Was He the Man?

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10214, 17 April 1911, Page 2

Was He the Man?

OUR SERIAL.

BY F. L. DACRE, . oAvtVnr of "A Phantom of the Past," "Tronholme's Trust," "The Doctor's Secret," "A Loveless Marriage,"' "Sir John's Heiress," etc.

CHAPTER XIV.-Continued

"i think." Morel replied, "that ifiu-rcrakl has exercised some subtle influence, on Mr Morton-. We all i-hve the power, more or of landing others to our will, hut Fitzgerald'must possess it in n supreme degree-, it shows how dangerous a man V>e have to deal with; hut we carry) too manv guns for him. Yet we must J empbv them with discretion, and aim | straight. It is just as well to know in lime that one of our allies has deserted us. It would have been more serious if it had happened after we had joined action." "Yes," agreed Fenton, "it isn't illways easy to sort out one's enemies from one's friends. I suppose—l don't know Mr Morton—that he really does believe in this imposter. You don't think that he's been bought over —that, in fact, it is a conspiracy?" The question was addressed to me. Now to,know Morton was to be convinced of his veracity and uprightness, and I vehemently repudiated tho suggestion. "Morton a traitor!" I exclaimed. "It's clear that you don't know him. I'd stake my existence on his honour; he's as.straight as a dart. I am absolutely' suro that lie believes Fitzgerald to lie Bonvei'." "Which makes his oppo-ition all the i n'ore formidable,'" \v.as Fenton's re-i ply. "Well. Fitzgp/aid has gained'! one impaachable witness to swear that ho is Denver, -With time he will gain others; every .day that he is at liberty will add to our diflkjullie.s, and we must have him lagged as soon as may he. And another thing, Grey, let me strongly- advise you to keep out of his way: should he call, deny yourself to , him. We don't want to find you in the enemy's camp. If a cool-minded, clever lawyer has been deluded by this clever scoundrel, I think it not unlikely that the man may cast his spells on you, and the next thing will be that you will' bo swearing that he is your dear friend, Denver. Be advised of me, and don't let him have a chance at you." No one likes to have his commonsense called in question, and I felt nettled at Fenton's caution.

again so soon. Your visit is welltimed,, for Morel and Fenton arc here. Here's Burton," J continued, as 1 ushered Jiim into tho room occuppied by tho -others. He seemed to havo shaken off Ins depression, and greeted Fenton an 3 Morel cheerily.

CHAPTER XV

BI7RTON HAS NEWS. "I must apologise to Mr Grey /or : calling at this unseasonable hour; but my excuso is that I have received important news to-night. I won't detain you lcr.g.." ; "You've news of Major Denver, for i a fiver," .interrupted Fenton, just „n ■ time to spoil tho effect of Burton's ! communication. , "You are right," replied the detective, "or, at least, a r person calling himself by that name." "Yes," I exclaimed, "that's nearer the truth. Wo'shall not have to waft .much, longer for the impostor to be exposed.. A few days should settle it.'"H'rn! y?s," replied Burton. "But, with all due deference to your pe;- : sonal feelings, Mr Grey, I feel that f. ought to remind you that we have no , shred of actual proof to show that the man who has arrived in Loudon is an miposter." "iSo?" quietly interpolated Morel. "1 think we have." "Your news," Burton," I joined.in, "if it extends no further than the fact, of Fitzgerald's presence in London, is no news at all,, for 1 have seen him.

1 told him ail the circumstances, but said nothing about Morton's letter or r l&zgeraid s call at my rooms.

j *'uut my information carries us on. ! another ste,p" said Burton, "as Lhavu I located the man. Probably at the present moment he is asleep at the Great ivescern Hotel, wiiere ne was mterJ viewed a tew nouis ago by a friend or' mine on an evenhig paper, who gave me the particulars under a pledge not to maite them public until the paper came out to-morrow." ".but you can tell us," said .Kentun. "I see tne plot is thickening, fast, ami I want to get some dayliglit on. it if ilean." j "Of course I can tell you,, arl diut i is what 1 came here for."

