Show J f i BANNER SERIAL FICTION She Painted Her Face race I 4 It tony o of t fate ve W Puy DORNFORD YATES O Yot Yol CHAPTER Vin vm VID Continued I 18 18 Well well said Herrick And q Who vho ho ever heard of two guests abusing abusing ing ine their host at table until hes he's carried away ay and then getting downto down to his brandy and having a rubber of bridge You know Its It's I 1 dont don't believe the Borgias ever did that And Ill I'll lay ill lil Percey's Per- Per Percey's Percey's cey's got ear Three swine to toone toone toone one pear pearl I 1 forget what answer I 1 made but butI I know I sent Winter to bed and 1 after two or three minutes went up p to my room But I did not intend to sleep for the pearl was out of ot my sight Bight I 1 had seen her Into her suite suit 20 minutes before I 1 trusted to see her come out in a little less than eight hours But I had no faith In Elsa and Virgil and Virgil had his back to the walL Had there been but one door to her suite I 1 would have slept across it But there were four doors to her suite and one was outside i not so much as watch them Argus himself hImsel could have watched but one at a time I took oft off of my coat and lighted a cigarette As I threw the match o out t of the window somebody knocked at my y doo door I 1 was at the oak in a flash to find Winter standing without with a akey akey akey key in his handI hand I forgot to tell you sir He entered entered entered en en- and shut the door You gave me this key and told me me to lock up the Rolls Her doors I 1 mean But 4 I 1 avent been able to because this this- isn't the ke key the key I said frowning frownIng frowning frown- frown Ing and with that I 1 took it out of his hand It isn't indeed sir I tried it again and again But But And there I 1 stopped dead with dead with m my e eyes es on the key I was holding between my finger and thumb Winter was right This was not the key of the Rolls Although she shedid shedid shedid did not know it Elizabeth Virgil had the key of the Rolls I had handed it to her on Friday with the there re rest t of her things It was now perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps under her pillow But this was washer washer washer her master key that fitted all five of her locks CHAPTER IX Whilst I changed I gave Winter his orders These were hi in short to pass the night on the landing watching the door which gave to toi tb i Elizabeths Elizabeth's suite If anyone tries to enter put your torch on his face and hold him up The door may be opened for him but I dont don't like Elsas Elsa's face and hes he's not not to go in When youve you've got him lift up your voice and shout my name and Ill I'll be with you before you know where you are I 1 shall be bein bein bein in the turret staircase closely watching the other door of her ladyships ladyship's ladyships ladyship's ladyships ladyship's lady lady- ships ship's rooms And If tf you want me sir said Winter Ill call her ladyship Shell She'll let me through ugh her suite and on to the stair I dont don't think anything will happen and but for tor Elsa Id I'd tell you to go to bed But its it's thanks to tome tome tome me that she is inside that suite so its it's up to me to see that she does docs no harm I d And there I remembered Elgar the man for whom Virgil had called when we had escaped from the tower tow tow- er I had learned from Elizabeth that he was Virgil's chauffeur and was as much trusted by his master as he was distrusted by everyone else at Brief But when I 1 mentioned his name name- Winter Winter Win Win- Hes away just now said ter with Mr Virgil's car Theres There's Theresa a knock in the engine or something they cant can't get right So much the better said I and spoke as I 1 thought And that I think shows how how bow ill equipped I 1 was to deal with a manof manof man manof of Virgil's capacity for I should at once have suspected the absence of at his chauffeur and car But I am ashamed to say that it did not occur occur occur oc oc- oc- oc cur to me that if it there Is work of ofa I Ia a certain kind to be done the lugger lugger lug lug- lugI I ger ger will take an offing instead of 1 staying staying in port Be that as it h may I I 1 read the signal danger-signal as being being a piece of good news then I took up up my pistol and torch ant and we left the tower To post Winter Winter- took but a moment mo men meat ment and then I was Iwas was treading the steps down which I had knocked the servant six days before My shoes were soled rubber-soled and I Imade It It t t made no sound but as I have said l before the well of the staircase was wast E t lit and the first floor t to which I Iwas Iwas was going was very much better illumined than was th the landing anding above Still there were shadows enough about and I 1 carefully kept to them As luck would have it it I knew the i whole of my way I was not going down to the hall I was bound for forthe forthe the picture gallery where we we had hadr r gathered that thal evening before dinT din din- fj T ner ner was served This lay upon the first floor floor floor-a