Evening Star Newspaper, September 15, 1935, Page 104

2 Magazine Section demand a tall explanation from vou who vou are. and what brought you here.” ‘I shall tell them nothing.” You must please vourself!”' 1 re- “That's my last word on the ~ubject. 1 hope vou realize vou can't cet away from Falcon Castle until the roads have been opened, and by that time the police will be bere. You're my compulsory guest. I'm sorry if my presence is obnoxious to you.” 1t isn’t!” she said quickly. I like you and — [ think you like me.” [ could not help smiling as 1 went over to her. “"How did vou guess that, Miss Paradene? [t's true, you know. I'll be sorry when you leave. 1 wish I had made your acquaintance long ago.” A humorous smile crept into her eyes. “Then I'm glad we don’t have to avoid each other!” "‘l( would be awkward,” 1 agreed. “Come and let me show vou over Faicon Castle — it's an interesting old place.” We were cheerful at lunch, and there were times when [ almost thought she had forgotten about the tragedy of the previous night. She had charm as well as beauty, and in ordinary circumstances 1 could have wished for no more delightful com- panion. She asked me a lot about America, and I found myself talking to her as if I had been an old friend. But concerning herself she said nothing. \s the evening drew on, there were gaps of silence in our talk, and I could see that the old look of apprehension was returning to her eves. There were moments when I could have believed <Mt was in a state of terror, which she was striving to conceal from me. | suggested that she might wish to go to bed early, and she retired to her room before ten o’clock. plied “Can | get you anything more to- night, sir?” Dunstan’s voice broke into my thoughts as I sat smoking before the fire. **Nothing, thanks. You may go to bed. Oh, by the way, Dunstan.” I added., "you may be interested to know what Mr. Barnett told me this morning. He said it was nonsense about his having quarrelled with Mr. Swinburn.” The manservant drew himself up. *‘Bagging your pardon, sir, it was the truth. Mr. Barnett hasn’t been inside Falcon Castle for nearly a vear. Not until today.” 1 looked at him .teadily. ‘‘You're quite sure of that? . . . Anyhow, the reason why he’s come north is that he wants to rent this house for a friend of his ™’ Dunstan looked at me doubtiully, then pursed his lips. ‘‘Forgive me, sir, it’s no business of mine; but if I were you, I would be careful of Mr. Barnett.” Exactly what was in the old fel- low’s mind I could not discover, and in the end I sent him off to bed. Knocking the ashes out of my pipe, I made my way upstairs with a lighted candle, and I was taking off my shoes when an idea struck me. Was it a wise thing to go to sleep? In case anything THIS WEEK Falcon Castle Continued from page six To a Lost Spirit by LORD DUNSANY 1f dogma errs, and if there is no Hell. And spirits are immortal, where go vou’? The wind cries out tonight as though it knew, Full of lost voices, without words to tell. Are yvou amongst them, from some pinnacle Trying to tear down vy, peering through Some cleft to see what damage vou can do. Or wailing against walls that stand too well? Rather, I think, in some wolf-haunted land Of careless shepherds, while the watch-dogs sleep Your green eyes shining on the helpless sheep. You lie and breathe, and watch the fleecv band. ‘Then, picking out some voung well-favoured dam, You glide towards them, bleating like a lamb. unusual took place in the night, I'd better be on the alert. The possibility that some unknown person might be hiding in the house had crossed my mind several times during the day. Extinguishing the candle, 1 quietly made my way downstairs to the dining room. There, with a steamer rug over my knees, [ prepared to spend the night in an armchair, with no light except that of the fire. It was a melancholy vigil. hour or so, | made my way both to the front door and the back, and then went upstairs, groping my way in the darkness, only to return and settle down withmyuncomfortable thoughts, It must have been an hour after mid- night that I made my third journey upstairs, and my heart jumped into my throat as I saw a patch of bright- ness along the passage leading to my grandfather’s room. What was happening? It required all my courage to prevent myself from making a rapid retreat. [ stood still for a moment, then moved slowly towards the glimmer of light. The bedroom door was partly open, but no sound came from within. Nor could 1 see a trace of any human being in that faintly-lit room. And then, as I moved nearer to the door- way, I caught a glimpse of something that chilled me. Near the big four-poster bed stood a figure with a lighted candle. It was Lucille Paradene. She was motionless, and her eyes were wide and