“A MILLIONAIRE MYSTERY.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17382, 10 November 1924, Page 12

“A MILLIONAIRE MYSTERY.”

" STAR ” SERIAL.

By

ARTHUR W. MARCH MONT.

CH APTER XX ITT. (Continued.) HOPELESS AGAIN. “ Better that tli;. i the alternative. But he won’t -*0 that : lr** has f;:ktn the most solemn oath that this is ail lie will ever require."’ “ He took an equally solemn oath to hold his tongue and he has broken-that alreadv.” No, no. T won’t believe that. Waring.’’ “ He has told a Mrs Kettering. I had it from her own lips yesterday; and it means, of course, that you will have to buy her silence next.” lie dropped his head in l.is hand with a groan. “I—T can't bche\e it,” he murmured despairingly. "It is no more than von should have expected. You have * never made the least show of resistance; he has only had to mention Scotland Yaid, and you've given way instantly.” “ it's your fault. It was you who told me the danger- What could 1 do?” And now \ tell yen that this last, act of his has immensely lessened that danger. Try and listen. .'Jc has now shown himself nothin*' but a blackmailer; and that fact would absolutely taint any evidence he would give. He would have to admit it in court, and m face ot that, neither judge nor jury would believe k word lie. uttered. Afore than that, his cross-examination on the facts we can prove against him wouid go a long way to hx the «uiit lor the murder upon himself. The explanation he gave of his presence in the wood at the time would be accepted as what it was, a tissue of lies, and without his evidence there is nothing vv.u need fear to face.” “There’s the- -the wallet;,” he stammered tremulously. “ Our ease is that he himself puts it there, and, as we can now prove tliat he was absent from Eastbourne on the night when it was placed in your safe, any jury would draw the obvious inference and would never dream oi convicting you in the face of it.” “But they might, they might. That is only your opinion. Waring.” “ There's another consideration. Boris is one of the biggest cowaids on earth. He is gambling solely 011 vour fears, and if you make a show of defying him, he will never dare to do a thing, especially when he realises wnat tins last step of his means.” He appeared to be a little impressed by this, so I hammered it in, urging every reason T could think of to induce him to leave the matter in my hands. But it was all in vain. Ijc was so saturated with fear that, he dared not take any step which would anger Boris. I changed my line then and spoke of the result to Marion if -iie was left helpless in the power of Boris and the Kettering woman. Nothing I could say, however, had the slightest effect upon his brass-bound selfishness. 1 he one dominating, all-absorbing factor was his his personal danger and the need to avoid it at any cost. In his eyes Marion's sacrifice, was righteous and proper because his safety demanded it: and nothing I could say moved him from that decision. Mis selfish cowardice .sickened me. and there was nothing ieft but to piny on that to bring him to sec reason. “ You must go. Waring,” he declared at length, “or you won’t have time to get things done and meet the Duke this afternoon.” L took no notice, but sat staring steadily at him for a while as 11 losL in thought. "You must see the effect this has on me. 1 said presently in the gravest possible tone. The change of maimer, startled him. • l Effect ? What effect ?” “ L'p till now I have acted upon the assumption of your innocence.” “Of course I’m innocent. What do yon mean?” “ I w ish r could accept your assurance. .Mr I’entlip. But you do not appear to realise my position in this. The instant I found tliat wallet in your possession, my duty was to inform the I'uliff.’ 7 Waring! ’ lie exclaimed with a violent start. “ So long as T believe your explanation. I felt justified in keeping the tiling to myself; but when I find you seared to death by 1 he whisper of a blackmailer. I cannot accept that explanation. and my duly* becomes plain.” “ Good heavens! You can’t mean you’ll turn informer,” lie gasped, slaving open-mouthed at me. I just stared hack at him and left him to interpret my silence as lie would. *• What, is it, you want?” lie stammered after a long pause. ‘Merely that you allow me to treat the !>uke as such carrion should be treated, and as any* innocent man would treat him.” I replied. “ What will von do?” “ Set him at defiance.” The hare thought appeared to overwhelm him, ami after some moments of pitiful indecision, lie quavered out, "I I dare not 1 dare not.” “Then, as T can no longer regard you as innocent, thc-re is only* one course left to me ” ; and I got up. He clutched my arrp. “ No. no. You must not. go. You shnn t.” lie cried in a positive frcuizy of tear. “You have no right to do this. 1 shook his hand off and turned toward the door ; but he rushed to it and put his back against it. Like a rat driven to desperation, rage seized him. “ You shan’t go, I say .” lie shouted with an oath. ‘ I’ll kill you first”; and then he raved at me with maniacal fury. I was a coward of cowards ; 1 had* shamelessly broken faith with him; the betrayal of facts learnt in such a way w as a disgrace to me and to my profession : I was false to all the decencies of life; underhanded, mean, a treacherous snake in the grass; and much more in the same strain. Me was beside himself with passion, and when he realised that it had no effect on me, he stopped as suddenly as he bad begun and went right to the opposite extreme of object entreaty. “ T don't mean it. Waring, on my oath I don’t. r beg your pardon for every word—every word; I didn’t know what T was saying, but for God’s sake don’t betray me You can see T’m suffering the pangs of. hell”: and then lie prayed me to keep silence ; offered me

any sum of money J would name urged the disgrace it would bring upon him and the suffering it would cause his wife, oven stooped so low as to appeal to my feeling for Marion- Marion whom he was ready to sacrifice without a scruple, and at last threw himself on his knees, grovelling belor.me. and whined for hr.*rev in a voi«v choked with hysterical sobbing. A more humiliating display of abject cowardice I had never witnessed. It did more than disgust me; it roused for the first time real doubts ol his innocence. it scorned impossible that any man who was not conscious of guilt could so degrade himself. lie waited in an agony of suspense lor Hinic word from me, or some sign that 1 would yield ; hut I gave none. His reference to Marion had made me Ear too angry. The tense silence lasted for one or two- minutes, until he realised that his appeals were n vain and then with a moan of an guisli lie- rose and stumbled back to his chair. ••Heaven help ns all! You must have your way,” he murmured; and pushing the paper toward me, he let his head drop on hi.s hands. I lost no time in writing out an authority, and his hand was shaking ~o violently as he put his name to it that the signature was barclv legibic. I hen with a start he pushed his chair bncK suddenly. *• There’s one other thing.” in* muttered, and went out of tlfr room. While he was away I checked the documents, put them into my dispatch case, and sat thinking over the position. The scene bad been a very trying ordeal. It lit I had got what I wanted, and felt confident now that there would he very little trouble in bringing Boris to book That Bentlip would bate me cordially for the future did not worry mo in the least; it was now in my power to save Marion, and nothing else counted. Bei.tJip might, probably did. believe J had been in earnest in threatening to turn informer, even in face of my explanation; but Marion and her mother would know better. They would understand my motive and thank mo for having forced him to yield. And then, just as T was flattering myself in this fashion, all my highfalutin’ hopes were dashed co the ground. Bentlip had fold Marion of the threat, and now brought her back with him to win me round to his cowardly course. It was a clever stroke for it impaled me on a cruel dilemma, if I allowed licr to believe I meant to turn informer, she would despise me, while if I admitted -the truth. Pentlip would instantly recant, and the situation “would he as blank anti hopeless ns ever. Her manner, cold and almost, disdainful. showed that he had painted me in the blackest colours, and Imr first words confirmed the impression. (To I>e Continned).