a fine long room and andus andus us its r range n e of cd windows was was was' broken r p U. U 0 into three bays by two of the staircase stair stair- case turrets case turrets with which the castle was was' served And the first of these I knew was Elizabeths Elizabeth's own own own-I I had seen her come out of its door at a quarter past eight Using the greatest caution I 1 left the magnificent staircase and stole to the gallery's doors Happily these were open but here the darkness darkness darkness dark dark- ness was thick so I put to the doors behind me and drew my torch And there my luck went out for the torch I 1 found to be useless It was dead Now I could of at course have gone back but since Winter needed his torch It meant going back or sending sending send send- ing him back to my room so I Imade Imade Imade made up my mind to go on because because because be be- cause though I should have liked it it r T could tread upon Virgil's toes without seeing his face The The gallery seemed broader than I had th thought but at length I was touching the curtains which had been drawn At once I turned to the left for now I had found the windows I had to do no more than follow their line along And because because because be be- cause I 1 had my my bearings perhaps I moved with less care than I should have shown In any event I had alm almost st come to the door when I brushed against something unwieldy and and knocked it down I Now when a man who Is trying not to be heard knocks over a chair or a table it shortens his life But when he knocks over such a thing as a harp Not o only ly was the crash appalling but every string of the instrument sounded its liquid note Indeed as asI asI asI I stood there trembling I thought that the dulcet announcement would never die and when at last it did I 1 should have been glad to die with it because in all my life I never felt so much abashed Discovery was of course inevitable I had not only waked the household I had declared declared declared de de- where I was for the harp like that of the giant in Jack and the had lifted up an unmistakable unmistakable un un- un- un mistakable voice I wiped the sweat from my face and waited for the sound of men running and v voices ices raised Virgil no doubt would come thrusting thrusting to to rub my nose in the desperate mess messI 1 I had ha made I began to try to prepare prepare pre- pre pare jare some halting explanation which was not beneath contempt I do not know how long I stood still but as the moments went by yet nobody came I began to dare to believe that I was to be spared The silence which I had shattered was absolute as ever no faintest indication indication Indication Indi indi- cation of movement came to my ears And at last I knew I was saved For some extraordinary reason reason reason rea rea- son son no one was coming to answer the call of the harp Expecting to be discovered and put to shame I 1 had of course relinquished relinquished relinquished re re- re- re my delicate enterprise but now there was plainly no reason reason reason rea rea- son why I should withdraw provided provid provid- ed that on my way back when my watch was done I set up the harp again by the light of the dawn So SoI I ventured to hold on my course Before I 1 had bad covered six feet I touched the door of at the turret to to which I was trying to come Now I had expected the staircase to be in darkness but the moment I opened the door I 1 knew that a aUght alight alight light was burning beyond the oak For a moment I 1 found this strange Then I 1 remembered that I had left lights burning on the staircase within with with- in the tower and decided that the practice was natural where dangerous danger danger- ous steps were serving a private room I took the key from the lock stepped across the threshold and closed the door I 1 was now now in to a little stone passage passage pas pas- sage which ran through the castle wall and anci gave directly on to the tur tur- stair ret stair the wall being four feet thick the passage was four feet long for the turret adjoined the cas cas- tie tle yet was was complete in itself An electric light was burning where passage and stairway met thus lighting the steps up and down as aswell aswell aswell well as the passage itself itsell I 1 leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh of relief Harp or orno orno orno no harp I had gained the position I sought and Winter and I between us commanded Elizabeths Elizabeth's suite If If And there I heard a girl laugh a stifled stilled mischievous laugh to tell me she knew I was there It was Elsa of course I knew that She must have heard the harp fall and have left Elizabeths Elizabeth's suite to see what the matter might be And then she had seen the door open and probably me come In There was only one thing to be done Is that you Elsa I said and stepped to the curling stair Looking up I 1 saw her standing point-device point as ever back to the wall Then somebody standing behind me laid me mc out The first thing that I remember was Percy Virgil's voice As I lifted my head