CHAPTER XVIII (Continued)

Otago Witness, Issue 2460, 8 May 1901, Page 59

CHAPTER XVIII (Continued)

LL the way back to my chambers I was haunted by a disagreeable sense of being followed. I frequently turned in an endeavour to detect the shadower ; each time no one suspicious seemed to be in sight. Yet, so peisistent was the feeling that, on en-

teiing. aftei lingering for a second or two in the hall, I darted back into the court, to cannon against the man who had been loitering in (Jamford street. Hud I not giipped him by the shouldeis he would have been bowled over like a nincpin.

Tlili'3 w,.s no mistaking the individual. I had in uked his peculiar figure; the nondesciipt fashion of Ins dress — a. long black Coal, made uppaiently. of alpaca, leaching to his heels ; v soft black felt bat, being so much too large ior his head that it almost co\ered his eyes. He was a foieignei ; undersized, unnaturally thin.

"Well, my man, what c-tn I do for you?" He did not ieplv. His countenance assumed an expiesMon ot vacuous imbecility. I shook him gently to spur Xi& wits. "Do you heai ; what can I do for you? Since you have taken the tiouble to follow me all tin's way. I suppose theie is. important business winch you wish to transact with 1113

The fe'low notliinsf. Whftthei he unde'^loocl 1 could not sjy ; he evidently wished me to ojlieve that he did not, shaking hi-- head, a-> if lie had no tongue. I took him fo: a Chinaman ; though he wa'blacke: than T imagine hi- countrymen are wont to be. His cwo little bead-iike cve Ibiunud out of two smnll lound holes, in Liicuinfeience huger than a <ixpeiiLe Kyebvows or eyelashes hs had noiio. Hi- i-Liii v.as .-caned by smallpox.

Since, c'ppaientlv. nothing could be done with him, I let him go. So «.oor as my hard \\a^ oil him he daited into the Str mcl like ■oim i ea^er wild thing. After ci inoiiient.il \ heMtat'on J went to what had become of hun Aheady the trariic iK.d swalhwed him up. He ■uas out of M-hl (ii»."_f')r\ Piioi wa" in when I ca^ecl the v3I(H! 1 tun--- 1 laid the Uod of Foitune diirtn btfoie him in the table. ' \Vhat\ that? " 1 a'-ked.

It'- a jo—

_\ ]o-«."'" Ihe piomplne.-^ of lii^ lepiy t( >h hie ab.'tk. "I thought a }o<^ w,.- an idul '

"So if !■> ; v li.it you might call an idol. _\ s\ nibol would sl\ le it. Thty'ie of all ,'iid *>izf*. ; that is ;ne (it tin- waMtiMi pocket kind. I was onte in a L.ise foi a (.'hniainai w itdi an unpionoiinceable luiae. He sjjoke English bettei llu'u ion and I. kne»v tlie lope 1 - at 1 c i^ ' ,'v v. t!l, \ei he hid onp ot ihe^e tlnnjr» in e*cb. oi about 27 pockets. He was. a

member of one of the 13,000 Taorist sects. He told me that they'd a joss for everything ; a jos- of the health, another for the loof. another for the chimney; tlnee foi the beaid, whiskeis, and moustache. In every twig ot eveiy trte they saw a joss of ,-ome soit. Wheie did you get voursi fiomV

I infoimed him ; then spoke of the contents of the paicel which the morning's post had bi ought. "I can give you one a-siuance — thisbond's all right. At a shade undei the market price I can do with any numbei As for your missionary's letter, let's see if Great Ke Island is on the map "' He got down a gazetteer and an atlas. "Tlio gazeUeti's- an old one; theie's no mention of it heie ; s 0 it seems that it w.o either not known when this was published, or it was too obscure a spot to be worth lecording. Ihe atlas is newer Ah! here -ue have it. Arafura Sea — New Guinea — Dutch New Guinea ; there's a gioup of Ke Islands — Great Ke, Little Ke, and otheis Gieat Ke's largish ; nearly 100 miles long, but narrow ; apparently not 10 miles wide at the broadest part, and tapering to a point. Sort of reef, T fancy. A good deal out of the way; and not in any steamer route I ever heard of. A convenient address for a man who w ishes to avoid inquiries."

Leaning back in his chair, pressing tha tips of his ringers together, Piyor legaided the ceiling. "

"Letter's fishy ; and. being undated, no use as evidence. Will's fishy, too. But theie arc- the bonds (50 long as a lawyer sees his way to his fee, what else matters? I take it that there was a Benjamin Batter 5 ;, and tint theie is a Mary Blyth. I also fancy that theie's more 111 the matter than meets the c'ye. It has come to you m an 11 tegular fashion, and therefoie, in the natuic of things it is sniffy. My ad- \ ice to 3 011 ' is. move wanly. Discover Maiy Ulyth ; hand over the estate to her, accepting no responsibility ; present your bill, get youi money, and, unless you see good reason to the contrary, -wipe your bands of her thenceforwaid. If you do that you won't go very far wrong. Now. good-bye ; I've got all this stuff to wade through before I dine."'

i left him to the study of his .briefs. His advice I turned over in my mind, finally resolving that I would move even more warily than he suggested. Before introducing myself to Mary Blyth, I would spsnd a day in endeavouring to discover something about the late Benjamin Batters; and, particularly, I mould try to learn how it was that, after his death, his affairs had chanced to fall into mv hands.

I woik, live, eat, and sleep in my chambsis. As it happens, lam the only person on the premises who does so. There u^ed to be others. But now, with the exception of mj set, wnat were living rooms are used as offices, and I am the only actual les.^ent the house contains. After dark — sometimes before — the workers flit away ; I have the entire 'building to myself until they return with the morning. My rooms are fotu — bedroom, an apartment -in which I am supposed to take my meils, one which I u«e as an office, and the den, opening immediately on to the staircase, in which Crumper has his beinsr. That night I was roused suddenly from sleep. At fiist I could not make out what had woke me. Then I heard what was unmistakably the chattel of something fall ing. "There's someone in the office '' Slipping out of bed, picking u\) ,1 hockeystick, making as little noi^e as possible, I stole officewauh. Intuitively I guessed who was there. I proposed lo inteiview mv uninvited visitor.

My hasty conclusions pioved, however, to be a little out.