Show tr ri the e adventures of a B I 1 U D 0 mobilized demobilized De demo officer offices who found peace dull DRU by CYRIL SAPPL SAPPER mcneile R copyright by oto deou H doran co 1 CHAPTER VI continued 10 THREE ff hugh stopped ills car st at guildford and lighting ft cigarette stroll ed restlessly up tip and lown down ile he looked tit nt lila hir watch ft a dozen times limes to in two minutes lie threw anway ills smoke before it was halt finished in short lie manifested every sym symptom usually displayed by y the lio kunle of tile species alien awaiting tile lie tir rival of the opposite sex rex over her the telephone lie lind find arranged hint she should como collie by train front from to confer with him on a matter of gront great import once ance she had said she bhe would but what was it nc ile having no suitable finster ready had rinde a loud buzzing noise indicative of it telephone exchange in anin and then lien rung orf off ali and now lio lie was waiting in lint abat pe cullar condition of mind which reveals itself outwardly tn III hands that tire lire il rather rother too warm and feet that are rather too cold j when Is this train likely to i arrive lie ho accosted a phlegmatic olli cial who regarded him coldly and doubled the likelihood or of its being more than u quarter of an hour early at length it VHS and hugh kot got anek into tits hla car I 1 feverishly lie scanned tho the faces aces of the passengers na he they caino caine out into tho the street until with a sudden quick jump or of his henrt ho he saw tier her cool and rash fresh coming coining toward him with a n faint on her lips 1 whitt Is tills this very important coatter i you want to talk to me inc bile demanded ns as lie ho tier her into tits his aar car t ril ill tell you when wo we got get out on the clogs back lie he said bald slipping in pis his clutch its absolutely vital lie ile stole a glance at t tier hut but she cana was looking str streight nIght in front of her 1 atud her faco face seemed expressionless you tou must stand a long way oil off whelk you do she cho sald demurely at itasta it its lt tho same thing as all you told mo me over the pl phone alinne inne 11 rugh grin tied sheepishly tho the exchange exclia nga went wrong ho he re rd at It astonishing how rotten the telephones honea bre are jn in town these days day quite remarkable she ahe returned 1 I thought you feeling at very ry well or som something ethina of course it 1 it if I 1 was the exchange they sort ort of buzz buzi and blow dont you know he explainer helpfully that must kuat bo be roost most fearfully jolly for them the she agreed and there was ail bllance trice tor for the next two miles once or twice he looked tit nt tier her out of the corner of ills eye taking in every detail of the sweet profile so near to him except for their heir first meeting at tile the carlton it was the only time lie he had ever lind had tier her coni com plemely to himself diat hugh was de dc lo 10 ninke make the lie most of it lie ile felt as if he could go on oil driving for ever iv er just list he and she alone it tras then that lint the girl turned hall looked nt at him the car swerved di danger inger t lets stop step telie said with the suspicion of a smile then you can tell tue ine 1 hugh drew into tile side of the rond and swIt switched elied orf on the engine youre not fiill tin and tf it the girl saw auw ills his linnit hand trembling a little us as lie tile the dsa itoiz r alto lc pi jil p i sl rl cattle and benidt tier her tind fits right arin lay iny tile suit seat just behind her shoulders tell tile ino eliout this important ng 11 site suld a little nervously lie it mulled and no yet et born could see M hugh drummond euille without too 00 you dar darling lingl lie he whispered under ills his breath biou ou dar li irnel lIngl ills ilia arm ann closed mound around tier her and almost before she realize idill zei it she bile felt ills lips ills on oil tiers liers por for n moment she bho sat while title tile of 0 it surge surged over cr her nil and alio ho sky se stained dined more gloriously glorious blue it and it the lie 1 0 it bridier green then with a little gasp she pushed ailin arvily you i oil I 1 you hugh she whispered and why not little girl gilt lio lie said dont you iou know I 1 love loe you ou illif fuce wits still very close to hers all well what she murmured its your our turn lio lie whispered 1 I love loo you ou just love you hut its only two to or three days we 0 met inel she blip said feebly at and the divil lina has that got to do with ith it tit at nil all lip 1 demanded would I 1 be M waiting lilting hongler to de IV 41 AI she found herself lying in Hl his arms sArma with hughs eyes looking very tenderly into her own and a whim deal grin around his mouth cide such tin in obvious fuel fact tell tile mo lie he vent on and site she felt ills arm round her dignin forcing her to look at hint lalni tell nell tile nie dont you care n little the ho use ilse she still struggled but even to tier her it very ery convincing weve wee got other things to in do WP we cant think of and then tills this very cry determined yet young ng man settled matters in ls usual straightforward fash loll she felt herself lifted bodily out of 0 the ns its it if site ilie land been beell a cill clil