The Lion's Mouse

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12016, 19 December 1924, Page 7

The Lion's Mouse

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT]

iT 1

C.N. & A.M. Williamson.

Author of ” This Woman to this Man," The Lightning Conductor," " The Car or Destiny," be,, be

ICOP YBIGUT.t

SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS CHAPTERS I. to lII.—On the Santa Fa, Limited, .Roger Sands meets a heat)* tiful young woman, who claims protection from a threatened danger. She gives her name as Bgverley White, and passes as his oonsin. She remains hidden for the rest' of the journey while Roger takes charge of the sealed envelope that Beverley fears to lose. At Chicago l she ds to meet a man at the news-stand. Forty-five minutes later she has to own that she does not know what to do since the messanger who is to claim the envelope has not turned up. Roger Sands fnarries her by special license, and they So to New, York together. Oh the same ay Clodagh Riley, an Irish girl, gets a position as waitress in \ Moreton and Payntor’s department store, in New York. Six months after marriage Mrs Sands decides to view the satinwood furniture at Moreton and Payntor’s. She' goes there in a motor. A girl has thrown efself out of d fourth story window.; andi lies wounded and bleeding, on the gavement. The girl opens her eyes, and everley promises that she shall be loved , and cared for. -

CHAPTERS 111. (Continued) to V.-A doctor arrives. The ambulance sent for has been / delayed by an'accident. Bever-! ley Bands takes the girl to his .own home, and engages a trained nurse. Roger Sanda disapproves of his wife’s action. Sister Lake allows the child to see Mrs Sands. The invalid- vows to repay seme day. John Heron refuses Roger’s invitation. Beverley is relieved. Roger and his wife disagree, but make it up. Clodagh Riley tells. her story to Beverley. When she is convalescent Mrs Sands ..takes her a’drive. As they -are'about to step in the car a shabby, ill-looking man I addresses Mrs . Sands. " He is the man sent to meet her ' in Chicago on September 81st of last year. ; • CHAPTER VI TO Vlll.—They drive to Central,. Park., Beverley leaves 010, Riley in the car, but afterwards rejoins her. She instructs do what -to* do, and. they drive home. Mrs Sands leaves Clo in the car and darts in to get the envelope. She is detained a quarter of an hour. Fipally she givee Clo the envelope in a bag. Clo drives to. the , Westmorland Hotel, and delivers the envelope to tiio litße ferreWaced man who ’spoke to 'Mrs Sands. He opens it to find nothing but blank papers, and is full of wrath. Clo hurries back with the man’s message for Beverley,, and fogs an interview with her ■nurse. Roger buys a queen’s pearls ■ for . his wife. She rushes into; her bedroom .with the ropo of pearls round her peek. The rope : catches,, and breaks; She thrusts the-pearls into; a drawer and tears down with an envelope to Clo. She returns to find Roger , haa pidked up a ,pea£l. 'Her explanation^does not satisfy 'him',,. and he goes 'out'" Returning'home .hesees Clo Riley, returning/from, the - Westmorland '-Hofei;. jGTtf perUtjadte lifer; HriAh. iurse to go out. for a change. She Beverley about the. envelope end 'the ;ipan’s rage, Beverley wants to trust .Clfiirand the girl promises to be true.

