n | k "g infers that he is a native o Miss barks home village, and she an old *"end_ T rlviver is further interrogated by inspector Hall of the C.1.D., and is then allowed to CO home. He realises that the murder , means publicity—the last thing e r -but decides, that in his ro le of Arthur Sefton the disappearance of I IU complote. He sends a note to l<eo, and asks her to confirm his story to the police. CHAPTER ll.—(Continued). " I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss Sark, but there are a few questions I find it necessary to ask you with reference to the man found murdered in the cab that brought you from the Minerva last night." " Please sit down," she murmured, setting the example, and studying with curiosity the first authentic detectivo sho had ever seen. Detectives on the i stage, she recalled, were usually tall ! and thin, with a hectoring manner—due to ! tho fact that they were usually Amerii cans—but this one was stout, middlej aged, arid comfortable looking. Ho had ] a red complexion, and a pug nose, but his expression was kindly. He woio a ■ double-breasted blue suit of tho kind I known as a " reefer," which gave liini a nautical air. Sho could imagine him a ship's boatswain in mufti. Technically not a gentleman, he spoke correct English, and she guessed he was not easily abashed 1 . In which surmise she was right. A Scotland Yard detective fears neither man nor devil.

" You're a very wealthy young lady, Miss Sark," was his unexpected opening, " came into money last autumn ? "That is correct," she replied, briefly. " And your man of business is Mr. Oldham " Yes."

" Tho offices of the firm —there is a junior partner,'l believe—are in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Do you go there to transact your business or does your lawyer come here'?" " I generally go there. Occasionally, Mr. Oldham comes to see me. lam on friendly terms with him and his wife. They live at Eltham and I visit them. I was dining there last week." " When did you see Mr. Oldham last "At the dinner party. 1 haven't been to Lincoln's Inn Fields since. There has been nothing to take me. But what is the purport " " You were not expecting him yesterday 1" . " Certainly not." " lias he any friends in these Mansions ?" " No, I'm sure he hasn't. Why, inspector "—her voice rose in a note of alarm—" you surely aren't going " Inspector Hall nodded. " Unfortunately I am, miss. The man found murdered outside these flats last night was your lawyer, Mr. Cyril Oldham." * #• * * * The young gentleman who at one o'clock that day inquired of the Minerva hall porter if Miss Sark was in, rocogni6ed in that functionary the man who had whistled for him the night before, and given him the address of his faro, but ho had no fear of the recognition being mutual. He knew he looked not like a taximan out of uniform, but like a male relative of a member of the Club, and his knowledge was justified. The usual reply was uttered. "I'll see, sir, what name?" "Sir Arthur Sefton."

Besides employing a male porter, the Minerva recognised the existence of the masculine sex by setting a room apart for their reception by members; and another for their entertainment; but it was death, or thereabouts, for then, to penetrate beyond these two apartments. Sir Arthur, as we had better now call him, was shown into an empty reception room. Floating gossip in London—we give the rumour for what it is worth—said that members of the Minerva were not much run after by the othor sex. Almost immediately Miss Sark came to him. " Oh, then the police haven't arrested you," she began. " As you sec," he smiled. " You got my note?" In her smart morning coat and skirt and cloche hat he hardly know her. She had lost her haggard look and wore her clothes with distinction. This was a very different and more attractive young woman than the stupefied, nicotine poisoned girl he had lectured the night before. Sho answered: " Yes, Marion brought it me at nine o'clock this morning, and the police inspector was clamouring to interview me at half-past. I'd just dressed so I thought it better to see him. It was lucky I had your note I know what to say and said it." " You see, this murder, which has nothing to do with either of us," ho. began. She interrupted. " You're wrong. It does concern me. Haven't you heard who ho is?" " No." " My lawyer, dear old Mr. Oldham." "What!" he ejaculated. "Oh, this is serious. Could ho havo been coming to sec you ?" " I suppose ho was. Ho has boon several times to see me on business, but never without first ringing up to learn if I was in, and never so lato." " Look here," he said, after a moment's reflection, " we can't talk here, let's go into tho park." Miss Sark agreed. The Club reception room was certainly ill-designed for confidential talk; they went out and, passing the Ritz, entered tho Green Park, which, as it was now luncheon hour, presented an animated appearance. Children played, loungors lounged, and impecunious workers of both sexes were using it for picnic lunches. But nobody took any notice of them, and here, for tho purposo they wanted, was privacy enough. " Look here," began tho man again. " I've got to disappear. The murder is in tho papers already, and newspaper men will be hunting mo."

A SPLENDID SERIAL OF ROMANCE, LOVE AND MYSTERY.

