STALKING DEATH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21972, 1 December 1934, Page 11 (Supplement)

STALKING DEATH

SYNOPSIS Returning by train from a quiet weekend at home to Sharpley Manor, where sho is employed as companion-governess to pretty Sally Standish, Shirley Matthews sinks into a pessimistic reverie, due partly to the murky fog, which shrouds the night in gloom, and partly to the fact that a series of particularly gruesome murders has been committed on this line in recent weeks. Unsuspecting young* girls have invariably been the victims of these brutal attacks, and all efforts to trace the murderer have proved fruitless. Imagine Shirley's distress, when she rouses. herself from her reverie, to find that her former fellow-travellers have left the train, and that she is alone in the carriage with a very suspicious-looking man. whom she immediately guesses to be the perpetrator of these ghastly crimes. Her terror increasing, she seizes the first opportunity of moving to another carriage, and is greatly relieved on reaching her destination to find her employer's chauffeur waiting to convey her safely to the Manor. Here another shock awaits her. however, for her employer reluctantly tells here that his wife considers Sally too old to have a governess any longer, and that ho in obliged to dismiss her, although she is to remain at the Manor until he has found her another position. Next morning Mr. Standish introduces to her Sir lan Macdonald. a commissioner at Scotland Yard. wl'O is to be his guest for some time. To the embarrassment of Shirley and the amusement of everyone else, she recognises Sir lan as the man whom, much disguised, she had mistaken for the murderer in the train 011 the previous night. CHAPTER ll.—(Continued) " And now that you are here I hope you'll stay for a long time. Ah! here's Sally! Have you got rid of that destructive little brute?" " If you mean Hats, he's shut up in the stables." " Take that sulky expression off your face and come and shake hands with Sir lan Macdonald," ordered Jasper. " lan, this is my one and only offspring. A graceless infant, isn't she?" Macdonald laughed. Ho was fond of pretty girls. " She's just like you, Jasper." Throughout the meal Shirley was silent. She liked to listen to the two men talking. Jasper was a good conversationalist, and Macdonald had the knack of making the most ordinary subject sound fascinating. " You must excuse my wife not being down to receive you," said Jasper as he rose from the table. " But as I've already told you she suffers from very poor health and is practically an invalid. Will you excuse me if I go up and see her now? I'll tell her you're here."

" Run along, old man. I don't want you to feel you've got to entertain me. I'll' be quite happy if you leave me to wander about on my own. And perhaps Miss Matthews and Miss Sally will take pity on me and show me round?"

" I'd love to," cried Sally. " It will be such a change from dull old lessons."

" We can offer you plenty of shooting, lan, and some hunting, too. I've got some decent hunters in the stables. I'll take you down to have a look at them later on. Well, so long! I'll leave you to it. And if you want meyou'll'tind me in the library." Jasper went straight up to his wife's bedroom, a large, sunny apartment, on the first floor, the most pleasantly situated in the house. Vivien Standish was in bed, sitting propped up with pillows, a pale green wrap, trimmed with swansdown, over her silk nightdress. Her straw-coloured hair was tucked into a green net, embroidered with posies over the ears, lb was obvious that she had spent a bad night; there were dark shadows under her faded eyes, her features looked sharpened, and the petulant droop of her lips was more pronounced than ever.

" Good-morning, darling," Jasper bent and kissed her on the forehead, but he m§t with no response. " Did you sleep badly?" .

"I always sleep badly," she snapped. " Sit down, Jasper. It worries me when you're towering over me like that."

Ho seated himself 011 the edge of the bed and took her hand in his —such a thin, frail-looking hand, the veins making blue traceries under the ivory white skin.

"Buck up, my dear!" he besought her. " It's a glorious day. It would do you good to sit in the garden for a bit."

" Nothing will do me good while that woman's in the house," she responded fretfully. " What woman?"

" You know as well as I do what woman, Jasper. Don't pretend. Have you given her notice?" " I gave Miss Matthews notice last night, much against my will, I can assure you."

