| OCR Text |
Show The Evil Shepherd f ! By E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM ( Copyright by LlttW, Brown aotl Company the extent of more tban one cocktail, but I will recognize the present as an exceptional case. To continue, then," he went on, after the glasses had been filled, "I have, during the last few weeks, experienced the ceaseless and lynx-eyed watch of Mr. Ledsam and presumably , bis myrmidons. I do not know whether you are all acquainted with my name, but In case you are not, let me Introduce myself. I am Sir Timothy Brast, chairman, as I dare say you know, of the United Transvaal Gold Mines, chairman, also of two of the principal hospitals In London, vice president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Ani-mals, a patron of sport In many forms, a traveler In many countries, and a recipient re-cipient of the honor of knighthood from his majesty, in recognition of my services serv-ices for various philanthropic works. These facts, however, have availed me nothing now that the bungling amateur Investigator Into crime has pointed the finger of suspicion towards me. My' servants and neighbors have alike been "MY CONGRATULATIONS" STNOPBI8. Franela Ladaam defends de-fends Oliver Hlldttoh, a bualnesa maa. In a murder cane and succeed suc-ceed In setting; Mm off, only to be told by hie wife that Hildltch te an arch-criminal. Ledaam. din-Ins din-Ins with hi bet friend, Andrew Wllmore, meet Hildltch and hi wife and I Invited to dine with them at their home. At dinner with the Hlldltche. Oliver ahows Led-cam Led-cam how he killed hi victim and ear hi own death the am war would make hi wife supremely happy. Returning home, Ladaam receive a phone call from Margaret Mar-garet Hildltch aylnf Oliver ha been murdered. Ledaam ;et the coroner to set Oliver' death down a aulclda. He admit to Wllmore that he ha developed a keen Intereet In Margaret He meets her father, Blr Timothy Brast. the evil ahepherd, who tell him a crime will be committed com-mitted before they leave the cafe. A murder 1 committed. Ledeam determine to solve the mytery. He meet Margaret certainty aa,.atfl It. ietw tfaat night who did not know that Bobby Fairfax had been arrested In the bar below for the murder of Victor Bldlake, had taUen poison and died on the way to the police station. Yet the same number num-ber of dinners were ordered and eaten, the same quantity of wine drunk.' The management considered that they had shown marvelous delicacy deli-cacy of feeling by restraining the orchestra or-chestra from their usual musical gymnastics gym-nastics until after the service of dinner. din-ner. Conversation, In consequence, buzzed louder than ever. One speculation specula-tion In particular absorbed, the attention atten-tion of every single person hi the room why had Bobby Fairfax, at the zenith of a very successful career, risked the gallows and actually accepted ac-cepted death for the sake of killing Victor Bldlake, a young man with whom, so far as anybody knew, he had no cause of quarrel whatever? There were many theories, many people peo-ple who knew the real facts and whispered them Into a neighbor's ear, only to have them contradicted a few moments later. let, curiously enough, the two men who knew most about It were the two most silent men In the room, for each was dining alone. Francis, who had remained only In the hope that something of the sort might happen, was conscious of a queer sense of excitement when, with the service of coffee. Sir Timothy, glass In hand, moved up from a table lower down and with a wcrd of apology took the vacant place by his aide. It was what he had desired, afd yet he felt a thrill almost of fear at Sir Timothy's murmured words. He fell that be was In the company of one wt, If not an enemy, at any rate had so friendly feeling towards him. "My congratulations, Mr. Ledsam," Sir Timothy said quietly. "You appear ap-pear to have started your career with a success." "Only a partial one," Francis acknowledged, ac-knowledged, "and as a matter of fact I deny that I have started In any new career. It was easy enough to make use of a fluke and direct the Intelligence Intelli-gence of others towards the right person, per-son, but when the real significance of the thing still eludes you, one can scarcely claim a triumph." " Sir Timothy gently knocked the ash from the very fine cigar which he was smoking. "Still, your groundwork