Llais Llafur

The Caravan of Mystery. ——— .4w ——— By ROY NORTON. I Author of "Th Plunderers," "The Vanishing Fleets, etc. Follow the fortunes of this pilgrim—an American down on his luck, picked up on a park bench by an employer of infinite surprises- follow him across the Atlantic, through the gipsy camps of Europe, among the Apaches of Paris, hob. nobbing with titled folks and famous musicians, doing unquestionly the bidding of his curious employer, searching for something that is not revealed till the amazing climax of the story-follow the pilgrim on his unique journey and we tuve no doubt you will regard this tale as the strangest and most fascinating, you have ever read. (Continued). CHAPTER XIII. 1 I doubt if many of the passengers aboard the "Menduw" knew of the tra- gedy for many hours. Most of them were '"homeward bound, and in that slight re- laxation of discipline which always pre- cedes the end of a voyage; the steerage passeng ers were up early the next morn- ing, and overran the main deck below and daaced ajid sang and chattered, unaware that from their midst one of their num- ber had disappeared, and that somewhere there stalked among them the sinister figure of a murderer. They waved >.heir hands and shouted merry greetings to the bronzed men on the decks of the Channel fishing boats I who, accustomed to such demonstrations, grinned or stolidly &moked their pipe* as the big ship passed them. The ship's bugle sounded, and the an- nouncement made—All steerage passen- gers on deck for inspection." When the roll call was ended, it was discovered that one, Gustave Rubech, was missing- From the promenade deck the professor And I watched the steerage passengers pass beneath, one after another, and when the deck ait the scullery was completely deserted, Guitave Rubech had not been found. The bugle sounded a release from inspe-otion, and the steerage passengers, still in high humour, began to move aft again. The boatswain and. captain stood di- rectly below us, and I heard the former repeatedly asking 'Ta there no one here who knows Gustave Rubech?'' Among others to whom he addressed himself was I Goliano, the piratical-looking man with the earrings, who answered with indif- ference, N 0, never heard of him." At last they found a man who did know. "Y-es," said hf, "I know the man who .says his name is Rubech. He iss a Gair- man-'Dlutscl-ma.n, die selbe wie mir, ein lantma-it," and then he added, in his native toiigue, that he had not seen him since the day before, which he re- garded strange because they had been to- gether a great deal during the r.iyage. Another German interjected himself into the conversation, and his manner indicat- ed alarm. "Have you not found Rubech yet ?" he asked. "1 wonder where he can be! He is my cousin. I am Heimich Muller." "You two men come with me," said the captain, and, as if attracted by the pro- fessor's and my fixed regard, looked up, discovered us, and beckoned us to join tihem forward. The professor and I hastened to the main deck, where the captain, the doctor, the purser, and the two steerage passengers were awaiting us. We turned to the starboard side, down a companion way, and back until we wtre almost amidships below. Numerous port lights, through which the morning sun streamed and against which an occasion- al splash of water dashed, quite brightly illuminated what was evidently the men's ho p,tal. It had but one occupant—the quiet figure resting on a hospital bed a.nd shrouded by a sheet. The two passen- gers hesitated, ajid I heard one of them gasp. The doctor stepped quietly over, and drew the sheet, down from the dead man's face. I thought, at the time, con- sidering these were friends of Rubech's, that it was rather thoughtful of the doc- tor not to expose that hideous wound. I hAch, Gott, dat ist Goostaf!" exclaimed t hffi oousin. "Gott im himmel! What will r- thy mother say?" The captain que^oned them. The | cousin declared that Gustave Rubech had t not an enemy in the world, was a clean, f hard-working carpenter by trade, frugal in habit, unattached and devoted to a I widowed mother for whom he was re- l turning; that he was a dutiful and loving son, never wrong in habit or thought, and of high morality. It was impossible, he declared, that Rubech had come to his death through a quarrel, for he was not quarrelsome by nature. Yes, he would fight if imposed upon. He was fearless. No, he would net fight unless driven to it, nor wruld he threaten to ube a weapon for he never carried any. No. he did not think he could have been killed by a robber, because he had no jewelry of any kind, not even a watch, everything he had, including about fifteen hundred dol- lars, in money, having been put into a bag-and delivered to the purser for safe- keeping. Th.e ciptain seemed at the end of his resources, and, as if respecting the professor's acumen, apcke to him. "Profersor, what do you think of it!" he asked. "Muller," the professor asked in fluent German, "do you know whether your cousin knew any of the people