The Scales of Justice.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8524, 29 August 1907, Page 2

The Scales of Justice.

CHAPTER XXl.—Continued. i "And that was the urgent matter , tou desired to see me about? Gil- i bert asked. "Yes. I wanted to be certain. ■ That is why I went to the charity i bail to-night, and why I paved the ] way for you to convince me of the , woman's identity. Don't you see ] -what an important discovery we ] have made? It may or may not mean j a factor in our ultimate success, but i • the'woman has taken a fancy to me?- * <• ''You mean," Gilbert stammered, "you mean that you are prepared to , do anything to—to " i "Solve the mystery, yes, Flora i said firmly. '"I hate shams and pre- j varications' of all kinds, but it is necessary to fight these people with j their own weapons, I could not sit quietly and see so manylives blighted - when I have the sword to cut . the , knot in my hands." u i "You are more than good to me," j Gilbert murmured. " Did I not see Dr. ■ Bearc3 in the ball-room?" "You may have seen him and you have seen Sir Devereux .Drum- . mond and Sybil as well. She asked j after you, and as to whether you ; were comfortable in youi new quar- , ters. If you remember, she offered to find you "a shelter with an old servant of hers." . 1 "I shall recollect all these kindnesses," Doyle said. "But there is one thing I should like to know. What did Beard think of the presence of the Americans here?" Flora asked in some surprise what Gilbert meant. He recollected then that he had not told Flora anything about the Americans and the mysterious motor car; indeed, he had had no opportunity. . Flora listened-eagerly to the story of the encounter in the •woods behind Grange Court. "It all seems to complicate the mystery," she said. "Though I daresay it will be quite simple when we get" the threads in our hands. There are a lot of people in the castle and there are so many rooms that it is Dossible for Dr. - Beard to be there and never even see the Americans at all. From what you say they appear to have visited the castle as much from curiosity as anything else. Do you think that there is anything more?" i "Possibly they are /trying to kill two birds with one stone. It seems odd that they should deliberately ' force themselves into the same house as Beard. But we need not discuss that till another time. I want to see you safely in your carriage." But this simple process was easier said than done. Gilbert had received Flora's wraps at a spot auite close to the lodge-gates, but the convey • i ance was no longer to be seen there. Perhaps the coachman had gone up to the house, haying mistaken the 1 latter- part of his instructions. At any rate, he was not waiting at the spot where he had been told to wait. ' Flora hesitated, uncertain what to do. It seemed futUe to remain in the hope that the coachman, would return —at the same time it was impossible she could walk home. There was nothing vfor it but to try to find the coachman in the mass_of- carriages by the castle. , "Will you stay here or come back ; with ma?" Gilbert asked. ''' ' ."I think I will stay here," Flora decided. "We may be dodging back wards and forwards till daylight. If you can unearth the coachman, you j will know where to find me. lam not in. the least likely to come to | harm with all these carriages going to and fro. " Gilbert hurried off without more ado. .With the aid of a stalwart footman, who possessed a pair of stentorian lungs, the brougham was found at length. The driver had made a mistake, he said,; whilst Gilbert smiled. As a matter of fact the coachman had come up to the on chance of some refreshment, and he had b6en kept a little longer than he had intended. He would pick up his mistress on the road, he said. "I thinkTil'come along," Gilbert decided, as he climbed to the box. "Besides, I haven't had my tip yet, you know." The coachman grinned responsively and whipped up his horse. The inconvenience was not great, but the delay had taken time. With a smile Flora thanked the pseudo-footman for what he had done as he stood by the carriage-door with his finger to his hat. There was a flash of lights, the hum of a car, and the big Mercedes darted along,-and, as suddenly, pulled up right alongside f he brougham. "I beg vour pardon," the driver said. "But would you kindly tell me which way to take to reach Breckland Lodge? We are strangers here or we would not trouble you." Gilbert shook his head; he had not the least idea. He muttered something to the effect that he was a stranger to these parts who had just taken service here, But Flora was equal to the occasion. She stepped out of t.is brougham again., "Keep to the high road." she said, "till you come to the mile-post on the right. It is only a little way down the lane then." The driver of the motor doffed his cap politely, and . his companions did th'e same. Flora had not failed to notice the faint suggestion of accent in the voice of the questioner, and his alrrlost exaggerated politeness and thanks for the information. The motor-car went whirring on again till the lamps ceased to glow any more. "Are those the Americans?" Flora asked eagerly. "Surely they must be!'" "They are." said Gilbert, with emotion. "Those are the men I saw last night. But the strangest part of it is that they are going to Madams Regnier's. She is on the of a

