"THE WEB."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8872, 5 November 1907, Page 2

"THE WEB."

CHAPTER XlX.—Continued.

A wi!d-lookir.g figure had run off the pavement, and planted himseU in the middle of the road. Jack thumoed the india-rubber bu.b and 'the horn rang out its hoarse warning, but the man still stood in the way. The motor swerved aside, and .he W an followed with it. Within almost an inch of thid human obstruction Jack managed to bring the thing to a standstill. . ~, , "Get out of the way, you idiot he screamed. . ~ "For the love of the Lord and the Patriarch, Mr John, stop, stop! Touch not the Lord's anointed. Medhurst sprang -oat of the car and lifted the man up bodily and threw him *nto the carriage, lhe car was off before Medhurst was in Cries of "Pull up! pull up! rang out from some of the crowd. - The policeman—the same man who had been on beat in the earlier part of the previous evening—was about to blow his whistle and signal on to the next policeman to stop the runaway, but catching sight of Medhurst's face he put the whistle back ■into his tunic, and the pursuing party thundered on, Medhurst holding Connell by the neck. The car of the Patriarch was almost out of sight by this time, but .they gained a bit on her. "Keep her in sight, and steady a bit for fear we are pulled up, shouted Medhurst, and Jack slackened a little. On, on they drove, always keeping the flying car insight. Away past the traffic, along up the hill on to the highroad, mile after mile they thundered, past villas and outer suburbs to country. London was now well behind them, and with not another living soul but the five of them in sight, Jack let go all speed on a lovely stretch of level road. They drew nearer and nearer their prey, and they could see the two men change places in the car before them. The man with the iron-grey hair took the steering gear, and handed something to the other man, who turned round in his seat. ' "Rock her! rock her!" shouted Medhurst, but he was too late. There was a report from a pistol in front of them, and more terrifying report immediately under them. The Italian had taken a sure shot at one of the wheels. Jack turned off the motor with a mighty effort just in time—the puncture was complete, the wheel useless. The car in front jumoed on a stone, and a second shot caught Jack in the fleshy part of his arm. Th 3 next minute the fugitives put more than a pistol shot of space between them and their pursuers. "It's lucky we brought that howling maniac with us." remarked Medhurst philosophically. "They thought wc were thne to two, and went to wreck the car instead of shooting • direct at you. That second shot was a merciful deliverance too. Has it hurt you much?" "No, only just grazed me,"re. marked Jack, as they shook themselves free of the dust and dirt. "And now, what's the next step? Connell, you scoundrel—" But Connell, free of Medhurst's grip, had scrambled up the bank,- and was away across the fields like a hunted fox. "We haven't even succeeded in bagging the yard dog," growled Medhurst.

CHAPTER XX. Patching up the puncture as best they could. Jack and his companion drove slowly and' gloomily back to town. Not knowing where else to turn, they made" their way to Whitworth Mansions. "Is it any,good wiring on to stop .them?" asked Strangways. Medhurst shook his head sadly. "They won't go the straight road now, you may depend, and they'll have sense enough to alter the number of the car. I'm afraid we can do nothing else now but to lay low and wait. They'll come buzzing around, I think, until they know what the girl is up to. They won' L t have had time to carry off much swag with them, and although .the Mosaic business is smashed up, I fancy they'll want to rake something out of the ashes. That younger man •is a daring ..scoundrel. He was hanging about your .flat.a day or two after you had left for the north, and that's how I got on the track of him. I recognized him as the man who had been taking observations just when you came in on the day of the trial." "Why, you weren't on the lookout then, were you? I i;emember now you were playing with my curtains, as though you were admiring them, just when I came in the door." "A detective should be like a thrifty housewife," replied Medhurst. "When he sees a stray end of cotton, he should pick it up and wind it rn'.ind his finger in case it x might come .i useful at some other time." "Well, let'js hope they'll drop another end of cotton somewhere before long," replied Jack as gaily as .lie could; "and now let's see what Miss Elders is doing. Bless me, the gijrl must be holding a levee. Why, there's the Duchess at the window, and who on earlk is that gentleman." "You'il pardon me, sir, I think I had better be getting this machine home as be3t I can. X think I can drive it well enough for that. You'd better meet your company and tell them you've been teaching a new man how to take the place of Connell as your seco/.d chauffer. And whatever you do, sir, don't you start talking to those people. We haven't got to • breathe even to ourselves for the next few days, if we arc going to get on

