We Pelham Affair Jy- touts' Jracif •
nviiwiiura uom ■ cm rrtla t ,)
"And—next time—I really think you
should be accompanied by your legal
adviser, to whom you can give a full
Account of all that passed this morn
ing.”
"Very well. But what does all this
lead to?”
"Some exceedingly grave chargee,
obviously, if these statements are
substantiated.”
“The only serious witness is Poiice
Captaln Sheridan. What does he al
lege against Karl von Helding?"
"I prefer to go through my notes
carefully before advancing another
inch. I am sure that is the best
course for all concerned."
The baronet rose.
“Look here," he said impressively,
"I'll keep my word, and remain at
your disposal for a week—no longer."
He strode to the door, which Pri
deuux opened.
"Let me guide you to your car,” he
said.
"I really don't think I need your
assistance.”
“But you do, most urgently."
As they passed together , along
an echoing corridor, Sir Arthur looked
at the little man with a flicker of
amusement on his face.
“Cahdidly," he said, "you fellows
have altered all my preconceived
opinions of Scotland Yard. You strike
me as being what Corporal Jenkins
would describe as blamy on the crum
pet.”
"We are,” agreed Prldeatix. "Too
ck>se association with eminent male
factors is not good for any man.
Kven you, who are superb, have dis
covered that.”
"What the devil aro you driving at
now?”
“Here is the lift. We can't talk
shop now. For Instance, those peo
ple In the reception-room stuck to
lawn-tennis while we were there, but
you ought to have heard their
tongues wagging after we left.”
"Indeed. Who were they?”
"Three were officers of Sir Arthur
Pelham'* battalion during the first
two years of the war, one was his
house-master at Eton, and the lady
^Aks dame during the dear boy’s res
idence. You have a marvelous mem
ory for names—although you affected
not to be able to remember Somers.'s
or mine—and a perfectly uncanny fac
ulty for assimilating useful data, but
it Is quite impossible that you should
recognise complete strangers unless
they wear lahels.”
The baronet was pulling on his
gloves. He attended solely to that op
eration until the two were standing
In the courtyard, and Tomlinson had
brought the car up. He was think
ing intently, and hardly noticed that
Prideaux had ushered him into the
limousine with marked politeness.
When he was Inside, the detective
leaned through the window.
“I may never see you again," he
said, still in the most oordlaJ tone,
"so I want to congratulate you on the
magnificent way in which you car
ried off today's ordeal.”
i'Are you quitting this case, then?”
Cmt other could not help asking.
“No. It will continue to absorb me
Ibr many days, If not weeks.”
“I wish you would stop speaking in
enigmas. I have enough to worry me
without trying to disentangle your
meaning from your words."
“I'll endeavor to be as direct and
plain-spoken as the Judge who will
sentence you to penal servitude for
ife. Raymond Carre ruined you when
he murdered Lady Pelham. You cer
tainly should not have bolted to Scot
land that morning. No one should
ever go to Scotland without the best
of reasons. The outcome was that I
had many uninterrupted hours In
which to search Lady Pelham’s rooms.
That oid German woman, despite the
racial ohsesBlon which permitted her
to recognise you as her dead son, was
nevertheless a mother. When her
hands were forced by the agents of
the Hauptquartlerstah, she gathered
•*•11 the photographs of her son, rang
ing from babyhood to his guards' cap
taincy, and locked them away. Sho
also made some remarkable memor
anda—In case of future trouble. In
a word, she meant to keep the whlp
hnnd over you while she lived. She
was a conceited, dogged Teuton, and
tried to force you to marry Elsa, some
girl from Nuremberg. You, thinking
more broadly, saw that marriage with
i sure-enough frauleln would be,fool
Absolutely Pure
unponea
POMPEIAN
OLIVE OIL
mini the ‘—f ♦ delicious
mayonnaise and French
\dressing
as the right kind of wife. You were
quite right. I suppose you felt safe
in committing! bigamy, but surely
ish, and you picked on Phyllis Daunt
you must have felt a sinking in the
stomach when Sherldsn walked In.
and you realized that he could, and
will, produce the wife and child you
deserted in Chicago in 1914."
The eyes of the two men met in a
soul-searching glance. Tomlinson,
waiting for orders, gat like a block
of wood.
At last von Heldlng broke a silence
of nearly a minute.
'Why do you tell me these things?"
he said, and his full, reasonant voice
showed no tremors.
"Because you are. at least, a brave
man, and one respects that quality
even In an enemy.”
"Suppose I insist on seeing the dep
uty commissioner?"
"You will be arrested at once. I had
a devil of a job t° secure you this
chance."
"Chance!"
"Of course. What else is it?"
