The Further Adventures of Solar Pons

1

'Wake up, Parker! It is six o'clock and we have pressing matters before us."

I struggled into consciousness to find the night-light on at the side of my bed and Solar Pons' aquiline features smiling down at me.

"Confound it, Pons!" I said irritably. "Six o'clock! In the morning?"

"It is certainly not evening, my dear fellow, or neither of us would have been abed."

I sat up, still only half-awake.

"Something serious has happened, then?"

Solar Pons nodded, his face assuming a grave expression.

"A matter of life and death, Parker. And as you have been such an assiduous chronicler of my little adventures over the past years, I thought you would not care to be left out, despite the inclement hour."

"You were perfectly correct, Pons," I said. "Just give me a few minutes to throw on some things and I will join you in the sitting-room."

Pons rubbed his thin hands briskly together with suppressed excitement.

"Excellent, Parker. I thought I knew my man. Mrs Johnson is making some tea."

And with which encouraging announcement he quitted the room.

It was a bitterly cold morning in early February and I wasted no time in dressing, turning over in my mind what the untimely visitor to our quarters at 7B Praed Street could want at such a dead hour.

I had no doubt there was a visitor with a strange or tragic story to tell or Pons would not have disturbed me so untimely, and as I knotted my tie and smoothed my tousled hair with the aid of the mirror, I found my sleepy mind sliding off at all sorts of weird tangents.

But when I gained our comfortable sitting-room, where the makings of a good fire were already beginning to flicker and glow, I was not prepared for the sight of the tall, slim, fair-haired girl sitting in Pons' own armchair in front of the hearth. The only indication of anything serious afoot was the paleness of our visitor's handsome features. She made as though to rise at my entrance but my companion waved her back.

"This is my old friend and colleague, Dr Lyndon Parker, Miss Helstone. I rely on him as on no other person and he is an invaluable helpmate."

There was such obvious sincerity in Pons' voice that I felt a flush rising to my cheeks and I stammered out some suitable greeting as the tall young woman gave me her cool hand.

"A bitterly cold morning, Miss Helstone."

"You may well be right, Dr Parker, but I must confess my mind is so agitated that I have hardly noticed." "Indeed?"

I looked at her closely. She did not seem ill but there was an underlying tension beneath her carefully controlled manner which told my trained eye there was something dreadfully wrong.

There was a measured tread upon the stair and the bright, well-scrubbed features of our landlady, Mrs Johnson, appeared round the door. She was laden with a tray containing tea things and as I hastened to assist her I caught the fragrant aroma of hot, buttered toast.

"I took the liberty of preparing something for the young lady to sustain her on such a cold morning."

"Excellent, Mrs Johnson," said Pons, rubbing his thin hands. "As usual, you are a model of thoughtfulness."

Our landlady said nothing but the faint flush on her cheeks showed that the deserved praise had not gone unnoticed. She hastened to pour out the tea and after handing a cup to Miss Helstone with a sympathetic smile, quietly withdrew.

"Will you not draw closer to the fire, Miss Helstone?" "I am perfectly comfortable here, Mr Pons."

"You have come from out of London, I see?"

"That is correct, Mr Pons."

Pons nodded, replacing his cup in the saucer with a faint clink in the silence of the sitting-room.

"I see a good deal of mud on your boots which means you have been walking on an unmade road."

"It is a fair stretch to the station, Mr Pons, and I was unable to get transport at that time of the morning."

"Quite so, Miss Helstone. You are not more than an hour out of town, I would surmise. Surrey, perhaps?"

Our client's surprise showed on her faceas she took fastidious little sips at the hot tea.

"That is correct, Mr Pons. Clitherington, a small village on the Redhill line."

Solar Pons inclined his head and favoured me with a faint smile as he bent forward in his armchair.

"That light, sandy soil is quite unmistakable, Parker. You no doubt noticed, as did I, a distinctive sample on the seams of the young lady's right boot."

I cleared my throat, caught unawares with a piece of toast halfway down.

"Now that you point it out, Pons, certainly."

"It is obviously something serious that brings you to us at this hour, Miss Helstone and you have already told me it is a matter of life and death. You are equally obviously agitated beneath your calm manner. Please take your time. You are among friends."

The young woman drew in her breath with a long, shuddering sigh.

"That is good to know, Mr Pons. It has indeed been quite unbearable this last day or two. And affairs at the house…"

"You live there with your parents?" interrupted Pons. The young woman paused and made an engaging little contraction of her mouth.

"I beg your pardon, Mr Pons. I am telling the story very badly. I am engaged as a governess at The Priory, Clitherington, the home of Mr Clinton Basden."

Solar Pons tented his thin fingers before him and gave our fair client his undivided attention.

"So far as I know, Miss Helstone, there is no train on the time-table which leaves a remote place like Clitherington at such an hour as 4:30 a.m."

Miss Helstone gave a faint smile, the first sign of returning normality she had evinced since I had entered the room.

"That is correct, Mr Pons. I came up on the milk train. There are always two carriages used mainly by railway staff and I found an empty compartment."

"So that the matter is one of the utmost gravity. Pray continue."

"My full name is Helen Jane Helstone, Mr Pons, and I come of a good family originally settled in the West Country. My parents were killed in a local uprising in India some years ago and after I had completed my schooling in England it became necessary to earn my living. I enjoy the company of children and so I became a governess with a view to entering a teacher-training college when I am a little older."

"What is your age now, Miss Helstone?"

"I am just turned twenty-one, Mr Pons."

Solar Pons nodded and looked thoughtfully at the girl, who had now recovered the colour in her cheeks.

She looked even more handsome than before and I found the contemplation of her most engaging but turned again to the tea and toast, aware of Pons' glance on me.

"I give this information, Mr Pons, so that you shall know all of the salient circumstances."

"You are telling your story in an admirable manner, Miss Helstone."

"I had two positions, Mr Pons, one in Cornwall and another in Cumberland, which I held for several years, but I decided to move nearer to London and when I saw Mr Basden's advertisement in a daily newspaper, Surrey seemed ideal for my purposes and I hastened to answer his announcement."

"When was that, Miss Helstone?"

"A little over three months ago, Mr Pons."

Our visitor paused again and sipped at her tea; her face was thoughtful as though she were carefully contemplating her next words but my professional eye noted that her breathing was more regular and she was becoming calmer by the minute.

"There was something extremely strange about my engagement as governess, Mr Pons. I have often thought about it since."

"How was that, Miss Helstone?"

"For example, Mr Pons, it was extraordinarily well-paid, though the duties are somewhat unusual."

Pons nodded, narrowing his deep-set eyes.

"Pray be most explicit, Miss Helstone."

"Well, Mr Pons, I have no hesitation in telling you that the salary is some five hundred pounds a year, payable quarterly in advance."

Pons drew in his breath in surprise and I gazed at him open-mouthed.

"That is indeed princely for these times, Miss Helstone. I should imagine there would have been quite a few ladies in your position after the appointment."

"That is just it, Mr Pons. There were literally queues.

I met some people on the train who were answering the advertisement. Apparently it had been running in the daily newspapers for more than a week."

"That is highly significant, Parker," put in Pons enigmatically and he again resumed is rapt study of Miss Helstone's face.

Our client went on breathlessly, as though some reserve had been breached by the confidence my friend inspired in her.

"My heart sank, Mr Pons, as you can well imagine but as the train stopped at Clitherington, my spirits rose again. You see, I had heard one of the girls say that though the announcement had been running for some time, the prospective employers were very fastidious and no-one had yet been found to suit them."

"And as you already had experience of two similar appointments, you had high hopes?"

"Exactly, Mr Pons. But my spirits were dashed when we arrived at the house. A large car had been sent to the station to meet applicants and we were taken to a vast, gloomy mansion, set in an estate whose main entrance was locked and guarded by heavily-built men."

"An odd circumstance, Miss Helstone," said Pons, glancing quizzically at me.

