IS THIS REVENGE?

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22332, 1 February 1936, Page 13 (Supplement)

IS THIS REVENGE?

CHAPTER X.—(Continued)

* AN EXCITING MYSTERY NARRATIVE

A point-duty constable directed him to Ewart Road, a backwater thoroughfare which ran in a crescent fifty yards behind the Town Hall. The houses were solid-faced structures, with basements and cramped areas and front doors that peered at the street from the top of a flight of five broad stone steps. No. 15 was in darkness save for a light burning in the hall. Slade, having passed up the length of, the road, and seen where it emptied itself, returned to No. 15, mounted the steps, and pressed the boll. The door was opened by a small man with a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles perched half-way down the bridge of his thin nose. A newspaper was tucked under one arm, and he peered at the disturber of his peace over tho lenses of his glasses. After his first glance he sniffed. " If you're one of those election canvassers, mister," he began, "you'd best bo off. I've had enough of their confounded—" " But I'm not," protested Slade, with a smile. "I've called to see Miss Peggy." ThJs last had the effect of preventing the cloor from being closed in his face. The little man stared at him for a minute in silence. " So it's 'Miss Peggy' now, is it?" The paper under his arm rustled, and ho peered closer at Slade. " But you look a bit old for a—" " Oh, I've only called to ask her a few questions regarding a mutual friend," interposed Slade quickly. Still the little man stared at him, as Slade thought, distrustfully. " Well, if the mutual friend's the young man who came here and raised that rumpus, I'll—" Tho figure of a girl had appeared behind the man. "Eh? Oh, here you are! Well my girl, here's some one who says he's come to ask you some Questions. Now, 1 warn you, I'm not going to stand

CHAPTER XI A KNOT UNRAVELLED The girl began her story without any further introduction than a brief drying of her eyes and a quickly uttered "I'm ready now, sir." Slado nodded gravely. _ "Very good, Miss Watts. Take your time, and, remember, it is essential that I should know everything. Some little thing that might seem to you unimportant may quite possibly be of considerable value when regarded from another angle." She shook her head comprehendingly, and flicked back her curls with a short movement of one hand. "I first met Mr. Dohss about eight weeks ago, at a dance at Covent Garden Opera House. We had several dances together, and seemed to get on very well, and when it was time to leave ho said he would liko'to see me again. He was rather handsome, and danced very well, and, although one could easily tell that he was not English, ho had a trick of saying very complimentary things, and—and, well, I suppose I was rather fascinated by him. He offered to see me home, but I would not let him. I had gone to the dance with a friend, and my friend and I came home together. But before I left I arranged to meet him the next day, Sunday. Well—" "Excuse me just a moment, Miss Watts. But what are you by profession, please? I gathered from what you said a few minutes ago that you are employed in the West End." "Yes, sir. I am a manicurist at Farnwell and Chaverill's" "Thank you." "Well, wo met on the Sunday, and on the following Wednesday and Saturday, and then we began to meet more often. One day, about ten days or so after the dance, I asked him what he did for a living. Ho laughed and told me that he was a violinist in an orchestra, and when I showed my interest he asked me if I would like to see some of the rehearsals at the Now Parthenon. I could then hear him play, he said. Well we talked about _ my visit to the rehearsal for some time, and then he came out with a sugges-

