THE LAVENHAM TREASURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20989, 28 September 1931, Page 13

THE LAVENHAM TREASURE.

g y OTTWELL BiNNS. Anther of "Diana of the Islands." "The Tr»« ~« i The Mystery of the Atoll"-% tc „ it-** Adventar.,- j

(COPTRIGBT.) }

t Bt° ry of T£NSE and dra matic action by popular writer

I 111, M (JOAPTER IX.—(Continued). frfeahm left Helen standing in ~('m drive and began to walk i ;-iSftho direction where she had ® t he ligW- There was grass ys feet, and he made no sound as - wen t. Presently trees loomed in of him and he stopped to listen, j . one thing to follow a light; an jjjßly different, thing to find the man i held it when the light was no shining; and in the darkness it be impossible to find any man tfsodg the trees by sight alone - No came out of the wood except such | Tere made by small creatures of the fyi He could soe nothing, and he was jjaloss how to proceed. The man who y flashed that light might be the mothjunter; on the other hand he might very be a comrade of the man doing fentrr-g 0 ' n t ' !e roiU^ ; in which case, to plang® carelessly into the wood would jpl merely be futile, but might prove to Ip disastrous, -ila was in a quandary, uncertain what to do, when from the direction of the gates there drifted to him l faint, sound of voices. 5b turned swiftly at that, concerned for the girl. If those voices, as he conjectared, belonged to Spanish John and his associates, there might be trouble for her it those men came on her in the i <j r ; ve . He was still debating what to do. quite close to him he heard a sound el movement. He stiffened, and clenched his fists ready for action; at the same tune regretting that ha had come unprovided with any more efficient weapon. He heard the movement again, and then tor 028 brief second the light flashed in his face, dazzlingly. As it was extiiijuished, he heard Hammerton's voice, ipeakiag chucklinglv. " So, my friend, you came to look for , me.'' "Of course," replied Lavenham, congcious of a surge of relief. " Miss Lavenham saw your light as we came up the drive —"

_J werr e t o h aU that Helen and he in that house m! so?? pur P oses alone the moor If th!\u? lltar3 T ln a fold on Plainly wtirinS i hIDgS thafc Hanim erton on the mnth l ! W6r f t0 happen, then the safety of 'mEif 1 ? him , self de P™ded stood in fK j I Laven ham. As he found himseff ne ® s hy the door, he be whin i Wond , eni ]g wh y this should settle the vc\ f n 'P • Ph° n e call would he rpfll t , ® business. There might, wi'hTT something connected an ann TT himSelf th * fc Precluded an appeal to the police. There were, as he knew, many men in the world who •ite not, seek the help of the officers of • . ;\ w . les t they themselves should Fall in o their clutches— men who made their own laws exacted their own dues, defended their own lives, and executed their own decrees and revenges. That liammerton was one of these was highly possible; lor that his character as a moth-hunter was the merest masquerade he had confessed when he had brazenly owned that he knew nothing about Bates the authority o.i the sphirigidae. There was indeed nothing surprising in that he should be of the company of lawless adventurers; what was surprising was that Helen Lavenham should apparently be aware of the man's reluctance for anv close association with the police. That puzzled him sorely. It was quite beyond his comprehension; and as he stood there in the darkness of the aoorway, waiting for he knew not what, the implication of that knowledge which apparently Helen Lavenham possessed disturbed him profoundly. For anything ! he knew to t:he contrary, Hammerton ! might be the most utter scoundrel; and the only bright spot in the secret association between ':hem was that the mothhunter was as deeply concerned as himself for the girl's well-being and safety. A sudden gasp behind him made him l turn swiftly round, i " What—" "There is a man—" whispered the girl. " Looking in—at the window." Lavenham moved swiftly and silently . in order to get a view of the window. The room being almost dark, at first he saw nothing, save an almost black space • where he knew the great window to be. . Either the girl had been mistaken or the i man had withdrawn. His thought was still incomplete when he had confirmation of her words.

