"The Other John Smith,"

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 46, Issue 14103, 22 April 1920, Page 7

"The Other John Smith,"

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

(By LEWIS RAMSDEN). Author of “Prisoners of the Council,” “My Lady of the Car,” “The Golden Casket,” “The Word of a Somerl eigh,” etc., etc.

(COPYRIGHT.)

CHAPTER XXl—Continued. I had guessed, of course, that this must lie the lady whose name had been connected with Gaston \s in the divorce case which Yauo had mentioned. She must have known instantly that 1 was not the Other John Smith; yet she had connived at mv impersonation of him, and for some reason wished me to continue it. Her sign towards the door was evidently a caution that our conversation might be heard from the outside. ‘‘May I now ask permission to sit down, Lola?” T 'substituted for the enquiry I had been about to make. “The means which 1 your new friends have taken to bring about this happy meeting have made me feel uncommonly shaky.” “You have been so shy of accepting my invitations that we had to make this one more than usually pressing,” she laughed. “I really did not know that these invitations had anything to do with you, Lola,” I answered in the same tone of badinage. ‘‘lt appears that we have both been acting by deputy —1 through the Other John Smith, and you through the lady who helped to trick him the other morning in Hyde Park.” ‘ ‘lt was my former companion, Denise Vcrdier, who was so stupidly deceived by the superficial resemblance which seems to exist between yourself and the person you call the Other John Smith. I had not myself arrived when our friends thought they had you securely at the house in Berrow street.” “Otherwise you would, of course, have soon decided who was the real John Smith,’; T laughed.

“Certainly,” she answered somewhat absently, for whilst fondling her little dog she appeared to be listening for some sound at the door. “Where is your beloved Fifine?” I enquired, speaking of the toy Pomeranian for which this Lola Bouteau had, at the. hotel fire, so recklessly risked her life. “ Delie has taken her place, haven ’t you darling. Fifine was too fickle.” I laughed, anu as I did so there came a slight sound from the passage outside the door. Madame Bouteau placed De-lie on the ground. The little creature ran door, sniffed under it, and then returned to its cushion. “They are gone! ’’ exclaimed Madame with a sigh of relief. “You understood, monsieur, did you not? They were suspicious; they were listening. Your knowledge of Fifine must have convinced them that you are the person you style the Other .John Smith. And now, permit me to inform you, monsieur, that although I am in your debt for so gallantly saving my life, and Fifine’s, yet I have now partly repaid the debt by saving, yours.” “You mean by protending to identify me as the Other -John Smith.” “Yes.’-’ “Surely, madame, you do not mean to say that if these people discover T am not the man for whom they have mistaken me they would take my life?” “Certainly I do. You appear, during the last few days, to have caused them an immense amount of trouble and confusion.” “At any rate, murder, even for political reasons, is not looked upon so lightly here in England. The Imperial Ambassador and his friends must know that they are on very dangerous ground. ’ ’ “You are under-estimating the resources of the Imperial Secret Service in this country, monsieur. If such a deplorable thing as that of which we are speaking were to happen to you, no hint of foul play would be allowed to transpire. There might be an accident, or perhaps one of those mysterious disappearances which the police cannot trace. But I think you alr6ady understand, and we need not dwell further upon such an unpleasant matter. Our time for talk in private may be short, and I am simply devoured by curiosity to know one thing. May I ask you, monsieur?” ‘ ‘ Certainly, madame. ’ ’ “Who are you? What is your real name ? ’ ’ “John Smith, madame, at your (service. ’ ’ > She gave an exclamation of impatience. , “I know you have taken that name • —tlie name under which Gaston hoped to escape detection; but who can you really be, and how came you to be able to play this part?” “But I assure you I have answered your question truly, madame. John Smith is my name —the name given me at my baptism.” “Monsieur! I have it! You must tell me if I have guessed aright. I remember hearing it said that, the Marquis de Gray of the rightful line, whom Gaston’s father supplanted, settled in England and took an English name. You must be his son. You are John Smith, but you are also the true Marquis de Gray. Is it not so?” With a genuine admiration for her quickness of perception 1 nodded an affirmative, and she clapped her hands. “Come, John Smith—l will call you that, for I now like the sound of the name, and you must call me Lola, if only because it will be safer for you to do so —we must be friends, you and L Perhaps we may work together for the same end, for, as you have seen, I have now hopelessly compromised my position with these people of the other side. ’ ’

“Why have you done so?” “Have I not told you? To save your life,, because you saved mine. Partly, too, because I am a creature of impulse, a woman of the Midi, with imagination, quick to take fire.”

“I thank you, madam.” “Lola, if you please, John Smith,” she interrupted, with her charming smile. “If you will not say it to please me, I must ask you to do so for the sake of our safety.’’

“I will do so for both reasons, so I thank you, Lola, for your promptness in repaying the service I was so fortunate as to be able io render. That it should be yourself I saved from the fire is one of a series of remarkable chances. The first event in this chain of strange circumstances was when, in Hyde Park the other morning, I passed a man whom I noticed for his resemblance to myself, and was afterwards a witness to his being taken away in a motor car, after what I took to be merely a playful tussle. It was only by another curious coincidence .1 became aware, a few hours later, that the man I had thus seen was my half-cousin, Gaston Fane lion, commonly known as the Marquis de Gray.” “Did you know nothing of his being in London, or of liis taking the name which your father had adopted?” “Xot a wont; in fact, I lmd only returned to England on the previous eA 7 - ening after four years of wandering in the East.” “llow, then, did you become aware of the errand upon which lie was engaged?” “By another link in the chain of circumstances. I was walking past the same spot, and at the same hour the next morning,, when I was hailed, in mistake for Gaston, by those whom he had there arranged to meet, for (the purpose of selling his copy of the document. ’■ ’ “I know of the appointment, but il had been made for the previous morning, the morning of liis capture.” “The date was not clearly written,

and when he apparently failed to turn up on the morning appointed they thought it must be the next. Anyway, I became, partly through my own fault, involved in the mistake, and before I could get opportunity to explain I found myself at Bromsgrove House, and in the presence of that august lady who resides there under the name of Countess of Yaris. ”

“What an extraordinary story, John Smith. But now you have made the matter clear. .Doubtless a man of your sort would,- in spite of the wrong which was done to your father, still be loyal to Elbium and to the House of Aurant. For this cause you immediately embarked upon a search for the missing man and the all-important document, although you must have been quickly made aware that you were drawing upon yourself no common danger. That is so, is it not?” “Yes; you are c'ertainly very quick and correct in your guessing.” (To be continued.}