Show the T h e mystery in imal mr apt lpt ry road ro a d by E phillips oppenheim copyright by little drown brown A co CHAPTER V continued 23 weve done campaigning both of us he said bald T r rend read of you vhf when n you led your regiment into german I 1 was in a trench myself tor for five anys at a those things dont really matter five days wits was quite long enough there in tile th mud we worry about soap then get let an on with it please number twenty nine closed hla his eyes eyce as aa lie he shed ills last garments then he be drew on geralds presently the governor laughed upon my word he declared it Is hetter better than I 1 thought I 1 have ordered the barber into tile the next cell ile he Is it a prisoner himself so there Is not much chance of his blabbing come along we will be in five minutes he added turning to gerald in time to 0 o take your orders for lunch lanch eh give you sou time to settle down they passed out gerald felt a queer sense of lonell loneliness hess as the lie door closed behind him film ile he looked around him half fearfully everything was worse than lie he had feared tile floor was ot of concrete corn rote und mid there here wits ans not a single article of furniture of tiny ny description in the room except a mattress already full of f hole the floor had apparently not been swept for weeks while lie he sat eat there however there was the click of it key in the door and a burly russian entered without a 3 word lie he commenced some effort at cleansing the place when he had finished lie he hrco throw in a rug and distill kenred gerald breathed a little more freely then tie lie heard footsteps outside again tile the governor and number twenty nine entered the latter curiously changed n appearance hy by all tile the saints tile the governor chuckled 1 I 1 near realized that tit he barber was so BO wonderful a leriou I 1 tills this little scheme of mine marches well now then for your share ile HP handed a fountain pen to gerald who indorsed endorsed Indor sed tile draft ln lie hall brought brout lit wrote out it further check for a thousand pounds ond handed them hem together with ills his american passport to the latter thrust a document into number T twenty enty n nines I 1 nes pocket you may not know it lie he said lit but you yon anro now the owner of five hundred acres of forest where oil may smile borne iny day ile he found ile HP roared with laughter neither of the lip doting yoting nien men move moved n muscle now listen both of you lie he went on nn tile lie only automobile in the town italis tile me outside we vo depart in a minute say your our farewells you two at one tomorrow morning he concluded turning to gerald you will ile he awed into cell 1 and later inter you will RO go to attend your hiir own funeral prom front now will until I 1 one or perhaps half past one tomorrow morning you will lino to make the best of it I 1 will cor mip and superintend nd your removal in and let you iou know that till all Is well 1 1 sli ill try to sleep until then genila announced 1 I am very cry tired dred you on ahal have a little meal in my doffle in it the lie intervals of being liin Kl the governor Ro enior promised lihn him 1 I hull tock lock the door and no one will know now mr air harmon 11 I 1 cross please american Ainor linn speculator who has hag bought nv iny oll nil fields felds come with me ino I 1 wn g ani to drive vou to tile the train number Vu twenty hine held out both 10 ills tinnius to ills deliverer there wits II 11 linale lini ilc dignity in lili few words w orris sir lie said 1 I know nothing of vu on hut my ni life will not lie ile lung long enrigh for tile me to express my iny gra the lie ln im after lot lorrow orrow ali air artar tomorrow there will he for us ua to talk about gerald interrupted ahat hit I 1 tune have don dine I 1 anae dune done joyfully so fur far it has lieen been much puller parler alinn I 1 expected the pin einor and his charge ank their heir lene leme the door closed behind them gerald heard their footsteps ile die away on the paved floor lie he threw himself rown down on the nin mattress itress aind tried it to sleep it wits nn nil impish sillie t tn task k hut but there wits was plenty to think at one the lie same hurly alln Il lan entered N naring henrlne aring n howl of if something which was halt half stew half soup gerald aniell it looked tit at it and set it in fit a distant borner of the room then tie lie hack back and forth counting how ninny many paces it took him fro from wull wall to wall wait presently with a phroh of if joy lie he remembered remember eil his cigarette alc birotte ell anh ile he smoked two clen ettes rettea afterward tie he dozed for n little time toward evening lie he amused himself trying to make his predecessors dally daily jump it was not until ilie seventh attempt tint that he succeeded and then the he rust of the bars cut so 0 o deeply into ill tilt piilini thal lie let go almost at orice at eight the flu selan appeared apin with a bowl of soup acup similar to 0 o the last laet gerald waved it away not the man asked in narn tin erald shook ills file head bend somehow or iter other it ans a