" Yes, it would be against your will, I can quite believe that." There was a sneering note in Vivien Standish's voice. " Your wife's wishes don't count, of course."

" My dear, Vivie, I've conformed to your wishes."

"And when does she go?" eagerly. " In a few days' time? Next week?" " At the end of the month if I can find her another post."

"The end of the month! It's outrageous!) Why should she stay so long?" " You seem to forget that we made an agreement with her, and that there is such a thing as a month's notice." " But I wonder sho cares to stay when she knows she isn't wanted." " Vivie, be reasonable," ho pleaded. " The girl depends 011 us for a livelihood. Wo can't suddenly chuck her out because of a whim of yours. I'm trying to find her another post." " I won't have my meals downstairs until'she's gone." " Very well, then." Jasper rose to his feet and stood looking down at his wife. " You must resign yourself to having them here. I'm not going to turn Miss Matthews out. The poor girl's doue nothing wrong."

To his annoyance Vivien burst into tears.

" Jasper, don't you care for mo at all? Don't I mean anything to you?" "Of courso you do. You're my wife." " You only care tor tne because I'm your wife. I don't believe you'd mind if I died to-morrow. Probably you'd be glad. You could marry that Matthews girl then. Oh, Jasper, promise me you won't! Promise mo?" and she clutched him with feverish hands. " Promise what?" " That you won't marry Shirley Matthews when I'm —dead."

Although she had annoyed him almost beyond ondurance, he laughed. " Don't be ridiculous, Vivie. There isn't the remotest possibility of you dying. You're good for another twenty years. And you needn't be so catty about Miss Matthews. I doubt if she'd have me, even if I were free." " But you're in love with her." Vivien Standish's face worked piteouslv. " Nonsense. Of courso I'm not." " You must be. I've often hoard you say how much you admire her."

" Can't a man admire a woman without being in love with her? You're childish, Vivie I Of course, I admire Miss Matthews. She's a very plucky girl as well as a very pretty one. I should have thought you'd have made friends with her. You want a friend —a sensible, well-balanced woman. at the good influence she has on Sally!"

" Yes," bitterly. " She's taught Sally to despise her own mother." " She's done nothing of the sort. You know; that's a Billy, spiteful accu-

By MARY RICHMOND Author of " Strange Carso," " The Masked Terror." etc.

AN ENTRANCING MYSTERY ROMANCE V—

(COPVRIGHT)

sation, Vivie. Now let's drop the subject of Miss Matthews and my supposed infatuation for her. I'm getting tired of it."

" All right, Jasper." Vivien produced a crumpled handkerchief and wiped her eyes. " Kiss me and tell me that you still love me." He took the wasted little form in his arms and kissed her on the lips with all the ardour he could muster. She responded passionately, and would have thing to him even when the kiss was ended, but he freed himself resolutely and put her back 011 her pillows. " Why don't you got dresSed and co'mc downstairs?" he asked. "An old friend of mine turned up this morning. You've heard me speak of Macdonald, who was in my house at Eton? Matter of fact, I was his big fag for a short time."

" Yes, 1 remember. Has he come to visit you? "

" He has business in these parts, so he looked me up. I want him to pay us a lengthy visit. Wish you'd come down and entertain him. I'm sure you'll like him —he's a most interesting fellow."

" Isn't he a detective or something?" " A Commissioner at Scotland Yard. That's far removed from a detective, you know. Well, are you going to get up and play the hostess? " "It might do me goqd." Vivien spoke doubtfully. " I want to go into Colchester to-day, Jasper." " Not going by train, surely? " " No." " Want me to drive you, or will you take Parker? " " I'll have the Austin Seven and drive myself," she replied. " But Vivie, if you're so ill that's most unwise." " I'm well enough to drive the Austin. You know I hate sitting behind a chauffeur." " Then let me drive you? " " No. I'd prefer to go alone, I've got some shopping to do, and I may go up to the barracks and see Mrs. Wade; otherwise I shall have tea at the Clips." " Very well, just as you please," Jasper made for the door. " I'll leave you to get up now. Vivie." As he went out into the passage he came face to face with Rose the pretty parlourmaid, who was carrying a breakfast tray. " Madame's breakfast, sir," she explained as she passed him.

