THE RED FARM.

Southland Times, Issue 17004, 30 March 1912, Page 11

THE RED FARM.

I All Rights Reserved]

By mob:cb orkakd.

[Author of “The King’s Signet.” John Montclam,” “The Unspoken Word," “The Broke.. Sword," “The Unseen Barrier,” Etc. 1 CHAPTER XXXIX. “Great Scott! What has happened ?” , Btraffer cried, vague and absurd possibilities crqwded upon his mind, too incohate to be put into words. “We shall soon find out,’’ Grier responded. He was a master well served ; one man was sent for the two lanterns, Which had already been prepared for the Investigation which was to be made later ; another man received an order to have a boat lowered. All was activity on board the Firefly. The crash had been beard from end to end of the yacht; men,, from their bunks, came, rushing UP, half-clad, to ascertain what had hap- . pened. Some thought the yacht was ■ aground, others that the wireless telegraphy equipment had been smashed, and , bad fallen on deck. .. In ' the shortest possible time. Grier and Straffor in the boat, with three seamen, one at the helm and two rowing, spun round the jutting edge of the Cliff : there was only one landing-place, a shelving strip of hard rock, uncovered by the tide, now almost at its full. Above this the cliff rose sheer, some two hundred feet. f The boat grated against the edge of the rock ; Straffer was the first man out. He leaped, lantern in hand, over the gunwale, and nearly fell, the granite beneath his feet being slippery with surf, Which splashed over it as the waves broke at its edge. He recovered his ■ balance, and raised the lantern. By this time Grier had followed him and reached his side, just as his eyes had grown Accustomed to the dim light. They both utteitd exclamations of astonishment ; In Straffer’s tone there was a suspicion of relief, though what he had feared he did not know. What they saw was bad enough ! A ■mashed-up' motor-car lay before them, ■with hardly two parts holding together, Wheels torn off, tonneau and chassis divided ; beneath one part of the ruin lay the body of a man. Although his head and shoulders were hidden under the tonneau, Straffer had no doubt as to the Identity of thp victim of the tragedy ; recognised the Jong, fur-lined coat. The body was that of Levlson ! Grier, with two of the sailors, set to work to release the mangled victim of the' accident, but with no hope that any vestige of life could have survived that terrible crash. They turned the body over ; it was obvious enough the man was dead. '•■ We must have the pinnace,” Grier eald ; “ our boat is too small to remove this debris to the yacht.” He was perfectly collected, while Straffer had lost his nerve, an experience never known to him before. He had disliked Levlson . Intensely, but his terrible.end moved him strangely ; it seemed so utterly incongruous to the easy, pleasure-lovdng life which had gone before. He did not realise what had happened till the boat started on its return journeyO leaving them behind on the rock. At length ho said : “ Why not take the body, and leave the car here till the morning ?” As he asked the question, Grier turned over the tailboard of the car with his foot, and the distinguished mark met Straffer’s eyes, with all its mnemonic force— XTZ 7-17 .' This, then, was the last of the fated car ! It had begun by nearly killing Clarice Hontanet, and ended with its owner’s life on the hard granite beneath their feet. Grier answered Straffer’s question somewhat curtly. “ The tide will probably wash over this spot before many , more minutes pass. It is no.; nt its height for another half-hour or so. All this debris will be required ns evidence.” As he spoke he waved the lantern comprehensively, taking in all that lay before their eyes. “Evidence?" Straffer was' still too bewildered to think clearly. “ Yes. of course ; evidence for the inquest, for one tiling,’> and probably for another trial as well.” “ I don't understand you.” ” You will when your brain has cleared.” He took his friend by the arm. “ Do you believe, that man ’’ indicating the body of Levlson self over Hic cliff ?” “Why not ? It is dark enough for a man to make any mistake." “ The man, or men, who did this job made no mistake, unless it was that they forgot the sea only covered this rock when the tide was at its highest; or perhaps tlioy were not, aware our yacht was so close, or, indeed, here at all.” By tliis time the sound of the pinnace was plainly audible. ■ “Do you mean to say you think it was murder ?” In a flash Straffer's mind went back to Clarice's description of. Lingen, and that she had said “ he would stick at nothing.” Remembering. too, the incident of the pocket-book on the Embankment, he found corroborative evidence of her estimate of the man's character. .“Yes, I feel sure of it,” Grier responded ; “for two good reasons. One, the biggest fool on earth would not drive his own motor over such an obviously dangerous cliff as this ; the other, that not a single cry readied us. The air Would have rung with a shriek which would have been heard almost at Penzance if a man suddenly found himself going over the edge of a precipice. instead, there was a dead silence till the crash came. X am as sure as I stand here this man was dead before bis car started on Its last journey to destruction.” , ” How do you think lie was killed ?” “XV e must leave the doctor to And that out. and when he does it will go hayclly with some person. .In the meantime T must set the wireless to work : you will come back with me in the small boat.” The boat had been brought to tjie rear of the pinnace. Grier gave some Instructions to the sailing master, who had come in the pinnace., as to the removal of the debris : then, in company with Straffer, he started back for the Firefly as fast as possible. ■ "Within ten minutes messages were being transmitted to the station at I’oldhu, and so on to the police. It happened that an element of suspicion as to something surreptitious going on hod been infused into the mind of the local constable Stoyle, stationed nearly opposite Karl Lingen's line house. The officer luul not expected anything so serious to happen ; but in tiic course of duty he had noticed the lights on the cliff head those which attracted and alarmed Clarice. ' Ho had thought little of it at first, but the recurrence of the phenomenon made the fact sufficiently Important to report to his superior officer nt Penzance. The matter had then been mentioned to the coastguard, as it was thought that in some way the King's revenue was being made the victim of a fraud. Nothing stimulates local eu-tli.'.;f-asm of coastguard and police alike so r ach as a suggestion of tiio word “ ■ ggling.” or its prcsciu-d.iy cquivalen

Thai night the inspector had ridden over oh a bicycle and had called for Stoytc : the latter was. told to bring his machine. Together they made for {lie headland, in the direction of Red Farm, frtoyle had assured his superior officer that he knew Lingen was not tit home : they mast discover whether ho had gone In the direction in wiiivh I hoy were looking for ),;;r. and. if ;-o. ;ind out afi.itvards what 11;e object was ter these nocturnal -expeditions. Whoa tlie two officers reached the top of the ascent, wnich terminated on the open eiifi. ll:ey secreted their machines v.nde: a s'one waU, which fur mod the furti. t-si. a-.closuros of sotno hind used by Tycc’.ie for end purposes, such as tun ing hhnnic -.nit to grar.e or as a run Sor the ■.'. a is. The inspector am! his companion went v cautiously. KaHi had a ” tiull’se-. o" hot wltii the lights oliscured. For lime they heard and saw nothin-,'. ' '• ■■/u'liifl as If wo are out on a fool’s • Inspector Jarvis commented. *1 . ; ,ni pad ids doubts till along. t-m.yle laid a hand mi his arm. " Hist I" »v ....id. ihey are coming.” it was true : the lights of two lanterns. carried men walking at a rapid Vt-c, aicecached : darkness supervened. Tim officers moved forward sieai i liiiy. li.siete.r.i' ;:11en 1 1 >' ; they were on the gras- imd, which deadened the sound of tl.clr i... i r.-.n.--. .-tirpM -.me coming iheir way; t’nc Bound came from tint direction of the ■ road which wound round to the Red Ykixa.

