THE CRY IN THE NIGHT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21253, 5 August 1932, Page 18

THE CRY IN THE NIGHT

(COPYRIGHT)

By OTTWELL BINNS ... Author of 4 * The Lavenham Treasure, Diana of the U«auu«», " The Mystery of the Atoll," etc., etc.

CLEVER AND ENTHRALLING MYSTERY STORY BY POPULAR WRITER

CHAPTER V.—(Continued) Adrian Rowthorne visibly .stiffened. j For a second a light of intelligence gleamed in his clouded eyes, and ho ejaculated hoarsely: " The police! " Watching him closely, Charlton saw { that whatever the reason, the man had* cause to fear the attention of tli© IfIAV. And something else ho saw, also —something at which Bobbie Rowthorno was staring with horrified eyes, and which as lie saw it, made him catch his breath. On the man's right hand was a smudge, almost black, that might have been paint or some stain, but which Charlton, fresh from a service that was always active, | recognised for dried blood. " Yes! " said the girl. " They may be here any moment. There are reasons—-" " Reasons! " echoed the young man in a stupid way as if the .liquor or narcotic under which ho was labouring were reasserting itself. " Yes! " cried his sister in a frenzy of impatience. " You wero to havo seen Arthur Studholme to-night. Did you go ? " " Took a taxi and—" He laughed oddly. " But, er—didn't get there you know. Met a—friend ' In Charlton's ears the latter part of his utterance had a note on insincerity. It sounded the very lamest excuse, and with the girl's unspoken fears to influence his outlook, he found it utterly unconvin cing. The girl plainly found it the same. "Oh!" she cried tragically. "Don't you know! Arthur Studholme is dead—murdered! " " Murdered! " Tlio echoed word was no more than a hoarse whisper, the look on the speaker's face was enigmatic, and though for one second there was a flash in his sodden eyes, Charlton could not guess whether that which his sister had cried was news to him or not. Then unexpectedly, the man turned on his heel anil began to stumble towards the door. " Adrian! " cried the girl quickly. " Wait! Before you go, change and—and —wash youfr hands." " Wash—my—hands! " The man staccatoed the words, whilst with his hands held out before him he stared vacantly down at his open palms. Then he turned them over. As he did so his face lost its vacuity; there was a flash of dreadful intelligence in his eyes, and ho ejaculated hoarsely. "My God!" He did not speak again; he avoided his sister's eyes, and turning sharply he began to walk towards a door across the room, on his way passing Charlton as if the latter had been a stone. Charlton marked the look of dazed horror on the dissipated face, and as the man disappeared in what was probably a bathroom, he turned and looked at the girl. On her beautiful face was a hint of the horror that was so plain on her brother's, and as she met Charlton's eyes, she whispered brokenly: " You s-saw ? Oh—what shall I do?" He did not know what to advise. The thought in her mind was quite clear to him. Her brother had had an appointment at Pondicherry Lodge, which, so lamely as to be utterly unconvincing, he averred he had not kept; and Studholme was dead, slain by someone who had gone to thfe house with a definite purpose in his mind. All these things pointed one way, ,as Charlton could not but acknowledge; and that which they indicated was almost too appalling to be put into words. _ " I do not know what you can do," he said quietly. " Studholme was quite worthless! The fate that has overtaken him, as I will swear, was richly deserved. But the law does not approve of private administration of its decrees. . . Your