The Bannatyne Sapphires

Taranaki Daily News, 4 October 1929, Page 14

The Bannatyne Sapphires

By

FRANK HIRD

-“Of course,” she said to herself, “it’s t tho reflection from the floor.” When they camo out from tho garden gate tho white dusty road by the shore, to right and to left, was empty, and as they climbed ■ the steep track to the arbutus bush not even a goat was v.isible. ' • “I wonder if we shall find Alice’s necklace ?” Patricia - whispered as Meredith put the key in tho lock of the painted door.' ■" : - ■ “If it’s here ’l’m .sure wo shall. Only I hope we shan’t have to open all those cases.”. ' <;_■.. As ho • spoke • Meredith touched the switch outside the swing door arid’pushed the door open. But as he turned the handle of the second door and opened it they both uttered an exclamation of surprise. ‘ , - . * . z - The room was brightly lighted. Beside tho lamp hanging from the centre of tho ceiling tho three candlelamps on ' the bench were lighted,; one' in the centre and one at either end. And three of the rush-bottomed chairs wore close to the benchj one in"front of r each, green-shaded lamp. As ' Patricia and Meredith, utterly amazed, stood -just within the door way they saw that each lamp shone down upon a pile of jewels. Before each chair was a large square of'- wash-leather; ’ On the* right of- each square was a -small heap of tiras, hair ornaments, brooches, bracelets and' necklaces; on the” left of bach square was a cardboard box ’half-filled with broken and twisted settings; rarid in front of each square wq's an indiarubber- tray, such as, photographers use, in developing' negatives, half-filled with" glittering stones. • each square of washleather. small tools—delicate , pliers, microscopic hammers and chisels—were scattered upon the bench with small bottles -of variously. coloured liquids. Beside each square stood a fairly large bottle of yellow oil. Neither Patricia nor Meredith spoke? This sudden discovery deprived them of all sensation except; wonder.’ Suddenly, Patricia pointed to the lamp at the end of the bench nearest the door. Beneath, it was Mrs. Bannantyne’s necklace, the two rows of sapphires joined, by the network of diamonds, and the five great pendant - pear-shaped stones, lying spread out over several strings, of pearls. Patricia thought that even on Alice Bannantyne’s white skin the sapphires had never shone so brilliantly; had never been so liquidly blue. “We’re just in time,” Meredith whispered. . “They’re beginning .to break the things up.”' , 2;?' He stepped up to £he bench, his hand stretched out'to take the necklace, when a muffled exclamation came from the opening in the wall leading to the inner room. Meredith and Patricia turned quickly.' A man stood in the opening. He. remained for an instant, looking at them; his face in the shadow. Then he' came ■ forward into the light. It was Maxwell Wryce. The meeting was so utterly unexpected that all three were silent. Wryce was the first to speak. “What are you doing here?” As ho spoke he came directly under, the light. Patricia, involuntarily, put her hand on Meredith's arm. This was a Maxwell Wryce she had never seen before. The laughing blue eyes were hard and glittering, the smiling mouth was set in a straight cruel line, the florid cheeks were sickly white. The man’s whole. aspect set thrills of fear tingling through her veins. But if there was menace in his eyes, fear was sharp and dominant in his voice. “We came for this,” Meredith answered, picking up the sapphires. “Alice Bannantyno’s necklatee, which your sister and,Partwell stole at Brentland.” Wryce squared- his shoulders as if he had just received a blow in the face. He leant heavily against the bench, staring at Meredith, so amazed and thrown off his guard that he could only mutter: — “My God; How did you know that?” “I heard her tell you at Brentland, that night she came to your room when she was so rattled about Grelkin.” Wryce’s face grew even paler. He put' his hand to his throat, pulling at his collar. “Sb you were spying upon us?” he said, his eyes narrowing. “No. By the merest chance I heard voices in the fireplace of my bedroom — the sound came down the chimney. "When I found out what you and Julia were talking about, I listened.” “Then you know everything?” Wryce broke in wildly, as heQ-realised what Meredith’s knowledge must bo. “Yes, I know everything,” Meredith replied, his face and voice eloquent with the contempt he felt for this man who had made friends with people only to rob them. “You and your sister have been living a life of humbug and thieving for years, deceiving the Bannantynes, us—everybody.” Little beads of perspiration broke out on Wryce’s forehead, but he regained his self-control, and said quickly:— “You knew this? you asked me to lend you the villa? Wasn’t that odd . —in the circumstances?” Meredith detected sarcasm in the question. “Not at all,” he replied hotly, “everything is fair against criminals. I wanted to —” He stopped on the verge of giving one actual reason of their visit to the villa —tho warning of Grelkin whenever Wryce himself came there. He must give no hint, he reflected, that Grelkin would be watching the brother and sister’s future movements. So, after a momentary pause, he added:— 1 “We wanted to get back Alice’s necklace. And we are just in time,” he added, looking along the bench’ at the trays half-filled with loose stones and broken settings. “You seem to have broken up most of your swag. I wonder how many robberies all this represents?” Wryce stood upright, asking quietly: “Docs Bannantyne know what you know?” “No, ho doesn’t. But he will when wo return to England.” “Does anybody else know besides you two?” Wryce’s voice was still quiet.' “That is my affair,” replied Meredith. “How did you get in here?” “That, too, is my affair. I can’t do anything to stop you selling these jewels,” Meredith added, “but you’re not going to have this!” He picked up Mrs. Bannantyne’s necklace and began to roll it round and round, preparatory to putting it in his pocket. “Put that down!”

