Show 1 bulldog bull dog drumm dammond I 1 A the adventures of mobilized demobilized by a De p byth y mcneile officer who found peace dull ad Sa sapper ppervis copyright by geo EL doran co CHAPTER X continued ia 16 hugh walked to the top of 0 the stairs naira A grin spread over his face ca 68 he saw gaw holf half a dozen familiar faces in the liall hall and he hailed them li eerily like old times boys he laughed wheres the driver of the lorry me sir one of them stepped fo forward good 11 said hugh take your bus ten miles from here then drop that crowd one by one on the road as you go 90 along you can take it from me that none of era em will say anything bout about it even when they wake up then take her back to your garage ill a see you later now went on hugh as they heard the sound of the departing lorry weve got to set the scene for tomorrow row morning he be glanced at ills watch just eleven how long will it take me to get the old buzz box to 10 laidley towers haldley Lal dley lowera echoed darrell what the devil are you going there for 1 I just cant bear to be ported parted from henry for one moment longer than necessary said hugh quietly and henry lg Is there in a praiseworthy endeavor cover to lift the duchess pearls pearl dear henry his two fists clenched end and the american looking at his face laughed softly cut but it was only for a moment that drummond indulged in the ples pleasures of anticipation all that could come after and jut just now there were other things to be done many others if events next morning were to go as they should take those two two into the center room he cried incidentally theres a dead doche on the floor but holl hell come in very handy in my little scheme A dead boebe boche the rabbit gave a frightened squeak good heavens you ruffian this Is beyond a joke hugh looked at him coldly find it beyond a joke you miserable little rate rat he said quietly it if you speak to me like that ile he laughed as the other shrank past him three of you boys in there he ordered briskly and if either of them gives the slightest trouble clip him over the head now lets have the rt rest of the crowd in here peter they came filing in and hugh maed a cheery hand in greeting how goes it you fellows he cried with his bis infectious grin like a company powwow pow wow before popping the parapet Iia rapet what and its a bigger show this time boys than any youve had bad over the water gather round end and listen to me for five minutes be spoke and his audience nodded delightedly apart from their love for drummond and three out of every four of them knew P and once again the american laughed softly at the look on his HI face mm him pero personally nally it was A 89 a bitis bit is tickled them to death and be was mus careful to tell them jut just enough of f the lie sinister design of the master to make them the bigness of the issue all clear then said drum mood mond rising now im off toby too we ought to come I 1 want you to be there by midnight nere therea only one point captain remarked the american as the group disperse that safe bute and to hegan the ledger lie he fumbled in his t small email andla rubber botie a god nd produced 1 I ive ve got the soup hergel her horo gel aie explained as ai he saw the I 1 emhe ile he agn others other face 1 41 I look on the it might come caroe in handy atso also reckoned ec kond aza an fn tind nod detonator defoliator a sp sold ma hugh h T 1111 acquisition mr glenell its I 1 all ln sin M lut but I 1 tank ank I 1 all first alil les es wust must undoubtedly henry first 1 and once again the american laughed softly at t the look on his face CHAPTER XI in which La kington plays his last coup ONE toby ive got a sort of horrid feeling that the hunt L if nearly over 1 with it a regretful sigh hugh wung swung i i the he cart out of the sleeping town of in tile direction of laidley towers mile after mile dropped smoothly behind the powerful two iwo seater enter and still drummonds ea eesa es u ore a look of resigned sadness very nearly oer he remarked again and then once mare more the tedium of respectability positively stares us in the face be getting married old bean murmured toby sinclair hopefully hopeful for a liioi nent its ills companion brightened up true 0 king he answered it will ease the situation somewhat at least I 1 suppose tup pose so but think of lt it toby no laking La kington ton no peterson nothing at all to ay iy about with and keep one amused youre acry en certain cert nin hugh with a feeling almot almost of wonder sinclair glanced at the square jawed ugly profile beside ham theres many a still slip my dear old min man interrupted drummond theres only one cure care for the proverb quoting disease a dose of salts lu in tile the morning for a while title they raced on through the warm arm summers night in silence and it was not till jill they were within a mile of their destination mot sinclair spoke alp again I 1 11 I 1 what are you going to do with mith them hugh who our curl carl and little henry drummond gristmill d gently why I 1 think that cull call and I 1 will part amicably unless of course he gives me ene any trouble and as for laking ton well mell have haae to see about laking ton the grin baided from lit ills q fre face as he spoke well have to see about pur our little henry lie he repeated softly and I 1 cant help feeling toby that between us we shall find a method of ridding tile lie earth of such a thoroughly U unpleasing pleasing ri fellow you menn mean to kill him grunted the other noti just that slid and no more responded H hugh u gh tomorrow Toni orrow morning as ever Is but iles hes going to get the shock of his young life before it hap happens peng he pulled the car up tip silently in the deep shadows of some trees and the flip two men got out now old boy you take her ber back to the elme put but coll confound folind it all spluttered splutter ed toby sinclair dont you want out me to help you 1 I do by taking the buzz hox box back this little show IR imy shout vor for a moment or two hugh stood r watch ln the car as aa it disappeared di down the lie road along which they had h ad just conie come while his thoughts turned to the girl gli I now safely asleep 1 a his flat in london another week perhaps a fortnight hut but no more not a day more and so delightful was the train of thought thus ihus conjured up tip that for a while title bleter on and laking lon were mere forgotten tile the rotate dreams of the die young about to wed have been known knoma to act similarly before wherefore to flip lie sold soldiers lers instinctive second nature trained tied in the flip war mor anti and sharpened by his grim duel with the gung mut must lie hp blell hie file credit of preventing the file ringing of the wedding bells being postponed for good tit the iu ddn snap of a close cloe by the sharp III hiss of a ed aar rifle deemed will hugh hurting hurling liala telf lint flat on it bis face behind a sheltering lili buzil in reality there was that fraction fra clion of a second beleen bertteen belt teen tle ife actions kilell allowed flip alie bullet io in egsa harmlessly oer his body instead of binl liing ills 1114 career there and then lie he heard lit n rd it go zipping through the undergrowth as lie bo lay motionless on fi ohp ground then tery lery cautiously he be turned his head lent wid peered about A i win shaking clinking a few yards way may and on bit it hugh fixed his half eyes if h be lay quite still mill the man aller all er lie ww was would mould probably aso bilut tile ali shot had taken effect and come slid and amesti investigate ate then things would he easier eai ler as ai two tuo or three boches it had it d dicov re I 1 to their cost in days trone rone by for two to minutes te be saw no one i pry cry slowly the branches parted und and the flip white title face of a man peered through it was tile lie chauffeur who usually drove the hie rolls royce and lie he seemed unduly anxious to satisfy himself that all was wa well before coming nearer the furne fume of hugh drummond had bud spread abroad amongst the of peterson Pet ergon at alast last he seemed to make up albi hl mind and came out into thit the open step by step he advanced toward the motionless fliri licule li cuce we his weapon held it in readiness to shoot f at the tovel put but the la hi pr nIng and inert divid by the ie 10 ur hall replied re blied him hani lher iber was no doubt in that worthya wor thys mind flint at last tills this wretched meddler with things that concerned him not had bud 14 lian n told laid by the heels beefs which was as unfortunate up fortunate tor for the chauffeur ns it tall had been for unwary huns in tile he past contemptuously lie he rolled drummond over then noting the relaxed muscles and inert limbs he be laid liis his pun gun on the ground preparatory to running through ills his victims pockets and and the fact that suh such an action was a little more foolish than offering a man mail eating tiger a peppermint lozenge did noc n 0 trouble the chauffeur in fact nothing troubled him again lie he pot got out one gasping cry of as lie he realized his mistake then he had a blurred consciousness of the world upside down and everything ans is or oer o r it was most dangerous throw carried out by gripping the victims wrists and hurling his body oer by a coave of the legs and nine times out of ten the result mas a broken neck this was one of the nine for a while the soldier stared at the body frowning thoughtfully to hae buie killed the chauffeur was inconvenient but since it had bad happened it necessitated a little rearrangement ot of his plans the moon was setting and the night would become darker so there was ass Is a good cliance chance that La kington would not recognize that the flip drier of his bis car had bud changed and it if he did well it would mould be necessary to forego the so somewhat theatrical entertainment tain ment he had staged for his benefit at the elms bending over the dead man lie removed his long grey daiv ing ID oat and cap then without a sound found ho he threaded his way through the lie bushes in search of the car ile he found it about a hundred yard nearer tile lie house so well hidden in a small pace oft off the road that he be was N almost on top of it before he realized the fact to ills his relief it was empty and placing his own cop cap in a pocket under the seat scat he put on the driling dm ing coat of his predecessor then with a quick glance round to ensure that everything ever thing was mas in readiness for the immediate and rapid departure such as lie he imagined Ln kington