SECRETS OF STATE

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 584, 23 December 1915, Page 2

SECRETS OF STATE

[Copyright,]

CHAPTEE XVII. } ACROSS THE FRONTIER. The morning dawned, bright and, Bunlny—a perfect autumn morning—at the' Chateau-of Lerouville; The message which Blanche had received after returning had not caused lier; much consternation. She supposed that Pauiihad i>een suddenly ordered to fluty up at tW fortress, as he had been on several occasions. So she had eaten her supper with her father and Enid and had. retired to. rest. When, however, they sat at breakfast •—served hi the English style—Sir Hugh ©pened a letter which lay upon his plate, and at once announced his intention of returning to London, "I. have to see Hughes, my solicitor, over Aunt Mary's affair," he explained suddenly-to Blanche. "That execu- . torship is always troubling me." surely you can remain a day .or two longer, Dad?" exclaimed Madame Le Pontois. "The weather is,delightful just now, and I hear it is too dreadful for. words in England." "J, too, have to be back to prepare for going away with Mrs Caldwell," 33tiid remarked. ,"But surely these solicitors will wait? There is no great urgency —there can't be! The old lady-died 10 years ago," Blanche exclaimed as she poured oii't the coffee. '<-My dear, I'm extremely sorry," said her father quietly,- M but I must go —it is imperative." . '''Not to-day?" *' I ought to go to-day^'' he sighed. «' JhdecM, I really must-—by the' ra'pide I usually take. Perhaps I shall alter my route this time and go from Conflans to Metz, and-home by Liege and Brussels.' It is about as quick, and one gets a waggon-lit from Metz. I looked up the,train the other day, aud' find it leases Conflans at a little after 6." "iSurely you'will remain and say au rcvoir to Paul? He'll be so disappointed!*' she cried; in dismay. "My-dear, you will make excuses for us. J must really go, and so must Enid. She:had a letter from Mrs Caldwell urging her to get back, as she wants to start abroad for the winter. The bad weather in England is affecting her it seems.". And so, with much regret expressed by little Ninette and her mother, Sir Hugh Elcombe and his stepdaughter went to their rooms to see about,their packing.' Bdtli were puzzled. The sudden appearance of those strange men out of the darkness' had frightened Enid, but the igirl had said nothing. Perhaps it was tapon some confidential matter that Paul had been summoned. On the fron- ' tier;many strange and secret interviews take- place, she knew. Therefore she , lad,preserved silence, believing with

BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX 'wsmmmm Aathor of "The Invasion of England," "Fatal Fingers," &c

Blanche that at any moment he might return. Back in his room, Sir Hugh closed the door, and standing- in the sunshine by t'lie"* window,, gazed across the -wid-e vailey toward;* "the German territory, deep in reflection. ; "This curious absence of Paul's forebodes he murmured to himself. He had' slept little that being filled with strange' apprehensions. Though he -had closely questioned Enid she would not say what had actually happened, .Her explanation was merely that Paui had been called away by a civilian who had met him outside. The old man sighed, biting his lip. He cursed himself for his'-dastardly ;work, even though he had been compelled by Weirmarsh to execute it, on pain of exposure and consequent I'iiiii. Against his will, against his better nature, he had been forced to meet the ! mysterious"' Doctor of Pimlico in secret on the .quiet wooded by-road between Marcheville and Saint-Hilaire, four kilometres from the chateau, aud"there hand over to him those precious plans and details which he had so carefully compiled of the wonderful fortress of Haudioniont.

The two men had met at sundown, and Sir Hugh had given the doctor the bulky packet without a word. I'You seem to fear exposure! laughed the man who provided him with his comfortable income. '' Don't be foolish —there is no. danger. Return, to England with Enid as soon as you possibly can without' arousing suspicion, and I will call and see you at Hill Street. I /want to have a chat with you."

Elcombe's. grey, weather-worn ; .face grew hard and determined... "T have'done this Weirmarsh, because you have held the pistol to my throat, and please do not count upon my assistance in the future. Remember that from* to-day our'friendship-is entirely at"an end."

"As you wish, of course, my dear Sir Hu;h," replied the other with a nonchalant air. "But if I were you I would not be in too great a hurry to make such a declaration. You may require a friend in the near future —a friend like myself." "Never, I* hope —never!" snapped the old general. "Very well," replied the Doctor, who, w}th si. shVug'of his shoulders, wished his friend a cold adieu, and, turning,-strode away, carrying in his pocket those precious documents —to Germany. As Sir Hugh stood alone by the win - dow that morning he recalled every incident of that hateful interview, every word that had fallen from the lips of the man. who. seemed to be as ingenious arid resourceful as' Satan himself. His suspicions regarding PauFs sudden absence had caused him to invent an excuse for his own hurried departure. He was not prepared to remain there and witness his dear daughter's grief and'humiliation; so he deemed it wiser

to get away in safety to England, for he Jno longer trusted Weirmarsh. Suppose Itlie Doctor revealed the actual truth to i the Ministry of War in Paris by means 'of some "anonymous communication? I Then he would quickly find- himself uu- ! dov arrest.