the sort of bother we had last night. If it's anything you've been up to, of—" "Just a minute, please father 1" cried the girl, in a high-pitched voice. "Do be reasonable." She turned to Slade. "Im sorry, but is it me you want?" Slade became aware of a pair of very bright eyes staring at him from a white face. There were dark patches under the eyes, as though the girl had been crying recently. Before he could answer, her father had again chimed in. " Well, I'm telling you, my girl. I've had enough upset, and so's your mother. You're not bringing strange men here and then going off into hysterics. The neighbours'll 1 be talking next, and your mother and I would bo ashamed to show our faces —" " Now, now, father, do be quiet. If the gentleman's come to see me it's my business. " Is it?" snojrted her parent, rearing his small bulk to its most dignified height. " Not after last night's set-out it isn't. There's going to be no more of these going's on. I'm bringing my foot down —" " Oh, for heaven's sake go in and read your paper and don't fuss I" snapped the girl, pushing him inside. Still mumbling to himself, her father retreated, and the girl again turned to Slade. " Now," she commenced, rather haughtily, " I'd like to know who you are and what you want, sir." Four minutes later the Yard man was ushered into the front parlour of No. 15 Ewart Road, and asked to take a chair by the submissive daughter of the house. " Peggy," her light curls fluffed about her ears, her small oval face puckered thoughtfully, lit by two large, wondering eyes, alight with alarm, moved to the opposite side of the table and seated herself. "I—l'm afraid I'm a lot to blame, sir," she choked, raising a small hand to her trembling lips. " But I—l never thought there would be any harm, and —ana—" She broke off, her throat palpitating. Slade smiled not unsympathetically. " Just take a few minutes to calm down, Miss Watts, and then tell me everything. You'll feel better then." As the girl lowered her head and commenced sobbing into her handkerchief Slade averted his glance. With casual interest, his mind on other things, the grey eyes travelled round tho room. ' Suddenly he stiffened as though he had received a blow. Folded across the back of a chair by the window was a dark red velvet cloak.

• tion that really did alarm me. He asked me if I would like to have a part in the new show, "Easy Terms." He said he knew Miss Ananda Gertz, who would be taking the lead, and that if he asked her Bhe would undoubtedly put in a word for me. "Of course, I thought he was joking, but the next time we met ho told me that he had arranged it all. He had seen Miss Gertz, and she had proved willing enough to see me and to speak to the manager on my behalf. Well, as you may imagine, sir, it all seemed too good to be true. I suppose t&a,t, like a lot of other girls, I'd often thought about how wonderful it would be to step before the footlights and have the eyes of hundreds of people watching me, and hundreds of ears listening to what I was saying, and perhaps hundreds of hands clapping; but when Kurt came and told me that all I had to do was to see Miss Gertz and I was as good as engaged for a small part I suddenly felt scared. "However, I dared not toll him so, after he had specially arranged the meeting for me, so of course I promised to meet him the next day. Well, I met him at the time we had arranged, having previously got the afternoon off, and we went to the New Parthenon. He took me straight to Miss Gertz's room, and I must say she was very kind to me. Not a bit standoffish or superior, she just tried to set me at ease, and began telling me some of her experiences. Then, after about a quarter of an hour, she asked me if I really thought I should like a part in the new revue. I didn't like to say no, after what Kurt had done for me, so I said I should like nothing better, but, strangely enough, I thought at the time that she rather guessed that I wasn't telling the truth. Well, she began talking about what parts appealed to me most, and what parts interested me most from the pont of view of character, and, really, sir, she seemed exceedingly sympathetic and understanding." " Quite. I understand. But was Mr. DoTiss present while you talked things over with Miss Gertz?" Tho girl shook her head. " No. He left the room as soon ate he had introduced me." " I see. So that you did not hear any conversation between him and Miss Gertz?" " No, sir. Of course, from tho way he spoke to her when ho entered, it struck me that he knew her very well." " What do you moan, exactly, Miss Watts?" •

Py LEONARD R. GRIBBLE Author of "Tho Grand Modena Murder," "The Gillespie Suicide Mystery," " Tho Case of the Marsden Rubies."

