STALKING DEATH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22030, 9 February 1935, Page 15 (Supplement)

STALKING DEATH

By MARY RICHMOND Author of " Strange Cargo,"' " The Masked Terror." eto-.

CHAPTER Xl.—(Continued)

They did not sound like tlie heavy official tread of Inspector Walker; probably the young detective from the Manor had undertaken to coine On alone and spy out the land. Pat rose when she heard a rapping on the door. She did not put the baby back in his cradle; the sight of a woman with a sleeping infant in her arms is usually calculated to disarm the most suspicious policeman. Humming softly under her breath she pulled open the door. It was not Inspector Walker or young Dick Stainforth who stood on the threshold, but a man in a dark cloak with his hat pulled well down over his eyes. He shouldered l'at roughly aside and strode into the room. "Well, of all the cheek . . she began indignantly, then caught her breath as she got a glimpse of his face. " Michel'" she faltered.

"You are at liberty to leave it if U doesn't suit you," Pat retorted.

" For Heaven's sake don't get ratty. You know quite well 1 don't mean all I say. I'm very grateful to you for hiding me and looking after me all this time, but that doesn't mean to b av I like the place. 1 don't. It's a poisonous hole!" " A prison cell would be worse—for * man of your temperament," she replied. " Did you • remember to give baby that milk?" " Yes," said Nigel sulkily. " The kid's all right—been for the last

half hour. Pat, you have been gone a time."

" So would you have been il you'd had to walk over the flats in this weather. I'm tired out. Give me some food, Nigel, then I've something to tell you." She crossed the room and bent over the cradle where her baby lay sleeping. " Something important?" inquired Nigel as he busied himself at the cupboard which served as a larder.

' Yes; Michel! I've been looking for you for a long time, cherie. Oh, a long time! I have something to say to vou. ..."

" But Michel, you—you can't possibly stay here. I—l'm1 —I'm expecting my brother and some friends of his at any moment. They mustn't find you here.

" And why not? You are my wife, aren't you? And a man is supposed to confide in his wife." Pat backed away from him, her eyes dilated with fear. He followed her step by step until he got between her and the door.

" Yes—very." Pat would tell him nothing more until she had satisfied her hunger, then seating herself by the lire which she coaxed into a blaze, she lit a cigarette. " Nigel, ,you'll have to get away from here." " What do you mean?"

" Listen, cherie, you must listen I I have been doing good work—wonderful work during the last few weeks! fam a deliverer—a public benefactor! I have rid the world of wantons such as you —like this!" Suddenly he withdrew a short iron bar from beneath his cloak and swooped down on her. Pat dodged—just in time, and the blow aimed at her head caught her on the shoulder, numbing her right arm. She dropped the baby; fortunately he fell on a soft rug, and ran for her life. Her assailant was directly in front of the door, so that means of escape was cut otf. There remained the window in the inner room, but to reach it she would have to turn her back on Michel. The table, which was between them, alforded her some little protection. She dodged again, gradually backing to the door which led into the inner room, but he must have divined her purpose. Catching the table with his foot he sent it crashing aside. Pat shrieked as she read his deadly purpose in his eyes, but this time she did not escape the blow he struck. She crumpled up at his feet like a broken doll. Even then he was not satisfied; his arm rose and fell half a dozen times before he realised that his ghastly work was done.

■' What I say. Somehow: or other the police have got to know that you're hiding in this vicinity, and they're going to make another search. It'll be a pretty thorough one this so you'd better get away while you can.' Nigel went white; his hands clenched end unclenched nervously. " How do you know?" •' 1 overheard a conversation between that young detective who s staying at the, Manor and Inspector "Walker. . . . I'm sorry, Nigel,' she added. "1 thought you'd be quite safe here until we could get you across to Holland. You know there's another boat going from Harwich in a couple of day's time, and George hoped to get you a passage on her." "I know. >. . it's not your fault, Pat, just my cursed luck. You've been iollv decent to me, old girl; I'll never ioreet it. But what the dickens am I going to do now? If the police are really after/toe they may drop on this place at any moment." . . , „ "It isn't so easily dropped, Pat replied. "It's one of old iommy Dickson's retreats. He often uses _ it when he's been having trouble with the Excise people. If you care to stay here and risk it, I'm quite agreeable. " No," said Nigel, .decisively. I a better clear out. I'm not going to stay and be caught like a. trapped rat I suppose there's no possibility of a boat sailing from. Harwich to-night. ' Not that I know of. And I don t think it would be safe for you to go to Harwich alone. You know, George arranged to come and fetch yoiu You a never manage it on your own. " Confound- it, don't I know that, " He becan to pace moodily up and down. "°What a damned fool I was ever to touch that money," he muttered. " My life's been a positive bell ever since." • ■ " Then why not give yourself up and take the consequences," counselled Pat.lt wolilHiFti-xnean tence, as yours is a first offence." " No fear. I'm not going to " do time " if I'can get out of it. A man who's been in prison is finished — absolutely finished. He never gets rid of the prison taint and he can never pick up." Pat laughed. " You don't know anything about it, Nigel. Personally, I should think that the discipline and regular life would do you good. But I'm not going to argue with you. I know it's useless. The question is—what are you going to do?" . . >

