Arthur Morrison

“ I took my hat and walked out as Plummer had done, though, of course, I approached the door of No. 8 with less caution. The packing-case maker's men were hammering away merrily, and as I mounted the stairs I saw the little fancy-goods agent among his cardboard boxes, just as Plummer had said. The upper part of the house was a silent contrast to the busy lower floors, and as I arrived at the next landing I was surprised to see the door ajar. ”

“ Why did Telfer give up the code, and what is the power that Mayes talks of?"
"It is a power," replied Hewitt, "that I have suspected for some time, and now I am quite sure of it. A secret, dangerous and terrible power which I have encountered before, though never before have I known its possibilities carried so far. ”

“ This is a romance of the great expulsion of the Acadians which Longfellow first immortalized in "Evangeline." Swift action, fresh atmosphere, wholesome purity, deep passion, searching analysis, characterize this strong novel; and the tragic theme of the exile is relieved by the charm of the wilful demoiselle and the spirit of the courtly seigneur, who bring the manners of old France to the Acadian woods. ”

“ As soon as our cab was started on its way back to Hewitt's office Plummer explained himself.
"He's been watched," he said, "has Mr. Telfer, when he didn't know it; and he'll be watched again for the rest of to-day, as I've arranged. What's more, he won't be allowed to leave the office this evening till I have seen him again, or sent a message. No need to frighten him too soon—it mightn't suit us. But he's in it, alone or in company!"
"How do you know?"
"I'll tell you. It seems the lead roofs are being repaired at the Admiralty, and the plumbers are walking about where they like. ”

“ You'll have to be careful, Plummer, and not show yourself. That is where Brett will be useful, since he isn't known; if anybody is to be seen let it be him. I shall be very careful myself—though I shall have some little disguise; and I fancy I shall not be so likely to be seen as you."
"What are we to do?" I asked.
"Well, of course, if you see Mayes in the open, grab him instantly. I needn't tell Plummer that. I think Plummer would naturally seize him on the spot, rush him off to the nearest station and go back with enough men to clear out No. 8 Norbury Row. ”

“ There is no getting in by the skylight without breaking it, and, as you see, it has not been broken. Certainly there are men on the roof repairing the leads, but it is plain enough that nobody has come that way. The thing is wholly inexplicable."
"At present, yes," Hewitt said, musingly. He stood for a few moments in deep thought.
"Plummer is longer away than I expected," he said presently. "By the way, what was the external appearance of the missing code?" ”

“ Do you know this Norbury Row, Plummer?"
"I think I know every street and alley in the City," Plummer answered. "There is a very good publican at the corner of Norbury Row, who's been useful to the police a score of times. He keeps his eyes open, and I shall be surprised if he can't give us some information about No. 8, anyhow. Moon's his name, and the house is 'The Compasses.' I shall go there first. And if you've any message to send, send it through him. I'll tell him."
On the stairs Plummer and I encountered another of his assistants. "I've got the cab, sir," he reported. ”

“ Library This brilliant and original novel is one of the notable additions to the fiction list of the year, in respect both of literary quality and of popular appeal. It is bubbling over with life and humor, buoyant with youth and courage, picturesque in local color, and powerful in the intensity of its emotional interest. ”

“ But there's the window at the back, and a ladder, I think you said. Can he reach it?"
"I think he might—easily."
"And perhaps there's the roof, since he's got the top floor too. Not good enough without some men to surround the house. We must go gingerly over this. One thing to find out is, what is the building behind? Ah, how I wish Mr. Hewitt were here now! If we don't hear from him soon we must send a message. But we mustn't lose sight of No. 8 for a moment."
There was a thump at the sitting-room door, and Mr. Moon came puffing in and shouldered himself confidentially against Plummer. ”

“ The tales deal chiefly with those elemental problems of the mysteries of life,—pain, the unknown, the strange kinship of man and beast in the struggle for existence,—the enigmas which occur chiefly to the primitive folk on the backwoods fringe of civilization, and they arrest attention for their sincerity, their freshness of first-hand knowledge, and their superior craft. ”

“ To this confident expression of opinion Hewitt offered no reply, and presently we alighted at his office, eager to learn if Peytral had given the information Hewitt so much desired. Sure enough a telegram was there, and it ran thus:
"On the night you know of, Mayes went first to 37 Raven Street, Blackfriars, then to 8 Norbury Row, Barbican. Message follows."
"Now we're at work," Hewitt said, briskly, "and for a while we part. I shall make a few changes of dress, and go to take a look at 37 Raven Street. Blackfriars. Will you two go on to Norbury Row? ”

“ He pulled the stable door to, and took me by the hand. I heard the inner door open quietly, and we stepped cautiously forward. We had gone some five or six yards in the darkness when I felt something cold touch the wrist of the hand by which I was being led. There was a loud click, my hand was dropped, and I felt my wrist held fast, while I could hear my late guide shuffling away in the darkness. ”

“ It seems that Mayes sometimes uses a back way, through the window you saw on the opposite side of the little area, by way of that ladder you mentioned. It's quite plain this fellow knows something, from the particulars about that ladder. He wants half a sovereign to show me the way through a stable passage behind and point out where our man can be trapped to a certainty. It'll be a cheap ten shillingsworth, and we mustn't waste time. If Hewitt comes, tell him not to move till I come back or send a message, which I can easily do by this chap I'm going with. ”