CHAPTER Vm.— BEVERLEY TALES (Continued;). “You see/; Beverley went on, '‘l’ve no one e)se but you, Clo. If I told ■my husband anything, I should have to:tell all.- I daren’t do .that. Not; because l oouldn’t trust him. But I’ve taken an. oath ten times more solemn than; the one you-took just now to; keep .a.-secret that isn’t only mine. Another’s .life'depends on the secret being kept. To save that life- I was forced to do, iwhat.X hate to think of. And it’s no .concern- of yours, but it would beRogerls if he had the faintest inkling! Now, I’m going to tell you one or twothings,- and you; must use your brains to explain the mystery. You’re clever, ■ and 1 true as steel. • You’ve proved that 1 Suppose,a’ case; suppose you’d undler-tekena-dangerous, mission. You- have In your charge some document which opuld make or break, a man. You know you’ll be followed. You nearly miss your trainbut you jump <>n board at 1 the last,minute. You see-a,man—not the one you expect, hut another just as miuch to : be feared—more,' perhaps’ because 'he’s ’a great deal cleverer, if not so violent. You think you’ve lost,, but' you,find.a friend, a,man who helps yqu. You. give him the envelope that -has the papers in it—a sealed envelope. Youve seen' it, Olot He keeps it .through. the journey. .At a stopping place, on, the way, -he offers 'to hand- it baftk;to;you, but you refuse. You feel that’the,thing is safer with him. Later, in New, York, he returns .the envelope intact, the seals unbroken. The friend whe opines to the rescue is the souL of. honour. .Never since that moment has the envelope been out, of your own keeping, Yet .’it .is opened- to-day for-j-hofirst time, and the papers that were .in,J.t are .gone, changed for -stationery of that,train, the ‘Santa Fa Limited.’ How can this 'have been done? : Who did it?'.’ ’The other man must-, have done it, ■the. one who followed you on to tho train.” ■ ■ .. ... .. ■ “But, he was never near Bog. . never near tjio. man who. . . oh 1 might as well tell you, right out', that it. waa Roger who kept the envelope for me. •■I ll foil you the name' of the other man, too. It’s sure to slip out 1 His name is Justin O’Reilly;” “O’Reilly ?” Clo echoed. - "How dare the brute have a name like mine?”

it is'like,” said Beverley. But there g an ‘o,’ and/he spells it differently.”, 1 : . “-B«asfc! ,',He’d -better, or I’d have to change,” snapped ,CJo. “Well, whatever his name is, ~I- belfeve he musfi have stolen your papers. Can yon go! ; ®nd _iive, over again every step of the way?” *

■ ®feYerley shut her eyes, and began to think-aloud. ..“The morning -after we started, -Roger mentioned' meeting, 'an SS3WH lt “ n ofe a- man named il iteij/y -He .didn’t dream the namemeant anything-.-to me. They exchang•Jß'y- a few words, when Roger pass-fu-'O.Rejlly’s table at breakfast time. Nothing could have happened then, Iknow. Afterwards, I never heard of their meeting again through the whole journey. I-should havo heard, if they bad, I think. Roger was with mo a good deal. At Chicago. . . .” “Yes, at' Chicago?” Clo repeated, when Beverley’s’ story suddenly broke off.

. “I’m calling it hack to my mind. Roger helped me out of the train. O’Reilly was out already. He stood on (the platform, looking for someone —or so. it seemed: We went quite close to ;Mm, but not close enough for even the smartest pickpocket in America to -efeeal the envelope from Roger.”

“■Where was the envelope then?” the girl Wanted to •know. “In an‘inside breast-pocket of Roger’s coat : not on overcoat. It was September. .The weather was'hot.” “Wouldn’t it be easy for anyone looking for the envelope, to see that Mr Sands had something thick and long in an inside breast pocket, and suspect what it was.?” “Anyone might No one could be sure. It would have shown more plainly if Soger had worn hie coat buttoned. He didn’t, on pur. pose.” ■ ■ “Still, his coat not being buttoned would make it easier to steal the envelope, if somebody very clever .got a chance to try.” '“Perhaps. But. O’Reilly oould sever have done such a thing. It would talc* a trained thief.”

• “Can people send off telegrams from those Limited trains P” 010 took up her catechism again. “Yes, of course they can.” “Would there have been time for 'this O’Reilly chap to wire Chicago, 'after he followed you on board the train, and have a man meet him P”. “Yes, plenty of time.” > .. ■ ' “Well, what if he wired to spme. dotensive people, and told them to send, him the ‘smartest pickpocket in America’?” . “But . > . . the police couldn’t ~ * • wouldn’t l . .. do such, a thing I’V “I don’t mean the. real police,” 010 explained. “Haven’t you often read books about private detectives?. I have. They might get reformed, thieves to work "for them. Gan yon remember what O’Reilly did next, after yon ’.both passed him -on the platform?” “No. I didn’t look back” “You don’t know,-then, whether the person he seemed to expect, ever turn?ed up?” . ' Beverley shook her head. Roger, and I went straight ahead to a. newsstand where I expected to .meet a per, son, 1 TVo or three minutes after we pasted O’Reilly we were'mixes up in, a big crowd, almost fighting od»vWiea» fcbirouigh; . . .** * • “Oh, a big orewd!” do broke in. “A chance for that pickpocket. Sop; pose he. came the minute f you bad turned your backs on O’Reilly, and he -'sent his trained itfaief -after ■ you, hot foot, to get'that envelope?” “Ah. 'but you’ve forgotten some-, thing! -: cried 1 Beverley.' “A tlaer might get the envelope : “I’ll admit that; Bat how could he haste an- , other one exactly like it, with the same eeals, the same monogram, to put into Roger’s pocket, when he took the original P” ‘ ' “Ho could only have it, if O’Reilly .oould have given it to him. • Could he?’-’