Jarvis, with Stoyle hard on his track, shot forward to intercept the nightwalkers ; their approach was obviously heard, for the other men halted. Jarvis flashed his lantern, disclosing two figures, both of them well known to Stoyle and himself they were Karl Lingen and Tod Tyacke. Tod Tyacke looked scared, hang-dog. doubtful if he should come on and face it or run away ; Lingen, on the contrary, assumed an air of easy indifference. Ho had his hands hanging by his side, but when the “bull’s-eyes” flashed upon them he raised the lantern he held, and, disclosing the light, turned it upon the officers. Hitherto they had been in darkness,/placing Lingen and Tyacke at a disadvantage, as' they could be seen and not tbe others. " You ixH out late. Mr Lingen.” Jarvis said. “ 1 might return the compliment, inspector I” “ It is my business to be about at all hours.” “ And it is sometimes my pleasure. I have been expecting a steamer down Channel with a cargo I want for the mine the last few days. She has -not turned''up, and I am getting anxious about it. so I called for Tyacke here, and we have been on tbe headland. The ship was to show a special light if she passed round towards Penzance at night.” The explanation was plausible, but Jarvis did not believe in the truth of it for a moment : nevertheless, he had no information to go upon to rebut Lingers facile story. To arrest the manager on suspicion would have been too high-handed a proceeding, not to be thought of for an instant. Yet, before an hour had passed, Jarvis knew,he had made the mistake of his life in not venturing it. The four men parted Tyacke turning off to the Red Farm. Lingen in the direction of his house, the two policemen proceeding along the .headland. Not many minutes later the police came across a party from the !• irefiy, searching the headland, headed by the coxswain. Grier and Straffer had started for Penzance in the pinnace in order to bring back a doctor and any police available, tbe water route being tlie shorter and quicker of the two. By the time they had returned with two doctors (Figgis and his partner, Mr Haywood), the head inspector of the Moncrlcff station, and half a dozen police, Inspector Jarvis had started .back for a warrant from the nearest magistrate to arrest Karl Lingen and Tod Tyacke on suspicion of being concerned in the death of Louis Levison. Some delay was occasioned before a magistrate could be knocked up, and the necessary document procured. Then the inspector • proceeded to Lingen’s house, while Stoyle undertook the arrest of Tyacke. The latter task proved easy enough. Tod was roused out of bed, made to dress, harness the pony, and drive himself and the constable to Penzance. The man was utterly cowed, and prepared to make a clean breast of’the affair on the smallest encouragement. but Stoyle preferred to wait till one of the higher officers could deal with the matter. With regard to Lingen the case was very different. The servants were there, but their master was—«mo. Ho had told them he had “ been summoned suddenly to London, and was leaving by the vessel lying in the harbour, with all steam up.” Inspector Jarvis was disappointed. The important capture would now fall into someone elsc's hand?. His great regret was that he had not arrested the man on suspicion when he had met him. CHAPTER XXXIII. The doctors had no difficulty in pronouncing the cause of death : it exactly coincided with Grier's first estimate. Louis Levison had undoubtedly been suffocated. How that suffocation had been brought about remained a problem to be worked out later. It was certainly not a case of ordinary strangulation. Ec-vond the effect of the fall down the cliff, there were no marks of violence on the body. As soon as a hasty examination bad been made liy tiro medical men, with, tire above result, the police arranged to remove the dead man and the broken parts of the motor by water to Penzar.ee. There the body could lie In the mortuary, and the debris of the car be available when the inquiries took place before the coroner and tbe magistrate. Straffcr's first thought whs for the Monlanets. They certainty must not be left at the Rod Farm during Lite investigation which would follow. The I whole sinister surroundings would af- : feet Mrs Montanet Injuriously, and Clai rice, too. to a great extent. Straffer I took the decision into his own hands, I and early in .the morning appeared bej fore the gateway of tbe farm with a j carriage and pair, with a \ icw to drivI ing them to an hotel in Penzance. Clarice was looking out of her wtn- ! dnw when -Strafter drove up. She ran ; down the path to meet him. lie took ; bo!I: her hands in his. Hi s eyes asked • a question, to which hers responded in j the affirmative. | Their new, relation-hip was so strange • at present, ‘neither of thorn could rca- ; diiy believe that they were pledged to : one another. ; Holding tier bauds, lie kis~ed her. ; "You 'will be awfully surprised to ; bear I have come for you, he said. I ” Kon-.U unpleasant lb lugs have occurred j which make it impossible for you and ; your mother to remain hero. Could I Mrs Montanet he ready to start as soon | as. po risible for Penzance'.’" I •‘Would you rather not tell mo what has happened ? I am stronger and braver than you think.” “ Well, Mr Levison met with a serious accident on the cliff last night." j •• You mean ne was killed I" Her | voice shook a little, and her face paled : i but otherwise she met the announcement 1 with courage, perfectly understanding jail it meant, j “ Yes.” j • •• Was ho filing over the cliff?” I ■•.Something of that kind." I “ Mr Bingen hud a hand in it ?" 1 •• 1 think so. A warrant is out for Ills I arrest, hut lie has disappeared." I " I was afraid, terribly afr„jd. [ told you the son of man 1 .bought lie was.