was good," he observed. Francis shrugged his shoulders. "That," he admitted, "was due te chance." "Shall we exchnnge notes?" Sir Timothy Tim-othy suggested gently. "It might be interesting." "As you will," Francis assenteo. "There is no particular secret in the way I stumbled upon the truth. I wns dining here that night, as you know, with Andrew Wllmore, and while he was ordering the dinner and talking "But yon must not talk to me like that!" she expostulated. "Why not?" he demanded. "We have met under strange and untoward circumstances, cir-cumstances, but are you so very different dif-ferent from other women? Will you not accept my friendship?" "It Is Impossible," she replied. "May I be allowed to call on your be went on doggedly. "I do not receive visitors," she answered. an-swered. "I am sorry," he said, "but I cannot accept my dismissal like this. I shall appeal to your father. However much he may dislike me, be has at least common sense." She looked at him with a touch of the old horror In her coldly questioning question-ing eyes. "In your way you have been kind to me," she admitted. "Let me in return give you a word of advice. Let me beg you to have nothing whatever to do with my father, In friendship or In enmity. Either might be equally disastrous. dis-astrous. Either, in the long run, Is likely to cost you dear." "If that is your opinion of your father, fa-ther, why do you live with him?" he asked. She had become entirely callous again. Her smile, with Its mocking quality, reminded him for a moment of the man whom they were discussing. "Because I am a luxury and comfort-loving parasite," she answered deliberately, de-liberately, "because my father gladly pays my accounts at Lucille and Worth and Revllle, because I have never learned to do without thing. And please remember this. My father, so far as I am , concerned, bus no faults. He Is a generous and courteous courte-ous companion. Nevertheless, No. 70 b, Curzon street Is no place for people who desire to lead normal lives." And with that she was gone. Her gesture of dismissal was so complete and final that he had no courage for further argument. He hud lost her almost al-most as soon' as he had found her. CHAPTER VIII Four men were discussing the ver- diet at the adjourned Inquest upon 1 Victor Bldluke, at Soto's American ously upon the counter with bis knuckles. "We can stand anything but suspense," sus-pense," he declared. "Get on with your shock-giving." "I believe that the person responsible responsi-ble for the death of Victor Bldlake Is In this room at the present moment," Francis declared. Again the silence, curious, tense and dramatic. Little Jimmy, the bartender, who had leaned forward to listen, stood with his mouth slightly open and the cocktail-shaker which was In his hand leaking drops upon the counter. The first conscious Impulse of everybody every-body seemed to be to glance suspiciously suspi-ciously around the room. The four young men at the bar, Jimmy and one waiter, Francis and Sir Timothy Brast, were Its only occupants. "I say, you know, that's a bit thick. Isn't It?" Sidney Voss stammered at last "I wasn't In the place at all, I was In Manchester, but lfs a bit rough on these other cbaps, Victor's pals." "I was dining at the Cafe Royal," Jacks declared, loudly. Morse drew a little breath. "Every one knows that I was at Brighton," be muttered. "I went home directly the bar here closed," Jimmy said, in a still duzed tone. "I heard nothing about It till the next morning." "Alibis by the bushel," Fairfax laughed harshly. "As for me, I was doing my show every one knows that. I was never In the place at all." "The murder was not committed In the place," Francis commented calmly. Fairfax slid olT his stool. A spot of color blazed In his pale cheeks, the glass which he was holding snapped In his fingers. He seemed suddenly possessed. "I say, what the h 1 are you getting get-ting at?" he cried. "Are you accusing me or any of us Victor's pals?" "I accuse no one," Francis replied, unperturbed. "You Invited a statement state-ment from me and I made It." Sir Timothy Brast rose from his place and made his way to the end of the counter, next to Fairfax and nearest Francis. He addressed the former. There was an Inscrutable smile upon his Hps, his manner was reassuring. " ' CHAPTER VII Continued. "I am not at all sure," she said indifferently, in-differently, "that It would not be