MR. ALSTON CALLS

Mr. Philip Slotman sat in his office; he was slowly deciphering a letter, ill-written and badly spelled.

“Dear sir,

“According to promise I am writing to you hopeing it finds you as it leaves me at present. Dear sir, having some news I am writing to tell you saime. Yesterday Mr. John Everard of Buddesby was here and him and Miss Jone was in the garden for a long time. I seen them from my window, but could not get near enuff to hear. Anyhow I see him kissing her hand. Laiter, after he had gone, I seen Miss Jone and Mrs. Everard together, and listened as best I could. From what I heard I imadgined that Miss Jone and Mr. John Everard is now engaged to be married, which Mrs. Everard seems very pleased to hear.

“This morning Miss Jone gets a letter and the postmark is Hurst Dormer, like you told me to look out for. She is now gone to London. Please send money in accordance with promise and I will write and tell you all the news as soon as there is any more.

“Youres truley,
“Miss Alice Betts.”

The door opened, a boy clerk came in. Slotman thrust the letter he had been reading into an open drawer.

“What is it? What do you want?”

“A gentleman to see you, sir. Mr. Alston from

“I can’t see him!” Slotman said quickly. “Tell him I am out, and that

“I am already here, and you are going to see me.” Hugh Alston came in. “You can go!” to the boy, who hesitated. “You hear me, you can go!”

Hugh closed the door after the lad.

“You’re not going to be too busy to see me this morning, Slotman, for I have interesting things to discuss with you.”

“I am a busy man,” Slotman began nervously.

“Very!” said Hugh “very, so I hear.”

He stepped into the room, and faced Slotman across the paper-littered table.

“I have been hearing about some of your enterprises,” he said, and there was that in his face that caused Mr. Slotman a feeling of insecurity and uneasiness. “One of them is blackmail!”

“How dare ” Slotman began, with an attempt at bluster.

“That’s what I am here for; to dare. You have been blackmailing a young lady whose name we need not mention. You have obtained the sum of three thousand pounds from her, by means of threats. I want that money and more; I want a declaration from you that you will never molest her again; for if you do if you do

Hugh’s face was not good to see, and Mr. Slotman quivered uneasily in his chair.

“The the money was lent to me. Miss Meredyth worked for me, and and I went to her, explaining that my business was in a precarious condition, and she very kindly lent me the money. And I haven’t got it, Mr. Alston. I’ll swear I haven’t a penny of it left. I could not repay it if I wanted to; it it was a friendly loan.”

Slotman leaned back in his chair; he looked at Hugh.

“You have done me a cruel wrong, Mr. Alston,” he said, in the tone of a deeply injured man. “Miss Meredyth worked for me, and while she was here I respected her, even more.” He paused. “At any rate I respected her. She attracted me, and, I will confess it, I fell in love with her. She was poor; she had nothing then to tempt a fortune hunter, and thank Heaven I can say I was never that. I asked her to be my wife, no man could do more, no man could act more honourably. You’ll admit that, eh? You must admit that?”

“And she refused you?”

“Not not definitely. It was too good an offer for a girl in her position to refuse without consideration.”

“You lie!”

Slotman shifted uneasily. “I cannot force your belief.”

“You’re right, you can’t. Well, go on what more?”

“She came into this money; my proposal no longer tempted her. She then refused me, even though I told her that the past her past would be forgotten, that I would never refer to it.”

“What past?” Hugh shouted.

“Hers and yours,” Slotman said boldly. “A supposed marriage that never took place, her sudden disappearance from her school in June, nineteen hundred and eighteen, when that marriage was supposed to have been celebrated but never was. Her story of leaving England for Australia an obvious lie, Mr. Alston. All those things I knew. All those things I can prove against her and against you and and ” Slotman’s voice quivered. He leaped to his feet and uttered a shout for help.

The blood-red mist was before Hugh’s eyes, and out of that mist appeared a vision of a face, an unpleasant face, with starting eyes and gaping mouth.

This he saw, and then his vision cleared, and with a shudder he released his hold on the man’s throat, and Philip Slotman subsided limply into his chair.