Show 1 r m Ca ITh I Th tj Iq LITTLE BROWN nd CO CHAPTER VII VII Continued Continued U 25 You Tea need not Dot worry about your rth rH Elsa Elea Franks said uld U lie will tot sot know you yon when you ou c It go to see lee Mm Im He lie h. h has baa forgotten most things This mans man's name was I 1 Ibold bold kold 14 hIm the whole truth I am em quite IU sure that If It he had come Into charge if t the prison oD whilst the real No 29 bad been there he would have hive found tome some excuse for tor having him shot withIn twenty four hours lie He even told me so He lie wi was wan furious at the crick mek which had bt been blen n played Dut But ButI i I. I d declared lared th the J Englishman who has put pat himself In No place shall hall suffer for tor him html I I I was allowed to see pour four our brother He had got over the Irit Int shock of ot what had happened and andt t found him full tun of ot courage We die reseed several plans for his escape which however we never carried Into iff ct I do not believe that any anyone one could have hue bought the life lite of ot No 29 20 from from for tor a million pounds With your Jour brother however veer It was In ID the end I made over to tolien lien one of your brothers brother's drafts one drafts one I took back buk from frolD Ivan after atter it e was Wal dead ca dead cashed cashed hed one ono of the ones onel and one ODe dark night we trove rove away from the fortress But this Is I. all so no long ago aco agol I Mary wonderingly The ne woman nodded We W wire were In the train for tor Petrograd Petro- Petro md grad she ahe went on when I had a from Ahren eln telling me that he hs was superseded Isle His lor her had arrived and was holding an Inquiry Into the escape of ot No 29 He me not to go near Petrograd We W. left th the train just as a company K lot soldiers from the fortress arrived Mi sa the tn the platform The train was held ap ip and searched lurched We took a car car- nags hag and drove away anywhere Into th lb bs plains We had money but noth nothing bag ing else We bought the carriage and one bones bought th the driver body and out loul Driving by night resting the one hones and hiding our ourselves elvel b by day Ire we traveled a hundred miles mile south south- You must mast tell ten me the rest another lime Ume Lady Mary ary suggested What I am going to tell you I Ishall shall Ihan toll tell you ou now or never Elsa Elea El l Francks answered fiercely It wont won't be much I 1 can promise you When I 1 leave this house the story torr of ot these months Is coming out of of my mind whether I have hue to dull It it by br drinking or even cut cur It out of ot my ray brain We were always In danger er always alway nys heln being tracked We went short distances ES by train Sometimes we hired car CRr- We even traveled for tor the whole of ot ORe one day In an electric car which crawled between two small towns Seven times we tried to cross ross the frontier Into Poland and each fach time we were turned back One Once they heard of ot us and we wt were placed under arrest Your brother shot two to of the guards and we escaped After that It was 81 life or death with us We were passed paned across the frontier at nt last In Ina a spot where the war zone had been We were scarcely In Poland before half halt a regiment of ot Russians was after us UI We were In Poland oland however We e eIdt left Idt them fighting We heard afterward afterward after otter ward that the Russians who had crossed the frontier were wiped out We got rot across Poland somehow v or other Into Germany The rest was all discomfort and misery but most ol ot the danger was WiS past Your brother brollier tell fell ill III In Warsaw he has bas been dazed dUEd and weak with a high temperature and with fits lits of ot How I 1 got Jot him here 1 I dont don't know We arrived at street this morning I drove to Char Char- I hospital and they took him himat himat himat at nee lie was shouting like a madman Then I drove here She pou poured d out out th the last glass of wine Ine from the bottle and drank draak It Then she ahe the rose to her feet It Is la a wonderful story atory this tidal I Mary exclaimed You must not go away aay yet or or It If you r u do you must come comeback comeback back blk again My father will want to thank you ou I do not want thanks the woman scoffed I started out on this adventure adventure ad ad- venture because your brother had paid a great sum of ot money and because because be bt cause raulP I had a fancy for tor him I have 1 lost that fancy but I made up m mI my I mind that I would bring your our brother home and aad I have done It I 1 do not wish for tor any further payment I have spent pent your our brothers brother's money freely treely