very much better for you If he did." "I cannot admit that," he answered, smiling. '1 think that our paths In life re too far apart for either of us to In-t In-t fluence the other. You don't share his tastes, do you?" "MSdeh ones?" she asked, after a monvsit's silence. . "Well, boxing for one," he replied. "They tell me that he Is the greatest Uvlng patron of the ring, both here and in America." "I have never been to a fight In my life," she confessed. "I hope that I never may." "I can't go so far as that," he declared, de-clared, "but boxing Isn't altogether one of my hobbles. Can't we leave your father and his tastes alone for the present? I would rather talk about ourselves. Tell me what you care about most In life?" "Nothing," she answered listlessly. "But that Is only a phase,"- he pcr-. pcr-. aisled. "You have had terrible trials. aJ.. I know, and they must fauve affected your outlook on life, but you are still young, and while one Is young life Is always worth having." "I thought so once," she assented. T don't now." "But there must be there will be compensations," he assured her. "I know that just now you are suffering from the reaction after all you have gone through. The memory of that will pass." '' "The memory of what I have gone through will never pass," she answered. an-swered. There was a moment's Intense si-Wuce, si-Wuce, a silence pregnant with renil-iHacent renil-iHacent drama. "Dense look at me," he begged, a Bttle abruptly. She turned her head In some surprise. sur-prise. Frauds was almost handsome In the clear spring sunlight, his face alight with animation, his deep-set gray eyes full of amused yet anxious "I Trust That I Have Succeeded In Setting These Young Gentlemen's Minds at Ease." . plagued to death with cunning questions ques-tions as to my life and habits. I have been watched In the streets and watched In my harmless amusements. My simple life hasbeen peered Into from every perspective and direction. In short, I am suspect Mr. Ledsam's terrifying ter-rifying statement a few minutes ngo was directed towards me and me only." There were murmurs of sympathy from the four young men, who each In his own fashion appeared to derive consolation from Sir Timothy's frank and somewhat caustic statement. Francis, Fran-cis, who had listened unmoved to this flow of words, glunced towards the door behind which dark figures seemed to be looming. "That Is all you have to say, Sir Timothy?" he asked politely. "For the present, yes." was the guarded reply. "I trust that I have succeeded In setting these young gentlemen's gen-tlemen's minds at ease." "There Is one of them," Francis said gravely, "whose mind not even your soothing words could lighten." Shoplund had risen unobtrusively to his feet. He laid his hand suddenly on Fairfax's shoulder and whispered In his enr. Fairfax, after his first start, seemed cool enough. He stretched out his hand towards the glass which as yet he had not touched, covered It with his fingers for a moment and drained Its contents. The gently sarcastic smile left Sir Timothy's lips. His eyebrows eye-brows met In a quick frown, his eyes glittered.-. "What Is the mennlng of this?" he demanded shurply. A policeman In plain clothes had advanced ad-vanced from the door. The mannger hovered In the background. Sbopland saw that all was well. "It means," he announced, "that I have Just arrested Mr. Robert Fairfax here on a charge of willful murder. There Is a way out through the kitchens. kitch-ens. Take his other arm, Holmes. Now, gentlemen, If you please." There were a few bewildered exclamations ex-clamations then a dramatic hush. Fairfax had falfen forward on his stool. He seemed to have relapsed Into a comatose stnte. Every scrap of color was drained from his sallow cheeks, his eyes were covered with a film and he wns breathing heavily. The detective detec-tive snatched up the glass from which the young man had been drinking, and smelt It. "I saw hltn drop a tablet In Just to some friends, I went down to the American bar to have a cocktail. Miss Daisy Hyslop and Fairfax were seated seat-ed there nlone and talking confidentially. confidential-ly. Fairfax was Insisting that Miss Hyslop should do something which puzzled her. She consented reluctantly, reluctant-ly, and Fairfax then hurried off to the theater. Later on, Ilss Hyslop and the unfortunate young man occupied a table close to ours, and I happened to notice that