, PAUL URQUHART. [Published aßys Special Arrangement.] [All« Eights Reserved.]

the scent of these blackguards again-" ~ "Come up, Mr Strangways, shouted a cheery voice from the winJack looked uo, and saw about half a dozen heads struggling out of tne window together. There was Miss Rentoul, Miss Elders, a man he didn t know, the Duchess, and His heart gave a leap, there was also Violet. Clattering upstairs, he met another member of his late house party. '•Why, Strangways. you look as, though you had been carrying the motor instead of the motor carrying you. You are covered with dust, and What, man, you have had an accident. Here hold up ■—" The broad accent of Theodore Beeton melted into tender delightful

music. . . "He is hurt—he is fainting. ] Jack heard no more, but he felt I two arms around him the touch of which sent a thrill through his drooping body, and he went off in a dead faint with the delicious feeling that a warm cheek was elose to his, and two beautiful eyes looking lovingly at him. ~ Theodore Beeton gently relieved Lady Violet of her precious burden, and lifting the fainting man in his strong arms, laid him out on the sofa, while the Duchess, with her lorgnette poised into a curve of graceful astonishment, watched Lady Violet's pale and anxious face. Jack had gone off on the landing,-and her Grace, who had remained seated by the window while the rest ran out, had been spared the whole scene, but everybody else understood quite well what the stately matron would not permit herself to

realize. "There's a doctor at the corner of the next street, Henry," said Miss Elders to a handsome young man who had been looking on in mild astonishment. The gentleman moved off quickly and within a very few minutes had brought the busy surgeon with him, insisting that all his other patients were health and strength itself, compared to the dangerous condition of the man in Miss Elders' fiat. Dr. Oliver was soon able-to reassure him on that point. "He seems to have lost a fair quantity of blood," he said, "but it's only a slight flesh wound, and he has been through some considerable excitement, which has kept him going for a time, and then reacted." Later on, when Theodore Beeton volunteered to come round to the surgery to bring back a sleeping draught after the patient had been brought out of his swoon and patched up, the doctor asked in a confidential tone—"What has your friend been up to? That's a wound trom a revolver shot, ..although the bullet didn't stick in him. It has grazed him badly; but what has he 1 been doing to get shot at?" "Goodness knows. I've only just arrived from Southampton, and don't know what he has been up to today." "Well, keep him quiet, whatever you do, and he'll pull round with very little trouble; but don't for goodness sake let those ladies worry him for explanations." "Oh, we'll keep him snug enough, doctor, you bet. By the way," added the American, stepping back after he had walked off a few paces, "what do you say to his taking a trip 0:1 a yacht? I've got one of the prettiest little things on either side of the Atlantic riding at Southampton. The Alice she is called. Ever heard of her?"

The busy London doctor had to admit that he couldn't recall the doughty deeds of Mr Beeton's vessel, but he agreed in a moment that a short trip on her would be about the best thing in the world for his patient when he had got over the first shock. "What say to starting to-morrow?" The doctor held his head on one side and pursed his lips with some deliberation. "Well, yes, I think to-morrow will be quite safe; I'll have a look at him in the morning, and tell you for certain." With Mr Theodore T. Beeton, to have an idea was to act on it, and to act was to do the thing well. "You just take this, old chap, and pull yourself together," he said to Strangways, who drank off the soothing mixture and lay back wearily in the bed they had made up for him. Carefully shutting the door, and drawing the whole party into another room, he shut that door, and, taking the whole company in with a comprehensive sweep of his arm, the genial American said—"l've got the doctor's orders to take the whole lot of you aboard my yacht. He says you've all ha<3 a shock and want a tonic. Now I haven't time to talk to every one of you, individually, about it, but just you start packing up right away, and we weigh anchor to-morrow." (To be Continued.) Why Go Hungry. If your stomach is weak and , you are suffering from indigestion, don't sacrifice your health and comfort. Eat all the wholesome fool you want. Then take on? of Dr. fcheldon'e Digestive Tabules afte.i each meal They digest your food, and thus nourish ind build jou up, while the stomach is recovering its natural tone. Ob tainable at H. E. Eton's, Chemist.