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Show (f ft The Czar's Spy The Mystery of a Silent Love By Chevalier WILLIAM LE QUEUX Author of "The Closed Book," etc. Copyripht bj the Smart Set Publishing Co. V 'J SYNOPSIS. 2 The yarht T.ola narrowly escapes wreck in Leghorn harbor, Gordon Gregtr. locum tenens fir the Bril'sll consul, is called upon by Hornby, the Lola's owner, and (lin.-s aboard with him and his friend, Hyllon ('hater. Aboard the yacht he accidentally ac-cidentally sees a room full of arms and ammunition and a torn photograph of a vounff hi. That nlf.-ht the consul's safe Is robbed and the I.ola puts suddenly to sea. The police find that Hornby is a fraud and the Lola's name a false one. CHAPTER 1 Continued. "Unfortunately the telegraphic replies re-plies from England are only to hand this morning." he went on, "because just before two o'clock this morning the harbor police, whom I specially ordered to watch the vessel, saw a boat come to the wharf containing a man and woman. The pair were put ashore, and walked away into the town, the woman seeming to walk with considerable difficulty. The boat returned, and an hour after, to the complete surprise of the two detectives, de-tectives, steam was suddenly got up and the yacht turned and went straight out to sea." "Leaving the man and the woman?" "Leaving them, of course. They are probably still in the town. The police are now searching for traces of them." "Hut could not you have detained the vessel?" I suggested. "Of course, had I but known, 1 could have forbidden her departure. But as her owner had presented himself at the consulate, and was recognized as a respectable person, I felt that I could not interfere without some tangible information in-formation and that, alas! has come too late. The vessel is a swift one, and has already seven hours start of us. I've asked the admiral to send out a couple of torpedo-boats after her, but, unfortunately, this is impossible, as the flotilla is sailing in an hour to attend the naval review at Spezia." I told him how the consul's safe had been opened during the night, and he Bat listening with wide-open eyes. "You dined with them last night," he said at last. "They may have surreptitiously sur-reptitiously stolen your keys." "Tliey may," was my answer. "Probably "Prob-ably they did. But with what motive?" mo-tive?" The captain of the port elevated his shoulders, exhibited his palms, and declared: de-clared: "The whole affair from beginning be-ginning to end is a complete and profound pro-found mystery." CHAPTER II. Why the Safe Was Opened. That day was an active one in the questara. or police office, of Leghorn. Detectives called, examined the safe, and sagely declared it to be burglar-proof, burglar-proof, had not the thieves possessed the key. Probably while I sat at dinner on board the Lola my keys had been 6tolen and passed on to the scarred Scotsman, who had promptly gone ashone and ransacked the place while I had remained with his master smoking smok-ing and unsuspicious, but as far as Francesco and I could ascertain nothing noth-ing whatever had been taken. The detective de-tective on duty at the railway station distinctly recollected a thin, middle-aged middle-aged man. accompanied by a lady in deep black, passing the barrier and entering the train which left at three o'clock for C'olle Salvetti to join the Rome express. They were foreigners, therefore he did not take the same notice of them as though they had been Italians. The description of the Lola, its owner, own-er, his guest, and the captain were circulated cir-culated by the police to all the Mediterranean Medi-terranean ports, with a request that the yacht should be detained. Yet if the vessel were really one of mystery, as it seemed to be, its owner would no doubt go across to some quiet anchorage on the Algerian coast out of the track of the vessels, and calmly proceed to repaint, rename and disguise dis-guise his craft so that it would not be recognized in .Marseilles, Naples, Smyrna, Smyr-na, or any of the ports where private yachts habitually call. For purposes of their own the police kept the affair out of the papers, and when Frank Hutcheson stepped out' of the sleeping car from Paris on to the platform at Pisa a few nights afterwards. aft-erwards. I related to him the extraordinary ex-traordinary story. "The scoundrels wanted these, that's evident." he responded, holding up the small, strong leather hand-bag he was carrying, and which contained his Jealously-guarded ciphers. "I!y Java!" he laughed, "how disappointed they must have been!" "It may be so," I said, as we entered the midnight train for Leghorn. "But my own theory is that they were searching for some paper or other that you possess." "What can my papers concern thotn?" exclaimed the jovial, round-faced round-faced consul. "I don't keep bank notes in that safe, you know. We fellows In the service don't roll In gold as our fiublic at hot. i appears to think." "No. Hut you may have something in there which might be of value to them You're often the keeper or valuable val-uable documeniB belonging to Eiig-linhrnen Eiig-linhrnen abroad, you know." T .