she made a point of leaving leav-ing the restaurant at a particular time. While they were waiting In the vestibule vesti-bule she grew very impatient, I was standing behind them and I saw her glance at the clock Just before she Insisted In-sisted upon her companion's going out himself to look for a taxlcab. Ergo, one Inquires at Fairfax's theater. For that exact three-quarters of an hour he is off the stage. At that point my Interest In the matter ceases. Scotland Yard was quite capable of the rest." "Disappointing," Sir Timothy mur-mured. mur-mured. "I thought at first that you were over-modest. I find that I was mistnken. It was chance alone which set you on the right track." "Well, there Is my story, at any rate," Francis declared. "With how much of your knowledge of the affali are you going to Indulge roe?" Sir Timothy slowly revolved hi brandy glass. "Well," he said, "I will tell you this, The two young men concerned, Bid-lake Bid-lake and Fairfax, were both guests of mine recently at my country house They had discovered for one another very fierce and reasonable antipathy. With that recurrence to prlmltlvlsm with which I have always been I hearty sympathizer, they agreed, Instead In-stead of going round their little world making sneering remarks about each other, to fight It out." "At your suggestion, I presume?" Francis Interposed. "Precisely," Sir Timothy assented. "I recommended that course, and I offered them facilities for bringing the matter to a crisis. The fight. Indeed, was to have come off the day after the unfortunate episode which anticipated It." "Do you mean to tell me that you knew" Francis began. Sir Timothy checked him quietly but effectively. "Will you din with m at Hatch End tonight?" (TO BB CONTINUED.) bar about a fortnight later. They were Robert Fairfax, a young actor In musical mu-sical comedy, Peter Jacks, a clnemn producer, Gerald Morse, a dress designer, de-signer, and Sidney Voss, musical composer and librettist, all habitues of the place and members of the little circle toward which the dead mun had seemed, during the last few weeks of his life, to have become attracted. At the table a short distance away, Francis Fran-cis Ledsam was seated with a cocktail and a dlsb of almonds before him. He seemed to be studying an evening paper pa-per and to be taking but the scantiest notice of the conversation at the bar. "It Just, shows," Peter Jacks declared, de-clared, "that crime Is the easiest game in the world. Given a reasonable amount of Intelligence, and a murderer's murder-er's business Is about as simple as a sandwlcbman's." "The police," Gerald Morse, a pale-faced pale-faced anemic-looking youth, declared, "rely upon two things, circumstantial evidence and motive. In the present case there is no circumstantial evidence, evi-dence, and as to motive, poor old Victor Vic-tor was too big a fool to have an enemy In the world." Sidney Voss. who was up for the Sheridan club and had once been there, glanced respectfully across at Francis. "You ought to know something about crime and criminals, Mr. Ledsam," he said. "Have you any theory about the affulr?" Francis set down the glass from which he had been drinking, and, folding fold-ing up the evening paper, luld It by the side of him. "As a matter of fact," he answered calmly, "I have." The few words, simply spoken, yet in their way chnrged with menace, j thrilled through the little room. Fairfax Fair-fax swung round upon his stool, a tall, aggressive-looking youth whose good-looks good-looks were half eaten up with dissipation. dissi-pation. Ills eyes were unnaturally bright, the cloudy remains In his glass Indicated absinthe. "Listen, you fellows 1" he exclaimed. "Mr. Francis Ledsam, the great criminal crim-inal barrister. Is going to solve the mystery of poor old Victor's death for us!" The three other young men all turned around from the bar. Their eyes and whole attention sinned riveted rivet-ed upon Francis. No one seemed to notice the newcomer who passed quietly quiet-ly to a cluilr In the background, although al-though lie was a person of some note and Interest to all of them. Imperturbable Imper-turbable and Immaculate as ever, Sir Timothy p.ra st smiled amiably upon the little gathering, summoned a waiter wait-er and ordered a dry martini. "I can scarcely promise to do that," Francis said slowly, his eyes resting for u second or two upon each of the four faces. "Exact