Show 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AV 0 0 its 1 1 0 all 0 0 I 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 e 10 4 ry 0 I 1 0 0 0 p no noy wol 1 tl ovell bev I 1 mil tell abt ii IM obtain amii i mh less very rp ny gy 0 o Is t a youns young lady tulili i ith suil sunk lelent lent intelligence telli gence and pres erics of iff mind to sustain her firt fint wal IVL II and also one who wi haie liaa BulicH nt discretion not to ask too many questions question smiled a little she felt that whittington had bad scored theres mother another thing io 10 far there has been no menil vii ol ii mr air burls tord ford where does lie he come in sir mi beresford ne resford sly my partner 11 said tice with dignity you saw us together to ether yesterday pr I 1 ali ah yes but rin fin afraid we shant require his services sen sees then its boffl rose its both or neither sorry but how it Is good morning mr whit fagton walt wait a minute elects lot us see if something cant be managed sit down again alisa he paused Inter roga Tup Luppen pences cea conscience gave her a passing as she remembered the archdeacon she seized hurriedly on the fl first t name that came into her head jane alwi she said hastily and then paused openmouthed open mouthed at the effect oi of those two simple words all the geniality had faded out of tons face it was purple with rage and the veins stood out on his forehead and behind it all there lurked a so sort ot of incredulous dismay lie he leaned forward and hissed sav so thare your little game Is it though utterly taken aback nevertheless kept her hend head ia had not the faintest comprehend f eneli S of his mean meaning ng but she was natu lly quick witted and felt it imperative to keep her end up as she phrased it whittington went on been playing with me have you all the time like ilka a cat and mouse knew all theotime the time what I 1 wanted you for but kept up the comedy Is that it eh ile he was cooling down the red color was ebbing out of tits ills face ile he eyed here keenly mv chos oi os been blabbing shook her head slie she was doubtful as to how long loag she ahe could sustain this illusion but the she realized the importance of not dragging an unknown rita lato into it no she replied with perfect truth rita knows nothing about me how much do you know he shot cliot out oat very little indeed answered and was pleased to note that uneasiness was augmented instead 0 of allayed anyway he snarled you knew enough to come coma la in here and plump out that name it might be my owa name tup f pence pointed out its likely leszt 1 it that there would be two girls with a name like ithe that quit fooling I 1 how much do you know and how bow much do you yoa want the last five fire words took Tup pences fancy mightily especially after a meager breakfast and a supper of buns the night before she sat up and smiled with the air of one who has the situation thoroughly well in hd sly my dear mr whittington she said let us by all means lay jay our cards cardi upon the table and pray do not he be so angry you yoa heard me say yesterday that I 1 proposed to live by my iny ts its it seems to nie that I 1 have now proved I 1 have some wits to live byl by I 1 admit I 1 have knowledge or of a 0 certain name came lut but perhaps my knowl edge ellse ends there As I 1 said once before said whittington angrily ace rily quit fooling and come to the point you cant play the innocent with me you know a great deal more than youre willing to admit Tap pence paused a moment to admire her own I 1 ingenuity and then said softly 1 like to contradict you vy 1 lt n 0 so we come to the usual question 41 tw much r was in a dilemma so fer she had tooled fooled whittington with complete success hut bul 1 to mention a palpably impossible sum might awaken tits his suspicions tors an idea flashed her barnla suppose we say a little something down dowa and a fuller discussion of the matter later batery whittington gave her an ugly glance blackmail ehy ear Tup e smiled sweet sweetly aly oh not shall we say payment of services la in advance rp whittington grun bruntel tel youre vure about the limit what you birc tire lie he growled with a sort of j cc tt wining willing aamir admiration arion rou booi foo we me in all right thought you were quite a meek little kid with inith just enough brains for my purpose all the same so been talking you tou say it idita was it oh come in the clerk followed his discreet knock into the room and laid a paper tit at his it masters elbow telephone message just come for you sir whittington snatched it up and read it A frown gathered on his brow do brown you can go the clerk withdrew whittington turned to come tomorrow at the same time im busy now heres fifty to go on I 1 11 with ith ile rapidly sorted out some notes and pushed thorn across the table to the girl counted the notes secured them in her handbag and ros rose good morning mr whit hington ting ton she said politely at least au revoir I 1 should say exactly au revoir my clever and charming young lady sped lightly down the stairs A wild elation possessed her leta lets give tommy a sur surprise 1 murmured and hailed balled a taxi the cab drew up outside the tube station tommy was just within the entrance ills his eyes opened to their fullest extent as he hurried forward to assist