clillie I 1 lil 1 slie found herself lying lit in ills his arin anns s ali hughs pei eyes looking very cr tenderly litto into lier her own oin had it grin around ills cuis cars puss pass licie here lie renu irked with wrent regularity I 1 know oud hajo to lo be lit in this position bould I 1 slie site whispered 1 I wonder bile felt his heart pound annilly tier her mid with a bild len quick movement ait site put forth tier arms round ills neck and kissed him on the mouth month Is that bood enough she asked very low and just for a few moments time stood still then terr gently deput he put her back to in the car 1 I suppose sup lie remarked resignedly that wi w hod had better descend to trivialities weye weve held lots of tun lun and add games since I 1 last saw tou jeu a year or two ago idiot boy she said happli it was tta yesterday yeat erday morning the interruption Is considered trivial etere mf rc facts dont count when its ita you slid and me there was A further interlude of uncertain duration followed rop killy by another because the first was so nice to resume continued hugh 1 I regret to state lint got potts the girl ant up quickly and stared at him got him oil oh hugh I 1 how did they manage it im d d if I 1 know lie ho answered grimly itley found out that ho he was waa in my bungalow at goring during the afternoon by sending round a man to td see about tile lie water somehow or other lie iw must have doped the drink or tile food because after dinner we nil 1111 tell fell llsup I 1 dont remember anything more till I 1 woke oko this morning with tile most op pallIng liend of cj carge rge potts lind had gone 11 1 1 heard the car drive up lip lit in the middle of the night suld thy the girl thoughtful ll do you think lies hes nt lit the elms now that la Is what I 1 propose to find out tonight answered hugli we ve lieve staged singed a little comedy for peter benefit beliel lt and ami we tire anre hoping for tho the best oil oh boy do he be care carefully full she looked ot at lint anxiously id never forgive myself if anything happened to you id feel it wits was till nil due to me bild I 1 just bear it dear little girl lie he whispered ton tell derly youre simply adorable when you ou look like that lint not even for you would I 1 hack back out of tills this show now his 1114 mouth set bet tit in a i erlin line ll 11 its gone altogether too for and shown themselves to be so completely beyond tile pale that its got to bo be fought out and when it ims has been lie caught both lier her hands in tits his und and weve won well why then girl 0 mine well get peter darrell to bo be best man which was the lie cue for fol the commencement men cement of tho the last and ion longest gest interlude intel lude terminated only by the sudden tind unwelcome oppe appearance arance 0 of f ft motorbus covered within had without by unromantic sightseers and bags containing bil bananas they drove slowly back to guildford and on oil the way lie told tier briefly of the lie murder of 0 tile the americans secretory secretary in belfast and ills interview tho the preceding afternoon with the impostor at the lie carlton Carl Cari toh tott its a tough lough lie he remarked marked quietly absolutely without scruple and their power seems unlimited I 1 kno know w they tire after the duchess of pearls I 1 found tile tho beautiful irma consuming ten tea with young haldley yesterday you know tho the dukes eldest son dut but theres heros something more in n the wind than that phyllls something which unless im a mug of tile the first water Is tin nn infinitely larger proposition than that the car drew tip lip nt at the station and lie strolled with her to tile the platform om then the train came in and lit in put tier glicr into a carriage and two minutes later with the touch of her lips win in on tits his and her anxious little cry take cure my dar darling lingl I 1 take oko calep cio stin ir loging in ills his ears ho got into his fits car tind arid drove off to nn an hotel to get nn nil early dinner FOUR foun at a quarter to ten lip lie bucked backed his fits car into the shadow of somo some trees not fur frow from the file gate of the binis save tw for a light lit in tile sitting roo room 11 and one lit hi a bedro bedroom oln vis staIrs mhd front fron t of the house wita was lit in darkness and treading rending noiselessly on the turf lie explored till nil round it there was one bedroom light at title tiro back of tho the house lio iise mid thrown on the blind lie ile could see the shadow of a man As lie he watched tile tho man got up and moved away only to return in a moment ar or two and take up ills his old position its one ot of those two bedro bedrooms olIF I 1 lie ho muttered to himself ill if lies hes hero here at all 11 then lie he crouched crouch edAn in tile shadow of some shrubs and waited through the lie trees to ills fits right lie could see the Lar lurches ches and once with a sudden quickening of ills his heart lie thought thong 11 t lie he sow saw the outline of the girl show up till in it alio light from the drawing room lint but it was ans only onia 1 for a second and then it was vas gone ile he peered tit nt its ills watch it was just tell en tile the trees treca were ci gently in the faint wind whid nil around film the ho strange night noises play