"That's good! Go right in, Rose, Mrs. Standish is awake."

Having seen the maid enter his wife's room he heaved a sigh of relief, and taking out his handkerchief wiped a suspicious moisture from his forehead. " Whew! " he muttered. " What a hallabuloo! "

Shirley had the afternoon Sally had decided that it was time to deal with her arrears of correspondence, so she had shut herself up in her own bedroom and was writing feverishly. The fine weather tempted Shirley out of doors, but knowing how fickle it could be, she donned an old raincoat, a relic of better days, pulled on a serviceable felt hat and changed into thick, lowheeled shoes, then armed with a walking stick, she set out. She made her way down to the creek and turned to the right along by the stone wall which had formed part of the fortifications. The sandy ground was firm and dry now, though last night it had been under water. A dark muddy line of scum was the only memento of the high tido which had sent the waters clamouring and battering against the wall. Far away into the distance stretched the flat marshy lands, with here and there the sun striking on a dark wet pool. A treacherous land to walk across on a dark night, unless one were very sure of the way. A false step might precipitate one into the quagmire, which would speedily swallow one up with little sucking, chuckling sounds. To the left the grey vaters crept stealthily over the sands and the mud, covering the pools and the greenish ooze. Now and again a sea-bird i would alight and hover among the reeds which fringed one bank of the creek, but thero was 110 other sign of life. Shirley loved the marshes for their very solitariness. She was not a timid girl, and the fact that she could wander 011 for miles and not meet a soul didn't cause her any nervous qualms. i*>he did not need company on her walks. She wanted to think. This afternoon she had plenty to think about. The news of that other horrible murder and the sudden arrival of Macdonald had driven her own affairs from her mind; but now she had time to dwell upon them. She hated the thought of leaving Sharpley Manor; she knew she would never find another post where she could be so happy. She didn't fear for the future since Jasper Standish had promised to find her another post, but she dreaded the uprooting. She knew that Vivien Standish was jealous of her—had known all along, though sho had never given her cause. But she hadn't realised that her jealousy had assumed such proportions that she must drive away the object of it. If it hadn't been for Jasper Standish sho would have been turned away like an unsuitable kitchenmaid, and left to find other employment as best she could. But Jasper was like a bulwark between her and his wife's insane jealousy; as this formidable stone wall served as a bulwark against the sea which would! otherwise swamp the grounds of the Manor.

She decided not to tell her mother that she had been given notice. Timo enough when she left to go to another job. Her mother would worry so, and she had enough troubles without adding to them. Poor mother! she only made a pretence of being content with her life, to please her children. Nigel might be deceived by his mother's smiling face, but not Shirley. Sho knew that the smile merely masked a heart which should have broken long ago, so wounding wore the blows it had sustained. No! lot her mother remain in ignorance until it was absolutely necessary to tell her. Shirley determined that she wouldn't tell Nigel, either. He would be sure to lot it out. He couldn't keep a confidence to himself. She had had many hours of worry on hor brother's account. He was a charming boy and very popular, but deplorably weak. She was afraid he would never be able to rely on his own efforts to face the grim business of life. He was of the type who ipust always have a feminine shoulder to lean on. At present he was leaning on his mother's, but she was bound to fail him sometime. And then what would he do? A practical, capable wife would be his salvation, but his taste in women as in everything else, inclined to the ornamental and showy. She had been walking for about half an hour, when she spied a man coming rapidly toward her from the opposite direction. When he drew near she saw that it was Macdonald. She frowned with annoyance; his company just then was unwelcome, yet she couldn't very woll turn back. It would be a direct insult and he had done nothing to deserve it. Besides, he was Jasper Standish's guest. " I thought it was you, Miss Matthews," he remarked as they came face to face. " You must bo fond of solitude. First an empty compartment and then—this! " She laughed. (To be continued next week)