Show k N T UA mom L 1 F r BY SAX LAUGH AU 0 ks ROHMER COPYRIGHT by and SERVICE CHAPTER I 1 strood 0 D B BY y then elleen eileen and ga vj t take ak e g great r eat care of yourself ive probably missed the train and everything but I 1 dont give a hoot boot be sure to write from marseilles and cable when you get gei in and dont forget im coming out in march the girl clung desperately to her brother her soft arms locked about him matt kearney could feel that she was trembling and 1 the matter with kid slater te rhe he asked squeezing her kid avd sisters stera Sl miserable 1 because you dont want to go b back ack no but because somehow matt dear she whispered very close to hla his ear ia feel frightened about this journey dont be wad road with me I 1 know its silly and vought I 1 ought to be used to traveling by now but ive got a wobbly funny feeling kearney looked down at chetan the tangled curls nestling upon bis shoulder and in the lichti shining out from the cozy stafe stateroom roarn they glea gleamed and shimmered like burnished bronze he hugged her affectionately and told 1 himself that a chill suddenly experienced and resembling cold water trickling down hla his spine was due physically to the clammy quality of the night and mentally to the girls bover overwrought condition kid dear he said and stroked her hair play fair seeing little girls ot oft is bad enough anyway iny way without giving a fellow the breeze up rm im sorry matt it was utterly big pig oame of me no only little pig he said playfully 1 I only wish I 1 were coming with you i it fair and I 1 have said lt it its just this beasa ly fog and having to let you gs go ashore inet in it give me a kiss blatt and add well go and hunt jack mattras although I 1 really dont know ho bow youre going to get home i wisps of mist floated under 14 lights not another soul was in sight on that deck but there was waa activity anthe on the deck below and a tremendous clamor on the dockside the it AL S wallaroo was going out in the morning sixteen hours late thanks to one of those fogs london special which sometimes hold up thames traffic tor for whole days one last lingering glance kear hear ney cey cast into the cozy stateroom which elleen eileen was to occupy to colombo ile be would cheerfully have resigned six sir months pay to be going too the wardrobe trunk which he be had bad la belled himself a green hat on the rack above the bed a camera hung on the back of a chair a dressl incase open anbe on the table the box of a hundred cigarettes which dawson halg haig had brought down to the steamer that morning lay on the turned back bach coverlet and a pile of magazines on top of an unopened cabin trunk three novels which matt blatt had bad brought for elleen eileen in the rack beside bebide the green hat kh ah belil he sighed be a comfortable little pig winter the purser Is a star itar turn youre at hla his table and hell bell see that every things right jack rattray is anold an old pat pal so that you wont lack company 1 ai I lack company said elleen eileen archly her mood chhn changed ged and she ehe smiled mischievously but kear Ke ari ney welcomed the change and ton little devill devil S he be said and squeezed her hard Ill dont forget theres a spy aboard 1 I might buy him overt over said elleen eileen til ill tell billy haig I 1 oh dont please do thail chaft elleen eileen exclaimed in n mock horror he might never run out 16 to colombo to have a cup of tea with me its as he promised I 1 but really her heart was very sad because she expect ever to see dawson halg haig again she made a charming figure in the light streaming from the cabin door elm simply ply dressed though she khe was in a jumper and tweed skirt and matt kearney felt affectionately proud of his dainty sister come on said he lets go and dig old rattray out I 1 must munt positively beat it IL I ive begot got at least a quarter of an hours bours walk through b nod and falling failing divine luck a long ong voyage by motor bus jack rattray chief officer of the wallaroo was elc hanging exchanging a few pleasantries pleasant ries with the tha boas stevedore by the hatch of number three hold but he broke off this not too parliamentary debate when the charming passenger appeared b bej e 4 le P him watt kearney Kc arney what about a final asked rat tray I 1 no final for me kearney replied ile he grasped Kat Hat trays handt hand goodnight and nil all the best I 1 I 1 know look after her rattray tall 0 leisurely surely taciturn smiled his bis ilam smile sure thing do bol I 1 said he youre mocking met inel elleen eileen cried and punched the speaker forcibly th in the ribs 1 I dont have an accent like that I 1 speak better eng lish than you do any anyway 1 you roil