What it really was that caused him to turn back to the hut Nigel never knew. Hi* had been plodding on steadily for the last half hour, gradually drawing nearer and nearer to his objective—the Manor. He was numb with cold and very tired; it was hard, uphill work fighting against the wind, which was now blowing with hurricane force, but he kept at it doggedly, heartened by the thought of Shirley and what she would do for him when she saw his plight. He avoided the quagmire instinctively, and had almost reached the Manor, when the urge to return to the hut. came upon him. He had always been a creature of-impulse; had he been given to careful consideration he would not now have been a fugitive, dependent upon the charity of his sister for his very liberty. He tried to still that urge. He had come so far; he would be a fool to turn back now, he argued. And in all probability the poli<Sj were watching the hut. But ii was no good—he couldn't go on! Cursing himself for a fool he began to retrace his steps. It was so dark now that he could hardly see more than a few feet i:u front of him, and he had to go slowly, straining his ears to catch the sound of footsteps other than his own. But apparently he was quite alone on the flats to-nignt.

Pat would be surprised to see him; she'd say he was a fool not to have gone on to the Manor, but he was sure that in her own heart she'd be relieved that she hadn't to spend the night alone in that isolated hut. It was a nerveracking ordeal for anyone, particularly for a woman. Of course Pat wasn't like most women; she was as brave as any man, and would make the best of a situation, however unpleasant it might be. When he had commented upon her attitude towards life and things in general she told him she had been brought up in a hard school, and that her education had mostly consisted of how to take knocks gamely. Yes; Pat was a great girl! If he had been married to her she'd never have let him get into this mess. Pity he couldn't find someone like Pat, who would look after him and help him on. It seemed hours, before he reached the hut, and by then he was nearly exhausted. Stumbling across the sodden ground he noticed that the door was swinging to and fro on its hinges, at the mercy of every gust of wind. The lamp had burnt very low —only the faintest flicker of light could be seen. The instinct of the hunted beast came uppermost in Nigel. He crept forward cautiously, all hui senses on the alert. Was this a trap to catch him, and were the police hiding inside? As he reached the door he drew out the electrio torch Pat had given him, and paused for a moment, listening. But everything was deathly quiet; save for the moaning of the sea and the roaring of the elements there was not a sound to be heard. " Pat,'' he whispered. She did not answer.

Nigel remained silent for some tune, then suddenly he brought his hand down on the table with a resounding slap. ' , "I've got it," he cried. "I'll get Shirley to hide me for a couple of days. She can do it easily." " Hide you—where P" " Why, in 'the Manor, of course." " She'll be jolly cute if she can do that. You can't expect her to risk a good situation for your sake. If Mr. Standisb finds out " He • won't. He's away and isn's expected back for several days.' Pat shrugged her shoulders. " Ob very well then. If you think 6he can manage it ... . . " She'll manage it all right. She can be quite resourceful when the occasion demands it. Look how she brought me that money." " Yes, and landed us all in jail. I'll swear she was followed, and how the Excise people got on Tommy Dickson's track. They'd never worried him before > . . . However, your case is pretty desperate and there seems nothing else for you to do." " £'ll wait till it gets darker,.then 1 can slip away. You'll be all right, won't you, Pat? I mean, it Seems rotten to leave you alone, but . " "Don't talk like a fool." sho retorted testily. " Of course I'll be all right. Not a soul will come here with the exception of the police, and they won't hurt fne."

"Pat," said Nigel again, a little louder this time. " Are you there, Pat?"

