OCR Text |
Show A Sequel to Bulldog Drummond. JP Srco. BYQWIL McNEILE J CHAPTER XI Continued I it seems to have acted most exoel-I exoel-I Wtly," remarked the Keverend Theo-I Theo-I dosius. and Drummond found he could i hear quite normally; nlso his sight wfrt improving; things In the room I feeroed steadier. And his mind was I tecomlng less confused he could 1 think again. But to move or to speak I vras utterly Impossible; all he could I do was to sit and watch and rage In-J In-J wsnlly at having been such a fool as J to trust Peterson. 1 But that gentleman appeared In no I lurry He was writing with a gold I pencil on a letter pad. and every now 1 jnd then lie paused and smiled I thoughtfully. At length he seemed I satisfied, and crossed to the bathroom I door. I "We are ready now," Drummond j beard him say, and he wondered what 1 was going to happen next. To turn I his head was Impossible; his range of I rision was limited by the amount he I could turn his eyes. And then, to his 1 amazement, he heard his own voice speaking from somewhere behind him I -not, perhaps, quitfi so deep, but an 1 extraordinary good Imitation which I would have deceived nine people out I of ten when they could not see the I speaker. And then he heard Feter-1 Feter-1 son's voice again mentioning the tele- phone, and he realized what they I were going to do. j "I want you," Peterson was say- lag, "to send this message that I have I written down to that number using j this gentleman's voice." I They came Into his line of vision, I and the new arrival stared at him I mrioutly. But he asked no questions 1 -merely took the paper and read It I through carefully. Then he stepped I over to the telephone, and took off the I receiver. And, helplessly Impotent, J Drummond sat In his chair and heard I Ihe following message spoken in his I own voice : j "Is that you", Peter, old bird? I've I made the most unholy bloomer. This I old bloke Theodosius isn't Carl at all. J He's a perfectly respectable pillar of the church." I And then apparently Dnrrell said I something, and Peterson, who was I listening through the second ear-I ear-I piece, whispered urgently to the man. I "Phyllis," he went on "she's as I fight as rain! The whole thing Is a j boss shot of the Brst order. . . ." I Drummond made another stupendous J effort to rise, and for a moment every-I every-I "ling went blank. Dimly he heard I Ms own voice still talking into the I Instrument, but he only caught a word 1 here and there, and then It ceased, and j w realized that the man had left the I Jm. n was Peterson's voice close j tjMm that cleared his brain again. I "I trust you approve of the way our I tbfW has started, Captain Dmm-I Dmm-I d," he remarked pleasantly. "Your I "ku per, I am glad to say, Is j than satisfied, and ha an-I an-I traced his intention of dining with I J01" teiMle charmer. Also he quite I Mersiands why your wife has gone J 10 the country you heard that bit, I "ope, arjout her sick cousin? and I " 'zes that you are joining her." I m suddenly the pleasant voice I sed' and the clergyman continued I a..,"ne of co'd. malignant furv. tr, raU You dd mtefering swine! Now that you're help-I help-I J mlnd adrnitting that I am I hut r 30 5U knew as Carl Peterson, I ke m, "0I g0ins t0 raake tlle mistake I mate? " SeCOn(1 time' 1 underestl-I underestl-I thin "' CaDtain Drummond. I left trlV that f001 Lnkington. I W i TU as a Sundering young ass, f;J, rei"ized ,t)0 late tht you I This hd8Ut a'f00' aa you l00ked- I I'Hnien. 'nV. am P8ying you the com" C treatlDg -vou as I " are flattered." 1 keem!Urne,d "s the dnr opened, and I ith , 0 had telephoned came In lo,erf ZnTTS- De was S ? nsr man wh0 mIht have la "P ?'figl'ter; the other was a I '"Hi' of y"Sklnned foreigner, and I !"ws , looked unpleasant ous-I ous-I 'is "ointr H"gh won,k'''l "''at I Te r.,n,5 t0 hanen next, while his !n led,:v",lly de to side as l! C i? f 80me "y of escape. I "to on-i M'ne ghastly nightman; drJHrP10WCrless t0 n,ove 1,efore !s'r lo be n?,1,en of the brain, 1 ! aklne at the lllst m0Inent '",p- ,0n'.v In Hugh's case I Hs reality 8 y- and lne drea I saw Mi I Peie men ,eave the room, and iltst '"Mn came over to him again. !o o0t h,tn,' Mttle bB of din-S-ltha 8 kfit' and it struck r'hd I i h hfe had see" tl,e oth- I '"'""'liin., 0 Ms Pket, he had I '" fl,t hs ti Wutcned Peterson and I '''Mm n "amine(i the stones; I " k ' ll.C l,r&0n as he locked them I 1lPatch-asa. And then I I eterson disappeared out of his range of vision. He was conscious that he was near hlm-Just behind him-and he horror of the nlghllare Increased t had been better when they were talking; at least then he could see them. But now, with both of them out of sight -hovering round the back of his chair, perhaps-and without a sound in the room save the faint hum of the traffic outside, the strain was getting unbearable. And then another thought came to add to his misery. If they killed hln, -and they Intended to, he was certainwhat cer-tainwhat would happen to Phyllis? They'd got her, too, somewhere; 'what were they going to do to her? Again he made a superhuman effort to rle-again rle-again he failed so much as to move his finger. And for a while he raved and blasphemed mentall-y. It was hopeless, utterly hopeless - he was caught like a rat In a trap. And then he began to think coherently coher-ently again. After all, they couldn't kill him here in the Ritz. - You can't have dead men lying about In your room In a hotel. And they would have to move him some time; they "Enjoying Yourself?" He Remarked, "Wondering What Is Going to Happen Hap-pen 7" couldn't leave him sitting there. How were they going to get him out? He couldn't walk, and to carry him out as he was would be