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CHAPTER X.—A BBAVE
GIRL'S RUSE.
Nellie's one object for the time being wag
to keep Cross under observation.. She
knew that he and Ada were going to the
latter's .home, and she determined to get
there as .soon after them -as posssible; be
yond tha.t she had no definite plan ofTi.c-J
tion. I
It was quite dark by the time she reached
the villago, nowovei, and shu was weary
with her long run. It was with a gasp of
thankfulness, therefore, that she espied
the motor cycle standing outside the
house. Cross was obviously telling Mrs.
Wrigley that he and Ada. were to be mar- j
ried.
Confirmation of this soon tame to the
watching girl in the shadows on the win
dow blind. She realised that it would
be useless for her to wait about outside the
house, for should Cross come out and find
her there his suspicions wouid be aroused
immediately, and her last chance of sav- '
ing Dick would most probably vanish. Af- I
ter f-ome consideration she decided that '
the best plan would be to wait some dis
tance away from the house, and then way- ]
lay Cross on his journey back to the town.
Having arrived at this decision, Nellie
walked a little way down the road and
took up a position where she could watch .
the house without herself being noticed.
For about ten minutes she remained
standing there, never once talnng her eyes
from the door. Her heart was bearing
fast wit a nervous anticipation and every
sense was on the alert. At last the front
door opened. Craning, her head forward,
Nellie saw. Cross come out and proceed
>co hght the lamp in the iront of his ma- !
chine. !
While he was doing this Ada joined
him. She was carrying what appeared to
be a heavy leather bag, which sue placed
in the side car. Having lit his lamp, Cross
wPnC up to her and the two embraced, af
ter which Cross jumped on his machine
aDd Nellie heard him starting llie engine.
As soon as she knew he was about to
leave, Nellie started to walk down the
ro-id, taking caie to keep well in the mid
dle, so that as Cross came along he would,
have to slow down in order to avoid run
ning over her.
During the few seconds she had been
watching Cross and Ada Nellie had evolved
a plan, the very daring of whicn made her
heart beat furiously. "Yet she Kept calm, i
for everything now depended upon her
courage and presence of mind, and the
slightest mistake might lead to hopeless
failure.
Suddenly she heard the sound of a
motor-horn, but she kept in the njiddle of
the road and proceeded on her way with
out once turning her head. Again there
came a warning hoot from behind, but not
until she was certain that Cruss was slow
ing down did she step slightly on one side. 1
Knowing Cros3 as she did, Nellie felt
confident that he would not pass a girl on
a lonely road at night without stopping to
speak to her,'however urgent his business
m'ght be. It was on t^is assumption that
the success of her plan depended.
Nellie's estimate of th-e man's character ,
was not inaccurate. She had taken care |
to keep away from the g'are of the head
lam t> so that her face was still in the
shadow and he could not at once recog
nise her. I
As Cross drew level with her he slowed ,
the machine down yet more and called |
out. "Can I give you a lift, my dear?" |
The girl hes'tated a minute before re
plving. She could tell from his voice j
that he was still intoxicated and the sud- j
den thought that, if she accepted his offer, ;
she would be alone with ham, and prac- '■
ticallv at his mercy, made her shrank from j
hejr t-a?k. But the recollection of Dick's
peril and the fact that such an opportu- •
nitv- would never occur again lent her
fresh courage. Besides, she knew that j
th-e mysterious bog was in the side-car, '
and this she must try and obtain at all
costs.
l"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Cross,"
she replied, in a low voice. "I'm very
tired. But perhaps you don't want to
give me a lift."
'"TTell, I'm -Mowed! It's Nellie!" ex
claimed Cross,- in afifconi&hjnent. Then he
added- faminarly.V~"Jump in, my dear."
Although her whole being revolted at j
the thing she was about to attempt, the
girl d'd as he told her and climbed into
the; side-car. As she settled down in it,
her foot touched the bag which was lying
at the bottom, and she heard a faint j
metallic clink. j
-For a second she feared that Cross had
h.eacd it also, but a quick glance at his
face told her. she .was. mistaken, and it
was "with a sigh of relief thai she sank
back"" in " the 'seat.
Cross restarted the engine, but drove
slowly, eo that lie might better chat with
the girl by his side. From the fiist his
attitude was familiar, and even somewhat j
i insolent;, but Nellie restrained her resent
ment and replied in as friendly a -tone
as she could assume.
"Suppose we have a little drive round
the country, my d-ear," he suggested, in a
voioe which whs still thick and unsteady.
"It'a a beautiful night."
"Oh, please go straight to the town,"
pleaded Nellie; "I'm so awfully tired."
'"Very well, but if I do you'll come
with me another night, won't yon?" he
asked, with drunken cunning.
"Perhaps," replied the girl.
. "Cheer up, little girl," went on Cross,
leering at her unsteadily. "I suppose
you've been fretting over that bounder, [
Dick Musgrave. But you're too good for •
a ruffian like that, and, besides, he'll
soon be out of your way." - I
Nellie had to bite her lips till the blood '
came in order to prevent herself from
telling Cros3 what she thought of him. i
But- there was far too much at stake to j
run the risk of losing all by indulging in J
recriminations, and she knew that he •
would have never dared to say such
things to her had he been perfectly, sober.
"D'you remember that night on the i
Harrowby-road when you let me kiss i
you?"_ he asked, a few moments later,
and Nellie writhed as the recollection of
that hateful episode was brought back,
to her bv th«* man whose lips she felt i
had polluted her. . J
"P'raps you'll give me a kiss to-night,"
he went on, as the girl made no reply. I
"You'll owe me that for- the lift, you
know." ' j
He rambled on in a half familiar, half-1
insolent strain, apparently indifferent as
to whether his companion answered him
or not, until they at last entered the
town and drove through the lighted
streets. Nellie knew that the time had
now come when.she must act, but as yet
she had been unable to think of any
means whereby ishe could secure the bag
or effect Cross' arrest. She bad no hesi
tation in contemplating this latter, since
she was convinced that the bag at her
feet contained the stolen money. But how
wais she to do it?
It would be utterly useless, she knew,
to cry out to any of the passers-by in
the streets, for they would only laugh
at her, even if they understood; and m
the meantime Cross would have no diffi
culty in e.-.«ia,pir.g safely and d-'sposing ot
the only evidence which could convict
him. On the other hand, if ehe could'
not think of anything within the nest
few minutes the opportunity of saving
her lover would "be gone for ever.
An they turned a corner and drove
elowly down the main street, Nellie
caught s'ght of the police superinten
dent who had arrested Dick. In a
flash an inspiration came to her. She de
cided to act upon it then and there,
so as they approached the officer she
leaned towards her companion. ;
"Will you drive np to the superinten
dent?" she asked. "I want to ask him
something about to morrow's trial."
It was not a very brilliant excise, per
haps, but it was the best she could think
of at the moment. i
"All right, my dear." replied Cross,
and he turned the machine to the spot
where 'the superintendent was standing.
Quickly bending down, Nellie snatched
np the bag Lorn the bottom of the car,
sprang out, and flung it at the astonished
superintendent's feet.
"Thei.» is the money Dick Musgrave is
falsely accused of having stolen," she
cried. "And there is the man who did
steal it." j
She pointed to Cross, but he, realising
•that his crime was now discovered,
switched on his engine and disappeared
into the night at a furious 9peed. I
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