“Come with me. Let us talk mat
ters over."
“Absolutely useless. I have gone
much too far as it is. By the way,
give me that little black book as a
souvenir."
"No. Kindly tell Tomlinson to drive
up Whitehall.”
"Prideaux obeyed, though never
taking his eyes off the man in the
limousine. Von Heldlng noticed this,
and smiled.
"What good would it be? It's too
late, anyhow.” he said.
Then Prideaux did a strange thing.
He actually lifted his hat to one who
hud cost Kngland more in blood and
treasure than any other German. He
watched the car swing out of the
courtyard, and turn in the direction
of Whitehall. Some specks of matter
which resembled burnt paper flutter
ed through a window. The detective
swore vexedly:
“Hacre nom d'un pipe!" he growled.
“He's destroying that poeketbook
page by page. But I had to sacrifice
something. It would make a terrific
case, and every sob-sister in Great
Britain would have believed in him.
Besides, one can never trust the law!"
A motorcyclist whirred by. He,
also, had business In Whitehall. He
remained fifty yards or more behind
von Helding's car, and he, too, saw
black fragments eddying In the breeze.
Suddenly there was a noise slightly
more strident than the back firing of
a cylinder, and Tomlinson brought
the car sharply to a standstill by the
kerb outside the old admiralty offices.
He alighted, and went to the door.
The motorcyclist dAshed up, Hnd
clung to the opposite window. The
two men, peering in. met each other's
eyes.
“Don't make a fuss!" said the cyc
list. ''I’m a detective. Close the door
again, and drive straight to Charing
Gross Hospital. Turn just beyond the
station. The accident entrance faces
you then!"
The suicide of Sir Arthur Pelham
gave London a new thrill. Some of
the newspapers attributed It to grief
for the death of his mother, to whom
he was devotedly attached. More
over, it was suggested by a well-dis
posed coroner that the haronet might
havp sustained undetected Injuries to
the brain when wounded by a shell at
Loos.
Prideaux received the telephone
message from the hospital, and dashed
with the news to the deputy commis
sioner. who was still discussing the
strange case with Somers and Sheri
dan. Of course, it was shocking that
any man should take his own life,
but the deputy commissioner was
philosophical.
"It Is better so," he said. "We
would have been compelled to arrest
him next time, and the time and
trouble needed to secure a conviction
would be simply Incalculable.”
"It was a great etunt!” sighed
Sheridan. "Gee! 1 was countin' on
another four thousand miles’ run to
the trial.”
"I suppose there Is no doubt that
von Halding Is actually dead?" com
mented the deputy commissioner.
"Sheldon says he blew the top of
his head off, sir.”
Somers gave Prideauv a weighing
undertook. They went out together.
"llld you say much to him,
Charles?" he almost whispered.
"Just the few necessary words. He
took the verdict like a white man.”
Somers drew a deep breath.
‘‘Well, I'm glad It’s over,” he said.
“Our nice young deputy was scared
stiff. He's positively frightened of
'luestlon-tlme In the House of Com
incr ■-.However, one must eat
i hough the heavens fall. I wonder
If those soldier-boys are at their
club?”
"Of course, they are! Let’s walk,
along Whitehall and through the
Park.”
The chief sought no reasons for
laklng that particular route. Neither
man spoke again until they were
crossing the horse guards' parade.
"Will you explain to Pelham?-"
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he began, but Prideaux cried fiercely:
"1 will not. I've done mjk bit for thut
young man. Try the acheme adopted
in the Californian mining camp when
Flanagan was killed by a fall of rock.
The most tactful person available was
chosen to break the news to Mrs.
Flanagan, so he knocked at the door
of the hut, and, when the lady ap
peared, said pleasantly: 'Does the
Widow Flanagan live here?’ Anyhow,
cheer up, old scout, it isn't your fun
eral."
Pelham hurried to the entrance hall
when their names were sent in.
"This is quite an agreeable sur
prise," he said.
"We thought that, perhaps, you
would like to see us, Sir Arthur,”
said Somers.
Something in the manner of the
two men warned the other that the
use of the title was no heavy-handed
bit of humor.
"More fragedy?" he murmured.
"Yes. The late Sir Arthur Pelham
met with a fatal accident in White
hall half an hour ago, and was dead
before he could be taken to the Char
ing Cross hospital."
"Is that the whole story?"
"Not by five acts,” broke in Pri
deaux. "But.it will carry you safely
through lunch. The chief is starving.
Look at him!"
Prideaux's active wits were run
ning far ahead of events. As they
climbed the stairs to find Drummer
and Jameson, he linked a hand in Pel
ham's arm.