brother —" He broke off, recognising, suddenly, that the words on his lips were a tacit accusation of Adrian Rowthorne. But the girl apparently was of a mind with him, and she whispered urgently, «' Yes ? Yes ?" He was forced to say something, and in the end he said it bluntly. I think he had better go away for a timo." " But where?" she demanded; then he said slowly: " I knew a man once who was accused falsely of crime. He was in grave peril of the law, and could do nothing to exonerate himself. So he went to France and enlisted in the Foreign Legion—" He checked himself as he caught tho swift gleam of understanding in the girl's eyes. " Ah !" she cried ; " you have been in the legion yourself!" " Yes," he answered, admitting nothing, denying nothing that her words might imply. " But that, you know, js true of many men." "Yes. Yes," she replied quickly, a swift, uneasy flush banishing the pallor of her face for a moment. " Forgive me. It was stupid of me to jump to a conclusion so silly." I " No!" he interrupted, following a sudden impulse. "You chance to right. I was speaking of myself, and it was Arthur Studholme who drove me to the legion. Some time I will tell yon the whole story. But just now we must think of your brother." For a second or two ho stood in thought, then something occurred to him. " Your brother was to have gone to Pondicherry Lodge to-night," you said. " Tell me, did ho send Studholme a mes sage ?" " I—l do not know. It was Studholme who told me he expected Adrian. Why do you ask ?" ■ " Because someone did send a message, I fancy—someone of whom he was afraid. Anyway, he summoned two of his associates to confer with him. That much I gathered from the men themselves at Pondicherry Lodge." " You saw them ?" she cried in surprise. "Talked —?" " No. .1 overheard them. And there was certainly some man of whom Studholme was most deadly afraid. As were the other two, also." ■ " Adrian—" she began, broke off, and began again. " Hq—ho almost hated Arthur Studholme, and two others who were with him. Studholme was not n good man, you know. He had Adrian in—in his power; made hfm do things ho did not want to do. I cannot tell you all, but —" "No need. I know better than you the kind of blackguard the man was." " But that does not make it easier. Adrian is impulsive. Oh, I do not know what to think." Charlton was in the same quandary. Tho dead Studholme had told tho girl that ho expected her brother, but apparently lie had been undisturbed at Iho thought of the visit, and Adrian Rowthorne did not seem to be the kind of man to induce fear in' such hard-bitten cases as Studholme and his associates. But here was that halting excuse; tho stained hand, tho sudden, sobering horror to be taken into account. Further, the man was obviously given to drugs, and no one could predict what a drug addict might do. Anything was possible, and— His thought was uncompleted when the door across the room opened, and tho man of whom he was thinking appea'red. He had changed, washed and generally spruced himself, and, though his face was ghastly and his eyes gleamed with wild, dancing lights, ho was obviously more his own man than he had been when he entered the flat. He did not look at Charlton, but went straight to his sister. " —'Bye. Bobbie—l'm going. I won't tell you where. One of these days I'll write.'" Tho girl looked at- him beseechingly. "Adrian! You—you didn't—?" He mado a gesthro of bewilderment. "God knows! I don't. Something happened to-night. That foul woman, Queenie —" Ho loft it there and moved stiffly to the door, Bobbie Rowthorne did not try to hinder his going. She know, as Charl-

