THE MARK OF THE THREE FISHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20901, 17 June 1931, Page 17

THE MARK OF THE THREE FISHES.

By MARLEY CAMERON

CHAPTER XII. THE MISSING TAB. " I suppose, Mr. Wrench, that you ; could give mo ono little hint. I mean if tlio defence are going lo allego that someone committed the crime, you would just tip mo the wink, so to speak." " I'm sorry, Mr. Carling, but at the moment I can't even do that. Ono thing I will promise. If the defence should obtain evidence that proves Western's innocence and another person's guilt, wo won't wait for the Assizes. I'll bring "'{lie evidence to you." " And you'll como to mo first—before anyone elso knows?" Sam laughed quietly to himself. " Yes, I'll como to you first, so that you cau report the fresh evidence lo your chiefs —as your own discovery, if you like." Mr. Carling shook liands with him warmly. Betty had been as good as her word. At thrco o'clock Sam Wrench's clork put in his head to annouiico Mrs. Western. Sho entered the room in a flutter. " I've come, sir, because Miss Herbert said that you wanted to see me. Perhaps you luive good news for me." " Sit down, Mrs. Western. I want to have a talk with you —a sort of general talk about your husband's case." " Yes, sir?" She sat down on the extreme edge of the chair, her breath coming fast. Sam Wrench was not looking at her. That was a relief. Sho was afraid of his eyes that seemed to pierce into her inmost thoughts. Apparently, ho was writing a nolo; actually lie was drawing foolish sketches on his blotting pad. " Are you comfortable at Airs. Herbert's?" " Very comfortable, thank you, sir. The young ladies are very kind to me— Miss Herbert in particular." Still the lawyer kept his eyes averted. " You saw your husband on the last visiting day ?" " Oh, yes, sir, thank you,' but there was a dreadful change in him." " Naturally, naturally. Ho is worrying about his trial, poor man." " Yes, sir. Can you give us any hope?" !Sam Wrench did not answer that question. Ho was still drawing pictures of elegant ladies. They had wasp waists and wore the skirts of ballerinas. " You have seen nothing more of your lodger, Susan Ogden?" " No, sir, thank Heaven. I don't even know where she is." " Did your son ever go to sea, Mrs. Wrench?" Ho was looking full at her I now with tlio eyes that she feared. Her | mouth fell open and she stared at him. " I J don't understand what you mean, sir,"

she faltered. "My son?" " Yes; your boy who was in tho prison at Princetown. Did ho ever go to sea?" She was trembling violently and for'ft moment ho feared that sho was going to faint. He changed his matter-of-fact tone for one friendly and compassionate. " I fear that my question startled you, Mrs. Weston. You didn't know that I knew nil about vour son. Ho must havo been a terrible troublo to you both." She began to cry, making brave efforts to pull herself together. Sam went on sympathetically. " It must bo a dreadful thing for a father and mother, who have done everything to reclaim their boy, to know that he is going steadily downhill, deeper and deeper. I can well understand what you feel about it. You know, Mrs. Western, nothing that you say to ino will go beyond these four walls. I know a good deal already. Sometimes he called himself Thomas Johnson, sometimes Thomas Sachel, sometimes Ernest Western. I suppose that Ernest is his real name. I know that ho was a violent young man sometimes, but what I don't understand is why yon and your husband think that ho had a hand in that murder on Monday week." Th'e poor woman was sobbing now without restraint. "If you only knew—if you only knew," sho kept crying through her sobs; and then, " lie was one of tho sweetest-natured boys that were ever born, but ho loved adventure and it was that that, brought him into all this trouble. " I thought that if wo wore near him when lie camo out, we could keep him straight, but it was not to be. You may not believe me, but lie was a good boy at heart." " And yet you think that he killed Sir Charles Tremayne that Monday afternoon?" The woman made no reply; sho rocked herself backwards and forwards in the chair, sobbing. Sam went on. " After all, what clso could you think? You picked up a handkerchief near the body and recognised it as his, ;tnd you knew that there had been time for him to get down from London after his release. What else could you think?" While ho was speaking the woman had stopped crying and was gazing at him in stupefaction. " ilow did you know that, sir? Do the police know?" " No; so far no one else knows of it." " Then I'd better tell you everything. When we got in, and saw tho body lying