he spoke and a gag was clapped into my p 1 Nom r 1 A s r Jr rN yla a ft ft's s 9 t ti tir N r r 1 t i ti 1 r. r r i r 7 i iI iJ iS S J I t r c shit shita a t t A And at Last I Knew I Was Saved mouth mouth mouth-a a pad of at sweet-smelling sweet silk silk which I afterwards found was one of at my ladys lady's chemises fresh from some drawer When I tried to sit up I I found that my hands were not free tree My wrists were strapped tight together behind my back I 1 was still too dazed to make any useful effort so I laid my head back on the stone and closed my eyes determined to stay where I Iwas Iwas Iwas was till my strength and my senses came back for though I could not think straight I knew that I needed them both as never before For a moment I seemed to be swaying although although although al al- al- al though I 1 was lying still Then somebody made me me sit up and pushed my head forward and down Then water was poured on my head and down the back of my neck It was that that cleared my brain and though my head was aching from that time on I was healthy in inbody inbody inbody body and mind I lifted my head and looked round I was sitting in the passage just clear of the turret stair Percy Virgil Virgil Virgil Vir Vir- gil was sitting on the stair a step or two up And a man who I knew must be be- Elgar was standing in the passage beside me pitcher in hand Percy Virgil picked up my pistol looked at the safety catch weighed the thing on his palm and slipped it into his coat Then he glanced at his wrist-watch wrist and fingered his chin You are very convenient Mr Exon I 1 should have got you later but probably only after an ugly scene And I 1 do so dislike being crossed But now youve you've avoided avoid avoid- ed all that and what is more you have made my path very smooth You see my cousin is going The Lady Elizabeth Virgil is castle tonight That was always understood understood understood un un- un- un not by you or that silver silver- tongued fairy the Duchess of ot Whelp But it was understood by me me-as me as soon as I heard that my cousin was coming back pack You see I dont don't want her here I really made that plain about ten days ago But some people wont won't take a hint Well now she is going for good She will never come back The man stopped there and leaned forward forward- with glittering gUttering eyes My luck came in in Mr Exon when you knocked over that harp We were going Mr Exon Elsa had bad received her ber instructions and Elgar was on this stair And then you knocked over the harp harp And so I I held everything up and waited for you Now what will they find tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow tomor tomor- row Not fat one but both of you gone I Abduction Well hardly They dont don't abduct people like you you What I about an illicit elopement A passionate passionate passionate pas pas- flight Oh that's absurd I Wait a minute Consider that I beautiful ul scene in hi the belvedere This evening at sunset Mr 1 Exon Yes you were wat watched watched by hed by by bya a most reliable man And then the key to her bedroom that a alady alady alady lady gave to her swain And then the dressing dressing case case which Elsa is packing now Elsa Elsa theres there's theres a good girl She will speak to her own reactions with reactions with tears running down her cheeks checks how she and you fought for her darling and how her entreaties entreaties entreaties en en- treaties were foiled by the way of a aman aman aman man with a maid Aunt Sally may put up a show but she won wont won't t be beable beable beable able to face these basic facts And AndI I hardly think shell she'll lay them before before before be be- fore the police I mean they might miss the idyll and get the blurb He got to his feet and yawned Go and get her ladyship Elgar and tell Monna Lisa Im I'm not going to wait all aU night If she cant can't pack a dressing dressing case case case- It is ready said Elsas Elsa's voice as Elgar went up the stair You see Mr Exon said Virgil Virgil Vir Vir- gil the way to win in this world is isto isto isto to go all lengths Its It's simpler swifter swift swit- er and safer every safer every time Think wh what t r I should have been spared if it I 1 had taken that course ten days ago But there One lives and learns Take my two er assistants for instance He threw a glance up the stair I can count upon Elsa She's wanted in Bristol for forgery a a very bad case But on Elgar I I have no hold so though he does doesn n not t know it it he hasn't got long to live I 1 think he will be run over over over- Im I'm not quite sure But here they come He picked up a length of cord and then stepped over my legs and out of the way The next moment Elgar Elgar El El- gar appeared with Elizabeth over his shoulder as though she were wounded and senseless and he was bringing her InPut inPut inPut in Put her ladyship down said Virgil making a knot in his cord Elgar his burden and set it down on the steps My eyes met those of my lady and order carne back to my soul thou not minister to a mind diseased TO BE JE CONTINUED |