Impossible. Too many of the staff below knew him by sight. Suddenly Peterson came Into view again. He was In his shirt sleeves and was smoking a cigar, and Hugh watched him sorting out papers. He seemed engrossed in the matter, and paid no more attention to the helpless figure at the table thau he did to the fly on the window. At length he completed com-pleted his task, and having closed the dispatch-case with a snap, he rose and stood facing Hugh. "Enjoying yourself?" he remarked. "Wondering what is going to happen? Wondering where dear Phyllis is?" He gave a short laugh. "Excellent drug that, isn't It? The first man I tried it on died-so you re luckv. You never felt me put a pin into the back of your arm, did you? He laughed again ; in fact, the Reverend Rev-erend Theodosius seemed m an excellent excel-lent temper. "Well mv friend, you really asked for It this time, and I'm afraid you re going to get it. I cannot have some one continually worrying me Ike this so I'm going to kill you, as I always intended to some day. It's a Pr y, and in many ways I regret it. but ou must admit yourself that you ea ly leave me no alternative. It d P pear to be accidental, so you nee ertaln no bitter sorrow hat sh-.l! sufrer in any way. And t I take nlnre verv soon-so soon. In fact, tlut doubt if you will recover from Ihe rrt;; of the drug. I wo"f an,ee it: you might. As I say nr ;.r- - own: I may not Prl,ond-s The raving fury ' mind as his tormentor . e showed clearly m his e. son laughed. agitnt- e a,,, .., glrl came into sight youre ,?.".," said "And you have aren't you? 1 e Bt , given us such a lot hap. shall quite miss you. ami all Py llllle times together. the"ce,ock;E,,ed Eent,y' nd S'-ced M out of 6fght;indD 1 ter ;KH bet them room Dmmond Into the bath- I0SUonSabr"trle,:1'' Femarked - - '-n ttetspiec:nr tlnuLhy' 1 ren,ember once," he continued con-tinued conversationally, "that I was cork ,n a bottle of prusslc acid after dr n.; H, TPeMed 8 nneman to dnnk the contents. He was in bed at 1, e16' 8Ud -erything pointed to suicide, except that confounded cork I mean' wo"ld any roan, after he's drunk sufficient prusslc acid to poison a regiment, go and cork up the empty bottle? It only shows how careM one must be over these little matters." door PUt 'ler head round the "They're here," she remarked abruptly, ab-ruptly, and Peterson went Into the other room, half closing the door. And Drummond, writhing impotentiv, heard the well-modulated voice of the Reverend Rev-erend Theodosius. "Ah, my dear friend, my very dear old friend ! What joy it Is to see vou again. I am greatly obliged to vou for escorting this gentleman up personally." person-ally." "Not at nil, sir; not at all! Would you care for dinner to be served up here?" "I will ring later if I require It," Peterson was saying in his gentle, kindly voice. "My friend, you understand, under-stand, is still on a very strict diet, anj he comes to me more for spiritual comfort than for bodily. But I will ring should I find he would like to stay." "Very good, sir." And Drummond heard the door close, and knew that his last hope had gone. Then he heard Peterson's voice again, sharp and Incisive. . "Lock the door. . You two get Drummond. He's In the bathroom." The two men he had previously Seen entered, and carried him back into the sitting room, where the whole scheme was obvious at a glance. Just getting out of an ordinary Invalid's chair was a big man of more or less the same build as himself. A thick silk muffler partially disguised his face; a soft hat was pulled well down over his eyes, and Drummond realized that the gentleman who had been wheeled In for spiritual comfort would not be wheeled out. The two men pulled him out of his chair, and then; forgetting his condition, condi-tion, they let him go, and he collapsed col-lapsed like a sack of potatoes on the floor, his legs and arms sprawling in grotesque attitudes. They picked him up again, and not without difficulty they got him Into the other man's overcoat ; and finally they deposited him In the invalid's chair, and tucked him up with the rug. "We will give It half an hour," remarked re-marked Peterson, who had been watching the operation. "By that time our friend will have had sutf-clent sutf-clent spiritual solace; and until thaa you two can wait outside. I will give you your full instructions later." "Will you want me any more, sir?" The man whose place Drummond had taken was speaking. "No," said Peterson curtly. "Get out as unostentatiously as you can. Go down by the stairs and not by the lift." With a nod, he dismissed them all, and once again Drummond was alone with his two chief enemies. "Simple, isn't it, my friend?" remarked re-marked Peterson. "An invalid arrives, ar-rives, and an invalid will shortly go. And once you've passed the hotel doors you will cease to be an Invalid. You will become again that well-known well-known young man about town Capt. Hugh brunimond driving out ol London In his car a very nice Rolls, that new one of yours bought, 1 think, since we last met. Your chauffeur chauf-feur would have been most uneasy when he missed it but for the note vou've left him. saying you'll he away for three days." Peterson laughed gentlv as he stared at his victim. "You must forgive me If I seem tc gloat a little, won't you?" he cont.n-ed cont.n-ed "I've got such a large score tc cettle with you. and I very much fear T shan't be In at the death. I have ar I en-a-ement to dine with an American millionaire whose wife Is touched tc the heart over the sufferings of th, tarving poor in Austria. And when , the wives of millionaires are touched , "o the heart, my experience is that the husbands are generally touched to th, P"Cket"" ,TO BE CONTINL'ED.) |