THE HONEYMOON BUSINESS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21758, 24 March 1934, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE HONEYMOON BUSINESS

By MORRIS HAY

STXCGrSES A C;»2»K£ try ' *?: a cci i"?—d A si<;cip: s»T* aS F: 7 ?^—t* a.wifSsd *fe<K* fey a, EiiS'v* rs3-i-t«c sits vh* bxsx* c-a;-tsxas ard u caljr sfea&ea ©£ wiii ii fe si-> 3rjrz. azxihis- i<rr£xl iy;?.? of = ic also- "■«&!!=» ij'' to feya, a»d ar-.er-Tsrirdf cCSSf i—3; 4 fefi S» 4fe«> icwl. -wfeKcfe gi »?sj«My' XSt* aa; tirrca cj» ta tii icis£ mszs*- asc is a liE-4r.rs: catsia« (Jror^tswsr r*?o* fe-is « oilier r*ss-ia»o?«a astj'xaic.'saac*' and M»ti» 3&»s fee sobs* r»iLJca fe» if cc~-fj vif~ b-» it vayiaic ia a dask comer ef "i» a»£ is.?® ?fe® Hast by fwc uraiZi&afc. E* w ta&vs ae®* iisteuK* 5C I feiffiM villi i Jjirf* ,s»rdiwilCf £-. i Jjriil ;.*« ss *«%« fer feast, ari asicm-ds t i.— by annce-cfes: tfeaS a yorr? lawT /will sicriiy asrr** w&ms h* £3 - ra~7, Scca arias- si* sir" irn-ies - is«ws_ as ecc* Sfeas e..* 'rr,i.§ s»es feU h*.«, S» if ««£ shaj tfe* awL Hary Halfetd, if _an fe«rwa» *tw> is: 4e b.xvs? felt, ci fe«r -creasy «iifeer cater ci:zixf* cr v" s*r 35ta_«riidyr.. fest-s u *fe« cisccrsrfd £;"•}■?!: '"■* a r-csiiiei; of ir-i-as cuij*r lirccxfe : enxre urili, io ?z'irr?_*\ oeee. ins «p*«r Grw«K- sfecctfe *rtrs*d «£ s.w»t'e>!< cia- «: *c iirzifl'J. tc ?I-it feif j-nrt. ar-1 hj? a--£ IXxrr »5 c--:-# to fe«r scticucr"?. tz TC-i' r?:^JT cti-cij CH AFTER IV.—t Coaticue.s> Laist cf a3 Mr_ bECM e? a !jrp? "rsretept?. / '■ %tr. G tiis iaiHS tee je"Z-?™ea.t. msa jo_:r wife, Mn. i- Th?' what?" 1 I asked febakiy. Vr Hceketl at me iiisrply, a-d his statement. c-trt m s* —er—-be-Treen. yc- "r ■ssife arrd j-wirseil." fororard, and oac or .tJje o~i/ *r X 53' CIK 1 srnn paadicg ojS face cntiS I reEeiaJer/ vc-ai-e'rinr, evea slsea, h-ow it- vis :ha: it aids': hurt him. ">lr. Farqcarsoa," she said thcKizh there a higher voice the Eno~eijt, '" I ceiieve rsy husbsnd cTCe ore-looked the necessirj of a Eettlefeest, 'acd as I cid no: think it recessarr to, raeation the matter, so far he Scbqvs aooti" it. Of ccvtrrsa T>-"- ; -'ige kad :o pat- his litde hit in. Ik y-x"~-r'-~> I- may seem, I belisve Mr." Grcsvenor osderstands, eTea co*. th2- Miss Haliord - Ci rather vssj~2.z least 1 nwan • Grosreaor is a very rich voues iaay.- *• Mr.. Farqaarsjc." I said steraty. « give me those papers. I ooeaed the envelope, anc. sax my ottii nsime set out as. the kcsbssci ■ oi the girl ceside me, and a very iar-e sum ci mo-ey name-d as havms been transferred to my account —•ko'ar larze doesn't matter to this story. So to settle this part os it satisfactorily, I tore parer into shrecs-•'-There!/That is- mj answer'to thatj I believed I had spoken in _3 dramatic smiled at asu isd his heaid. document tfS est m-ahdate the se.ae-i-zr:- hut simaij" ne»;"esiitate _tne prepsrataasi. Os a sesh copy of it-" £ s3.~x that Mary tco - as_ smiling, as iho:i2S she very wei: p.ease<2 wish what I had cone. I hand to her. for I it- was Simefor us to be gohiff, thoogn where we ■s-ere to go 'was something^that up to then I had not even considered. " I sappesSj Mary, if these ggnnemen assure us they can do no more tor es, we may go now. Mar* gave me her arm, and je saM to the ami tne - was in order. Followed by Dupm<-ii_-e, ■ ve descended to the street, -uere una car irs.s waiting for us, anu I put Mary izLzo the hack seat. DusnKSffe, as bef tiii? and'i was - preparing to .get in mysen when Mary" gave a Ettie exclamation of distrsss. I i»™ m" h&£ utir.ais- WSH jou get it for me, TrwCJ%£&? » , -« »- 'v I returned to tne buiiumg. , ?