THE GRAND BABYLON HOTEL MYSTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20819, 11 March 1931, Page 18

THE GRAND BABYLON HOTEL MYSTERY.

Author of "Anna of the Five Towns." "Teresa of Watling Street" "Mr. Prohack."

(COPYRIGHT.)

By ARNOLD BENNETT.

A THRILLING STORY OF CRIME, LOVE, MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE.

CHAPTER XXIV (Continued). A man cautiously but very neatly wormed his body through the aperture of the grating. The watchers could only see his form indistinctly in the darkness. Then, being fairly within the cellar, he walked without the least hesitation to the electric switch and turned on the light. It was unmistakably Jules, and he knew the geography of the cellar very well. Babylon could with difficulty repress a start as ho saw this bold and unscrupulous ex-waiter moving with such an air of assurance and determination about the precious cellar. Jules went directly to a small bin which was numbered 17 and took therefrom the topmost bottle.

" The Romanee-Conti —Prince Eugen s wine!" Babylon exclaimed under his breath.

Jules neatly and quickly removed the seal with an instrument which he had clearly brought for the purpose. He then took a little flat box from his pocket, which seemed to contain a sort of black salvo. Rubbing his finger in this he smeared the top of the neck of the bottle with it, just where the cork came against Iho glass. In another instant he had clefll v replaced the seal and restored the bottle to its position. He then turned off tho light and made for the aperture. When lie was half-way throngh Nella exclaimed, "He will escape, after all. Dad has not had time —wo must stop liirn." But Babylon, that embodiment of caution, forcibly, but nevertheless politely, restrained this Yankee girl, whom he deemed so rash and impiudent, and before she could free herself the litho form of Jules had disappeared.

As regard? Theodore Eacksole, who was to have caught his man from the outside of the cellar, he niado his way as rapidly as possible from the wine-cellars up to the ground floor, out of the hotel by the quadrangle, through the quadrangle, and out into the top of Salisbury Lane. Now, owing to the vastness of the structure of the Grand Babylon, the mere distance thus to be traversed amounted to a little short of a quarter of a mile, and, as it included a number of stairs, about two dozen turnings, and several passages which at that time of night wci'R in darkness more or less complete, Eacksole could not have been expected to accomplish the journey in less than five minutes. As a matter of fact, six minutes had elapsed before he reached the top of Salisbury Lane, because he had been delayed nearly a minute by some questions addressed to him by a muddled and whisky-laden guest who had got lost in the corridors. As everybody knows, there is a sharp short bdrul in Salisbury Lane near the top. Eacksole ran round this at good racing speed, but lie was unfortunate enough to run straight up against the very policeman who had not long before so courteously supplied Jules with a match. The policeman seemed to be scarcely in so pliant a mood just then. " Hullo"!" he said, his naturally suspicious nature being doubtless aroused by the spectacle of a bareheaded man in evening dress running violently down the lane. " What's this ? Where are you orf in such a hurry ?" and he forcibly detained Theodore Eacksole for a moment and scrutinised his face. " Now, officer," said Eacksole quietly, " none of your larks, if you please. I've no time to lose." " Beg your pardon, sir," the policeman remarked, though hesitatingly, and not quite with a good temper, and Eacksole was allowed to proceed oii his way. the millionaire's scheme for trapping Jules was to get down into the little sunk yard by means of the ladder, and then to secrete himself behind some convenient abutment of brick-work until Mr. lom Jackson should have got into the cellar. He therefore nimbly surmounted the railings—the railings of his own hotel —and was gingerly descending the ladder, when lo! a rough hand seized him by the coatcollar and with a ferocious jerk urged him backwards. The fact was, 'lheodore Eacksole had counted without the policeman. That guardian of the peace, mistrusting Eacksole's manner, had quietly followed him down the lane. The sight of the millionaire climbing the railings had put him 011 his mettle, and the result was the ignominious captlire of Eacksole. In vain Theodore expostulated, explained, anathematised. Only one thing would satisfy the stolid policeman—namely that Eacksole should return with him to the hotel and there establish his identity. If Eacksole then proved to be Eacksole, owner of the Grand Babylon, well and good—the policeman promised to apologise. So Theodore had no alternative but to accept the suggestion. To prove his identity was, of course, the work of only a few minutes, after which Eacksole, annoyed, but cool as ever, returned to his railings, while the policeman went off to another pare of his beat, where he would be likely to meet a comrade and have a chat. In the meantime, our friend Jules, sublimely unconscious of the altercation going on outside, and of the special risk which he ran, was of course actually in the cellar,'which he had reached before Eacksole got to the railings for the first time. It was, indeed, a happy chance for Jules that his exit from the cellar coincided with the period during which Eacksole was absent from the railings. As Eacksole came down the lane for the second time, he saw a figure walking about fifty yards in front of him towards the Embankment. Instantly he divined that is was Jules, and that the policeman had thrown him just too late. He ran, and Jules, hearing the noise of pursuit, ran also. The exwaiter was fleet; he made direct for a certain spot in the - Embankment wall, and, to the intense astonishment of Eacksole, jumped clean over the wall, as it seemed, into the river.

