THE RIDERLESS HORSE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23150, 23 September 1938, Page 19

THE RIDERLESS HORSE

By JEAN and CYRIL CASALIS

CHAPTER XXlX.—(Continued) "The first we knew of Japie having scon the signals, which he had described to you, was 011 the night on which he died, .when the owl's hoot warned Channing of something amiss. He turned quickly, and there, silhouetted against tho sky, also no doubt gaping in wonder at the scene before him, sat that foolish Japie on that admirable horse of which 110 was so justly proud. "1 have said before that you never gave Channing his due. He was, I repeat, a man of quick action and, in addition, he know every inch of the surrounding country. There was only one tiling to be done. Hacking off a piece of tho rope used for guiding the boat, he threw it to Tom and ordered him and another boy to race to that bottleneck for a horseman, 011 the path to Van Stellen's house. Tom t»as 110 mean lieutenant; he understood what was required of him. They strung the rope between two fencing posts, the idea being to trip up the uoble Triplaar as ho raced home with his owner's astounding news. "The plan worked better than could have been hoped. Triplaar fell and Japie, in breaking his neck, saved us the trouble of spiriting liini away, as had been necessary with Mortimer. But then, of course, Japie had spoken and that, alas, is what wo did not know.

''The first we knew of it was when that fool Sam chose to disregard the tradition of the whole of his, tribe by going to the river at night—that hour sacred to the river deity, the great Ivwena. Yes, my clear Green, I was honestly drunk, and for that reason, and that alone, you found mo on the river bank. Sam blundered into Manko's minions, and it was they who broke his neck for him after our little argosy had driven terror into his poor superstitious) mind. "So far we had had three most unfortunate but unavoidable deaths, and even the insatiable Loftus had to admit that the thing was going too far. It was then that it was decided to close down; but as the suppliers had certain leeway to make up, in respect to various parcels of valuable stones, and many cattle, it was agreed to run a final series of consignments during the next favourable phase of the moon. Immediately afterward we were to be favoured by a second visit from Loftus' down-and-outs, to dismantle and remove our incriminating plant. "In the meantime, however, the disturbance that had been created in the district demanded a diversion of some kind, which, primarily, would remove any suspicion that might have fallen on the Campsie entourage as a result of the interest that you and Corneille were taking in us. Thus came to bo planned that most regrettable incident —the abduction of innocent Miss Cynthia. "That beastly idea was Loftus', and as it was chiefly designed to provide an' alibi for himself and Channing, I was forced to carry it out. But I swear that the only part that I played was to inject morphia—how carefully, 1 have already told you—and to assist to carry her through the tunnel to the spruit where you found her. Tom caught her and bound her, and for that I admit I am to blame. Had J been less squeamish and had under-

taken that task, too, Miss Cynthia might conceivably have suffered less.' "Great Scott!" Corneille interrupted. "Then Tom was Maraka's sinister LeftHand?"

"Yes, and missing that clue was one of my worst lapses. Right at tho beginning, before Maraka ever spoke of Left Hand, I watched Tom polishing my car and doing the whole thing with his left hand. I noticed that flash ring of . his, and he went to infinite trouble to point out that he wore jt on his left hand; and yet when Maraka spoke of a left-handed man I racked my brain to remember where I had seen one. Tom and his ring had gone completely out* of my head." "And I've spent hours watching Tom at work and never tumbled to thet fact that he is left-handed." "But this is where you and I come into the limelight," said Malcolm. "Listen to this." He read on. "In addition to serving the purposes already mentioned, Miss Cynthia's abduction was planned with the intention of giving Loftus the opportunity of insisting on her taking a holiday at the coast, so as to get her out of the way for a time. You will agree that it was an altruistically planned scheme when I add that it had, as a corrollary, .your own and Corneille's abduction. Not that you were to come to any harm, you were merely to suffer a temporary disappearance in case, as was already strongly suspected, you might try to interfere with the dispatch of that last and vital series of consignments. "You must know that wo all fully realised the relationship between Miss Cynthia and Corneille, and that the sudden disappearance of tho latter would complicate matters needlessly if the former were to know of it." "So that's how it was done," said Corneille as Malcolm folded up tho

letter. "Can you wonder that J have no feeling about it? No, I had rather a thousand times that you and Maraka had found out about it than that I, and especially Cynthia, should have gone on being the dupes of such callous swines."