would desire lie turned turied and crept stealthily toward the house TWO laidley towers was mas en fete the duchess determined that every conceivable cei cel vable stunt should be carried out which would make tor for the entertainment of her guests had bad spared no palos pains to make the evening a success the duke bored to extinction had been five times routed out of hl big study by his indefatigable spouse use and was lie now at the moment hugh first came in sight right ot of the house engaged in slinking shaking hands with a tall aristocratic looking indian how dy do he murmured vacantly a what did you say the dam fellahs fel lalis lahs name was mas my dear he whispered in a hoarse undertone to the dooies audiest du diest v who mho stood beside him welcoming tile the distinguished foreigner were so glud glad ou on could come mr ram rain pur dar remarked ked the duchess affably bieron Ele Ei eron rione is so looking forward ma rd to dour our wonderful entertainment round hound tier her neck were the historic pearls und and as the indian bowed boned low oer her outstretched hand his eyes gleamed for a second it had bad been the marquis of laidley himself who mho had suggested getting hold of this celebrated performer who aho had neier been in england before and since the marquis of coming of age was the cause of tile lie whole evenings entertainment ills his suggest suggestion lon tall had been hailed with mith acclamation how lie he had lapard the indian and front from uli whom were ix ants bout about he be was very bigue hut but since nee he was a very itcague bigue young man the file fact elicited no comment the main thin thing wai wag that here h re in fit the flesh wits was a dark mysterious performer of the occult and more could a house party require and in the general excitement hugh Drumn crept c closer to the hie open window suddenly hit his jaw tightened irian inua peterson had bad filtered entered the room wilh uit hyoung young laidley do you want anything done mr ram rain dar asked tile duchess the lights down domn or the window lis dow shut no I 1 thank you returned the indian 1 I am ready who first will III learn Iv arnof of things filings that are written ritten on tile llie scroll of fate and jt was at that moment that thai the lilt elit watcher matcher outside the window ln bi gaii to shake with allent mirth for the face was the face of the indian llam itam par dar but the voice was nos the hie olce of La kington it struck him that the next ten minutes or so might be wll well morth while the problem leni of re the pearls pearl front from the duchess neck before such an assembly seemed to present a certain amount of donl culty catty even to alich an all expert no as henry and hugh crept a little nearer tile the aindow so 0 o as to miss nothing un tiling eviden ly the scene was wag now sel he necessary props prop were in n and hugh waited with growing lin im bittence int tit lence tence for the principal event rt 1311 R t he principal performer r wine e in p no lie in film fact la in hip dry wn un li hiir ak I 1 a ington wits enjoying himi helf an intimate inside kii olciSe of tile skelp touR that rattled their holies bones in the lie cupboard of most of r those present enabled the gods eotis to speak with mith disconcerting accuracy and as each victim Ing insisted isted on somebody new facing the sands that time came front from beyond the the performance for mance deemed likely to last indefinitely at lat a sudden sin lilen delighted delleh led burst of applause raine came from the group croup announcing noun cing the of yet another guest fi iet and with it seema to tire of the amusement engrossed gro ed though lie mn was lit in tile anticipation of tile the main item which was mas till still to he be staged drummond could not but admire the extraordinary accuracy of the character study not a detail had bad been overlooked not a single flaw la in Laking I tons acting could lie he notice it was an indian who stood there and when hen a few days later hugh returned her pearls to the duches audiest du diest for a long time neither she nor tier lier husband would bellere that ram ham dur dar had been an englishman disguised and tills was what happened as seen by the fascinated onliA ker crouching near the window i superbly disdainful the lie indian after a short meaningless patter to hold the attention of the audience stalked to the open window with arms outstretched lie he stared into the darkness seeming to gather strength from the gods whom milow lie served to do your ears not cot hear the whisperings of the night lie he demanded life rist rustling ling in the leaves death moaning I 1 i where did the protector of the poor obtain the sacred cabinet of the chow kingsb king through the grasses and suddenly lie threw back his head and laughed a fierce mocking laugh then he swung round around and faced the room for a while lie he stood motionless s and hugh from the shelter of the bushes wo wondered whether hether the two quick flashes that I 1 hall come from his robe as lie he spoke flashes such as a small electric torch will give and which were mere unseen by anyone ene else were a signal to the defunct chauffeur then a peculiar look came avor over the indians face as his eyes tell fell on a chinese cabinet where did tile |