" Is lie so despcrato as to commit suicide V Racksoie exclaimed as he ran, but ;i second Inter the puff and snort of a steam launch told him that Jules was not quite driven to suicide. As the millionaire crossed the Embankment roadway lie saw the funnel of the launch move out from under the river wall. Tt swerved into midstream and headed towards London Bridge. There was a silent mist Over the river. Racksolo was helpless. . .

Although Racksoie had now been twice worsted in a contest of wits within the precincts of the Grand Babylon, once by Rocco and once by Jules, he could not fairly blame himself for the present miscarriage of his plans—a miscarriage due to the meddlesomeness of an extraneous person, combined with pure ill-fortune, lie did not, therefore, permit the accident to interfere with his sleep that night. On tile following clay he sought out Prince Aribert, between whom and himself there now existed a feeling of unmistakable, frank friendship, and disclosed to him the happenings of the previous night, and particularly the tampering with the bottle of Romanee-Conti.

"I believe you dined with I'rince Eugcn last night " I did. And curiously enough we had a bottle of R(jinanee-Conti, an admirable wine, of which Eugcn is passionately fond."

" And you will dino with him toniglit " Most probably, To-day will, I fear, be our last, day here. Eugen wishes to return to Posen early to-morrow." "Has it struck you. Prince," said Racksole, " that if Jules had succeeded in poisoning your nephew, he would probably have succeeded also in poisoning you ?" " I had not thought of it." laughed Aribert, '' but it would seem so. It appears that so long as he brings down his particular quarry, Jules is careless of any-

thing else that may be accidentally involved in the destruction. However, we need have no fear on that score now; you know the bottle, and you can destroy it at once." ~ " But 1 do not propose to destroy it, said Racksole calmly. "If Prilice E , u S en asks for Romance Conti to be served tonight, as lie probably will, I propose that that precise bottle shall be served to him —and to you.'" " Then you would poison us in spite of ourselves?" " Scarcely," Racksole smiled. My notion is to discover the accomplices within the hotel. I have already inquired as to the wine-clerk, Hubbard. Now docs it not occur to you as extraordinary that on this particular day Mr. Hubbard should be ill in bed ? Hubbard. I am informed, is suffering from an attack of stomach poisoning, which has supervened during the night. He says that ho does not know what can have caused it. His place in the wine cellars will be taken to-day by his assistant, a mere youth, but to al appearances a fairly smart youth. I need not, say that we shall keep an eye on that youth." CHAPTER XXV. RACKSOLE SEEKS THE LAUNCH. " One moment," Prince Aribert interrupted. "I do not quite understand how you think the poisoning was to have been effected." . "The bottle is now under examination | )V an expert, who has instructions to remove as little as possible of the stuff which Jules put on the vim of the mouth of it. It will be secretly replaced in us bin during the day. My idea is that by the mere action of pouring out, the wine takes up some of the poison, which I deem to be very strong, and thus becomes fatal as it enters the glass." " But surely the servant in attendance would wipe the mouth of the bottle?" " Very carelessly, perhaps. And moreover ho would be extremely unlikely to wipe off all the stuff; some of it would bn ingeniously placed just on the inside edge of the rim. Besides, suppose he forgot to wipe the bottle?" " Prince Eugen is always served at dinner bv Hans. It is an honour which the. faithful old fellow reserves for himself-" , . " But suppose Hans — ' Racksole stopped. " Hans an accomplice! My dear Racksole. the suggestion is wildly impossible." That night Prince Aribert dined with his august nephew in tha superb dining room of the Royal apartments. Hans served, the dishes being brought to the door by other servants. Aribert found his nephew despondent and taciturn. On the previous day, when, after the futile interview with Sampson Levi, Prince Eugen had despairingly threatened to commit suicide, in such a manner as to make it " look like an accident," Aribert had compelled him to give his word of honour not to do so. ' " What wine will your Royal Highness take?" asked old Hans in his soothing tones, when the soup was served. " Sherry," was Princo Eugen's curt order. " And Romancc-Conti afterward ? said Hans. Aribert looked up quickly. " No, not to-night. I'll try Sillery tonight," said Prince Eugen. " I think I'll have Romanee-Conti, Hans, after all," he said. "It suits mo better than champagne." The famous and unsurpassable Burgundy was served with the . roast. Old Hans brought it tenderly in its wicker cradle, inserted the cork-screw with mathematical precision, and drew the cork, which he offered for his master's inspection. Eugen nodded, and told him to put it down. Aribert watched with intenso interest. He could not for an instant believe that Hans was not the very soul of fidelity, and yet, despite himself, Racksole's words had caused him a certain uneasiness. At that moment Princo Eugen murmured across tho table: (To be continued daily.)