Spy-mania is rife in France always; and woe to the man Avho falls beneath the ban of suspicion! The case of poor Dreyfus was sufficient illustration of the perverted justice to be expected. No; Sir Hugh deemed that in the circumstances it was best that he should get across the frontier into Germany, where at least he would be immune from arrest. For that reason he had decided to travel via Belgium back to England. As he stood staring blankly across the valley, he heard the hum of ah approaching motor-car, and saw that it was General Molon's, being driven by Gallet, the soldier-chauffeur. ~ , There .was no passenger, but the car entered the iron gates and pulled up before the door. A few moments Inter Blanche ran up the stairs, and, bursting into her father's room, cried: "Paul has been called suddenly "to Paris, Dad! He told Gallet to come this morning and tell me. How strange that he did not come in to get even a bag! " '' Yes, dear, ; ' said her father. . '' Qallet is downstairs, isn't he? "I'll speak to him. The mystery of Paul's absence increases."

"It does. I —l can't get rid of a curious feeling of apprehension that something' has happened/" What was there to prevent liim from coming in to wish me good-bye when he was actually at the gate?" Sir Hugh went below and questioned the chauffeur.

The story told by the man Gallet was that the Captain had been met by two gentlemen and given a message that he was required urgently in Paris, and they had. driven at once over to Verdun, where they had just caught the train. "Did the captain leave any other message for niadame?" asked Sir Hugh in French. , " No, m'sjeur." The old general endeavoured by dint of persuasion- to .learn something further, but the man was true to his promise, and would make no further statement. Indeed, earlier that morning, he had been closely questioned by his own general, but had been equally reticent. Captain Le Pontois was a favourite with the-whole regiment, and no man would dare to lift his voice against him, or thewrath of all his comrades would be upon him.

Sir Hugh returned to his room and commenced packing his suit-cases,, more than ever convinced that suspicion had been aroused. Jean,came to offer to assist, but he declared that he liked to pack himself, and this occupied, him the greater part of the morning. 'Enid was also busy with her dresses, assisted by Blanche's Provencal maid Louise. About" 11 o'clock,' however, .Jean tapped at her. door and said;./'A peasant from Allamont, across the valley, has brought a letter, mademoiselle. He says an English gentleman gave it to him to deliver to you personally. He is downstairs."

In'.-■surprise,- the girl hurriedly descended to the servants' entrance, where she found a sturdy old grey-haired peasant bearing a long, stout stick. He raised his frayed cap politely, and asked whether she were Mademoiselle Oiiebar,

Then, when she had replied in the [ affirmative, he drew from the breast of his blouse a crumpled letter, saying: "The Englishman who has been staying at the Lion d'Or at Allamont gave this to me at dawn to'-;day. I was to give it only into mademoiselle's hands. There is no reply." Enid tore open the letter eagerly, and found the following words, written hurriedly in pencil in Walter Fetherston's well-known scrawling hand —for a novelist's handwriting is never of the best: —

"Make excuse and induce your father to leave Conflans-.larny at once for Metz, travelling by Belgium for "London. - Accompany him. A serious contretemps has occurred which will affect you both if you donot leave immediately on receipt of this, Hepd this, I beg of you. I am still vour -friend. WALTER.' '

For a moment she stood puzzled. "Did the Englishman say there was no reply?" she asked. "Yes, mademoiselle. He left the Lion d'Or just before 8, and drove into Conflans with his baggage. Old Jacques, the inntkeeper, told me that he <is returning suddenly to England. He received several telegrams last night it appears." ■

',. ",You know him, then>'L \ .... " Oh, yes,l mademoiselle. Vile came there to fish in the Longeau, and I have been with him on several occasions."

.Enid took a piece of "cent sous" from her purse and gave it to the , old man; then she returned to her room, and, sending Louise below for something, burned Walter's letter in t-he grate. Afterwards she went to her stepfather and suggested that perhaps they might leave Conflans earlier than he had resolved. '' I hear there is a train at 3.5. If we went by that," she said, "we could cross from Ostend instead of by Antwerp, and thus be in London a day earlier."

'' Are you so anxious to get away, Enid I" he asked, looking straight into her face.

' k Well, yes. Mother, in her letter yesterday, urged iTie to come home, as she does not wish me to . travel, out alone, to join Mrs Caldwell. She's afraid she will leave London without-me if I don't get home at once. Besides, I've got a lot of shopping: to do befpre I can-start. Do let us get away by the earlier train. It will be so much better," she urged. As Sir Hugh never denied Enid anything, he .acquiesced. . Packing,'-..fas speedily concluded, and, much to the regret of Blanche,, the pair left in a fly for which they had telephoned to Con-flans-.Jarny. '■"..-.. Half an hour-after leaving Conflans, Sir Hugh breathed more freely when they descended from the carriage at the little station, of Amanvilliers, on German territory, and changed-into the German train bound through : the beautiful valley of Manvaux, past the great forts of Plappeville and St. Quentin, and across the Moselle to Metz. ;>■.,,

Whatever might happen, Sir Hugh;, reflected, at least he was- now •safe"■■"from arrest. While Enid, ■on:.h^rV.paJ|^- l .sat back.in the corner of the first-class.,com-partment gazing out of the window, still mystified by that strange warning from the man who only a jEew dayXpreviously had so curiously abandoned her. (To be continued.) ' ;;t