Newspaper Page Text
wmmmmmmm
T WHEN. THE KiNO JE$T
By Harold Carter. - -
At 40 Alston was still an un
derpaid drudge in tKe foreign of
fice in London. When, therefore,
Lord Northumberland, the secre
tary for foreign affairs, summon-
ed him to his private room, made
" him sit down, and offered .him a
cigar and some .whisky, Allston
was in a whirl of excitement. r
"Allston," began Lord North
umberland, "I Jiave sent for you
at the command of-his -majesty
himself, whp desired me to men
tion to him the name of someone
in whom he could place implicit
confidence."' -?' " ""-j !
z If Lord Northumberland's eye
. twinkled slightly, Allston "vyas
far too delirious' to notice it
"He wants a njan' to take the
, draft of-a document of the great
est possible importance tor Mad
rid," continued the foreign secre
tary. "I warn you that emissary
les of a foreign power win try to
intercept you and, steal ft, Ncyct
sleep, speak to no operand do not
let it leave your person for a sin
gle moment" He handed AH-
r ston a flat leather case.-'
Six hours later Allston was on
the way to his destination.
As the train was leaving Char
ing Cross a man-flung open the
door suddenly and burst into All-
ston's compartment, where he sat
down parting. They were alone
in the compartment Allston,
mindful of his charge, replied to
the stranger's remarks in mono
syllables. He also shifted his seat
until ,he was directly beneath the
bell pun, which was used for sum-
Imohwg' "the guard in eases .of1
emergency, itte cpmtortaQle
sensation of a loaded revolver re
posmg in bis coat pocket allayed
all fear.
Crossing the channet Allston
was shocked by the, discovery oi
the passenger among the steerage
passengers. The man saw that
hexvas seen and shrank back into
tbecrowdV Allston gripped hjs
(precious base tightly and paced
the deck thatwght until the boat
came, into Calais harbor atdwnl
'-rThen followed the long run
through Prance. -And twice,
emerging at a wayside station for
food, Allston .rperceivea the
srrangercivatclnngi him furtivelj;
from .his carriages ;
It was a long run :to Madrid
and Allston's compartment was
empty.. When fie returned for
the second me he called the
guard, slippe4 a gold piece into
his hand, asd 'bade him lock the
dpors. TmV dqqe, he wrapped
fcknsejf "in-bis rug 'qd-lay $&&
tbsfcep.
And suddenly, from his place
of concealment .under the seat
the spy leaped upon thei'sleeper
in the laarkness. Ustoa awoke '
to, feel the cold muzzle of a revol
ver against his forehead, while
one hand clutched at his throat
and-the other felt for the case.
The spy found it and drew itforth
exultantly.
Next time you lock' the stable
door, look under, the seat for the
horse thief," he said, with a.
chuckle. "Sorry to do ft; it's too
easy, Mr. Allston-Ayes, , JLknewi
your name, the momentyou left"
J(L