aboard this ship beiid.es yourself, before we sailed from N ,'w York ?" The professor's eyr-a sharply unveiled theniselves as he flashed this question. "1\0 one. He knew no one," Muller asserted, with emphasis. "But what I should like to know," I interjected, in German, "is whether you ever observed him speaking to or mixing with a big foivigne-r named Goliano—a man with earrings, long hair, swarthy, the fellow who had a row with another out on the number six hatch when we were but a few days out, and from whom the bos-n took a knife ? Did he taik with him ? Tell me that! I have a reason for wanting to know." The pof-,rs-r suddenly turned toward me and flashed that queer, half-startled, inquisitive look that I had observed on other occasions. I heard him murmur to himself, as if surprised at my erudition "German, eh ? Understands it, eh and then he looked expectantly at Muller. "No," said the latter, thoughtfully frowning at the dead man, 1-1 do not re- member to have ever seen him speak to the one you call Goliano. I know the man. The gambler; a Basque;or perhaps Spanish, is he not ? No, Gustave had no- thing to do with him or his friends. Gus- tave was clean. Captain Nelson turned toward the door, threw it open, and aid '"Well, we seem to get nowhere. We have done all we can now. Let's go above. You. doctor, will, of oourse, have the necessary re- ports made out by the time we land; a.nd as for Muller, -t-uiid your friend-I don't know his n:Lme--don't leave the ship until we call for you." It was almost as if he had brusquely dismissed us. Indeed, he went about his own business without further delay, and the professor and I, at the purser's in- j vitation, on the ground that he wanted witnesses, accompanied the latter to his office to examine the dead man's effects. We stood in strange silence as he twirled the knoba of the clumsy, huge safe which served the Menduto" as a strong room, and watched him search among the bags and envelops, all sealed with which it v,a.s filled. He finally selected one, broke the ship's sexl, and damped the contents out upon his desk. Save for the roll, of crisp bank notes, they were pitifully meager. An old- fashioned locket, a substantial silver watch in a worn nckel case, a pocket- kilife, such as carpenters carry, a little ball of twine as if Rubech had been thrif- ty and had carelessly deposited this with his other possessions in the strong box; and, last of all, which we three counted, one thousand, five hundr and forty dol- lars, all in new bank notes., as if this vict.m of malignant tragedy had feared to leave such vast wealth in the keeping of an American bank. As I emerged from the purser's cab:n, I I saw the wireless operator climbing the iron ladder to his little house suspended riraily over the stern, and in less than a minute heard a sharp snapping, reiterated call, as if he had something of importance to send. -j "Quite customary," Faid the professor at my side, looking up at the mainmast, as if hoping to see visible Hashes through the ether. "Quite customary. The cap- tain has made out his message notifying the port authorities at Rotterdam to be there to meet/us at the Hook, and thus leave to them the responsibility of offi- cially acting on the case." lie yawned prodigiously, looked un- certain for a moment, and then, sighting Laurent volubly discoursing with some fel- low countrymen and swelling his chest with the ridiculous t'atuosity of a pouter pigeon, caught the latte-r's eye and bec- koned him. "I suppose," jsaid the professor, with his wry smile, "that we are all ready to land—our baggage all packed, and so < forth ?" Laurent looked disturbed and embar- ratted, but did not answer. "Go and attend to it now The pro- fessor was oufrt,, and Laurent, with a less important air, but with a suggestive side twaikLe at me amounting almost to a wink, hastened to start. "And you might attend to packing Carter's baggage also," the professor called after him, at which Laurent did not wink, for I think he rather resented service for one whom he considered a mere fellow servant. I had no time to th.J!k of his case, for the professor laid a hand on my arm and sa;d, looking up into my eyes "Well, Cairter, much has happened since you and I had that little conversation l;st night. Unimportant pro- bably, unpleasant, perhaps, for I don't believe in unnecessary wounds. Rubech wag just as useful and will be just as' much missed as—let us say you or I. The world has never a gap that can't be filled. It has no sorrows that cannot be forgotten The approach of mademoiselle, accom- panied by tht evar-attentive Count ii,,teri-u p te d hini and ended his Parara, interrupted him. a.nd ended his monolog'ue. They had heard of thq mur- deir, with news of which, by this time, the ship buzzed. The count was out- spoken in his condemnation of such a beastly crime, and mademoiselle shocked. As for me, I forgot the tragedy and stood there half dumb and sick at heart, suddenly reminded that this must be the last day of the sweetest friendsh p I had eve- known. I was not to bid her an easy farewell, for chance arranged otherwise. The pro fessor strolled away from us, and the P' r.er called Perard into his cabin to dis0u:-w5 with him ii a.