MISS NAPOLEON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23100, 27 July 1938, Page 24

MISS NAPOLEON

CHAPTER XII. STRUAN THE UNHAPPY The Maharajah's pig-sticking party was soon riding across tho plain, having boon joined by two officers from Jones' regiment. The morning sun was still so low that horses and men threw lanky shadows as they rode westwards toward a belt of scrubby jungle noted for pig. Struan wondered drearily what had happened to him in these days. Before he was married he did not remember this uncertainty of temper. It seemed to him that ho had been a cheerful, easy-going sort of chap then, who enjoyed life. Ho certainly didn't now. There was a snorting and scuffling; violent movements in the grass. A darkgrey shape appeared almost under tho feet of Zindia's horse, which snorted and plunged. The big tusker jinked and was off at right angles, but tho Maharajah, with a masterly display of riding, dashed after him like a greyhound on tho heels of a rabbit. Both were away in a flash and then —a swift movement, a gleam of the spear-point and the pig was down transfixed cleanly and neatly.

There was a murnuir of applause, but the Maharajah sat his horse quietly after one glance at the bristly body, waiting for his spear to be released.

Suddenly, only a few yards away, in a narrow grass ride, appeared the apparition of a huge boar, his curved and upturned tusks gleaming. Behind him, as he guarded their retreat, the shapes of other pigs, squeaking and grunting, could be seen scuttling away. The big pig did not give way until the riders were close upon him. and even then he onlv backed slowly with truculent

sun rl s. "Yours, Struan!" cried the Maharajah, and drew aside courteously. St man's horse leaped forward, closely followed by young Jones. The boar swerved, turned and went galloping off alone; the ride, with the I two horseman on his heels. They had 1 gone some little distance from the rest j before Struan shifted his spear to Ret a firmer grip, pressed his horse forward, rose in his stirrups and thrust. At the I crucial instant his horse stumbled and swerved sideways, sending the rider sprawling. amL immediately the big tusker charged. It was an ugly situation for the fallen man. But Jones bore down and pinned the boar just as its tusks were within a fraction of ripping Strtian's thigh, ft was a smart piece of work, and Jones had dismounted to finish off the hip: boar with neatness and dispatch almost as soon as the other man had regained his feet. "Thanks." In- muttered. "Oh, all right! I couldn't very well ! rln anything else, as I was here." Roth ! words and manner were extremely offhand and not calculated to cool Struan's already heated temper. '•You make it pretty plain that you're sorry you couldn't leave me to be gored." he snapped back. At that young .Tones' temper, too, went flying to the four winds. "All right, if you like to put it that way. you can. You are about the last person I'd have chosen to help out of a hole!" he retorted. "May 1 ask what particular reason you have for feeling like that?" Struan demanded* white with fury. "Oh, no reason that you'd probably i think adequate yourself! Just this—l consider your behaviour to your wife that of a confounded cad." ! "You —you " Shaking with rage, his face dark crimson now, Struan made a movement forward, then drew back, stood motionless, while Jones cantered off. .Mounting his own horse, lie sat irreIsolutely, unwilling to rejoin the rest of (the party. Then inspiration came. He j would ride to the flying ground, put in I a few hours' work and return to Khotalghar in the evening. That would 'give him time to recover, but already his anger had passed into numb, dreary i self-disgust. j "After all. Jones only repeated what I'd been calling myself." he thought. | "I've no right to resent, what the young I cub said "' Struan broke off with a curse, cantered on toward the flying ground, hangars and bungalows, the horse's footfalls deadened by the thick red dust. He rode into the enclosure, tied up his mount, then walked across to his office. A few steps brought him to the door —and to a standstill, his whole body rigid as ho stared. Someone was in the office already, back turned toward the door, busv with the contents of his desk. ]t stood unlocked, the roll-top up. the pigeon-holes and drawers displayed. ; The hands of the interloper were busy with the orderly piles of papers, fliek--1 ing them over quickly and methodically, before returning thorn to their places, obviously searching for someI tiling. A packet was returned to the pigeonhole, one of the hands stretched out to j open a drawer and. as though that I movement released something in him, 'Struan started forward and spoke one i word in a strained, unnatural voice: I "You! You!" CHAPTKK XIII. I, HON I K t'XM ASK KD I With one swift movement Leonie | Valence turned and faced him, her ; right, hand darting to the pocket of her ! riding coat. I The action and its lightning speed ; carried Struan's mind to another moment, to a crowded boat and the towerling side of a ship. Instinctively he | stiffened, almost expecting to see the j gleam ol a revolver barrel, to hefir the I crack of lis report. Hut heonie's hand did not move. For | one second her lips tightened, her eyes j narrowed, so that, without stirring a I finger, it seemed as though she were about to spring. Then her nostrils dilated with a long indrawn breath, her mouth relaxed into something like a smile, as her body relaxed, leaning back against the desk. "Well!'" The interrogation was almost, soundless, expressed itself ns much by her eyebrows as her lips, j Struan, his eyes never leaving her face, spoke with an effort, that seemed I to strain the muscles of his throat. "What are you doing here!-'" [jk'onie shrugged her shoulders without speaking. "You've got to answer me." Struan persisted. "Is (here renllv any need? Sometimes explanations are a terrible waste of time and breath." She withdrew her hand from her pocket, let it drop loosely at her side. "You mean that I'm to draw the only inference I can. that I'm to believe you —you — What am 1 lo believe?" "What you can see with your eyes, I imagine," she answered him coolly, still without moving, still with that faint smile. "Can't you make some excuse, give me some reasonable explanation of what you were doing? I don't want to think it's true that you had come here to steal, but how—what—?" Again he broke off helplessly. "Really, I'm afraid my inventive I powers aren't equal to the occasion; I ! can't think of a convincing lie, and I ' can't lie bothered to!" She Hung the hist words at him fiercely, her brows contracting as though in bitter remembrance. "And since I haven't succeeded in finding what 1 wanted, what I took so much trouble to discover . . . well, j really, 1 feel that I've been punished

