The Gold Magnet

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 21, 16 April 1927, Page 16

The Gold Magnet

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T.C. Bridges,

Author of " The Whip Hand'* Price of Liberty," “ The Home Her Fatheru," &c., &c.

SYNOPSIS OP PREVIOUS CHAPTERS CHAPTERS 1- to In.— a rerocious face, pressed against the window of a train, frightens a mysterious passenger, Stuart Egerton, who is interested in Malayan tin mines, and just afterwards, the train is wrecked. Bruce Carey gets Egerton out of the wreck, but the man is dying He gets Bruce to promise that he will deliver a bag. which contains an invention. to his daughter. Silvia, who holds the key. A pitiless enemy, James Lurgan, who has ruined Bruce’s hall-brother, also wants the invention Bruce finds an American friend. Randolph Colt. The motor in which they arc travelling to Silvia’s cottage is held up by armed men CHAPTERS 111. to v.—Having no alternative, Bruce hands over the bag containing the invention. After the inter ruption the two men reach Silvia's home When Bruce tells her of the robbery of the invention entrusted to him she says it is useless without the directions, which are in her possession. He vows to recover it from Lurgan. Bruce’s halfbrother, Claude Bryston. goes to a gambling house near Hyde Park, and Bruce follows. After some sharp practice on the part of a man Crane and an accomplice Stroud, there are heated words and a fight. CHAPTERS VI. to VIII—A rough-and-tumble of four men against two Claude wakes up suddenly and comes to the rescue of his brother’s friend The final victory is with Carey and Colt Bruce tells his brother about Egerton and Lurgan, and adds that Claude is to keep out of it. The next day Bruce travels down to Mortimer, where Silvia dwells, to attend Egerton's funeral Afterwards he goes to Deeping Cottage He expresses his anxiety aboyt Silvia's future, and she assures him that she has an independency. inherited from tier mother. Bruce gives her Colt s idea as t< what Lurgan is likely to do, then takes leave as he intends walking back u Reading. On the way Lurgan steps out of a wood and joins him He proposes a half share in the new Gold Recovery Syndicate. Bruce tells him that he would sooner go into partnership with th« devil. CHAPTERS IX. to XIII.—A strategy step is made by Claude, who cultivates the friendship of Duggan, one of Lurgan’thenchmen, and finds out where Lurgan lives. A raid on the villain's house is contemplated At. Silvia's Invitation Bruce goes to Reading to look through her father's papers and he makes th« discovery that his one desire is to ”tak« her in his arms and never leave her Then he sets out to make the raid or Lurgan’s place, single-handed; and in tin dusk arrives at Friar's Bank. The oh mansion is forbidding, but Bruce force, iron bars apart and gets Egerton's ba;from the strong room. The burglary b discovered and Bruce is pursued and she at. He trips on an obstacle and become' unconscious. CHAPTERS XIV. to XVII.: Bruet wakes ip to bnd himself trapped; they ha\e been waiting for his attempt to rol the house. Lurgan renews his offer of a partnership and Bruce refuses until h* is threatened with imprisonment not only for burglary but for manslaughter

our hero having knocked 'down and killed a man who tried to stop him from escaping. Subjected to strong temptation. Bruce almost gives in and accepts tne partnership But finally he tells Lurgan that he can do his worst, and the villain immediately starts to do it. Meanwhile Claude Bryson calls in a laWyer friend of nis. Newspapers broadcast the “robbery and murder" and the friends of Bruce, the lawyer Hammond, Colt and Bryson, are conferring on how they c..n get him out of the mess. CHAPTER XVIII TO XX.: The day ot the inquest on the man who- was killed by Bruce arrives The friends of Bruce are pinning ther faith to the testimony of Silvia At the last moment a report comes in that her car has met with an accident. Lurgan and others give evidence and the jury, without retiring, ; brings in a verdict of murder. Bruce is remanded for trial at the Assizes. Silvia, shaken by the accident, is in her bed when Lurgan calls. He says that the only chance of saving Bruce is to form a partnership of the three of them Though Silvia feels the hypnotic power of Lurgan she refuses his orTer after receiving a letter from Bruce. CHAPTER XXI. to XXIV.: Bruce comes up for trial. Lurgan gives his damning evidence and Oakes is called. He admits that there was a delay in ringing for the police after the death was discovered. Bruce’s barrister tells the whole story of the magnet, the train accident, the hold-up and the attempted robbery, and evidence is given. The weak points in the defence are attacked and the jury brings in a verdict of seven years’ penal servitude. Silvia bears up bravely and all Bruce’s friends decide to do their utmost to get him released. If they could find the man who stole the bag they realise that he would be a great help. The ex-henchman of Lurgan’s, Duggan, is anxious to atone for his misdeeds and he tells Colt that Lurgan’s gang meets at Duke's Gate each week. * CHAPTER XXV.: The conference of Lurgan, Orme, Crane and Stroud has just decided that Silvia will have to be held in order that they may get the papers, when the others discover that Stroud is a fake. With the aid of a smoke-bomb, the masquerader gets away. “Damned if I know, but probably Colt.” “Colt,” repeated Lurgan. Colt is three inches shorter than Stroud, and—ls years younger.” “Well, I don't know who else it could liive been,” panted Grane, who was still badly winded from his heavy fall. Oakes had now got the window open, j vet even so, the room was still like the inside of a smoky chimney. Lurgan pulled himself together. “We’ll find >ut later,” he said. ‘‘Now, we must get help as soon as possible.” He hurried o the house telephone, which was close to the lift, and called up the >ffice. "Webb, Webb, are you there?” There was no answer. "What the devil’s the matter,” growled Lurgan. "I can hear people moving, but there’s no reply*. Surely the fellow can’t have cut the wires.” “I don’t reckon the wires are cut,” said Oakes in his husky voice. “What I am scared of is that they have heard the row. Likely they think there’s trouble and they have all cleared out.”