speak more english rat tray drawled provokingly very dig big pig said elleen eileen hut but kearney left tho the ship in I 1 n a happier mood and experienced no return of that unpleasant chill elleen was waa in good company and the voyage would pass pas s like three days ile he picked his bis way through litter on the dockside just under an are arc N I 1 had some him or had he it he paused turned and looked back jack hartray ind and elleen eileen wore were standing on the deck bythe by the gangway he waved his hat and shouted goodby good by until march and good luck I 1 goodby good by matt came the girls voice anaf and 11 cheera ho old bid boy that thai was rattray Hat tray the fascinating activity of those docks claimed kearney here east meets west produce of the spice islands tea of ceylon the timbers of burma Buria jostle ironmongery irom from birmingham lie ile cheek check and jowl with chemical products of silver town at night espe especially dally under floodlights flood lights amid river noises and the hoarse voices of workers the mystery of the port part of london type of a vast and 1 ev ever er turning wheel of empire touched tho the poetry which was part of him ile he gave up his card to the policeman on duty and ten paces beyond lookingback looking back could see rn merely re a dim blur marking the site of the box which that iffat official occupied it if this d n fog continues he reflected my prospects are indifferent he stood therel for a moment looking about him and falling failing to notice a man who ten paces away seemed to be watching the dock gates a tallish man wearing a white raincoat collar turned up and a soft brown hat with the brim pulled down but the ot other herman man had seen kearney and the sight of kearney had bad set him dreaming colombo a year kear before A year I 1 it seemed only like a week tho tha mist dispersed before the eyes of at the dreamer by the gates ile he saw mount la vinla hotel and a petite slender blender girl in a blue frock crossing the deser deserted led mahogany dance floor she had been a sort eort of revelation opening his eyes to all that had bad been lackl lacking ng me he was wai among the stars again could see the winking lighthouse callously stabbing the tropical night hear bear the plaintive tremolo of a tamil love chant floating up from the village prom from these haunting memories he was abruptly jerked back to reality ile he withdrew into shadow A man was coming out of the gates so bo muffled up in a heavy fur collared coat that his features were indistinguishable tills this man turned sharply lefta passed kearney and was swallowed up in the fog and as he vanished something nn instinct perhaps or was wag it a faint odor suggestive of musk suddenly denly brought kearney an unaccountable return of that sensation as though cold water trickled down his spine lie ile stared into the toy fog had some one passed him or had he imagined it lie ile hated this sensational ionas as of an indefinable dread which twice now had oppressed him A hand rested on his shoulder kearney twisted about with a cry the man in the white raincoat stood just behind him and stock still peering into the others face good lord I 1 kearney exclaimed joyfully its dawson hasgill elleen eileen watched from the rall rail until fog hanging over the dockside swallowed up matts figi figure fre she turned and looked at Jack Jackl Rattray lattra seeing her expression Wha verB the matter elleen eileen said he be soh s oh i I 1 dont know jack I 1 shere she replied she was angry with herself im m behaving like a perfect little idiot to tonight 11 I 1 g ht A and nd it f y you ou ask roe ne why I 1 cantwell cant tell you its just jim jams except that I 1 think it began with a horrible looking man wearing a fur collared overcoat I 1 oh obi I 1 said rattray conscious that duty called him but held against his bis will by the girls gails unaccountable mood when did you see this furry bird andaas and was it hi his collar or his overcoat you like his face I 1 he looked into info the open door of my stateroom wl while 11 10 matt blatt was up in your cabin 1 I saw his reflection in my hand band mirror when I 1 turned he there do you mean he was actually in the room mom fur collar and all no foolish idiot 1 lie was standing lust just in the doorway and he was smiling the most horrible smile imaginable t an englishman oh no he I 1 A chinaman A ChI chinaman in a fur air coati no wonder you were shaken up I 1 there was a queer musky smell too have Hav eyou you s seen en him since yes I 1 saw him afterwards on the dockside looking up at me 1 I think that settles it said jack rattray reassuringly there ws wa it a bunch of stuff shipped bya by a chinese agency down limehouse