"You may well say so, Mr Pons. But though the grounds, with their great clumps of rhododendron and pine plantations were gloomy and sombre indeed in that bleak December weather, the interior of the mansion was extremely luxurious and well appointed, evincing the most refined taste. It was evident that the prospective employer was a man of enormous wealth."

"And of fastidious nature if it took him so much time to select a governess for his children, Miss Helstone. How many were there, in fact?"

"Two, Mr Pons. A boy and a girl, aged nine and twelve respectively. But my heart sank again, when we were shown into a sumptuously furnished drawing-room to find between twenty and thirty young ladies already there."

"It sounds more like theatrical producer's office, Pons," I could not resist observing.

Solar Pons gave me a faint smile and his eyes held a wry twinkle.

"Ah, there speaks the sybarite in you, Parker. The lover of night life, good wine and chorus girls."

"Heavens, Pons!" I stammered. "What will Miss Helstone think of me?"

"That you are a poor recipient of waggish remarks at your own expense, my dear fellow. But we digress."

Miss Helstone had smiled hesitantly at this little exchange, revealing two rows of dazzling white teeth.

"Well, there is a great deal of truth in Dr Parker's remark, Mr Pons," she said earnestly. "It did in truth look like a theatrical agency, though they are a good deal shabbier as a rule. But the most extraordinary thing was the proceedings. A hard-faced woman in black beckoned to the first girl as I sat down and she disappeared through the big double doors. In less than a minute she was back, with an angry shake of the head."

Miss Helstone put down her cup and leaned forward in her chair, regarding my companion with steady grey eyes.

"Mr Pons, five of the applicants went in and out of that room in five minutes and it was obvious that none of them were suited by their angry expressions. But even more extraordinary — and I learned this afterwards — each and every one was given a new five pound note for her trouble, a car to the station and a free railway ticket to London."

Solar Pons clapped his hands together with a little cracking noise in the silence of the sitting-room.

"Excellent, Parker!" said he. "This gets more intriguing by the minute, Miss Helstone. There is more, of course."

"Much more, Mr Pons. Of course, I got most intrigued as the minutes went by and the girls disappeared into the room. Those of us who were left moved up and fresh arrivals sat down behind us. Now and again there would be loud exclamations from behind the door and it was obvious as I got closer and closer to the double-doors guarded by the woman in black, that none of the girls had been found suitable by the mysterious advertiser. I did not, of course, at that stage, know the name of my employer, Mr Pons, as it was not given in the advertisement."

"I see. It was a box number?"

"Exactly, Mr Pons."

I got up at Pons' glance and re-filled the tea-cups for all of us.

"But I was within three places of the door before a girl came out with whom I had travelled down from London. She was angry and had a heavy flush on her cheeks. She came across to me and had time for a few words before the woman, who was letting in a new applicant, came back. She said she was not asked for references or even any questions. A tall, dark woman was sitting at a desk and she looked at someone obviously sitting behind a heavy screen who was concealed from the applicant. He must have had some method of observing the candidate but in every case the answer had been no, for the woman merely nodded and said that the interview was closed. My informant said she was merely asked her name, address and if it were true that she was an orphan. It was obvious that even these questions were a mere formality."

"An orphan, Miss Helstone?"

Solar Pons had narrowed his eyes and on his face was the alert expression I had noted so often when moments of great enterprise were afoot.

"Why, yes, Mr Pons. That was one of the stipulations of the advertisements. I have one here in my handbag. Another requirement was that applicants should be single or widows."

"Sounds most peculiar, Pons," I put in.

"Does it not, Parker?"

Solar Pons glanced at the newspaper cutting Miss Helstone had passed to him and read it with increasing interest.

"Just listen to this, Parker."

He smoothed out the cutting on the table in front of him and read as follows:

Solar Pons frowned and looked at me quizzically.

"Extraordinary, is it not, Parker. I am obliged to you, Miss Helstone. Despite my enthusiasm for bizarre cuttings, this is something I missed. There are a number of unusual points, Parker."

"Indeed, Pons. The orphan stipulation is strange, to say the least."

"And tells us a great deal," said Solar Pons slyly. "Coupled with the lavish inducements it indicates a certain line of thought. What happened at your own interview, Miss Helstone?"

Our visitor put down her tea-cup and wiped her mouth fastidiously with a small lace handkerchief, waving away my proffered plate of toast.

"That was the most extraordinary thing of all, Mr Pons. Within thirty minutes of my arrival at The Priory, thirty applicants had passed through those doors and then it was my turn. It was a large, though quite ordinary room, except for a circular window high up, which made it a dark, shadowy place. There was a desk underneath the window and a desk lamp alight on it, which threw the light forward on to a chair placed in front of the desk.

"A dark-haired, pleasant-looking woman with a central European accent asked me to sit down and then put to me some perfunctory questions. I naturally observed the large, heavy screen to the right of the desk and was then startled to see, in an angled mirror placed as to favour my place on the chair, the reflections of a man's bearded face, with eyes of burning intensity."

2

There was another long pause which I employed in refilling my tea-cup. Miss Helstone leaned back in her chair and put out her hands to the fire, which was now blazing cheerfully.

"Some signal must have passed between the two because the woman at the desk gave a relieved smile and, as though making the decision herself, informed me that the position was mine. She called me over to another table in the corner and asked me to sign a document. I just had time to see that this asserted that I was an orphan, specified my age and verified my references, before I heard a door close softly somewhere. I was sure that the man behind the screen had quitted the room, Mr Pons, and when we went back to the desk I could see that a chair placed behind the screen was empty."

Solar Pons rubbed his hands briskly.

"Admirable, Miss Helstone. This is distinctly promising. I may point out, by the way, that the document you signed has no legal standing whatsoever."

The girl smiled.

"I am glad to hear you say so, Mr Pons. But that is the least of my worries. You may imagine the consternation and dismay among the young ladies in the ante- room when they heard the position was filled. I was astonished when Mrs Dresden, the dark-haired woman, whom I then learned was the housekeeper, said I should start on my duties at once. But I prevailed upon her to let me return to my old employers to collect my luggage and to inform them of my new post, though even then they insisted on sending me by chauffeur-driven car in order to save time."

"You did not think this at all strange, Miss Helstone?" "Strange indeed, Mr Pons, but the salary was so princely that I did not hesitate, I was so excited."

"So you left The Priory without seeing your future charges?"

"That is correct, Mr Pons. I was told the children were on holiday and would not be back until the following Monday.

"When I returned I was a little perturbed to see that the grounds were patrolled by similar men to those at the main gate and I realised then that I would not be free to get out and about as I had hoped and in the manner I had become used to in my other situations."

"You met this mysterious Mr Basden?"

"Almost at once on my return, Mr Pons. He was quite an ordinary little man, an Englishman obviously, and rather ill at ease, I thought, among the foreign-sounding employees among his retinue."

Solar Pons tented his fingers and stared at me sombrely.

"Does not that strike you as strange also, Parker?" "Perhaps he had served in India, Pons?"

Solar Pons shook his head with a thin smile.

"I believe the young lady referred to Central Europeans, Parker."

'That is correct, Mr Pons. There were other extraordinary requirements in my new duties also. For example, I was asked by the housekeeper to leave my own clothes in my room. She supplied me with a new ward- robe. They were very expensive clothes, Mr Pons, but I had no objection, of course."

"Indeed," I put in.

"But then Mrs Dresden asked me to put my hair up in a different style and gave me expensive jewellery to wear. I was a little apprehensive in case I lost any but was told not to worry as Mr Basden was a very wealthy man. I was given the run of the magnificent house and was told I would be treated as a member of the family.

"I dined with Mr Basden that evening and my impression of him being ill at ease in his own house was reinforced. He said little and after two days at The Priory I knew very little more about the post than when I arrived. I noticed one other odd thing, also. I could go almost anywhere I liked in the house, but there was a wing stretching off the main landing. I was forbidden to go there by Mrs Dresden, as it was private.