Lurgan turned on him savagely. “Help me to break the door. We’ve got to get out at any price. Next thing we’ll have a real police raid.” CHAPTER XXVI—MR. PRICE TURNS HIS BACK. Bruce was sent to serve his separates at Pentonville. Formerly a prisoner condemned to penal servitude had six months all alone in his cell in a local prison, but now the time has been cut by half. Yet even that is no joke, for until it is finished he has none of the ordinary privileges in the way of visitors and letters which are afterwards granted. Silvia, however,- was determined to see him as soon as possible, and by writing to the authorities that it was necessary for her to see him on business, she managed to get her way. The old-fashioned prison visitingroom had a steel grill down the centre. The wretched prisoner sat on one side, and his visitor on the other, and they could see one another and talk, but not so much as touch fingers. The grill has now been swept away, but even so, there is a table between the prisoner and his visitor, and of course a warder is in the room. Silvia had been warned beforehand of these precautions, but even so, she was shaking with nervousness when she found herself in the dreadfully bare, but terribly -clean apartment in which she was to interview Bruce. “Sit down, Miss,” said the warder, who was middle-aged and kindly. “The prisoner will be here in a minute. Ah, here 1 he is,” he added as the door opened and Bruce entered the room. For a moment Silvia could only stare blankly at him. Was this Bruce? This man in the hideous, ill-fitting, drab gannents, with his hair cut short and his pale face disfigured with a growth of stubbly beard. As for Bruce he stood still,, staring at Silvia with hungry eyes, then as he saw the dismayin her face the colour rose to his. “You don’t recognize me, Miss Egerton but I can’t blame' you.” he said. “Nonsense,” she broke in quickly. “Do not talk like that. It is only—” she stopped short. “ Oh! but it is so cruel,” she burst out. Bruce came opposite her so that only the table divided them. “Don’t be so troubled,” he begged earnestly. "It is not half so bad as it looked. I get books and exercise, and I have

work to do in my cell, please—please Silvia.” It was the first time he had called her by her Christian name, but she did not seem to notice it. “You are so thin and pale,” she wailed, and her eyes were full of tears. “I shall soon get back my tan on Dartmoor,” he said comfortably. “I shall apply for outdoor work, either in the quarries or on the farm.” “You are going to Dartmoor?” “Yes. Star prisoners, that is first offenders, used to be sent to Portland, but that is now a Borstal Prison. Dartmoor is healthy at any rate.” “It is horrible,” said Silvia, “horrible. I have seen it. Grey granite and everlasting rain and fog. Oh! Bruce, you can’t go there.” “One prison is much the same as another,” said Bruce gently. In spite of everything it thrilled him to see Silvia’s emotion, for now he knew that she cared. But next instant he was inwardly cursing himself for his selfishness. “You must not trouble about me,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But 1 do trouble, of course I trouble. Mr. Colt and I have been trying hard to get evidence for an appeal. Did you hear about his visit to Duke’s Gate?” “I have had no letters yet,” Bruce told her. “No. of course not. I must tell you." Then suddenly she noticed the warder and was silent. Bruce realised the reason for her hesitation. “Mr. Price is very discreet,” he said with a smile. “It’s all right,” put in the warder. “So long as you don’t break prison rules I shan’t let anything go further.” “Thank you very much, Mr. Price,” said Silvia, giving the warder a look of such gratitude as, for the moment, made him almost forget that he was nearly fifty and the father of a family. She turned again to Bruce. “Mr. Colt got into Duke’s Gate in disguise,” she told him, “and actually attended a conference of Lurgan’s gang. They had been trying hard to work the model, but could do nothing with it. So it seems they planned to offer me some evidence for the appeal in exchange for the papers.” Bruce’s eyes grew bright. “Then Randolph has got proof against them,” he exclaimed.