* to-md the solicitors shtsttmz; ra fe'fe. They said seen ; Estchmg; cf any cag. X couEon t re-mesa-her Mary having any such thing with . her. Aaii-'ac', after searching ror a mm- • xpr r.T- u'Vv 1 ' 1 decided she nsd made a xiisrais'., and hurried back to the street, j j_i alicun a time as I ipd ceen away , tee f-ttc liad disappeared. I _at • ti® li. -uidiia to' have expected notnmi: ; eaft;. .vttsiv such a Sims* esccse ror get- . tics? jPiiii of* mi?;, tet-1 ysms icr a wm»e I fiwc ;iij" iiftjui at the suudenness ot Us# dnwwttefe* -.virichi had overtaken ose. EsTfUj}*" Ihtcwiais what I was aomg. I j 2ast cuv ulitf- usava&r ot the streetout a;< 1 donldl -was the red taii-itght or a cir diminishing in the distance, ana Snr a more, graced wxjmJ j; Atznr ii, : im'.'l I reansec 'mat it Err-g-* j : cn: any car,, and tnat rauss ba» - j mean-u ;w- r>i fcsrsefcf of me cebccrateiy. f pcec... a Etrle out of fcreatc % I retamed'to the: omce where I nad teen ried: hu-t the Uoor ~ itW, and all the lignts in ezsigjiiafced. For a minute or tv*o a : dsgpsr&Vilji as the &e*H. set tbe*« ""igak "and again I pressed _despanr- : fry'.t at th>s hauton. aD*i ijwa.? t ® -: sidermg Shag po«siu£ity of hreakmg into ; the ptice -when a policeman; came ;■ CS 7 * 2x . appealed to him rcr heip>- _ 5 •"■ See here, constahUe. I'revest ceen j; f'fj HIT 5The polEceman grinned, almost as:would'hare dene. . . « " If" I xas yoa, sir, id be | 'it for home. That s uo ; t a chGrcE. tsaw ): I pleaded, " Mr. \ and Mr.' Dunnidi£e, and my ®T»e and W Thel»Sk#Esas shook his head sadJy. r '■ You teat it for come. sir. 10a u oe j-; fee I in' better is the morning. I don't ► wan: to nave to put yoa in the ecoier. : I saw it was nopeiftis, so ?" t r.r h«l and walked away irom i"® i z'a* hotel I had [eit tnree notixa j a heart-free and gay young i batheior." Unless I had taken leave or | my senses I was returning to it !egasl> > married to a girl of whom I knew prac- | ticahv nothing, except that I had learnt { to lore her in the fe~ minutes we had | zxerit together, and that she had deserted m&'immediately after our wedding. t CHAPTER V As I walked away from the _ police- | man, leaving him stanng susp!cious!> ; : after me. I could not help thinking { - hoTv the v*~noi& tnmg ; . I reached the'hotel in a dazed state; j : it wis hicky nobody mistook tor drun- f • ketness. I" kept corning back to the , con'-iusicn that I must be asleep ana | j dreaming my adventfires, arci pinche<« | . my-eif with painful res-.ilis which conTinced me that if I were in the land or | •'slmnber, at least I was sleeping very \ . ssoundly. : , When I came to the hotel I gazed . • •■at it wonderingly. for it appeared to ! , be coo matter of fact and solid to be < j part of the dream I was jn—too reason- | ■ able for the world in which I had just"; . beer, married. Climbing the steps to ; j the big doorwav I saw that the time j was oniv a few minutes to eleven, and I ■ ;as I had left it a little before eight '■ J had been away from it for barely 1 1 three hours. I ; I nfortunatel v I had nothing in the j Sroild to show for those three hours

AN INTRIGUING SISUAL

(COPTBIGBTJ