By . FRED M. WHITE,

[Published By Special Arrangement.] [All Eights Reserved.]

man who is their deadly foe,, and yet those people are on friendly terms with her. - The more one probes the mystery the more complicated it becomes." "All mysteries are simple when you get to ths right clue," Flora smiled. "I \Vould give a great deal to know whether our friends of the motor-car saw Madame Regnier tonight or not, if they had speech with her, I mean. If so, they are going to her house by appointment; if not, then I hardly know what to think. I wish l could tell." ''Well, there is certainly, a chance of finding out something," Gilbert said. "It is not a far cry from here to'Brecklanc| Lodge. Did you say a mile?" "Certainly not more than a mile and a-half," Flora said. "Very well, then. I have nothing to do now, and the time hangs heavy on my hands. Besides, I am not sleeping very well just at present. I am always dreaming, dreaming of the prison—and the sound of that dreadful bell. I shall hate the sound of a bell as long as I live. . But I am forgetting myself. Miss Cameron, I am going as far as Breckland Lodge, and I am going to watch there to see if I can discover anything." Flora nodded her approval. The only anxiety she had was whether Gilbert could find his way back to old Anna's cottage again. She gave him minute instructions as to the road, and then ordered the coachman to drive home.

Left to himself, Gilbert made his way along the road towards his destination. It was hot possible to see the house, a huge ]j)lace lying back from the road, and having a lot of trees and ornamental timber in front. The trees would afford excellent cover for a seeker after Knowledge, however, and Gilbert plunged into the grounds without hesitation.

He was close to the house, now, and most of the windows were blaz- | ing with light. The motor-car was nowhere to be seen; perhaps it had merely , called at the house and gone again, f If it had gone, then Gilbert's mission was likely to be so much waste of time. But it was easy to ascertain that with the aid of a match. No, there was only one track of broad, spongy wheels on the wellkept gravel drive, therefore the motor-car was not far off. Very carefully Gilbert crept round to the back of the house in the direction of the stables. ' He found them at length, and tried the dodrs of one or two. The stables >vere locked for the most part but two or three of the coachhouses were' open still. Doubtless some helper or other was probably sitting up awaiting Mrs DunlopGordon's return. Gilbert found what he wanted at leng h. Here was the great motor-car peacefully reposing in a coach-house, ample evidence that the two Americans were in the house waiting for its mistress. It was a puzzling" matter altogether. Were they here at 'the instigation df their hostess, or was their visit intended as a most unpleasant surprise? In any wny of looking at it the problem was confusing. These men were the enemies of Bernard Beard, who was unquestionably in league- with Madame Regnier. ■ n that case., what were those Virginians doing here? There was only one thing for it—to wait and see. , Madame Regnier would be back some time, and the Virginians had evidently come to stay, the night. It was just possible that there would be trouble presently, and then Gilbert might see and hear something to his advantage. He crept back to the front of the house again, and took his position behind a thick belt of shrubs. Then he set himself doggedly to wait.^ The minutss passed slowly away. Gilbert had his cigarette case in his pocket, but he did not dare to soothe his vigil with tobacco. The silence was intense and rigid, so rigid that Gilbert could hear the rattle of the fallen leaves as his feet pressed them. And presently it seemed to him that somebody was treading on the grass close by. Gilbert drew himself nearer to his shelter, and he m&de out the outline of 'a figure coming in his direction. Was it possible that he had been' followed, he wondered. Wfth an impulse that ne could not control he gripped the figure and held on,' saying nothing for a moment.

"And who might you be?" the intruder said'coolly. "My good fellow, if you take me for a poacher or anything of that kind, you are greatly mistaken. You are one of the servants here?" - "I have heard worse guesses," Gilbert said} in a muffled voice. "Very good," the other said. "Then you will not be averse from earning a sovereign. There is somebody in yonder house that I want to see, whom I must see without delay. Take a message-to him from me, and I will give you the sum I mentioned. Only the message niu&.t be delivered to the gentleman himself. You know Captain Cardrew?" "George," Doyle whispered. "What are you doing here? I thought I recognised your voice as soon as you began to speak. It's Doyle." It was George Drummond's turn to cry out in astonishment. (To be continued.)