staring. | “BEN-GAY" QUICKLY RELIEVES THOSE STABBING PAINS Gay's'"' medication penetrates right Want to lift that heavy load of pain right off yvour back ? Want tostraight- en up quickly without feeling pain flesh through you? Then treat your backaches and pains to a generous application of “Ben-Gay." Feel how quickly the pain is driven out. feel a glow of comfort as ‘‘Ben- RUB PAIN AWAY WITH through your skin and is actually taken up by the blood stream and carried to the congested. aching area. Just one warning—get the genuine “Ben-Gay''—none of its inferior im- | itators has its same properties, It is the only true Baume Analgésique. BAUME “BEN-GAY" Every I could see her lips move, but from them there came no sound. My fust impuise was to step into the room and demand what she was doing there. But on second thought 1 decided to wait and see what was going on. She was moving slowly towards the fireplace, and 1 noted that she was fully dressed. Then she turned and came towards the door. The next moment she had blown out the candle. I drew back to the other side of the passage. The door was quietly closed, and I could hear her light footsteps. As she passed, [ held my breath. What on earth had she been doing in my grandfather’s room? Pausing at the corner, | looked along the main pas- sage. and then I saw the glow of a lighted match. Lucille Paradene was not returning to her bedroom; she was going downstairs. 1 followed her in silence. On the bottom step, I waited for a few mo- ments hoping to get a hint of the direction she had taken. But to my dismay I could hear nothing; and then, beyond the curtain at the mouth of the kitchen passage, I saw the gleam of another match. It was put out at once; moving quietly towards it, I felt a cold breath of air on my face. Lucille Paradene had opened the back door. This was disconcerting. I could not understand what had taken her out of the house. When 1 went forwaird, [ found the back door closed, but it was unlocked. I slipped out into the courtyard. Everything was quiet. Faint moon- light struck upon the white roofs of the outhouses and sheds. Lucille Paradene was not in sight. I walked down the path at the side of the house. And then I noticed a track through the snow. It led towards a door in the garden wall. I remembered that this was the way Mr. Barnett had come from his house the previous forenoon. Surely it was impossible that Lucille had gone in that direction! I made quickly towards the door, and opened it. The moon glistened on the white ridges of the snow, and I gave a gasp as I saw a dark figure disappearing around the shoulder of the hillside. There could be no doubt it was Lucille Paradene, and she was hurrying towards Falcon Lodge! Careful to keep to the path that had already been trodden in the snow, I followed her. As I drew near Falcon Lodge, a clump of gorse gave me cover, and I had a good look at the house. It was in darkness; there was no sign of movement; apparently Lucille Para- dene had gone indoors. I opened the little iron gate and halted on a path- way that led round to the front. From this path the snow had been shovelled, and it was the only sign 'll}i" N MAY that the house was occupied. The blind: were down; the silence and desolation of the place struck me as desperately cerie. And then, in a win- dow on the ground floor, I saw a tiny chink of light. Inside, heavy curtains must have been drawn, but that one tiny bright slit told me that a conclave of some kind was going on. It was fairly cer- tain that Lucille Paradene had been vxpected. I remembered that she had been alone for a few minutes with Mr. Barnett when he had called at Falcon Castle in the forenoon. Had they arranged this meeting then? I thanked my stars 1'd had the wit to hold my peace and keep my eyes open, and | decided to continue the same course of action. Hurrying back along the path to Falcon Castle, I slipped indoors and went up to my bedroom. 1 settled down to wait 1n patience for the girl’s return. But after an hour had passed, and I had heard no hint of her foot- steps, | made my way downstairs. The back door had been locked on the inside. Lucille Paradene had come back so stealthily that she reached her own room without a sound. In disgust I went to bed, where I spent five cold and uncomfortable hours until Dun- stan came in with hot water. The morning sunshine made the gloomy old dining room seem almost cheerful. Lucille Paradene came down to breakfast at nine o’clock, and greeted me pleasantiy. As we sat there together, it was difficult to believe I had seen her stealing out of the house to pay a secret visit to Falcon Lodge. Her cheeks were still pale, and there were dark shadows around her eyes; but her manner was almost gay as she talked to me across the table. For myself, I was in a