" But why; you've nothing to do with

it." " Nothing; as no one knows better than yourself; but Fleet Street decrees that the modern newspaper crime story must be illustrated. As the murdered man was found in my cab an interview and picture of me will be regarded as imperative. For private reasons I object." " Does that mean last night's arrangements are off?" _ _ . " No," he answered. But, I repeat, it's a crazy scheme, and if you want to draw back—" " But I don't. I want you. I want you to stand between mo and Constantuie Lucas. I want you as my cousin. Sir Arthur Sefton; with that relationship, and a title, our friendship will be accepted as a matter of course. You 11 have your own rooms at the hotel. Of course you'll want money; we'll go to the bank after lunch and draw some." " Yes," he said slowly, "it entails taking your money, which puts me in an invidious position," -Miss Sark brushed his reluctance aside. " If you will start giving young women good advice, and try and reform them, you must take the consequences." He turned on her and smiled engagingly. " Well, if you put it like that—and it's all your fault. If you hadn't taken my cab and tried to avoid paying my fare, so that I had to chase you into your flat, and leave my cab, I wouldn't be involved in this murder mystery, and have to disappear. Is your name Eve?" 'No; it's Felicia. But I don't like it. Everybody calls me Eeo. And you're called Angel." "Angel?" he raised interrogative eyebrows. . "That's Arthur Sefton s nickname; so you'll have to take it." " It's lucky I'm fair," he commented. Which reminds us that the ex-taximan has not been .described. He could be succinctly set down as a blond. He suggested a Scandinavian origin for his hair was yellow, his eyes blue, and his complexion " Nordic." But there was nothing effeminate about him; he had a pugnacious cKin and a well-knit athletic figure. " Yes, isn't it," agreed his companion. " Well, that's settled then. Now let's go to lunch." " You look very different to-day," he commented, as they retraced their steps. " I feel different, another woman. Life has suddenly become exciting. For you also. Where aro you staying to avoid the police?" '• Why," he replied. " I'm homeless at present. I made a quiet exit from Argyle Street early this morning carrying a bag, which is now in the cloak room at Piccadilly station. I've abandoned half my kit. I shall find a quiet hotel this afternoon, and I should like to get out of London as quickly as possible; it will be safer."

Well, they won't look for you here," remarked. his companion as they passed into the Ritz. In the foyer she glanced about her, and bowed, saying under her breath, " this is lucky. I wanted to introduce you to Mr. Lucas as soon as possible," and with that the man in question came up.

Constantino Lucas was young, dark, handsome, with gleaming teeth and an olive complexion that suggested an Eastern origin. He was almost too welldressed, and his manners a trifle spectacular, judging by English standards. Sefton, recalling Feo's words, looked at his eyes. Black as night they were, and the glints of light reflected in the retina seemed to accentuate their darkness. But hypnotic ? Ho doubted. The men were introduced. Lucas showed surprise. " But—l did not know you had a, cousin," he said, frankly. " I understood you had no known relations; you have told me so,"

" Angel has been out of the country, and I out of touch with him for some time, but wo are very old friends; and he is coming to Fenrodp." " That will be charming," declared Lucas. Not by the flicker of an eyelid did lie betray any annoyance, and the tone of his voice was perfectly natural. Indeed the other man would have concluded that Feo had imagined all she had said of him —nervy girls imagine all sorts of things —if he" hadn't apprehended that the other resented his arrival on the scene. A sixth sense told him, subtly yet unmistakably, ihat behind the smiling black eyes smouldered an antagonism that his presence roused, and obviously Feo was the cause.

A couple of minutes the three stood there chatting, and then Lucas excused himself and crossed the room to greet a friend, and the other two walked into the restaurant.

As it was now the hour for lunch, and this was a fashionable restaurant in the height of the London season, it looked at first as if their desire to eat there would be impossible. Except for tables already engaged the restaurant was full. An apologetic undcr-manager expressed, more in dumb show than words, his despair, but it was so. Not a table. Angel would havo withheld, but Feo, with feminine obstinacy, demanded an additional table be set, and when this was apologetically denied her, exclaimed: " Those people over there aro leaving." Eight across the room a couplo seemed about to depart, and the under-manager hurried to see if they could bo accommodated. In two minutes ho was back all smiles; would madam come this* way, a tablo was available. But in that two minutes something had happened, and Angel was to regret that h"is companion hadn't accepted the maitre d'hotel's first intimation, and permitted him to take her elsewhere to lunch. While they waited Sefton's good looks attracted the attention of a lady at a near table. She was elaborately and fashionably clad, rouged, powdered, artificallj modish. Sho was not so young as she had been but, aided by her purse, her dressmaker, and her maid, was defying time with considerable success. She looked at him, stared; stared with raised eyelids, produced a long-handled lorgnette and oxamined him through them. " It is him," she muttered, betraying a certain suppressed excitement. Finally, as they began to move, Sefton had not looked her way, she summoned her waiter, and gave him a ten shilling note.

' Yon see that gontleman in the grey suit with the lady over there? Find out who he is." (To be continued daily.)