billI butI but bill I 1 have hue enough left to give me all that thai f need In life ur I do not like Ilke England lund and I 1 ant aiu going away today Is there any further question you wish to ask 7 t None that I Jean can think of for the till moment Lad Lady Mary Mury admitted I 1 1 think that It Ir was very ery wonderful ol ot Iou fou ou to run all thrill those risks You might night have lIae left my brother there and gone goneway way away with the money coney I very Dearl nearly did the woman conversed con con- versed bluntly Many a tine time on the th way home I wished that 1 I had done donet I t it Your Tour brother h. h has a tine tint courage ft lOt times hut huh h he h. U la a II weakling In tb the tbt e ugly places of life lite Often Orren when 1 drugged dragged him along through the mud and he bad to sleep on a tone stone floor noor with coarse food tood to eat eat and no wine he le would rather have hue come out Into the open and fought tough for tor his hi life lite and ended It I daresay when he recovers ers era he be will III be grateful to me Ther- Ther lave have been many times when be he has has' hated me Now I 1 will go 10 She rose rOlle to her feet teet dabbed more powder on her face tace and looked at her hostess n little defiantly Lady Mary rang the bell Then she held beld out her bel band hand Thank you very much for tor bringing Gerald home she ahe said Elsa Franck Francke laughed hardly She refused the hand You have no need for tor gratitude she said I started o on the rhe job because because be be- cause caust I had a fancy tancy for tor your our brother When I lost that I went on because I Iam Iam Iam am an obstinate woman As AI for recompense recompense rec ree I still have a fortune but butI I I am glad Klad that these theBe months are over You can nn tell your brother that I 1 took Your Brother Has Hal a Fine Fin Courage at ar Times Tim but He Ha Is fa a Weakling in the Jh the Ugly Places of Life share ilare of ot the money as aswell aswell well wen as my own owls When he comes to ro think It over I think he will say 1 J earned It She followed the butler out of ot the the room Mary Iary watched her from the be window with fascinated eyes saw her hall a passing taxicab with her out outstretched stretched umbrella watched her fling tUne herself herselt into It It put up h her r feet teet on the rhe opposite seat and light a cigarette She had the air of ot a woman who had accomplished a great task Lady Mary runs rung the bell The car ar at once Richards she ordered Lord Dombey Is In London I 1 am going to fetch tetch him home Chapter VIII Christopher had taken hi his seat had seat had already Indeed made his maiden speech when speech when Gerald left the nursing home Into which he had been ben moved from the hospital The doctors how however hower ever er were far from satisfied with his Ills condit condition Iou lie He was waB still sUII thin listless In manner with long periods of ot absent ab ab- sent sent mindedness lie He seemed In a aVa away away Va way to have lost self Mary ar as they y drove home together to llin- llin house houst made up her mind to break the long silence all which had ex ex- existed isted between them on the subject of ot Pauline Gerald she asked have hare you seen or heard hard anything of ot the De Ion leres Peres t Gerald turned and looked at her out of ot his hollow eyes lyes Nothing he confessed I wrote from the nursing home six times 1 I have hue h had d no reply They must have left lent the hotel In South Kensington ton Would you ou like me to try and find out It doesn't matter he answered I have made madl up my mind to go there ther myself this afternoon May Hay far I come with you t she ahe begged If It you like he answered half halt heartedly They wont won't be there though r T am Just hoping that I may mar hear of ot them The hope hOI however was not real real- Madame and nj had hadIn left In the th hotel many months ago ego and had left rt no nl no address behind Gerald find and his bis sister drove away aay from the hotel In silence You were disappointed Mary Maryn n asked ked him anxiously I they thy might have hav left I a message for tor me he admitted come corce down to ro tomorrow tomorrow to to- morrow y T THe He lit shook his hi head hud I must find her he announced In I a tone tont curiously devoid tt of un n or hope hop hope Mary Marr said Mid nothing theft tat but ah ab took him to task tuk tint that evening They had dinner diM tete tete tete-a-tet a tete Lord having already gone rone down dOWD to the country For the first lint time tim Orald showed some omo Interest IB in Myrtile's absence What did you OU say 18 had become of he Inquired She has bas gone gon back to te Pr a nce ance his his Il slater told him She Sh had bad a little money left lett to her bel and she ahe wanted to go Co I had a letter from her this morning She h. h hat has bought th the old farm tarm where her you OU first tint saw her ber and sod la is violets growing violets Why did she ahe want to ro go ro back Gerald persisted You were allkind all kind kindIe lo Ie her I h hope hopeWe per We all tried to be Matt Mary answered Dad misses her terribly Why Why heres here's Christopher I she he broke off suddenly Whatever are you 00 doing neJl neglecting your yonI duties dutlI In this manner she asked as at Christopher still In morning clothes was wat shown In b by the butler Ive come to beg for tor some ome dinner I Iwas was the smiling reply and Incident ally to welcome Gerald back Mary Marr who was watching him closely closely close close- ly Iy fancied that his Indifference was almost al almost al al- most natural Queer thing he observed to think that she should end up there after aLLI all I wonder whether she blesses or curses cunes us Gerald for tor taking her to the tb end of the road Gerald sighed a little wearily Curses Curies us UI I I 1 should think he h. re re- plied plied- All knowledge Is le pain so 10 is le memory Last night I woke up suddenly sad Bud denly and I remembered fighting with that great brute on the rhe Polish frontier Did Elsa tell you about abour the man I 1 killed there theme he asked frowning liar Mary rose abruptly to ro her feet teet Remember the doctors doctor's orders orders she Insisted The last twelve twelve twelvemonth months month a are taboo There are worse things In the world than killing Bolshevists any any- anyhow how The chap had some lome one who was waa fond of him I suppose Gerald said gloomily You ought to have seen that woman woman who brought me home Mme Christopher I cant can't get ger the thought of ot her het out of ot my brain The first time I 1 saw law her I went to persuade her to bribe her lover I thought her the co coarsest most brutal most ungainly un an gainly creature who ever abused the name name of ot Woman Then I saw laW her month after month playing a mans man's part She lied she he swore she fought fought with lier her fists lf It there was wai nothing else handy she drank once she Bhe almost carried me over o a mile of marshland with some outpost sentries sniping at us all 1111 the time She was a hideous glorious epic figure Th There re was a man whom we both knew to be bea a spy and on my tracks I saw her wheedle him Into her room Two minutes afterward his blood was wu streaming out from under the door Gerald 1 l his sl slater sister ter entreated All right he muttered Im not sure Bure that It doesn't do me good to talk of ot these things They've been a silent allent horror with me for tor so ao lon long Later the doctor called to see eel Gerald Ger Gen ald aid and Christopher led Mary across the hall hail Into the billiard room Miry Mary he con confided ded as soon as he had closed cloned the door I had a reason rel for tor coming round tonight I have seen the girl girt Where Mary asked breathlessly sly Mere Here In London They were openIng opening open open- Ing the gates of ot Marlborough house houle asI as asI I 1 came come along Pall Mall otan and I Iwas was stopped for tor a moment on the pavement A small brougham came caine came out The windows win win- dove dows were closed but I was few tew feet teet of ot It The girl was 1 inside ld with a young man It If only you could have found out oat where they went to I 1 Mary exclaimed Gerald will never be better until he be behas has haa seen her lIe He can do that when he likes then thell Christopher replied re I Jumped Into a taxi tail and followed d the carriage It drew up before quite a small mall de the detached house at the back of ot Roehampton ton lane I 1 Jumped out of ot my JOy taxi tut quickly and I was just Just Just-In in time to stop stopher stopher her as 88 she was entering the gate Go 00 on Mary begged This Is 18 exciting ex citing She recognized me at once Christopher Christopher Chris Chris- topper went on on and she ahe made no attempt at tempt to get et away I told her that iwas I 1 Iwas was Geralds Gerald's friend and that he was waa looking for tor her You can tell him she he replied that be he can IlO find me here What did the young man say Nothing at or all an He lie was very good good- looking In his way a great strong fellow fellow fel tel low v. but he looked as though he be had been blen Ill III What are you rou to going do de about this Are you going to tell teU Gerald She nodded I 1 think so I dont don't believe this girl means mean to rn marry him It Is much better bet better ter however that be he knows the rhe exact position TO BE CONTINUED |