Part 10 (2/2)

'Great Scot!' I cried 'Have they got the ht they have dropped you from the list of possibles'

'Why?' I asked in amazement

'Principally because I received a letter fro of the enius, but he holly honest The trouble about hi a lone hand That made him pretty well useless in any Secret Service--a pity, for he had uncoifts I think he was the bravest ht, and yet nothing would choke him off I had a letter from him on the 31st of May'

'But he had been dead a week by then'

'The letter ritten and posted on the 23rd He evidently did not anticipate an immediate decease His communications usually took a week to reach me, for they were sent under cover to Spain and then to Newcastle He had ahis tracks'

'What did he say?' I staer, but had found shelter with a good friend, and that I would hear froavenear Portland Place I think his object was to clear you if anything happened When I got it I went to Scotland Yard, went over the details of the inquest, and concluded that you were the friend We made inquiries about you, Mr Hannay, and found you were respectable I thought I knew the motives for your disappearance--not only the police, the other one too--and when I got Harry's scrawl I guessed at the rest I have been expecting you any tiine what a load this took off ainst my country's enemies only, and not my country's law

'Now let us have the little note-book,' said Sir Walter

It took us a good hour to work through it I explained the cypher, and he was jolly quick at picking it up He e of it on several points, but I had been fairly correct, on the whole His face was very grave before he had finished, and he sat silent for a while

'I don't knohat to --what is going to happen the day after toly enough in itself But all this about war and the Black Stone--it reads like some wild melodraement The trouble about him was that he was too romantic He had the artistic temperament, and wanted a story to be better than God meant it to be

He had a lot of odd biases, too Jews, for exah finance

'The Black Stone,' he repeated 'DER SCHWARZE STEIN It's like a penny novelette And all this stuff about Karolides That is the weak part of the tale, for I happen to know that the virtuous Karolides is likely to outlast us both There is no State in Europe that wants hi up to Berlin and Vienna and giving one off the track there Frankly, Hannay, I don't believe that part of his story

There's some nasty business afoot, and he found out too much and lost his life over it But I am ready to take reat European Power makes a hobby of her spy system, and her methods are not too particular Since she pays by piecework her blackguards are not likely to stick at a murder or two

They want our naval dispositions for their collection at the Marinea more'

Just then the butler entered the room

'There's a trunk-call from London, Sir Walter It's Mr 'Eath, and he wants to speak to you personally'

My host went off to the telephone

He returned in five ize to the shade of Scudder,' he said 'Karolides was shot dead this evening at a fewof the Black Stone