tliero and my boy's handkerchief bosicjo it, I snatcheJ it \ip so the police shouldn't find it. That's why wo went out by the back door and started knocking at the front, so as they shouldn't know that we'd been in and taken the liandkercliicf." Sain continued (o speak as if he had not heard her. " And yet handkerchiefs are very much alike. One may easily mistake one for the other. They turn thorn out from the. loom by the dozen. You may have been mistaken, Mrs. Western." She began to sub again. " I wish I was; I wish 1 was; but there couldn't be two with the marks cut out." " Oh* that was it? The mark was cut out."

" Yes, sir. I gave ''' ,n s ' x * n ' co ncw handkerchiefs and two pairs of warm socks, so iic would liavo something nice to go out with, and I worked his initials on them. I (old him about them on the last visiting day and he said, ' Thank you, mother, but I'll have to take the marks out of them. I'll have to do that.' And this had the mark picked out.." " Have you kepi the handkerchief?" " Yes, it's here in my bag. But you'll take care of it. won't vou, sir?" She took out a little parcel, neatly wrapped in a piece of newspaper. Wrench opened it, and spread the handkerchief on the table before him. It was of fine linen, clean and new. In one corner there was a hole whero the mark had been and he noticed that the edges of the holo were frayed, as if the stuff had been sawn nway with a blunt knife. lie folded and'wrapped it up very carefully before locking it in his drawer. " Now, I'll tell you something, Mrs. Western,' that perhaps you didn't know. There are people in the world who have a habit of stealing other people's handkerchiefs and they always cut the marks out. So, if you haven't a stronger clue than that you may bo doincr your son a great in justice by suspecting him." '"Do you think so, sir?" she said, brightening. " Oil. you don't know what a load you've lifted off my mind. You II tell my husband fbat when you see him", won't you. sir?" "I will, and I'll take great care of the handkerchief so that somo dav you may have it back. Now tell me whether your son has ever been to sea." n " Kever, sir; that T can swear to. " Nor in a reformatory, or an industrial school ? " " No, T can swear to that too. W liy do vou ask me that, sir ?' _ " Only to Hear up the case, if I can. And now I ihink that you ought to be getting back to Mannamead, or Mrs.

(COPTIIIGIIT.)

A THRILLINGLY-TOLD STORY OF ABSORBING INTEREST.