"She is there?" The chuckle was gone. The voice was tense and strained; 1 »nd there was an urgency in the tone ' /that Strug k Lavenham forcibly. ' " Yes! She is in the drive waiting j for me to bring you to her. . . and i there are others about. There was a watcher in the road, who signalled by 1 whistling. And just now I heard ' / voices—" " I know. Don't wait, Lavenham. Get her to the house. Put out the lights. Do nothing unless you hear me call for help." "Bin what ar,e you expecting!" asked Lavenham, quickly. "Judgment Day! Go: For God's sake go! Get Helen under cover. Bar the doors, and don't answer any summons for your life. Go—" The man's urgency left Lavenham in no doubt that some serious situation was developing. He wasted no more time, but started .instantly to run across the grass, making for the point where the giri awaited him. He was breathless when he reached her, and before he could speak she asked: " You found him? I saw the light again. It was /he ?" •* Yes." he gasped. " VTe are not to wait for him. He will come to the house There is trouble about." A hmt sound of feet rasping on the gravel reached him, and he clinched his words wiA a plea/ that was almost a command, " Q'r. hurry !" Helen did not ask for explanation. Possibly she guessed more than he knew, for stepping on to the grass, she began to ran. They reached the house without seeing anyone, and. as they entered, Lavenham turned, closed the door, and withont asking her consent locked and bolted it. The girl watched him a little wonderinely, then she asked a little breathlessly. ' " Yon think—those men—are —coming here ?"- " Hammerton has that idea. There aartainlv are men about. There was one watching in the road as I came along. I had to hide from him. And now there are others. I heard their voices." "But why should they come?" " There is that picture of yours. They ' are interested in that. Possibly—" he • broke off. " You are on the telephone. If we really knew they meant to come here, the most sensible thing to do would be to ring up the police." " Bat we don't know for certain," said the girl quickly. " And in any case I don't think we can do that yet." "Why not?" " M—Mr. Hammerton would—would sot wish it. Of that I am quite sure." " But why on earth—" Lavenham did not finish his almost explosive question. Here, he thought to himself, was another phase of the mystery into which he had plunged. One thine in relation to it was clear to him. Hammerton and Helen Lavenham were somehow acquainted, and each was concerned for the other: but the inwardness of :t ail was hidden from him. He might question the /girl and learn the truth; but he preferred that she should give him her confidence freely, and resolved to wait until she did so. And there were thinps to be done immediately. "Well," he remarked, "since Ham- ■ merlon's wishes are to put you in some

sort ot. jeopardy. it is onlv right that you" shoald g:ve attention to insiructions that are apparently meant to help you. He told me to put ont- the lights." Miss Lavenharr. nave a little laugh at that. " are to sit in the dark, together, and wait? That will be quite spooky. You had better locate a chair. Miss Lavenharn, and then I will switch off." "Wait! You have an electric torch perhaps?" "Yes' But the battery is almost exhausted. /It ;s very dim." " Better than nothing. It might be worth while to get it. We mav have need of it." " Very well. Excuse me, I won't be » moment." She . IpfV the room, and Lavenharn locked round.. Flis eves fixed themselves on the fireplace, where a wood fire g!o\vt>d cheerfully. There was a poker there, ar.d crossing to the hearth he secured' it.. If lawless fhinjrs were to he oone inth:3 old house, he would at a T* fate he equipped for taking something more than a .passive part in them. When Helen Laveriham returne'l. she carried a torch, which from the size of it would have been a very efficient one its b/ittery not been enfeebled. Speing poker m his hand she halted sharply. *or a second a look of consternation * ai ? e! :n the blue eyes, but swiftly passed; 4n . < ! lr "T-'ired lightly: ~ You thin 1: vou mav have need of that ?" One never knows," he answered tersely. "The men who hanged Carling *re not likelv to be scrupulous. It is Wen to be prepared." u Yes!" she said: then inquired, '•Where will yon sit?" Nowhere.' for the moment! I shall 1 hy the door to listen." "Very wJ!' Ready!" There followed a click and the room *as in darkness sav<» for the glow of the nre. Then Lavenharn remembered something. " Who is there in the house besides ®Hrselves ?" Two maids. The cook has gone to f, ! P nt ' !fir wlio is ill." * No men?" No. There is no butler." «i maids, where are they ?" little sitting room I keep for ■own at the top of the house. But very faPortly they will be retiring. Yon see, 'm?* *** risers at the Priory."

