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Show r- - u " - 1 1 ' ' ' r- - - - - - - .- . The Secret Adversary By AGATHA CHRISTIE 1 j (Copyright Dodd. Memd Compmj) j S W.VW.V.V.VWAVAV.V.VAVAV.VW.VMV.VAV CHAPTER IX. Continued. 12 "Sure, that's ull right," said Julius. "You Just trot out June, and leave the rest to me." "June?" "Miss Junet Vandemeyer, then. Can we get on the long-distance to your place right away, and ask them to lend her up; or shnll I run down and fetch her In my ear?" The doctor stared. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Hershelm-mer. Hershelm-mer. I thought you understood." "Understood what?" "That Miss Vundemeyer Is no longer under my care." Julius sprang up. "What? When did she leave?" "Let me see. Today Is Monday, Is It not? It must have been last Julius Sprang Up. Weuuesduy why, surely, yes, It was the same evening that you er fell Dut of my tree." "That evening? Before, or after?" "Let me see oh, yes, afterward. A very urgent message arrived from Mrs. Vundemeyer. The young lady and the nurse who was In charge of her left by the night train." Julius sunk . back again Into his chair. "Nurse Edith left with a patient I remember," he muttered. "My G d, to have been so near I" Doctor Hall looked bewildered. "I don't understand. Is the young lady not with her aunt, after all?" Tuppence shook her head. She was about to speak when a warning glance from Sir James made her hold her tongue. The lawyer rose. "I'm much obliged to you, Hall. We're very grateful for all you've told us. I'm afraid we're now In the position posi-tion of having to track Miss Vande-meyer Vande-meyer anew. What about the nurse who accompanied her ; I suppose you don't know where she Is?" The doctor shook his head. "We've not heard from her, as It happens. hap-pens. I understood she was to remain with Miss Vandemeyer for a whlla. But what can have happened? Surely the girl had not been kidnaped." "That remains to be seen," said Sir James gravely. The other hesitated. "You do not thluk I ought to go to the police?" "No, no. In all probability the young lady Is with other relations." The doctor was not completely satisfied, sat-isfied, but he saw that Sir James was determined to say no more. Accordingly, Accord-ingly, he wished them good-by, and they left the hotel. For a few minutes min-utes they stood by the car talking. "How maddening," cried Tuppence. "To think that Julius must have been actually under the same roof with her for a few hours." "I was a darned Idiot," muttered Julius gloomily. "You couldn't know." Tuppence consoled him. "Could he?" She appealed ap-pealed to Sir James. . "I should advise you not to worry," said the latter kindly. "No use crying over spilt milk, you know. You might advertise for the nurse who accompanied accompa-nied the girl. Thnt Is the only course I can suggest, and I must confess I do not hope for much result. Otherwise Other-wise there Is nothing to be done." "Nothing?" said Tuppence blankly. "And Tommy?" "We must hope for the best," said Sir James. "Oh, yes, we must go on noplng." But over her downcast head his eyes met Julius', and almost Imperceptibly Imper-ceptibly he shook his head. Julius understood. The lawyer considered the case hopeless. The young American's Ameri-can's face grew grave. Sir James took Tuppence's hnnd. "You must let me know If anything further comes to light. Letters will always be forwarded." Ttrppenee stared at him blankly. "You are going away?" "T told you. Don't you remember? To Scotland." "Yes, but I thought" The girl hesitated. Sir James shrugged his shoulders. "My dear young lady, I can do noth-Ing noth-Ing more. I fear. Our clues have all ended In thin air. You cun take my word for It that there Is nothing more to be done. If anything should arise, I shall be glad to advise you In nny way I can." Ills words gave Tuppence an extraordinarily ex-traordinarily desolate feeling. "I suppose you're right," she said. "Anyway, thank you very much for trying to help us. Good-by." Julius was bending over the car. A momentary pity came Into Sir James' keen eyes, as he gazed Into the girl's downcast face. "Don't be too disconsolate, Miss Tuppence," he said In a low voice. "Itememher, holiday time Isn't always all playtime. One sometimes manages to put In some work as well." Something In his tone made Tuppence Tup-pence glance up sharply. He shook his head with a smile. "No, I shan't say any more. Great mistake to say too much. Remember Remem-ber that. Never tell all you know not even to the person you know best. Understand? Good-by." He strode away. Tuppence stared after him. She was beginning to understand un-derstand Sir James' methods. Once before he had thrown her a hint In the same careless fashion. Was this a hint? What exactly lay behind those last brief words? Did he mean that, after all, he had not abandoned the ease; that, secretly, he would be working on It still while Her meditations were Interrupted by Julius, who adjured her to "get right In." "You're looking kind of thoughtful," he remnrked as they started off. "Did the old guy say anything more?" Tuppence opened her mouth Impulsively, Impul-sively, and then shut It again. Sir James' words sounded In her ears : "Never tell all you know