Y7vvyvvvvvvvvvv VV/\ Thank heaven it was not you—George !” hj She put her hands on his shoulders, and t held him for a moment, expressing by I gesture and touch her thankfulness that c no harm had happened to him. r “ I think Lingen did not knoVv of my i existence.” c “ But he saw us together.” 1 “ Yes, but lie was too far off to recog- i nise who I was ; probably he thought I 1 was Levison.” 1 This was a conclusion Straffer had 1 worked out for • himself during long i hours of thinking. 1 “ Then you believe jealousy had some- \ thing to do with it ?” 1 “.There .are often mixed motives, .which together bring about a crime. 1 I think, however, that in tills case one i very strong cause must have been rob- i bery. Only a few shillings were found in Levison’s pockets. Ho was in the i habit of carrying about with him large 1 sums of money, so his valet says, and i his man knows for a fact he had chang- i ed a big cheque before leaving London, i A pocket-book which I had seen on a previous occasion was full of notes, representing a very considerable sum. The valet is certain ho had it with him when i lie left the hotel ; it is nowhere to he i found now." “ But surely the police can make a search T' “ They have already done so, both on the headland and in Llngen’s house, but without result. Tbe culprit himself took warning, and disappeared. A steamer belonging to him was in the harbour ready to start. He left in it before an arrest could be made. A description of the vessel has been tele- i graphed, and no doubt it wHI be reported shortly with Lingen on board.” In this Lord Straffer was mistaken, and the police force with him. In all probability Lingen bad all tbe means ; on board the steamer to disguise its , appearance. Straffer had noticed , at the outset it was a vessel which might ; lend itself easily to deception a little more paint, and it would become a gentleman’s pleasure vessel : darkened, it would pass for an ordinary trader. i At any rate, the disappearance of the owner and the steamer remain one of the mysteries of the sea. Some years afterwards a man answering very much ; to Lingen’s description became the head , of one of the South American Republics, and was killed in one of those risings which punctuate the history of these latitudes. While Clarice went upstairs to break something of the intelligence to her mother, how much or how little she had not yet decided, Straffer, at her suggestion, went into the ctlning-room. Clarice found out lie had not had a meal ; i for many hours. She was determined that lie must breakfast with them before starting on the drive. The consideration each had for the other was a new sensation to both of them, blending a softer, sweeter note with that deep undertone of tragedy, 1 which the events of the last few hours had brought with them. Clarice was so thankful she had Straffer with her at the critical moment, and lie greatly appreciated her solicitude as to his physical well-being. Mrs Tyacke brought in the breakfast, '■ after Straffer had rung the bell, as Clai rice had suggested. The woman looked : more wan than ever, and had evidently 1 not slept the whole night. Straffer said a few kind words to her, i whereupon she burst into tears and left the room hurriedly. For the first time In their lives Cia--1 rice and he had breakfast together alone. Mrs Montanet had hers in her i room, Clarice taking up the tray. . i ” Mother is wonderful,” she said, on her return. " and has taken the news far better than I expected.” j “You think she will be able to bear . j the drive ?” . | “Yes, easily. She has had an excelj lent night." j While Straffer was looking after Mrs 1 | Montanet and Clarice, taking them to , ■ Penzance and seeing they were comfort- . j ably settled at the hotel, his friend Ho- . | race Grier was engaged in a congenial 1 task lie was searching for entrances C i to the old workings of the mine on the 1 headland, trying to obtain evidence of 1 . what he fully expected to find there. 3 | It was no easy undertaking. There were . ; several mouths to the old pit, all of j j thorn obscured by furze bushes, bram- ; bios, and other wild growths. No won- . 