THE ORANGE TAXI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20650, 23 August 1930, Page 16 (Supplement)

THE ORANGE TAXI.

BY C. D. LESLIE.

SPLENDID SERIAL OF ROMANCE, LOVE AND MYSTERY.

CHAPTER IX.—(Continued). Ho puzzled Feo also. When she expressed contrition for having misled him | pvor the. real Sir Arthur, he brushed her apologies aside. " You were misled, too, and thero's no harm done, |hanks to the sporting way Miss Howells has behaved. Though, of course, we owo 'her attitude to the fact that sho regretted her engagement and wanted to break it off. Tho episode is closed." " But it isn't, * Angel.' It seems this engagement was published in Talk, an important New York social weekly, circulating in this country. It s too risky for you to call yourself Sir Arthur Sefton any longer. "Oh cried Feo, I "how annoying it is! but you must go away —for your own sake. It will utterly spoil my stay here, but it can't ,l)o helped." '• I'm not going; it's long odds against anyone reading tho paragraph in Talk, who is aware there is a Sir Arthur {Sefton staying at Penrode." "But, 'Angel,' it's mad!" The young man smiled at her I vehemence. " Anyway, it's only for a few days more, because my sister is returning to England. I shall remain here till sho comes. II " The sister you mentioned the night ,wo met, tho married sister whoso husband may bo ablo to help you to find 6 job?" " The same." Y "I wonder," said Feo, inconsequently, »' what she'll think of me—but, of course," she added, "we shan't meet. 1 shall keep out of her way, and, of course, you won't tell her about this i * stunt' as Miss Howells called it." " Why shouldn't I tell her? I'm not hshamed of anything I've dpne, except taking your money. I shall repay that back one day." 1 "That isn't treating me lilto a pal," she said, and there was a quaver in her voice. Smith suddenly felt self-con-scious and looked away. Ho changed tho subject abruptly. " Look, there's the lethargic .Lucas returning from a stroll." .... : " • .

" Thank you, sir. Sir Bertram Falls, the sub-commissioner, would like to see you at his office at ten o'clock to-morrow with reference to the Oldham case; Can you make it convenient to travel to London with me by the night train ? ' Lucas frowned slightly, and his forehead wrinkled as he sat a moment silent; he was utterly surprised. Presently his faco cleared, "1 take it, Inspector, you are asking me to make a virtue of a necessity? ' . , . " You may put it that way, sir; please understand you are merely invited to undergo an Interrogation; but the interview must be held at the time and place mentioned." The Inspector, who had studied tho papera of the Oldham case at headquarters, was prepared for an attempt on his companion's part—it wouldn't bo etiquette to call him prisonor—to escape. Throughout the journey he watched him like a cat and mouse.. But Lucas seemed unperturbed; he slept calmly in the train, and only uttered a mild protest at the presenco of the Scotland Yard man in his room when ho washed and shaved and changed his clothes preparatory to the interview. With an audible sign of relief, the escort brought him to the embank ment, and handed him over to Inspector Hall, who greoted him politely. " It's very unfortunato you were so far from town, Mr. Lucas, but the case has taken a new turn, and your presence is necessary." " My friend," answered Lucas, ' I reply, with the utmost respect. for Scotland Yard, damn tho caso! I am not /nvolved in it. You are barking up the wrong tree." . tl Nor did he loso his calm in Sir Bertram's presence when confronted with a copy of Mr. Oldham's letter, warnitng him that an accusation of blackmail would bo brought against him if ho endeavoured to extract more money from a certain client of the lawyer. _ ■ " Haven't I obeyed it? In spite of the fact that a perfectly wrong interpretation lias been placed—" v " Wo are not going into that particular piece of rascality, Mr. Lucas. This is evidence of what Mr. Oldhain thought about you. Moreover, you were seen in his company at 11.15 in the vicinity of Birkenhead Mansions—" "It is absolutely false,' declared Lucas. " Who says it?" "An itinerant hawker: not a firstclass witness, I admit, but then your alibi rests on the word of unreliable persons." ~ " Four most respectable men—"Oh! no, pardon me, Mr. Lucas, I disagree. First the proprietor of the club A clever rogue or he would have been in prison ere now, but a rogue. Ihen the waiter —I wouldn't hang a cur on his evidence. Two members whoso histories are recorded . . where are those papers, Hall? It doesn t matter. The long and the short of it is that, unless you can produce better evidenco of your presence elsewhere; you aro under arrest for the murder of Mr. Oldham. I have the warrant here." _ The speaker paused —"Have you anything to say?" " Yes," said Lucas sadly. " I have another witness. I would have preferred to keep her out of it. My companion during my brief visit to the club that night was Mrs. Daws." _ . . , " Do you mean the Cabinet Minister's wife ?" Lucas nodded.