"Yes, a cold-blooded, callous crowd. But Maraka was always right when he emphasised their efficiency. They were devilish efficient. You should see how

their smuggling lay-out was put down. Maraka took me over it just after you had left, and one couldn't help admiring it. Everything seemed to lend itself so well to the scheme, that you'd say it had been specially built for it. The cask into which Tom dumped supplies from the whey cart was built into the side of Ghanning's reservoir,. quite near the surface. At the bottom it had a half-inch pipe connection, and the

ine ran straight as a die to the Gampie cave. The inlet on the cask was a

heavy copper tube fitted with a stop cock, and housed in a little concrete box just beside one of the iron standards making up Channing's famous barbed-wire entanglements round his water supply. When the horses were being watered at the trough the whey cart stood handily just over the whole bag of tricks, and all Tom had to do was to join up the tank with his rubber tube, open two little cocks, and in a few minutes his job was done. I doubt that anyone standing by could have told that he was up to any game." "But why go in for such a complicated system? "To have an alibi in drink, as you might say. Booze in bulk'arriving at Campsie might have aroused suspicion, and supplies were evidently arriving in bulk with a vengeance. 1 measured the

(COPYRIGHT)

A mystery story of strange happenings by night beside a South African river, where only slender clues are available to lead toward an answer to a great riddle. /

"Jove! That explains a devil of a lot; and it gives 1110 some excuse for refusing to share in your suspicions. I simply couldn't understand how there could bo foul play on a place that I though I knew so well. Didn't even Maraka suspect who killed Mortimer?"

"Well apparently ho did know—at least he admits he had suspicions—ever since the day of his self-planned picnic, when he found out that the two people whom he'd followed, from the cave, had given him the slip by getting out of the khotlo by climbing up those poplars opposite the small cave." , "Then why on earth didn't he speak ?" "1 said much the same thing and he rather shut me up. 'Baas' he said —you know that submissive way he adopts sometimes —'Maraka him just plenty poor black native; how can Maraka say white Morenas him kill Baas Mortimer;-' " Silence fell between the two friends. Then, as if by a common impulse, they drained their glasses and got up. "I must get back," said Compile. "I'll come with you, and welcome Cynthia," answered Malcolm. They had walked for some time without speaking; then, as if their conversation had never been interrupted, Malcolm said: "He's a priceless chap. The only wish left mo now, Corneille, old lad, is to pinch your cook from you. incidentally, he has done lots for me since I arrived here, you know; saved me from Van Stellen and saved both our lives when you come to think of it; and I'd like to givo him something—a decentish sort of present. I'd like to go to about twenty quid. AVhat would you say would be suitable?" "Twenty pounds! You're balmy, Malcolm! Gh:e him yoitr old tweed jacket, or perhaps a cow if yon really want to be liberal. But if you must give him a present, you'd better ask him yourself what he'd like. He usually knows his own mind." As they passed at the back of the Bon Espoir homestead. Maraka emerged from the kitchen. Malcolm stopped. "Tell him about it in Scsuto, Corneille," he said. "You can explain better —my gratitude and so on. He can choose."

But Maraka replied in English. "Maraka him thank the Baas plenty much," he thoughtfully. "Oho, Baas, Maraka him not like* one big 'basela'; him finish too plentv quick." His face lit up with his sudden ingenuous smile. "Let the Baas give Maraka one packet cigarettes and one bottle beer every week for Sunday dinner. Then Maraka him got plenty white heart." "Well, I'm clashed!" said Malcolm, as they went on. "A packet of cigarettes and a bottle of beer once a week —roughly, one boh! And that's the fellow that beat the smugglers!" THE END A MYSTERY STORY OF A STRANGE BEQUEST, "THREE STRANGE MEN," By C. T. PODMORE (Author of "The Fault," etc.). Is Announced for Serial Publication. Here is a strange tanglo of human affairs caused by an eccentric, man who selected names at random from a directory and concealed his wealth for the strangers to find. More than one thrilling episode occurs at an early stage and the story marches on from one curious situation to another. Readers will find the problem has many fascinating features and fire solution is ever elusive, while a delightful girl adds an interest all her own and the son of the eccentric will-maker finds her of more importance than the legacy. The New Serial will commence in NEXT SATURDAY'S SUPPLEMENT of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD.

secret tank in the whey cart and precious little' whey Channing must have been getting—twenty gallons of 'clop' a time, my lad. That would have taken some explaining if it had reached Cainpsie 111 any other way, what?" "For three solid years," said Coruoille musingly. "Lord!" "By gad, it was a, well thought out scheme, Qorneille. At its lowest point between the cave and the river, the passage bulged out into quite a fairsized place, where the end of the pipe was connected to another cask. The canvas bags were filled up at. a tap and were hung on a .simple carrier, running 011 rollers along-a rail fixed to the roof •of the passage. "No need for a crowd to cart the stuff along the remainder of the passage. The whole thing ran so well that one man could push a whole consignment over the remaining distance to the river. There was room on the carrier for the boat and that arquebus contraption as well, besides a first-class pump lor inflating the collapsible boat. That part of the business took place at the river entranco of the tunnel; it's marvellously hidden by a bush and a maze of narrow passages, rather like those in the Van Stellen cave, i bet you, Corneille, that, even now, you would not be able to find the other entrance ill the Cainpsie cave. It's not surprising that no one found it before Channing. "I doubt that we'd have got it, if we hadn't been able to get in from the river end after its entrance had been given away on the night that we snaffled the gang. The entrance is bung in the middle of the inner cave—not at your feet or on the side, as you'd naturally expect, but in the roof! There's a small ledge and a narrow opening. You don't need a ladder to get to it; any one can climb up to it easily and all you've got to do, then, is to crawl for about five yards and you're in the tunnel proper."