j. net evipn a wedding ring, like my wife — t : to prwre to anybody, much less my- I , I: saJf, tlsat I hadn't become temporarily I t c insane and imagined the thing from A ■ : to Z. J. thought it would hardly do to • t |. tatk to anybody about, it —where, for ' « iuf.ar.re. was the wife I had married. ji and who wo«Id believe me if I told ■ 1 ij them how she had disappeared ? '|j Thai!, standing in the lobby of the ' !ji hotel, I felt in my pocket for a i }! eigareitte—and found something there f ■ i; which I brought out and looked at- in : ji much the same way a man who dreamt : ' i; he haidl found a diamond as big as a | I hen's egg' in his pocket would take it : ; ; out mi look at it, if he were to wake - - || and and it a real diamond. ij _ Holding the thing in my hand, I ' j: fceekoifred to the had porter, who was : j eying me curiously, and * showed him ; - j what I had found. " Willi you please tell me what this f The porter edged away from me li . f suspicis>us'ty. and spoke to me sooth- ■ ■ ingiy like a nurse calming a fractious | , ji baby. ! ji That thing there, sir That thing £ t here'it a pisitoi. sir. and if I was you, | [ sir, I'd! put it away.-'' | Thank vou," I said, giving him a ; f coap'e_ cf sniHtngs. " Taen I'm not j '- dreaming, or if i am so are you." i returned the pistol to the pocket I I where I had found it, and went- into 1 -;;' the lounge and called a waiter. i " i What drink do yoa recommend for | S a case of extreme uncertainty of mind ? | ! I've just found a pistol in my pocket."'' ( The waiter looked at me even more ! s suspiciously than the hall porter. 2 i "" I—l barcjy know, sir. Perhaps ? P *•* 5. t»4. .» - . *** I : t hi D«3'l IuCT tUi-Jii. " » " Never mind. A whisky and scda I ought to fill the bill." j; I felt 1 needed one after all I had J ; j been through, although my weariness f ! had Is it me and I was wide, awake, f Yet I was nervous and jumpy, ar.d \ somehow quite positive in my mind f that my adventures for the night were \ ■ not over. [ The waiter brought me my order. [ and while I drank, almost heedless of I ; what it was he had brought me. I j : went over the strange doings of the ij j last few hc:irs. I had no doubt my | wife had deserted me deliberately—in \ i which, as it tamed out, I did her a | [ partial: injustice—and I thought with 5 j distaste of the necessity I would he j I under or approaching my solicitor in j j the morning, and broaching the sub-1 , jeet o.l: my marriage—and the imme- | | diate of events. I felt it ! | ought not to surprise me if he were i to deny ail knowledge of the affair, i ■ and ill; that case I hardly cared to f ji imagine what he would think of me. Perhaps he would just decide I had j , gone mad, and advise me to consult I as alhinist. Then: I heard a telephone boy call--1 iog ray name. Mr. Grosvenor —is j Mr. Grc-svenor here?'' J ** Hutre _you are boy," I called tot I him, V,"ho is it wants me? What j I did thefy say?" 'j 'E "says it's a bloke wiv your, wife t f; —namE> of DunnicliSe, 1 ' the answer f j: came hack. " And "e says you're to | I Even the telephone boy must have t |- seen something: peculiar about my | : appearance as I turned to the table j where the waiter had put my drink, I [; and tossed it down at a single gulp. I I j- felt I was going to need it in the near ! 1. future even more than I had » \ I needed it when I had ordered it, and I when she boy guided me to the tele- ; I phone booth. I noticed my hand was f r shaking as I put the receiver to my | ■ ear. f | " HttBol" I said into the mouth- t j piece. Ij .;i "Peterl*!