Show B T U T LL di bijil JiL IM kv D ru TT MM 0 N D the adventures of a mobilized demobilized De by CYRIL mcneile officer who found peace dull SAPPER copyright by geo 11 paran doran co 11 PEACE incredibly TEDIOUS De mobilized officer finding peace incredibly tedious would welcome diversion legitimate if possible but crime if of a cow cok ively humorous description no objection excitement essential bial would be prepared to consider permanent job if suitably impressed by applicant for hs his services reply at once box alo my dear boy bar alo I 1 dont know whether your advertisement was a jok joke ei I 1 suppose it must have been but I 1 read it this morning and its just possible alo just possible you mean it and if you do youre the man I 1 want I 1 can offer you excitement and probably crime im up against it alo for a girl ive bitten off rather more than I 1 can chew I 1 want help badly will you come to fo the carlton for tea lea tomorrow afternoon I 1 want to have a look at you and see if I 1 think you are genuine wear a white flowery flowell in your buttonhole so advertises adver tite capt hugh drummond D S 0 late of his hi ma bestys royal Loami Loarn shiree hire so answers answer phyllis benton and so 0 o be begin gins a truly stirring ati aring tory story for phyllis is i ure sure up against again it her dear old father is i involved with a clever and powerful band of inter national criminals criminal one of whom is i bent on marrying her bulldog bull dog drummond befriends befriend the girl then begin battle murder and sudden hidden death quite comparable for thrills thrill with bulldogs bulldog bull dogs dog war adventures adventure in im no mans man land and dont forget the adorable phyllis Ph ylli this engro engrossing ing story i is by cyril mcneile who under the oen jen name of sapper has ha the whole english speaking peaking world across ane atlantic reading his hi books book PROLOGUE E 11 in the month of december 1918 aud and on the very day that a british cavalry division marched into cologne with flags flying and hands bands playing playing BS as the conquerors of a benten beaten nation the manager of the hotel nationals nationale Nat Nati lonale onale in berne received a letter its contents appeared to puzzle him somewhat tor for having buying read it twice he rang the bell ou on his desk to summon his secretary almost immediately the door opened and a young french girl came into the room monsieur MoDs leur rang have we ever had staying in the hotel a man called le ie comte de guy he leaned back in his chair and looked at her through his pince nez the secretary thought for a moment ment and then shook her head not as far as I 1 can remember she said do we know anything about him nas has he ever fed here 0 or r taken a private room not kot that I 1 know of the manager handed her the letter and waited in silence until she had read it it seems on the face of it a peculiar request from an unknown man lie remarked as she laid it down A dinner of four covers no expense to be spared winet specified and if not in hotel to be obtained A private room at half past seven sharp guests to ask for room X the secretary nodded in agreement it can hardly be a hous hoax she remarked after a short silence no the manager tapped his teeth with his pen thoughtfully nut but it if by any chance it was it would prove an expensive one for us I 1 wish I 1 could think who this comte de guy Is ile he took off his pince nez and laid them on the desk in front of him send the daltre dehotel to me at vince once whatever may have been the i managers au misgivings I 1 they were certainly not dot shared by the head waiter as he left the office after receiving his instructions war and short rations had not been conducive to any particularly lucrative business in his sphere and the whole sound of the proposed entertainment seemed to him to contain considerable promise and so at about twenty minutes past seven the daltre was hovering around the hall porter the manager was hovering round the daltre dh db otel and the secretary was hovering around both at five and twenty minutes past the first guest arrived he was a peculiar looking man in a a big fur coat reminding one irresistibly gistl sisti bly of a codfish 1 11 I wish to be taken to room X the french secretary stiffened indol tait anta arlly rily as the daltre stepped obsequiously forward cosmopolitan as the hotel was waa even now DOW she could never hear german spoken without an inward shudder of digest A boche she murmur murmured edin in disgust almost immediately afterward the second cond find and third members ot of the party arrived they did not come together and what seemed pe peculiar rullar to tile the mar manager iRger was that they wre evidently strangers to one another the leading one a tall gaunt man mail with a ragged beard and a pair of piercing eyes asked in a nasal and by no means an inaudible tone for room X As he spoke a little fat man 1410 was standing just behind him started perceptibly and shot a birdlike glance kt at the speaker then lu in execrable french lie he too asked for or room X hea not french bald the secretary tit excitedly tt to tile the manager mana that last one was haq another boche the manazer though thoughtfully trully twirled bla big pince nea ne l tween hi hit fingers