pranks with a mans nerves were whisper whispering hig and muttering hustles seemed suddenly to conic come to life and move eerie cerlo shapes crawled over the ground toward him figures which existed only in his imagination and once again tho the thrill of the night stalker gripped him ue ille remembered the german who had lain motionless for in an hour in a little gully by while lie he from behind ft a stunted bush had tried to locate him and then that one creak as the boche had moved hla his lex leg and then the rod on that night too the little hummocks had moved mid taken to themselves strange sh nisim bofty timed he be had imagined lie ho saw billit fifty times he linew knew ile he was wrong in time ile he was usei used to it tile the night held no terrors for or him only a hoce excite ment and tiina it was that hat its as he crouched iti in the bushes ailing for the game to start his pune puna was as normal and his nerves n steady as if lie he had been sitting down to supper the only difference was wan lint in his hand he held something cit gripped at last faintly in tile the distance he be heard the hum of a nir rapidly it grew rew louder and ho he smiled grimly to himself na as thi sound f live five ulmo lodious lod lous 8 lustily struck his fits ear blaey passed along the roud road in n front of tile liou hou there wils a sudden crash then nce neel but only for a moment peters came I 1 fl sl rit A you yon priceless tild nd ass youve rammed the wite aie it wits jerry R S nur mur who then took up tile the bawl lit lila voice was ln in f hengely solemn also exren jely loud perfectly perfect cerous we must go and apologize to tile ho owner I 1 I 1 apologize quito quite unpardonable you cant go about country knocking down gates bates out of 1 halt consciously hugh listened but bill now that tit th moment for action lind had conic collie every faculty was concentrated on tits ills own job lie iio saw half a doyen blozen men go rushing out into the garden through a side door and then lien two more run ran out and came caine straight toward him they crashed past bilm and went on into the alie darkness and for an instant tic lie wondered what they were doing A little later lie was destined to ond find out then came cancea a pent peal at the front door bell and lie he determined to wait no longer ue ile darted through the garden door to find a light flight of stairs in front of him and in another moment he was has on the first floor lie ile walked rapidly along tle landing trying lying to and tits his bearings and turning n corner lie found himself nt at the top of tile tho main staircase the spot where lie had fought Pet erNon two nights previous IY 13 ile iio walked quickly on to the room which lie he calculated was the lie on one 6 where lie had seen the shadow on tho the blind without a seconds hesitate hesitation ion lie ho flung the door open and walked in there lying in the bed was tit the american while crouched beside him with a re roller volver in his hand wits was a man I 1 for a few seconds they watched one another in silence ond and then the man straightened up alie Bold sold lerl he snarled tou you young loung pup I 1 deliberately almost lie raised ills his revolver lind and then the unexpected A jot jet of liquid ammonia struck him full in the face and with a short laugh hugh dropped his water pistol in his pocket and turned tits ills attention to the bed wrapping the millionaire in a blanket lie picked him up bifid paying no more inore attention to the man gasping and choking in a corner lie be raced for the back stairs below lie could hear jerry hiccough ing gently and explaining to tile tho pro pro critor alint he per would rope ir Ins histed on oil repairing any and every tate coslit lie ho poss possessed hessed and then lie he reached the garden everything had fallen out exactly ns as lie had hoped but lind hardly dared to expect lie ile heard petersons voice calill and suave as usual answering jarr from the garden gin den in front came tile the dreadful sound of a duet by algy and peter not a soul was in sight eight tho backof tile the amuse house w was clear all that he had to d do 0 was to walk quietly through tho the wicket gate to the larches barches with ills semi conscious burden get to 0 o ills cor car and irhe drive off on it all seemed so BO eny that hint lie he laughed but there were one or 01 two factors that lie he it had aid f nr cir gotten and the first farst and most important one was the man loan upstairs the window was thrown up tip di the rhe Sold lerl he snarled you I 1 young cupitt and the man leaned out dav ang his arms ile he was still gals gasping ping with the strength of the ammonia but hugh saw him film clearly in the light from the room behind and ns its lie he cursed himself tot fo a imi fool in not having tied idin up from the trees close by there came the lie sharp cl clang I 1 taiji of metal with a quick catch in hla bis breath he began to run the two men who alio had bad rustled rushed post hm before lie ho had biad entered the tha house and whom sine save fo for a passing thought lie he had disregarded had become the principal danger for lir lie tind had heard that elting before lie rp re jem jeal smiths white horror struck face ace and theu then ills hla slab of re tier lift gifts |