THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3121, 23 February 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

BY WINTHROP B. HARLAND. Author of "Lady Elgin's Secret," "A Harvest of Shame," "The Elder Son," "Lord Ashton's Heir," Etc.

CHAPTER VII.— Continued

Mr Dacre said; "here, in his own writing, he tells me he is going to my house, after a certain business is done, and you tell me that the other gentleman says they have only goi.e to Crewe. 1 must confess that I do not like the look of it, and I wish Major Lugard would come. What kind of a man was this 'other gentleman?' " "A tall, big man, rather elderly ; stooped a littb, and was gray. Wore spectacles, had a way of pulling hard at his beard when talking. He was not a gentleman of the Colonel's sort, sir, nor yours; he was well spoken, and well bahaved, but' not up to your style, sir, if you know what I mean." "I think I do, and from what I gather here, you are right. He is an agent from a celebrated inquiry firm —a detective, in fact. "That's just about what would be, sir, now that you mention it. "Wouldyou know him again?" "Out of a thousand, sir." "I know that the firm he represents, Fletther and Wyman, have bad an important case of the colonel's in hand for years; and so far. I can account for his sudden departure. But what motive can the man have in saying they were going to Crewe, when St. Hilary tells me distinctly he is going to Lopdon? Was the colonel at all strange in his manner? "Very much excited, sir; but keeping it down like." "I wish the fellow had been at the other end of the world before he came to trouble him on that business, till he had settled down; and I wish I had been here —or the major. St. Hilary was not in a fit condition to be troubled by the one thirg of all others most likely to excite him. He suffers from heart disease, and he had a sunstroke once; and so much mental excitement coming after the fatigue of his voyage might be serious to him. He evidently hardly knew what he was doing when he wrote this note; it is full of blots and smears, and strong larguage. I wish the major would come; he has been St. Hilary's companion for many years, and would know exactly what to make of it." The waiter said it looked strange, particularly as the colonel had had sunstroke once; and, perhaps, writing in a hurry, he put down London when he meant Crewe. "A brother of my own bad a touch of sunstroke once," the waiter said; . "and he did not always know what he was doing. Especially if he took a dram or two. There was no doing anything with him. He died in the infirmary." "You mean that he had to be placed under "restraint." > "Not exactly that, sir. Only now and then when he broke out; and you see, we could nut afford a proper attendant for him at home; it makes all the difference, money does." "Did the colonel have any stimulant while he was here?" "Nothing but coffee, sir, this morning, and only one glass ot brandy and water last night." "Then if, as you very sensibly suggest, he wrote London when he meant Crewe, the mistake was purely due to excitement?" The waiter nodded. "Nothing else, sir, and one very easily made. I often do it mystlf when I am making out a bill, if people are bothering me; and he may intend to go on from Crewe to London. The gentleman who was with him may not have known what his intentions were." "You are right, no doubt," said Mr Dacre. "In any case, I can do no harm by obeying his instructions and waiting tor the major. Perhaps, by the time he arrives, we shall hear from St. Hilary." He took possession of the colonel's sitting room, after liberally rewarding the head waiter, whose sensible suggestions appeared to have relieved his anxiety. Still, the disappointment had affected his appetite, for though he had a light repast set before him, he could not touch it, and amused himself by looking at the local papers. He soon put these aside in favour of the old magazines the colonel had been reading, and by chanca picked up the very one which had interested St. Hilary. The article on strange disappearances seemed to fascinate him. It was neally six when the waiter brought a telegram. "From the colonel?" Dacre said, eagerly. "No, sir; it is for him." "I wish it had been the other way," Mr Dace said, with a sigh; "but I had better read it." So the waiter seemed to think, and he stood by while the message was read. It was from the major. He was coming by the five-thirty train. "He is on his way, then," said Mr Dacre, "or I would send to stop him, and ask him to call at my house for news." "There would be nothing gained by that, sir. If the colonel has gone to London he would not be there yet. It was a few minutes after twelve when he left here, and he could only have caught the Paddington train to reach there after seven." ■"I see," Mr Dacre said; it would be useless; and if I sent home it might create unnecessary alarm. It is a trying position to be placed in, but I do not know what I am to , do till Major Lugard comes." "Perhaps by that time," said tho wait-r, consolingly, "you will have heard something of the colonel, or, if you think there is anything wrong, I should advise you to consult the police. We have some of the fi nest detectives in the world in Liverpool." ~ "I do not Fee what can be wrong, Mr-Datre said; "and the colontl inif ht he angry if I were to set the

police on his track. We had better wait."

"Or you might go to the railroad station," the intelligent waited suggested, "arid ascertain at the booking office whether they tooK tickets for London or Crewe, There is just a chance that clerk in the booking office might recollect." "If I were able to describe the colonel and his companion," Dacre said; "but lam not. I have never seen him, though his daughter has been an inmate of my house for years." "We can soon set that right, sir. : This man can go with you. He can I describe them both well enough for anything." Mr Dacre thanked him, and accepted the services of the man indicated, the second waiter, <vho lost no time in changing his shoea for his outdoor boots, and putting on a thick overcoat, in which, with his white tie and generally iieat appearance, he might easily have been mistaken for a gentleman going out to dinner. He was in no way behind his chief in intelligence, and the view he took of the suDjeot was not an encouraging one. "It may be all right," he said; "but I don't like the look of it. Liverpool is a curious, sir, and people have been decoyed away in most extraordinary ways for the sake of the money they might have about them. It's a pity the colonel went away with a stranger before his friends came. A few hours more or less could not have made much difference, whatever the business may have been." "But this was just the one thing that would have taken him away at a moment's notice from anywhere at any hour of the day or night; and I do not think he has been decoyed away; even if he had been, we should be sure to find him." "Not, perhaps, till he has been drugged, and robbed, or knocked on the head, and if he has got into bad hands we do not know what may happen." Mr Dacre, though anxious, was not despondent, and he had no doubt that what-seemed so mysterious at present would admit of a very simple explanation. He had not much faith in this expedition to the railway station, and, as it proved, he might just as well have remained at the hotel; no reliable information could be obtained at any of the booking offices. The colonel's personal appearance did not lend itself to a distinctive description. Seen out of uniform he was simply a slender gentleman of middle height, and some hundreds, as the clerks politely said, took tickets for Crewe or London every day in the year; and he did not think that any gentleman going to London would take the twelve-thirty train for Paddington, as it took seven hours to do the journey in, while fcbe two-five for Euston got in at halfpast six; that train stopped at Crewe, the twelve-thirty for Paddington did r.oc. [to be continued.]