“FIND THIS MAN”

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 25, Issue 3759, 22 May 1936, Page 4

“FIND THIS MAN”

By

AIDAN DE BRUNE

(The Author of “ The Dagger and Cord,” “ The Shadow Crook,” “The Unlawful Adventure,” “The Grays Manor Mystery,” etc.)

CHAPTER XV. Ivy gasped, staring at the man on the floor with horrified eyes. She had not expected anything like this. All she had wanted to do was to shock him into some admission —to gain from him some explanation that might make towards the solution of the mystery , in which she was involved. Was the man dead ? She threw over the switch and ran into the hall, to the mans’ side, pushing through the crowd of guests who had gathered about his prostarte body. She knelt by him, feeling his heart through the stiff front of his shirt; then looked up at the strange faces surrounding her. “ Wlater, please—and a glass of brandy.” Eager hands served her. She bent over the “ unknown ” again. The bloodless, blue-lined lips told their tale. The man suffered from a weak, or diseased, heart. The shock had overcome him.

“ Let me come, Muriel.” A quiet voice at her side called her attention from the man. The girl looked up into Jack’s face;

“ Let him lie.”! She spoke softly, lifting the “ unknown’s ” head from the floor, to slip under it a cushion someone had brought her. “He will be better in a moment.” “ What’s the matter ?’’ One of the men in the clustering group near spoke. “ I never knew Pender to throw a fit before.” “ Oh, I don’t know,” another voice answered. “ I can remember one night, not so long ago, in the smoking room, when he went off like that. Something in the newspaper upset him; went blue round the lips, but didn’t quite lose consciousness. It w r as quite a while before we could get him round.”

Ivy heard, and flinched. What had she done ? She had wanted information, and had not hesitated to scheme anything to serve her ends. Had she risked this man’s life in her mad impulse ? She had acted in ignorance and—suppose he should die ? For some minutes there tvas silence in the big hall, broken only by the few whispered words exchanged between the men in the group standing aroud. Ivy bent over the man, bathing his face and hands, every now and again forcing a few drops of brandy between his clenched teeth. At length he opened his eyes and looked up into the girls’ face. For a moment he looked puzzled, then he smiled. . “ What’s the matter ? ” he asked lowly. “ You fainted, Mr Pender.” The girl answered unsteadily. “ Why ? ” A long pause; tehn: “ Oh, I remember. I thought I saw—”

“ Wihat do you think you saw ? ” The girl bent closer to the man. “The buhl—box —and—and Basil —” The 'man’s twisted lips showed he was still in pain. “ Funny that! I haven’t given the old box a thought for months.”

“ How are you, old man ? ” A man pushed through the group and knelt beside Ivy. “ Better ? Good-o ! Think you can be moved ? Very well.” He straightened and looked round the men near. “ Tom ! Jim ! Give me a hand to carry Harold to the library.”

Two nien slipped forward. They lifted the sick man and carried him from the hall. Ivy made to follow. At the door she hesitated and looked back. Sir Michael had resumed the chair and was asking the guests to take their places at the table again, speaking sympathetically of the sick man but obviously trying to smooth over a disturbing incident and to restore th.e atmosphere of the dinner to its former smoothness.

She hesitated, her hand on the door handle. Should she leave the hall and follow the man ? Every inclination led to that action. But—on the table lay her secret, the means by which she had been able to re-act so strangely on the “ unknown.” Dare she leave it unguarded ? But what could she do if she stayed in the hall ? The guests were again round the table. She could only wait and watch. She could not go to the table and search the decorations at that time. She would have to wait until the end of the feast, and then devise some means to get into the hall alone.

There was another danger. Jack was in the hall, and showed signs that he intended to remain there. He might become suspicious and search the alcove. He might examine the switchboard and find the little switch which worked her apparatus. He might depress it, and then her secret would be exposed to the diners. Then he would tax her with treachery. What excuse could she make to him and the others ? She could find no excuse for herself; she had now only a big repentance—that her zest to solve the mystery she believed the “ unknown ” to hold the key of had led her to work this man harm. She turned at the door and ran back to' the alcove. Jack was not

there. She went to the switchboard, and found the wires leading to the little switch. Frantically she dragged at them, snapping them from the connections, pulling them from their loose fastenings on the wall. She managed to get them free, until the fastenings held them to the woodwork of the floor. They were too strong for her. She looked around her desperately; then rapidly re-ar-ranged the greenery, bringing a few pot plants to the wall, hiding the wires and the coils of wires she had pulled from the switchboard. Now she would be safe, until she could get to the table and remove the apparatus concealed amid the flowers. 'She turned from the alcove, to return at the sound of the telephone bell. Almost trembling, she went to the instrument and took down the receiver.

“ Someone wants to speak to Miss France.” The voice of the switchboard attendant sounded terribly impersonal to the girl, her nerves aquiver.

