PAOLINA. OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10150, 28 January 1911, Page 2

PAOLINA. OR THE MILLIONAIRE'S PLOT.

(OUR SER!AL«>

Sy MABU'OCA WEIR. Author or -hyaayne's Temptation," "A Chase Roum'; tfta Worl:!,' etc.

CHAPTER XV. —Continued. "What a childish notion all this is for a lawyer and a man of sense," exclaimed Punderson impatiently. "Well, it's my fancy, anyway," returned Tripp dogmatically. "It just pleases me, and I will have it so. By the way, Bombastes observed you signalling me under the table —it was not necessary to kick quite so hard — he observed it, and suspected something; I saw, him scowl and show his tigerish teeth." "He's a suspicious animal; I'm aware fef that;" 1 i-eplied Puhderson. "And notwithstanding his windy way of talking, he is capable of being dangerous. Besides, he is both secretive and obstinate, and he is determined not to rest on your investigations into the fate of the Huntingdons. His assent to our going down there to get up the case was insincere. He's bound to go himself."

"That's what I am afraid of." "And Mrs Cranch will tell him a different story frpm the one you undertook to cram hi in with, hey?', : "She won't tell him any story at all. Ho won't find any Mrs Cranch down there." . "What, is the lady a myth?" "No, there's such a person. lie knows that. All the first part of the story as lie told it, up to the Sailing of llio Huntingdon party, including Mrs Cranch, from Panama to San Francisco, is perfectly straight. He gave irie the clue. And then as' hp 1 wanted proof that the girl was dead, 1 1 got-it up. to accommodate him, and earn a fee for myself." .:-"So v you didn't find Mrs Cranch in Santa Cruz County?" "I neyer went down there at; all. I took a hundred dollars of his inoney for travelling expenses, and bucked it off the same night; the royal beast, of Bengal treating me with his accustomed cruelty. Then I lay concealed in town for a week, after whieh I presented myself to the count—l mean Bombastes —with the neat little romance which you heard me rehearse so glibly twenty minutes ago." "Do you know, Punderson," said Tripp, "that I wouldn't like to stand in your shoes? If the Italian should find out the way you've played him, he'd do you a serious mischief. If there's anything in physiognomy, the man's as cruel as a hyena, and as cunning as a fox. I'm afraid you've got yourself into a scrape." "I'm beginning to think I made' a slight mistake. I thought from his way of talking that he was a. fool, whom I would have no trouble in humbugging to the end of the chapter. I also thought that lie had any quantity of money, andthat he would bleed easily. I'm inclined to think now that the means at his command arc modci'ate,; and it's quite certain that he has become as stingy as old Sj^iretti —the other Italian—in disbursing them. But about this Santa Cruz business, what would you ad

/)r we shall get into a mass of confusion. First, your scrape with Bombastes —how to get out of that. Wo will come to the other scrape afterward." "I've given you the situation,' 1 returned Punderson, "what do you suggest?" ' "One tiling I am certain of—Bombastes will slip-.down to Santa Cruz quietly, and make some observations for himself." " "If hedoes," *aid Punderson, with deep fervour, "I hope the stage may ■go over the ravine Charley's and never stop* until* it strikes the' Los Gatos,..five hundrecVor more feet below." "Not knowing' who else besides our friend Bombastes—for whom I profess no lov<„ —may be in the stage, I will not say amen to that prayer. But to come to the point. There are but two things to choose between. You must either break entirely with the Italian, or procure some /woman to .personate Mrs Cranch. The first would, I think, be da nge roil a. Tli e second would be trtniblesome and expensive*." Punderson. pondered moodily for a .few moments. "If I could get some old woman," lie said,, "to personate Mrs Cranch, if it*Vas a matter of absolute {necessity. But 1 .should have to tako.her down to Santa Cruz and establish-, her on some ranch in. the country, and, as you say, ii: would involve a ch»al' of trouble and expense. -I won't undertake it - IMI brave; tlie' Italian first.. What can be do. after, ail, except to bluster and denounce me? ' If he goes farther, -arid seeks? a difficulty, let him look.tb/hiniself. , .'I can be dangerous,. if I am* cornered," The 1h wycr' did riot se'em 'to tliinfc it incumbent upon' him to reply, and Punderson proceeded: "In the plot for the abduction of the girl-—"

vise me?" "Hum, let me .see. You manufactured the, story, about the death of jhe girl out of whole cloth, you say?" "Yes, the fact is, the girl's liyitig,and in this city, domiciled with Mrs Crancli, who never was, so far as I | know, in Santa Cruz County in !ier life." "And her estate in the lovely valley ; her orange groves, etc." "All correct,' only the location is Sonoma instead of Santa Cruz. I wanted to throw Bombastes off the scent, for, my plan was to furnish him with the proof he wanted of the girl's death; to furnish another party with proof of her being alive, and of her identity, and to aid a third party— Monte Christo—in carrying, but certain designs he entertained in reference to her. You see, my original plan of the campaign was comprehensive. I meant to draw liberally from the resources of all three. But as two gave signs of being pretty nearly depleted, or what is the same thing, of being unwilling to come down, I have concluded to fall back on the third. And now I have been so very unlucky as to have recently made a false move with reference to him. It was a bold move, but it didn't work at all. It ; showed lots of enterprise, but not a grain of sense. If it hadn't been that I'd been drinking too much for a week or two past, I never should have been fool enough to have ventured on it."' ' "One tiling at a time," said Tripp,

"Do you mean Zenobia inter-1 rupted Trippi - '' . "Well, in the pjlo.Cfor kidnapping Zenobia, Chen, if it suits you better, I had no'direct comuniCation with the - principal —that, is, with, Monte Christo. My. services were called into requisition by. his agent, who assumed to be the principal, but, of course, I knew better. So I set my wits to work, and by putting this and, that together, I managed to discover that he was acting for Miles Grandin. —-Monte Christo, I mean." "" "•Sever mind," said the lawyer, "I didn't catch the name; but don't repeat it. You found that the person who employed you was a, tool of Monte Cliristo. Well, proceed." "Having made this discovery, instead of keeping quiet about the -mat ter, and biding my time to use the /secret to best advantage, I-jvqs fool enough to blurt out prematurely. I did worse than that—l had the folly to go to Monte Christo, when'l- was somewhat the worse for drink, and endeavour to put myself into direct communication with him," i "Ah, that was bad," remarked the lawyer,' shaking his head disapprovi ingly, " and what was the result?" ; "Just wh&t I might' have expected., He ignored the whole busmess, and: snubbed arid repudiated me from" the word go, and finally turned me out." "AH of which was perfectly;, correct," observed Tripp. "He would have been a poor sort of conspirator had he acted otherwise." "And now," resumed Punderson, "here is what puzzles me —what rather alarms me: Though I know, perfectly well that Monte Christo is, the principal in the business, and that—" "Call him Jones," interrupted the

lawyer. • "Why, that's his real name," exclaimed Putiderson, rather surprised. "Never mind," returned Tripp, "it is not a name that is particularly available for the purposes of identification. I won't object to your calling the agent Jones, even if its his real name. Go on." , , i (To Be Continued.)