solutions are a little lit-tle out of my line. I think I can promise prom-ise to give you a shock, though, If you're strong enough to stand it." There was another of those curiously curious-ly charred silences. The bartender paused with the cocktail-shaker still In bis hind. Voss began to beat nerv- "Koung gentleman," he begged, "pray do not disturb yourself. I will answer for it that neither you nor any of your friends are the objects of Mr. Ledsam's suspicion. Without a doubt, It Is I to whom his somewhat bold stutement refers." They all stared at him, Immersed In another crisis, bereft of speech. He tapped a cigarette upon the counter and lit It. Fairfax, whose glass had Just been refilled by the bartender, was still ghastly pale, shaking with nervousness nerv-ousness and breajhlng hoarsely. Francis, tense and alert In his chair, watched the speaker, but said nothing. noth-ing. "You see," Sir Timothy continued, addressing himself to the four young men at the bar, "I happen to have two special aversions In life. One Is sweet champagne and the other amateur am-ateur detectives their stories, their methods and everything about them. I chanced to sit upstairs In the restaurant, res-taurant, within hearing of Mr. Ledsam and his friend Mr. Wllmore, the novelist, novel-ist, the other night, and I beard Mr. Ledsam, very much to my chagrin, announce his Intention of abandoning a career In which he has, If be will allow me to sny so," with a courteous courte-ous bow to Francis "attained considerable con-siderable distinction, to Indulge In the moth-enten, flamboyant and melodra-ninth? melodra-ninth? antics of the lesser Sherlock Holmes. I fear that I could not resist the opportunity of Joking him about his new avocation." , Every one wus listening Intently, Including Sbopland, who had Just drifted drift-ed into the room and subsided into a chair near Francis. "I moved my place, therefore," Sir Timothy continued, "and I whispered In Mr, Ledsam's ear some rodomontade rodomon-tade to the effect that If he were planning to be the giant crime-detector of the world, I was by ambition the archcrimlnal or words to that effect. And to ?ive emphasis to my words, I wound up by prophesying a rltue In the Immediate vicinity of the place within a few hours." "A somewhat significant prophecy, under the circumstances," Frt.ncls remarked, re-marked, reaching out for a dish of suited almonds and drawing them towards to-wards lUm. Sir Timothy shrugged his shoulders dcprecutlngly, "I will confess," he admitted, "that I had not In my mind un affair of such dimensions. My harmless remark, re-mark, however, has produced cataclysmic cataclys-mic effects. The conversation to which I refer took place on the night of young Wdluke's murder, and Mr. Ledsam, Led-sam, with my somewhat, I confess, bombastic words In bis memory, has pitibed upon me as the bloodthirsty murderer." "Hold on for a moment, sir," Peter Jacks begged, wiping the perspiration from his forehead. "We've got to have another drink quick. Poor old Hobby here looks knocked all of a heap, and I'm kind of Jumpy myself. You'll Join us, sir?" "I thank you," was the courteous reply. "I do not as a rule Indulge to "In Your Way You Hav Been Kind to Me," She Admitted. solicitude. Even as she appreciated these things and became dimly conscious con-scious of his eager Interest, her perturbation per-turbation seemed to grow. "Well?" she ventured. "Do I look like a person who knew what be was talking about?" he asked. "On the whole, I should say that you did." she admitted. "Very well, then," he went on cheerfully, cheer-fully, "believe me when I say that the shadow which depresses you all the time now will puss. I say this confidently," con-fidently," he added, his voice soften-jg, soften-jg, "because I hope to be allowed to lelp. Haven't you guessed that I am )ery glad Indeed to see you again?" They had passed through Lans-owne Lans-owne passage and were In the quiet od of Cureon street. now," Jimmy faltered. "I thought it was one of the digestion pills lie uses sometimes," Sbopland and the policeman placed their bauds underneath the armpits of the unconscious man. "lie's done, sir," the former whispered whis-pered to Francis. "We'll try and get him to the station If we can." The greatest tragedies In the world, provided they happen to other people, have singularly little effect upon the externals of our own lives. There was |