Feo glanced absently at tho far off but discernible figure of Lucas. " I'm going in,'»" she said an a listless voice—they were 'statjding on, the terrace—and // began to walk toward the hoteL Arthur followed her. , . " Feo, you're not cross with me ?" She turned on him." " Yes, I am," ehe said, but some power outside herself made her smile as she answered him. She wanted to be. angry with him, but >vhen he spoke like that she couldn't. / " And you're quite right," he told her, " it's vulgar - of. me to take your money and grouse about it to you. It's .worse —it's caddish." I 1 It was at this moment that Jerry's voice shouting " Sefton,"' which heralded his joining them, cut short their tete-a-tete, and Feo, on reflection, was rather glad; she was just about to say something so flattering to her / companion that it probably would h^ve embarrassed both of them. , Lucas arrived on tho terrace shortly : after their departure. He had been to Pollot, a small fishing hamlet two miles off, and he had walked there and back .jj along the beach, because he had an appointment and wished to keep it as unostentatiously as possible. The gentleman he had to meet was a Frenchman, an agent, he told tho world, for a firm of 'champagne produoers. It apparently, a good ' job, for he possessed a petrol-driven yacht, "La Belle Heloise," arid spent /most of the summer yachting. But truth to tell, tho champagne firm was a blind. Monsieur Prenge was really connected with a firm of silk merchants in Lyons, and was employed in smng- . gling their goods into this country. ' A very .modern smuggler was Monsieur , Prenge, Rvith none of the picturesquei/ mess and romance of the old-time smugglers who flourished when George , 111., was king. He did not wear a red v cap or carry a cutlass, and two heavy pistols stuck in his belt. He dressed like a yachtsman, and his most deadly \lj ,weapon was a petrol lighter. Smuggling to-day is .an instance of the revival of a dead industry, thanks to the Government; their action practically h amounts to a subsidy on it. ... ' Right up to the date of the Great "War there, was no smuggling, because there was no profit in the frame: and there was an efficient coast guard service. After the war the Government abolished the coast guards, and put a U tax on foreign silk goods, practically inviting those people who liked to earn illegitimate profits to take up smuggling. And among those who adopted the pro- / fession was Monsieur Prenge. Constantino had experienced some trouble in getting in touch with the Frenchman. Law breakers are perforce • J suspicious folk. But Lucas was able through third parties to convince tho / ether that he, too, made a - living in defiance of the law, and was, therefore, paradoxically, to be trusted. Finally ! this meeting had been arranged. After an exchange of compliments and cigarettes, Prenge asked what he could do for his new acquaintance. Did Mr. Lucas want to invest money in the business, or give an order for silk ? j " Neither. I only want a passage to France for two friends of mine." < . " Ah! the passport difficulty? But this is easy. It can be arranged. Two? A tenner will cover all expenses." / Prenge spoke excellent English, and especially prided himself in his handling j of the English idiom; during the war he had been a liaison officer and known many British messes. j "I offer a hundred pounds a-piece." h "A hundred! But this is a knock in the eye! My dear friend, I would like to N carry over the whole population of this \ island at that rate. There must be a black man, no, a negro 011 the wall; n'est cc pas ?" " Well," explained Lucas, " my friends >j don't know they're going. It will bo a little surprise for them." "Ah! It makes clearer. It is a lamb—no, a kidnapping stunt that you propose. And the purport ? I do not go into this / .with shut eyes." "I speak in confidence?" . "Monsieur, I am a man of honour!" " I am seeking in marriage the hand of f » certain young lady. One of the passengers I offer you is my rival. I want ■ him out of the way." " And the other passenger?" " Ts a lady who would like to marry / him. 1 trust to make tho lady I desire, think they have gone away fo get married. If you keep your passengers twenty-four / hours 011 board, landing them 011 the coast of Brittany, that will give me sufficient tune for my purpose. That is all I ask of you." " Rely on me, my friend. But pardon me, money in advance. One hundred / pounds now, and the other when they are in tho boat. And now, as to time arid place I sail for France to-night, . but I will he back in three days, and hope to have a cargo unloaded ere dawn. Then I shall he ready for you." "Wo shall have to wait till nightfall; say in' >e-thirty And the place; tho Bishop's. Pillar. You know it?" There was some more discussion, and they parted witli mutual expressions of good-will Lucas returned to tho hotel well pleased. It would ho necessary to go to London on the morrow he decided; but he went even earlier. He noticed at dinner that night a newcomer who vaguely suggested Scotland !j £ nr d- _ Doubtless the police were still harrowing Feo Sark. Lucas rather regretted that; he wanted her left alone or his plans would be knocked on the head. : As he was drinking his coffee, the stranger f.' approached him. Consta ntine Lucas. I believe?" i"f M ■ Mim

