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For James Kokernak and Christine Smith

You don’t choose your family.

They are God’s gift to you,
as you are to them.

—Bishop Desmond Tutu

This page intentionally left blank
PREFACE

The objective of this seventh edition is to cover statics and indicated by CD icons in the margins of the text as
strength of materials at an elementary level, where calculus is shown at the bottom left of this page.
not required. However, for instructors who use the text to 䊏 Although there are still more than 975 practice problems
teach in accredited programs in the technologies, sections to accompany this text, approximately 800 appear here
requiring calculus are included. Those sections relate to cen- in printed form, with the remainder moved to the
troids and moments of inertia of plane areas and deflection Companion Website. This was done to accommodate the
of beams by integration. Marked with an asterisk in the table new material described earlier, while keeping the book at
of contents, they can be omitted without a loss of continuity. a manageable size for students. These problems are at
Statics and Strength of Materials is written for students en- various levels of difficulty and offers a good balance in
rolled in the industrial technology or engineering technology the use of U.S. customary units and the international
curriculum and in university-level courses for nonengineering system of units (SI).
majors, such as architecture. It is also useful for self-study and 䊏 The new two-color design highlights features throughout
can serve as a reference for courses in materials, materials test-
the book and increases the clarity of figures and line
ing, machine design, and structural design.
drawings. We have also increased the number of pho-
tographs to help readers develop a better understanding
NEW TO THIS EDITION of the relationship between theory and practice.
As with past editions, we have tried to keep this text as reality
based as possible. Toward that end, the following features
ORGANIZATION OF TEXT
have been added to this edition of the book.
䊏
Care has been taken to present the various topics clearly in a
The introductory section (Section 1.1) has been ex-
simple and direct fashion and to avoid information over-
panded to include examples of catastrophic failures. It
load. To that end, more than 200 examples illustrate the
demonstrates to readers how important statics and
principles involved.
strength of materials are in our everyday lives.
Chapters 1 through 9 focus on statics and begin with a
䊏 The number of one-page Application Sidebars, which review of basic mathematics. Trigonometric formulas and
have proven so popular with students and faculty alike, the component method are employed to solve concurrent
has been increased from 19 to 25. Each sidebar is heavily force problems. A discussion of the resultant and equilib-
illustrated and describes the real-life application of the rium of nonconcurrent forces follows, with special empha-
material being discussed. sis on the theorem of moments. Then the force analysis of
䊏 A short subsection describing some recent developments structures and machines, and concurrent and nonconcur-
in materials technology has been added to Section 11.8. rent force systems in space, are presented. The chapters on
This creates an awareness of the wide variety of research statics conclude with friction, centers of gravity, centroids,
worldwide, which results in enhanced material proper- and moment of inertia of areas.
ties and unique applications for existing materials. Strength of materials is covered in Chapters 10 through 18.
䊏 A new section (Section 6.8) on cable analysis has been The chapters begin with the study of stress and strain in axially
added to this edition. Many textbooks, particularly those loaded members. This is followed by discussions of shear
that are not calculus based, ignore this topic, but an in- stresses and strains in torsion members, bending and deflection
creasing use of cables on structural projects demands of beams, combined stress using Mohr’s circle, columns, and
that students have at least a basic understanding of the structural connections.
behavior and analysis of these elements. The majority of the material in this book was origi-
nally written by H. W. Morrow, who prepared two prelim-
We have also made several format changes to this sev- inary editions for use at Nassau (NY) Community College
enth edition, each aimed at making the book easier for from 1976 to 1979. These were followed by three editions,
students to use. published in 1981, 1993, and 1998 by Prentice Hall.
䊏 The book is now accompanied by an animated CD, Subsequent editions represent a joint collaboration be-
which shows worked examples from various topics in the tween Mr. Morrow and R. P. Kokernak of Fitchburg (MA)
text. References to the CD at appropriate points are State College.

vii
viii Preface

SUPPLEMENTS of DuPont Performance Materials; and Rick Scott, Rich

Peabody, and Brian Wasielewski of Rodney Hunt Company.
New! Companion Website Additional thanks to Dick Moisan for both his photographic
Prentice Hall’s Companion Website provides support re- expertise and suggestions pertaining to graphic design and
sources and an interactive learning environment for students. to Gene and Jamie Fleck of Gene’s Service Center for allowing
Tap into this robust site at http://www.pearsonhighered use of their facilities to prepare several of the illustrations used
.com/morrow to enrich your learning experience. The in this edition. Finally, thanks to our family members for their
Companion Website is organized by chapter and includes continued support and inspiration, especially Jean, Amelia,
Chapter Objectives and approximately 175 Practice Problems. and Charlotte Kokernak, and Abigail and Rachel Smith.
We also want to acknowledge the reviewers of this text:
For the Instructor Zarjon Baha, Purdue University; Daniel Hoch, University of
The Online Instructor’s Resource Manual (ISBN-10: 0-13- North Carolina at Charlotte; and Roushdy Nakhla, Morrisville
245434-3) contains valuable information to assist instruc- State College.
tors in the classroom. Users of the text are encouraged to write the authors
with suggestions for improvements in future editions. Such
material may be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
mailed directly to this address: Robert P. Kokernak, PO Box
We want to thank the following individuals for their help in 1038, Ashburnham, MA 01430.
providing illustrations and/or technical information used in
this edition: Colin Daviau of Momentum PR & Branding; H. W. Morrow
Robert Donahue of GE Transportation; John Hillman of Ft. Lauderdale, FL
HC Bridge Company; Janine LaMaie of BERGER/ABAM
Engineers; Richard Piasecki of Piasecki Steel Construction R. P. Kokernak
Corp.; Charles Popenoe of Stress Indicators, Inc.; Chip Fogg Ashburnham, MA
CONTENTS