“ Yes ? I am Miss France. Will you please connect me ? ” A moment, and a man’s voice came on the wire: “ Miss France 1 Fred Powers speaking. I’ve got to tell you that Mr Pender has just left the Palido. he’s taken a taxi and driven off. Do you want me to follow ? All right. Then I must—”

“ But—but you said that Mr Pender has just left the Palido ? ” Ivy gasped. “ Why, he’s been—” “Yes. I was standing against the door when he came out. I saw him quite plainly. There, his taxi’s moving I I’ll telephone you as soon as I discover where he pulls up. Goodbye ! ” The connection was suddenly broken. For some moments Ivy stood with the receiver to her 'ear, entirely dazed. What had the man meant ? Harold Pender had remained at the Palido all that time ? But for more than two hours he had been sitting at the table before her. She was certain that she had not been mistaken in the man. She remembered after his falling to the ground—while she knelt by hint—that men around had spoken his name. She would know him anywhere, for she had taken particular notice of him when she had first seen him at the doors of the Palido, and afterwards in the private box corridor at the General Post Office.

What had happened ? Had Fred Powers made a mistake ? Yet she could not believe that. She was certain that the man was honest; she knew that he was intelligent and resourceful. He had followed the man to the Palido, and remained there, on watch. He had seen the man come out, and had immediately telephoned her.

No, the taxi-driver had not been mistaken—but neither had she. Yet somewhere there was a big mistake. She slipped from the hall into the corridor, and asked one of the attendants to take her to the library. At the door she knocked gently. One of the men who had carried Pender from the hall opened the door.

“ Yes ? ” “ I came to see if I could do anything for Mr Pender.” The girl spoke quietly, though her heart was beating rapidly. I was with him'—attending to him—in the hall, you will remember.”

“ Oh, yes.” The man stepped back, opening the door wider. “ Will you come in, please, Miss—er —? ” “ Miss France.” Ivy murmured the name as she passed the man. She went directly to the lounge on which they had laid Pender. The man standing beside the lounge moved back. For a nioment she stared down at the man. He looked up at her, smiling weakly. “ Awfully sorry to. give you so much trouble.” He spoke in a whisper. “ Silly of me to pitch over like that! My heart, you know. The doctor says it’s a bit weak. --Any shock—•” “ Please lie still.” Her hand restrained him as he made to sit up. •She turned to one of the men standing by. “Have you sent for a doctor ? ”

“ Mr Quayle did that, immediately we got him in here.”

“ Then, if you please, I would like the room to be cleared. ” Ivy spoke with an assumption of authority. “ Mr Pender is suffering from a heart attack, and the quieter he is kept the

sooner he will recover. Will you please let me know immediately the doctor comes ? ”

The man nodded, and beckoned to his companions. In silence they went from the room 1 . Ivy turned to the couch, trying to make the man more comfortable.

“ You feel better now ? ” she questioned. “ Much better, Miss France. Awfully good of you to trouble about me. I feel an abject fool.” “ What made you ill ? ” “Seeing things.” He laughed weakly. “ Seeing things ! What do you mean ? ” “ Seeing the buhl box—and Basil.” The man spoke almost involuntarily, then laughed. “ I thought I saw the buhl box, and then—and then—my—my—” “The buhl- box,” Ivy murmured, murmured, partly to herself. “The buhl box ! What buhl box ? ” " The one I used to own.” The man lay back, his eyes half closed. “You know what a buhl box is—dulled gold, inlaid —a queer sort of thing. Oldfashioned ! ” “ You used to own the buhl box ? ” Ivy was startled. “Mr Pender, tell me about it. Perhaps if you talk, instead of thinking, you will find that —that your fears—” “ Fears ? ” The man laughed lightly. “It was not fear, Miss France. I thought I saw a buhl box and—and a dead man.” “ What do you mean ? ” Ivy bent closer to the invalid. “ You say the buhl box used to belong to you. Then you gave it away 1 To whom ? "

“ To a friend—to Basil Sixsmith.” “ You gave the buhl box to Mr Sixsmith ? ” “Yes.”

Ivy thought quickly. Her godfather had had the buhl box for more than twelve mohths before he died. She had never asked him how he had come by it, supposing that he had bought it when wandering, as he did often, among the antique shops of the city. He had brought it home and placed it on his desk. From that moment he had always looked upon it with particular regard. For what reason ? Could it have been out of regard for the giver ? “Listen.” She bent over the halfconscious man. “ You have called me Miss France. That is not my name. I am Ivy Breton—Mr Sixsmith’s goddaughter. Will you tell me, please—< oh, please tell'me ! —what is the secret of the buhl box ? ” “ You are—”

“ Hush I There is someone coming. Keep my secret, please. Here I am Miss France. I will see you later and explain.” The door had opened again, and a man in evening dress entered. He came across the floor to the side of the couch with a quick, noiseless step. He nodded, shortly, as the girl made way for him. “ Old game again, Pender ? ” He spoke abruptly. “ Same old trouble, doctor.” The man laughed weakly. “Heart went back on me. Came on while I was having dinner. Chucked a faint —and all that.”