"Much obliged," I said, "but I think | I'm able to take care of myself. I j hope I'm not so soft-headed as you seemed to think. I should just like to meet the scoundrel. I warrant he wouldn't delude me, even if his likeness to Denver is so close, as to deceive his mother," I wound up warmly. . "For all that," interjected > Morel mildly, "I think I wouldn't throw myself purposely in his way. There is wisdom in avoiding needless risks, and I think Mr Fenton's advice, is sound. In. Mr Morton Jjjrfczgerald has apparently gained a strong supporter; it is not only his own testimony, which in itself is a tower of strength, but he will."use every effort to collect further evidence in his client's favour, and every witness gained makes the gaining of others easier; one influences another, and thus the chain of evidence lengthens and strengthens. And now that we are on the subject, there- is something I feel that I ought to say to you, though I do so with some diffidence, as I am in a measure laying myself open to misconstruction. You may think me animated with professional jealousy, though, on my honour, nothing is farther from my mind, .but I have serious reasons for j thinking that we must not rely too! much on Burton." I

'"men go anead, for goodness jaue, ' I said, not; without a tremor in my voice, for 1 felt that now the was to begin in deadly eanest. .burton drew some sheets cf p.iper from au inside pocket, arrange I thorn, and began:

"These are a transcript >■}, rue nib's my Mend took during the interview. You see, the fact of Doner's death being announced Mmio mourns back in the papers made him return from Africa in the liesh,. an item of considerable interest to tie i üblie. My friend knows that I am engaged in a case in which Major Denver—as we must call him for thri present—is 'concerned, and hence he brought me the news. I need hardly say that this is all he knows. If he knew the rest ho would sell a huge edition of paper, and spoil the whole game, as far as we are concerned. The inforn:ation I have received amount* to this: .

"Burton!" Fenton and I called out in amazement, for we both had the ut- ' most confidence in him. "What' on earth do you mean? Have you heard anything against him?"

Before Morel could reply, Fenton added:

"I have known him for some time, and have always found him thoroughly straight. Is it his discretion or his integrity that you question?" ' "Neither," replied Morel. "Bat Burton is not quite him?elf. There is something on his mind that troubles him: It was particularly noticeable this morning during our journey to Southampton. He was silent and abstracted during the whole day, and when I looked at him, his face \yas that of a man trying to brace himself to face something that he shrank from. Now, a man in that condition, even with the Lest intentions, is incapable of doing justice to either his judgment or his energy in a matter such as wo have in hand. That's all I have to say about it." ,

''Major Denver, when question as to the notico of his death, answered t*. iho fact that there existed another man who bore such an extraordinary resemblance to himself that he liaa been able to assume bis personally. with such success that endless complications had arisen—complications which he. bad now returned to England to uniavel, if he could. "What they wero he absolutely declined to state.

"I myself noticed something of what you say," I said; " that he was not in his usual form. He seemed preoccupied." "He is a --ry good fellow," rejoined Morel. "Doubtless, whatever his worry is, it will soon pass, and he will be his old self again. Fortunately matters seem so near a climax, that should he temporarily break down, .it will not affect the issue." "I wonder whether it's money?" suggested Fetnon. . • (( "Whatever it may be," said More", "I think I would say nothing about it for a day or two ; until, in fact, we have got Fitzgerald under lock and key. We should treat him as though we observed nothing unusual in him," At that moment there was a kioc'' on tho outer door, and on opening "t, I found there the man we had bee'v discussing. A little taken aback at the unexpected sight of him. and with a half-guilty feeling that I had something to mako up to him, I greeted him with extra cordiality. "Ah. just the man,"'l said, as I shook hands, "delighted to see -.mt

"With regard to himself, he would be implicit enough, for he thought the publicity would do no harm; but he would say nothing that concerned his counterpart, beyond the iact tliat ho had been murderously attacked by him in New York, and both had been wounded in the struggle, himself seriously; that he had gone to Madeira to recuperate, and completely recovered from his injuries, and had then gone to Africa to hunt big game. After his arrival at the Cape, being for some time beyond the reach of news, lie had learned that his double had reached England in a dying state, had kept up his imposture to the last, and had actually died in his,—the speaker's—house, as himself, after summon ing his oldest friend to his bedside. That is the gist of my information, and you will see the details in the evening paper to-morrow." (To be ConlinuedV