tCOPTRIGBTI

The girl's cheeks were suffused with a warm glow. " Nothing, except that he appeared more friendly with her than one would have supposed, considering that she was a star and he a member of the orchestra." " H'm. Very well, pleaßO continue, Miss Watts." The girl straightened her dress, and leaned forward, with her elbows on the table, her large eyes staring at the wall abovo Slade's head. " Well, .sir, I remember wo were discussing one of the sketches, entitled 'New Wives for Old,' and she was explaining how I might find the part of the new wife in it rather suitable, when wo were interrupted by—by Mr. Eklimakos." She paused. It had cost her some little effort to get out that name, and for several moments she sat still, staring before her. All at once, she roused herself. " At first I did not know whether to like him or to dislike him. There was something very attractive about him, and his oyes seemed to grow more intense the longer they looked at you —as though he was trying to cast some spell on you. But he was a little terrifying, too. There was a forcefulness about him that one couldn't oppose. It somehow seemed right to givo him his way—-and it also seemed easier. I remember as soon as he entered the room he fixed his eyes on mo, and for about a minuto he stood there, saying nothing. Then suddenly he smiled, and I felt dizzy all at once. The next thing I remember is Miss Gertz stepping forward and asking hina what he wanted. What it was I cant recall, but he asked Miss Gertz who I was, and when she told him he laughed, and I saw him throw a quick glance at her. He came forward and put a hand on my head. 'Pretty curls, he said, 'and a pretty neck. Stand up, please, girlie.' I stood up, rather frightened. 'Pretty figure, too,' he went on, looking me up and down. Very good in an appropriate scene —bedroom, low lights. Can you sing or hum well.-' He shot the question at me all ot a sudden. I stammered out something about singing lessons and then no laughed again. 'All pretty ladies in pretty lingerie, with low lights, must be able to sing or hum pretty little tunes —haunting little tunes.' He touched me under the chin with the back of Jiib fingers, and then, laughing again, He glanced at Miss Gertz and went out. Slade sat forward. " Mr. Eklimakos said nothing to you, then, about definitely engaging you i " No, sir. I thought at the time it was being left to Miss Gertz. " Did he say anything about Mr. DO "He did not ask who had brought me. He Just seemed interested in whether I could fill the part. The Yard man stroked his chin, and the girl prepared to continue with nor ta "'Well, Miss Gertz very kindly arranged that I should call at the theatre aafoon after sis o'clock as I could manage. You see, sir, I was done work at six, and she agreed that I s J}°" l(l not throw up my job until I had decided whether I wanted to act in the revue. I was to spend about an hour each evening for a week.studyingl the part, and by the end of that time 1 was to say whether I would accept the part or not. . , ... "On the third evening, when Miss Gertz had gone out of the room tor a little while, Mr. Eklimakos came in. He sat in a chair and watched me tor a few minutes, then he came across to me and explained how I should do various actions. He held my arms, and turned my face this way and that, and was explaining how to sit in a glass to powder my face to the best advantage when Miss Gertz returned. I thought she seemed surprised to find Mr. Eklimakos there, and I also thought for a moment that he seemed a trifle off his guard. However, when I ■ had completed my little exhibition he suggested that wo should all go to dinner together. I could see that Miss Gertz was furious, although she did her best to cover the fact, and for myself, I felt most embarrassed. I could not say no, for fear of appearing ungrateful, and yet, on the other hand, I could see that for some reason Miss Gertz would sooner I was not there." Slade smiled grimly. "Between the dovil and the deep sea, Miss Watts!" Tho girl's lips twitched ruefully. "That's what I felt during the dinner—and after, when we drove back to Miss Gertz's fiat. Well, when ten o'clock came Mr. Eklimakos offered to escort me home, but Miss Gertz said she would take me in her car. She was needing a breath of fresh air, she said. Well, when wo got to the Town Hall I asked her to stop the car. She did, and as I got out she suddenly leaned forward and said, "I don't think you need trouble to come to the theatre any more, Miss Watts. I am sub? you would find the part unsuited to you." I stood there amazed, and the next instant her car had glided away. The change was so sudden. All the way from Kensington she had been so kind and sympathetic, and then, all at once, she seemed to throw every bit of spite she could into those words. "To tell tho truth, I didn't know what to do. If sho had reason to be angry with me, what would she say to Kurt? That was tho question I asked myself, and all the noxt morning I was trying to find an answer. Then in the afternoon I was surprised to see Mr. Eklimakos walk into our saloon and come over to mo. While I was polishing his nails ho spoke about a new show ho was contemplating, and he said he thought he could find a part that would just suit me—a part, he added, that would gain plenty of applause if tho actress was prepared to work. I couldn't do less than thank him, and then he asked me to have dinner with him and talk things over. (To be continued on Saturday next)