THE ZEPPELIN'S PASSENGER
By E. Phillips Oppenheim
CHAPTER I
"Never heard a sound," the younger of the afternoon callers admitted,getting rid of his empty cup and leaning forward in his low chair. "Nomore tea, thank you, Miss Fairclough. Done splendidly, thanks. No, Iwent to bed last night soon after eleven--the Colonel had been routemarching us all off our legs--and I never awoke until reveille thismorning. Sleep of the just, and all that sort of thing, but a jollysell, all the same! You hear anything of it, sir?" he asked, turning tohis companion, who was seated a few feet away.
Captain Griffiths shook his head. He was a man considerably older thanhis questioner, with long, nervous face, and thick black hair streakedwith grey. His fingers were bony, his complexion, for a soldier,curiously sallow, and notwithstanding his height, which wasconsiderable, he was awkward, at times almost uncouth. His voice washard and unsympathetic, and his contributions to the tea-table talk hadbeen almost negligible.
"I was up until two o'clock, as it happened," he replied, "but I knewnothing about the matter until it was brought to my notice officially."
Helen Fairclough, who was doing the honours for Lady Cranston, herabsent hostess, assumed the slight air of superiority to which thecircumstances of the case entitled her.
"I heard it distinctly," she declared; "in fact it woke me up. I hungout of the window, and I could hear the engine just as plainly as thoughit were over the golf links."
The young subaltern sighed.
"Rotten luck I have with these things," he confided. "That's three timesthey've been over, and I've neither heard nor seen one. This time theysay that it had the narrowest shave on earth of coming down. Of course,you've heard of the observation car found on Dutchman's Common thismorning?"
The girl assented.
"Did you see it?" she enquired.
"Not a chance," was the gloomy reply. "It was put on two covered trucksand sent up to London by the first train. Captain Griffiths can tell youwhat it was like, I dare say. You were down there, weren't you, sir?"
"I superintended its removal," the latter informed them. "It was a veryuninteresting affair."
"Any bombs in it?" Helen asked.
"Not a sign of one. Just a hard seat, two sets of field-glasses and atelephone. It seems to have got caught in some trees and been draggedoff."
"How exciting!" the girl murmured. "I suppose there wasn't any one init?"
Griffiths shook his head.
"I believe," he explained, "that these observation cars, although theyare attached to most of the Zeppelins, are seldom used in night raids."
"I should like to have seen it, all the same," Helen confessed.
"You would have been disappointed," her informant assured her."By-the-by," he added, a little awkwardly, "are you not expecting LadyCranston back this evening?"
"I am expecting her every moment. The car has gone down to the stationto meet her."
Captain Griffiths appeared to receive the news with a certainundemonstrative satisfaction. He leaned back in his chair with the airof one who is content to wait.
"Have you heard, Miss Fairclough," his younger companion enquired, alittle diffidently, "whether Lady Cranston had any luck in town?"
Helen Fairclough looked away. There was a slight mist before her eyes.
"I had a letter this morning," she replied. "She seems to have heardnothing at all encouraging so far."
"And you haven't heard from Major Felstead himself, I suppose?"
The girl shook her head.
"Not a line," she sighed. "It's two months now since we last had aletter."
"Jolly bad luck to get nipped just as he was doing so well," the youngman observed sympathetically.
"It all seems very cruel," Helen agreed. "He wasn't really fit to goback, but the Board passed him because they were so short of officersand he kept worrying them. He was so afraid he'd get moved to anotherbattalion. Then he was taken prisoner in that horrible Pervais affair,and sent to the worst camp in Germany. Since then, of course, Philippaand I have had a wretched time, worrying."
"Major Felstead is Lady Cranston's only brother, is he not?" Griffithsenquired.
"And my only fiance," she replied, with a little grimace. "However,don't let us talk about our troubles any more," she continued, with aneffort at a lighter tone. "You'll find some cigarettes on that table,Mr. Harrison. I can't think where Nora is. I expect she has persuadedsome one to take her out trophy-hunting to Dutchman's Common."
"The road all the way is like a circus," the young soldier observed,"and there isn't a thing to be seen when you get there. The naval airmenwere all over the place at daybreak, and Captain Griffiths wasn'tfar behind them. You didn't leave much for the sightseers, sir," heconcluded, turning to his neighbour.
"As Commandant of the place," Captain Griffiths replied, "I naturallyhad to have the Common searched. With the exception of the observationcar, however, I think that I am betraying no confidences in telling youthat we discovered nothing of interest."
