THE KING DIAMOND

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18452, 1 May 1928, Page 15

THE KING DIAMOND

“STAR’S” NEW SERIAL

By FRED M. WHITE.

CHAPTER XXlX=—(Continued). There being nothing further to detain Bly for the moment, he went off rather crestfallen in the direction of his rooms. It was a sorry story that he had to tell Stella when they met as usual at tea time the following afternoon. " But I feel quite sure you are right," the girl said. "And 1 feel equally cure that when Zambra ieft Cleopatra’s Hat after that brutal assault he had the King Diamond in his possession. Xow, what do you suppose he managed to do with it ” “ Ah. that I can’t say,” Bly said sorrowfully. "We took him quite by surprise, and, but for an accident, he might have got away altogether. But, though he was so thoroughly searched, nothing was found on him. You see. it is just possible that he might have deposited the diamond in safe custody or passed it on to one of those receivers of stolen goods who traffic in such things. He had plenty of time to do that.” *“ Yes, I suppose he had," Stella agreed. " Oh. my dear boy, what a complicated business it all is. Two or three times you have had a fortune in your grasp, and yet, on every occasion, it has eluded you. I almost wish we had never heard of it. But it is ail my fault.” " Oh. you mustn't talk like that,” ißlv said. " Your fault, indeed. Why, my dearest girl, you gave me the opportunity of becoming a rich man and living happily ever afteerwards quite in the approved story book style with the girl of my choice. I am not going to give up yet. We shall find it when we least expect to. So don’t be too despondent." Stella forced a smile to her lips. “ I only hope you are right,” she kighed. v CHAPTER XXX. It was only natural that the arrest of Carl Zambra on a charge of murdering Sir Hercules Slanev should cause a widespread sensation, epeciallv in the cheap Press. The police had been worried and badgered by the whole tribe of sensational journalists for their want of acumen with regard to the case, and when it became known that Zambra was to appear before the Magistrate at Bow Street there was a rush on behalf of the brethren of the notebook to the scene of the forthcoming drama. Zambra stood in the dock, pale but defiant and with an easy manner. To judge from his outward appearance, be had little to fear at the hands of bis enemies the police. He merely asked if he might have a seat in the dock, and this was granted in view of the fact that the hearing was likely to be s protracted one. The first witness to step forward was Lionel Bly. He began by testifying to the fact that he had acted for some considerable time as private secretary to the late Sir Hercules Slanev and had spent two or three years with the professor in various parts of South Africa. “You are not a scientist, I understand. Mr Bly,” the K.C. who appeared for the prosecutor asked. “No, I am not. Sir Charles,” Bly answered. “I know a great deal about the natives and their ways and I can speak several dialects, which is the reason why I was selected by Sir Hercules to act in the capacity of private secretary. But I knew nothing of his experiments and the Wonderful results that he expected to obtain when he had finished his labours." "And 3’ou returned from South Africa with him?” "Yes, we came back together and settled down, as is usual when we are in England, in Devonshire Mansions.” "Does that m&an that you lived on the premises?" “No, it doesn’t,” Bly replied. "I had lodgings outside and it was my duty ■to call round every morning to see to the correspondence and deal with all the letters. Also I had to pay the bills and order certain apparatus. At the time of Sir Hercules’s death I was in Berlin obtaining appliances for my employer and I only learnt what had happened through a Berlin daily newspaper. Then I came home at once." "Quite so. Did you form any opinion as to the cause of death? I mean, did you think Sir Hercules committed suicide?" "I was absolutely certain from the very first that he didn’t.” Bly said emphatically. "He was the last man in the world to do anything of the sort. Besides, he was on the verge of what he believed to be a startling discovery. It was nothing less than a serum or injection or something of that hind by which, in the course of a generation, he could turn black men into white. It is not for me to say whether it was the dream of a madman or a practical proposition, but Sir Hercules firmly believed that he could do »o. And that is why I felt sure that *nv employer had met with foul play.’ "You had the run of the flat, 'of course?" "Well, I had my own latchkey and. after the murder, the authorities allowed me to make such search in the flat aa suggested itself. I had an entirely free hand ” "And that search? Was it successful ? ” "To a great extent," Bly explained. “I discovered that my late employer ' had been in close contact with the prisoner through the medium of a cipher. That cipher appeared at intervals in the agony column of ‘The Times.’ ” "We are to understand that you solved it s " "I did." Bly said "And with the permission of the Court, I am going to show you how.” For the first time, the prisoner in the dock showed signs of interest in the proceedings. He leant eagerly forward as Bly proceeded to take a pack of patience cards from his pocket and iay them out on a large sheet of card- ]

board which he had procured for the purpose. After the cards had been spread out, the sheet handed up to the magistrate on the bench. From another pocket Bly produced the front page of The Times” for‘the 'Saturday on which he had gone down to Ravenswood, together with a similar page from the Monday’s issue of the leading journal:. Perhaps I had better explain, your Worship.” he went on. “If I might be allowed to come and stand beside you on the Bench and point out exactly how I arrived, at mv conclusions.” Amidst a breathless silence, Blv availed himself of the invitation to leave the box and come up to the table. And there as he explained bit by bit and almost word by word how he had solved the cipher, there was something 'like a sensation in the crowded court. As he finished at length and went back to his place, the magistrate read the translation of the two ciphers aloud. Down below, in the well o. the court, the sensation deepened and the reporters in front of the solicitors’ table scribbled away furious,or bere was one of the most dramatic scenes that had ever happened in a court of justice. , 3 he . r S wer nf n,y a few more questions and then Bly stepped out of the witness-box satisfied that he had left little unsaid. He gave one glance at . a l d ? ra - who had slipped back into his indifferent attitude again, though Blv could judge from the wav in which the prisoner had locked his hands together that he was badly shaken. Then another witness stepped forward It was the waiter whom Bly had first encountered when he was making his inquir‘es in the lounge of the Hotel Legation t ou are a waiter at a certain hotel, that s ?* and ' tounsel af lhJ'u't J he w - itn * ss 'aid. “I am at the Hotel Legation and it is part of m\ duty to wait on customers in the Io Y n **- Th at is in the evenings, sir." 1 hen you know most of those customers by sight.” “The regular ones, sir. Of course, we have strangers from time to time and I generally notice them because' >ou see. it sometimes pa vs a waiter to remember faces.” Quite so,” counsel smiled. “ Xow I want you to cast your memory back to the night some weeks ago, a Monday 01 1 t ’c. l , n fact ’ the m S ht that Sir Hercu Slaney died. Is that date particulany fixed upon your memorv.” dentlV 1S ’ Sir ’ thC waiter said confi- . >’ ou see Sir Hercules on that night? " r , d,d - si . r - H « came into the lounge at about eight o'clock, just about the time I was going off duty. It was mv mg t out, sir. But I stayed long en .?n gil to se* the gentleman come in.” him "” t wh 3’ 3‘ou particularly notice elf. sir, I was very much struck by the gentlemans appearance. lie wa.s so tall and thin. lie had such an enormous head and, although he seemil W f« ,m Pressed by his wonderfully clear blue eyes and teeth. Beautiful teeth they were, and anybody could see that they were real.” • " 4, ny further confirmation of identity? “Yes, sir, a photograph I saw after in one of the papers. Sir Hercules sat down as if waiting for somebodv,. and that was the last I saw of him. I couldn t tell you any more, sir.” With that the witness was allowed fc depart. His place was immediatelv Jaktn by the second waiter from the Legation. Xow, listen to me,” counsel said. “As the prisoner is not legally represented, I want to he as fair to him as I can. I understand, witness, that after your colleague left the lounge, you took up his duties instead. You did? Very good. Did you notice Sir Hercules Slaney?” “ Not to know him by name, sir,” the witness replied. “At least, not just then. I saw him sit down and wait, and then a few minutes later another gentleman came in and thej- sat in a corner by themselves talking very earnestly.” “ Did you supply them with anything to drink?” “ T did, sir. Tsicy had two whiskies-and-sodas each, and about nine o’clock the gentleman that my colleague recognised as Sir Hercules Slaney got up and left the hotel.” “ 1 suppose you overheard nothing of their conversation?” “ Not to understand it, sir, because they were speaking in a foreign language. It wasn't one of the ordinary European languages or I should have recognised it. It sounded to me more like some sort of dialect.” “ I don’t think we need go into that,” counsel said. “ Did you recognise Six Hercules’s companion?" I did, sir.” the witness said promptly. "It was the man standing there in the dock.” Followed another sensation, and a shout from those assembled in court that might have been heard outside. When silence had been restored counsel resumed his examination. “ You have no doubt whatever about tha*?” he asked. “ Not the slightest, sir,” the witness went on emphatically. “I had never seen nim before and only once since, and that was one mght when he was dining in the grill room with a friend whom I think he addressed as Haw’ker, but I won’t be quite certain about that, because Mr Hawker was a stranger to me. and, so far as I know, he has not been in our place since. But I am positive as to the identity of the prisoner.” With which the witness stood down amidst a hum of excitement from the deeply interested listeners. “ I should like to ask .a question,” Zambra said from the dock. “ I am not represented by counsel as yet, and I hope that the learned magistrate will give me every latitude.” “ Certainly,” the Magistrate said “Go on.” (To be Continued).