Show c he elo cowa ay ww CIO 3 SYNOPSIS at a private view of tl e chatworth chatsworth Chat worth per bonal estate to be sold at auction the ring mysteriously disappears harry cresby cressy who was present describes the r ng to his fiancee plora G isey and I 1 er chaperon mrs clara britton as be ing I 1 ke a heathen god with a beautiful sapphire saip hire lre set in the lead flora ducov d ars rs an unfamiliar mood in harry espe dally when the r ng Is discussed she attends attend ad ea n g t at the club and meets mr berr an englishman it comes out that the mi missing qing ring has been known as the crew idol i CHAPTER 11 II continued mora had a bewildered feeling that this judicial summing up of facts wasn gasn t the sort of thing the evening had led up to she couldn coulden t see if this was what it amounted to why harry had changed his mind about telling them at the dinner table she could i ot even understand where this belonged in the march of events in their stoby but clara took it up clipped it out and fitted it into its place then there will be pressure enormous pressure brought to bear to recover ita oh oh buller drew out the syl lable table with unctuous relish they 11 ril the town inside out they 11 II do worse there 11 be a string of detect ives across the country yes and at intervals to china so tight you t step from kalamazoo to osh bosh kosh without running into one the thing is too big to be covered the chap who took it will play a lone game and to do that lord knows there arent aren t many who could to do that he ile it d have to be a a barrell wanda flora flung it out as a challenge among these prosaic people but the effect of it was even than she had expected she fancied she saw them all start that harry squared himself that berr met it lt as if he swallowed it with almost a facial grimace that judge duller blinked it hard in the face the most bothered of the lot he came at it first in words farrell wand he ile felt it over as if like a doubtful coin coln it might have rung false now what did I 1 know of farrell wand farrell wand kerr up lip rapidly why he was the great john nie me who went through the scotland yard men at perth in 94 and got off don t you remember 9 he ile took a great assortment of things under the most peculiar circumstances took the tilton emeralds off oft lady tilton s neck at st james why harry you flora began you told us that was what she had meant to say but harry stopped her stopped her just with a look with a nod but it was nas as it if had shaken his head at her his ills tawny lashes halt half dropped over watching eyes gave him more than evar ever the look of a great still cat a domestic good humored cat at but in sight of legitimate prey her eyes went back to kerr with a enso of bewilderment his ills voice was still going on brilliantly juggling Us his subject ll 11 he knew them all the big bigwigs wigs up in parliament the bigwigs big wigs on change the little duchesses in mayfair and they all liked him asked him dined him and great scott they paid paid in hereditary jewels or the shock to their decency when the thing came out but poor devil so did he and through it all buller gloomed unsmiling smiling with out thrust io no no he said slowly not my connection with farrell wand what happened afterward what did they do with hima kerr was silent and flora thought I 1 is face seemed suddenly at its sharp best st it was clara who answered with an other question didn dian t he get to the colonies dian didn t he die there judge buller caught it with a snap of his fingers got it he triumph ed and the two men turned square upon him they ran him to earth in australia that was the year I 1 was there 96 1 I got a snapshot of him et at the time it was now the whole table that turned on him and flora felt with that in movement something crucial the something that she had been waiting for and yet she could in no way connect it with what had happened nor understand why clara harry why kerr above all should be le so alert for more than all he looked expectant poised and ready for whatever hat ever was coming what sort of a chap he be mused and fixed the judge a moment with the same stare that flora remember ed to have first confronted her what sort sort of a criminal the judge smiled they all look alike still clara suggested such a man could hardly have been or binary in the chain gang oh yes did buller with conviction oh olit then the picture jsn t worth anything 7 why no buller admitted s though come to think of it it U wasn gasn t the chain chai gang ngang either they were taking him aboard the ship the crowd was so thick I 1 hardly sa v him and only got shot at I 1 n put the name a A as a queer one it stuck in my mind but then clara insisted what became of hima oh gave them the slip the judge chuckled he always did reported to have changed ships in mid ocean hal is that another bottled harry stretched his hand for it but it stayed suspended and for an in stant it seemed as if the whole table waited expectant had duller buller s cam era caught the clear face of farrell wand or only a dim figurea flora wondered if that was the question harry wanted to ask he wanted and yet he hesitated as it if he did not quite dare touch it he laughed and filled the glasses he had dropped his question and there was no