Silvia shook her head. “No, because he was alone and had no witness. They saw through his disguise and tried to seize him.” “What happened?” asked Bruce, brathlessly. “He was too clever for them. You see he was made up to represent Stroud, and when they recognised him he threw down a smoke bomb and rushed out at the door and locked them all in. There was a regular riot in the room. They seem to have fought among themselves, and they made a fearful noise. When Mr. Colt got down below he found the people in the cardroom had heard the noise and were alarmed. So he shouted out that there was a police raid, and they all ran for their lives.” Bruce burst into a ringing laugh. “Good old Randolph! How perfectly splendid ! I’d have given anything to see it!” “It has been serious for Lurgan,” said Silvia. “The gambling people were so scared that none of them have come back. They say Duke’s Gate is deserted.” “Then Lurgan’s chief source of income is dried up,” laughed Bruce. “This is great news, Silvia.” “But'it does not help you,” replied Silvia, suddenly grave again. “Never mind, and please—and please don’t dream of bargaining with Lurgan. He would only swindle you. Leave it to Randolph and Hammond. “I don’t think they can do anything more,” said Silvia, sadly. “And I have the horrible feeling that you are suffering this dreadful punishment on my account.” “I am not,” insisted Bruce, very earnestly. “Please Silvia, don’t think such a thing for a moment.” “But it is true,” savd Silvia, miserably. “If you had not tried to help my father all this would never have happened.” “I would do it again to-morrow for your sake,” declared Bruce. “Silvia, you know I would give my life, let alone my liberty, to help you.” Their eyes met, and for a few seconds there was an electric silence. Silvia broke it. “Your life is no good to me without your liberty, Bruce,” she said softly. She flushed as she spoke, but met his eyes bravely. Bruce gasped. “Silvia,” he said hoarsely. “Silvia, do you mean it?”

“I could never have said it unless I meant it,” Silvia answered. Bruce almost flung himself across the table. He, like Silvia, had utterly forgotten the warder, and Price, good fellow, that lie was, had actually turned his back. Their lips met in a long kiss. Suddenly Bruce drew back. There was sheer horror on his face. “Oh, Silvia,” he groaned, “what a selfish brute I am.” Silvia’s eyes widened. “Surely, Bruce, that is the oddest remark for a man to make to the girl he has just got engaged to.” “But—but what’s the use of our becoming engaged. I can’t marry you.” It was Silvia’s turn to look horrified. “Do you mean you have a wife already?” “No —no, of course not. But I am as good as dead. I have seven years of prison before me.” Silvia laughed—positively laughed. “My dear Bruce, I know that as well as you, but you can’t think much of me if you don’t believe I can wait that long.” CHAPTER XXVII.—SILVIA LEARNS TO DRIVE. Silvia was singing softly to herself as she nipped dead blooms from the rose trees. “ You’re mighty cheerful,” came a voice behind her. “ Why not, Mr. Colt,” said Silvia, as she turned to greet Randolph. “ Are not people supposed to be cheerful when they get engaged to be married?” For once, Randolph looked really surprised. “ Who to?” he asked bluntly Silvia looked at him. “ I know most men are stupid,” she smiled, “ but I did class you with the intelligent minority.” “But I thought it was Bruce you liked,” said Randolph, in dismay. “ For once you show some indication of sense,” replied Silvia. “ But Bruce is in prison.” “ Even prisoners can have visitors. I was in London yesterday.” “ B —but I reckoned that a warder was always around.” “ There are times when one forgets even warders. This particular one was a. gentleman. He turned his back.” Colt stared a moment, then burst om’ laughing. “ Say, but this is great.” Suddenly lie turned grave. “ Miss

Silvia, 1 congratulate you, but, by thunder, I’ve got to congratulate Bruce a heap more.”- “ Why ?” “ Because he’s won the prettiest, nicest girl in England. Silvia flushed. “ I am not good enough for him, Mr. Colt,” she said earnestly. “ See what he has done for me.” (To be continued.)