1 der that even men who knew the hoad--5 ! land well had been obliged to carry lanj I terns for their visits after nightfall. | An unwary step might at any moment 3 j plunge them 20 or 30 feet into the depths t i below. . j In the afternoon Straffer returned to , I the Firefly, motoring from Penzance. . I He came brimming over with the news that the police had ascertained from j. | X.ondon an important piece of inloilii gcncc I ! front his bank no loss than 110,000 on t I the day before ho loft for the West.” j Grier had just conic from having a j haUi when his friend arrived on deck, j “ Then I can tell you." he said. “ how j i tltat money was to be used that is, . Ilf Levison had been fully satisfied. I I j have not wasted my time during your , absence. Shell I tell you what 1. found up there ?” he pointed to the cliff head. , “ Lo yon mean in the disused mine ?” ' “ Yes. 1 penetrated into its secrets " i tills morning, and 1 have an added resI pcct for Lingen. if lie meets with his i just fate, a very distinguished engineer | and a first-rate chemist will come lo I an untimely end in it is single person.” j ‘ So saying, Grier .took from a wallet a j I lump of rock. ” You have no idea , ’ what tills is ?” j I “ No, not the slightest.” I “Look at lL" lie said, “smell it I" t I As lie spoke 1m placed the rough, mis- | shapeu sphere on a tray, removing a syphon of soda to do so. : . i A taint exhalation rose from it, and a '. curious light seemed lo pervade it, a I- light which grew stronger the longer : | Straffer looked at it. Then lie nodded t j liis head ; —“ I understand now—pitcii- - | Idende !” j “ Yes I" j “ In other -.voids, radium | “ Yes, and one or two other tilings, '■ uranium, polonium, actinium." ! “ Is there much of it V" ~ I •• 1 fancy Lingen had satisfied himself [ that a king’.*; ransom w,.s hurled in that I old mine: hut to extract the precious stuff luvoUcJ a very costly process ;

S,/ vV Vv VV V V V V V V v v v v > hence the application to Levison. I 1 take It he was to finance the affair, and I Lingen to work it. Levison, unfortun- 1 ately for himself, would not plank the money down on a story related j.o him in London ; he wanted to see with his own eyes. No doubt, in the meantime, he learnt all there was to know about pitchblende and vadium. He must have been taken into the mine last night, provided with a helmet, apparefttly, like that of his conductor, Ltngen, but with a trifling difference trifling as far as the eye goes, but all-important as regards results. The fumes given oft when the chemical .process is applied to pitchblende are deadly, or would be In the small chamber Lingen had constructed within one of the galleries of the mine. Lingcn’s helmet was perfect, an absolute protection to nose, mouth, and ears. Levison’s had a small hole drilled into it, through which no doubt the fumes passed almost immediately to his brain. There you have it all in a nutshell Tod Tyacke, confronted with the fact that his confederate and leader had fled, at once made full confession of his share in the transaction. 'Whether he spoke the whole truth is a matter which, in the absence of Lingen, it is impossible to decide. He declared he knew nothing of any sinister intentions on Lingen’s part, and no one was more surprised titan himself, when he brought out the dead body of Mr Levison and flung it before his eyes. His only share in the' transaction was to help place the dead man in the tonneau of his motor-car, then start it over the cliff, and, as they imagined, into the sea. Lingen had assured him that the tide would carry away nil trace of evidence, and that when the body and some parts of the motor were discovered, the natural conclusion would be that Levison had mistaken his track in the night, with the obvious result. Tyacke, on his own showing, was an “ accessory after the fact,” and received a sentence of three years’ hard labour. Mrs Tyacke set up for herself In Penzance, and let lodgings, finite as capable a cook and much more cheerful a person now that her husband was safely out of the way. . Horace Grier took over the mine as consulting engineer, placing a young man whom he could thoroughly trust in charge of the actual working. It was impossible to carry out Mr. Conrad Montauet’s wishes in their entirety, now that this great discovery had been made, for radium is not a mere matter of personal property, but an addition to the store of the world’s resources in meeting not a few of those physical evils to which human nature is liable. CHAPTER XXXIV. “■\Vhat Is it, George?” Clarice was sitting in a deck-chair, with an awning over her head, looking, her husband thought,' ’ a picture of beauty, aware herself that she was supremely comfortable. “Those newspaper chaps seem to know everything—sometimes more than people know themselves 1 Look at that!” He handed her a paper with a finger against one paragraph; it formed part of a column of "Society News,” in one of the leading daily papers: "Lord and Lady Straffer-Montanet left Southampton yesterday in the fine yacht Neptune—recently purchased-—on a long voyage. It is understood that the Peer has acquired considerable interest in Rhodesia, and a visit to South Africa will probably be the termination of an extensive honeymoon.” “How do they get hold of these things?” “Oil, the tiling is simple enough. Certainly