wretched mood, and the thought that she was deliberately acting a part for my benefit increased my depression. As soon as breakfast was over, | ordered Dunstan to light a fire in the library, telling him I wished to do some work there. In point of fact, I wanted to get away from Lucille Paradene. Our acquaintance had been ripening into something that was very like real friendship, but her stealthy movements during the night had put a different face upon the matter. Saying that I hoped that she would be able to amuse herself until lunch time, I retired to my grandfather’s library. It was a big book-lined place, and [ began to hunt for something of interest to read. That it contained many valu- able books I knew from some of the receipts for purchases which my grandfather had recently made. On Sunday evening | had again gone through his private papers, and had examined bankt.oks and cheque September 15, 1935 books. Bur where the money for these purchases had come from, | was still without a hint. I began to pace up and down the hibrary wondering whether the visits of Mr. Paul had been in any way connected with the mysterious source of my grandfather’s income. To be sure, 1 had found no mention of Mr. Paul’s name, or Lucille Paradene’s vither, among the papers in the big desk; but I took it into my head to have another look, and pulled my grandfather’s keys from my pocket. I had not got very far when some- thing struck me as queer. Hastily 1 began to haul out drawers and ex- amine their contents. Then with a muttered exclamation, [ got to my feet and stood bhiting my lip in per- plexity. Since the previous evening, my grandfather’'s desk had been opened and searched! 1t was difficult to know what my next move should be. I could go straight to Lucille Paradene, tell her what I had seen during the night, and bluntly ask her if she had been hunt- g among my grandfather’s personal papers. On the other hand, 1 could continue to keep my eyes open and say nothing. The second plan appealed to me. After | had locked up the desk, I pulled on an overcoat and set out for Roger Barnett's house in the hollow. I wanted to have another talk with the man. I felt fairly certain that the offer to rent Falcon Castle was not genuine, and 1 was more eager than ever to know what lay behind his proposal. As 1 approached Falcon Lodge, I remembered |1 had said nothing to him about the murder ot Mr. Paul. Should I mention the sub- ject now? That, I decided, must de- pend upon the line he took with me. My knock was answered by a man in chautfewr’s livery, and he was cer- tainly not ot a very prepossessing type. He had a dark complexion, with small black eyes set too close together and a smile that I did not like. He showed me into a pleasant sitting room. A minute later Mr. Barnett himself appeared. My neighbor seemed to be in high Spirits. ‘Good-morning, Mr. Irvine! It's kind of you to have come over. How are things at Falcon Castle? I hope you aren’t getting bored with doing nothing.” “Not vet,” I assured him. I've got Miss pany.” He laughed. “"Ah, I was forgetting your charming guest. She was a great friend of Mr. Swinburn’s, 1 think you told me? It must have been rather a shock for her to arrive at Falcon Castle and find that the old man had departed this life.” “It was,” I agreed offhandedly. If Mr. Barnett was hoping todraw me out, he was disappointed. By the way,” I added, ‘“‘our telephone is out of order. Have you one at Falcon Lodge?” 1 had not seen any wires outside, but I wanted to make certain. ““Nothing so modern as a tele- phone,” he assured me. “Is there anything urgent?”’ “l wondered if we could find out when a snowplow is likely to come up this glen and open the road.” “Surely they’ll have the road clear by tomorrow!” he declared. ‘‘How- ever, if they don’t, we shall just have to make the best of it."”” And then he changed the subject. “Have you thought over my proposition, Mr. Irvine? If we could come to terms now about renting Falcon Castle, I could let my friend know as soon as I got back to London.”” I replied that I had thought the matter over, but had decided it wouid be better to wait until I consulted the lawyer. ““He advised me to sell the place, and I suppose I'd better take his advice.” Mr. Roger Barnett gave a short laugh. "‘Lawyver’s advice! They’re all the same — working for their own pockets! I reckon he hopes to make a fat commission on the sale.” “Perhaps he does,”” 1 admitted. *‘But if he can find me a purchaser at once, I'll be glad to get rid of the place.” “Look here, Mr. Irvine!” The man assumed a confidential tone. ‘I don’t mind telling you my friend’s offer will be a handsome one. It’s for you to state the rent you require. but he did mention twelve or fourteen guineas a {Continued on page 15) “Besides, Paradene for com-