Show B the adventures of a mobilized demobilized De BY cyril mcneile mcneil officer who found peace dull 11 sapper e copyright by geo IL doren doran co CHAPTER X continued 15 ills voice voice was stem etem as the caught the others upraised arm enough for or the time for a iino moment ment it seemed as if lak ington would have haie struck peterson Pc terson himself then he controlled himself and with an ugly laugh flung the labost into a torner corner 1 I forgot forget itle said slowly its the leading dog NAe gewant want not the puppies that run aften htiu yapping ile he spun ai t round on his cheel have you fin 1111 J dished tle rope arast bestowed a final touch lo ito the alast knot find and surveyed liis 1118 handiwork liandi work justifiable pride 1 cold mutton abe remarked tersely J would lie be lively compared to him when he wakes nip good then alien avell bring him to Laking toia tool took sonie some crystals from a jar on one of the Zb shelves elves and placed them tn in a tumbler then lie he added a few drops of liquid arid and held the glass directly tinder hinder uie the unconscious mans nose Almo stAt once the liquid began to effervesce and in less than dian a minute drummond opened his eyes and stared dazedly round the room he it La kington his voice was stern as he caught the others upraised arm blinked foolishly as he saw longworth and sinclair then he looked down end found bound he be was similarly bound him belf finally he glanced up at the man bending over hlin him and full realization returned reeling feeling better my friend with a mocking smile La kington laid the tumbler on a table close by I 1 much inch thank you henry murmured hugh ah and theres carl lie he grinned cheerfully and lahan laking ton struck him on the mouth you V ou can stop that style of 0 conversation captain drummond Drum moud he remarked 1 I dislike it hugh stared at the striker in silence accept my congratulations he said aid at leng lengthy thin in a low voice which despite himself him belf shook a little you are the farst man who has ever done that and I 1 shall treasure the inetor memory y of that blow id hate it to 10 be a lonely memory remarked La kington so heres another to keep it company again lie he struck liim him then with a laugh he turned on his heel sly MY compliments to miss benton he be said to a man standing near the door arid and ask her to be good enough to come down for a few minutes the leins stood out on drummonds forehead at the mention of the girl but otherwise he gave no sign and in n silence they waited for her arrival she be came almost at once a villain OUS ius looking blackguard with her and as slie she saw caw hugh she he F gave a pitiful little moan and held out her hand to sim why did you come boy she cried you know it was only a for fery that note ahl ah was nias it said hugh softly was it indeed an ali interesting point murmured l surely it if a charming girl Is 11 or un unwilling illing to write herself to tier her fiance her father is a nery lery able person to supply the delicy especially if he has been kindly endowed by nature with a special for er imitating writing cut but time presses and I 1 dont want to go without telling you a little about the program captain drummond unfortunately both mr peterkin kin and I 1 have to leave you for tv to but we shall be returning ret tomorrow ra morning orning or cr at tiny any rate 1 I sh ph ill 01 you will 1011 br be left in charge of you remember the filthy wham you had words th other night As you may expect lie he entertains feelings of great briend ship an and affe ion on for you so you should riot not lack for any bodily comforts such tell as ulay may lie be possible in ow our present somewhat cramped po position ution then tomorrow when nhen I 1 return I 1 propose to try a few experiments on you and though I 1 fear you will find them painful its a great thing to suffer in tile the cause of science yon ton will always alwa wa 8 have the satisfaction of knowing tax that dear little phyllis will be welt well cared for with a sudden quick movement lie delzid the girl and kissed her before she realized his intention en tion the rope round drummond creaked as lie struggled impotently and LakIng tons sneering 1 acce ce seemed ia to swim in 1 a red plow glow that is quite in keeping is it not he snarled to kiss the lacy baoy and to strike the man like this and this find and this A rain of brows bir arts came down on drummonds face till with a gasping sigh the girl slipped fainting to the floor do La kington said peterson intervening once again have the girl carried upstairs and send for heinrich its time we were off with an effort La kington let his hand fall to his side and stood back from his victim perhaps for the present it will lit lie said slowly but tomorrow tomorrow captain drummond drommond you shall scream to heaven for mercy until I 1 take out your tongue and you can scream no more ue ile turned as the german came into the room 1 I leave them to you heinrich he be ro remarked marked shortly use the dog whip if they shout and gay gag them the germans eyes were fixed on hugh gloatingly they will till not shout twice he said in ills his guttural voice the dirty boche beebe to it himself mill see TWO we appear remarked hugh quietly a few minutes later to be in for a cheery night F M eor or a moment the german had bad left the room and three motionless bound figures sitting grotesquely in their chairs were inere alone flonc how did they get you toby half a dozen of em suddenly appeared answered sinclair shortly knocked juie B on OD the head and the next tiling thing I 1 knew I 1 was liere in this d d chair Js that when ivan you got your face asked hugh no said toby arid and his voice rolce was grim we share in uie the matter of faces auces OM man Ln Lii kington again was itt it sa said id hugh softly dear heaver it if I 1 could ifould get one hand on that lie ile broke 0 off ff and laughed what about you algy 1 I went blundering in 01 er the way ivay old bean returned that ii worthy orthy and some son e dam fellow knocked my eyeglass off so as I 1 see to kill him I 1 had to join tile the picnic here hugh laughed and then suddenly grew serious by the way you see a man mail chewing chenning gum on the horizon did sou when lien I 1 made my entrance ber suit and face like a motor mas cot 11 thank god I 1 was spared thail remarked algy goud good returned hugh aies probably awny away with it by now and lies no fool for im thinking its only peter ieter arid and him be between teen us and ile he left his ili remark unfinished arid and for a while there was silence jerry is over in france still putting stamp paper on ills his machine teds beds gune gone up to lo see that potts is 19 taking nourishment and here heie we kne sit like three well preserved specimens pec linens in a bally anu museum euan broke in ili algy with a rueful laugh What ll they do to us hugh but drummnond did not answer and the speaker seeing freeing the look on ills his face did not press the question slowly the hours dragged on until tile the last gleams of daylight had bad faded fron from the skylight ski light above and a solitary t ry electric light hung centrally gave the he only illumination periodically heinrich had come in to see that they were ere still secure but from tile the sounds of the hoarse laughter 11 which came caine at frequent intervals through the half opi it door it was evident that the german had found other and more congenial company at length he appeared carrying a tray with bread and water vater on it which he placed on a table near hugh food for you you english swine lie he remarked looking gloatingly at each cadi in turn herr La kIngton the order gave so that you will fit be tomorrow morning fit for the torture lie ile thrust his flushed face close to drummonds and ther then deliberately spat at him algy longworth gabe a strangled grunt grant but drummond took to no notice with a quiet smile bi jille lie he loo ed up at the german how much my friend he remarked are you getting for this the german egied at him Il ellough ough lough to si sie e that you tomorrow tire are hero here he sald paid 11 and X aldays bel belleek leed that yours was a business nation laught laughed d bligh why cuir ou poor fool tse t s e got a thousand sa nd pounds pound in notes in my cigarette case you hot hot bof you the german grunted illen the filthy doche boche will for you ton ol of them take care ruith looked at him angrily it you do lie cried you must let me go the german leered still more imore Na you shall out of the house hous e at once walk lie ile stepped up to drummond and ran Ms ills hands over his coat while the others stared at one another in amazement surely hush hugh imagine the tha swine bould really let him go he wod oid merely take the money and probably spit in his face again then they hard bard him speaking and a sudden gleam of comprehension dawned on their races aties have to undo one of the hie ropes rny iny friend before you can get at st it said hugh quietly for it 11 moment the german hesitated he looked at the ropes carefully the one that bound the arms and the upper part of tile the body was separate front from the rope round the legs evic n if lie he did undo it the fool Eng enrlichman lichman was still helpless and lie he knew that he be was unarmed had he not removed his revolver as he lay unconscious in the hall what risk was as there after all besides if lie he called some ene cne else in he would have to sharp share the money and as he watched the germans german is indecision hughs forehead grew damp with sweat would he undo the rope would greed conquer caution t f at last the boche beebe made up his mind and went behind the chair hugh felt fel thim him fumbling with the rope arid and flashed an urgent look of caution at the othar two better be careful heinrich he remarked reina aked that none of the others see or you son might have to stare share the german ceased undoing the knot and grunted the english swine had of brightness and he went arar and closed the door then lie he resumed resti nied the operation of untying the rope and since it was wag performed behind the chair he was in no position to see the look on oil drummonds face only on v the two to spectators could see that and they had almost ceased breathing in their excitement that lie had a plan they knew what it was they could not even guess at last the rope fell clear and the german sprang back put the case on the table he cried having riot not the he slightest intention of coming within range of those formidable arras arms certainly Certa luly not said hugh until 11 you undo nay my legs then you shall have it quite loosely he was holding the case in one hand but the others watching his face saw that it was strained and tene first I 1 the notes must have the german strove to speak conversationally hut but all the time lie was creeping nearer and nearer to the back of tile the chair then I 1 your legs undo and you VOU may go alays warning cry rang out simultaneously with the lightning dart of the boches oches Il hand as lie he snatched at the 1 I r with a sudden quick movement he seized the girl and kissed her before she realized his intention figarelle case over drummonds shoulder arid and then drummond laughed a low triumphant laugh it was the move lie had been hoping for and the germans wrist was held fast in his viselike vise like grip nia ills plan had succeeded and longworth and sinclair who lind had seen many things in fit ill their air lives the remembrance of which will he be with them till their dying day had never siren seen and tire arc never nevar likely to see arly any tiling thing within measurable me of what iljan ticy ilcy saw in the next few minutes slowly inexorably the germans arm has being tN ti tidied sied isted he uttered gasping cries and beat leipo bently at drummonds head with liis his free hand then ut tit last there was a dull duil crack as the arm ann tirone arid and a scream of pain as lie he lurched round the chair and stood help lr 4 in ill front of the soldier who vilio still held the lie cigarette case in his left hand they saw Drunin inua iona pen open the ciz rette arette case and take from it what looked like a tube of wood then lie felt la in his pocket ana took out a matchbox match box containing a number of cf long thin splinters arid and having fitted one of lie splinters into the tube he put the other end in his month with a quick heave they saw him jerk the german round and catch his unbroken arn arm with his tree free left hand blind and the two bound watchers looked at hughs eyes as ile he stared at the moaning boche beebe and saw that they were hard and merciless there was a sharp whistling hiss and the splinter flew from the tube into the germans face it hung from his cheek and even the ceaseless movement of his head failed to dislodge it it 1 I have broken your arm boche said drummond at length end and now I 1 have killed hilled you im sorry about it I 1 particularly anxious to end your life but it had to be done the german hardly conscious of what he had said owing to the pain in his arm was frantically kicking the English mans legs still bound to the chair but the iron grip on his wrists never slackened and then quite suddenly came the end with one dreadful convulsive heave the german jerked himself free and fell doubled up on tile floor fascinated they watched him writhing and twisting until at last he lay still the boche beache was lead what was that blowpipe blow pipe affair tried cried sinclair hoarsely the thing they tried to finish me with in paris last laet night answered hugh grimly taking a knife out of his waistcoat pocket let us trust that none of his pals come in to look for him A minute later tie he stood up only to sit down again abruptly as hla his legs gave way they were numbed and stiff with the hours lie he had spent in the same v position 1 and for a while he be could do nothing but rub them with his hands till the blood returned and he could feel eel once more then slowly and painfully he tottered across to the others and set them free as well they were in an even worse condition than lie had bad been and it seemed as if algy would never be able to stand again so completely dead was his body from the waist downwards but at length after what seemed an eternity to drummond who ibo realized reali only too well that should the gang come in they wore A ere almost as helpless in their present condition as it if they were still bound in their chairs the other two recovered all fit now good weve got to fill think what were going to do for were not out of the wood yet by two or three miles 1 I lets ets get the door open remarked algy aig Y 11 and ex explore cautiously they swung it open and stood motionless the house was in absolute silence tile the hall was deserted switch out the light whispered jall hugh il well wander round they crept forward stealthily in the darkness stopping every now and then to listen but no sound came to their ears it might have been a house of the lead dond suddenly drummond who aho was in front ot of the other two stopped with a warning hiss A light wis was streaming out from frodi under tinder a door nt lit the end of a passage and as they stood watching it they heard a mans voice coming coining front from the same room some one else anselem anse led him hill and then thell there I 1 was as silence once more at length hugh moved forward again and the others followed anil and it was MRS not until they got quite close to the door that a strange continuous dolse aois e began to be noticeable a noise which came most distinctly from the lighted room it rose roe and fell with monotonous regularity at times it r resembled a brass band at others it died away to a gentle murmur and occasionally it was punctuated with a strangled snort great scott muttered hugh excitedly cit edly |