DOORS OF DESTINY

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1932, Page 11

DOORS OF DESTINY

uw . Comlance Bromley .

CHAPTER XXXVI. A ebld wind was blowing and rain falling when Magaa len ths theatre and entered her motor •w, accompanied by her maid. The -chauffeur, his ooat collar buttoned high above his -chin, his P ea * e “ cap pulled down over.his ®at mVffled up in the driver’s seat, his form a blurred outline through the window at his bad:. The maid held open the door of the car and Magda scrambled ftislde,.jgla-’l to get -out of the rain. The tftald followed and the car started on on its long drive. Sills,' the maid, produced some dainty sandwiches and a thermos flask and tried to tempt her mistress to take t Uttla refreshment, but the truth was Magda had had several whlskys and •odas during the evening, and had no appetite for food of any kind.' Urged by her to «at the sandwiches herself, the mid did so, glad of the 'opportunity, since they would get nothing until they reached the bungalow. '■ Swiftly the oar threaded its way through the London streets, and was *OO5 Bklmmlng along in almost -open •ouqtry. ? Mggda leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. She was glad to get away—glad to leave the theatre and its associations behind her for a time; its gossip and chatter, and the eternal effort to keep her place In the eye of the public. Really, her doctor was rather nice! It v?m pleasant to look forward to his visit over the week-end, he would be •uoh a change I Not too young, but a man of experience, she thought. And then Mabel Underwood; she was a good sort, on the plain side and not likely to supplant her in the eyes and Interest of any male visitor! Tom, her brother, was one of those goodnatured creatures, rather like an affectionate dog—willing to fetch and carry and to act the devoted without thought of any return. She opened her gold case, and took opt a cigarette, noting idly that the - oa? was running smoothly and well, •nd would make the journey in excellent time. She struck a match, and‘a* she lighted the cigarette between • her lips, found herself for some unacceptable reason thinking of Michael Gelding. - ' ■ - They had not met since that night .at the flat. He had not turned up at the theatre on the Monday, and she had hgatd someone remark: “That paar-fool. Mike must have started his old'trlcks again 1” ' Idly she-wondered what had become of him. When one has aroused the Ibve of a man -like Michael there is always the fear lurking as to. where such claying. ..with Are inay lead. .'She recalled the look in hie- eyes that night when she struck him. She had bean a fool to do that! ' But she was afraid ’,of - losing Stonelelgh, : and thrown Off her balance, by his sudden appearance. Ah. Well, the letter-was destroyed, thank goodness, so -Michael bad very little hold over-her now. No doubt the fool was drinking himielf silly somewhere, and would come •rawllng back to'her some day, as a eur comes- to its master’s heel. .'She «an]r back In. H lO eosiness of the wind rnfn-*wept^ car, secure, so she thought, from more-tha-n-bad weather. Would she/; forgive -him? She might. It was pleisant-still to feel her power upon another human soul. They had passed Guildford, and were mounting the steep.hill beyond. She tried to peer out through the rain•teamed window panes. It was- a hor-rlbly-lonely part- of, the road just there; a- little dangerous further on, too,-where- the-road took a sharp turn pvfer' the steep chalk quarries. Of course, Turner was a good driver, and she trusted him implicitly; all the satffe, ' 'She felt a little passing regret that she. , had, not travelled down, by day, and was glad of the companionship of her maid, who sat silently beside her.'. - ' - Suddenly the car stopped, and to her amazement -she noticed the headlights were turned off. She saw the shadowy form of the-‘chauffeur as he got down from the car. The next moment the door was -opened, and the damp wind was blowing in on her. ... “There’s something wrong with tne engine, and the lights have gone out Might I have the assistance of the maid to hold the electric torch a moment?” !—his voice, muffled in his- great coat, was sought by the wind and almost drown I t In response to her mistress’ “Get out •nd help him,” Ellis, the maid, gOt down and followed the chauffeur. He had drawn up the car at the side of the road in such a way that she had to pass- roiind the back of it, and was suddenly terrifled to feel her wrist eelzed in an iron grip, and the cold muzzle of a revolver pressed close to her forehead. “If you make one sound I shall lire,” said the unfamiliar voice in her •ar.

She saw then that the wan in the chauffeur’s uniform was not Turner, but the man she had seen about the theatre and who was known as “Crazy Mike.” Stricken with terror, she began to tremble violently. All/right,” he said, not unkindly, “I’m not going to hurt you if you do as J say.” “Oh, what is It, what do you want? ’ ®he whimpered fearfully. “You see that road behind us? I wvant you to go .back the way we’ve come. Two miles along this road you’ll come to a village where there’s & police station; you’ll see it at once because of the red lamp outside. Go and knock them up and give them this packet.” “But my mistress! I can’t leave her i”

“Gol” he said hoarsely, thrusting a gealed packet into her fingers, “at ence! If you utter a cry while you are within reach of this gun, I’ll fire, as iurglx..as you live.- Go!”

He levelled the revolver at her, and his eyes gleamed with uncanny bnliu

ance, even in the darkness. Terror in her heart, she commenced to run, het feet stumbling along the dart-road in the direction h® had indicated, and never once did she dare to look back. ' impatiently Magda put her head out ° f “What on earth are you ol ” b7 ,?°Y much longer are we going to he h *The -chauffeur came to, the door. “We are starting at once, he, said quietly. , , “EUis is walking hack to we have just passed, with a messag f ° “Why—what?” -the small electee light within the car cast a faint ighv on the man’s dark features, and as ne lifted his head their eyes met. “Michael!” ehe gasped. . “Yes, Michael 1 A little ®Wj rI 8» ft * you, Magda. I took your place for the pleasure of a with you. He is lying bound, locked safely in your garag . 1 thought I’d ..like to be the opi to drive you into the country, a far; far country.”, .. t . A “Heavens! Michael, what do you mean?” 1 . T .., iri “Come and sit with me and I will show you, sweetheart,” he replied, mockingly, taking her by the arms and pulling her to her feet.-. > Gome! - . M will drive together, as we used to cm. Frantically her brain worked with the effort to find a way to escape from this madman. Yes, he was.mad; ; she could see, it in his wild, blazing O Y® S - Oh, if only a car would come al° n 8 -t«® road! If only she -could delay him from starting the car! With agonised eses she peered into the darkness. Nothing was in eight, not a single gleam or. light.- They were aldne, these two, on the heights of that deserted country-, side. Even if she screamed aloud, her cries would be lost in the wind, and scattered -soundlessly on the night air. “Come," he said, “we haven t much time to waste. lam wanted, or enall be soon, for the murder of Stoneleigh!” • “Gy God! Then it was you who killed him 1” cried- Magda. ■ ■ “Yes, it was I; and I’m glad of it. He.was a cur and a parasite, not content with ruining one woman; f aloe ', even to you. Men like him arei better . dead. We are better dead, too, Magda. We’ve done too much harm already, you and 1... You shall, kill.no more men’s souls!”

“My God! Then it was ybu .who spoke, she helpless in bls strong arms. He placed her in the seat in front, and quickly ■ leaping ’ into' the driver’s seat, set the oar in riibtion and tore along the dark road. “Michael! Michael! What are you going to do? Where are yt>u taking Hie?’”she cried pleadingly, her voice only just audible above the sound of the skimming wheels upon the road and the noise of the wind. This time Michael made no reply,. but.remained sitting -as though carvedfrom stone, guiding, the car with firm, unfaltering hands as : it tore along. Feverishly Magda’s- brain worked in the effort to- ev-alvo. some plan of escape she knew he intended the destruction, of them both, and the knowledge terrified her; she did not want to die yet. Her past rose up befofe her, and she shuddered at the thought* it evoked. It only she could for one moment rouse the old Michael, the -man who had worshipped her, there might still be hope for her safety. Sick with terror she slid one arm about his neck- v -“Michael,” she. cried, her mouth close pressed to his -ear; “why are you .treating me, like this.? You .know I love you! There is no one now to stand between us. ■ li a d y°u come to the’ theatre instead "of holding Aloof from me I would have made you believe that!”

She pressed her lips against his cheek, wet with the rain. “Kiss me, Michael!" she murmured in his ear ; “ You said you’d do anything in the world for me- while I loved you. Well, I’m loving you now —marry me, Michael —-ybu shall be everything to me! I swear it! Nothing shall ever part us. No one will know about the murder; Hope Sterling is suspected. We’ll go abroad if you’like, and find happiness in a new country, i’ll show you how I can love. We’ll have wonderful days together, Michael!"

His set lips parted for a second. “It is too late now, Magda." “No, no, it’s not too late! Put your arm around me, dear. Hold me against your heart as you used to do!” The car raced on, mounting the steep Incline above the.chalk pits, but she felt the stiff tension of his body relax, as he slipped one arm about her, and turned his face to hers, as if to seek the kisses she offered him. A flash of triumph came to her, as she felt she had conquered him. In the darkness and rain her lips found his and she tried to draw his soul up through them 30 that he might be hers once again, to rule, to dominate. Then, as he held her in a close embrace, she saw him give the steering wheel a sharp jerk to the right with his free hand, and saw before them the black nothingness where the road ended above the chalk pits. She gave a shrill scream and tried to wrench herself free from his grasp, but he held her as in a vice, and his mocking ■laughter rang in her ears! One instant later, with a terrible crash, the car plunged into th&t dark abyss, and turning over and over came to rest at the bottom of the quarry, three hundred feet below, a shattered wreck. CHAPTER XXXVII. When Stanley Keen and Brian left the Towers on their return to London rain had started and not a glimmer of moonlight served to pierce the inky blackness of the night. Brian felt more epnteoted about

Hope now that she had. Mrs. Bruce with her, and he had purposely delayed leaving until the promised visit of Dr. Jefferies, who expressed himself less anxious about his patient than he had been at first- Therefore, Brian’s spirits rose, for in spite of the slender clue Keen had picked Up, he had a conviction that more would transpire to confirm his belief in Hope’s innocence. They were half-way to London when they punctured a tyre. Ruefully they got out of the car and surveyed the damage. For all they could tell they were mile® from a garage, and although Brian was competent to repair the puncture, it meant getting wet through and smothered in mud. Just as they were making up their minds what to do, a motor lorry loomed in sight, and the driver pulled up to inquire whether he could be of any assistance to the -stranded couple. “A puncture," said Brian. “Nothing but getting down to the job, I’m afraid, a.v we have no spare wheel with us.” “There’® a garage about two- miles further on,” replied the lorry-driver. “What about shoving her into my ' lorry and driving there?” ,(Tp be- Goatlnued,)