THE MAN WITH THE DALMATIAN

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1930, Page 14

THE MAN WITH THE DALMATIAN

By

FRANCIS FURNESS

"What is the joke?” “I mean, Sir Ralph, that I saw yon last night coming from Lord Brookley’s house, the one with the green shutters.”

“I certainly was there, but I don't remember—” “You were wearing a false beard ami pretended not to know me.” “Really Kyrle, I —”

“You got into a taxi-cab, I followed you, and never lost sight of you until you left the cab and entered your house. You thought that nobody would dream of suspecting Sir Ralph Chester, especially as he himself was a guest at Lord Brookley’s; otherwise you would not have been foolish enough to remove the beard while you were in the taxicab, so that the driver would notice it.”

“You are talking the most awful nonsense, Kyrle. You must be mad. I never saw you for a moment.” Outwardly he was smiling, but his hands gripped the back of a chair, and his eyes'avoided hers. “Not only your taxi driver noticed it. but mine too. And I have got their names and addresses, and they will be prepared to swear on oath that you were wearing a beard. Your own driver will say that you engaged him near Lord Brookley’s.” Ralph dropped all further pretence. “Give me their names at once,” he said fiercely, “give me them at once, or I’ll kill you.” She stepped back as he advanced, and was unafraid.

“Don’t be a fool, Ralph, I have friends outside, and they will ba here very quickly.” His hands raised threateningly, dropped. “You can’t prove anything,” he muttered.

“But, I know everything,” ehe answered. “I know that you were blackmailing Markham.” He reeled as if, he had been struck. “I know other things —and if you do not leave the country at once I .will tell the police all.” • Again he advanced threateningly towards her, and she went quickly to the window.

“Do you wish me to call my friends? They will be here in two minutes in any case,” she said, looking at the clock. “Kyrle, for the sake of the love I have'for you, don’t—” Ho stopped, and then in a* less cringing tone, “We were to be married soon. Let us get married. You will have a title, a position, everything you could possibly —” Kyrle went towards the door. “You arc more despicable even than I thought you were. If you are not out of the country within twenty-four hours you will know what to expect.” He made no effort to stop her going. As the door shut he collapsed into a chair.

The revelation about Kyrle's taxicab chase had staggered him, but he bud felt he could wriggle out of that. He had been seen as Sir Ralph Chester at the party, and had overheard Lady Brookley say that Vallance was not coming. The beard had been slipped on in a lavatory, and as every man was in evening dress, no further disguise was necessary, bearing in mind the very remarkable resemblance he bore to Vallance, which he exploited in his other robberies. -But this revelation about Markham, so utterly unexpected, and the threat of disclosure of other things) coming from Kyrle of all people, the last person in the world who would try to bluff, knocked him over. It meant that he might be suspected of the murder of Markham. His nerve had gone. He rushed to,the window to see if there were any signs of the police or plain clothes inen, and saw Kyrle driving away with another woman.

Then he went to his desk. The disappearance of the cuff link'he did not notice, nor would he have attached any significance to it if he had noticed it. What ho did was to unlock a drawer and take from it a revolver. Kyrle .md Miss Benton lost no time in starting for Greyfont. It was nearly eleven o'clock when they started, - and they were there by lunch time. They found Vallance limping with the aid of a stick.

1 Kyrle immediately told hini what had occurred. He listened without once interrupting. When she had fimshed he said:

“You think he will leave the country?” “I'm certain lie will be gone before tonight.” “Thank goodness,” said Vallance, quietly. “I shall now be able to live in peace, and no more burglaries will be attributed to Thor and me.” . • “But there is much more in it than that,” said Kyrle. He, looked at her in quiringly, and she took the cuff link from her handbag. “I found it this morning in hi» desk. I saw it in a half-open drawer, and deceided to take it. . It looks to me like the companion link to the one found near the body. See the initial engraved on it.” Vallance took the link, and his face was grave as he examined it. “You have not told the police?” he asked anxiously. “Not yet, I shall if he hasn’t gone by tomorrow.” “But you must not do anything of the kind!” . ' The two women looked at him in speechless amazement. “I am sure you will consider my wichets,” he went on. “Bui why should you want to save him?” gasped Kyrle. “I have very good reasons. For one thing, I don’t believe for one moment that he had anything to do with the Markham tragedy.” “But look how he has been impersonating you, trying to harm you in every possible way.” “I can’t help it, there are reasons why I don’t want to put the police on his track.” Kyrle felt exasperated. “I know all about his blackmailing of Markham, and I know that you and Ralph have known each other for many yeans, and —” “Please, please, don’t go on,” said Vallance. “One day, perhaps soon, you will know all about it, and then you will eee that there ia nothing really strange in my attitude.” And there they had to leave it. Kyrle and Mists Benton motored on to Vugley Court where Kyrle listened patiently to Mra. Merrison’s now-I-told-you-so recital on the subject of Vallance and the at Lord Brookley’s.

