|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 44
He went to the depot. No one he questioned had seen Shan Tung at the
west-bound train, the only train that had gone out that morning, and
the agent emphatically disclaimed selling him a ticket. Therefore he
had not gone far. Suspicion leaped red in Keith's brain. His
imagination pictured Shan Tung at that moment with Miriam Kirkstone,
and at the thought his disgust went out against them both. In this
humor he returned to McDowell's office. He stood before his chief,
leaning toward him over the desk table. This time he was the inquisitor.
"Plainly speaking, this liaison is their business," he declared.
"Because he is yellow and she is white doesn't make it ours. I've just
had a hunch. And I believe in following hunches, especially when one
hits you good and hard, and this one has given me a jolt that means
something. Where is that big fat brother of hers?"
McDowell hesitated. "It isn't a liaison," he temporized. "It's
one-sided--a crime against--"
"WHERE IS THAT BIG FAT BROTHER?" With each word Keith emphasized his
demand with a thud of his fist on the table. "WHERE IS HE?"
McDowell was deeply perturbed. Keith could see it and waited.
After a moment of silence the iron man rose from the swivel chair,
walked to the window, gazed out for another moment, and walked back
again, twisting one of his big gray mustaches in a way that betrayed
the stress of his emotion. "Confound it, Conniston, you've got a mind
for seeking out the trivialities, and little things are sometimes the
most embarrassing."
"And sometimes most important," added Keith. "For instance, it strikes
me as mighty important that we should know where Peter Kirkstone is and
why he is not here fighting for his sister's salvation. Where is he?"
"I don't know. He disappeared from town a month ago. Miriam says he is
somewhere in British Columbia looking over some old mining properties.
She doesn't know just where."
"And you believe her?"
The eyes of the two men met. There was no longer excuse for
equivocation. Both understood.
McDowell smiled in recognition of the fact. "No. I think, Conniston,
that she is the most wonderful little liar that lives. And the
beautiful part of it is, she is lying for a purpose. Imagine Peter
Kirkstone, who isn't worth the powder to blow him to Hades, interested
in old mines or anything else that promises industry or production! And
the most inconceivable thing about the whole mess is that Miriam
worships that fat and worthless pig of a brother. I've tried to find
him in British Columbia. Failed, of course. Another proof that this
affair between Miriam and Shan Tung isn't a voluntary liaison on her
part. She's lying. She's walking on a pavement of lies. If she told the
truth--"
"There are some truths which one cannot tell about oneself,"
interrupted Keith. "They must be discovered or buried. And I'm going
deeper into this prospecting and undertaking business this afternoon.
I've got another hunch. I think I'll have something interesting to
report before night."
Ten minutes later, on his way to the Shack, he was discussing with
himself the modus operandi of that "hunch." It had come to him in an
instant, a flash of inspiration. That afternoon he would see Miriam
Kirkstone and question her about Peter. Then he would return to
McDowell, lay stress on the importance of the brother, tell him that he
had a clew which he wanted to follow, and suggest finally a swift trip
to British Columbia. He would take Mary Josephine, lie low until his
term of service expired, and then report by letter to McDowell that he
had failed and that he had made up his mind not to reenlist but to try
his fortunes with Mary Josephine in Australia. Before McDowell received
that letter, they could be on their way into the mountains. The "hunch"
offered an opportunity for a clean getaway, and in his jubilation
Miriam Kirkstone and her affairs were important only as a means to an
end. He was John Keith now, fighting for John Keith's life--and Derwent
Conniston's sister.
Mary Josephine herself put the first shot into the fabric of his plans.
She must have been watching for him, for when halfway up the slope he
saw her coming to meet him. She scolded him for being away from her, as
he had expected her to do. Then she pulled his arm about her slim
little waist and held the hand thus engaged in both her own as they
walked up the winding path. He noticed the little wrinkles in her
adorable forehead.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|