"Do you suppose that the Zeppelin was in difficulties, as she was flyingso low?" Helen enquired.
"It is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis," the Commandant assented. "Twopatrol boats were sent out early this morning, in search of her. An oldman whom I saw at Waburne declares that she passed like a long, blackcloud, just over his head, and that he was almost deafened by the noiseof the engines. Personally, I cannot believe that they would come downso low unless she was in some trouble."
The door of the comfortable library in which they were seated wassuddenly thrown open. An exceedingly alert-looking young lady, verymuch befreckled, and as yet unemancipated from the long plaits of theschoolroom, came in like a whirlwind. In her hand she carried a man'sHomburg hat, which she waved aloft in triumph.
"Come in, Arthur," she shouted to a young subaltern who was hoveringin the background. "Look what I've got, Helen! A trophy! Just look, Mr.Harrison and Captain Griffiths! I found it in a bush, not twenty yardsfrom where the observation car came down."
Helen turned the hat around in amused bewilderment.
"But, my dear child," she exclaimed, "this is nothing but an ordinaryhat! People who travel in Zeppelins don't wear things like that. Howdo you do, Mr. Somerfield?" she added, smiling at the young man who hadfollowed Nora into the room.
"Don't they!" the latter retorted, with an air of superior knowledge."Just look here!"
She turned down the lining and showed it to them. "What do you make ofthat?" she asked triumphantly.
Helen gazed at the gold-printed letters a little incredulously.
"Read it out," Nora insisted.
Helen obeyed:
"Schmidt, Berlin, Unter den Linden, 127."
"That sounds German," she admitted.
"It's a trophy, all right," Nora declared. "One of the crew--probablythe Commander--must have come on board in a hurry and changed intouniform after they had started."
"It is my painful duty, Miss Nora," Harrison announced solemnly,"to inform you, on behalf of Captain Griffiths, that all articles ofwhatsoever description, found in the vicinity of Dutchman's Common,which might possibly have belonged to any one in the Zeppelin, must besent at once to the War Office."
"Rubbish!" Nora scoffed. "The War Office aren't going to have my hat."
"Duty," the young man began--
"You can go back to the Depot and do your duty, then, Mr. Harrison,"Nora interrupted, "but you're not going to have my hat. I'd throw itinto the fire sooner than give it up."
"Military regulations must be obeyed, Miss Nora," Captain Griffithsventured thoughtfully.
"Nothing so important as hats," Harrison put i
n. "You see theyfit--somebody."
The girl's gesture was irreverent but convincing. "I'd listen toanything Captain Griffiths had to say," she declared, "but you boys whoare learning to be soldiers are simply eaten up with conceit. There'snothing in your textbook about hats. If you're going to make yourselvesdisagreeable about this, I shall simply ignore the regiment."
The two young men fell into attitudes of mock dismay. Nora took achocolate from a box.
"Be merciful, Miss Nora!" Harrison pleaded tearfully.
"Don't break the regiment up altogether," Somerfield begged, with alittle catch in his voice.
"All very well for you two to be funny," Nora went on, revisiting thechocolate box, "but you've heard about the Seaforths coming, haven'tyou? I adore kilts, and so does Helen; don't you, Helen?"
"Every woman does," Helen admitted, smiling. "I suppose the child reallycan keep the hat, can't she?" she added, turning to the Commandant.
"Officially the matter is outside my cognizance," he declared. "I shallhave nothing to say."
The two young men exchanged glances.
"A hat," Somerfield ruminated, "especially a Homburg hat, is scarcely anappurtenance of warfare."
His brother officer stood for a moment looking gravely at the object inquestion. Then he winked at Somerfield and sighed.
"I shall take the whole responsibility," he decided magnanimously, "ofsaying nothing about the matter. We can't afford to quarrel with MissNora, can we, Somerfield?"
"Not on your life," that young man agreed.
"Sensible boys!" Nora pronounced graciously.
"Thank you very much, Captain Griffiths, for not encouraging them intheir folly. You can take me as far as the post-office when you go,Arthur," she continued, turning to the fortunate possessor of theside-car, "and we'll have some golf to-morrow afternoon, if you like."
"Won't Mr. Somerfield have some tea?" Helen invited.
"Thank you very much, Miss Fairclough," the man replied; "we had teasome time ago at Watson's, where I found Miss Nora."
Nora suddenly held up her finger. "Isn't that the car?" she asked. "Why,it must be mummy, here already. Yes, I can hear her voice!"
Griffiths, who had moved eagerly towards the window, looked back.
"It is Lady Cranston," he announced solemnly.