way for a firm in sydney some d r n silly mistake hauling it out now a h 1 ofa of a job from number three hold this oriental bird was waa probably the half wit re its given me more trouble than the specie the specie I 1 yes teg were a spanish galleon this trip 1 I rattray smiled his slow smile minted gold from the backof bank of england consigned to the commonwealth bank of australla australia look its just coming aboard two millions I 1 well I 1 must slip off now rushed this little lot aboard us at the last moment and ive to find a safe home for it tike take my up tip turn in with a book and it if you like ill hayea hare a nightcap sent along in about half an hour leave it t to me youre afkind a kind pig said elleen eilpen and squeezed his bla arm affection affectionately s she had known jack rattray 17 for three thred years he had introduced her to dawson halg haig la id colombo only a year ye arago lago I 1 As he went off with his bis slow long strides she turned and entered her cabin looking at tny books on the rack and pulling a wry face she contemplated tem plated unpacking yet to be done she shea had bad been on board elnko noon and knew she was desperately lazy dut but then dawson halg haig had stayed to lunch when it was announced that the ship salland sall sail and matt mam the good angel had clung on to the last possible minute inin 4 11 abb oh W bother therl I 1 she said she wax was tired but excited alei mental condition puzzled her this kasnot was not the first time she had tray aled alone she was used to the sea and had taken her maiden voyage at the ago age of twelve the memory of that strange lemon yellow face glimpsed between upraised gaps flaps of an astrakhan collar and the pulled down dow n brim of a soft black hat haunted her ridiculously of course the man was mas some chinese shipping agent the apparent evil of hta his smile might have hare been no more than a distorted reflection la in the mirror she wondered if dawson claig would write queer that odor like musk it seemed to hang about yes she would turn in 14 an and dread read 0 01 j you see kearney said detec lye inspector damaon haig staring ingup up at an old print which velch decorated th ebar lallY my hands bands are tied its because ive always made a point of finding the loop holes in regulations that ive got its as far as I 1 have 10 the bar was was sparsely populated two firemen amiably drunk lolled in a torner lerner A solitary seedy look ing drinker sat bat against the wall smoking his pipe and taking sips alps from a tankard A shirt sleeved barman mado made up the company kearney smiled at the speaker he regarded william dawson haig as one of the most remarkable men in london a man destined to win an international reputation haig aig had been at Stony hurst with rear near ney kearney now united states consul at colombo at that time having been stationed in liverpool catastrophe came just as a haig went up to io oxford endowed by his father with a load of debts and a posthumous V 0 chehad enlisted in the metropolitan police force lie ile was today the youngest detective inspector in the criminal investigation department with a great future ass assured dred ile iio had pleasantly irregular features and its his smile was a grin which wrinkled up the corners of hla his eyes irresistibly aten haig grinned everybody grinned regulations made for you said kearney nut im still in tho the dark you leave the wallaroo after lunch with dramatic farewells and then bang meon me on the backai back at the dock gates at ten at night I 1 halg haig raised hh fits tankard contemplating it with interest and 1 I gave you a lift as far as limehouse ile he reminded kearney you ought to bl be e thankful for that and the beer Is good kearney banged the counter the barman replenished the tankards tank ards and when he had retired afoot kearney asked in alow a low voice iq 1 dont ans wi as halga bur answer 1 I can only think theres been a bad leakage of news some time ago he went on a consignment sign ment of pottery was waa sent from chinato Ch china chikato Inato to a firm in birmingham this consignment unopened was recon signed to a chinese firm in sydney pei per king shipping agents of limehouse put on the wallaroo I 1 chocked checked it myself this morning was that how you managed to get down to see sae elleen eileen it was halg acknowledged and I 1 blessed the chandel chancel now heres what A I 1 meant when I 1 said my hands were tied neither K division nor scotland yard have had power to open those cases of pottery oh its too d n silly to talk about because I 1 know for a fact that th they eyare are stuffed with gemi opium I 1 but bat why send drugs from china to australia via birmingham P TO BE CONTINUED |