"But I could not help seeing what went on, Mr Pons. There were disturbances in the night once and I have seen what looked like nurses with trays of medicine. One morning also I surprised a tall, dark man on the stairs, with a little black bag. He looked grave and I was convinced he was a doctor."

Solar Pons leaned forward and his deepset eyes stared steadily at the tall, fair girl.

"Just what do you think is in that wing, Miss Helstone?"

"Some sort of invalid, evidently, Mr Pons. I did not enquire, naturally."

Solar Pons leaned back again in his chair and half-closed his eyes.

"And you have not seen the bearded man again since that first accidental glimpse at the interview?"

"Not at all, Mr Pons. I had another shock when my two charges arrived. The children were attractive enough, but their voices were low and husky and I was told by Mrs Dresden they had colds. They seemed rather odd and sly and I was completely non-plussed when I found that neither spoke a word of English."

Solar Pons gave a low chuckle.

"Excellent, Miss Helstone."

The fair girl stared at my companion with very bright eyes.

"And what is more, Mr Pons, I am convinced their father cannot speak their language either!"

"Better and better, Parker."

Miss Helstone stared at my companion in astonishment.

"I do not follow you, Mr Pons."

"No matter, Miss Helstone. What was the next thing that happened in this extraordinary ménage?"

"Well, it was obvious, Mr Pons, that I could not begin to conduct any lessons. When I pointed this out to Mrs Dresden she said it was of no consequence as they had a tutor in their own tongue. I would be required for companionship; to take them on walks in the grounds; on motor-rides and to control their deportment."

"An unusual list of requirements and one which apparently commands a salary of five hundred pounds, Parker," said Pons, a dreamy expression on his face. "It gives one pause to think, does it not?"

"My words exactly, Pons."

"And when you hear that the walks were mostly conducted at night in the floodlit grounds of The Priory, you will begin to realise my perplexity, Mr Pons."

My companion's eyes had narrowed to mere slits and he leaned forward, an intent expression on his face.

"The grounds were floodlit, Miss Helstone? And the walks were how many times a week?"

"About three times on average, Mr Pons. Between ten o'clock and midnight."

"Unusual hours for small children, Parker."

"There is something wrong somewhere."

"For once you do not exaggerate, my dear fellow." "The last three months have been strange ones for me, gentlemen," said our visitor, whose paleness had gone and whose natural vivacity had evidently returned, for her eyes were sparkling and her manner more animated.

"I took occasional meals with my employer; walked or drove with the children; read and played patience. I soon found that I was not allowed outside the gates alone, but I have learned that the art treasures in the house are so valuable that Mr Basden is scared of burglars. I think myself he is afraid that his employees will be approached by criminal elements, for he insists that if one goes outside, then one does not go alone."

"Another curious circumstance which gives one much food for thought," observed Solar Pons.

"This was the odd routine of my life until a few weeks ago," Miss Helstone continued. "The people in the house were kind to me and I was well treated, but I felt circumscribed; almost imprisoned. The sealed wing was still barred to me and medicines and medical staff were in evidence from time to time, but nothing was explained and I did not think it circumspect to ask. But there was another peculiar circumstance; my employer does not smoke, or at least I have never seen him do so, yet I have on several occasions smelt strong cigar smoke in the children's room when I go to collect them for their walks. On one occasion there was a half-smoked cigar end on the window sill and the little girl looked distinctly uneasy. I myself think that the bearded man had something to do with it."

Solar Pons looked searchingly at the girl.

"You think he may be the real father and not Mr Basden?"

Miss Helstone looked astonished.

"Those were my exact thoughts, Mr Pons! You see, there is no genuine resemblance to Mr Basden and the man with the beard had a foreign look."

"You may have stumbled on to something, Miss Helstone," Pons went on. "It is a most intriguing tangle that you have described. But you mentioned life and death?" The girl swallowed once or twice and her eyes looked bleak.

"Twice in the past fortnight we have been accosted on our walks abroad, by strange, bearded men in a car. They spoke first to the children and then became very excited when I approached. I could swear they were all speaking the same language together. Yesterday a big black car tried to force ours off the road near Clitherington when we were out driving. Our chauffeur accelerated and drove back to the estate like a madman. We were all considerably shaken, I can tell you."

"Mr Basden was informed of this?"

"At once. He looked white and ill and came down to apologise to me immediately."

Solar Pons pulled once or twice at the lobe of his right ear and looked at me quizzically.

"Which brings us to the early hours of this morning, Miss Helstone."

"I was walking in the grounds with the children last night, Mr Pons. They sleep much during the day and their parent does not seem to mind their nocturnal habits. We had left the floodlit portion and followed the drive as it curved around. It was nearly midnight or a little after and we were about to turn back when there was a shot. It gave me such a shock, Mr Pons! The bullet glanced off a tree-trunk only a few feet from my head. I could hear guttural cries and I told the children to run."

"Highly commendable, Miss Helstone," I put in.

"Unfortunately, in their panic to escape they ran toward the voices," the girl went on. "Naturally, I had to go after them as they were my charges. We all got lost in the darkness, blundering about. I heard two more shots and then the same guttural voices I had heard from the men who had questioned the children on the road. I was so frightened, Mr Pons, that I hid. I must have been in the woods for hours.

"I found myself in an unfamiliar part of the grounds; it was dark and cold and I did not know what to do. I was in an absolute panic. I had abandoned my charges, you see, and I did not know what might have happened to them. I could not face Mr Basden. I found a small wicket-gate in the wall, which was unlocked; it may even have been used by the men to gain entrance to the grounds. Anyway, Mr Pons, to bring a long and exceedingly rambling story to an end, I ran from The Priory and caught the milk train. I had read your name in the newspapers some months ago as being the country's greatest private detective so here I am to put my destiny in your hands."

3

Here our client paused and looked so appealingly at Pons that I could not forbear saying, "There, do not distress yourself further, little lady," while Pons himself looked at me disapprovingly.

"While deploring Parker's sentimental way of expressing it, I am in great sympathy with you, Miss Helstone. I have no hesitation in saying I will accept your case."

"Oh, thank you, Mr Pons."

Helen Helstone rose from her chair and shook Pons' hand warmly. Pons looked at me interrogatively. "Are you free, Parker?"

"Certainly, Pons. I have only to telephone my locum." "Excellent."

He turned back to Miss Helstone.

"We must make arrangements to get you back to The Priory as soon as possible, Miss Helstone."

"Go back?"

Dismay and apprehension showed on the girl's face. "It is the only way. We all want to know what went on there and I must confess I have not been so intrigued for a long while. And Parker and I will be with you." "How are we going to manage that, Pons?" I said.

"Considering that the estate is so well guarded." "Tut, Parker," said Pons severely. "We have found

Miss Helstone upon the road in the early hours of the morning when we were driving through the district, brought her home with us and are now returning her to her employer. The man Basden will have to see us. If there are such strange goings-on at his estate he will deem it imperative to discover just exactly what the outside world knows."

"Of course, Pons. I follow you."

Pons turned to our visitor.

"Do you feel up to it, Miss Helstone?"

"If you gentlemen will accompany me, Mr Pons." "That is settled, then."

The girl looked ruefully at her bedraggled coat and her muddied boots.

"If you will give me an hour or so, Mr Pons, I must get to the shops and purchase a few things."

"Certainly, Miss Helstone. If you will give me your parole?"

"I do not understand, Mr Pons."

"If you will promise to come back within the hour." Our visitor flushed and glanced from Pons to me. "Of course, gentlemen. I am over my fright now and am as anxious to know what is happening at Clitherington as you."

"Very well, then."

Pons looked at his watch.

"It is a quarter past eight now. Shall we say ten o'clock at latest."

"I will be here, Mr Pons."

When I returned from showing our visitor to the front door Pons was pacing up and down in front of the fireplace, furiously shovelling blue smoke from his pipe over his shoulder.