to alight all glit she smiled at him affectionately and remarked in a slightly affected voice tay pay the thing will you old bean lo 10 whittington snatched it and read head it IL ive got nothing smaller than a five pound note I 1 CHAPTER II 11 A setback the moment was not quite so tr triumphant I 1 as it ought to have been to begin with the resources of tommys tommas pockets wore somewhat limited in the end the faro fare was managed well said mr beresford at length able to relieve hla his feelings what the dickens did you want to take a taxi for 1 I was afraid I 1 might be late and keep keel you waiting said gently and really and truly I 1 got anything smaller than a five pound note now lets go to lunch irow how about the savoy tommy grinned how about the ritz on second thoughts I 1 prefer the piccadilly its nearer we shant h havo to take another taxi come along Is this a new brand of humor or Is your brain unhinged inquired dominy old girl what has really come over you oh unbelieving onel one I 1 wrenched open her bag look here and here and herel tommy groaned 1 ul I must have been drinking unawares 1 am I 1 dreaming or do I 1 really behold a large quantity of five pound notes heing waved about in a dangerous fashion I 1 ilven so 0 king I 1 now will mill you come and have lunch jumble ill come anywhere but what have bare you been doing molding holding up a banff all in good time and now tell me said tommy unable to restrain bla pent pan up curiosity any ton longer geras as they sat in 14 state in the piccadilly dawley cowley told him q an aad d tha curious part dart st of it uila Is 11 she ended i tini I 1 dlin d invent the name of jane finn I 1 I 1 w want ant to give my own because ot of poor father in case I 1 should get mixed up la in any thing shady so said tommy slowly hut but you invent it what no I 1 told it to you dont you remember I 1 said yesterday rd id overheard two people talking about a a female called june jane finn what brought the name into your mind so pa pat t 11 so you did I 1 remember now now how extraordinary tailed off into silence budde suddenly aly she he aroused herself what were they like the two men you passed one was a big fat sort of chap clean shaven I 1 think and dark him cried in an ungrammatical squeal whit what was the other man like 1 I cant remember I 1 notice him particularly it was really the outlandish name that caught my attention tent lon and people say that coincidences dont happen I 1 tackled her luncheon happily but tommy had become serious look here old girl what Is this going to lead to more money replied his companion anion 1 I know that youve only got one idea in your head what I 1 mean Is what about the next step now how are arc you going to keep the game up after all you know you cant bluff him forever youre sure to slip up sooner or later and anyway im not at fill all sure that it actionable blackmail you know nonsense blackmail la Is saying tell unless you are given money now theres nothing I 1 could artl because I 1 dont really know arty anything thing ive got a plan obviously what got to do Is to find out more about it all tommy applauded dont jeer we can only find out through whittington we must discover where lie he lives what he does sleuth him in fact I 1 now I 1 cant do it because he be knows me but he be only saw you for a minute or two in lyons lies hes not likely to recognize you my plan Is tills this went on calmly ill go alone tomorrow ill put him om oco again like I 1 did today it mutter matter if I 1 dont get any more money at once fifty pounds ought to last us a few days hang about outside when plome out I 1 shant speak to you in case hes watching but ill take up my stand somewhere near and when he be cornea comes out of the building ill drop a handkerchief or something and off you go 90 1 off I 1 go vh where ere follow him of course silly I 1 what do you think of tho the idea sort of thing one reads about in books people will wonder what im up to anyway it will be rather a lark they met by arrangement the following morning and proceeded i a rd tommy remained on the opposite side of 0 the road while plunged into the building tommy strolled slowly down to the end of the street then back again just as he came abreast of the buildings darted across the road tommy I 1 tho the place Is shut I 1 cant make anyone bear odd it come up with me and lets try again tommy followed her As they passed the third floor landing a young clerk came out of an office ue he hesitated a moment then addressed himself to were you wanting the Esth esthonia onla glassware yes please its closed down since yesterday afternoon company being wound up they say not that ive iva ever heard of 0 it myself but anyway the office Is to let th thank you faltered tup pe nce 1 I suppose you dont know mr whit ting tons address addre afraid I 1 dont they left ruther rather suddenly thank you very much said tommy come on they descended to the street where they gazed at one another blankly torn it said tommy at length cheer up old thing it cant be bc helped cant it thought Tup pences little chin achl shot out defiantly do you think this Is the end it if so youre N wrong rong its just the beginning 1 tho the beginning of what of our advent adventure urel I 1 tommy dont you see if they are seared scared enough to run away like this