->puted point of a VilTle bill, or something similar, and we were left aJone. '"Com*) wvth me," she said softly. "I want to talk with you alone before the iiiph comes, and this may be our last chan j*> She flipped- her hand up on my arm and looked at me. Something in my eyes must have revealed my suffering, for suddenly her own, deep as the sea of the Channel, dropped and were veiled by her tender white eyelids, her faoe flashed, and she bit her lip. There was not much for us to say. We ) were awkward aiad hesitant and con- strained, as A in that flashing, impulsive moment we had gone to* far on the road to confession. Ske told me that she was going to a certain address in Paris, j thence later to Berlin, and at my request jotted the address down on a card. She seemed piqued that I did not as freely tender mine, but alas! I had none. I was once again the vagabond, bound to what destination er vicissitude or adven- ture I knew not—just one of the floaters I told her so, somewhat bitterly I fear, for she saddened. l But," said she at last, as we stood by I the piano in the music room whither we I had wandered to avoid the crowd, you know, don't you, that it not my wish to drop our friendship so easily ?" I could not answer. I dared not. My throat was tightening as if seized by a hand. I finally muttered something about the worthlessnees of my friendship to one on the stairway of success, characterisiiig myself as a penniless adventurer but she checked me with a pretty little gesture and brava eyes. "You ?a5r- e, and shall be, what you make yourself" she declared earnestly. "I am what I am, and shall try to become what I want to be, by effort. Of course, if you have no ambition beYOlld- Oh, I have no right to say so much. Forgive I didn't mean to preach to "You are right, I interrupted, but she had struck me full across my mental face and challenged me to prove that I was something more than a coward, afraid to stand the gaff of the fight, and admitting defeat before punishment had been offered. I seized her hand in both of mine before she could escape the con- sequences of her wordy. "Listen, Mademoiselle Marie," I said, and my voice sounded strange to my own ears. "I dare not tell you what this voyage has meant to me, nor do I da.re assert that there is that stuff in me which makfs men do and become something worth while but I want to tell you this that I came aboard this &hip careless of what happened or where I m'ght go. And I leave it without carelessness, because, I swear to you, who have made me appre- ciate my own follies, that if there's any- thing in me worth while, I'm going to dig it out. I came aboard no good. I shall disembark no good. But I won't stay that way longer than I can help, if you'll only let me be your friend-yøur servant, if I can serve. I do thank you for this card. It means more than you can ever guess. It means that if I can become worth while, I shall oome to you, and "Ah, pardon I Do I interrupt?" I dropped her hand, terribly oonfused, unstrung, and a.hashed. Count Perard, smiling, stood in the doorway, and, with- out invitation, entered and struck a few chords on the open piano with his slender white hands. My pulses ceased throb- bing. Reason returned, and I was glad that I had gone no farther in that moment of unconquerable impulse. I hurried from the room and to my own cabin, resolved to say no more but there, in its seclu- sion, I opened the little worn leather case that held all my most sacred possessions, put her carrd among them, and slipped it back in its pocket against my breast. CHAPTER XIV. The marvellous Channel, whose moods are m,)re variegated than wmiaii's raiig- ing from tne sueennes of smoldering anger to the frenzy of unrestrained wrath and from playful smiles to caressing soft- ness, favoured us in its latter guise. The boacs became m:a'e frequent. There was not a minute devoid of interest. Great ships, dwarfing the "Menduto," stormed past us, outward bound; little steamer. beside which we loomed portentous, and "windjammers" seeming to carry in their sails the romance of distant seas and of an ocean life that is slowly disappearing, moved in our field of vision. Distant lands were sighted; now some of the white cliffs of England's impreg- nable front, now some of the low >/■<ng and historic shores of the Continent. And so we came to the bar that sweeps out from the River Maas, and saw the Hook of Holland, with its beacons, its reminis- cences of tragedies, its suggestion of wel- come for the incoming voyageur. Bells rang below and the "Menduto" slowed down until she merely kept head- way. A squatty boat whose bow was emblazoned with the shield of the Nether- lands fussed out toward the Menduto," came alongside, and uniformed officers boarded us and passed gravely through the groups, of passengers and up to the captain's cabin. Neither the professor nor I was to remain long in doubt as to their identity, for quite shortly liter the?