"This beats everything, Pons," I said. "I have never come across such an extraordinary story."

"Does it not, Parker? What do you make of it? Let us just have your views."

"Well, Pons," I said cautiously. "I hardly know where to begin. There is something curious, surely, about the high salary being paid to this young lady for her purely nominal duties."

"You have hit the crux of the matter, Parker. Inadvertently, perhaps, but part of the central mystery, certainly."

"Ah, I am improving then, Pons," I went on. "But I confess that I cannot see far into this tangle. The children who speak a different language to their father; the nocturnal habits of such young people; the invalid in the sealed wing; the heavily guarded estate; the floodlit promenades. And who is the bearded man who sat behind the screen?"

Solar Pons took the pipe from between his strong teeth and looked at me with piercing eyes.

"Who indeed, Parker? You have retained the salient points admirably and isolated the most important. you are at your most succinct, my dear fellow, and it is evident that my little lessons in the ratiocinative process have not been entirely lost."

"Let me have your views, Pons."

"It is foolish to theorise without sufficient data, Parker. But I see a few features which must resolve themselves with determined application. It is obvious why Miss Helstone was engaged but I would rather not speculate further at this stage."

"It is far from obvious to me, Pons," I said somewhat bitterly.

"Well, well, Parker, I am sure that if you employ your grey matter to good advantage, the solution will soon come to you."

And with that I had to be content until Pons returned from some mysterious errand of his own. I had just telephoned my locum when I heard his footstep upon the stair.

"I have hired a car, my dear fellow. If you will just step round to the garage in the next street and familiarise yourself with its controls, we will make our little expedition into the wilds of Surrey. Ah, here is Miss Helstone now."

Our client's step was light and she looked transformed as Mrs Johnson showed her into the sitting-room.

"I am quite ready now, Mr Pons."

Pons looked at her approvingly.

"Good, Miss Helstone. There are just a few preparations more. I have our plan of campaign mapped out. Parker, you will need your revolver."

"Revolver, Pons?"

"Certainly. I do not think the danger lies within the house. But the gentlemen who broke into the grounds appear to me to be an entirely different quantity altogether. Is there a tolerable inn in this village of Clitherington, Miss Helstone?"

"The Roebuck is very well spoken of, Mr Pons." "Excellent. We shall make that our headquarters, Parker."

I fetched my revolver and packed it in my valise. When I returned from the garage with the car, Pons and Miss Helstone were at the door of 7B in conversation with Mrs Johnson, Pons well supplied with travelling rugs, for the day was a bitter one indeed. There was the usual tangle of traffic in town but I think I acquitted myself rather well, losing my way only once at a major junction, and we were soon well on the way to Surrey, the engine humming quietly while Pons and Miss Helstone, in the rear seats, conversed in low tones.

We arrived in the village of Clitherington about midday, smoke ascending in lazy spirals from the chimneys of the cluster of red-roofed houses which comprised the hamlet. As Miss Helstone had told us, the Roebuck was a comfortable, old-fashioned house with roaring fires and a friendly, well-trained staff. When we had deposited our baggage Pons, Miss Helstone and I repaired to the main lounge for a warming drink after our journey while Pons put the finishing touches to our strategy.

As we sat at a side table he looked sharply at a tall, cadaverous man in a frock-coat of sombre colour, who was just quitting the room.

"Memory, Parker," he said sharply. "Quite going. Once upon a time I should have been able to recall that man in a flash. A doctor, certainly. And a Harley Street man if I mistake not. You did not see him?"

I shook my head.

"I was attending to the inner man, Pons. Is the matter of any importance?"

Pons shook his head.

"Perhaps not, Parker, but the name is struggling to get out."

"Perhaps it will come later, Pons. In the meantime…"

"In the meantime we have much to do," he interrupted, draining his glass and getting to his feet. He smiled reassuringly at our companion.

"And now, Miss Helstone, to penetrate your den of mystery."

4

A drive of about twenty minutes over rough, unmade roads, the traces of which Pons had already noted on our visitor's boots, brought us up against a high brick wall which ran parallel to the highway for several hundred yards.

"That is the wall of the estate, Mr Pons," said our client in a low voice.

"Do not distress yourself, Miss Helstone," said Pons warmly. "I would not ask you to go inside again if I did not think it necessary. And, as I have already pointed out, you are in no danger from the occupants of The Priory unless I miss my guess. The shot came from the men who broke into the grounds; therefore the peril is from without."

Miss Helstone gave a relieved smile.

"Of course, Mr Pons. You are right. But what could those men have wanted with me?"

"That is why we are here, Miss Helstone. Just pull over in front of those gates, Parker."

It was indeed a sombre sight as we drew near; the sky was lowering and dark and it was so cold that it seemed as though it might snow at any minute. The road ran arrow-straight past the high walls of the estate and two tall, gloomy iron gates with a lodge set next to them framed a drive that was lost among dark belts of trees.

I drew up at the entrance lodge and sounded the horn. Almost at once a roughly dressed, dark man appeared, a sullen look upon his face.

"Open the gates," I called above the noise of the engine. "Inform your master that Miss Helstone is here."

As I spoke our client showed herself at the rear passenger window and the big man's jaw dropped with surprise.

"One moment, sir. I must just inform the house," he said in a marked foreign accent.

He shouted something and a second man whom I had not seen set off at a run along the driveway and disappeared. I switched off the motor and we waited for ten minutes. All this time Pons had said nothing but I was aware of his comforting presence at my back. The sentry at the gate — for that was his obvious function — stood with arms folded behind the locked portals and stared impassively in front of him.

Then there was the sound of running footsteps on the drive and the second man re-appeared, close behind him a tall, dark woman whom Miss Helstone immediately identified as Mrs Dresden, the housekeeper. A short conversation followed, in a language with which I was not conversant, and then the first man unlocked the gates and drew them back. I drove through and Mrs Dresden, who at once introduced herself, got into the rear of the car with Pons and our client.

"My poor child!" she said, obviously moved, and embraced the girl. "We thought something dreadful had happened to you."

"These gentlemen found me on the road and took me to their London home," Miss Helstone explained. "I was exhausted and incoherent, I am afraid. I explained the situation this morning and they kindly brought me back."

I was watching Mrs Dresden closely in the rear mirror as I negotiated the winding driveway and I saw her look sharply at Pons.

"That was very good of them, my dear. Mr Basden has been frantic with worry, I assure you. The children are quite safe."

"Thank God, Mrs Dresden. I have been so concerned. What will Mr Basden think? And what could those evil men have possibly wanted?"

The housekeeper faltered and I saw a look of indecision pass across her face.

"Do not trouble yourself further, Miss Helstone. Mr Basden will explain. He is waiting for you. And he will certainly want to thank these gentlemen."

I drove on for some way and then the estate road widened out into a gravel concourse. I was prepared for an imposing building but the fantastic folly which rose before us in the darkling winter morning was a Gothic monstrosity on the grand scale, with turrets like a French château and crenellated walls grafted on. All surrounded by sweeping banks of gloomy rhododendrons, interspersed here and there with groups of mournful statuary, which seemed to weep in the moist air.

I stopped the car before a massive flight of steps, at the top of which another bulky, anonymous-looking man waited to receive us. I felt somewhat apprehensive but Pons looked immensely at home as he descended from the vehicle and looked approvingly about him with keen, incisive glances.

You have not exaggerated, Miss Helstone. The Priory is indeed a remarkable piece of architecture."

Our client said nothing but took Pons' arm timidly as he mounted the steps after the hurrying figure of the housekeeper. She paused at the imposing front entrance to the house.

"Whom shall I say, sir?"

"My name is Bassington," said Pons in clear, pleasant tones. "And this is my friend, Mr Tovey."

"A ridiculous name, Pons," I whispered as Mrs Dresden disappeared through the portals and we followed at a more leisurely pace.