no yacht ever starts without multitudes of people knowing it; a fine; imagination generally .supplies the rest.” Clarice laughed a happy laugh. “Have you an interest in Rhodesia?” "Not a stick or stone, not even a share I believe. But porhapes tve may go that way and take a hand In the deal, which seems very popular .lust now. In the meantime I am certainly not going to think anything about business, the newspapers, or politics. I have done with thorn all for at least three months.” "Is your mind to be an absolute blank?" He bent down and kissed her under tire awning. "No, it will not be a blank, it will be full of you —you. and the joy of life! All that it means to bo together, without anything or anyone to interrupt." "Will you not got tired of It?” "I will toll you when I am!” “You promise that?” “Certainly!” "As lie was a man of his word, and he never told her, it may be taken for granted that Her anticipation was never realised. Mrs Montanet had been left behind at ■Cherry Tree Farm with Bridget, whom she had taken again into her service. It was her own wish. Is ho said sue had "done her voyaging about the world, and should be quite happy awaiting their return.” i-lo Slraffcr and Clarice, after the quiet, .simple wedding which had suited the tastes of both of them infinitely more than any grand society function, set forth on their voyage together, a type and symbol of Hurt longer voyage, which is; called Life! “Till death us do part”—those were the old words which rang in their oars, just that undercurrent of subdued melody. that suggestion of shadow beneath the sunshine, which enhances rather than detracts from tire summer-joy of existence. Neither of them believed that death itself would lie a final parting, rather that it was a loosening of hands on this side of the border, that lliov might he reunited on that final strand, where partings, tears, imperfections, and vicissitudes are for ever left behind. 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APPRECIATION 1 From Mrs. Kate Chegwin, 57 Rusldnfitreat, ■ Christchurch, /N.Z., 2Eth November, , 1910. “About nine months ago I wan taken , ill with dropsy. Two doctors attended mo; but they gave mo no relief._ My daughter made mo take Warner's Safe Curo, and after taking the second doso t found relief. I continued to take the medicine and when, I had taken the contents of three bottlea I became quite ; well again.’’ , From Mr. Ohas. J, Manual!, of Manual! Bros., Manufacturers and Merchants, High-street, West Maitland, K.S.W., 20th Juno, 1910. “Some twenty years ago, I strained zayeeif whilst carrying a ’ sack of •duco, and was a great sufferer for about eighteen months from frequent neuralgic i attacks in. the region cf the krdr.cya. 'The paina were very acute, lasting from four to twenty-five hours —and were followed by extreme weakness which pre- I vented me from attending .to ray business. I Find the beat medical aid procurable, but the doctor’s attention did nothing to relieve cr cure me. I.was gradually sinking under the complaint end my case was considered ho pel-era. Eventually I was persuaded to take , Warner’s Safe Cure and'Warner’s Safe Pills. In a very short time I obtained relief, and, continuing to take the medicine, I had the gratification of finding that my suffering had entirely ceased. I have not had a similar attack since,”! am always advicing people who suffer from - kidney and liver trouble to take Warner’s Safe Cure', and many have found wonderful relief, and permanent cure.from it.” From Mrs. E. Lewis, Garden-street, East Geelong, Vic., 26th April, 1910 “Having caught a severe chill, I be- ■ -came’ very ill, and alarming symptoms developed. 1 suffered excruciating pain in the back, and was hardly ever free from most terrible headaches. At times, my limbs would become quite numb and almost useless. This state of health continued for some considerable time. Medical advice and other remedies failed to do me any good. I was reduced in ilcsh, weak, and altogether disheartened, when Warner's Safe Cure was brought under my notice and. on the- advice of a friend. I commenced taking it, 1 was encouraged to persevere by the effect cf the first bottleful, and •is finally restored to health and strength by taking a few more bottlcfiful. I have personal knowledge that the medicine has cured many others besides myself. Full information relating to Warners Safe Cure, fcr'the kidneys_ and liver, is contained in a pamphlet issued by 11. | H. Warner and Co., Limited, Melbourne. Vic., who wiil be pleased to send a copv, post free, to anyone interested. Warner's Safe Cure is sold by chemists and storekeepers everywhere, both in the oriaina! (£s) bottles, and in the cheaper (2s“ 6d) “Concentrated,” non-alcolioir form.