But all the same, later in the evening when Nigel had gone, she coukl not help feeling a little nervous. Tlio wind had increased in intensity, and was howling' round the hut; she could hear the dull, restless roar of the sea as it swept up over the flats, and when she opened the door and peered outside, the dreariness of the surrounding landscape made her shut it hastily and go back to the' tiro. After awhile the baby began to cry; Pat picked him up and began to walk about with him. Even when she had quietened him she kept him in her arms—he was company, of a sort. It grew very dark. Pat did not attempt to get any supper; she sat by the fire with the child still in her arms, wondering how Nigel was getting on. Although she knew him to b» thoroughly selfish and unscrupulous where his own well-being was in

The silence was broken by the baby's fretful cry. Pat must be in the hut then; she'd never have left the child alone. Summoning all his courage Nigel went inside. At first he could not distinguish anything. With a last feeble flutter the lamp had expired. He switched on his torch, and by its light he saw the figure of a woman lying across the threshold of the inner room. It was Pat. As the realization of what had happened came to Nigel he felt as though all the blood in his veins had been turned to ice, and he was suddenly deprived of the power ot movement. He could only stand stilling down at the broken, battered body of the woman who had aroused in him a feeling suspiciously like love, which he had never experienced before in the whole of his selfish life.

•> question, she had grown quite fond of * him during the time she had sheltered -- him in Tonyny Dickson's hut. He was unable to look after himself —was utterly dependent on her. and he aroused all' her motherly instincts. ■Knowing that he deserved to suffer for his selfishness and duplicity, yet she was sorry for him. It was a dreadful iff night for anyone to be out. in, and for i fugitive, who was unacquainted with the Huts it was doubly bad. She doubted whether he would ever reach the Manor j he might lose his way and fall into a quagmire. Certain parts of . the flats were positive death traps for the unwary. She ought not to have hst him go, or at any rate, she should have gone \vith him. But then she couldn't have left the baby. She wished Sum or George Dickson would coine. But there was no likelihood of a visit from'either of them to-night. the other hand, she quite expected the police. Well, she'd deny all knowedge of Nigel, aiid if she could help bj' misleading them in any way do it. \ At - length she i heard footsteps , outside—not the foUsteps of several toen as she !i;ul -V !. hut of one..

Pat had been murdered! She had been struck down by savage blows—her head was lying in a pool of blood, and her long dark hair was sodden with it. " My God I"

Nigel went down on his knees beside her, but he did not touch her—he couldn't He knew that she was beyond human aid, and a violent nausea overcame him. There was only one thing to do—get away fts quickly as possible. No doubt the murderer was lurking in the vicinity, perhaps 011 the look-out for a second victim.

He got to his feet and was just going to make for the door when he heard voices and footsteps outside. Two men were coming across the Hats in the direction of the hut. He extinguished his torch and flattened himself against the wall behind the door, hardly daring to breathe His instinct was to dflsh out into the open and trust to luck and the darkness'of the night to escape the newcomers. But he knew that it would be. madness; besides, every moment they were drawing nearer. ... 1

" This is the place, .1 think, sir," said one of the men, whose voice

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Nigel recognised as that of youn Stainforth. " But I'm afraid we shal find our bird has flown."

"Undoubtedly. But he can't go far on a night like this, especially if he is unacquainted with the flats. The woman will be able to tell us something. Leave me to question her, Stainforth. I imagine she will prove somewhat difficult." " Very good, sir "

Nigel felt the beads of perspiration start to his forehead as the two men entered the hut and passed within a foot of him. He shrank against the wall, sure that they must hoar the heavy beating of his heart. But it was soon obvious that they were quite unaware, of his presence. Stainforth's companion had a toi'ch which he flashed over the table.

"Ah, a lamp! Better light it, then we'll be able to see our way about." Followed the scraping of a match against the side of a matchbox, a flickering flame carefully guarded by the detective's hands, then the lamp was alight. A moment later the two men had discovered the body of the murdered woman. "God God. Again!" Nigel did not wait to hear any more. He appreciated the danger of iiis position if he were discovered now with Pat's dead body. Without doubt he would be accused of murdering her. And he could prove no alibi. He must get away, and at once. While the newcomers bent, horrified, over Pat, he slipped out of his hiding place. CHAPTER Xli. THE MAN-HUNT On the same night as the events narrated ifi the preceding chapter, Shirley Standish had gone to bed very early. Jasper was still away in London and Sally had been asked to a dance some friends of hers in Tollesbury wers giving, so Shirley and Mrs. Bellairs had been left to ke'ep each other company. There was a great deal of antagonism between them; Mrs. Bellairs never lost an opportunity of making Shirley feel her position and, rather than give her the chance to insult her further, the girl preferred to plead a headache and. go to bed