CHAPTER X. A PLAN . THAT WENT WRONG. Sir Bertram threw himself back in his chair and stared at the speaker with the gloomy fatality of an angler regarding his tackle when the fish has escaped. "Will the lady affirm that?" " Yes, Sir Bertram." The elderly, and serious Mr. Daws, the politician, had lately shocked his many admirers —he had been a widower for some years—by marrying a young wife more renowned for her beauty and frivolity than more sterling qualities. She was nothing worse than frivolous, but carried her irresponsibility to extravagant lengths; consorted with men of doubtful reputation, like Lucas, and frequented dancing halls in their company in defiance of her husband's protests. The sub-commissioner turned to Inspector Hall. "Go and see the lady; verify this story. Mr. Lucas, if you will return to your rooms and stay there till the inspector communicates with you, I will not detain you. Good morning." But Lucas was not allowed to depart alone. In the hall downstairs a dark young man in plain clothes, whose acquaintance we havo already made, introduced himself to the departing visitor. "I'm to go to your rooms with you, sir, and stay there till I hear from Inspector Hall. Would you like a taxi ?" ."You-won't mind my coming inside, sir?" asked tho man when the cab arrived.

" Delighted to have your company, sergeant." " I'm only a constable, sir, and likely to remain one, for some time. I fell down over an important assignment tho other day." And the young man related how, set to shadow Alice Pennant, he had picked up Smith only to lose him in tho Corner House, " so if I were to lose you, sir—" he' ingenuously concluded. Retaining his affable pose Lucas only smiled. "Innocent men don't try and run away," he told him, and went on, " then you've been given a second chance of plain-clothes work ?" " Yes, sir, because I. secured a snapshot of Smith in the restaurant. I was carrying a pocket camera with a telescopic lens and got quite a fair picture. You see, the trouble was we had no photograph of Smith, only a description. Tho photographic department have printed a number of these and are circulating them." " Have you one ?" The young constable produced from his pocket-book a snapshot which he passed over to Lucas who looked at it idly, then with more interest, finally with an intense scrutiny; something in the expression struck a chord of memory. ( He'd seen someone who looked like that quito lately, at the Royal surely ?—it was likelike—Arthur Sefton ? He glanced up with hardly repressed eagerness. " What was the date you took this?" What was tho date Arthur Sefton had gone to town on business, Wednesday, wasn't it ? " Wednesday night, sir." The amazing truth burst on Lucas like a flash. Sir Arthur Sefton was Smith, tho taximan ! He opened his mouth to speak, to tell where Smith was to bo found, and then changed his mind. What good would it do him to hand the man who stood in his way over to the police? Feo knew ho was Smith. No, tho arrangement with Prenge must stand; to a Smith arrested I<'er would be loyal and devoted; tho only Smith see would havo no use for was a Smith who had eloped with a rich widow, " Do you think you've seen him, sir?" asked the constable, who had been closely watching his face. How nearly, mused Lucas, had ho ruined his plans by speaking without thinking first. He shook his head as, smiling, he returned the picture. " I thought I had, nut, on second thoughts, no.' 1 An hour later lie was a free man, Inspector Hall having phoned _ that Mrs. Daws had corroborated tho alibi. The afternoon Lucas devoted to a little job of forgery. Among his minor accomplishments was a gift for imitating hand-writing, lacking it he could not have attempted tho plot he was arranging. He had to imitate the penmanship of two different people; and he was not altogether satisfied with the samples of their hand-writing and signatures that he had to work by But fortunately neither would suspect a forgery. The success of the plot depended partly on the weather, but this proved favourable, chiefly on the three protagonists being kept apart previous to nine-thirty

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when two of them were duo to met. Arthur Sefton must be out of tho _ way I that evening, and Lucas arranged this by indirectly introducing him to Prengo. lhe Frenchman was a new type to Arthur, and charmed him; and the man readily accepted an invitation to dine at the inn at Pollot. Prenge did not directly confess to smuggling, but he dropped hints, and a romance, a halo, hangs round this method of law breaking. The Inn at Pollot is little more than a beer house, and makes no attempt to cater fo> guests. Prengo was specially favoured —the landlord was in with him in the smuggling business—in beine allowed to dine there, and on this evening to ontertaiu a guest. Chops, out of a frying pan. potatoes in their jackets, because the servant was too lazy to peel them, and Californian peaches out of a tin, formed the dinner; for tho cheese was quite uneatable and the cook declined to make coffee. Nevertheless, Arthur enjoyed the meal, finding in his host compensation for the bad cooking. Prengo was a delightful raconteur. After tho dinher a bottle of claret was sot on a table outside the Inn, and the two men sat and drank their wine and yarned, or rathei Prengo talked and Arthur listened. At nine o'clock Arthur was gracefully got rid of; Prengo had imperative work to do; ana the guest was about to set off for tho hotel when a note was put into his hands. Doar Angel Meet me at 9.30 Bishop'a pulpit. Please don't fail.

