THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3147, 26 March 1909, Page 2

THE COLONEL'S ENEMY.

( By WINTHROP B. HARLAND. $ / Author of "Lady Elgin's Secret," "A Harvest of / C Shame," " The Elder Son," " Lord "I Ashton's Heir," Etc. /

CHAPTER XXll.—Continued. "We must play our last card now," Lugprd said, when they were once more in the train on the English side of the Channel. "As soon as we reach London we will offer the reward —begin with one thousand pounds, ■ and advertise in all the leading papers." Mr Fletcher syid he would have it done. Ho did not offer any suggestions of his own, lior trouble the major with any professional anecdotes to the credit of his ovyn professional sagacity. He had formed one theory, and he clung to it with scrupulous pertinacity, but as it was not likely to lind favour in Lugard's eyes, lis did not mention it. His theory was vague and almost groundless; ha was half atraid of it himself, but it haunted him. He took a sheet of paper and an envelope from his pocket —'he never travelled without a supply of stationery, stamps and telegraph blanks arid he wrote a single word, a name, then folded the paper, and putting it under the elastic band of his pocketbook, offered it to the major. "Would you mind putting your private mark on that, sir?" he said. "I do not mind; but why should I?" "Because, when the case is over, I want you to see whether I was right or not. Put your mark on the j envelope as well, please, and I will post it ro any address you like, to be left until.called for: not to be opened, mind, till the case is over." Lugard wrote a Fanscrin word in hieroglyphs, knowing that it could not be imitated or tamered with. "Address it to me," he said, "care of the secretary of my ciub. Put your own mark on it, and it will be kepc intact till 'you have it back again. I suppose it contains the name of some of whom you have a suspicion?" "That is right, sir—only a guess, of course. It anyone else had come to me and suggested it, I should . "not have had patience to listen to him. I cari see no rea.-.on for it; ami if I am right, unless the motiva is confessed, it will always be a mystery to me; but there is my guess, and I say no more." "I havu made too many guesses over it myself," the major said, "to trouble about yours. 1 have been nearly driven mad by the conjectures that have forced themselves upon me, each one in co;.fli''t with the other; and i.ow I am y.cii.g to lake oie die at a time, and lollow it sieamly, for if the reward does not some information the mystery shall be unravelled by other means." The train'drew into the London terminus, and the major alighted lirst, leaving Flttcher to gather up the rugs and various impedimenta be bad brougli for the journey. As he walktd slowly along the platform ha saw a passenger leave a carriage at the other end, and he was almost sure it was Joseph Ditton; but the man gave up his licket, and went past the barrier without taking the slightest notice of him.

CHAPTER XXIV. THE FATAL TRUTH. When the major returned for the second timo, as he had gone, alone, Dora bore iur disappointment with mote u-r; itude than i;e expected; and he k / j vv that iie had to thank Cousin MarjVor it Sho had prepared the girl lor huch a contingency, ;<nd Air i;::cro had lent some useful aid. The milliona re of Canon Street rvas better, though he recovered slowly, and nf ave Mis 3 Walton a cordial welcome. He was very attentive when Dora told birn how t Lugard had 1 uik: his relation in the same house Leonard. "Ic seams like fate," he said, "though it is nothing more than a coincidence; and since it brings a charming companion to you, and a gentle nurse to me, I ought to be very g!aJ anil grateful, a; I am. Yes," i\"! added after a a'-st, "I am both gl. : and grateful. «nd 1 wish t I could revvard you both as I should like." Mies? Walton smiled the idea of being rewarded for some slight attention shown to a ru k mar:. She had spent many an hour, many a day and night by the bedside of a suffering chijd or woman, in or.e wretched room, where the grate was empty and the cupboard bare of food, till Jboth were replenished out of slender earnings. Where help was needed Divea and Lazaius were alike to her. Mr Dacre shook his head when he heard that the Major had gone to Antwerp immediately after receiving St. Hilary's letter. He said it was an injudicious step, and he was sure the colonel would resent it. "Itou might see by the tone of his letter, even if you did not know by his whole character, that he is a man that doesn't like the slightest interference with his actions," he said, "and you may be fiure that if he had wanted the major he would have sent for him " "But it was my fault, pupa, if it was a fault," Dora said. "I begged A3aj. Lugard to go." "it was a fault," her guardian said, in gentle reproach. "Do you noc ii£f, my darling, that the quest ok w-'.ich your father is engaged is one that- r-.qnires secrecy above nil thinss? And if every step he takes is followed, and enquiries are made for him, the man he is in search of is put upon his guard. If ' the colonel were Je.it alone he would tire of the search, back of his own accord." "• u "-ink fo?" M's*. Walton 'f 'vir-ih,'' f-'cre ■ ai, wit"> n !■;large smile, "that 1 were assure

of forgiveness for my many sins ss

ofl ;wn that; and it is such i'nv the major to think of finding him, after such a lapse of time. The letter was posted yesterday. Lugard cannot arrive, Ii 11 to-morrow, an interval of at least forty-eight hours; and he is on the track of a man who allows himself no rest, but follows a fugitive as a hunter follows a tiger." It did seem unreasonable when set before her in this way, and Dora wa3 much surprised when Luagrd returned alone. She t<:ld him what Mr Diicre had said, and whatever trie soldier may fnve thought, he praised the wisdom of hel- guardian's remarks. "Dora will be satsified now," he said, "even if we hear nothing of St. Hilary for a month or so; and by that time we shall surely have learned all there is to know; and if she does not see the newspapers or the reward bills, all may yet be well." "Leave that to me," Miss Walton baid; "she has asked me to stay with her, and I will for a, time. She does not go out much, or see many visitors, and I can manage to warn them. As for the servants, there is only her own maid to deal with, and Lennox is discretion itself." "There is Aunt Hannah?" "Shs never touches a secular news- t paper—to her it is an abomination and an unclean thing; and the doings of the everyday w> rid are not recorded in the religious journals that come to her by mail every week." There was no danger here, the major thought, and yet that was the very source from which Dora derived the fateful .information, if poor Aunt Hannan had been taken into their confidence, she might have been saft-ly tru&trd. but they had not warned her, and she felt sure that Dora knew wnat.was already public property. One of her religious journals devoted a whole page to a very useful and entertaining miscellany, and in this the advertisment, on account of its simplicity, had been copied i.ito a paragraph by itself, with the addition of an editorial rote. "It seems" —the editor had written—"that in the extraordinary disappearance of Col. St. Hilary we have to deal with another of those startling mysteries that sometimes baffle all the resoures of our boasted t civilisation. Here we have a distinguished military officer, with a brilliant career and a world-wide, reputation, decoyed away in broad daylight from a well-known hotel in the centre of the principal thoroughfare . in Liverpool; he had only arrived on the previous night in the Dido from Bombay, and since he went cut with the stra" ge man who called upon him he has not been heard of. That his friends have serious appr< tensions as to his safety is shown by the offer of such a large reward as one thousand pounds for any information concerning him." [to be continued.] Mr A. War er, Stafford, N.Z , writes "xY lew weeks ago while working in a store at Utiku I had a severe attack of colic and diarrhoea. As I was steadily growing worse I decided to try Chamberlain's Colic, Cnolcra and Diarrhoea Remedy, and I was surprised to lind that it only took a few (io-i-s to enme. Since then I have never lot an opportunity to n coinniPntl it to any of my friends suffering from the same comi.l,nut For L nle by all chemists and store. k fj't'i's.