Herbert will bo wondering what has become of you. If I have any other questions to ask you, I will send for you again. The great thing for you now is not to worry." " You don't think that I vo done any harm to my boy by what I'vo told you, do you, sir ?" ~11 " Not at all. What you havo told me is a secret between us. Goodbye. For some minutes after sho had gono Sam sat thinking. Ho was roused by his clerk, who stood silent in tho doorway and emitted a churchyard cough, followed by an extraordinary distortion ot tne facial muscles which his master understood to be intended for a wink. Witlieis hud himself adopted this manner of announcing tho private detective whom Wrench was employing. He had not been reading spy romances for nothing. " Show him in," said Sam. The visitor was a square, stiff-built man, vith hair /turning grey, 110 stood to attontion before tho table until ho had heard tho door shut behind him. ~, " Well, Spurling? What s the news: "It was our woman that opened tne door lo tho lady, sir. " Ah! Did they havo a long talk .' "No sir. Just a word or two and then the lady left. I'vo run up on my motor-biko so as to get hero first. Ive got an informant in the house now and sho tells mo that our woman was once a hotel servant somewhere in tho North. - "J 11 Scotland, do you mean? •' No, sir. Sho thinks it was in Leeds. At any rate sho talked about Leeds afier- " "Good. You sent off that telegram all " Yes, sir, last evening. Shall I got my informant sure of tho town whore sho worked ?" " No, you needn't trouble. Just go on keeping an oyo on her and report anything fresh. Sho never talks about her My informant, says that she's very closo about that side of hci lif 'i : he private detective had scarcely left tho room when Mrs. Mayne was announced. "I hear that you have seen tho woman," said Sam, after greeting he. "Yes; a woman came to tho door and J I asked her about lodgings. She said that the house was full." " You recognised her ? "No; sho wasn't my former maid. "Are you quite suro ? know people change in appearance three years, especially when they ■SgftSSS-* in th. tot like Martha Clark, and her voice was quite left bis chair and began to pace the room. His disappointment was so evident that his visitor tried to console him " I'm so sorry. I feel sure that we £i find Martha Clark if we penevc c Does this make things more difficult ioi J °"No- only when you are building and one of'vour bricks falls on your head, vou can't help seeing stars for a moment. lam not discouraged really ;in fact, 1 grateful for you for bringing that false brick down. We'll lay a better one in its Pl! " You'll tell me if I can do anything else?" , "Of course I will. . . , . " You don't know what it is. to me to feel that I have fallen among friends and what it was Uf be without them Most people have some friends to conMo m There was a gleam in Sam Wrench's eves. You aio ■ Nearly every woman has some friend Why didn't I think of it, before?" With these w< ords , e shook hands. She was looking a little bewildered as sho passed through tho outer office and down the stairs. i "You can go, Withers," said Wrench looking at the clock. The clerk grinned his appreciation of this release befoio (lie normal hour. It would give h.m more time for his tea before Ins banjo lesson He had not long been gono when there was a knock at the office door. The new visitor was a smooth-tongued, Foft-spoken, sleek man. With Ins first words Sam Wrench recognised him for what he was—a bachelor's servant. " Mr. W.rigley ?" he asked. " Yes sir You are Mr. Wrench, aro vou not? I did not answer your telegram. I thought it best to come down at "°Yo C u did well. lam defending the man who is charged with tho murder of Sir Charles Tremayne, I want you to help me if you can. Certainly, sir." " I am convinced that tho police have* got tho wrong man, and I want to get the right one " " Very good, *ir." " I understand that when Sir Charles left home last Sunday week he was wearing an overcoat." " Yes, sir. Ho was wearing tho same overcoat ho always took in the cai -an old brown coat, with a detachable lining and brown horn buttons It was a good deal worn, but he said that it suited him, and ho wouldn't get another." " The detachable lining was in it 7 " Yes, sir—a fawn-coloured, felt lining it was. Tho coat itself was a sort of chocolate brown frieze, with a turn-down collar of the same material the buttons were flat ones, tho samo colour as the cloth." . i " Can you remember any peculiarity , about the"coat' Anything by which it i could be recognised ? The man re'fectcd. i " Well, 'sir, it had two of those little ■ flaps that button round fo take in tho sleeves at tho wrists, but Sir Charles .bad torn off one of the buttons on the right sleeve, and tho flap was hanging free. 1 Just as he was getting into tho car that morning be pulled it off the other button and (brew it to me to catch." "Havo you kept tho flap?" asked Wrench, almost eagerly. " Yes, sir," answered I lie vjjle.t, fumbling in his pocket. " I believe that I still have if.. I know I put it in my pocket at the time, and I don't remember taking it out. Yes, hero it is. Wronch took the tab of rough brown frieze and locked it'in his drawer with tho handkerchief. Then ho began to question tho man about his master's habits. Tho valet had been but three months in his situation and had but ; little to tell him He did not even know tho name or address of his predecessor, but when the interview was at an end and tho valet had be-in sent away, ((intent with his honorarium, Wrench rang up Keyharn Barracks. !" Is that you, Geoffrey ? 1 want you lo como round to my office at onco, if i you can. What 7 Wait till you aro here, and then I'll tell you as much 1 as it is good for you to know." (To bo continued daily.)