not even to the person you know best." And like a flash there came Into her mind another an-other memory. Julius before the safe In the flat, her own question and the pause before his reply. "Nothing." Was there really nothing? Or had he found something he wished to keep to himself? If he could make a reservation, reserva-tion, so could she. "Nothing particular," she replied. She felt rather than saw Juliu3 throw a sideways glance at her. "Say, shall we go for a spin In the park?" "If you like." For a while they ran on under the trees in silence. It was a beautiful day. The keen rush through the air brought a new exhilaration to Tuppence. Tup-pence. "Say, Miss Tuppence, do you think I'm ever going to find Jane?" Julius spoke In a discouraged voice. The mood was so alien to him that Tuppence turned and stared at him in surprise. He nodded. "That's so. I'm getting down and out over the business. Sir James today to-day hadn't got any hope at all, I could see that. I don't like him we don't gee together somehow but he's pretty cute, and I guess he wouldn't quit If there was any chance of success now, would he?" Tuppence felt rather uncomfortable, but clinging to her belief that Julius also had withheld something from her, she remained firm. "He suggested advertising for the nurse," she reminded him. "Yes, with a forlorn hope' flavor to his voice! No I'm about fed up. I've half a mind to go back to the States right away." "Oh, no I" cried Tuppence. "We've got to find Tommy." "I sure forgot Beresford," said Julius Ju-lius contritely. "That's so. We must find him. But after well, I've been day-dreaming ever since I started on this trip and these dreams are rotten poor business. I'm quit of them. Say, Miss Tuppence, there's something I'd like to ask you." "Yes?" "You and Beresford. What about It?" "I don't understand you," replied Tuppence with dignity, adding incon-sequently: incon-sequently: "And, anyway, you're wrong." "Not got a sort of kindly feeling for one another?" "Certainly not," said Tuppence with warmth. "Tommy and I are friends nothing more." "Now, let's get down to this. Supposing Sup-posing we never find Beresford and and " "All right say It I I can face facts. Supposing he's dead! Well?" "And all this business fiddles out. What are you going to do?" "I don't know," said Tuppence forlornly. for-lornly. "You'll be darned lonesome, you poor kid." "I shall be all right," snapped Tuppence Tup-pence with her usual resentment of any kind of pity. "What about marriage?" Inquired Julius. "Got any views on the subject sub-ject r "5 Intend to marry, of course," replied re-plied Tuppence. "That Is, If" she paused, knew a momentary longing to draw back, and then stuck to her guns bravely "I can find someone rich enough to make It worth my while. That's frank, Isn't it? I dare say you despise me for It." "I never despise business instinct," said Julius. "What particular figure have you In mind?" "Figure?" asked Tuppence, puzzled. "Do you mean tall or short?" "No. Sum Income." "Oh, I I haven't worked that out." "What about me?" "You?" "Sure thing." "Oh, I couldn't!" "Why not?' "It would seem so unfair." "I don't see anything unfair about It. I call your bluff, that's all. I admire ad-mire you Immensely, Miss Tuppence, more than any girl I've ever met. You're so darned plucky. I'd Just love to give you a real, rattling good time. Say the word, and we'll run round right away to some high-class Jeweler, and fix up the ring business." "I can't," gasped Tuppence. "Because of Beresford?" "No, no, no !" "Well, then?" Tuppence merely continued to shake .her head violently. "You can't reasonably expect more dollars than I've got." "Oh, It Isn't that," gasped Tuppence with an almost hysterical laugh. "But thanking you very much, and alf that, I think I'd better say no." "I'd be obliged If you'd do me the favor to think It over until tomorrow." "It's no use." "Still, I guess we'll leave It like that." "Very well," said Tuppence meekly. Neither of them spoke again until they reached the Rltz. Tuppence went upstairs to her room. She v felt morally battered to the ground after her conflict with Julius' vigorous personality. Sitting down In front of the glass, she stared at her own reflection for some minutes. "Fool," murmured Tuppence at length, making a grimace. "Little fool. Everything you want everything every-thing you've ever hoped for, and you go and bleat out 'no' like an idiotic little sheep. It's your one chance. Why don't you take It? Grab it? Snatch at it? What more do you want?" As If in answer to her own question, her eyes fell on a small snapshot of Tommy that stood on her dressing-table dressing-table In a shabby frame. For a moment mo-ment she struggled for self-control, and then abandoning all pretense, she held It to her lips and burst Into a fit of sobbing. "Oh, Tommy, Tommy," she cried, "I do love you so and I may never see you again. . . ." At the end of five minutes Tuppence sat up, blew her nose, and pushed back her hair. "That's that," she observed sternly. "Let's look facts In the face. I seem to have fallen In love with an Idiot of a boy who probably doesn't care two straws' about me." Here she paused. "Anyway," she resumed, as though arguing with an unseen