“ Humph ! ” Dr Unwin slipped his fingers round the man’s wrist. “ Feel all right now ? Of course you would. Don’t seem to have been any damage done this time. Feel well enough to go home and get to bed ? I’ll come to-morrow and vet. you.” He went to one of the tables and opened his bag. A few minutes, anp he returned to the side of the couch, holding a small glass in his hand. “ Drink this.” He waited while the man swallowed the draught, looking at Ivy inquiringly.

“I happened to be in the banquet hall at the time Mr Pender fainted.” The girl answered the unspoken inquiry. “ I am responsible for the decorations. When he fell I went to Mr Pender, and—and have tried to look after him until you came.” “ Miss France has been wonderfully good.” Pender was now sitting up on the couch. “ I’m afraid I’ve been an awful nuisance to her.”

“ Well, you won’t be any longer.” The doctor smiled. “ Come on, man. I’ll take you home and see you to bed. Your man can bring on the car.” Pender got to his feet with some difficulty, catching at the doctor’s arm. He turned to the girl, holding out his hand.

“ Thanks awfully, Miss France. You’ve been very good to me. Don’t forget your promise to come and see me. I know this doc. of old. He’ll get me to bed and keep me there for a week or two, if he can. Kind of punishment for not obeying orders strictly, y’know.” He grasped the girl’s hand, then went slowly to the door, holding on tc the doctor’s arm. There he hesitated, and turned.

“ Don’t forget, Miss France. I shall expect you soon, and —and congratulations on your decorations. They were iirtmense.”

Ivy dropped into a chair, amazed

To be continued.

and repentant. She could not understand. Somewhere she had m'ade a mistake—a mistake that had almost cost a man his life.

Fred Powers had telephoned her that the “ unknown ” had left the Palido—at the moment the “ unknown ” had been carried from the hall of the Union Club in a fainting fit. What did that mean ? Had he made a mistake ? Who had made a mistake ’ There could not be two “ unknowns.” Either she or the taxi-driver had been watching the wrong man—and she knew that she had not. Then—Fred Powers had been following some other man ! If only she could get to him!—if she could Bee the man he had been following. ,What had he said when he had telephoned her ? That he was trailing the man and would telephone her again. Where ? to the Union Club ? But —but he must know that the banquet would soon be over!

No, he would not think of that. She glanced at her watch. It was only a little after 10 o’clock. Powers would know that a dinner of that kind would not terminate before midnight. There would be speeches, perhaps many of them. She remembered that when Sir Michael had opened the dinner he had referred to the list of speakers. Then she would have to remain in the big hall until the end. Suddenly she remembered one of the doctor’s questions. He had asked the sick man if he had his car at the club with him. Pender had replied that it was outside. But Powers had told her that the “unknown” had driven from the Palido in a taxi. He had said that the man he had followed had taken a taxi from the Apsley to the night club. She shrugged impatiently. What a mix-up !

Ivy left the library and walked down the corridor until she came to the door of the banquet hall, close to the alcove. She opened the door slightly and peeped in. Someone was speaking, and, waiting until she thought she would be unobserved, she slipped into the room and went to the alcove. She started to see that someone was seated in her chair. “ Mr Lorne ! ”

“ Miss France ! ” Jack sprang to his feet. “ How is your invalid now ? ”

“My invalid no longer.” The girl laughed slightly. “ I have just seen him taken home by the doctor, feeling very much like a naughty little boy caught by a master in some forbidden act. From what the doctor said, I believe he is subject to those heart attacks.”

“ Awfully awkward, having one right in the middle of the dinner.” Jack was staring up the room, frowning. “ I did want things to go right here to-night. The Union Club means quite a lot of work for ‘ Lorne, florists.’ ”

“ I don’t think they can hold Mr Pender’s fainting fit against our work.” Ivy laughed uncertainly. “ Mr Pender congratulated me on the decorations just before the doctor took him away.” The nian didn't answer. He appeared to be listening to some remarks the chairman was making. “ If he can olny get them settled again.” Jack spoke under his breath. “ If he can only get them to forget.” Suddenly he turned to the girl. “ Miss France, what did Mr Pender mean by ‘ the buhl box ’ ? I saw a buhl box cn Miss Breton’s desk when I called on her. She told me—”

“ What ? ” Ivy asked, colouring, as the man paused. “She told me that it was in the buhl box that she had found the photograph of the man her godfather had commanded her to find.”

“ The photograph you took from her house the night someone tried to chloroform her ! ” Ivy spoke almost angrily. “The photograph you returned to her the next morning, with your telephone number scratched on the back! ”

“ Lord ! You know that ? ” The young man stared at the girl in amazement. “ What isn’t there that Miss Breton doesn’t tell you ? ” Suddenly Ivy broke down, turning from! him with tears streaming from her eyes, her throat choked with sobs. Almost before she realised what had happened she was in Jack’s arms, her face buried against the silk lape Is of his coat, utterly ruining them. And —he didn’t seem to care one iota I “ Dbn’t Muriel, ■ don’t! ” His cheek was resting on her hair—and she fet most absurdly happy so happy that she cried anew.