Application Sidebars xiv

1 Basic Concepts 1
1.1 Introduction: Catastrophic Failures 1
1.2 Fundamental Quantities: Units 6
1.3 SI Style and Usage 7
1.4 Conversion of Units 7
1.5 Numerical Computations 8
1.6 Trigonometric Functions 10
1.7 Trigonometric Formulas 15
1.8 Linear Equations and Determinants 19

2 Resultant of Concurrent Forces in a Plane 29

2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 Graphical Representation of Forces: Vectors 29
2.3 Resultant of Two Concurrent Forces: Vectors 29
2.4 Resultant of Three or More Concurrent Forces 33
2.5 Components of a Force Vector 35
2.6 Resultant of Concurrent Forces by Rectangular Components 38
2.7 Difference of Two Forces: Vector Differences 41

3 Equilibrium of Concurrent Forces in a Plane 45

3.1 Conditions for Equilibrium 45
3.2 Action and Reaction 45
3.3 Space Diagram, Free-Body Diagram 46
3.4 Construction of a Free-Body Diagram 46
3.5 Three Concurrent Forces in Equilibrium 52
3.6 Four or More Forces in Equilibrium 57
3.7 Equilibrium by Rectangular Component Method 58

4 Resultant of Nonconcurrent Forces in a Plane 64

4.1 Introduction 64
4.2 Transmissibility 64
4.3 Moment of a Force 65
4.4 Theorem of Moments 65
4.5 Resultant of Parallel Forces 70
4.6 Resultant of Nonparallel Forces 72
4.7 Moment of a Couple 75
4.8 Resolution of a Force into a Force and Couple 76
4.9 Resultant of Distributed Loading 78

ix
x Contents

5 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body 81

5.1 Introduction 81
5.2 Support Conditions for Bodies in a Plane 81
5.3 Construction of Free-Body Diagrams 82
5.4 Equations for Equilibrium of a Rigid Body 85
5.5 Equilibrium of a Two-Force Body 94
5.6 Equilibrium of a Three-Force Body 94
5.7 Statical Determinacy and Constraint of a Rigid Body 98

6 Force Analysis of Structures and Machines 101

6.1 Introduction 101
6.2 Simple Plane Trusses 101
6.3 Members Under Special Loading 103
6.4 Method of Joints 105
6.5 Graphical Method of Joints 114
6.6 Method of Sections 114
6.7 Frames and Machines 119
*6.8 Cables 130

7 Forces in Space 144

7.1 Introduction 144
7.2 Components of a Force in Space 144
7.3 Resultant of Concurrent Forces in Space 146
7.4 Equilibrium of a Concurrent Force System in Space 148
7.5 Moment of a Force About an Axis 154
7.6 Resultant of Parallel Forces in Space 155
7.7 Support Conditions for Bodies in Space 156
7.8 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body in Space 157

8 Friction 163
8.1 Introduction 163
8.2 Dry or Coulomb Friction 163
8.3 Angle of Friction 164
8.4 Wedges 169
8.5 Square-Threaded Screws: Screw Jacks 170
8.6 Axle Friction: Journal Bearings 173
8.7 Special Applications 175
8.8 Rolling Resistance 177

9 Center of Gravity, Centroids, and Moments of Inertia of Areas 180

9.1 Introduction 180
9.2 Center of Gravity 180
9.3 Centroid of a Plane Area 181

*Sections denoted by an asterisk indicate material that can be omitted without loss of continuity.
 Contents xi

9.4 Centroids by Inspection 182

9.5 Centroids of Composite Areas 183
9.6 Centroids of Structural Cross Sections 185
9.7 Moment of Inertia of a Plane Area 192
9.8 Parallel-Axis Theorem 195
9.9 Moment of Inertia of Composite Areas 196
9.10 Polar Moment of Inertia 205
9.11 Radius of Gyration 206
*9.12 Determination of Centroids by Integration 206
*9.13 Determination of Moments of Inertia by Integration 209