-iiii.lv fill thrre'd nothing lo there just now. No, my dear Gordon, depend upon it that the yacht running ashore was all a blind. They did it so as to be able to get the run of the consulate, con-sulate, secure the ciphers, and sail merrily away with them." "But the man and the woman who left the yacht an hour before she sailed, and who slipped away into the country somewhere! I wonder who they were? Hornby distinctly told me that he and Chater were alone, and yet there was evidently a lady and a gentleman on board. I guessed there was a woman there, from the way the boudoir and ladies' saloon were arranged, ar-ranged, and certainly no man's hand decorated a dinner table as that was decorated." "Yes. That's decidedly funny," remarked re-marked the consul thoughtfully. "They showed a lot of ingenuity." "Ingenuity! I should think so! The whole affair was most cleverly planned." "Y'ou said something about an armory." ar-mory." "Y'es, there were Maxims stowed away in one of the cabins. They aroused my suspicions." "They would not have aroused mine," replied my friend. "Y'achts carry car-ry arms for protection in many cases, especially if they are going to cruise along uncivilized coasts where they must land for water or provisions." I told him of the torn photograph, which caused him some deep reflection. reflec-tion. "I wonder why the picture had been torn up. Had there been a row on board a quarrel or something?" "It had been destroyed surreptitiously, surrepti-tiously, I think." "Pity you didn't pocket the fragments. frag-ments. We could perhaps have discovered dis-covered from the photographer the identity of the original." "Ah!" I sighed regretfully. "I never thought of that. I recollect the name of the firm, however." "I shall have to report to London the whole occurrence, as British subjects sub-jects are under suspicion," Hutcheson Bill : m 1 mA I Illy ?y "The Scoundrels Wanted These, That's Evident." said. "We'll see whether Scotland Yard knows anything about Hornby or Chater. Most probably they do. I'll write a full report In the morning if you will give me minute descriptions of the men, as well as of the captain, Mackintosh." Next morning the town of Leghorn awoke to And itself gay with bunting, the Italian and English flags flying side by side everywhere, and the consular con-sular standard flapping over the consulate con-sulate in the piazza. In the night the British Mediterranean fleet, cruising down from Malta, had come into the roadstead, and at the signal from the flagship had maneuvered and dropped anchor, forming a long line of gigantic battleships, swift cruisers, torpedo-boat torpedo-boat destroyers, torpedo-boats, dispatch-boats, and other craft extending for several miles along the coast. Lying Ly-ing still on those calm waters was a force which one day might cause nations na-tions to totter, the overwhelming force which upheld Britain's right In that oft-disputed sea. I had taken a boat out to the Bulwark, Bul-wark, the great battleship flying the admiral's ad-miral's flag, and was sitting on deck with my old friend Capt. Jack Durn-ford Durn-ford of the Koyal Marines. Each year when the fleet put into Leghorn we were inseparable, for in long years past, at Portsmouth, we had been close friends, and now he was able to pay me annual visits at my Italian home. He was on duty that morning, therefore there-fore could not get ashore till after luncheon. "I'll dine with you, of course, to-I to-I 'light, old chap," he Hald. "And you j must tell me all tho news. We're In here for six days, and I was half a mind to run home." "Your time's soon up, isn't It?" I remarked, as I lolled back in the easy deck-chair, and gazed away at the white port and its background of purple pur-ple Apennines. The dark, good-looking fellow, in his smart summer uniform leaned over the bulwark, and said, with a slight sigh, I thought: "Y'es. This is my last trip to Leghorn, I think. I go back in November, and I really shan't be sorry. Three years is a long time to be away from home. Y'ou go next week, you say? Lucky devil to be your own master! I only wish I were. Y'ear after year on this deck grows confoundedly wearisome, I can tell you, my dear fellow." Durnford was a man who had written writ-ten much on naval affairs, and was accepted as an expert on several branches of the service. The admiralty ad-miralty do not encourage officers to write, but in Durnford's case it was recognized that of naval topics he possessed pos-sessed a knowledge that was of use, and, therefore, he was allowed to write books and to contribute critical articles to the service