"Perhaps, Parker, but it was all I could think of at the moment. It is not unpleasing, surely? The name of a distinguished musician came into my mind."

"As you wish, Pons," I said resignedly. "I only hope I can remember it."

We were being ushered into a vast hall floored with black and white tiles now and we waited while Mrs Dresden and our client hurried up the marble staircase to the upper floors.

I looked round curiously, only half aware of the bustle in the great house; it was evident that Miss Helstone's return had caused quite a stir and I could hear a man's voice raised in tones of relief. The mansion itself was magnificently appointed and all the strange circumstances of our client's story came back as I took in the details of our opulent surroundings.

We stood there for perhaps ten minutes, Pons silently observing the dark-coated men who scurried about the hall on furtive errands of their own, when a man came hurrying down the staircase. From his appearance and his timid air, I recognised the figure described so eloquently by Miss Helstone as Basden, the head of this strange household.

"Mr Bassington?" he said in a trembling voice. "I am indeed indebted to you for the rescue of our little Miss Helstone. I have been distraught with worry. Mr Tovey, it is? Do come into the drawing-room, gentlemen. Miss Helstone will join us once she has removed her hat and coat."

He led the way into a large, pine-panelled room in which an aromatic fire of logs burned in the marble Adam fireplace.

"Please be seated, gentlemen. May I offer you coffee or some stronger refreshment?"

"That is indeed good of you, Mr Basden," said Pons blandly. "But speaking for myself I require nothing."

I smilingly declined also and studied Basden closely while his conversation with Pons proceeded. He did indeed look furtive and ill at ease, and constantly glanced about him as if we were being observed, though we were quite alone in the room.

"And how are the children?"

Basden looked startled and then collected himself.

"Oh, quite well, Mr Bassington. They were merely frightened and ran back to the house. But I am not quite sure how you came across Miss Helstone. "

"We were on our way back to London in the early hours when we found the young lady bedraggled and half-conscious, lying by the side of the road. We got her into our car and as my companion is a doctor we thought it best to take her straight to my London house, where my wife made her comfortable overnight. In the morning, when she was sufficiently recovered, she told us her story and so we brought her immediately back."

Basden licked his lips.

"I see. As I have already indicated, that was extremely good of you both. If there is any way in which I could defray your expenses..

Pons held up his hand with an imperious gesture.

"Say no more about it, Mr Basden. But they sound a dangerous gang of ruffians about your estate. Ought we not to call in the police?"

The expression of alarm that passed across Basden's features was so marked it was impossible to mistake, though he at once attempted to erase it.

"We have had a good deal of trouble with poachers, Mr Bassington," he said awkwardly. "My gamekeepers have dealt with the problem. We called the police, of course, but unfortunately the rogues got clean away without trace. The neighbourhood has been much plagued with the rascals."

"Oh well, that would appear to dispose of the matter," said Pons with a disarming smile. "I am glad it was no worse. And now, if we could just say goodbye to our young companion, we will be on our way."

"Certainly, Mr Bassington. And a thousand thanks again for all your trouble."

We had just regained the hall when our client came hurrying down the stairs, the worry and strain of the past time still showing plainly on her face.

"Going so soon, gentlemen? I had hoped you would be staying to lunch."

"We have to get back to London immediately, Miss Helstone. But we leave you in safe hands, I'm sure."

Basden beamed in the background, one of the dark-coated men holding the hall-door ajar for us.

Pons bent his head over Miss Helstone's finger-tips in a courteous gesture. I was close to him but even I had difficulty in making out the words he breathed to the girl.

"Have no fear, Miss Helstone. You are not in any danger. The doctor and I will be just outside the estate. Make sure you show yourself in the grounds tonight at about eight o'clock."

"Goodbye, gentlemen. And thank you."

There was relief on Miss Helstone's face as she and Basden said goodbye. The latter shook hands with us briefly and the two of them stood on the front steps watching us as we drove away. I had noticed previously that there were other cars in front of the house and Pons seemed to show great interest in a gleaming Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost which was parked near the steps. As soon as we had been passed through the entrance-gates by the guards and were rolling back toward Clitherington, Pons became less reticent.

"Well done, Parker. You played your part well. What did you think of The Priory?"

"Miss Helstone had not done it justice, Pons. But I judge it to be an elaborate facade."

"Excellent, Parker! You improve all the time. If Bas-den is master there I will devour my hat in the traditional manner. Just pull into the verge here like a good fellow, will you. I have a mind to engage in conversation with the owner of that Rolls-Royce when he comes out."

"But how do you know he is coming this way, Pons?" I protested.

Solar Pons chuckled, his face wreathed in aromatic blue smoke as he puffed at his pipe.

"Because, unless I am very much mistaken, the gentleman concerned is staying at the very same hostelry as ourselves. I assume that he would have remained at The Priory in order to let us get well clear."

"What on earth are you talking about, Pons?"

Pons vouchsafed no answer so I pulled the car up in a small lay-by at the end of the estate wall, where the road curved a little. We had not been sitting there more than ten minutes when Pons, who had been studying the road keenly in the rear mirror, which he had adjusted to suit himself, gave a brief exclamation.

"Ah, here is our man now. Just start the engine and slew the vehicle round to block the road, will you?"

I was startled but did as he bid and a few seconds later the big grey car glided up behind us and came to a halt with an imperious blaring of the horn. An irate figure at the wheel descended and I recognised the tall man in the frock coat whom Pons had pointed out in the bar of The Roebuck.

Pons bounded out of the passenger seat with great alacrity and beamed at the furious figure.

"Good morning, Sir Clifford. Sir Clifford Ayres, is it not? How goes your patient's health?"

The tall, cadaverous man's jaw dropped and he looked at Pons sharply, tiny spots of red etched on his white cheeks.

"How dare you block the road, sir? So far as I am concerned I do not know you. And I certainly do not discuss the private affairs of my patients with strangers."

"Come, Sir Clifford, you are remarkably obtuse for a Harley Street man. If you do not remember me, you must recall my distinguished colleague, Dr Parker?"

Sir Clifford made a little gobbling noise like a turkeycock and stepped forward with white features, as though he would have struck Pons.

"By God, sir, if this is a joke I do not like it. My presence here was confidential. If you are Press you will regret printing anything about me. I'll have you horsewhipped and thrown into prison. Clear the road or I will drive to the police immediately.

Pons chuckled and motioned to me to remove the car.

"Well, well, it does not suit your purpose to remember the Princes Gate reception last month, Sir Clifford. No matter. We shall meet again. Good day, sir."

And he politely tipped his hat to the apoplectic figure of Ayres at the wheel and watched him drive on in silence. He was laughing openly as he rejoined me.

"Sir Clifford is noted for his fiery temper and bad manners and he is running true to form today. Either he genuinely did not recognise me or it obviously suits his purpose to plead ignorance. But it merely strengthens my suspicions about his patient."

"What is all this about, Pons?" I said as we drove on. "I must confess the matter becomes more confusing by the minute."

"All in good time, my dear fellow. I must contact Brother Bancroft when we get back to the inn and then I must purchase a daily paper. We shall have a busy evening if I am not mistaken."

And with these cryptic utterances I had to be content for the time being. We lunched well at The Roebuck and though Pons was obviously on the lookout for Sir Clifford, the tall doctor did not put in an appearance. We were eating our dessert before Pons again broke silence.

"Come, Parker, I need your help. You are obviously more au fait than I with Sir Clifford. Just what is his forte?"

"In truth I have never met the man, Pons," I said. "Though you seemed to think he should know me. I do not move in such exalted circles. As a humble G.P.…"

"Tut, Parker, you are being too modest. My remark was merely meant to inform him that you were a fellow physician. We were introduced at the reception I spoke of but there were many people there; we were face to face for only a few seconds; and I relied on the traditional obtuseness of the medical profession and felt confident that he would not recall me."

"Come, Pons," I protested. "That is a definite slur." Solar Pons chuckled with satisfaction.

"You are too easily ruffled, my dear fellow. You must practice indifference in such matters. But you have not answered my question."

"Sir Clifford? I know of his work, of course. He is one of the country's foremost specialist in heart disease and strokes."

"Indeed. I find that singularly interesting. This may not be so difficult as I had thought. If you will forgive me, I must telephone Bancroft. I will rejoin you for coffee in the lounge."

5

"Now, Parker, let us just put a few things together. In addition to the other small points we have already discussed, we have an eminent Harley Street specialist staying in this small place and in attendance on someone within The Priory. Does not that suggest a fruitful line of enquiry?"

Solar Pons sat back in a comfortable leather chair in the coffee-room at The Roebuck and regarded me through a cloud of blue pipe-smoke. It was early evening and the place was quiet, only the occasional rumble of a cart or the higher register of a motor-vehicle penetrating the thick curtains.

"Certainly, Pons. The invalid in the sealed wing suffers from heart trouble."

"Elementary, Parker. But why?"

Pons' brows were knotted with thought and his piercing eyes were fixed upon a corner of the ceiling as he pulled reflectively at the lobe of his right ear.

"I do not follow the question, Pons."

"It is no matter, Parker. Things are becoming clearer and I should be able to arrive at some definite conclusion before the evening is out."

"You surprise me, Pons."

Solar Pons looked at me languidly, little sparks of humour dancing in his eyes.

"I have often heard you say so, Parker. I have spoken to Brother Bancroft and he has given me some interesting information on affairs in Eastern Europe."

"I should have thought this was hardly the time for it, Pons."

"Would you not? However, it is no matter. My thoughts were directed to the subject by the events of the last day's newspapers. Apparently things in Dresdania are not going too well. Her Highness is out of the country and there is a concerted effort to unseat the government in her absence. Bancroft is most concerned."

"I must confess I am completely bewildered by your line of thought, Pons."

"Perhaps this will clarify matters."

Pons handed me a bundle of newspapers, among them the Times and the Daily Telegraph. I perused them with mounting puzzlement. In each case Pons had heavily ringed or marked certain items in ink. I caught the large heading of the Daily Mail: PRINCE MIRKO APPEALS FOR CALM. Apparently things in the state Pons had mentioned were in serious disarray.

"I must admit that The Balkans has increasingly occupied the world's thoughts, Pons," I observed. "Matters are constantly in ferment there and it is certain that our own Foreign Office has a definite interest in maintaining peace in that area of the world. But I know little about such affairs.. "

Solar Pons chuckled, holding his head on one side as he looked at me.

"Do you not see the connection, Parker? Oh, well, there is really no reason why you should. All will be made clear to you in due course. Now, you have your revolver handy, I trust?"

"It is in my valise in my room, Pons."

"Good. Just run along and fetch it, there's a good fellow. We may well have need of it before the night is out."

He paused and stared at me sombrely.

"Pray heaven we are in time, Parker. Either she is already dead or so ill that she cannot sign documents."

"Good Lord, Pons!" I cried. "If anything has happened to Miss Helstone through our neglect…"

To my astonishment Pons burst out laughing.

"Do not distress yourself, my dear fellow. I was not referring to Miss Helstone at all. You are on entirely the wrong tack."

He glanced at his watch.

"It is only just turned six o'clock. We have plenty of time. It is a fine night and we will walk, I think. As long as we are at the estate by eight we shall have ample room for manoeuvre."

It was a long and lonely walk, on a clear, moonlit night, though bitterly cold. As Pons and I, both heavily muffled, walked along the grass verge at the side of the road, with the wind whistling through the leafless branches of the trees which came down in thick belts of woodland close to the highway, I could not help reflecting on the anguish and terror which must have animated Miss Helstone when she ran along this same thoroughfare to catch the early morning train to bring her to Pons.

It wanted but a few minutes to eight when we arrived at the high wall of the estate belonging to The Priory. Pons' eyes were bright in the moonlight and his entire form seemed to radiate energy and determination.

"Now, Parker," he whispered, looking about him keenly. "We will just cast about for the side-gate Miss Helstone mentioned. I have a feeling that it may be in use again this evening."

"I do not see how we are to get in, Pons. Basden's people may be watching the entrance there."

"We shall have to risk that, Parker. And I daresay I can get over the wall at a pinch, with the aid of your sturdy shoulders. But come what may, we must get inside The Priory tonight."

I followed Pons as he stepped off the road and we skirted the wall for something like a quarter of a mile, beneath the dark boughs of overhanging trees.

"We must go carefully now," Pons breathed. "It cannot be far. I questioned Miss Helstone carefully about this gate and it should be somewhere here, according to her description."

As he spoke the moonlight shimmered on a gap in the wall; a few strides more brought us to the gate in question. I looked at Pons swiftly but he had already noted what I had seen. The portal was slightly ajar. I had my revolver out and we crept forward quietly. Pons bent to examine the chain and padlock.

"Our friends are already in the grounds," he whispered. "Cut through with a hacksaw. They must have made some noise. It is my opinion, Parker, that Basden's employers mean to bring the game to them. Which merely substantiates my conclusions."

"I wish I knew what on earth you were talking about, Pons," I murmured irritably.

Solar Pons smiled thinly.

Just keep your revolver handy, friend Parker, and follow me."

He disappeared quietly through the small gate which pierced the massive wall and I followed him quickly, finding myself in almost total darkness, the shrubbery grew so thickly and so close to the boundary the other side.

But as we went farther in, treading carefully and taking care to see we made as little noise as possible, the trees fell away and soon we found ourselves near the estate road along which we had driven earlier in the day. There was a strange light in the sky ahead and as we rounded a bend, skirting the drive and keeping well into the thick undergrowth, the facade of The Priory suddenly sprang sharply into view, clear-etched in the flood-lights.

"The little charade seems to be successful," said Pons drily. "Now, just keep a sharp look-out, Parker. You are an excellent shot and I should not like the men who have preceded us through that wicket-gate to come upon us unawares."

I knelt by his side and looked somewhat uneasily. We were well concealed here but through the fringe of leafless branches we had a good view of the house with its lawns and statuary. Even as we settled, the slim figure of Miss Helstone and two small children were descending the steps.

"Ah, they are early this evening, Parker," said Pons with satisfaction. "It seems that things are expected to happen. If I were you I should just throw off the safety-catch of your revolver, there's a good fellow."

I obeyed Pons' injunction, secretly puzzled at his remarks. Our client, after pausing initially at the foot of the steps, was now coming toward us across the grass, while the children shouted and ran in circles about her. Their shadows, caught by the glare of the floodlighting, cast long replicas before them across the lawn.

I was shifting my position when I was almost thrown off balance by my companion seizing my arm.

"There, Parker, there! We are just in time to avert tragedy."

I followed his pointing finger and saw the bushes move at the other side of the drive. Then I became fully aware of what his keen eyes had already discerned. A thin, dark man with a pointed beard, down on one knee, crouched over a black rectangle which glinted as he moved. Pons was up like a flash and running back down the verge, away from the figure in the bushes. I was only a yard away as we crossed the roadway behind him.

"Your bird, I think, Parker," Pons called as the bearded man turned. The flare of light was followed by the slap of the shot and I heard the bullet whistle somewhere through the bare branches. I was cool now and sighted the revolver carefully as I squeezed the trigger. The rifle went off in the air as the man dropped.

The night was suddenly full of cries and noise; heavy bodies blundered about the bushes. I saw Miss Helstone frozen in mid-stride, the two children running from her. I dropped to the gravel as more shots sounded. Then Pons was beside me and urging me up.

"We must get to the young lady, Parker."

A group of dark figures had debouched from the terrace and were running down the grass; I heard a whistle shrill. Miss Helstone's face was white as we drew near. But the children were before her. The little girl's face was twisted. I saw the knife glint and was astonished to see Pons fell her with a deft blow from the flat of his hand. The knife fell on the grass and I levelled my revolver at the little boy who was barking orders in a strange, guttural language. He sullenly let the barrel of the pistol in his hand sag toward the ground.