ton knew, that he was in flight—flight dictated by formless fears, unsupported by any clear memory of events, but which wero very real. As the door closed behind him, the girl gave a little cry. " Oh. it is terrible —not to knpw the truth!" " Yes," agreed Charlton, then spoke tersely. " But you must think of yourself. Miss Bobbie. If the police trace you—you must tell the simple truth." " But if they trace you and not me—?" Charlton laughed harshly. '"Then I assure you they will never hear of you from me." Bobbie Rowthorne looked at him with glowing eyes that sent the blood spinning to his head. "You will take that risk—for me?" " That and a thousand others," he answered with a fervour which made her face grow suddenly warm. «« But—" she began, protestingly, only to be interrupted. " There is no ' but.' You must not appear in this. It must not be known that you went to Pondicherry Lodge. That some young lady vvent—will, I think, be bound to become "known. But that tho visitor was you—is not known, and T shall keep the secret." ( " You—you are very generous." " Generous!" he cried fervently, moved by tho soft light in. her eyes. " There is nothing that I would not do to serve you! You must know that. And tho reason—" He broke off sharply, and the soft glow in the girl's blue eyes was accentuated. " Yes." she answered simply. "Yes!" Then she said in a speculative voice: " That woman whom Adrian mentioned —Queenie, wasn't tho name?—do you know her?" Know her? The question was like a blow in tho solar plexus. For a moment ho was all abroad—knocked out. There was a sudden blank look on his face, then he spoke harshly. " The worst woman in London, 1 will swear. I know—-er —a little of her. It is unfortunate for your brother that he should have known her." He broke off and changed the subject abruptly. But we must think what to do while there is time." He looked round and his eyes rested on the suitcase. "You were going away?" he asked. 44 Yes," she answered. It seemed to me to bo the best thing to do. I only returned from abroad to-day, and very few people will know that I am in England. I had an idea of going down to Dorset for a little time until—until this trouble had blown over. You see I must not be drawn into it if I can possibly help, if only for Adrian's sake. Ihe police would ask me why I went to Pondicherry Lodge at so late an hour, and if I told them—" she broke off, and then added piteously,, " it would be like betraying Adrian to them. And I must not do that, oh! I must I should feel like Judas all my days." Charlton considered for a moment or two, then ho nodded. " Possibly it will be as well for you to leave London for a little time. But it may bo necessary that I should communicate with you. You must let me know your address." "I can give you that now—l share a cottage at Lulworth with a friend. Just, now, she is in Paris and the cottage is free. I can be - quiet there she broke off, and going to a small escritoire wrote the address on a sheet of paper, and handed it to him. That, is the place." , . .. Ho took the paper and before placing it carefully away, read it. _ ~ " Channel View, Lulworth, Dorset. Then he nodded. "I know Lulworth, though it is years since I was there." " Perhaps you will come and renew your acquaintance with it ?" she said tentatively. "If I may I shall be delighted. When I have news to bring you—" " Perhaps no news would be the best news of all," she said. " You must not forget that. And it might be a mercy to come and tell me there is no news." Ho laughed at that. " I shall certainly avail myself of all my privileges." " I do not know how to thank you—- " Poof." He made a gesture and laughed again. " That was the way a friend of mine in Tonquin disposed of things ho would have nothing to do with. And I say again, ' Poof!' But if anything should happen, I mean, if you have any trouble about to-night's affair you will let mo,know at onco as a friend, I mean." " I will telegraph to you." '" And if your brother—" ho broke off as he caught tho look on her face, and tho girl spoke quietly: " If tho authorities connect him with Arthur Studholme's death, the trouble will be past helping, I am afraid." Charlton was inclined to share her thought, but he refrained from saying 80. Instead ho answered with assumed lightness: " We have not reached that bridgo yet, Miss Bobbie, and we may never come to it. The worst troubles, remember, are those that never happen. Now I think I must go." „ " But you are forgetting one thing, she said. " If I am to communicate with you, I shall need your address." " Of course," he answered, and after a moment's thought gave her Hadleigh's address. " Write to Hadleigh, but mark your letters with a C. on the flap, and Hadleigh will know. If anything should happen to me—l mean—er —" "You mean that if tho police should trouble you ?" she cried quickly. " Well," he answered with forced laughter, " there is a little risk that I shall be challenged to explain my movements, if they should discover that I went twice to Pondicherry Lodge, you know.'' 1 " You think they may arrest you." " There is an outside possibility," ho owned. " If they do—" she began, and then checked herself sharply. " Yes," ho asked. " I shall not hide behind you," she said with decision. " My testimony that Arthur Studholmo was dead before your arrival would clear you, and I could not remain silent and let you bear the brunt of things —" " There will be no brunt to bear," he said with a confidence ho did not altogether feel. "If the police arrested me, I should be ablo to dissociate myself from participation in the crime. So please do nothing rash, if events look black for a day or two. Promise me." " No," answered the girl with decision, " I will not promise. It is not right that I should. I shall uso my own judgment. I—" " Wait!" he interrupted. " Dick Hadleigh is a lawyer. If—er—trouble should arise, he will know if any intervention of yours would bo of use. You might consult him on the matter. That would not prevent your acting, you know, if you wanted." Tho girl thought for a mqment, and then nodded. " Very well," she replied, " but I shall reservo my liberty of action —that is understood." Sho looked at the clock, then she held out her hand. " I have promised myself that I will breakfast at Lulworth, Sir Martin, and the earlier I am on tho wing, the better." " Yes!" ho agreed, and took the offered hand. For a moment their gaze met. A quick ardent light flashed in Charlton's eyes, and tho girl's grew suddenly tumultous and turned swiftly away, while tho blood surged in her palo face. Then tho man laughed a littlo strainedly. "Good-bye! I shall see you soon at Lulworth, I hope.", And without waiting for any words from her, ho turned and left tho flat. In tho street ho looked about for a taxi, but saw none, and walked on, with the idea of returning to Hadleigh's chambers. 1 (To bo continued daily)