JOHN LYON, DETECTIVE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 387, 16 August 1911, Page 2

JOHN LYON, DETECTIVE.

"Copyright.* B

> Being a Strange Chronicle from the Mote-book of John Lyon, Elucidator, Known as the " Lion of the Law." By the Author of " The Castle Mystery," etc., etc. PART 7. CHAPTER IV. THE DEN OF THE VAMPIRE. Crack ! Crack ! Before Lyon had time to realise the import of his assistant's warning shout the sound of rifle-firing reached lis ears. In swift succession came ;he snap and whistle of two shots, ind each time lie heard the bullet striiye with a thud against the dome, lot twenty inches from his head. Realising his danger, he made a riolent movement, sending the rope swinging pendulum-wise from side to side. Then he glided downward hand over hand, until his legs dangled ovei ;he gallery. Lesage seized him in a strong grasp as he swung within reach, forcibly hauling him into safe;y. Within a minute he was stretch--3d at full length, safe and sound in :he shelter of the parapet. "By Caesar !" he ejaculated, laughing shortlj. " That was touch and go if you like. It was a miracle [ wasn't winged." " He wasn't trying to wing you," ;he other rejoined, excitedly. " Just take a squint at the top of the dome and perhaps a few more thinks will Dccur to you." The detective was not slow to obey, !or the words brought a sudden and almost, incredible suspicion to his brain. Hoisting himself up on one slbow, he leaned over until he was able to view the gilded cross which topped the dome. Then a long whistle pulsed from his lips. The black packet had vanished ! The man with the rifle had neatly blown it from its fastenings sending it fluttering down into the churchyard below.

Lyon wasted no time in idle conjecture. Their most important clue seemed liable to be purloined at 'any moment, and he proceeded to regain the interior of the dome with a celerity which would have excited the »nvy of a professional acrobat. At a reckless pace he dashed down the staircase, Lesage following close at ais heels.

But he had reackoned without the officials of the church.

The astounded verger, informed that two madmen were indulging in strange antics on the dome of the church, had summoned the aid ol three constables. The party met the two detectives on the threshold of the stairs. Mistaking their haste for a violent attempt at an escape, the men in blue set to work with a will, and Lyon found himself the centre of as warm a struggle as he had ever been mixed in.

" Let go, you fools !" he shouted. " I am a detective, and if you delay me you will have to answer for the consequences."

> ; "I know that yarn," one of the 3 ! policemen panted, reeling from side : to side like a reed in a gale as the ■ Lion of the Law endeavoured to ! shake himself free. " Will you come | quietly, or " —• i He was about to threaten the use of force, but the elucidator forestalr i led him by going into the business on | (lis own account. Wrenching his , I right arm free, he gave the officer an I upper-cut that made him see a milI lion stars and sent him spinning in a dazed heap to the ground. The second man was plucky, but j ne was no match for John Lyon. He j wasted a moment by drawing his | truncheon and it proved fatal. Lyon's fist caught him while the weapon svas still in the air. He shot upwards with a stifled groan and fell back on to the, huddled form of his Colleague. Lesage had fallen a victim to the prowess of the verger and the third I constable, but the Lion of the Law | did not staj to explain matters. His 1 { thoughts were fixed on the necessity j of retrieving the blacl' package with- ! out loss of time, and he bounded oni ward the instant that the way was I clear. J In the excitement he had failed tc ! notice that a crowd had gathered tc ! watch their evolutions on the dome, ! and when he reached the porch a | muttered word of annoyance rose tc I his lips. The churchyard was filled ! from wall to wall by a curious mob. They were engaged in staring at nothing much in particular with irritating persistency, and the detective I found himself received with as much interest as if he had been a royal personage. Brushing a way through the crowd : he pressed towards the western side of the ground. The wind was blowing strongly from the east, and the package would undoubtedly hav< drifted with the breeze. Fortunately the west side of thf churchyard was dedicated to buria. > purposes, and the monuments had deterred the onlookers from nakins their way thither. A emick glanci showed the elucidator that only cm man was present, and that he was hunting without any attempt at con cealment among the mounds. He looked up sharply as Lyon ap proached, bringing to view a thin cadaverous face, a pair of keen eyes and a row of broken teeth. It was far from being a prepossessing coun tenance ; nine people out of tei would have condemned the owner tc prison on the evidence of the feature: tilone, though he was well and ex pensively dressed. " Did you see it drop, too ?" In inquired, genially. " The other