relief to fand that he was not shut out altogether from communication muni cation with the outside world you speak german ell eh lie he asked the man shook ida file head few words worda bring nie me something better to eat cat gerald begged cant I 1 have some come beer the man held out hie file hand and gerald filled it with avith silver he digap feared find returned presently with two bottles of beer concealed in him alb baggy trousers and n loaf of bread not understand this lie he sold said slinking shaking hla head where number twenty nine gone gerald shook his head bead better ask no questions until the governor comes back ile he enjoined no fear talk the he man declared with n governor given me twenty marks if talk I 1 get twenty lashes last lastelic elid goodnight 1 ue he departed fl nally itally dosing and locking the door behind him gerald ante some soine bread hungrily and drank the beer then for a time lie he dozed when ile he wole up tip und lolich at ills his watch it afifi an twelve very soon ho he would begin to expect tile the governor lie sat up on the lie mattress with his bis back to the lie hall between twelve and one lie he looked at hla his watch twenty one came and passed half li anist one then lie he rose to ids his feet an and begun began pacing the cell restlessly two came halt past lie held ills watch in ills his hand now to 0 o hinc himself the continual drag dragging gling it out from ills his pocket the great fortress apparently slept there was no sound anywhere re only time wint nellt on oil three belock arrived and passed four fivel five I 1 presently streaks of ant light begun began to appear at six oli octo cli at 81 lust last there were footsteps foot stepa outside tile warder entered once more tills this time lie he carri carried ea a jug 0 of f ho hot liquid 1 ten ell hp bp announced from kitchen give iv no me something gerido gem id gave him film more sliver silver thelpa alie ten w ans is the color of straw and water but the of it was refreshing where Is 14 tile the governor lie asked the warder shook ills hla head not mt ask questions lie he begged GoNer governor nor not liere here gelfeld willed Illus himself elf together and dismissed sed the lie man mail ue he drank the tea slowly IY onee once more lie he sat down on flu file tile the room now was a n little lighter ho could see as far as the ile wall lie ile sat down and waited every KM ry nerve in his hotly body seemed tingling ile he tried to keep his mind off on the lie subject of what could have 1111 to detain the governor to turn his thoughts back to Engin england nd he suddenly found himself by the he roadside wilt watching ehing the mending of tile the puncture looking impatiently along the white ribbon of road which led to cannes and beyond to monte carlo where the file lights were burning and the violins wore were playing their pagan overture ile he saw Myrl Myr lles tiles pale ter terrified rifled face gleaming out against tile the background of the cypress trees heard her bathetic va story throbbing in the pine sweetened stillness he remembered their drive all those things seemed part of another world he remembered those hose few furlong furious moments when Christo christopher olier had taken tier her from his arms arins A faint feeling of shame crept over oer him film as lie he sat there huddled up then with i a rush came the memory which swept everything else out of ills his mind lie he saw pauline felt the dis tui liance of tier lier presence remembered the slow ebbing away of her pride tier her nisi flit few kind words the half spoken what was there here about tier her lie ile wondered ngu ely which had bud brought him with all his experience so go corni conil lately to her feet she h had a d shown shon no kindness slie site had not men been gra gracious clous lie he had read dislike ilk e in tier her eyes ees mere often than any other oilier feeling there remained too the pitiless truth that all the favors lie had find won from her lie had Il bought ought indirectly if not directly yet ret there she was ruling over his life the one sweet dominant figure for whose sake lie he sat in these miserable cloth clothes n forgotten figure perhaps even in danger lie he took out ills his watch with trel trembling libling fingers it was ten ills his thoughts mocked hlin him now ile he could find no escape by means of them llie iii lie he could ank of nothing but tile lie present something had find gone wrong with their liehr penni what would it mean for him not a soul coul in the world knew where he was if he had a name at nil all here it was the name of the man whom the people of itus sla sin hall once threatened to tear limb from limb at last there here came a little stir atar tin on unaccustomed sound bound of voices preb irel e crity ay iy tie he heard footsteps outside the key hey turned in tie the lock his heart turned tick sick with dle disappointment appointment it was the warder alone 1 gerald dug him hand once more into his pocket this time ho he brought out a note for some reason or other he was terrified terr lOed even tho the stolid features of hlo hla visitor seemed disturbed where Is the governor gerald demanded see there la Is this note it if you will go and fetch him the ronn man returned to the door and shook it ito to be sure alint it was fastened then he cume came back to gerald A strange thing has happened be said la Is a german woman in uio town lost last night the governor spent at her house they were both drunk they quarreled elsa killed him the governor la is dead chapter VI the telegram was wn brought irk in to lady mary alary as she sat alone in her little sitting room in the hours between tea and the dressing bell hours bours which so far as possible especially during the lost last few months she tried to keep to herself it had been handed in at a branch office in the north of london and contained the news lor for which she hod had been waiting elected majority two thousand heart heartiest Jest thanks for good wishes christopher her first impulse was one of genuine If pleasure leasure she started to her feet meaning to take it to her father wh who was with Aly rille in the library then slie site stopp d short and slowly res resumed timed tier her sent that little orange colored form might have meant so much more so much food for tier her ambitions her natural and bif proper oper ambitions for the man slie site loved it might have been such a pledge for the lie interest of their life together such a wonderful life brimful of movement and color in which site she too might well hope to take a part in tier her quiet way she had for years looked upon her marriage with christopher sooner or later ns as a certainty without the slightest desire in tiny any way to mislead tier her christopher had sub subconsciously conselo ugly encouraged tile lie idea she knew perfectly well that as soon as his position was a i little more assured he had ead intended to ask tier her to be his wife it was one of those hose pleasant yet wonderful arrangements which seemed to develop automatically christopher was well born ills his friends were ier friends ills disposition accorded with hers here she could never have married an idle man christopher had many a worthy ambition she dhe was precisely the wife to burthe them thein her money and tier glicr social influence would save him years denra of fruitless labor he could lene the he bar whenever tie lie liked and turn ills his whole attention to politics and koiv now the lie dream lind had crumbled this still slip of paper was nothing but a friendly ires pressage sage tiling telling tier ber of the lie success of a 0 friend with whose career she had no intimate concern her eler disposition was too kindly not to reel feel a n certain amount of pleasure at ills his 1 success hut but that very pleasure brought its shadow of personal ers onal grief sho she sat ant looking into the alre twisting the lie little slip of tier her hands handa she knew vacy well that she was cursed with that one terrible and self mortifying virtue the unalterable fidelity of the who permits in tier her mind the thought of one man only and who enn never replace him the very ery thought of marriage with tiny any one tint but christopher was revolting it seemed to her os ns she sat there that she was doomed to ft a career of I 1 ov and futility Muti lity she might labor in good works till tier her hair was streaked ed with gray and her race face lined find and she knew very well the fruitlessness of all that she would accomplish the best work of a woman as she well knew Is 18 the worl work done for the man site she lovea it was perhaps natural that hat her thoughts should turn to Myrt myrtalie lie she wondered for a moment slowly and aln rully fully tit nt the instinct which had warned tier her of coming trouble when the lie two to young men lind had toli old her of I 1 their heir adventure she lind had felt it when first she lind seen een the f lightened frightened child hase unspoken append for protection lind had met with so colt cold a response ponso from 1 her er she find been conscious of 11 c wholly foreign to her nature iture ns in those days davs at monte carlo carl whenever the lie nnnie of myrtile mirtile was men tinned slie site lind find puzzled christopher tin and tier her hi other brother aalke by her lack of lvell she WAS punished n now 0 w 7 T had justified nil that she had ft f t she lint robbed her unconsciously and unwillingly of the he greatest hang filing in life As she sat ant there me tl e telegram crumpled up in ill tier her fengers all that old hardness came back to her it seemed to tier her a bitter thing that this unknown child should have been brought into the august household in which her own serene dayi had been spent to rob her the benefactress of the lie crown of her life to draw the sunshine from her days and send her down to a 8 joyle joylea grave for a moment she was on the verge of a passion she hated hated the sight eight of her gentle movements the thought of her ber and nil to do with her site she rose to her feet with un tin unaccustomed fire to in her eyes cye and swung round to find that the slight blight notes noise which had disturbed her meditations had been caged by the entrance of myrtile herself hera elf TO DB BE CO |