- ar- rival we were requested to rcme to the master's quarters, where we learned that these were officers oome to investigate the murder of poor Rubech. We had little to tell them, but weri warned that whatever we said must re- main a permanent record. A clerk -ck down our statements and our replies to questions. The examining officer was polite enough, and apologised for the trouble to which he was compelled to put us; but he was thorough, nevertheless, and a considerable portion of an hour was taken up with us, after which we were dismissed and we saw the dead man's cousin and friend taken up for their turn. Others followed. It is twenty miles or thereabouts, and an entertain.ing twenty miles, too, from the Hook of Holland up to Rotterdam. There are qua;nt villages, heavy dikes, and toy trains to watch. There are wind- mills and .spires appearing half buried behind the .trees, and there is the clean land breath from clean farm lands. But we had scant time to enjoy these, for we were again called to the investigation and politely but firmly informed that we should have to appear at police head- quarters the day after landing. I expect- ed an outburst from the professor, but he promptly announced that we would be at the disposal of the police for a week if they so desired, and that we could be depended upon to do all we possibly could in apprehending the murderer. The "Mimduto" warped into her dock, and in an incredibly short time her sea family was dissipated. I did not see Marie again, for, by the professor's idle whim, we were the last to leave the boat; but befora we started from the ship my room steward slipped a note into my hand and said he had been instructed to tell me to read it when alune. The captain bade us good- bye, saying that we would meet on the coming day, and that he was sorry we had to suffer detention. We were done with the "Menduto." We rattled away fmom the wharf in a cab with part of our luggage on top and Laurent following us in another with a. larger load. We rounded the sides of cahals and crossed numerous bridges, over the cobbles of ancient streets, ani drew j up at a hotel where the entire lower front was devoted to a typical continental cafe, with lifted windows, tiny marble- topped tables on the curb, and lounging men and women everywhere. Every one seemed to know my em- ployer, who greeted each servant by name and shook hands with the clerk and manager. His rooms had been re- served in advance, or they, knowing that he was coming, had held those which he had hitherto occupied. So far as I, the mute, uninquiring employee, was in- formed, this might have been his destina- tion but of this conjecture I was speedi- ly undeceived, for, when LauTent profuse, important, obsequious, appeared, the pro- fessor said to him "Y ou need unpack nothing but necessaries, for I don't think we shall stop here long." Laurent, despite his many lessons, had the temerity to reply "Ah! So! And where do we go next, monsieur ?" The professor paused long enough to direct a sharp side glance at him and said "I'm not quite certain whether it will be to Hades or Timbuktu.—Perhaps neither." And Laurent, again rebuffed, assumed an appearance of terrific indus- try. I waited impatiently for the time when I could be alone, which was half hour later, after the professor had disappeared on some errand of his own, ( and Laurent had made friends with the hotel courier. I opened the letter that had been given me by the boat steward, and read "Dear Friend.—I may have no chance to talk to you before I leave the boat, and to-day we were interrupted--and not by accident, I believe—before you could give me an address where a letter might reach you. You may know from what I have told you of my life that I am pecu- liarly alone and devoid of men friends whom I can trust. It may be nothing more than intuition which leads me to place confidence in you, and to feel that I can rely upon you in case of need; but impelled by that instinct I write this and implore you to write and tell me where a letter would reach you after we separ- ate. And wherever you go, be certain that I shall pray for your success. Can- didly you friend, Marie Dorion. Rely on me in case of need There was no cloud visibly hovering in the sunny skies of Marie Dorion's life when she wrote that parting letter to me; but in it she unconsciousy penned that which in- fluenced all our lives, for that very night I wrote her my promise of loyalty, al- though I could give no permanent ad- dress. I voiced no sentiment, nor un- burdened my heart. I wrota such a let- ter as one friend may write another in fidelity; no more. The professor called me from the break- fast table on the following morning and asked if I wished to accompany n,m on a walk. I accepted, readily enough, and started with him, having no idea that he had any destination; but he led me direct as a wolf on a trail to the police station- The chief of the service Iiimself came out to greet us, and instantly re- cognised the professor and shook his hand. He spoke in French, aa if to flatter my employer by the use of that tongue. "I am sorry," he said, but we have no news. Nothing. No more than we have had for the last ten years. It is hopeless. Quite hopeless." "I expected some such answer," he said rapidly, and with scornful intona.tion. "The p lice of Europe have done their best. And their best is very splendid, is it not? It consists in filling reams of paper with useless reports, then sealing them with useless red wax, as if they were important, and th -n with the ut- most care filing them in the arohives. Very well. The police can go to the devil I've come to conduct my own investigations in my own way—something I should have done years ago—and I shall not fail. Good d.a.y The official lifted deprecating, concilia- tory hands, then shrugged his shoulderi and wished us success and good day. I saw him smile as if amused by the bom- bast of a madman, and then give a rather pitying glance at the professor as the latter clapped his hat on his head and trudged out of the door. I followed quietly after him, but curious to know what business ho could have with the police departments of Europe, and what on earth he could be seeking. I am not certain that I wanted him to give me his confidence, but, inasmuch as he had flatly announced that he would investigate something or another and pur- sue his own methods, I would rather have liked to know what we were after. For an aimless man out for a promenade, he acted with strange decision when we left the police quarters, for he led straight down a narrow street, cut through an archway, turned, and twisted like a hare doubling on its track, and paused to look around him when we were in a dis- trict of small squares. "Ah! There it is!" he said, as if, in- stead of travelling all this time without a word, he had been exxplaining his pro- gress to me. "I thought it was around near here," and then dove into a big doorway over which I made out a sign "Horse market." "I want two horses," he announced, before the man in charge had time to bid us the time of day. "I want big Flanders stock. Heavy fellows, stocky, that could drag a house if hitched to it." He waved all questions aside impa- tiently. What price do I want to pay ? Who said anything about price? Show me the horses "But, monsieur," protested the dealer, in French, assuming from the professor's introductory remarks that this was the language to employ, "I have horses of many prices. One team, not very good, one other better, and then nothing else save a span that are extremely valuable. Only last week they won third prize at the Brussels horse show. They are -1) "Oh, shut up and bring them out!" snorted my employer, and the dealer obeyed. My eyes widened with admiration at that splendid pair of ajiimals. Great iron-grey fellows they were, with soft eyes and friendly muzzles that they lifted to my face as if seeking my acquaintance. I did not wonder at the prioe, for these were noble animals. And the professor paid, without a word, twenty-fire hun- dred florins-a. thousand dollars—wikhaut the leasrt sign' of protest. "Carter," he said to me, "I'll wait here. Go back to the hotel and bring Laurent here." I left him caressing his new purchases and retraced my steps, wondering what he proposed to do with horses. But I did not tell Laurent of the deal as he returned to the market with me, quizzing me all the way as to my knowledge of the professor's plans. Of course, I had nothing whatever to tell him. Arrived at the stables we found the two horses out in front, and one was saddled with a secondhand aaddle, and briuled with a patched bridle. "Here, Laurent," said the professor, as nonchalantly as if ask- ing the Frenchman to hold the bridle, "take these horses to Paris." A mere little ride of two hundred and thirty or forty miles' No wonder that poor Laurent looked aghaat, first at the professor, then up at those mountainous horsea that towered above him like ele- phants. For five minutes he was incap- able of expression. He was dumb. He cast a furtive, sideward appealing eye at the professor, who met it with a rigid, almost malicious stare. I was tempted to volunteer in Laurent's behalf, for I would have gloried in that free ride, though my mount walked the entire dis- tance, sedately planting each hoof as if testing the road and memorising its con- tour for future reference. There would be green meadows and fielcU through which ran streams having flowers, and deep hedges surmounted here and there by some gnarled old sentinel tree in which strange birds sang-dawns where the sun seemed to hasten lest he be late to com- panion me on, my journey, and evenings when my horses and I plodded thought- fully along in the amber twilight. But already Laurent, terrified, was preparing to mount. He had even forgotten to ask for money when the professor thrust some into his hand, together with a card. (To be Continued.)