THE BLACK PILGRIM

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20729, 13 February 1939, Page 11

THE BLACK PILGRIM

(7) I The Black Pilgrim is a strange adventurer, who puzzles both Scotland Yard and many criminals. He beats crooked people at their own game, preparing the stage for their downfall, and then communicating particulars to Scotland Yard, leaving it to the latter officials to make effective arrests. Make the acquaintance of the mysterious Black Pilgrim, and watch him carry out his daring and amazing plans, in a new adventure— STORY Vll.—Continued. Satisfied with the money which had been poured into his lap, the heat of the day made him decide to venture again to the sea. He spent a few hours at his flat, when, having packed his baggage, he obtained a taxi and, scared of again visiting the I South coast, took the next train out of Liverpool Street for Great Yarmouth. He arrived at Yarmouth during the early evening and obtained a room in a comfortable hotel overlooking the sea. For the next few days he made the most of his holiday, bathing and enjoying the local amenities. It was while he was bathing one morning that the enterprising stranger paid a visit to his cabin, and began to make a swift search of the clothes belonging to the debonair Maurice. He found the key of Maurice's safe-de-posit among others upon a bunch and, after substituting one for it, slid stealthily from the cabin. Maurice, unoonscious of his loss, returned to dress a short time later, and continued his holiday in perfect peace of mind. But the stranger had immediately left for the station and the train for London, after giving certain instructions to the man who accompanied him. Early the next morning he spent some time with a make-up box before his mirror, and when he had finished the face of Maurice de Wyse peered back at him. Satisfied, the stranger slipped on a loose raincoat, for a slight rain had begun to fall, and shortly after he presented himself at the safedeposit, which held the nest-egg of Maurice de Wyse. He carried an apparently heavy black tin box, and after the formalities had been complied with, he bore the black tin box down to the vault. Safe from observation he drew from the black box a leather dispatch case and put the empty black box in the safe. Into the leather case he packed the wad of notes from the safe, Liie fake passport, and much of the jewellery. Then, closing the safe, he made his way from the vaults. Once clear of the building he took great care to be sure that be had not been followed, and boarding a taxi, was driven speedily to the end of Oueen s Gardens, where he alighted. He strolled along to one of the fiats in the select locality, and entered, after a cautious glance behind him. Having secreted the leather case in a secure place, he left the fiat and, after walking some distance, he entered a public telephone kiosk. He put through a long distance call to a town in the Midlands, and the lady to whom he spoke proved more than agreeable to his suggestion. He met her the following morning at the railway station, and she grew quite excited as she gazed at the photograph which be showed her. Having seen the lady to her hotel, the stranger relumed to Mis flat, and on the way hr dispatched a telegram to Great Yarmouth. it was a few hours later I hat a burly looking man approached Hie girl desk ei.M-k at ;li" in- m \vi.\<aur.ee de Wyse \\a> si.qq.mg in gi-«-..l Yarinouth. Hi, ai-p<- :imiii'p looked lorihe showed imr. eom-inm d * with* {lie j questions which he asked. obviously led to one conclusion. ; Now the \er\ nmdrm young clerk [had already a victim iu Maurices i persuasive manner. Accordingly, j when lie returned to the hotel, the ( girl quickly recounted all that the i burly man had *aid and done. Maurice laughed, but lie packed his bag at once, and, stealing from the | hotel by a rear exit, left on one of ! the last trains for London, but the telephone cal), which the burly man made after watching the train leave, was quicker. The stranger who occupied the flat in Queen's Gardens chuckled as he received the message, and promptly acted upon the news which he had received. He telephoned to the hotel where the lady whom he had met at the railway station was staying. The instructions which he issued were clear and to the point, and the lady expressed her approval of them. Meanwhile the debonair Maurice de Wyse was seated in a restaurant car on the London Express, congratulating Himself on the clever manner in which lie hud once again dodged the attentions of the interfering police force, lie ate a l'ew sandwiches and, alter finishing his drink, returned to his compartment, where he sat smoking a cigar until the train wriggled into me terminus. lie ootamed a taxi there, and was driven to a point near his fiat, reuectrng that even if he had been forced to lose paid of ins hoiiuay, he had unuouoieuiy saved money m Lie process, lor in his liaate to leave Lie uoici qmeLj, nc nail um.tted tire lie waned a muuiom aiter the taxi fiad uiAvcii uwaj auu Lieu wuikea ui ina Hat, aanaucu mat llu iiau Uui, UcCli iuiluWeU. liicu uy the journey, he unpacked ina Dag, anu waa auon aioepmg Uie Uinluumcu aiecp ui Lie iignuioUS. inc luiiuvwiig muru.qi me manager oi Lie aale-uopoan, wmeii uouacu Lae acciei, lioaru oi .Uaimce ue Wjau, neoaaie a mucii agnaum man wnon a a±m.eiul iookiiig woman, accompanied L>\ a Uui'ccl uUi iiaid laccii uian, waa sfiovNU into ilia office. The man produced a card, and in several short sentences staled a lew facts which reduced the rather pomp- 1 ous manager to a perspiring wreck. | "if yuu say that it nas got to fie ; done,” said Lie manager, at laal, "tnen I'll do it, but it is your respon- I sibilily. It must be understood that j 1 agree with this very irregular ar- j rangemeut under compulsion." i fiat's all right. " anwered the hard ! faced man. "Nothing will happen to .’•ou, uniess you dak for Irouoie. Now you understand nearly what is required: i don f want any mistake; tins gentleman's about as slipper* as

By George Stanley

A story of a modern Robin Hood.