Meredith,still rolling up the necklace, took no notice. “Put it down! If you don’t, I’ll make you!” Now Wryce’s voice, still quiet and restrained, was menacing.. Meredith shrugged his shoulders. He knew that for all his inches Wryce was in no sort of condition, and hadn’t been for years. He even got puffed after a round of golf. ' ' “You! ” Meredith said contemptuously. “You couldn’t!” > “Here! Both of you! There’s danger!” •Wryce called out in Spanish. •There was a; sound of *hurrying footsteps from , the ? iririr robin and Leofalda camo through the-opening in the wall, followed -by Hartwell. Directly they saw Patricia and Meredith -both men. stopped dead; b.chtrid4-AVryce, Eeofalda’s protuberant eyes starting from their sockets; Bartwell. with wide-open mouth. Wryce said some'.thing in Spanish to Leofalda, -but sb quickly that Meredith •couldn't follow it. ; “Put'that: down!” :: " . Again Patricia fplt'a thrill of fear. Wryce’s voice -was 'brutal. A patch -of crimson had > cpme upon either cheekbone the eyes and j mouth were desperajte.’ : “ / “Oh,''ho!”: said' Meredith, his hand moving towards v . hiS coat-pocket, “I’m going to take this back to Alice Bannantyne.”. ; At a sign -from Wryce, Leofalda stepped forward. The next instant Mere-' dith’s-xight wrist was in a grasp z of steel, His arm was jerked upwards and outward,- and the sapphire necklace shot into the -air, falling on 'the top of the string of pearls, from which he had taken it.'■ .. , 'Meredith tried to. wrench his wrist free, but Leofalda, with’ a sharp move-ment,-brought it down to his side and held it there. The young man, “exerting all his strength, tried to. raise, his arm, but Leofalda’s plumb fingers, with their shining, highly-manicured nails, might have'' been so many circles of iron pressing into ;-the bone. The Mexican’s face, close to his own was’ as impassive as when he had come come to Meredith’s London office to discuss the buying of the Sangolanto mine, and as then there was the cloying smell of some perfume. To be 'held, helpless by this flabbylooking, scented adventurer maddened Meredith. Clenching his left fist he struck at the impassive face. But he had scarcely rased his arm when he uttered a cry. With a deft movement Leofalda had twisted the young man’s right arm behind his back. The pain was excruciating. “If you • move, Mr. Meredith, I will break -your arm,”- said Leofalda, as civilly as if he had been asking his victim to have a cup of tea. . Meredith kenw he was helpless. The grasp on his- wrist > the sudden twisting of his arm, told him he was in the hands of a -ju-jitsu expert. The next few minutes were the most agonising in Meredith’s life. Any possibility of physical danger to Patricia or himself in their search for Mrs. Bannantyne’s necklace had never occurred to him. Now they were in the power of three absolutely desperate men, and as he- listened to the rapid conversation in Spanish which ensued between Wryce and Leofalda he grew'sick with apprehension. He - looked at Patricia. She was standing against the wall, very white, her dark blue eyes, dilated with fear, fixed on Wryce and the Mexican. “Thank God!” Meredith thought. ‘‘She. understand what they’re saying.” Instinct tbld Meredith he must give no sign that he himself understood Spanish —perhaps this was their only chance. “Bartwell and I thought you were talking to Santo,” Leofalda began. “How did these people get in here?” “I don’t know,” replied Wryce. “Santo will have to explain that. It must be his fault The question is, what are we going to do with them? If they leave -this place we’re, absolutely finished in England.” Rapidly, Wryce explained how Meredith had overheard his conversation at Brentland between his his sister and himself, and the reason why they had asked for the villa. He ended by ; saying:— “They know everything. Directly they get back to England, Bannantyne will know; everybody in the City will know. It’s utter smash and ruin.” “How is that possible?” For once Leofalda’s impassiveness was broken. He threw up both his hands in amazement. But Meredith’s arm was so numbed and cramped that before he could move it the steel-like grasp was 1 again upon his wrist. “They, must not return to England/’ Leofalda cried. “I, Manuelc Leofalda, say they shall not return!” Wryce did not answer. “We must do something, quickly, quickly!” Leofalda went on. “I cannot stand holding this man all day. We must tie him up.” “We’ve nothing to tie him up with,” Wryce said, “except string. That’s no good.” “Then it’s the other,” Leofala deftly changed his hands upon Meredith’s wrist. His right hand moved to his hip pocket. “I will take him into the other room,” he said slowly. ■: “Then the woman will not see.” ! - “Oh, my God! Mr. Wryce, sir! Not that! We’ve never done that before! Not murder!” Bartwell was: clinging on to Wryce’s arm, his face white and convulsed, babbling out his words in English. It was only when Bartwell cried out “Not murder!” that Patricia realised the horrible significance of th movement of Leofalda’s hand to his hip pocket. As he drew it out, a small revolver glittered in the light. Patricia darted forward and with all her force struck Leofalda on the hand. The revolver fell clattering to the floor. But before she could move, Wryce put his foot on it. “Bartwell’s right,” he said to Leofalda. “I’ve thought of. a better way.” Patricia was standing close to Meredith swaying slightly, he breath coming in- hurried gasps. He was afraid she was going to faint and put his free arm around her. “Go back to where you were before,” Wryce ordered. (To be continued.)