magazines. He had studied the relative strengths of foreign navies, and by keeping his eyes always open he had, on many occasions, oc-casions, been able to give valuable information in-formation to our naval attaches at the embassies. "I go as soon as you've sailed. I only stayed because I promised to act for Frank," I said. "And, by Jove! a funny thing occurred while I was in charge a real first-class mystery." i "A mystery tell me," he exclaimed, J suddenly interested. "Well, a yacht a pirate yacht, I believe be-lieve it was called here." "A pirate! What do you mean?" "Well, she was English. Listen, and I'll tell you the whole affair. It'll be something fresh to tell at mess, for I know haw you chaps get played out of conversation." "By Jove, yes! Things slump when we get no mail. But go on I'm listening," listen-ing," he added, as an orderly came up, saluted, and handed him a paper. "Well." I said, "let's cross to the other side. I don't want the sentry to overhear." "As you like but why such mystery?" mys-tery?" he asked, as we walked together togeth-er to the other side of the spick-and-span quarterdeck of the gigantic battleship. bat-tleship. "You'll understand when I tell you the story." And then, standing together to-gether beneath the awning, I related to my friend the whole of the curious circumstances. "Confoundedly funny!" he remarked with bis dark eyes fixed upon mine. "A mystery, by Jove, it is! What name did the yacht bear?" "The Lola." "What!" he gasped, suddenly turning turn-ing pale. "The Lola? Are you quite sure it was the Lola L-o-I-a?" "Absolutely certain," I replied. "But why do you ask? Do you happen to know anything about the craft?" He paused a moment, and I could see what a strenuous effort he was making to avoid betraying knowledge. "It's well " he said hesitatingly, with a rather sickly smile. "It's a girl's name a girl I once knew. The name brings back to me certain memories." mem-ories." "Pleasant ones I hope." "No. Bitter ones very bitter ones," he said in a hard tone, striding across the deck and back again, and I saw in his eyes a strange look, half of anger, half of deep regret. Was he telling the truth, I wondered? won-dered? Some tragic romance or other concerning a woman had, I knew, overshadowed over-shadowed his life in the years before we had become acquainted. But the real facts he had never revealed to me. Outwardly he was as merry as the other fellows who officered that huge floating fortress; on board he was a typical smart marine, and on shore he danced and played tennis and flirted just as vigorously as did the others. But a heavy heart beat beneath his uniform. W'hen he returned to where I stood I saw that his face had changed; It had become drawn and haggard. He more the appearance of a man who had been struck a blow that had staggered stag-gered him, crushing out all life and hope. "What's the matter. Jack?" I asked. "Come! Tell me what ails you?" "Nothing, my dear old chap," he answered an-swered hoarsely. "Really nothing only a touch of the blues just for a moment," he added, trying hard to smile. "It'll pass." "What I've Just told you about that yacht has upset you. You can't deny It." He started. Ills mouth was, I saw, hard set. He knew something concerning con-cerning that mysterious craft, but would not tell me. "Why are you silent?" I asked slowly, slow-ly, my eyes fixed upon my friend the officer. "I have told you what I know, and I want to discover the motive of the visit of those men, and the reason they opened I lulcheson's safe." "I ndmlt that I have certain grave suspicions." he said at Inst, standing astride with his hnnds behind his back, his sword trailing ou the white deck. "You say that the yacht was called the Lola painted gray with a black funnel." "No, dead white, with a yellow funnel." fun-nel." "Ah! Of course," he remarked, as though to himself. "They would repaint re-paint and alter her appearance. But the dining saloon. Was there a long carved oak buffet with a big, heavy cornice with three gilt dolphins in the center and were there not dolphins in gilt on the backs of the chairs an armorial device?" "Y'es," I cried. "You are right I remember them! You've surely been on board her!" "The captain, who gave his name to you as Mackintosh, is an undersized American of a rather low-down type?" "I took him for a Scotsman." "Because he put on a Scotch accent," ac-cent," he laughed. "He's a man who can speak a dozen languages brokenly, and pass for an Italian, a German, a Frenchman, as he wishes." "And the the man who gave his name as Philip Hornby?" Durnford's mouth closed with a snap. He drew a long breath, his eyes grew fierce, and he bit his lip. "Ah! I see he is not exactly your friend," I said meaningly. "You are right, Gordon he is not my friend," was his slow, meaning response. re-sponse. "Then why not be outspoken and tell me all you know concerning