She would be thankful when her husband returned. Life at the Manor without him was unbearable, and he had promised he would suggest to his 1 sister that she cut her visit short. There was really no need for her presence now. Sally was a law unto herself and would tolerate no chaperonage. Shirley had ..to admit that she was better left alone, especially since the advent of Dick Stainforth. The two young people had taken a great liking to one another —a liking which showed promise of developing into something more in the near future. Dick Stainforth might not be everything that Jasper Standish looked for a son-in-law, but he was a gentleman and he had a promising career irf front of him, and if he and Sally cared for one another what did anything else matter? Shirley had married without love, and there was every prospect of her marriage being a success, but she wouldn'.t advise anyone else to do it. So much depended on the man. Jasper was a man in a thousand —so kind, so considerate; he gave her everything she wanted and showed her in innumerable little ways that she meant all the world to him and that her happiness came first. And, on the whole, she was happy. She had grown very fond of Jasper during their short honeymoon and she was sure that if the thought of Macdonald hadn't still haunted her he would have succeeded in turning that "fondness" into love.

She wondered what had happened to Macdonald. She hadn't heard anything of him since he'd left the Manor, and neither had Jasper. And he wasn't at Scotland Yard, for Jasper had rung up one day and they could give him no information aB to his friend's whereabouts. But it wasn't at all Unusual for liihi to vanish into the blue- He was probably busy unravelling the threads of one of his numerous cases and would appear when he thought fit. Shirley quite expected to hear of his official engagement to Hilda Vaughan. and she was steeling herself to bear the blow with equanimity. Although she was married to Jasper Standisb she could not tear Macdonald out of her heart, and the thought of that other woman was like an aching wound. She could confide in no one; she had to keep the knowledge of her foolish infatuation to herself and fight against it to the best of her ability. She dreaded to meet Macdonald agaiif, and yet she knew that such a meeting was bound to take place sooner or later. He was her husband's greatest friend and Jasper was sure to ask him to stay at the Manor for a holiday once the mystery of those murders was cleared up. She found it impossible to sleep—the howling of the wind outside and the rattling of the window-panes would have kept her awake if she had had nothing on her mind, so she was glad she had brought a book to read. She sat up in bed with the pillows hunched behind her back and tried to concentrate on the amusing adventures of Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse's inimitable creation. But to-night the screamingly funny episodes failed to hold her attention and her thoughts kept drifting to her own problems. At length slie gave up the effort and put the book aside

It was at that moment that she heard something rattling against the window. She sat bolt upright, tense and alert. There it was again, just as if someone had flung up a handful of gravel against the panes. She got out of bed and, without waiting to put on ber slippers, hurried across the room. As she opened the window a gusfc of wind blew against her uncovered arms, making her shiver with cold. She peered out, but it was too dark for her to see anything. " Who's? there? " she called, in a frightened voice

To her surprise her brother answered her.

•'Ssh, Shirley! Not so loud, for heaven's sake! I'm coming up." Then, as her eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, she saw a figure beginning to climb tlx- ivy which grew on the wall She watched him with her heart in her mouth every moment expecting him to lose his grip and fali. But Nigel was desperate and it gave him the necessary courage to conquer an ascent which he would not have attempted in saner moments

" Thank God." Shirley breathed the words as he drew level with the windowsill, then, grasping him by the shoulders, she helped him over. He collapsed on to the floor and lay there, his face white and drawn, his eyes closed. He was wet through and his clothing was torn and caked with mud. " Nigei !" Shirley knelt down beside him, terrified# " Nigel, what's the matter? What has happened ? Are you hurt?" Ho unclosed pain-dimmed eyes and looked up at her. " I'll Be all right in a minute. Just leave me alone. Can you get me a drink?" "I've only water here," she replied. " I'll go down and get you something if you like, but someone might see me and wonder ..." " No! better not risk it," he interposed. " Water will do." Shirley poured him out a glassful and held it to his lips with a shaking hand. He drank thirstily, then dragged himself up into a sitting posture.

('l'<i be continued on Saturday neit)