"What does all this mean, Mr Pons?"

Helen Helstone's face was white, her eyes wide in astonishment.

"That the charade is over, Miss Helstone. You are quite safe now and have nothing to fear."

"I do not understand, Mr Pons. The children…" Solar Pons smilingly shook his head and went to help the little girl up.

She was quite unhurt and kicked him on the shin for his pains.

"Not children, but midgets, Miss Helstone," said Pons gravely. "Evidently to guard your safety. I will give the Prince that much, at any rate."

"What is all this, Pons?" I began when a sullen ring of dark figures closed in on us. Others appeared behind, bringing with them three roughly-dressed men with beards; one was wounded and had a blood-stained handkerchief clapped to his wrist. A tall man detached himself from the group which had come from the terrace. He had a commanding air and his eyes glittered.

"Drop that revolver!" he ordered me. "You will find it is a good deal easier to get in than to get out."

Solar Pons smiled pleasantly.

"On the contrary. I beg you not to be foolish. Just inform Prince Mirko that we are here and that we have averted a tragedy."

The big man's face was puzzled. His English was almost perfect but his sudden agitation made him stumble over the words as he replied.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Solar Pons. Just give the Prince my card, will you, and tell him that the British Foreign Office knows we are here and will hold him responsible for our safety and that of Miss Helstone."

The tall man stood in silence for a moment, studying the card Pons had given him, while the floodlights beat down their golden light on the melodramatic tableau on the broad lawn, turning the faces of ourselves and the guards into ashen masks.

"Very well, Mr Pons," the tall man said at last, lowering his pistol. "We will all go into the house."

6

"I think you owe me an explanation, Mr Pons."

The tall man with the quavering voice took a step forward and regarded Solar Pons with indignation. The big room with the opulent appointments seemed full of people; apart from ourselves there were a number of armed guards and the sullen captives. Only Solar Pons seemed supremely at ease as he stood, an elegant, spare figure, and regarded our host thoughtfully.

"On the contrary, Mr Basden, it is you who must explain yourself."

"I do not know what you mean."

"Oh, come, Mr Basden, if that is really your name. Shots, a murderous attack, threats, armed guards. To say nothing of the danger to Miss Helstone, a British subject. His Britannic Majesty's Government would not take kindly to a Balkan enclave within a friendly sovereign state."

Basden stepped back, his face turning white; he looked as if he were about to choke.

"Pray do not discompose yourself," said Solar Pons. "My guess is that you are an excellent actor, hired for the occasion, but a little out of your depth. Now, if you will kindly ask Prince Mirko to step out from behind that screen in the corner, we will proceed to hard facts."

Pons turned a mocking gaze toward the screen in question; now that he had directed my attention to it I could see a thin plume of blue smoke rising from behind it.

"How is Her Royal Highness' health this evening, Prince?"

There was an angry commotion and the screen was flung violently to the ground. A huge man with a thick beard stood before us, his eyes burning with rage.

"Why, that is the gentleman I glimpsed at my interview, Mr Pons!" said Miss Helstone in surprise.

"Allow me to present His Highness, Prince Mirko of Dresdania," said Pons. "Your real employer and the instigator of this elaborate farce."

Mirko had recovered himself.

"Hardly a farce, Mr Pons," said Mirko levelly, regarding Pons with a steady gaze from wide brown eyes. "You have unfortunately penetrated to the heart of Dresdania's secrets and you may find the price a high one to pay."

"I think not," said Solar Pons coolly. "My brother Bancroft holds an eminent position in the Foreign Office. If anything happens to us, troops will be here in short order."

He broke off and glanced at his watch.

"In fact, you have an hour to give me a satisfactory explanation of this affair."

There was an air of grudging admiration about Prince Mirko as he stared evenly at Pons.

"You do me a grave disservice, Mr Pons," he said quietly. "I wish you no harm and I have certainly done my best to protect Miss Helstone."

"After first putting her life at peril."

Mirko shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Politics, Mr Pons. Dresdania must come first with us. I implied no physical threat by my remark about paying a high price. Merely that the British Government will find the Balkans aflame if my efforts fail. Let us lay our cards on the table, shall we?"

"By all means," said Solar Pons equably. "Will you start or shall I?"

The Prince smiled grimly and led the way across to the far door. He said something in a foreign tongue to the big man who led the guards and they trooped from the room with their prisoners.

"We will be more comfortable in the library, Mr Pons. Will not you, the lady and the doctor sit down? Ah, I think you already know Sir Clifford Ayres." '

The tall, sour figure of the Harley Street man uncoiled itself from an armchair and came down the room toward us. He held out his hand stiffly, embarrassment clear on his face.

"I must apologise for my earlier rudeness, Mr Pons; Dr Parker. I could not breach the code of professional conduct, as you well know. I did remember you from the reception, Mr Pons."

"Good of you to acknowledge it, Sir Clifford," said Pons smoothly, as we seated ourselves. "This is an unfortunate affair but events appear to have taken a turn for the better. How is the man Dr Parker shot?"

"Dead, Mr Pons," said the Prince.

He waved me down as I started to get up from my chair.

"You need not distress yourself, Dr Parker. Krenko was one of the most murderous scoundrels who ever walked in shoe-leather. You have done Dresdania a great service tonight, doctor, for which she cannot thank you enough."

I cleared my throat.

"Thank goodness for that, anyway, Pons. I should not like the thing to lie heavily on my conscience. And then there is the little matter of the police…"

Pons smiled.

"That is the least of our problems, Parker. You must just content yourself with knowing that you have saved Miss Helstone."

"At your instigation, Pons. I am completely baffled."

"And yet the matter was a fairly simple one, Parker, merely requiring the key. I am sure Prince Mirko will correct me if I am wrong, but it was obvious from the moment Miss Helstone consulted us that she was not required for duties as a governess; neither was she being paid five hundred pounds a year for her undoubted skills in that area."

"But for what Pons?"

"For a masquerade, my dear fellow. For her remarkable resemblance to the Princess Sonia, the ruler of Dresdania. Everything pointed to it. And as soon as I saw the Princess' picture in the newspapers, the whole thing became clear. The interview with Mr Basden — he is an actor in your employ, is he not? — the man behind the screen who was making the selection; and the quite extraordinary way in which Miss Helstone alone from all the hundreds interviewed suddenly fitted the bill. She could not even speak the same language as her charges.

"But it was crystal-clear that the sole object of her employment was her unwitting impersonation of an absent person, even to changing her hair-style; wearing unaccustomed jewellery and expensive clothing; and to being seen late at night beneath the floodlighting outside this house. The whole thing smacked of the stage, Parker."

Prince Mirko gave a wry smile and studied the tip of his cigar.

"I can now see why Mr Pons is spoken of as England's greatest consulting detective," he observed to Sir Clifford.

Helen Helstone's eyes were wide as she turned toward Pons.

"Of course, Mr Pons. It is so simple when you put it like that. I had not thought of it."

"Exactly, Miss Helstone. And there was no reason why you should. But it is at least to the Prince's credit that while tethering you as a decoy he at least provided you with adequate bodyguards."

"It was a regrettable necessity," said Prince Mirko. "Dictated by the inexorable requirements of the State."

"And a most original method," said Pons reflectively. "They looked exactly like children. And they are potentially deadly."

He rubbed his shin with a slight grimace. Prince Mirko's smile broadened.

"They are the Zhdanov Twins, circus and music-hall performers. Boy and girl. They specialise in the personation of children and both are expert at ju-jitsu, knife and pistol. You were lucky they did not shoot you first and ask questions afterwards. We have several times used them in our secret service operations."

"But how could you know this, Pons?" I cried.