away ; it wasn't. It was something that fell off the spire." " Are you the only one that sav. it?" Ljon asked, casually. He felt an instinctive distrust of the speaker, but did not display the fact. " Sure. I hurried round here right away. Thought there might be a reward. Nobody here. We can have a look round." The detective made no comment but began a search on his own account. He did not work in the haphazard manner of the other man. Commencing in one corner of the enclosure, he walked in a straight line from wall to wall, his keen eyen eyes roving over every inch of the ground. In two minutes lie had convinced himself that the black package was not there With deepened suspicions he turned upon the red-eyed man, who still sought diligently. The arrival ol two policemen and the verger with a mob trailing at their heels, interrupt ed his purpose. The foremost constable —who was possessed of a particularly fine black eye, smiled broadly as he saluted. " It's all right, sir," he said in an undertone. " Mr. Lesage has put us up to what you're after and we won't spoil the game. Are you trailing that murder business at Mount Laurel, Mr. Lyon ?" The detective replied with a stifled oath. The policeman had spoken almost in a whisper, but the red-eyed man had drawn near enough to overhear the concluding sentence. The effect was electrical. At the name " Lyon " he straightened up with a smothered cry. For a single instant he glared affrightedly at the famous elucidator. Then, spinning on his heels, he cleared the cemetery wall at a bound and disappeared amid the crowd that had scattered into the road. Thrusting the amazed constables aside, Lyon followed. As he alighted in the road he cast a glance ahead in search of the fugitive, but that worthy had been astute enough to relax his gait, and he was indistinguishable amongst the hundred or more of people who were once more turning their attention to their own business. Stepping into the shelter of an ivycovered archway, he reversed his cap and jacket, and affixed a slight moustache to his upper lip. These slight changes formed an effectual disguised and he continued his way onward with long strides, covertly searching with his eyes for his quarry. Success soon rewarded his efforts. He came upon the red-eyed man outside Preston Road Station. That mysterious individual was walking briskly, occasionally casting a cautious and half-fearful glance over his shoulder. Sometimes almost beside him, sometimes fifty yards behind, Lyon shadowed his victim. The chase led down Rice Lane past the Zoological Gardens, and into County Road. Increasing his pace as he penetrated farther into the city, he boarded a tramcar at the end of Scotland Road. The detective, taking a seat directly behind, heard his quarry take a ticket to the old Haymarket, and promptly did likewise. Then he settled down to rest and reflect over the strange series of events which had followed so swiftly on his entry tc the house in Highview Avenue. For the life of him he could make nothing of the tangle of clues at his ;ommand. Torment and badger his Drain as he might he could extract yo sort of meaning out of them. vVho was the man in the coffin at Highview Avenue ? Why had he been removed and how ? What was in the Dlack package, and what had become of it ? The affair seemed to be one impenetrable maze of darkest mystery. He was aroused from his abstraction by the red-eyed man making a move. Alighting at the Haymarket ie cut off down Dale Street past the Town Hall, and so to the river-side. Lyon's task was no sinecure now. The quarry was evidently drawing near his destination, and for a few Tiinutes lie gave the detective a warm time. One after another he exhausted rill the tricks conceivable to throw ley possible pursuer off the scent, ind even the Lion of the Law found nimself hard put to it to remain undiscovered. The red-eyed fugitive was obviously -in old hand at the game. He turned sharply into side streets, only to dart out again an instant later ; Ik entered shops slowly, emerging withDut buying anything, and eyeing all the pedestrians closely from the doorways ; he ran at full speed round corners, halting immediately he was out of sight, and went through the gamu/t of a score more wily tricks, all of which were familiar to Johr Lyon. He was too old a bird to be caught with such chaff even though it compelled him to keep his wits constantly on the alert. At last the man seemed satisfied that he had disposed of every possibi lity of being followed. Turning back he entered King Edward Street and disappeared down a narrow turning from that thoroughfare. Lyon followed closely on the other pavement, and had the satisfaction of seeing his man descend tc the area of a dindy-looking house. Three knocks reached his ears, and then the slam of a door. Sauntering casually past a few moments later, he found that his quarry had gone to earth. The area was empty, save for a mangy cat sitting contemplatively on the doorstep. " So this is the burrow whence this mystery springs," he muttered. "Ha ! there's Jim Winter unless I'ir very much mistaken. Perhaps he car put me on to the occupants of this house." The policeman strolling along just ahead proved to be the man Lyor bad mmti °- ! Am He cle '

dective respectfully ana tneu gave e start of surprise as the latter pu* Qis question. " The occupant of No. ?>-. si" "" ' 1( repeated in a hushed tone. '• Why that's the den of the Vampire.'' (To lie Continued, i