He was a littio surpised, but tho idea of forgery never entered his head. He wondered why she had written it; their relations were so frank and above board that no need to arrange secret meetings had arisen. He could only couclude that | some jest was being planned and ho was to be " put wise'" before ho returned to tho hotel. Incidentally the play was off. Dissentions had arisen at rehearsals, " William" had thrown up his part, and nobody coulu bo found to play the father adequately; but tho chief trouble had been that five girls wanted to play "Dolly;" and mutual jealousies shook the hotel from end to end. He set out to keep the rendezvous. Tho Bishop's Pulpit, was a rock set in a spit of sand a short half-mile from the hotel. It possessed a legend. Long ago in tho 'days when miracles happened a saintly bishop had come to the spot, and mounting tho rock, began to preach to tho largo congregation which had assembled to hear him. Hardly had ho bogun when tho advancing tide began to approach the fringe of the gathering; whoreupon the bishop, holding up his hands, bade the sea cease from encroaching, and it obeyed; and not till the sermon was over and tho people dispersed did tho waves roll forward'. The sea was coming in as Arthur passed along the beach, but the long summer day was hardly yet dead; he met no one, and arriving at the rock rather before time; sat down, lit a pipe and waited. So far all had worked well, but a contretempts at the hotel end which could not have been foreseen spoiled everything from Lucas' point of view. Accidents will happen as tho proverb says, and Mrs. Walpole was to experience its truth. An admirer lured her out of her deck chair after dinner on tho terrace to take a turn on the beach. A flight of wooden steps with a stone edging led to the sea. Descending, the lady slipped; and, falling, struck her head against the stono. She was picked up unconscious, carried to her room and a doctor sent for. Among those close by when the accident occured was Feo; and she accompanied tho two men who bore Mrs. Walpole to her bedroom, and when they had laid her on her bed and retired she and tho lady's maid bathed the sufferer's head till the doctor arrived and turned Feo out. She waited in the sitting-room till he should appear and a few minutes later a page entered with a note for Mrs. Walpole; he left it and retired. Feo noticed Arthur's writing. Just then tho doctor emerged. "How is she, doctor?"

" Oh, its nothing serious. A glancing blow. Slight concussion. I've told her maid to undress her and put her to bed. I shall look in later. I expect by to-rnor-row she'll be all right again." " There's a note for her here." " She's not to see it. She must have perfect rest and quiet." Left alone Feo turned the note over in her hand, and the flap of the envelope, lightly stuck down, came open. He curiosity would not have carried her so far as to open the envelope, but as it was open it led her to withdraw the sheet of paper and glance at the contents; they ran. Dear Maud, Will you meet me lit the Bishop's Rock at 9.30? Don't fail, it's imperative. Arthur. Why on earth, she wondered, should Arthur, who could see Mrs. Walpole at any time, give her this rendezvous away from the hotel ? The whole tiling was a mystery. But 110 affair of hers. She left the note on the table and went to her room. And on the way it occured to her that Mrs. Walpole wouldn't bo there, and Athur would bo waiting for her at 9.30. And it was now nine o'clock. For some fifteen minutes she pottered about her room in two minds. At last she (fecided it would be a kindness to Arthur to go and tell him what had happened to Mrs. Walpole; so she slipped a sports jacket over her evening bodice, and went out into the fading light; the day had ended, but the night lingered, Wl she walked in a misty twilight while the sea crooned to her as she went. Far off against the yellow sands the rock stood out dark as night; as she drew near she saw a second shadow lying on the sands which moved as she rou,:ded the base. " llullo, Feo!" said Arthur's voice. "Hullo!" she returned, and then. " You didn't expect me, did you ?" "On the contrary, I did." Ho stood up. " You told me to come and meet you here—" " I told you ?" " You wrote me." They stood face to face in the enveloping darkness staring at each olher with incredulous eyes. Arthur handed her his note. " But ' Angel,' I never wrote this." "Then why did you come?" The explanation was postponed. Across the sands, unseen and unheard, came four men, two carrying rugs and cords; they fell swiftly and silently on the engrossed couple, who were hooded and bound before they were aware of what had had befallen them. Arthur then struggled so furiously that they gave him a sharp rap on th head with a stone to quiet him, and carried both down to a boat. Two men at a distance watched the captives lifted over the side.

" Removals effected with punctuality and despatch!' said Prenge, " and what J promise, T perform." Lucas handed over hank notes. " It's gone without a liitch," he prematurely declared and they shook hands and separated, Prenge going to the boat. Two of his men lifted him in, and it pushed off. A quarter of a mile out a big petrol-driven yacht showed a light, and they rowed to it. In a few minutes tho boat and i's occupants wore aboard, and " La Hello Ileloisc," having successfully landed her cargo, steered a course for tho coast of France. (To be continued daily.)