A log in the hearth spurted with sudden flame. It lit the room with a momentary brightness, and in the dark square of the window, pressed close against the pane, something that was white reflected the sudden radiance—a man's face that he recognised for that of Spanish John. The flame died down almost as swiftly as it had spurted. The great window grew dark again, but, dim and ghostly, just visible, the face remained at the window still. " You—you see?" whispered the girl shakily. "Yes!" he whispered back. "And I know the man. It is John Prado who is staying at the inn—Spanish John, Mr. Hammerton calls him." " I w-wonder what —" Her remark was broken in half as something crashed smartly against the frame of the window. The face disappeared as if its owner had fallen suddenly to the ground. " That sound! What was it?" | " I don'S know,"' he answered. " That is, I don't know for certain. But I can guess that it was a slug." "A slug!" The girl was so surprised that she forgot to whisper. " But slugs are soft creatures, and that thing which hit the window sill was hard as a pea—" " Perhaps it was a pea—of lead!" " A bullet." She was back at her whisper again now. " But there was no report." "No! An air-gun makes none worth mentioning." "But who can have fired it?" " For a wager—Hammerton. He carries a cur ; ous-looking stick. I noticed it this morning. Very likely it is an air-rifle. But whoever it was, he did the trick. That man has gone from the window." " Y'es!" There followed a period of inactive waiting and silence. The fire died down a little; but the moon, breaking fitfully through the clouds, now and again shed a ghostly light: and staging through the great window, Lavenham had occasional glimpses of the park, and could distinctly make out the line of the wood which bounded it. But he saw nothing moving; nor any sign of the men who, as he was convinced, were out, there purposing some unlawful thing. Then the clouds came up again ; the park was swallowed up in darkness, and the gloom of the room where they waited was almost Stygian. only the dying fire emitting the faintest glow. Lavenham, tense and alert, his ears straining, found the stillness and waiting getting on his nerves. He longed for something to happen, for anything was better than the inactivity to which, it seemed, he was condemned. Helen ITavenham was only just visible to his eyes. She had not moved or spoken fr>r quite a long time: and he was thinking that possibly she had slipped into a doze, when she suddenly broke the silence in a small, whispering voice. "Mr. Lavenham!" " Y'es," he answered. " I hope you will not think I am silly. But I do feel jumpy and nervous. I wonder if you would mind me standing near you." " Mind !" His answering whisper was fervent enough to be convincing. "Of course not! If it will help you — He heard her moving toward him; and a moment, later was aware of her near-

ness, henrd her quick breathing, caught the perfume of her hair, saw her face dimly, like a fair, white flower in the gloom. Propinquity set his pulses leaping. He remembered bow he had carried her in his arms, visioned her as he had seen her op the moor that afternoon ; then lie looked at: the face so indistinct in the darkness;-—and imagined he saw the blue eyes shining star-like in the gloom. In that very second, the girl laid a quick hand on his arm. "Hark!". Her pars were quicker than his. He heard nothing, and said so. Then the hand on his arm gripped spasmodically. " Now! At the hall door!" This time he heard—a faint sound of cautious feet on the steps outside. " 'Yes'" he whispered. " There is someone there. Before the girl could reply, proof of the fact was afforded by a sudden sharp rat-a-tan noon the door. There was something almost menacing in the unexpected summons. It startled Helen Lavenham terribly. She moved convulsively; and almost without thoupht he slipped a supporting arm round Tier. "Steady, Miss Lavenham!" he whispered, iilmost in her ear. The rat-a-tan was repeated, a commanding, threatening thing in Lavenham's ears, and the girl gasped, and unconsciously moved closer to him, like a frightened child snuggling closer in protecting arms. "Do not speak," he whispered. " And for God's sake do not cry out! Let them think ':he house is empty." The knocking was repeated again; then a man's voice spoke in a hoarse, low tone. , " Tha place is empty; or everybody s a-bed!" "So much the better. Try the wire, Pete." (To be continued daily.)