“A MILLIONAIRE MYSTERY.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17344, 26 September 1924, Page 12

“ A MILLIONAIRE MYSTERY.”

“ STAR ” SERIAL

By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT. CHAPTER V. (Continued.) SIGNIFICANT NEWS. “ What a devil of a mess ! “ he murmured, and sat chewing it over for several minutes. Then he smiled. You're a good old sort, Rafe; but I wish you'd tear the infernal thing up.” Nothing doing. Chris. ’ 44 Great Scot, then I'll have to turn respectable. Can't I have even a single bean? I'm in a hole." " If it's not deeper than you said, T think I can got you out. Pace been hotter than usual ? ” Pretty steep.” ho laughed. “Ran up against a rather merry crowd. By the way. there's another client of yours in it. that infernal bounder who calls himself a Dook ! ’’ “ Name of Boris? “Ought to be'rook or sharper. He's got a fresh pigeon and he’s plucking him good and plenty, as the Yanks say. A measly little scrub of a bird, all pimples and rawness. The Dook is | showing him life. A regular simple | Simon, only his name’s Albert.” I Remembering the scene in the bil-liard-room at the Manor. 1 pricked up J my ears. “ Did you get his other name ? *’ "Muggings, it ought to he. but it had something to do with money, 1 think.” “ Was it Pentlip. ” ‘‘That's the Johnnie: and if you’ve a grouch against him. you can shake hands with yourself. I ran against them in n gambling show run by a couple of beasts calling themselves .Markham. Hot stuff: and if T know the ropes, as 1 ought to. they'll rope him in. Here, T must he off. What about that, money, Ra.fe? ” “Come and see me the day after to-morrow at- twelve o'clock, and T’ll fry to induce the firm to alter thei** decision. r ’ You blithering old fraud." he said laughingly, and went his way. I So Boris was faking Albert to gambling hells. Why? It needed very little of the faculty which Air Tee son had mistaken for thought-reading to answer the question. ! Harry Pentlip was already disin- , berited ; and if Albert fell into similar disgrace, Marion would become the old man's sole heiress. A very good thing for Boris as her future husband! CHAPTER VI. MRS KETTERING. Pentlip was at the office, when I returned, fuming not a little at having lad to wait. “Aon don’t seem to stint I yourself over your lunch time, Waring,” lie grumbled. "It hasn't ruined me yet, Mr Pentlip.” *' Uve been cooling my heels over half an hour here.” “J'm seventeen minutes behind nYy usual time, to lx? exact,” 1 replied, I glancing at my watch. I’ve never wasted even seven minutes in all my life over my food in business hours.” "A man must eat,' ? 1 replied sentent iouslv. He needn’t spend half the day over it. A\ lien 1 was your age, five minutes satisfied me.” “A very interesting reminiscence: but times arc different. Wo have telephones now, for instance; and if you l-nd used one, you would have found mo here to meet you.*’ He grunted and changed the subiect. “ Whv have you kept away from* the 1 Manor all this time?” ' I 'lon t remember having been l “ You wrote that you had some im--1 portant information. Why didn't you come down and tell it me?” “Well, it .-truck me the last time I . was there that you were inclined to misunderstand my motives in going down s<; often, and that you would pretor our interviews to bo here.” j “ What dye mean? .Marion?” ! " Vc r’ “ I thought we’d settled all, that; but j there s one thing I didn’t like; am) , that was your siding with that insolent I young cub against me at my own J table.” i I m quite certain lie did not intend it as insolence, Mr Pentlip, and when I you sat on him. 1 agreed .so thoroughly with him that 1 felt compelled to sa.v I “ You don’t know anything about it. | and if you’d wanted to give me your | opinion you could have done so prij vatelv.’ “ May I do it now?” j “ 1 suppose his mother has put you T up to this. And let me tell you that she doesn't know all the facts. Instead of attending to his work, I found out that ho was playing the fool here in London, getting into debt, gambling, and making a fool of himself with some woman, or other. I won't have a son of mine doing that; so I paid his debts more than many a. father would have done—gave him enough money to clear out. and have sent him an allowance ever since. What’s the matter with j that?” “It would have driven many a young I fellow to the dogs ; but it hasn’t in his case fortunately. He has done very well in C anada, and now has a. chance of buying sortie land which is said to be valuable ” • It's nothing to me,” he broke in “ Let me finish, at any rate. I have 1 the matter in hand. He can find a ! thousand of the purchase price, and if . somebody, you for instance, would find | the rest, he sees his way to repay it in a few years.” j ‘ I’ve something else to do with my J money than to give it to a disobedient j young dog to squander.” j 4 ‘ A’ou’d have- a mortgage on the land and his thousand as cover, and if, as the experts declare, there are minerals under it-, it would be a. good business proposition. In any case it’s not squandering the money.” To niv surprise he chewed the suggestion. instead of rejecting it immediately. “Do you believe in it?” he growled presently, i ”1 haven’t looked into it yet. The

owner of the land—a Airs Kettering — has been away and returns- let me see ”-- I turned up my diary—“ tomorrow. 1 see. AA c don t know vet that she will sell, but I shall find out to-morrow. Of course I can get him the money : but. as he s your son, 1 thought you ought to have the first opportunity. ’ ’ “Oh. did you?” he grunted. “Thought I ought to give him some thousands, /1 suppose, as what you called a proud father " : and lie Hung the last two words at me as if they were stones. “ There’s no need to get heated. Mr Pentlip. There are plenty of people ready to put the money up at the seven per cent which Harry says he can pay; and naturally, as lie has a lot nl your grit, he'd rather have it from a stranger as just a matter of business. ’ I know this would touch him on the raw. ii anything would. “ Lot him get it from one. then,” he growled after a pause. “That final? " I asked, adding when he did not reply. “There won’t be the least difficulty, and I'll put the matter in hand at once.” “ Is this the information you wrote about? ” “Oh dear no. It's about the succession " : and I told him what I liar 1 heard from Air Leeson ; that the will which we had never been able to see was in Boris’s favour. He rubbed his hands and looked as pleased as 1 had ever seen him. “ That’s good news, AA'aring. How did you hear it?” “Quite unexpectedly as the result of another matter altogether: hut i was able to make some inquiries afterwards. and you may rely on it”: and we discussed the matter at some length. “ I suppose you know you were hoaxed over at Bourkat.” he said preA\ hieli means that you think you know it. Mr l’^ntlip." “ I do. and from quite independent sources. Aon didn t earn your fee that time by a long chalk. You were ail wrong; regularly at sea." “About the legal points?” “No. about the country. I’ve been approached by the agents of the big French firm. Vergots; same line as mine here : they know Bourkat as well as 1 know my own hand, and want to join me over there. They’ve had the idea of starting alone for some time, and can’t say too much in praise of the prospects. The Bourkat people will welcome uu with open arms." “If they’re so much in love with you, why did they imprison me when they thought I was you?” “Sure you didn’t dream it?’ “If l did, it was a very realistic dream ; for it lasted four solid days and ended in my being put over the frontier. Afore than that, I must also have dreamt that my rooms were searched in my absence, and that T was held up in the street one. night and searched in a particularly business-like fashion.” “They took you for a spy an Austrian agent. Vergot-’s agent heard all about it afterwards. He was over there a day or two later.” (To be continued.)