The Quest of the Blue Star.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14204, 5 February 1915, Page 7

The Quest of the Blue Star.

(By JOHN OAKLEY.)

EXCITING STOUT OP MYSTERY AND LOVE.

Author of "Tho Hampsted Mystery, ,, "The Blackmailer, " "A Gentleman in ■Khaki," "Love and the Cryptogram, ,, etc.

CHAPTER Vll.— Continued. "It seems, ,, I said ono evening, as wo sat in the pleasant morning room at Thorpe Hcstpii, "that Marplo did visit the murdered man on that night, but he left him almost immediately, and left him alive. Unfortunately the old man lived alone. If we could find anybody who saw him alive after Marplo had left him " "What time did ho leave?" the old Colonel asked. "Ho whs in bed," I responded slowly, "before midnight." I was watching Dorothy narrowly as I spoke, but she gave no sign. "Now," I wont on, still speaking slowly and. choosing my words with iniinito care, '' if there happened to be anyono in the world who saw the old man after midnight—well, we should prove an alibi for IVlarple, and lie would go free." "But he lived alone/ , said the old colonel, shaking his head. "Who could have seen him?" And still .Dorothy gave no sign. But 1 am golfing on a trille 100 fast; I have yet 1.0 tell the story of my interview with tlie man Hugler, which rook place in the early evening of Hie. day of the opening of the inquest. CHAPTER VUL i T.11.H COMING OF Tllti BLUE STAK. iSpidkius guided me to a small inn standing lonely and desolate, some live miles iniiii the village. What trade it could haw out there 1 could not imagine, though L was told later that it did realiy good business in Uie summer with chance visitors, cyclists and ex cursiouisis. There I found my man seated in the bur parlour with a nnig of beer before him. As it was early in the evening he was stiil sober. Aly appearance evidently startled him a little. He recognised niu at once, and 1 think half expected to see a policeman following me into the room. •'i told you," he said angrily, "that I could ] rove an alibi.'' "1 know," I responded, for I particularly did not want. Lo terrify him. It was his assistance .1. desired. '•Then what do you come a-postering me fori'" he demanded hoarsely. "I came for a walk —and a, drink," I said. ".No gammon, mister," he responded. ' *-1 on wouldn't have come here if I hadn 't been here. Do you think 1 don 't know that 1" "Are you well off? Have you got plenty of money i" I demanded abrupt--1 could see by the way his eyes glistened that I had touched the spot. "Yes," he said. "I shall have plenty—when I lind Cruden." lie spoke a little grimly, and I quite foresaw exciting scenes when those two met. "But you haven't much now —a sovereign or two would bo useful, eh?" '' You don 't look the sort that gives money away. What might you be wanting?" "What is your name? Mine is Arnold Lamder. I am a friend of Sir Marpie Duftthorne, who is accused of shooting the man you called Darters. I suppose he was Darters, though I don't know that. I do not suspect you, but —well, I want to find Cruden, as yon call him." "Oh," he said, " Hugler is my name—Jonathan Richard Hugler, and lam a seaman. That is all there is about me —an honest Jack Tar." Honesty would have been one of the very last attributes I should have credited to him, but I let that pass. "And what will you take to tell me what it is all about —the belt and the wallet and the Blue Star and so on?" I queried. "What would you give?" "A ten pound note." "For a secret worth half a million' That would be cheap, wouldn't it?" "Is it worth half a million to you?" "It may be." "But is it? Is it at this moment? Can you go straight out of here and lay your hands on half a million?" "I don't say as T could and I don't say as I couldn't." "Then why not make certain of ten? You'd be no worse off." "No, perhaps not, but you might be a jolly sight better off." "Possibly." "And it's not worth my while for ten pounds. If it were ten times ten pounds " But he was talking in figures beyond my reach. T was not a wealthy man. And I told him bo. "I might sera c together fifteen with an effort, but not a penny more," I added. "And, besides. I don't want to know the secret so far as the clue to the money is concerned. T only want to know about the secret." He. remained a good three minutes plunged in thought. "All right,' , Ik: said at length. "Where's your money?" I counted it out in gold, and deposited it in a tiny glittering pile on the table. I could see by the gleam in his eye that he was not so overburdened with cash that he did not care whether or not he laid hands on this. As I brought forth the money I produced also my revolver, which he welcomed ■with a wry grin. "I'm not that sort, mister," he said. "You might have kept that dark." But I merely reflected his grin and said nothing. Ho unbuttoned his waistcoat and opening the wallet of his belt drew therefrom a paper, which he carefully held so that I should have no chance of reading it. "This was taken from a dead man's hand," said Hugler solemnly. "I don't even know what the man's name was. The story will not take long to tell. W? had been cruising down the South American coast -" "Who had been cruising?" I asked. "It was a tramp steamer —the Black Swan. We had been running a blockade, and landing arms for one of them American Republics that's always at war with one another or with them-, pose he was Darters, though i' don't, or a revolution, I think they called it. And we had been landing arms for the rebels. But we'd had bad luck. A gunboat—'it was all the navy they had —picked us up and nearly did for us. We showed them a clean pair of heels in time, but we lost a pile of men, and when we got clear away there was only seven left. But all that doesn't matter.'' "No," I said, "let us come to the real story." "Well, going in one day, we saw a man on the shore, making wild signals to us. He was almost naked, and his body was marked all over with scars and wounds, though of course we couldn't see that from the ship. That