two germans and on an american ue e a title little apprehensive iet I et us hope the dinner will appease everybody otherwise rut but whatever fears he might have entertained with regard to the furniture in room X they were not destined to be uttered even as he be spoke the door again swung open and a man with a thick white scarf around his bis neck deck so pulled up as almost completely to cover his face came in all that the manager could swear to as regards the newcomers appearance was a pair of deep set steel gray eyes which seemed to bore through him you got my letter this morning Us leur le ie comte de guy the manager bowed deferentially and rubbed his hands together everything Is ready and three guests have arrived good I 1 will go to the room at once As lie he followed his guide his eyes swept round the lounge save for two or three elderly bomea of doubtful nationality and a man in the american red cross the place was deserted and as he passed through the eming doors he turned to the head walter waiter business good he asked no business decidedly was not rood good the waiter was voluble bustness business had never been so poor in the memory of man kut but it was to be hoped that the dinner would be to monsieur le ie comtes coates liking also the wines it if everything Is to my satisfaction you will not regret it said the count tersely but remember orle one thing after the coffin has been brought in I 1 do not wish to be disturbed under any I 1 ae comte cle guy circumstances whatever the head waiter paused as he be came to a door and the count repeated repealed the last few words au under ader no circumstances whatever mals ce monsieur le ie cointe 1 I personally will see to it As he spoke he flung flun open the door and the count entered it cannot be said that the atmosphere of 0 the room was congenial the three occupants is were regarding one another in hostile silence and as tile the count entered they with one accord transferred their suspicious glances to him for a moment he stood motionless while he looked at each one lo in turn then he be stepped forward good evening gentlemen he still spoke in french 1 I am honored at your presence H no turned to thel the head waiter let dinner be served la in five minutes exactly with a bow the man left the room and tile the door closed during that five minutes gentlemen I 1 propose to introduce myself to you and you to one another the business which I 1 wish to discuss we will postpone with your permission till after the coffee when we shall be undisturbed in silence the three guests waited until lie unwound the thick white auf flers fler then with undisguised curiosity they studied their host in appearance he was striking ile he had a short dark beard and in profile his face was aquiline and stern the ees which had so impressed the manager seemed now to be a cold grey blue the thick brown hair necked flecked slightly with grey was brushed back from a broad forehead to even the roost most superficial observer the giver of the feast was a man of power a man capable of forming instant decisions and of carrying them through and if so much was obvious to the superficial observer it was more than obvious to tile the three men who stood by th the ore watching him each one of e them as he watched the host realized that he was in the presence of a great man it was enough great men do not send fool invitations to dinner to men of international repute it mattered not what form ills his greatness took there was money in greatness big money and money was their life the count advanced first to the american mr hocking I 1 believe he remarked in english holding out his hand 1 I am glad you managed to come the american shook the proffered hand while the two germans looked at him with sudden interest As the man at the head of the great american cotton trust worth more in millions than he be could count he be was entitled to their respect me count returned the millionaire lion lio alre in ills nasal twang 1 I am interested te to know to what I 1 am ed for this invitation all in good time mr hocking smiled the host 1 I have hopes that the dinner will fill 1111 in that time satisfactorily facto rily ile he turned to the taller of the two germans who without his coat seemed more like a codfish than ever nerr herr Stel Is it not this time he spoke in german the man whose interest in german eal coal was hardly less well known than hockings Hockl in cotton bowed stiffly and herr von gratz the count turned to the last member of the party and shook hands though less well known than either of the other two in the realms of international finance von gratas name in the steel trade of central europe was one to coure conjure with well gentlemen said tile the count before we sit down to dinner 1 I may ay perhaps be permitted to say a few words of introduction the nations of the world have recently been engaged in a performance of unrivaled stupidity As far as one can tell that performance Is now over the last thing I 1 wish to do Is to discuss tile the war except in so far as it concerns our meeting here tonight mr hocking Is an american you tw tv 0 gentlemen are germans 1 I the count smiled slightly have no nationality or rather shall I 1 say I 1 have every nationality tiona lity completely cosmopolitan gentlemen the