one at the table who seemed ready to put another and yet there were questions there in all the eyes but some impassable barrier seemed to have come between these eager people and what for in calc liable reasons they so much wanted to know it was not the geni al at indifference with which buller had dropped the subject for the approach ing bottle it seemed rather their own timidity that withheld them from touching this subject which at every turn produced upon some one of the eager three some fresh startling effect the others could not understand they were restless clara notably even under her calm flora knew she was not giving up the quest of farrell wand but only setting it aside with her unfailing thrift which saved everything but why in this case caseb and harry who had been so merry with the mystery at dinner why had he be suddenly tried to suppress her to want to ignore the whole business why had he hesitated over his question and finally let it falla and why above all was kerr so brilliantly talking to ella in the same way he had begun at flora her self talking at ella as it if he hardly saw her but like some magician fling ing out a brilliant train of pyro tech bics to hypnotize the senses before he proceeds with his trick and the way ella was looking at him her bewildered wil dered alacrity the way she aled with that was being so rapidly shot at her appeared to flora the prototype of her own struggle to un der stand what reality these appear ances around her could possibly shadow often enough in the crowds she moved among she had felt herself lonely and not wonder edat it but nowland now and here sitting amon gher close intimate circle her friends and her lover it seemed like a horrible oases slon sion yet it was true As clear as it if it had been her in a revelation she saw herself absolutely alone CHAPTER III encounters on parade flora before the mirror gayly stab bing in her long hat pins confessed to herself that last night had been queer as queer as queer could be but this morning luckily was real again her fancy last night had yes she was alcaid it really had run away sith her and she turned and held the hand mirror high to be sure of the line of her tilted hat gave a touch to the turn of her wide close belt I 1 a flirt to the frills of her bodice the wind was lightly ruffling and puffing out the muslin curtains of the windows and from the garden below came the long silvery clash of euca leaves she leaned on the high window ledge to look downward over red roots over terraced green over steep streets running abruptly to the broken blue of the bay she tried to fancy how kerr would look in this morning sun he seemed to belong only beneath the high art artl facial lights in the thicker atmosphere of evening would he return again with renewed potency with the same singular almost sinister charm as a wizard who works his will only by moonlight 9 when she should see him again what she wondered would be his extraordinary mood it was clara standing at the foot of the stairs who belonged to the morn ing so brisk so fresh so practical she appeared she held a book in her hand the door open for her imme diate departure showed beyond the descent of marble steps the landau glistening black against white pave ments it was unusual for this formal vehicle to put in an appearance so early I 1 am going to drive over to the gurdies clara explained I 1 have an errand there flora smiled at the thought of how many persons would be having er rands to the Puri ties now it was re freshing to catch clara in this weak ness she felt a throb of it herself when she recalled the breathless mo ment at the supper table last even ing oh that will be a heavenly drive she said please ask me to go with you my errand can wait why NN by certainly I 1 should like to have you said clara but if she had returned a flat no flora would not have had a dryer sense of unwelcome still she had gone too far to retreat mischievous reflections of the doc doe trine the englishman had startled her with the night before flickered in her mind as they drove from the door was this part of the big red game not being accommodating nor bovery so very the streets were still wet with early fog and turning in at the Pi esidio zate the cypresses dripped 0 IS I S 0 r 0 4 0 N Z 0 1 1 J ic ae VE F P harry I 1 bel eve you are out here about the crew idol too dank lankly lyon on their heads and hung out cobwebs pearled with dew she was sure even under their drippings that the damnable dust was alive down the broad slopes that were swept by the drive all was green to the water waters s edge the long line of bar banacki lacks the officers quarters the great parade ground set in the flat land between hills and bay looked like a child childs s toy pretty and little they heard the note of a bugle thin and silver clear and they could see the tiny figures mustering but in her preoccupation it did not occur to flora mora that they were arriving just in time tor for parade but when the car ariage had crossed the viaduct and swung them past the acacias and around the last white curve into the white dust of the parade ground clara turned as if with a fresh idea wouldn t you like to stop and watch ita why yes flora assented the brilliance of light and color the pre casion of movement the sound of the brasses