"It was a fairly rapid process to the trained mind, Parker. I soon came to the conclusion they were midgets. The harshness of voice; the fact that they stayed out so late at night, which no real children would do; their peculiar actions when the attempt was made on Miss Helstone's life." His smile widened.

"You remember they ran toward the source of danger when Miss Helstone's life was attempted. That was significant. To say nothing of the male twin's cigar-smoking in their rooms. The lady suspected that you were the parent in the case, Prince."

The bearded man bowed ironically to our client. "That was most careless and I will see that the guilty party is reprimanded."

"Your prisoners, Prince," put in Solar Pons sharply, as though the idea had only just occurred to him. "No Dresdanian summary justice on British soil."

"It shall be as you say, Mr Pons," said Prince Mirko. "In any case Dr Parker has despatched the principal viper. And with the imprisonment of the others, the threat to Dresdania's internal politics is entirely removed."

"If you would be kind enough to elucidate, Pons!" I said hotly.

"My dear fellow. Certainly. If you had taken the trouble to read the newspapers properly this morning, they would have told you most of the story about Dresdania's internal troubles. It is Princess Sonia, is it not?"

Mirko nodded gravely.

"Her Royal Highness was in England incognito, on a short holiday. She is only thirty-eight, as you know. To our alarm and astonishment she had not been here more than three days when she was laid low by a crippling stroke. That was some four months ago. When she was well enough to be moved from a small, private nursing home near Epsom, we brought her here to this mansion, which belongs to the Dresdanian Embassy. Our own personnel surrounded her and we had the world's finest medical attention and nursing staff."

Here Sir Clifford bowed gratefully in acknowledgment of his services.

Solar Pons turned his lean, alert face toward the Prince.

"And how is Her Royal Highness at this moment?"

"Much improved, I am glad to say. It was a freak condition, I understand, and rare in one so young. I am assured by Sir Clifford that she will make a complete recovery. She will be well enough to sign State documents within the next few days."

"I am still not quite sure that I follow, Pons," I said. "I see that you do not understand Balkan politics, doctor," said the Prince.

He held up his hand.

"And there is really no reason why you should. But Dresdania's internal stability is a vital element in the uneasy peace in that part of the world. Dissident elements have long been pledged to opposing the Throne and tearing it down. Vilest of them was Krenko; bombings, murder, political assassination and torture were only a few of the weapons he employed. As you know, the Princess is a widow and she has ruled as Regent, with me to guide her, on behalf of her son. He is now fourteen and of an age when he may soon be able to assume his responsibilities. Princess Sonia is anxious that he should do so, as the last decade has been a fearful strain. Indeed, it was probably this which precipitated the stroke. Her medical advisers prescribed complete rest and she came to England.

"But there was an attempted coup within a week of her arrival and unfortunately she was already ill. It was imperative for the country and for the sake of the young Crown Prince, who knows nothing of his mother's condition, that all should appear to be well."

"Hence the masquerade!" I put in.

I stared at Pons in admiration.

"And you saw all this at a glance?"

"Hardly, Parker. But it was not too difficult to arrive at the truth, once all the threads were in my hand."

Prince Mirko cast a regretful look at Miss Helstone.

"I must confess that I did not really think I would have much success with my ruse but I inserted the advertisement which Miss Helstone answered. I was in despair when I saw her at the interview but then realised what an astonishing likeness she had to the Princess."

Here he indicated a photograph in a heavy gilt frame which stood on a piano in one corner of the library.

"I determined to take a chance. It was a desperate act but the only card I had left to play. It was imperative that the Princess should be seen behaving normally. Hence the deception; the floodlighting and the nightly promenades. We had heard that Krenko and a band of desperadoes had arrived in England. He would either make an attempt on the Princess' life, in which case we would be ready and try to eliminate him; or, he would merely report back to his political masters that the Princess was well and carrying out her normal duties. Either would have suited us, because there is no fear of a coup while the Princess is alive — she is so popular among the common people. All we wanted was to stabilise things until the Princess should be well enough to sign the Instrument of Succession on behalf of her son. But Krenko evaded our vigilance and made an attempt on her life; we knew he would try again."

"For which purpose you put on a visible show of guarding the estate, while deliberately leaving the side-gate vulnerable," said my companion. "And you required an orphan in case of any tragic developments."

"Exactly, Mr Pons. We had hoped that the presence of so distinguished a heart-specialist would pass unnoticed in the district — Sir Clifford insisted on staying at the inn where he could obtain his peculiarly English comforts — but we had not reckoned on your deductive genius."

"You are too kind, Prince Mirko."

Pons consulted his watch.

"I shall need to telephone Brother Bancroft, unless we wish the military to descend upon us."

Mirko nodded thoughtfully, the smoke from his cigar going up in heavy spirals to the library ceiling.

"It would be helpful if you would ask him for a responsible officer from Scotland Yard to attend to this affair, in conjunction with your Home Office and our Foreign Office, Mr Pons."

"Superintendent Stanley Heathfield is your man, Prince," said Solar Pons, with a conspiratorial nod which took in myself and Miss Helstone. "If you will just excuse me."

He paused by the door.

"It occurs to me, Prince Mirko, that Miss Helstone has been in considerable danger while under your roof. Now that her duties are prematurely ended, do you not think that some compensation is in order?"

"I had not overlooked that, Mr Pons," said Mirko gravely. "My Government's cheque for twenty thousand English pounds will be paid into any bank of her choice." "Twenty thousand pounds!"

Helen Helstone's face was incredulous as she gazed from me to Pons.

"The labourer is worthy of his hire, my dear young lady," Solar Pons murmured.

"And it is cheap for the security of the state," Prince Mirko added.

"I hardly know what to say, Mr Pons,"

"Take the money, Miss Helstone. I assume that Mr Basden has been well looked after?"

"You may rely upon it, Mr Pons," said Mirko gravely. "Though an admirable actor he is hardly ideal when called upon to play a part in which reality may intrude at any moment. His behaviour under stress has made him an unstable tool at times. And though we coached him carefully in the language he forgot even those few phrases when under pressure."

Solar Pons returned from telephoning within a few minutes, rubbing his thin hands together.

"Excellent! Superintendent Heathfield is running down with a party of selected officers just as soon as train and motor-car can bring him. In the meantime I think our work here is ended, Parker. No doubt you will wish to come with us, Miss Helstone?"

"If you will just give me a few minutes to pack, Mr Pons."

"Certainly. And I must emphasise that you must exercise the utmost discretion as to what you have heard in this room tonight."

"You have my word, Mr Pons."

Mirko looked on with admiration.

"Mr Pons, you should have been a diplomat."

"I leave all that to my brother, Prince Mirko," said my companion carelessly. "But I think that under the circumstances you would have done better to have taken our Foreign Office into your confidence."

"Perhaps, Mr Pons," said Prince Mirko, studiously examining the glowing red tip of his cigar.

Sir Clifford Ayres rose to his feet and stiffly shook hands.

"A rapid convalescence and a complete recovery to your patient, doctor. And my congratulations."

"Thank you. Good night, Mr Pons. Good night, doctor."

"Good night, Sir Clifford."

We waited in the hall as Miss Helen Helstone descended the stairs, her face still bearing traces of the excitement of the night and of her unexpected good fortune. Prince Mirko took the paper bearing her address and studied it beneath the chandelier in the hallway, his bearded face enigmatic.

"Dresdania is grateful, young lady."

He brushed her hand with his lips and bowed us out. The Princess' car was waiting outside and conveyed us back to the high road.

"A remarkable achievement, Pons," I said, as soon as we were driving back in the direction of Clitherington.

"A case not without its points of interest, my dear fellow," he said with tones of approbation.

He smiled across at our fair client.

"They do things a great deal differently in the Balkans, Parker, but by his own lights Mirko has not done badly by Miss Helstone. By the time she marries — and providing she has handled her funds wisely — she will be a well-propertied woman."

And he lit his pipe with considerable satisfaction.