Suddenly Beverley began to see. A vivid idea sprang into her head, and was imaged in her eyes. “You’ve thought of something I” do exclaimed. “Yota see how O’Reilly might have got the seal. •monogram, and the gold wax, «nd an envelope like the one you had?” “Oh. yes, I do seel” Beverley groaned. “He could have brought the things from—from-: .... But never mind. That part’s nothing to you.” “I want only to know the part you want me to know,” said do. “It isn’t a question of what I want. It’s a question of my sacred oatb,” Beverley answered. • ‘‘‘Thom was. a house where I had been, to get the envlope. ’ O’Reilly was thane, too. tSomdOne. . . : no matter who 1 . . . . oould have given him all the things', so he oould change envelopes if he got toe chance. .Ob' child, I keep stumbling on to a' path where 1 dare not" step.” • “Wo’ll go back ,to .toe train,’/ said do. If O’Reilly bad the gold wax and toe seal, anidl the light kind of envelope, he oould have: made his. plan, and sent his telegrain, and had'everything ready for >tne right minute. ; . . in the Chicago station, is “Ye-es, he oould. it’s almost impossible!”- - . “It's more possible than Air Sands’; changing the envelopes,, isn’t it?” ..-. “That is the one impossible thing. The worst remains: , I have lost'the papers! Whether O’Reilly lias them, or someone. else, I can’t get:- -toenv back. Without them, J’m ruined 1” , “Ton shan’t bo I” do 'cried, twining her thin, arms round her idol’s waist. “You must be saved somehow. We’ve got till ten o’clock to think.” : “If I were the only one, ft wouldn’t matter so much,” Beverley said. “But there’g someone who- can be tortured .as - well as killed, if I have no bribe to offer. Those papers gave me all too power I had.” ■ “Wouldn’t money . . do began, but Beverley out her. short. “No- money I.oould get would be of any use,” she said. “A million might be I”

“See O’Reilly and make him giro up the papers I” cried Clo. “Oh, but is he in New'York?” . “Ho doesn’t, live, in New York, hut he’s here now. , I knotty because that man you saw, Peterson, told me. It of a threat he held over my head that O’Reilly and some people connected with him, should be in town ijust .now. ,1 know tli». hotel he’s staying in, too Dietz. But even if. O’Reilly would come, how could I see him without Roger knowing? Tt wouldn’t be possible!” “I’ll somehow:make O’Reilly come;’.’, the girl promised “I don’t f now how, yet, but. I know I will, if you can get Mr Sands out of the house.”' Beverley shuddered. “How horrid that sounds . ’. . as if I were-plot-ting against hijn, the way women do who deceive their husbands.” . . “Well, anyhow, if O’Reilly took the piipers,: would he still . have them, do you think ?” asked Clo, with-the sudden eagerness of one who catches in desperation at a new idea. ’■ “It’s just possible. I can see a reason why he "might have been asked to keep them,” Beverley answered. “If that’s so, would he put them in m bank, or a safe somewhere, or would he bring them to New York?” , “There might be a special motive for him to bring them to New York : I think there would he a motive.”

“Well, it seemp, to me. the sort of man I think he fs, would be too smart to have such things on him if he came' to your house, and didn’t mean to give ’em back to you. It would, be tempting brovidence, so to speakl” “If I were the kind of woman he

thinks I am, he’d’not expect me to step short of murder to , ret those papere,” and Beverley laughed a bitter little" laugh.’ ■’ . “Goodl If he comes to you and leaves thfe papers at hiß hotel, a certain thing will happen, but it’s safer for ! you nob to know—till afterwardh.” „ (To be continued.)'