“THE TURN OF THE TIDE.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17181, 26 October 1923, Page 10

“THE TURN OF THE TIDE.”

'• STAR ” NEW SERIAL.

By

FRED M. WHITE.

CHAPTER VI.—CONTINUED. "I wish you would, not that it will make much difference. I am afraid that we are on the wrong track this time, though 1 entirely agree with you that this business is not the work of the usual gang of river thieves. It’s too big to begin with, and the scheme is too thorough. I can’t see a common or garden receiver of stolen goods financing this problem. To begin with they never do that on a big scale because the risks are too great. The master brain behind this scheme is getting away with thousands. The stolen stuff is smuggled away in some warehouse rented by somebody who has a reputation for high integrity, and from thence shipped abroad again through some firm or firms of innocent brokers who are handling the stuff in all good faith. And there is another thing which is still more important from our point of view. You must have noticed how these chaps invariably go for the really valuable cargoes. There is no wild raid, picking up anything that come along. Oh dear, no. Nothing but the very best. In the office of pome great outstanding firm of importers is a confidential clerk who has the privilege of knowing most of the valuable cargoes that come into the port of London, and how they are handled. This information is conveyed hv some underground channel to the actual marauders themselves, and when the stuff i> raided it is conveyed to some secret hiding-place for reshipment abroad. I feel quite certain 1 am right so far. ' ‘•Then there are thieves on the other .side of the water as well. A sort of international bureau, so to speak?” “ Not necessarily. It- is difficult to earmark goods especially after they have been repacked as these must be. I am afraid that you will have to wait a long time yet. Mr Ellis, before you can give your paper a «-coop over the river robberies. Anyhow, see Avory again, and try and get something more definite.’ * There was no more to he said for the moment, and Jack Ellis went on his way thoughtfully. For the moment at any rate his dream of a fine newspaper sensation was exploded. It had seemed to him that he had Gilmour in the hollow of his hand, and, moreover, everything had tallied with the theory he had formed. He had always disliked Gilmour from the first, and a fine instinct had told him that the latter was a dangerous rival so far as \ era Croat was concerned. Not that there were any outward signs that Croat was disposed to regard Gilmour as a prospective son-in-law, but from one or two little things Jack deduced the worst. And, moreover, since he had allowed Croot to know what his aspirations were, lie had been quite courteously asked not to show his face at the Moat House again. \ ora had seemed to concur in this drastic ultimatum, but she was not taking it as quietly as her adopted father imagined; in fact, she was regarding herseli as something of a martyr. ihat she was in correspondence " ith Ellis C’root did not dream for a moment.

Cut there were other things to occupy Jack’s attention for the mo- | ment. Ho ka<l his more or less regular work on the Telephone, for one so that he had no opportunity of seeing Bill Avory lor the next day or two. Meanwhile, he- heard nothing from Lock, and lie was forced to the conclusion that he would have to look in other directions if ho were to do anything big in the way of unearthing the gang responsible for those amazing robberies on tho river. That they were stil flourishing he could see by the daily papers. Three days had elapsed before he found half an hour to spare, and dropped in at Scotland Yard to have a few minutes’ chat with Yock, who, fortunately was not busy at the time. He seemed rather gravo and preoccupied as Ellis came in and dropped into a chair. You are just the man I wanted to see,” he said. “ l>id you look up tho night watchman Avory as you suggested ? ” Ellis explained that he had not had tho time. Look looked more grave and disappointed than ever. Then you will never know now what was the name of the man in the Navj n horn Avory took Gilmour for. Late last night Avorv’s body was found floating in one of the ponds at Hampstead drowned. There were no marks on the body, and it looks like a case of suicide. His watch and his money were intact. Still, it’s a very sinister ha upending m the face of what we know. He has just been identified hv Hie women with whom lie lodged. What | do you make of it?’’ (To be Continued.)