The next day she rang up Ralph’s house and was informed that he had gone to Paris by air the previous day and did not know when he would be back, and also that he had left no address in France. A week later a letter arrived for Kyrle. It was from two London taxi cub drivers. They wanted her advice. . big reward had been offered for information that would lead to the recovery of Lady Brookley’s jewels, and any taxi drivers who picked up a bearded man in evening dress in the vicinity of the robbery during that night were asked to communicate with the police.

The drivers wanted to know what they were to do, as they did not wish to interfere with any arrangements the lady had made. Kyrle consulted Vallanee, who advised her to ask the drivers not to say anything for at least another fortnight, by which time the police might have been able to recover the jewels. She was to tell them that they would not lose any money by doing this, and that if evcnturally they did "have to inform the police, they could explain that it was not until recently that-they remembered the circumstances.

Accordingly Kyrle met the drivers by appointment at the town house and they agreed to this plan. I Ten days later came the news that a man believed to be Mr. Ralph Chester, a deserter from the Foreign Legion, had been captured jri France, had escaped but was fatally shot. He had recently grown a beard and had been gambling recklessly in casinos in the south of France until he had no money left, and was practically down and out. In this condition he was recognised by the, French police as a deserter, but when they attempted to arrest him he produced a revolver and after he had wounded two gendarmes he was shot. A day after this news came a disclosure coricering the death of Markham. Finding that the piece of rubber heel almost certainly belonged to the shoe of the burglar called Tiger, the police interrogated him on the subject. He referred *them at last to Sir • Ralph Chester. When told that Ralph had disappeared and that a man beI lieved to be he had been shot dead in France, Tiger made a remarkable statement, after the police had raided Ralph’s house and found clues which led to the recovery of some of the jewels in France. He stated that on the night of Markham’s death Sir Ralph, with whom he was well acquainted, employed him to | drive with him in a car which followed i that of a lady who drove by herself to Greyfont in Sussex. The Tiger said he I believed that Ralph’s first intention was it o attack Vallance, but on discovering i that Markham was staying there, he ’ decided to kill him in circumstances that would lay the crime at the door of Accordingly the Tiger, at Ralphs bidding, broke into Vallance’s room, and took the revolver which Ralph knew he kept there. They intended to shoot Markham when he was in bed that night, with Vallance’s gun, but unfortunately Markham walked away from the house alone that evening. They followed him. and suddenly Markham took out a revolver and shot himself. Ralph then decided to take the revolver from the dead man’s hand, which he did himself, and make it look as it the man had been murdered. He was, ’however, in a dilemma as to which gun to replace in Vallance’s room Markham’s or Vallance’s. He decided that if it was Markham’s Vallance might be able to prove tliat it was not his gun. -60 they decided to fire one cartridge from Vallance’s gun. The Tiger then replaced it in Vallance’s room, but they forgot that the bullet found in Markham’s body might not be of the kind fired from* Vallance’s revolver. Markham’s gun was buried at the foot of a tree. The police were disinclined to believe the Tiger's story until confirmation came from France in the .form of a confession from Ralph’s own lips, as lie was dying. , • ' They also found that the finger prints on Markham’s dead hand were those of Ralph Chester, whose finger prints were taken when under the name of Vallance Chester lie was sentenced for forgery. Vallance was now able to reveal his secret to Kvrle—that he was the twin brother of Ralph and the real heir to the title, who had agreed to forfeit his birthright. And so Kyrle, after all, became Lady Ralph Chester. They were married six months later, and among the guests w e Miss Benton, who was a bridesmaid, Mr. Lynch, the ex-pugilist, Mr. Moore the jockey, the Rev. Percy Grepps, who officiated at the cereiuonj, two London taxi cab drivers, and a Dalmatian dog called Thor. (THE END.) (The characters in this story are entirely imaginary, and no reference, to living persons is intended.)