opponent, oppo-nent, "I don't know that he does. He'd never have dared to say so. I've always al-ways Jumped on sentiment and here I am being more sentimental than anybody. any-body. What Idiots girls arel I've always al-ways thought so. I suppose I shall sleep with his photograph under my pillow, and dream about him all night. It's dreadful to feel you've been false to your principles." Tuppence shook her head sadly, as she reviewed her backsliding. "I don't know what to say to Julius, Tm sure. Oh, what a fool I feel 1 I'll have to say something he's so American Amer-ican and thorough, he'll Insist upon having a reason. I wonder If he did find anything In that safe " Tuppence's meditations went off on another tack. She reviewed the events of last night carefully and persistently. persist-ently. Somehow, they seemed bound up with Sir James' enigmatical words. Suddenly she gave a great start the color faded out of her face. Her eyes, fascinated, gazed In front of her, the pupils dilated. "Impossible," she murmured. "Impossible "Im-possible 1 I must be going mad even to think of such a thing. . . ." , Monstrous yet It explained everything. every-thing. ... After a moment's reflection she sat down and wrote a note, weighing each word as she did so. Finally she nodded nod-ded her head as though satisfied, and slipped It Into an envelope, which she addressed to Julius. She went down the passage to his sitting-room and knocked at the door. As she had expected, ex-pected, the room was empty. She left the note on the table. A small page-boy was waiting outside out-side her own door when she returned to It. "Telegram for you, Miss." Tuppence took It from the salver, and tore it open carelessly. Then she gave a cry. The teIeTam was from Tommy ! CHAPTER X Tommy and Annette. From a darkness punctuated with throbbing stabs of fire, Tommy dragged his senses slowly tack to life. He was vaguely aware of unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? What hud happened? He blinked feebly. This was not his room at the Rltz. And what the devil was the matter with his head? "D n !" said Tommy, and tried to sit up. He had remembered. He was In that sinister house In Soho. He uttered a groan and fell back. Through his almost-closed lids he reconnol-tered reconnol-tered carefully. "He Is coming to," remarked a voice very near Tommy's ear. He recognized rec-ognized it at once for that of the bearded and efficient German, and lay artistically Inert. Painfully he tried to puzzle out what had happened. Obviously Ob-viously somebody must have crept up behind him as he listened and struck him down with a blow on the head. They knew him now for a spy, and would In all probability give him short shrift. Nobody knew where ho was, therefore he need expect no outside out-side assistance, and must depend solely on his own wits. "Well, here goes," murmured Tommy Tom-my to himself, and repeated his former for-mer remark. "D n !" he observed, and this time succeeded In sitting up. In a minute the German stepped forward and placed a glass to his lips, with the brief command, "Drink." Tommy obeyed. The potency of the draft made him choke, but it cleared his brain In a marvelous manner. He was lying on a couch in the room in which the meeting had been held. On one side of him was the German, on the other the villainous-faced doorkeeper door-keeper who had let him in. The others oth-ers were grouped together at a little distance away. But Tommy missed one face. The man known as Number One was no longer of the company. "Feel better?" asked the German, as he removed the empty glass. "Yes, thanks," returned Tommy cheerfully. "Ah, my young friend, It Is lucky for you your skull is so thick. The good Conrad struck hard." He indicated indi-cated the evil-faced doorkeeper by a nod. The man grinned. Tommy twisted his head round with an effort. "Oh," he said, "so you're Conrad, are you? It strikes me the thickness of my skull was lucky for you too. When I look at you I feel It's almost a pity I've enabled you to cheat the hangman." "Have you anything to say before you are put to death as a spy?"1 "Simply lots of things," replied Tommy with urbanity. "Do you deny that you were listening listen-ing at that door?" "I do not. I must really apologize but your conversation was so Interesting Inter-esting that It overcame my scruples." "How did you get in?" "Dear old Conrad here." Tommy smiled deprecatlngly at him. "I hesl- "He Is Coming To," Remarked a Voice Very Near Tommy's Ear. tate to suggest pensioning off a faithful faith-ful servant, but you really ought to hnve a better watchdog." Conrad snarled impotently, and said sullenly, as the man with the beard swung round upon him : "He gave the word. How was I to know?" "Yes," Tommy chimed In. "How was he to know? Don't blame the poor fellow. His hasty action- ha9 given me the pleasure of seeing you face to face." He fancied that his words caused some discomposure among the group, but the watchful German stilled It with a wave of his hand. "Dead men tell no tales," he said evenly. "Ah," said Tommy, "but I'm not dead yet !" "You soon will be, my young friend," said the German. An assenting murmur came from the others. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |