<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</SPAN></span></p>
<div class="break">
<h2 class="p4">CHAPTER XIV</h2>
<p class="pch">MISSING</p>
<p class="drop-cap03"><span class="beg">“MR. RAYNER</span> is going to the North?”
questioned Miss La Farge.</p>
<p>“Yes, he is going to Canada—and so am
I, as early as possible. You will not mind accompanying
me, Babette.”</p>
<p>“Mind! I shall be more than glad to get back
to the silent North. This noisy London gets on
my nerves, and the smell of the streets is horrible.
It is petrol everywhere. The place reeks of it,
and after the aromatic spruce woods the air here
is like poison. I shall rejoice to go, and to hear
the bell of the moose again in place of hideous
motor horns.”</p>
<p>She looked at Joy, as she spoke, and there was
a question in her eyes. Joy nodded.</p>
<p>“Yes, I will tell you why we go. My cousin
Adrian has just asked me to marry him—”</p>
<p>“Indeed! But I am not surprised. The signs
of the weather have been unmistakable for a little
time. And of course he does not know of Dick
Bracknell!”</p>
<p>“But he does! He has known all the time. He
even stooped to use his knowledge so as to bring
pressure upon me.”</p>
<p>“How shameful!”</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Yes! But that is of small moment. Don’t you
see the significance of the fact that he had knowledge
of my marriage? He was aware of it all the
time, and as you know he made love to me. Even
at North Star——”</p>
<p>“Yes! Yes! But you do not think that he fired
the shot which——”</p>
<p>“I do not know what to think! I am going to
find out. Of one thing I am sure, and that is that
cousin Adrian is afraid of what Corporal Bracknell
may discover. And Corporal Bracknell has disappeared.
He may have learned much that I want to
know, and something may have befallen him. He
may even be dead, but if he is alive we must find him
before Cousin Adrian does. Do you understand?”</p>
<p>“Yes, I think I do! You have grown afraid of
what Mr. Rayner may do.”</p>
<p>“I do not trust him. I cannot after—” She
broke off. “I am my own mistress now. There is
no need that I should consult any one as to my comings
and goings. We will go down to the steamship
offices at once. We will not waste even a moment.”</p>
<p>An hour later they entered the office of a famous
shipping company in Cockspur Street, and there inquired
for a boat sailing for the Dominion.</p>
<p>“There is the <i>Argonaut</i>. She sails from Liverpool
in three days. I believe there are vacancies.”
The clerk turned away and presently came back with
a list in his hand.</p>
<p>“The accommodation is limited, I find. There
are only a couple of cabins-de-luxe——”</p>
<p>“We will take them!” said Joy promptly.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Thank you! What names, Miss?”</p>
<p>The names were given, and within ten minutes the
transaction was completed, and Joy left the office
with the tickets in her handbag. Just as her car
started a taxi approached from the opposite direction,
almost collided with it, and it was only by a
decidedly dangerous swerve that an accident was
averted. The taxi-driver glanced round at his passenger
as if expecting a rebuke, but to his relief the
man was leaning far back in the corner as if anxious
to avoid observation. The vehicle drew up at the
shipping offices, and the passenger left the taxi and
entered the offices. He was Adrian Rayner.</p>
<p>The clerk who had completed Joy’s business
attended to him and listened to his request.</p>
<p>“Sorry, sir! The last two cabins on the <i>Argonaut</i>
have just been taken. There isn’t a vacant
berth in the ship.”</p>
<p>Rayner considered. He had not the slightest
doubt that Joy Gargrave and her foster-sister had
taken those cabins, for he had seen them leaving the
offices. A dark frown came on his face, which the
clerk misinterpreted for disappointment. An idea
occurred to him.</p>
<p>“You are in a hurry, sir?” he inquired</p>
<p>“Yes,” answered Rayner shortly.</p>
<p>“Well, sir, if I may venture to suggest it to you,
the <i>Maple Leaf</i> sails at six o’clock from Southampton.
She is not a full boat, and if there is a train
you might yet catch her.”</p>
<p>“Look at the time table, quick!” was the reply.
The clerk obeyed. “There is a train in three quarters<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</SPAN></span>
of an hour, sir. It is a slow train, but it is
due in Southampton five and twenty minutes before
sailing time. You should be able to do it easily,
sir.”</p>
<p>“Then I’ll book a cabin, please. As quick as you
can. I’ve some luggage to pack.”</p>
<p>A few minutes later he left the office, and raced to
his chambers, where he kept the taxi waiting whilst
he packed a small portmanteau. Then he rang up
Sir Joseph Rayner at the office. It was the head
clerk’s voice that replied.</p>
<p>“No, Mr. Adrian, Sir Joseph is out. He will
not return today. Any message, sir?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Let him know somehow that I’m going
to America this evening. Tell him I will write,
and—er—Benson—remember that this piece of
news is strictly private.”</p>
<p>“Yes, Mr. Adrian.”</p>
<p>He hung up the receiver, lit a cigar, and five minutes
after was on his way to Waterloo.</p>
<p class="pc ls3">.......</p>
<p>“What are you going to do, Joy, when we land?”
As she asked the question, Miss La Farge turned
from contemplating the greyness of the winter seascape
and looked at her foster-sister.</p>
<p>“I am going straight through to Regina to find out
if anything has been heard of Roger Bracknell. If
they have no news of him at the barracks, then we
will go North and ourselves try and learn what has
befallen him. He may have news for me, as I certainly
have news for him.”</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Do you mean that we shall set out to search for
him?”</p>
<p>“Just that, Babette. We know that he was
going up the river, and I have a fancy he was following
a trail which I myself noticed. You and I
know the country well, and with the Indian George,
we could look for him. At least we may learn
something about him.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” replied Babette thoughtfully. “And if
we find him, as you say, he may have news. You
may learn what really happened to your hus——”</p>
<p>“Please! Please, Babette. Don’t call Dick
Bracknell that. I can’t bear to think that I am
bound to him at all.”</p>
<p>“No, and if he is dead, you are released! What
do you really think, Joy?”</p>
<p>“I am in doubt. I have always been in doubt
since that night. It was so strange that he should
disappear. Sometimes I hope that——” She
stopped, and after a pause continued, “It seems too
dreadful a thing to say, but I cannot help feeling it.
Dick Bracknell behaved shamefully to me. Apart
from all that has happened since, I can never forgive
the humiliation of my marriage. It is the
simple truth that I should be glad to know that I
was free, even if it were by Dick’s death. But I
cannot feel that he is dead. Something tells me
that he is alive. That we shall yet meet—”</p>
<p>“I devoutly hope not,” broke in Babette fervently,
“for if we do I shall be tempted to—to—”</p>
<p>“To what?” asked Joy sharply.</p>
<p>“To shoot him myself,” answered the other
grimly.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Babette!”</p>
<p>“Oh, you need not look so shocked,” continued
Babette. “You and I have lived in the North, and
we know that justice does not always follow the
forms of law. And what is it that man Kipling
says, ‘There’s never a Law of God or man runs
North of fifty-three.’ We’re North of fifty-three
at North Star, and a law unto ourselves. If Dick
Bracknell is still alive, and came worrying you, I
think that I could—”</p>
<p>“Babette, you must not say it.”</p>
<p>“Very well, I will not. But all the same I feel
that I could, for the man is worthless, mere vermin
like the wolves in the North. And that woman
Lady Alcombe, of whom you told me—”</p>
<p>“She is dead! I learned that in England. She
was killed in a motor accident.”</p>
<p>“It was too merciful an end for her!” said
Babette quickly. “She ought to have lived to feel
remorse gnawing at her heart day by day and hour
by hour—”</p>
<p>“Lady Alcombe was not the kind of woman to
suffer that way,” said Joy slowly. “She had no
heart.... But here comes the rain. We shall
have to go below.”</p>
<p class="p2">Nine days later Joy Gargrave walked across the
snow to the headquarters of the Mounted Police at
Regina, and asked, to see the Commissioner. He,
as it appeared, was absent, and the only official
immediately available was an inspector, a pleasant
soldier-like man in the early thirties. To him she
addressed her question.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Can you tell me anything as to the whereabouts
of Corporal Bracknell?”</p>
<p>The inspector looked up from her card, and
flashed a keen glance at her, then shook his head.</p>
<p>“I am sorry, Miss Gargrave. We should be
glad of news of Bracknell ourselves. He went on
a journey several weeks ago, and a patrol that has
come through the district where he was likely to be
has heard nothing of him, though a sled was found
which was unquestionably his. There were the
bones of dogs also, so that things look rather black.
The timber-wolves may have got him. Reports
from two or three districts state they have been
very savage this winter.”</p>
<p>Joy’s face went white, but she kept herself in
hand.</p>
<p>“Still I suppose there is a possibility that he may
have escaped?”</p>
<p>“A bare possibility,” answered the inspector in a
voice that betrayed he had little hope. Then he
asked suddenly, “I wonder why you wish to find
him, Miss Gargrave?”</p>
<p>Joy flushed at the question which to her seemed
to border on impertinence.</p>
<p>“It is a private matter,” she answered shortly.</p>
<p>“Please do not be offended, Miss Gargrave. I
had a reason for asking. You are the second person
to make inquiry about Corporal Bracknell this
week.”</p>
<p>“Indeed?” said Joy, growing suddenly alert.</p>
<p>“Yes, a gentleman came here with the same question
four days ago.”</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Did you see him? Would you mind telling me
what he was like?”</p>
<p>The inspector laughed. “There is no reason
why I should not, as it is not a police matter. I can
do better than give you his description. I can give
you his name, for I have his card somewhere.” He
fumbled among some papers on the desk, and in a
moment found what he sought. “Here it is!
Adrian Rayner, Albany Chambers, London.”</p>
<p>“Adrian Rayner!”</p>
<p>As Joy echoed the name, the inspector glanced at
her keenly. “You knew him?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” she replied slowly. “He is my cousin—”</p>
<p>“Indeed!” said the officer politely, and then
added, “Mr. Rayner was anxious to learn where
Corporal Bracknell was, but on learning that Bracknell
was missing, he did not seem greatly perturbed.
I gathered that Mr. Rayner was a lawyer and that
it was on legal business that he wished to see Bracknell.”</p>
<p>To Joy it seemed as if the inspector was openly
fishing for information, and for one brief moment
she hesitated. Should she take him into her confidence,
and tell him all? She was strongly tempted
to do so, but in the end decided against it.</p>
<p>“Yes,” she said, rising from her chair, “he is a
lawyer, and as Corporal Bracknell’s cousin has been
killed in England, it is possible that legal business
had brought him here. I am greatly obliged to
you, Inspector Graham.” She paused, and then
added, “I have a little request to make. If you<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</SPAN></span>
receive any news of Corporal Bracknell will you
send it to me at North Star?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” answered the inspector. “But I am
afraid you will be some time in receiving it.” He
smiled. “As you know, it is something more than
a crow’s flight from here to your home.”</p>
<p>“I was thinking of a special courier,” said Joy
quickly. “There will be men to be found, and the
expense is nothing to me.”</p>
<p>“Very well,” answered the inspector, “I will see
that you get whatever news reaches us at the earliest
moment! We of the force are too much indebted
to your late father and yourself to refuse
a trifling request of that kind. There is nothing
else that I can do for you, Miss Gargrave?”</p>
<p>Again Joy hesitated. Should she tell him what
she thought was the real object of Adrian Rayner’s
journey? Sitting there in that quiet room, she suddenly
felt that her suspicions would sound ridiculous
if put into words. After all, she had so very little
to go upon.</p>
<p>“Thank you! There is nothing.”</p>
<p>A moment later, Inspector Graham stood at his
window watching her cross the snow. He smiled a
little to himself.</p>
<p>“Um!” he muttered, “if Bracknell is still alive he
is in the way of being a lucky fellow.”</p>
<p>Ten minutes later Joy found Miss La Farge in
their room at the hotel.</p>
<p>“Babette,” she said, “we shall have to hurry.
Adrian Rayner is already here. He is four days
ahead of us. We must leave Regina within an
hour.”</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>“Yes,” answered her foster-sister, “as Mr. Rayner
is evidently in a hurry, we must hurry also. Is
there any news of Corporal Bracknell?”</p>
<p>“None, except that his sled has been found.”</p>
<p>“Ah! That is bad, very bad!”</p>
<p>“You must not think that, Babette,” cried Joy a
little wildly. “We must search. I will not give
up hope. I will find him.”</p>
<p>Her voice quivered and broke, and suddenly she
buried her face in her hands. Miss La Farge
looked at her for a moment with eyes brimming
with sympathy. Then she took a step forward and
placed her hand on her foster-sister’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“Joy, my dear, what is the corporal to you?”</p>
<p>“To me,” Joy looked up with confusion in her
bearing. “How can he be anything to me? How
can any man——”</p>
<p>“Yet if we do not find him, it will be very bitter?”</p>
<p>“As bitter as death!” answered Joy, hiding her
face once more.</p>
<p>“Then we must certainly find him,” answered
Miss La Farge gravely. “And by way of a start,
I will talk to the clerk about trains.”</p>
<p>She turned and passed from the room, leaving
her foster-sister in tears. After a little time Joy
looked up. An absent gaze came in her tear-stained
eyes.</p>
<p>“If I only knew!” she whispered to herself, “if I
only knew!”</p>
<hr class="chap" /></div>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />