THE CASE FOR THE GROWN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12637, 23 May 1919, Page 8

THE CASE FOR THE GROWN.

■ 4 M. Wlimi CHAPTER XSXVITI. ■ THE TREASURE). . ■ Cecil -sighed wearily, " I wish ! could think so,” she murmured. ' “ But everything seems darker and more dreary to me than ever. If tuere was only something that I could do!", *, , j .“ There is,” Archenfield said. “ You can get your maid to come down and spkak to me'in the library. I -want to speak to her now, because I am going out after dinner, and I may not be b’ack before morning. I suppose she. knows all that has happened. Is she. any calmer now?”, ''"> l think- she is,” Cecil said! “It , seems rather a cruel thing to say,- but Judith -Carr never really cared for that map.' She ( honestly thinks she did, ■ but the' disappointment in not being able to marry, a gentleman is the one thing that troubles her more than anything else.' ' It may Bound cruel of me.” ■ “ 'lt da nothing of the kind,” Archen- . field said.- “You are perfectly correct. And now, if you don’t mind ” v.' ■ Cecil disappeared and returned in a few’ minutes with* the information that Judith Carr was in the library waiting to' see Archenfield. She stood by the side of the table, very pale and snaky, but with a touch of angry red on cither cheekbone and a defiant gleam in those tine eyes of hers. It was -not . an unattractive -picture of. . sullenness and rebellion“l won’t keep you a minute,” Archenfield said. “ There is something I want you to do for me. ion need.* hot-do It now—in fact, you had better take:the night to* think it over. I want you'to -tel} me what happened on : the night after Mr Molyneux’s death when you met your level*, Stephen Flint, in the shrubbery behind the Red" House. Why did you meet ■ him there, and for what purpose? And- . what did you promise that.you could : tuft carry out? Now, listen to me, tny - girl . and don’t toss . your head in that fashion, ' I wish you no harm, because 1 regard you as a mere tool. And it would'he far better to tell mo quietly than tel] - a judge < from a witness box. 1 Because I am going to know, and it would bo less painful to you to toll me than" for mete refresh your memory ; concerning things that had best be forgotten. That Is all. I don’t want, any denial, and I don’t want any cheap impudence. 'You can go.” Judith'Ca.rr essayed to speak, but her

lips merely moved without any sound! i cominfr from them, and the angry redl i died out of her cheeks, leaving them! ! ghastly pale. Then she turned from the * room and hurried away with her hand-t ' kerchief pressed to her eyes. Arohenfielct ; smiled faintly as the door closed be-l hind him, only to open almost immcdte < atoly and admit Chim Fang. He ent tered in his stolid way and waited for) bis master to speak. ' I “You have done very well, Chins Faug,' and I am exceedingly pleased,'■ Archenfield said. ‘ ‘ And of course you! know that those two fellow-countrymen) of yours have been laid by the heels,; and that sooner or later they must pay! ; the penalty for the murder of Stephen, flint.. And. incidentally, the poli6e| owe you a groat deal. If you had nob gone to the circus the night before lasi} I might have been groping in the dark) for weeks, .and really, the way that subtle mind of yours connected up the performance you saw and the crime ini the top flat was a piece of: logical de-i duction that I should have been ex 4 tremeiy proud,of myself. You are a) born detective, Chim Fang, and when) you are tired of serving me -1 shall bd happy to recommend you to Scotland! Yard.”- ; Chim Fang beamed with undisguised delight. > . ■ i Oh,‘.that’s all right, master,” hd sard. “Anybody but a fool could have done it. Aud; now, tell me what wd are going to,do pext.” ■_ -By-way of reply. Archenfield piw duced the half-sheet of notepaper from) his pocket-book and laid it on the table. “ I want you. to look at this, Chim) Fang,” he said, /‘ This,scrap or paper wiis foupd concealed in the lining of one of the Chinamen, and as that none too astute Chief Constable appeared to attach no sort of value to it, I put it Jn my pocket. You see, it’s a sheet of notepaper with, a rough plan upon it, with certain capital letters her© and there that speak for themselves. There is a list of figures, one of them being a group—77777, which represents the r * i m, the uiissing bank notes we traced. , Therefore, I assume that these figures were,-written % Robert Molvneux. They, are on the back of tie plan, and., for some reason or another, Molyneux made a note of them. Now you will see for yourself that this halfl sheet °f notepaper has been tom from a full sheet, and on the hack of it is the embossed address ' Down Lodge,’ which Flint a w rCSS ? Fhnt managed.: .Lyidentte. this plan wag onignally drawn by Robert Jlolvueux on one occasion when he called to see his friend Flint. Perhaps you see tee significance of it, Chim Pang?” I do, master,” Chim Pang «aid. Mr Molyneux talked the mate ter over with Flint, probably about' the time when Chang Hen first began to worry him. He confided to Mr Mint where the hiding place of the treasure was and in case of accidents he rave him this plan; No. doubt it. found its way back into Mr Molyneux's hands again; but that doesn’t matter much to us, master, doee it?” > ‘‘Really, you are a, most valuable assistant, Chim . Fang,” Archenfield

said. "Your reasoning is perfect. I should say that is exactly what did happen. If Molyneux came to grief, then Flint knew where the treasure was hidden. And Molyneux did come to grief just about the time when it was absolutely vital for Flint to have a large sum of money.” “But he didn’t murder him, master,” Chim Fang said. “ Ah, you see what la running through my mind. Well,, perhaps he did, and perhaps he didn’t. But all that we sliall know before very long. What we have to bp careful of is that we don’t have too many theories. At any rate, we have got two enemies out of our way, and now it must be our task to get rid of the third and greatest of them all in the person of Chang Hen- That is the man who,,.after all, we have most to fear. Those other two men came here purely and simply for the sake of plunder. They may, or they may not, have been members of the Three Fishers, hut they were not accredited envoys and their one object in coming to England was to get their hands on all that loot, and turn it into money- So we can put them a side, _ all the more because they are never likely to do mischief again. But Chang Hen is a different matter entirely.” . • “He is only one, master,” Chim Fang said. . “Only one, yes, hut more dangerona than all the rest put together, because he has brains and education and courage all combined, to say nothing of His hatred of me and someone else who shall. be. nameless- You know what I mean.” “ I know', master. I am waiting.” ■ “ Then I propose. to. go over to' the! Red House to-night with this plan in my hand, and see if we can legate the missing treasure. If you look at the man again, you will see that it is undoubtedly that of the interior of a room. Here are measurements thirtyfive by thirty, which is somewhere near the size of the library at the Red House. I am convinced, as I have been' all .along, that that regalia is hidden somewhere' behind the bookcases in those deep recesses where the smugglers used to conceal their.goods.:- ."Withthis plan and these-letters on it it will be hard indeed if we fail to locate the spot where the treasure is hidden. There ia nothing more to do for the moment, for all my plans are laid, and everything is in train. Unless I am greatly mistaken, I shall have another important witness before long ; and when she has been compelled to tell the truth, then the mystery surrounding the death of Robert Molyneux will be a mystery no longer*. You follow me, Chim,Faug?” “I follow you, master.” Chim Faug said. “ But what are we going to do with Chang Hen?’’ “Ah, that I have not gone into vet,” Archenfield said. “I suppose, if the worst comes to the worst,-we can buy him off. He has surprised a secret which I would have given all I possess to have kept inviolate. And rather than one I care for should suffer. I am prepared to make terms with that scoundrel I don’t doubt for a moment that he would only be too glad to turn

his back upon us if h© could lay hands on that regalia and trouble us no longer. Cfum Fang showed signs of protest. That doesn’t sound like you, mast«k, he said, “If; you leave him to 1 me ” "Yes, if. I leave him to you, you would, forget all: the years of; training, you have had/at my hands, and ChangHen would disappear mysteriously and be picked up. some of thesh days floating on the tideway beyond the bar at Lyddmouth. ; And vou would smile and. rub. your hands and generally behave as if you had earned the thanks of. a grateful country. No, no,- Ohim Fang, i don’t want anything of that sort. And I think that will do fur the present. Have the car ready at about nine o’clock, and we will spend «u hour or two at the Red House. . It was a little after th© hour in question that Archeniield and Ghim Fang set out on their errand. It was qpite dark when they reached their destination , and they left the) car in a turning off the road and made their way across the lawn in the direction, of the house. They were wearing rubber-soled shoes, so that they made no noise as Archenfield put the key in tb© latch and felt his way across the hall. They were in the library presently, . where Archenfield turned on the lights and signed to Ohim Fang to draw the heavy curtains across the windows \ in case some ini quisitive policeman should com© along arid want to know what the lights were doing there. As Archenfield glanced rourid the room, he saw, to his surprise, that iti was all in utter confusion. Heaps ofi papers were piled up. .on the table, the bookshelves were stripped,.and all the) valuable volumes had been thrown/ carelessly in a heap upon, the floor.: Her© and there shelves were missing,/ and. splintered woodwork testified to) the fact that they had been torn away! heedlessly and hurriedly. “Chang Hen’s work for a thou-l sand,” Archenfield cried. “I hope we are not too late, Cbim Fang.” Ghim Fang’s nostrils twitched, “Opium, master,” hj« said. “I.smell fresh opium.” . - CHAPTER XXXIX- / i’OPKD. Surely enough, the heavy atmosphere of the empty house was impregnated] with the fumes of opium, as Archenfield, accustomed to the smell of it, did not fail to notice. “ Then, in that case,' there must bo somebody here,” he said. “ Rather an, impudent thing to do, don’t yoti think,Cliim Fang?” Ohim Fang nodded in, hi a most mysterious way. ’ “ Yes, master,” he said. “ You stay here, and I will go up and see. Perhaps pub down the lights.” Archeniield waited there, in-the darkened library, whilst. China Fang crept up the stgirs with bis electric torch in bis hand. He was gone for so long that Archeniield was beginning to be conscious of the fact that the silence and! solitude were getting on. his nerves,' when Claim Fang returned. , “ There is nobody in the house at all, master,” he said, “I have been iri ©very room, and I know. But in. onej °f .those rooms somebody-has been using the bed, for the clothes are tail tumbled, and 1 have found ,-iome grains of opium on the floor. Surely Chang Henj has been here, master'.” “ Not the slightest doubt of • it, I should say,” Arthenneld replied. “ The impudent blackguard! Well, we have got to risk it. If ho comes back again,, we must tackle him between ns* Still,) you had better lock the door.” Ohim Fang turned the key. and Archenfield laid his plan on the table.Then, with a tape measure; he pro-; I oaeded to go-over the walls.- He smiled) presently, as if something pleased him.* i ‘ *«*,. this, is air right, so far,” he said. ‘Those figures and the capital letters correspond exactly with mv measurements, but why does the* trail break off suddenly ? I have gob it Claim Fang. I see. This is onlv half the plan, and we shall find the rest of it on the corresponding half-sheet of notepaper. Now I wonder if by any chance it is in the. same place where I discovered that empty bank envelope.” Another five minutes’ search proved the correctness of Archenfield’s deductions. for it disclosed the other half of the plan lying at the bottom of the hiding-place where Archenfield had stumbled upon, the Foolscap envelope. “ Yes, that’s all right,” he said. ‘‘Look at it, Chim Fang- If. fits all right,, but the letters and figures are in another handwriting. I shouldn’t mind making a bet that Flint was responsible for this half. That’s the idea! Each of them made half the plan and then exchanged them. It was the sort of precautidn and a. guard against treachery on either side. Those two fellows seem to hare had a fine amount of confidence in one -another. Still, that’s nothing to ns." With the plan complete, lying oh the table, .Archonfield was not long in getting to the heart of the mystery. With Cliirn Fang’s assistance the shelves were removed and the old stone wall behind lay exposed with its two deep pockets open to view for the- first time. In one those was another foolscap envelope JlSteataiuiiig banknote to the extent of awhonsaud pounds. Archenfield smiled Vas'\e counted them. |W are getting on, Cliim Fang,” •fh& said- “There are 'the notes that ’ Judith Carr was looking for. She wanted them for Stephen Flint, and if she could have found them, he would have escaped a prosecution. This makes clear the conversation you overheard between Judith Carr and Flint the other afternoon- And now for the regalia.” Ymy carefully Archenfield went over his measurements again, until he laid his hand on the stone work and tapped it. sharply, It gave out a hollow, sound.

** Here we are/ 1 - he said- ’“ I knew those’measurementß were ..correct. You see what has happened. What yon take to be stonework is a large sheet of some substance they call, !'think,' linn erusta,the sort of stuff that you see on friezes in halls. • It is made 1 to look exactly like stonework/ and.-, reflects considerable credit ■ on.; Molyhoux’s- ingenuity. Hare you got dJknif© in'your' pocket,-Claim, Fang? 5 ’ - ; Ghim. Fang -produced ■a. big sailor’s knife, with which ‘Arolienfield proceeded to attack the obstacle in-front of him.' It came clean away under the keenl edge of the blade .and- disclosed a- space beyond in which was a smalt tin . bos some two feet square! -It; was -only- a flimsy affair, and was 'easily opened; : ■ It was crammed :te-the lid with; gold ornaments and .valuable jewels. ; each of which had been carefully wrapped in Eaper. The whole might easily hare een worth the value that the people at the Bank Had put upon its : -. .. Y “So that’s tne. lot.”, Archenfield said thoughtfully.,. -‘' Well, , there’s: no-, tiling more to wait for..-, Use’ll get -these into the car and ihturn. ; .hom©.at- oiice.’-L (To be Continued.) ' ; :^v