war was waged by idiots and when idiots get busy on a large scale it Is time for clever men to step in that Is the ralson d etre for this little dinner I 1 claim that we tour four men are sufficiently international to be able to disregard any stupid and petty feelings about this country and that country and to regard the world outlook at the present moment from one point of view and one point of view only our own the gaunt american gave a hoarse chuckle it will be my object after dinner continued the count to try and prove to you that we have a common point of view until then shall we merely concentrate on a pious hope that the hotel Nati national onale will not poison us with their food the next moment the head waiter opened the door and the four men sat down to dine it roust must be admitted that the average hostess desirous of making a dinner a success would have been filled with secret dismay at the general atmosphere in 1 the room the american in accumulating ills his millions had a also so accumulated a digestion of such an exotic and tender character that dry husks and water were mere the limit of his capacity herr Stel was of the common order of german to whom food Is sacred lie he ate and drank enor enormously mouly and evidently considered that nothing further was required of him von gratz did ills his best to keep his end up but as be was apparently in a chronic condition of fear that the gaunt american would a assault him with violence he cannot be said to have contributed much to the gaiety of the meal and so to the host must be given the credit that the dinner was a suc I 1 cess without appearing to aire the conversation he talked ceaselessly and brilliantly but to esen cen the most brilliant of 0 conversationalists the strain of talking to a american and two Ger germans marks one greedy and the other frightened Is considerable and the count heaved an inward sigh of relief when the coffee had bad been handed round and the door closed behind the waiter from now on the topic was tile the topic of money the common bond of his three guests and yet as he carefully tut ut the end of ills his cigar and realized that hat the eyes of the other three were fixed on him expectantly he knew that the hardest part of the evening wasi waa in front ot of him gig big financiers in common with all other people are fonder of having money put into their pockets than of taking it out and that was the very thing the count proposed they should do in large quantities gentlemen lie he remarked when his cigar was going to hla his satisfaction we are all men of business I 1 said before dinner that I 1 considered we were sufficiently big to exclude any small arbitrary national distinctions from our minds As men whose interests are international such things are beneath us I 1 wish now to slightly qualify that remark he turned to the american on his right who with eyes halt half closed was thoughtfully picking his teeth at this stage I 1 address myself particularly to you go right ahead drawled sir mr hocking 1 I do not wish to touch on the war or its result but though toe tle central powers have been beaten by america and france and england I 1 think I 1 can speak for you two gentlemen he bowed to the two germans german wh when en I 1 say that it Is neither france nor america with whom they desire another round england Is germanys germanas Germ anys main enemy she always has been she always will be I 1 have reason to believe mr hocking that you personally do not love the english 1 I guess I 1 dont see what my private feelings have to do with it but it if its of any interest to the company you are correct in your belief good the count nodded his head as if satisfied 1 I take it then that you would not be averse to seeing england down and out wal remarked the american you can assume anything you feel like lets go to the showdown show down once again the count nodded his head then he turned to the two germans now you two gentlemen must admit that your plans have miscarried somewhat it was no part of your original pro gramme that a british army I 1 should could occupy cologne the war was the act of a fool snarled herr Stel Steiner aann in a few years more of peace we should have beaten those swine and now they have beaten you the count smiled slightly let us admit that the war nias as the act of a fool it if you like but a as b li men of business we can only deal with the result the result gentlemen as it concerns us both you gentlemen are sufficiently patriotic to resent the presence of that army at cologne I 1 have no doubt and you mr hocking have no love on personal grounds for the english but I 1 am not proposing to appeal to financiers of your reputation on such grounds as 03 those to support my scheme it Is enough that your personal predilections run with and not against what I 1 am about to put before you the defeat of ingland a defeat more utter and complete than it she had lost the war 11 his voice sank a little and instinctively his three listeners drew closer dont think I 1 am proposing this through motives ot of revenge merely we are business men and revenge Is only worth our while it it pays this will pay there Is a force in england which if it can be harnessed and led properly will result in millions coming to you it Is present now in every |