“There Is only one thing I wish to
see now." he chirped. “I want to be
present when the family lawyers hear
of this mlxup. 1 don't suppose the
estate will be out of the courts for
twelve solid months, so the faces of
two or three worthy gentlemen will
present a fine blend of anxious
thought with a preliminary estimate
of the total cost*."
• • a
Phyllis Daunt positively refused to
allow her prospective husband to do
other than take formal possession of
Cedar Lodge,
"I wouldn’t live there again if the
walls were solid gold," she vowed,
"unless, that Is, I was allowed to pull
them down and build hospitals with
the proceeds. That house will ever
be a place of ghosts, and nasty
ghosts, too.”
They were discussing matters in
the Woods' garden at Lyndhurst. As
Prideaux foresaw, the legal complica
tions were interminable. The estate,
was not entailed, but I^ady Pelham
had a life interest with tiie remainder
to her son, and a judge in chambers
took some convincing that the
astounding story told by Pelham's
lawyers was true. This meant that
Slavinski and Pascart (the woman was
of no account) became important wit
nesses once more, so the police treat
ed them leniently, and when they
9 111 I I III I I I'l I I I I I I I I III I'l
were no lunger useful, hail them sent ■
nut of the country us undesirable
aliens.
Arthur married his Phyllis towards
the end of July, at Lyndhurnt, of
course. He obtained the court's per
mission to call with his bride and the
orange-growing syndicate to South
Africa a month later They were be
coming quite attached to their plants
tion when a cablegram from the solic
itors in April brought them home.
Cedar Lodge was sold, and paid the
succession duty, which the Treasury
had grabbed three times in seven
years. On reaching London, Pel
ham, who would not have assumed the
baronetcy but for his wife's sake, drew
his first big check and promptly sent
her shopping.
He took a plebeian taxi to Abney
Park cemetery, to stand by his moth
er's grave once more, and muse on
the strange vicissitudes of his life
during the past 10 months. Karl
von fielding was buried near the first
Lady Pelham, but under ills proper
name.
The following evening the young
couple entertained the chief and Pri
deaux to dinner. They (the host and
hostess) wanted to give each of the
detectives a runabout car, but th«
present wps declined with thanks.
Pelham, however, had secured a
thousand first-class Havanas and a
ruby and diamond pin, and Phyllis
handed gome of the cigars, with a
storage receipt and In a nice case, to
Prideaux, and the pin to Somers.
The little man's dismay was com
ical, since he could not express his
feelings with adequate forte in front
of a lady. She, poor girl, blushed
very prettily, hut her husband put
matters right. Naturally, they were
dining at Bucc'l's, and the third baro
net proposed a brief toast when the
champagne was served.
"We four should remain friends all
our lives," he said. "You two brought
us two together, and the four of us,
in combination, defeated the most
successful inheritance swindle known
to the law. There may have been
others even more remarkable, but they
were never detected. Arid, just think
of it—the whole fabric of crime col
lapsed from the Instant ex-Cnrporal
Jenkins met my train at Victoria.
Suppose, to avoid speech-making, we
all join In drinking his health! Luck
ily, he has a taste for poultry-rearing,
so he is now being trained to look
after a farm my wife will buy in the
New Forest. Henry Wood arranged
this and other things for us ffcr Christ
mas. Long may Jenkins flourish!”
"May his eggs he the biggest and
his pullets the fattest in Hampshire!"
added Prideaux. "I say nothing about
cockerels in the presence of my re
spected Chief, whose crow will be
heard as far away as Chicago at the
police conference next October "
"No, no," said Somers hastily. "I
hnve recommended the commissioner
to send you as a delegate."
"You fat lump!” shrilled Prideaux.
"You bulbous adiposity! Why, every
gigantic cop in the United States
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<THK END.)
Two Are Injured in
Accident at Lincoln
I.inroln. Neb.. Dec. 17.—Mrs. Grace
Griswold. 58. Buffered a broken arm
and internal Injuries, and her daugh
ter, Mrs. Clarence Trigg of this city,
was cut about the face when an au
tomobile in which they were riding
was struck by a Northwestern train
at a grade crossing one mile north
of I,incoln shortly after noon today.
The car, which was struck on a rear
fender, turned a complete somersault
and was virtually demolished.
The accident occurred at an inter
section of the Northwestern and Bur
lington tracks. The railroad employes
In an adjacent switch tower declared
the train was proceeding slowly.
-_
Warden Fenton Seeks to
Have Name on Ballot
Bincoln, Dec. 17.—Warden W. T.
Fenton of the Nebraska penitentiary
today announced he soon would cir
culate petitions to have his name
placed on the ballot as a delegate to
the national democratic convention
from the First district.
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