it shows that there must be a lot in this juno jano F finn inn busness business well well get to the bottom of it well run them down I 1 we well be sleuths in earn earnest estl 1 yes but theres no one left to ileath no why well have to start nil all over again lend me that bit of pencil thanks walt wait a minute dont interrupt therel there 1 handed back the pencil and surveyed the piece of paper on which she bad written with a satisfied eye that advertisement youre not going to put that thing in after all no its a different one she handed him the slip of paper tommy read the words on it it aloud wanted any information respecting jane finn apply Y A the day of disillusionment had been a wednesday on thursday the advertisement had duly appeared on fridy friday letters might be expected to ti 3 r v dyrr arrive nt 0 tommys tommas rooms he had bad boon been bound by an honorable promise not to open any such letters it if they did arrive but to repair to the national gallery where his colleague would meet him at ten was first at the rendezvous she ensconced herself ona on ji red velvet sent seat until she saw the familiar figure enter the room welle well well returned sir mr Bercs Be ford provokingly vo which la Is your favorite picture arent there any answers tommy shook his head with a deep and somewhat overacted over acted melancholy 1 I wint went to disappoint you old thing by telling you right off its too bad good money wasted lie ile sighed still there it Is tho the advertisement ti has bas appeared and there are only two answers snatched the two precious envelopes from him unceremoniously and scrutinized them carefully thick paper this one it looks looka rich well keep it to the last and open tho the other first right you are one two three 90 gol 1 TU Tup pences little thumb ripped open the envelope and she extracted the contents dear sir referring to your advertisement in this mornings paper I 1 may be able to be of some use to you perhaps you could call and see me nt at the above address nt at eleven tomorrow ino morning na yours truly A CARTER 27 Cur gardens said referring to the address gloucester road way now for the other letter ill read it dear sir re no your advertisement I 1 should be glad if you would call round somewhere about lunchtime lunch time yours tours truly JULIUS P 1 hal said tommy do I 1 smell a boche or only an american millionaire lion lio alre of unfortunate ancestry at all events well ell call tit at lunchtime lunch time it a good time frequently leads lead 3 to fj fi food for two nodded an eager a assent now for carter well have to hurry Carsh carshalton Car terrace proved to be an unimpeachable row of what called ladylike looking houses they rang the bell at no 27 and a neat reald answer answered od the door she looked so BO respectable that Tup pences heart sank upon tommys tommas request for mr carter she showed them into a amft small 11 study on the ground floor where she left them hardly a minute elapsed however before the door opened and a tall man alth a lean face it 11 I 1 t hal said tom tommy Y do I 1 smell small a socho boche and a tired manner entered the room mr Y AA he said and smiled its ills smile was distinctly attractive do sit down both of you they obeyed ile he himself took a chair opposite to and smiled at her encouragingly there was avas something in the quality of his smile that made the girls usual readiness desert her As he did not seem eem inclined to open the conversation was forced to begin we wanted to know that Is would you be so kind as to tell us anything you know about jane finn jane finn alit ahl sir mr carter appeared to reflect well the question Is what do you yourself know about her drew herself up 1 I dont see that got anything to do with IV it no dut but it has you know really it has he smiled again in hla his tired way and continued reflectively so that brings us down to it again what do you ir know now about jane finn come now he continued as remained silent you must know something to have advertised as you did no he leaned forward a little tits lils weary voice held a hint of persuasiveness suppose you tell me we do that could we tommy nut to her surprise her comp companion anlon arild not back her up ills eyes were fixed on mr carter and his bis tone when he spoke held an unusual note of deference 01 1 dare say the little we know wont be any good to you sir air but such as it t Is youre welcome to it IL mr carter tie bleed ed round in his aln chair ills is eyes eye asked askea tommy nodded yes sir I 1 recognized you at once saw you in france when I 1 was with the intelligence As soon as you came into tho the room I 1 knew 21 mr carter held up his hand no names please im known as sir mr carter hero here its my cousins bouso by the way ashes willing to lend it to rao me sometimes when its a case of 0 working on strictly unofficial unes lines well now lie looked from one to the other chos going coln to tell me the story fire ahead 11 directed direct od tommy its your yam and obediently Tup penco told it it telling the whole story from tho the forming of it tho the young adventurers ltd downwards mr carter listened in silence with a resumption of his tired manner now and then he be passed hlf his hand across his lips as though to hide a smile when she had finished he nodded gravely not |