■;ini t > after. The <*aplain ordered us to lu'.ver ;i. boaf", ;t!i(l w,; went ashore for him. As we gol. nearer we could hour .he fellow begging us to he quii-k aud i.'.ke liiiii oil', as lie was pursued by demons. And sure enough we'll hardly got him into the boat when :i lot of natives broke through the trees in full pursuit. When they saw him afloat, they slojijied short, and began an awful howling, and then fine of thorn, a, big chap with long white lines painted all over his body, and sporting a queer sort of hut all fur and feathers, stepped out with a bow and arrows, and took aim at us. Cruden " " Who was Cruden?" "He was the boss—owner of the ship—least lie and Isaac Darters were in company. Cruden was captain and Darters was owner, but they both shared. Cruden was a young chap not more than half Darters' age." "Yes, go on." "Cruden had his rifle with him and he fired, but he was just too late. The arrow and the bullet crossed. True, that was the last arrow the Injun ever shot, for Cruden did not miss. But neither did the other one. The arrow caught the man we had rescued fair between the shoulders, and lie was dead ten minutes after we reached the ship, it was a poisoned tip, aud we had to drop him overboard before nightfall. And he gave us this paper." "This one?" "No, Darters took that, but we all had a copy—seven of us. The man knew he was gone. He'd seen poisoned arrows before. 'That paper, , said he, 'is a big fortune, a half a million. 1 will tell you how to get it. I was go>ng to get money and a ship so that I might get it when those demons caught me, and now ' That was the end. As he said that there was a rattle in his throat and he was dead. Well, we copied out the paper, and when we got to port Darters had seven belts made all alike, but for the numbers, and each man took his copy of the paper. Then we all swore on a Bible that wo would never part with the {tapers, and that the first as discovered the secret should tell the others, and that we should go and look for the money iv company." "How long ago did all this happen?" T asked, more than a little fascinated by the fantastic tale. '' Oh, that was twelve years since. And then we heard that Isaac Darters had rend the paper, that he'd foiind out what it was all about and knew where the money was. He sent for ub to come here and sec him, so that we could all go together aud get the coin." "He was honest, then, this Darters." "Oh, yes, he sent for us right enough." "And the man you called Cruden — did he come?" Hugler glanced at me a little uneasily, "i:es," he said; "he came." "I see," I returned thoughtfully. '' You and Crudeu thought you would divide it between you, and 3*oll plotted lo get the secret from Darters. That was what you meant when you said that he told you that he'd stolen tba belt but had lost it. And that was why you were looking for the belt." "You see a lot too much, mister, for your good," he responded, with an air, however, that was more perturbed than threatening. "But Cruden went one better," T continued. "He shot Darters, emptied the wallet, threw away the belt, and now he is off after the money himself." Ilugler demonstrated his agreement with my- guess by a frightful outpouring of blasphemy. I "I wonder," I said reflectively; "if he did discover the secret, Perhaps Darters kept it in that belt and perhaps he didn't. Ilugler shook his head lugubriously. This was a problem too vast for his imagination. (To be Continued.)