THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3130, 5 March 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

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

CHAPTER Xl.—Continued

" What are you going to do?" the major said, . "Have the sender of it detained at Boulogne, whether he is the colonel or not. If he is the colonel, our anxiety muse be our excuse; ar.d whether he is or nut, he shall be detained till we have crossed the Channel to identify him." It seemed an excellent, idea, tnd tne major could not give Mr Fletcher too much praise for suggesting it; for though Col. St. Hilary might be offended if forcibly detained at Bologne, it would set all doubt at rest for his safety.

CHAPTER XII

THE TWO STRANGERS./

"But you must bear in mind," Mr Dacre said, "that if our friend is being personated, his persotator would not have been so shortsighted as to hand in that telegram in person. Men who engage in such a conspiracy are prepared for every contingenc}'. Do as you please about going to Boulogne. Still, I |must say, I think it would be as well to wait for the letter h 6 has promised to write." "I cannot agree with you," said Mr Fletcher, respectfully; "the letter, when it comes, it may be a forgery." "That is going to far," Mr Dacre said, with a smile. "Here is the major, who is as well acquainted with St. Hilary's handwriting as with his own, and no one could think of deceiving him." "With ail respect to you, sir, I hold a different opinion. I could put my finger on half a dozen in. n, wno, if they had the merest scrap of your writing, could imitate it soperftctly, that you would not like to repudiate it in a court of law; and we cannot afford to lose any time, or take any chanced. You need not come with me, major; your man will do as well." The major would not consent to that. He told Mr Dacre to show the telegram to Dora, and not to let her there was a doubt as to its authenticity ; it was a respite for her, and would fill her mind with hopeful expectation. "For my own part," Dacre said, "I feel sure that the telegram did come from the colonel; and I should be sorry to hint otherwise. Your had much better wait for the lttier. As to being deceived by an imitation of the colonel's handwriting, it is quite out of the question." Maj. Lugard thougnt ao too; but he was none the less determined to accompany Mr Fletcher on his journey to Boulogne, and he took Ditcon with him as well. A man who could so easily identify the colonel was too valuable to be left behind. He had taken some rooms for his master —ths whole of a first and second floor—in Half-moon Street, at a rent which, though moderate for that locality, would haye paid for a subur. an villa aid a couple of horses in the stable. "Very nici apartments, sir," be said, "and a particularly comfortable badroom, with bath and everything, not many doors from Piccadilly." "Don't tantalize me with visions of a comfortable bedroom," the major said; "I feel as it I could sleep for twenty-four hours when I get a chance, bat I do not know when that will be. lam almist as thoroughly played out as Mr Dacre, and ha eeem3 utterly- wearied." "A nasty accident, iliac of his," Mr Fletcher observed, meditatively, "and a curiums one at the same time." "Why a curious one?" Lugard asked, as Ditton, having said all that was expected of him, fell"behind. "Because he escaped without a scratch or ari abrasion of the skin. Look at the mud and grit on the pavement and in the road, and bee if you think you could have been pitched headfirst out of a cab and get off without a bruise. It is not for me to disbelieve an .elderly gentleman's account of an accident, but that mark on his temple looks as much to me like a blow as anything I ever saw." "Why should he have told an untruth about it?" "That is j j jst what I like to know," Fletcher said; "but if he got that mark by falling out of a cab, it's a wonder to me. Of course, X may be wrong, but such a thing never happened to anybody else."

"There is no doubt that you are j wrong," said Lugard, "and Ido not like to hear you throw discredit on Mr Dacre's statement; he could have no object in deceiving us, and he is one of the most scrupulously truthful men I have met." Mr Fletcher accepted the rebuke with an apologetic nod. ''All right," he said to himself. "I had better have kept my own counsel, it seems, and I will in future ;we never know what harm a chance remark may do." They called at Scotland Yard, and saw the same inspector, who shook his head at thesuggestion of having St. Hilary detained. "We have no power to do that," he said; "bad as the case looks we are only acting on suspicion, and it would be a serious thing if we put the colunel under arrest for personating himself. But we can have him closoly watched, and put you in ?.omniunication with the French police, who will tell you were to find him. Where is the telegram you had?" "We left it behind so that it might be shown to Miss St. Hilarp, and a : lay any misgivings she may have." "You should have brought it with you," the insptctor aaid; "we cannot ret u-derstaudingly unless we see all thd i.'-wuTients that come into your Ijaiii. I t-nke Maj. Lugsrd's word that you did receive a telegra.n. Are

you going to Boulogne now?" "At once." "Very well; though it would SUlprise me very much if you got anything by it. Our men have been on j the watch for every train at , outlet on the coast; and if the j colonel crossed the Channel since yesterday, he must have WOril ; SQHiC thing that rendered him invisible. Still }OU will have the satisfaction of having trie;! for yourself, though I hardly see how you should succeed Where we have failed; it the colonel had gor.e across, we should have heard of it by this time," "There can be r.o doubt that he ' went to Dover," the major said. "There can be no doubt someone resembling him took the train for Dover, but what that someone looked like when he got out of the train at Dovf r, is quite a different thing. If there is anything in Mr Darlington's theory of p3rsonation, and I think there is, a railway car is just the place for a change of disguise. I wish you-every success, sir, but I am afraid you will have your trouble for nothing." Mr Fletcher dissented from the view when they wei'e outside. He told Lugard that the members of the regular force are always jealoua of private inquiry agents, and not infrequently did their best to balk them. But he felt confident in his own ability, and was sure that he could penetrate any disguise that might be assumed. When they were in the train, he took from Joseph Ditton a minute description of Col. St. Hilary, as he was dressed on leaving the hotel at Liverpool. It was as faithful as a photograph, but the agent was well j that even the portrait may easily be mistaken for the portriit of another. There was nothing in St. Hilary's height, build, dress, or countenance, to distinguish him from tne average English gentleman on his travels; his complexion was darkened by the Indian sun, but many were naturally as dark. His thoughtful eyes were large and clear, but these were not rare; and the fact that ne was becoming gray meant little in England, where scores of men, hardly past thirty, had begun to leave the traces of their youth behind them. "I cannot describe him any better," Ditton said, disappointed, when Mr Fletcher explained this to him, "but I should know him again anywhere; and so would you if you had seen him once. He is not a big man, but he i& what you might call a kingly one, slow and easy, dignified and graceful; and when he looks at you, you can tell that he is not an ordinary man." "You and I can understand that," Fletcher said, "but it is not so easy to convey the impression to others. If he were a few inches under or over the average height, we should find him easily enough; or if he had any physical peculiarity, such as a club foot, a limp, a cast in his eye, or a fiery-red head of hair, there would be no difficulty in tracing him." [to be continued.]