under the open sky were an intermezzo in harmony with her spir cited mood the carriage stopped under the scanty shadow of trees that bordered the walk to the officers quarters clara book in hand alertly rose III just run up to the purifies and leave this she said then she really did want to be rid of me flora mused as she watched the brisk back moving away and how beautifully she has done it her eyes followed claras little figure retreating up the neat and narrow board walk to where it disappeared in overarching depths of eucalyptus trees further on beyond the trees avio tw figures smaller than clara s in their greater distance were coming down flora almost grinned as she recognized the large linen umbrella that mrs purdie purdle invariably carried when abroad in the reservation and presently the trim and bounding fig ure of mrs purdie purdle herself under it the Puri ties were coming down to parade at least mrs purdie was but the tall figure beside her that was not the major she took up her borgnon it was no it could not be yet surely it was harry lazy harry up and out and squiring mrs purdie purdle to the th review at half past ten in the morn ing are we all mada flora thought the three little figures the one going up the two coming down touched opposite fringes of the grove disappeared within it on which side would they come out 7 9 florl wondered they emerged on her side with harry a little in advance he ile came down the walk straight toward her and across tle tl e road to the carriage his hat lifted his hand out well flora he said this Is luck what in the world has got you out so early I 1 she rallied him came out to see purdie purdle on bus bust ness and here you are all ready to drive me back that s your reward he ile brushed his handkerchief over his damp forehead well there s one coming to me for I 1 haven t found purdie her eyes were dancing with mis I 1 chief harry I 1 believe youre you re out here about the crew idol too he shook his head at her smiling I 1 wouldn t talk too much about that flora it flicks poor purdie on the raw every time that his ills sentence trailed off into something else for airs mrs purdie and clara had come up the book had changed hands to gether evidently with several exola nations and mrs purdie with her foot on the carriage step was ready to make one of these over again the major li it be so sorry iles he s gone in town it s so unusual for him to get off at this hour but he said he had to catch a man As mrs britton and I 1 were saying he s likely to be very busy until this dreadful affair is straightened out it if you can only wait a little longer mr cressy she went vent on I 1 am expecting him every moment oh it a of no importance said harry but he looked at his watch with a fold between his brows and then at the car that was coming in well at least you 11 have time to see the parade said mrs airs purdie purdle I 1 always think it s a pretty sight though most of the women get tired of it clara claras s face shored show ed that she be longed to the latter class but flora mora too keenly attuned to sounds and sights not to be swayed by outward circumstances was content tor the time to watch in the cloud of dust the wheeling platoons and rhythmic columns yet through h all even when she was not looking at him she was aware of harry s restlessness of his ampa tience and as the last company swung barr ackward and the cloud began to settle over the empty field he snapped his watchcase smartly and remarked still no major why there he is now mrs airs pur die qc screamed reamed pointing across the pa rade ground flora looked halfway down on the adjoining side of the parallels par allelo gram back toward her the redoubt able kerr was standing she lecog nihed him on the instant as if he were the most familiar figure in her life yet she was more surprised to see him here than she had been to see harry she felt inclined to rub her eyes it took a moment for her to realize that his companion was indeed maj purdie purdle 1 1 I he major had recognized his wife s signaling umbrella now he turned toward it but kerr with a quick mo tion of hand band toward hat turned in the opposite direction in her mind flora was with the major who ho ran after him the two men stood tor for a little expostulating then both walked to NN ward ard the landau and the linen urn um brella the carriage group waited watch ing with flagging conversation which finally fell into silence but the two to approaching strolled easily and talked even in cold daylight kerr still gave flora the impression that the open WAS not big enough to hold him but she saw a difference in his mood a graver ee a colder mouth and when he finally greeted them a manner that was brusk it showed uncivil beside the majors major s urbanity the major was glad i lery ery glad to see them all ha was evidently also i a little flurried he seemed to know kno they had all met kerr before had it been at the moment of his attempted departure that kerr had told him flora wondered 7 and had be he given them as his excuse tor for going away awaya it hurt her though why should she be hurt because a stranger had not wanted to cross the parade ground to shake hands with her he ile was less interested in her than he was in har ilar ry at whom he had looked looked keenly but harrys |