“ Moon's sitting-room. "The packing-case maker is genuine enough, and very busy. So is the fancy-goods agent. I went in, seeing the door wide open, and found the agent, a little, shop-walkery sort of chap, hard at work with his clerk among piles of cardboard boxes. I wouldn't go further, in case I were spotted. Do you think you'd be cool enough to do it without arousing suspicion? Mayes doesn't know you, you see. What do you think? We don't want to precipitate matters till we hear from Hewitt, but on the other hand I don't want to sit still as long as anything can be ascertained. ”

“ It is true enough that I am an enthusiast, but I have power, power to do anything I please, I tell you! What are the greatest powers among men on this earth? Some will say the pen, or the sword, or love, or what not. ”

“ The dirty-whiskered man made no attempt to escape, though there was talk of another man having got away in the confusion by way of the stable roof. The police were left in charge of the place, and we deferred a complete exploration till the next day.
Hewitt's tale was simple enough. He had endued himself in somewhat seedy clothes, and had visited 37 Raven Street, Blackfriars, which he found to be merely a tenement house. ”

“ Hewitt; we've got to have that man to-day, if it can be done. And there's more than ordinary depending on it. It's the country this time. The Admiralty telegraphic code has been stolen!"
"By Mayes?"
Plummer shrugged his shoulders. "That's to be proved," he said; "but he was seen leaving the office at about the time the loss occurred, and that's enough to set me after him; and there's not another clue of any sort. Mr. Hewitt, I wish you were in the official service!" ”

“ Hewitt? Unless you've heard."
"No, I haven't," Hewitt replied. "We'll go on at once. Good-day for the present, Mr. Telfer. I hope to bring good news when next I see you."
"I hope so, too, Mr. Hewitt, most fervently," Telfer answered; and his looks confirmed his words.
We walked in silence through the corridor, down the stairs, and out by the gates into the street. Then Plummer turned on his heel and faced Hewitt.
"That man's a wrong 'un," he said, abruptly, jerking his thumb in the direction of the office we had just left. "I'll tell you about it in the cab." ”

“ Mr. Moon's description of the successive disappearances of Plummer and myself, and of our continued absence, so aroused Hewitt's suspicions that he instantly procured help from the nearest station, and approached the door of Mayes's office. A knock being unanswered, the door was instantly broken in. The room was found to be unoccupied, but the ladder was still standing at the open window, by which Mayes had descended to the back premises. Down this ladder Hewitt went, with the police after him. ”

“ It is an actual romance in which the animal characters play their parts as naturally as do the human.
The Forge in the Forest. Being the Narrative of the Acadian Ranger, Jean de Mer, Siegneur de Briart, and how he crossed the Black Abbé, and of his Adventures in a Strange Fellowship. Illustrated by Henry Sandham, R. C. A.
A romance of the convulsive period of the struggle between the French and English for the possession of North America. The story is one of pure love and heroic adventure, and deals with that fiery fringe of conflict that waved between Nova Scotia and New England. ”

“ Hewitt said, indicating a small one let into the wall. "May I examine it?"
"Certainly." Mr. Telfer turned and produced the keys from his pocket. "The code was here, lying on this shelf when I needed it this morning at ten. I took it out, used it, returned it to the same place exactly, and locked the safe door. Then I took the draft of the telegram, together with the copy in cypher, into the Controller's room, gave it into safe hands, and returned here." ”

“ The rescue of a maid from the designs of an unscrupulous father and rakish lord forms the principal and underlying theme, around which incidents group themselves with sufficient rapidity to hold one's attention spellbound. ”

“ By Sydney C. Grier, author of "The Warden of the Marches," "A Crowned Queen," etc.
Mr. Grier's latest novel, like several of its predecessors, is concerned with the interesting field of political intrigue in the Balkan states. The remarkable success which Mr. Grier's novels have enjoyed in England makes certain the favorable reception on this side of the water of his latest work.
PAGE'S COMMONWEALTH SERIES
Literary growth in America has been of late years as rapid as its material and economical progress. ”

“ Roberts, and reported under the guise of fiction, this will be a book of great popular interest.
The Mystery of Murray Davenport. By Robert Neilson Stephens, author of "Captain Ravenshaw," "Philip Winwood," etc.
His latest novel is a new departure for Mr. Stephens, and his greatest effort as well. Turning from past days and distant scenes, the themes of his previous successes, he has taken up American life of modern days for his serious choice as a field for romance. It is said that this is the most vital and absorbing of all Mr. Stephens's novels. ”

“ He was made a conspicuous example, in a most conspicuous public place, to impress the others. They didn't know him, but they knew well enough what the Red Triangle meant! Ah, my excellent recruit—for so I count you already—there is more in that little sign than you can imagine! It is more than a sign—it is an implement of very potent power; and you shall learn its whole secret in that little form of initiation I spoke of. See now, a present example. Telfer, the Admiralty clerk, gave up that document at my mere spoken word. He will deny it to his dying day, and he will be ruined for the act ”

“ The others"—he made a gesture of contempt—"they are mere vulgar tools. They will have their rewards if they are faithful, of course; if not—well, you remember Denson in the Samuel diamond business? He was not faithful, and there was an end of him. ”

“ Plummer answered, a little doubtfully, "we're glad of outside help, of course, but I'm not sure, officially——" "Of course you are always glad of outside help," Hewitt interrupted, "and in this case we may possibly find Brett more useful than you think. Consider now. He has seen a good deal of these cases—quite as much as you, in fact—but he is the only one of the three of us whom Mayes does not know by sight. Remember, Mayes saw us both in the affair of Mr. ”