I “1 will do everything- you wish,'* rej plied the manager. "There is a place j where you can observe without being | seen." "Let's come and see it!” jerked the man. Escorted by the manager, he and the lady proceeded into an adjoining room, and here, after peering over the frosted glass, he expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements. “That's all right,'" he said. "Now, if you’ll ’phone him, we can get the job over.” "Certainly! certainly!” replied the manager. He led the way back to the office and, under the watchful eye of the hard faced man, proceeded to make the required telephone call. “Is that Mr de Wyse?” he asked, as a voice came on the wire. “It is? Good! Er—<Mr de Wyse, could you manage to call round this morning and —who is this This is the manager of the Kasteel-Krozen Safe-Deposit Company. I should like you to call round here if you could. We have had j a little trouble here, and would like you Ito come and examine the contents of | your safe at once. I can’t say more over the wire.” He replaced the received at the motioned command of the man beside •him, abruptly terminating the announcements from Maurice de Wyse, of what was going to happen if the I contents of his safe had been stolen. “He’s on his way,” stated the manager. “He sounds very excited, too. I hope that your information proves correct, for if it isn't there's going to he a lot of trouble.” “I’ll take care of the trouble,” answered the hard faced man. "You kindly look after your end of the business. If this proves correct, it might be a good thing if we had a look at some more of these safe-deposits of yours! We'd better get ready. Now—this is what I want to do. * When he comes in to see you, if he proves to be the man we're after—and there doesn't seem much doubt about it—we shall follow you down to the vaults. When he opens the door 1 want to be close at band so that I can see the interior before he shuts its up again." They discussed the scheme for a few minutes until the details were satisfactorily arranged. Then the manager retired to his office, while the hard faced man and the lady retreated to their point of cover. Here, from their place of concealment, they witnessed (lie arrival of a \ very excited man who, from the sig- i nal which the manager passed back to them, they knew was Maurice de Wyse. It. did not need any signal lor the spiteful looking woman to be satisfied. The one look which she obtained of the full faeed-view of that gentleman proved sufficient. She pursed her thin lips into a tight line, which boded ill for someone, as she turned to her companion. "That's the man!” she snapped. "The trickster!” “Good!’’ replied her companion. "That should be more than enough, even if the rest of the things I hope J to get my hands on don’t prove to be i there.” The two watched as the manager escorted Maurice de Wyse from iiis office and proceeded to the passage leading to the vaults below. Then j they hurried from their cover and followed, and as they followed 11 j*• woman let fall over her face the heavy veil which she wore. They gained the vaults to hear a discussion ensuing between Maurice j I and the manager. | "My key won't open H!” snarled ! Maurice. "Someone’s been at it!" "Let me try mine,” said the man- | ager. but neither noticed that the key | which Maurice carried was not the proper key at all. The manager inserted his key, and after a moment’s manipulation, swung back the door, and as he did so a yelp of rage sprang from Maurice de Wyse. "What's this!” he cried, a? he saw the black tin box which occupied most of the safe. He jerked the box from the safe to the floor with a crash and, forgetful of the manager's presence, snatched out the only two packages which the safe contained. Unwrapping the tissue paper with fumbling fingers, he exposed the contents of one of the parcels, and had rammed the jewellery of which they consisted into his pocket, when someone tapped him upon the shoulder. He swung round with an oath to stare into the eyes of the hard-faced man. “Maurice de Wyse,” said the man, ominously, "I am Sergeant Tott of Byne Street. I want you for being in the possession of stolen jewellery. There will be other charges. Steady—don’t try to get rough with me!” “This jewellery was given to me by a lady,” began Maurice, and as he spoke the lady, who had accompanied the sergeant, flung up her veil. “You're a liar!” she cried. “You stole that jewellery from rne and obtained five thousand pounds as well by false pretences!” As Maurice glared into her face, he knew' that all hope of escape was vain. But worse was to come. For as Sergeant Tott took the second package from Maurice's unresisting hand and unwrapped the tissue paper, he chuckled. “I suppose these were given to you as well?’’ he asked. “These are the Fontine diamonds! What's in this tin box? More of the stuff that you’ve been given, eh?” He jerked back the lid of the box and '* opened with a clang. But the interior, save foi a square of white cardboard, proved empty. Maurice lead the note printed upon the card over the sergeant s shoulder, and cursed in amazement. For the wording ran : EMILY OF BOURNEMOUTH BEGS TO ACKNOWLEDGE '/HE RECEIPT OF £2O PLUS INTEREST. The matter gave him food for thought, and many a night during the next few years as he sat in his little cell Maurice tried to puzzle out how Emily Page, desk clerk of the Splen- j dira Hotel at Bournemouth, harl •robbed him of his hard-earned sav- ! inss. He had still failed lo arrive at , a solution when he left the prison seven years later. Another Black Pilgrim Episode on Monday. 'Another Episode To-morrow.) '