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By V. M. METHLEY An arresting story of a remarkable personality whose feminine appeal is ever present, but ■whose life purpose leads to strange heights.

enough already by your arriving at such an inopportune moment. "You were after the aeroplane plans?" "What a brilliant flash of intuition, considering that I'd already practically asked to see them!" "Why?" "What an inapt question. Where s your knowledge of spy fiction. - ' Struan's face grew grim. "Do vou moan nie to understand that vou intended to steal those plans in order to sell them to some other Power?" "No!" Suddenly and unexpectedly Leonie's pale face flushed crimson with anger. "Don't dare to insult me by tlimking that 1 meant to make money out of the business! I would not have touched a penny. What 1 meant to do was to give the plans to another country—to my own country." "You must forgive me if I misunderstood those purely patriotic motives of yours," Struan sneered. "You're still misunderstanding me. I did not act 'so much from love of my country as from hatred of yours. She laughed cruelly, but Struan stared at her, whitefaced. "Let's have this clear," he said. Do you mean that you've been out for this all the time, that you came with us to India just for that purpose, to make a fool of me in any case, a traitor if possible? Is that the plain truth of the matter, if such a thing as truth is possible in this cursed business?"

"Yes," Leonie nodded. "That is—roughly —the truth. Believe me —or even if you don't, it's a fact —that I did not 'act out of any personal feeling. any private spite toward you or Chrissie "Keen Chrissie's name out of it, please, Struan told her. "I'm fair game for you. 1 ve deserved anything for my unspeakable idiocy. But 1 can t forgive you or myself for having brought her into it. And you—" "Don't spare me! 1 can quite understand your feelings." Her tone was almost unconcerned. "I'm not out to spare you—don't imagine it for a moment. But there are a few things I've got to know. How did you get that key to my desk, since mine has never been out of my possession ?" "Ah, chance was very good to me in that respect," she spoke reflectively. "You remember the day you were stunned for a few minutes hy falling from your horse? Yes —well, when I rendered first aid i found the key round your neck, and took an impression of it with a bit of bread. From that it was quite easy to get a duplicate key made in Bombay." "As simple as all that!" Struan laughed bitterly. "Well —what's the next, move?"

"Mine, obviously." she answered without hesitation. "I'll have my things taken straight over to the hotel from Khotalghar. Naturally 1 can't stay with you and Chrissie any longer now. But —I'm sorry, Ranny, really I am." "Sorry that you failed to get what you wanted!" "Oh—that! C'est la fortune de la guerre." she shrugged. "No, I didn't mean about the plans—but let it pass." As she spoke. Leonie moved away from the desk, took up the topi and gloves which lay on a chair. Her face "as grave, her eyes inscrutable under bent brows, as she turned toward the doorway. Struan jerked aside abruptly as though to avoid any contact with her, and stood with head averted, and a curious expression passed over her face. "So —1 suppose we shall never meet again," she said. "Never—if I can help it!" "It's sad, though, alter all that has been—all that might have been," Leonie'?. voice was very low, very gentle. "Aren't you even a little sorry ?" "For what?" Struan's voice was harsh and strained. "Do you expect me to take these pretended regrets of yours seriously? I'm not quite such a fool as that." "Perhaps it is only now that I am not pretending." It was almost whispered, soft as the touch of her fingers on his arm, as the shadow of a movement Tihich she made toward him. "Don't touch me! Go! —I tell you—go.";. Without another word, Leonie left him, went to where her horse was tethered, mounted, and rode off across the plain. She was still in riding dress when her shadow fell black across the sketch which Hall was making in the Maharajah s garden: he glanced up with a surprised exclamation. "I thought, that you wore resting," he said. "What energy—but you look as though it had taken about the last ounce out of you! Here—have my chair.'' "No, no—l'll sit here," and she sank flown upon the terrace parapet. "What's happened?" Hall asked her after a pause, during which he watched her quietly. "Nothing of importance." she laughed, "although I'm going to ask you to do something for me."' "You know I will, if it is possible," Hall said. "l)h. it's nothing very difficult or dangerous. Bather a pleasant task —only to break it to Chrissie Struan that I shan't be their guest any longer." "Why do you call that pleasant?" ho spoke tonelessly. "Because it is always gratifying to be the bearer of good news, isn't it?" "You think that Mrs. Struan will be glad?" "I ndoubtedly." "And —Struan?" The question came after a pause. "More undoubtedly still!" "You are leaving Pathapore?" Hall still spoke in the same dull voice, but his brush sent a streak of alien green zigzagging across the blue of the pictured sky. "Not at the moment. I'm probably moving to the hotel until my plans are set t led. "I sen. Very well. I'll tell Mrs. Struan. Any more dirty work you'd like me to undertake." (To hp continued daily.)