-1 heard my wife's voice.; j: trembling with excitement at the- other i; end oi; the wire—at least- I supposed " | then it was excitement, bat I am not- ; . tso sure now. " Peter, have you the jj revolvi?r—the automatic, I gave von?" i " Hullo, Marw!" I replied. " Tnat j !j was a nice trick to play on a man — j! and us not married more than a few : [ nsinat^s!" "Oh, Peter I'' she exclaimed, and I j; thrillei. at the sound of my name as i [ it came from her lips, " You will have [ s to trust- me—l told you, didn't I, you jj }• would have to trust ma now you're my ; ; | husbandr. You haven't answered my jj 5 question yet? Have you the pistol | | safely " • •• Ceartainly." I assured her " I've i I just-. found the thing in my \ jcket. | | Teil met, Mary—is this a scenario for a f i talkie we're rehearsing, or—" _ j I " Pe<:er. ; '" my wife's agitated voice ji \ cut short my jesting. " Quickly—do i • absolutely as"l tell you! Promise me, I | Peter, quickly." { "AH right, my dear. It seems _to | jme "ike a bit out of the Arabian jj j Nights, but I'll promise you whatever { ;j you lilie. if —" " Peter —they nearly ran into us on | the street. wh : 'e you were looking for [ Imy bag!' I—Mr! thmsidiffe didn't r : think thev would find out so quickly • " about oar marriage. They turned their j and came arter us. bat we man- i. : aged to escape from them. Listen — I j; tfeev will he arter you now, it they find | : out where- you are. Don't talk to any | j one vo-'u don't know —so much depends t on you now" And Peter —I i She hesitated, and after a second or | jj YefrMary— what 13 it?" \ 1 want vou to meet me." I heard j her say, and then the telephone went j dead as only a telephone can go dead jj II —when vou particularly want to keep: it alb?!. / 5 t La there anything to rray one sjnerves as badly as 3 telephone under !- : certain circumstances? Perhaps no : : eircomiitances —at least nothing I can j imagine could have been more exasper- j ; •' ating so me than to lose the sound of | ij my wife's voice like that. Dimly I 1 j understood there were forces at work \ ij which meant evil to her, and to me \ jj also, now I was married to her % What | these forces were I had no idea, yet f \ antes ilary's anxiety was entirely | |j mlsplaciDd " she evidently expected j S 'they.' whoever they were, would soon j j make their presence feit. For a few minutes I in the j telephone booth, hoping Mury s voice j would come through again; but as j i time pjissed and no sound came from | the telephone, I tried to raise the ex- j change, and cursed the automatic sys- : tern which gave me nothing but a bare | dial to manipulate, and very little esatisfaction when at last I succeeded in | raising a number. " It is practically impossible to trace j a call on the automatic exchange," a j cold uninterested voice replied to my ! question as to how I could find out j from where Mary's call had come. No doubt the party will call again." j But you don't understand!" I ex- j claimed,, almost in despair. "In afraid j something has happened to my wife:" | " I'm sorry, sir," the voice said in a \ iinal tome. ' 4 1 regret it is impossible 1 for us to do anything for you." j I would have given a good deal to be \ able to throw something at the owner j of the Oold. decisive voice—to hit him j over the head with a cricket bat, or ; something like that. But as it was quite impossible for me to reach him, there was nothing I could do but- to wait patiently. 1 told the man in the hotel ofnee I expected another call to come for me, and returned to the lounge and table where I had had my drink. I was surprised to see by the clock that, even now. it was not much after eleven, but the lounge was empty and I had it to myself with the exception of the sleepv waiter. Mary says I must have dropped off to sleep, but I swear I was as wide awake as anyone could have been —3nd after all, it was only for a few minutes that I was waiting—yet. it was not until she was actually seating herself at my table that I saw or heard the woman who must have passed is silently as a ghost tjbrough the roo:|in. • (To lie continued on Saturday next)