him? Frank Hutcheson is anxious to clear up the mystery." "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm mystified mys-tified myself. I can't yet discern their motive." "But at any rate you know the men," I argued. "Y'ou can at least tell us who they really are." He shook his head, still disinclined, for some hidden reason, to reveal the truth to me. "Y'ou saw no woman on board?" he asked suddenly, looking straight into my eyes. "No. Hornby told me that he and Chater were alone." "And yet an hour after you left a man and a woman came ashore and disappeared! Ah! If we only had a description of that woman it would reveal re-veal much to us." "She was young and dark-haired, so the detective says. She had a curious fixed look in her eyes, which attracted him, but she wore a thick motor veil, so that he could not clearly discern her features." "And her companion?" "Middle-aged, prematurely gray, with a small, dark mustache." Jack Durford sighed and stroked his chin. "Ah! Just as I thought," he exclaimed. ex-claimed. "And they were actually here, in this port, a week ago! What a bitter irony of fate!" "I don't understand you," I said. "Y'ou are so mysterious, and yet you will tell me nothing!" "The police, fools that they are. have allowed them to escape, and they will never be caught now. Ah! you don't know them as I do! They are the cleverest pair in all Europe. And they have the audacity to call their craft the Lola the Lola, of all names! Gordon, let me be frank and open with you, my dear old fellow. I would tell you everything everything if I dared. But I cannot you understand!" under-stand!" And his final words seemed to choke him. I stood before him, open-mouthed in astonishment. "You really mean well, that you are in fear of them eh?" I whispered. whis-pered. He nodded slowly in the affirmative, adding: "To tell you the truth would be to bring upon myself a swift, relentless re-lentless vengeance that would overwhelm over-whelm and crush me Ah! my dear fellow, you do not know you cannot dream what brought those desperate men Into this port. I can guess I can guess only too well but I can only tell you that if you eTer do discover the terrible truth which I fear is unlikely un-likely you will solve one of the strangest and most remarkable mys teries of modern times." "What does the mystery concern?" I asked, in breathless eagerness. "It concerns a woman." CHAPTER III. The House "Over the Water." I had Idled away a pleasarrt month up in Boston, and from there had gone north to the Lakes, and it was one hot evening in mid-August that I found myself again in London, crossing St. James' square from the Sports club. I had Just turned into Pall Mall when a voice at my elbow suddenly exclaimed ex-claimed in Italian: "Ah, signore! why, actually, my pa drone!" And looking around I saw a thln-faccd thln-faccd man of about thirty, dressed In neat but rather shabby black, whom I Instantly recognized as a man who had been my servant in Leghorn for two years, after which he had left to better himself. "Why, Ollnto!" I exclaimed, surprised, sur-prised, as I halted. "Y'ou in London Lon-don eh? Well, and how are you getting get-ting on?" "Most excellently, signore," he answered an-swered in broken English, smiling. "But it is so pleasant for me to see my generous padrone again. What fortune it Is that I should pass here at this very moment!" "Where are you working?" I Inquired. In-quired. "At the Restaurant Mllona, In Oxford Ox-ford street only a small place, but we gain discreetly, so I must not complain. com-plain. I live over In Lambeth, and am on my way homo." When we halted before the National Na-tional gallery prior to parting 1 mad some inquiries rouardlng Annlda. the blackTgood-looklng housemaid whom he had married. "Ah, signore!" he responded in a voice choked with emotion, dropping into Italian. "It is the one great sor-row sor-row of my life. I wor ha,rd 'Tt early morning until late at night, but what is the use when I see my poor wife gradually fading away before my very eyes? The doctor says that she cannot possibly live through the next winter Mi! how delighted the poor girl would be if she could see the padrone pa-drone again!" I felt sorry for him. Armida had been a good servant, and had served "What!" He Gasped Suddenly Turning Turn-ing Pale, "the Lola?" me well for nearly three years. Old Rosina, my housekeeper, had often regretted that she had been compelled to leave to attend to her aged mother. The latter, he told me, had died, and afterwards he had married her. He asked so wistfully that his wife might see me once more that, having nothing very' particular to do that evening, and feeling a deep sympathy for the poor fellow in his trouble, I resolved to accompany him to his house and see whether I could not, in some slight manner, render him a little help. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |