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Show MYSTERY 1 ty 1 nr. Bill I don't think I want to play bowls, after all. "But whjr did you say you dldr Bill (rumbled. Antony flaahed a smll. of appreciation apprecia-tion at him. Well, 1 wanted to when I aald I did. but now I don't want to." "Then what do you want to do? There'a a aeat on the lawn. Let's to over there and brine these things alone In ran. we want to play." Aa they went acrom the lawn Antony An-tony dropped the bowls and took out his pipe. "(lot a match V he aald loudly. "As he bent his head over the match he whlpered: "There will be somebody some-body listening to us. You take the Cayley view." They walked over to the seat and sat down. "What a heavenly night!" aald Antony An-tony "I wonder where that poor devil Mark la now." "It's a rum business." BEOIX RUB TODAY Waa had atoat aad klllad tas B'r-do- W1 HUBERT ARLITT, wllhta two ailavatas aftar tats arrival at Tha Red Hovaa. tba country aetata of tats wealthy aachalvr brut bar. MARK ABLETT f Robart'a body waa an th flavr el tta teeliad afflna. Mara bad diaapparad sod In tba ayes of Pol lea Inapactor Blrrb. It waa clear that Mark, who had vlewad Res-art's return from Auetralia, with aoaarancs. kad shot Ola brother aad thea dlaappaarad. Hut there were rnyeterlous rtreuinslanrea Tha abet was heard Juat few moment before. be-fore. ANTONY OIM INOHAM, vaatlamsn adventurer adven-turer an4 friend of BIIJ HKVKRLIV, Afie of V-r. gueata entered tba hall where ha fotmd) MATT AYI.F.. Mara a r,nn.,,t companion, compan-ion, pound Ins on tha lorhed door and u. mandlna admittance. Tba two mi entered ent-ered the offtre throufb window and discovered dis-covered tba to4r. letter, Antony varuely auapeeta Cayley. Bill telle him that Mark waa apaet a few eventnffe aa wheo one of tbe tueete appeared ap-peared aa a rhoat on the bowline sreen. Antony and Bill dlacuas various theories of tha murder. UO OX WITH TUB STORY "No, that's rather hopeless, lan't It? Bill thourht airain. ' Well," he aald reluctantly, "auppoao Mark ronfoaaed that he'd murdered hla brother?' I "That'a better. Bill. Don't bo afraid of celllnc ttvay frjm Ilia Atiiint irisa Well then, your new theory la this. Mark confesses to Cayley that he shot Hubert on purpose, and Cayley decides, oven at the risk of committing perjury, and getting into trouble himself, to help Mark to escape. Ia that right?" Bill nodded. "Well then. I want to ask you two questions. First, la It posalblo, ka I aald before dinner, that any man would commit such an Idiotic murder mur-der a murder that puts tho rope ao very tightly round hla neck? .Secondly, .Second-ly, If Cayley la prepared to perjure himself fur Mark (so he has to, anyway, any-way, now), wouldn't It be almpler for him to aay that ha was In the office all the time, nnd that Robert's death I waa accidental?" I - Bill considered this carefully, and then nodded alowly ajrain. "Yea, my almple explanation la a waph-out," ha aald. "Now let's have yours." Antony did not answer hlrn. He had begun to think about something qulta different. Inch by Inch his head want round the! corner. "Tou axree with Cayley that It wss an accident?" "Yes. You see, I know Mark." nd -a piece of paper, and began to- write on his knee; but, while he wrote.) he talked. He said that ho thought j Mark had shot his brother In a fit of i anger and that Cayley knew, or any- how guessed this, and had tried to give hla cousin a chance of getting; j away. I "Mind you. I think he's right. I think It's what any of ui would da.. I shan't give It away, of course; but, somehow, there are one or two little things which make me think that Mark really did shoot his brother I mean, other than accidentally." "Murdered him V "Well, manslaughtered him, anywny. I may be wrong. Anyway, it's not my business." "But why do you think ao? Because CHAPTER IX. j "What's tha matt err aald Bill sharply. Antony looked round at hint with raised eyebrowa. "You've thought of eomething aud-denty," aud-denty," aald Bill. "Whet la It?" Antony laughed. "My dear Watson. he said, you aren't supposed to be aa clever aa this. Well. I wan wondering about this ghost of yours. Bill. Thia la where she appeared, Isn't It?" "Yes." "How?" "How?" How do ghosts appear? I don't know. They just appear." "But how did Miss Norrls appear suddenly over flva hundred yards of bare park?" Bill looked at Antony with open tlously' around, and then went even, more carefully alone; the width of It t to the second corner. He could heat? Bill hard at It. and he smiled appreciatively appre-ciatively to himself. Bill was a area, conspirator, worth a hundred Watsons. Wat-sons. As he approached the second ' corner he slowed down, arfd did tha ;j!iflt few yards on hands and knees, : Then, lying nt full length. Inch by ! inch, his head went around the cor j ner. The shed was two or three yarda 'to his left, on the opposite side of tho j ditch. From where he lay he could see almost entirely Inside It. Every , thins seemed to be as they had left It. The bowls-box, the lawnmower, tha 'roller, the open croquet box. the 1 "Bv Jove!" said Antony to himself, iThat's neat!" The lid of the other croquet box waa ; open. too. - 'Bill was turninc around now: hie 'voice became more difficult to hear ; "You see what I mean," he waa say Ini. "If Cayley 1 And out of the second- croquet hoe came Cayiey's black head. (rtmrtnued In our'nexl Issue.)' or tho keysT- I "Oh. the keys are a washout Stin I It waa a brilliant Idea of mine, wasn't It?" Ho had finished hla writing and now passed the paper over to Bill. In the clear moonlight, the carefully printed letters could easily be read: "Go on talking as If I wer. here. I After a minute or two, turn round as It I I were Bitting on the grans beh'nd you, but go on talking." "I know you don't agree with me." Antony went on aa Bill read, "but you will aee that I'm right." Bill looked up and nodded eagerly. He had forgotten golf and Betty and all the other things which had made up hla world lately. This waa the real thing. Thia was life. "Well," he began deliberately. "The whole point la that I know Mark. Now Mark ' But Antony waa off the seat and letting let-ting himself gently down Into the ditch. His Intention was to crawl round until the shed came In sight The footsteps which he had heard aemed to be underneath the shed; probably, there waa. a .trapdoor - f some kind in trie floor. Whoever It was would have heard their voices, and would probably think it worth while to listen to what they wer. saying. He walked quickly but verv silently along the half length of the bowling i green to the first corner, passed cau- ' "I I don't know." ha et am me red. "We never thought f that." "You would have seen her long be-t be-t fore, wouldn't you. If aha had come the way we came?4 "Of course we should." "And that would have spoilt It rather. Tou would have had time to recognise her walk. She couldn't have been hiding hid-ing In the ditch r "No, ahe couldn't. Betty and I walked walk-ed round a bit. We should have seen her." 'Then aha must have been hiding tn the shed. Or do you call It the summer-house T" "We had to go there for tha bowls, of course. She couldn't have been there." "Oh!" "It's dashed funny, aald Bill, after .an Interval of thought. "Hut It doesn't "matter, does It? It has nothing; to do I with Robert." I "Hasn't Itr "I say. has it? aald Bill, getting excited ex-cited agitjn. "I don know. Wa don't know what has. or what lrtrt. ' Bur ft haa mf j something to do with Miss Norrls. And Miss Norrls " He broke oft suddenly. "What about her?" Antony knocked out hla pipe and got up alowly. "Well then, let's find the way from the house by which Mlsa Norrls came." Hill jumped up eagerly. "By Jove! Do you mean there's a secret passage V "A secluded passag. anywny. There must be." "I aay, what funl I love aecret passages. pas-sages. Good Lord, and this afternoon I wss playing golf Juat Ilka an ordinary merchant! What a life? Secret passages!" pas-sages!" They mad their way down Into the ditch. If an opening waa to be found which led to house. It would probably be on the house side of the green, and on the outside of the ditch. The most obvious place at which to begin the search waa the shed where the bowls were kept. There were two boxes of croquet things, one of them with the lid open. Antony tapped the wall at the back of the shed. "This la where tha paaaaga ought to begin." "It needn't begin here at all need Itr aald BUI. walking round with bent I head, and tapping the other walla. He , waa Just too tall to stand up right In the shed. There'a only one reason why It should, and that la that It would aave us the trouble of looking anywhere else for It." j Antony began to feel In his pockets I tor him pip. and tobaceo. and then suddenly etopp and stiffened to at tentlon. For a moment he stood, listening list-ening with hla feead on one aide. hold-In hold-In up a flna-er to bid Bill listen, too. "What Is Itr whispered Bill. Antony wared hjm to allenea and , remained lletenlnf. Very quietly he ; went dowa on hla knei and listened ajrain. Then ha put hla ear to the ( floor. He a-ot up and dusted himself ! quickly, walked across to BUI, and Whispered In his ear: -Footsteps. Somebody eomtnsr. When I bealn to talk, back me up." BUI nodded. Antony cava him an encouraging pat on th. bark and then aiepped firmly acroa to tha box of bowla. whistling loudly to himself. H. j took th. bowls out. dropped ona with a loud bank on th. floor, said. "Ob, Lord!" and went on: J |