10 Internal Reactions: Stress for Axial Loads 213

10.1 Introduction 213
10.2 Internal Reactions 213
10.3 Stress 219
10.4 Stress in an Axially Loaded Member 220
10.5 Average Shear Stress 223
10.6 Bearing Stress 223
10.7 Problems Involving Normal, Shear, and Bearing Stress 227
10.8 Allowable Stress, Factor of Safety 232
10.9 Further Analysis of Axial Loads: Stresses on Oblique Sections 236

11 Strain for Axial Loads: Hooke’s Law 240

11.1 Axial Strain 240
11.2 Tension Test and Stress–Strain Diagram 241
11.3 Hooke’s Law 244
11.4 Axially Loaded Members 247
11.5 Statically Indeterminate Axially Loaded Members 251
11.6 Poisson’s Ratio 255
11.7 Thermal Deformation: Thermally Induced Stress 256
11.8 Additional Mechanical Properties of Materials 258
11.9 Strain and Stress Distributions: Saint-Venant’s Principle 261
11.10 Stress Concentrations 262
11.11 Repeated Loading, Fatigue 265

12 Shear Stresses and Strains: Torsion 267

12.1 Introduction 267
12.2 Shearing Stress on Planes at Right Angles 267
12.3 Shearing Strains 268
12.4 Hooke’s Law for Shear 268
12.5 Torsion of a Circular Shaft 268
12.6 Further Comments on the Torsion of a Circular Shaft 270
12.7 Problems Involving Deformation and Stress in a Circular Shaft 271
12.8 Torsion Test 274
12.9 Power Transmission 274
12.10 Flange Couplings 279
xii Contents

13 Shear Forces and Bending Moments in Beams 284

13.1 Introduction 284
13.2 Types of Beams 284
13.3 Beam Reactions 285
13.4 Shear Forces and Bending Moments in Beams 286
13.5 Shear-Force and Bending-Moment Diagrams 291
13.6 Relations Among Loads, Shear Forces, and Bending Moments 294

14 Bending and Shearing Stresses in Beams 305

14.1 Introduction 305
14.2 Pure Bending of a Symmetric Beam 305
14.3 Deformation Geometry for a Symmetric Beam in Pure Bending 306
14.4 Hooke’s Law: Distribution of Bending Stress 307
14.5 Bending Stress Formula: Flexure Formula 307
14.6 Elastic Section Modulus 308
14.7 Problems Involving the Bending Stress Formula 308
14.8 Shearing Stress in Beams 316
14.9 Horizontal Shearing Stress Formula 316
14.10 Shear Flow Formula 324
14.11 Design of Beams for Strength 327
*14.12 Residential Design Using Tabulated Values 336

15 Deflection of Beams Due to Bending 353

15.1 Introduction 353
15.2 Bending-Moment Diagram by Parts 353
15.3 Moment-Area Method 359
15.4 Deflection of a Cantilever Beam by the Moment-Area Method 362
15.5 Deflection of the Simply Supported Beam by the Moment-Area Method 366
15.6 Superposition Method 371
15.7 Beam Deflections Using Computer Software 377
15.8 Statically Indeterminate Beams by the Superposition Method 382
*15.9 Deflection of Beams by Integration 386
*15.10 Singularity Functions 392

16 Combined Stresses and Mohr’s Circle 400

16.1 Introduction 400
16.2 Axial Forces and Bending Moments 400
16.3 Unsymmetric Bending 408
16.4 Eccentrically Loaded Members 410
16.5 Plane Stress 412
16.6 Stress Components on an Oblique Plane 412
16.7 Mohr’s Circle for Plane Stress 413
16.8 Principal Stresses 415
16.9 Maximum Shear Stress 417
16.10 Axial Stress 418
16.11 Biaxial Stress: Thin-Walled Pressure Vessel 419
 Contents xiii

16.12 Pure Shear 421

16.13 Combined Stress Problems 423

17 Columns 428
17.1 Introduction 428
17.2 Euler Column Formula 429
17.3 Effective Length of Columns 430
17.4 Further Comments on the Euler Column Formula 430
17.5 Tangent Modulus Theory 432
17.6 Empirical Column Formulas: Design Formulas 433

18 Bolted, Riveted, and Welded Structural Connections 439

18.1 Introduction 439
18.2 Rivets and Bolts 439
18.3 Methods of Failure for Bolted Joints 439
18.4 Axially Loaded Bolted and Riveted Connections 442
18.5 Shear Connections for Building Frames 445
18.6 Welds 448
18.7 Axially Loaded Welds 448

Appendix 453
Answers to Even-Numbered Problems 489
Index 497
APPLICATION SIDEBARS

1. Hybrid-Composite Beams 4
2. Significant Digits 9
3. Torque Measurement and Application 66
4. Two-Force Members 96
5. Truss Fabrication 104
6. Cable Practices 134
7. Parabolic and Catenary Curves 142
8. Cable-Stayed Towers 152
9. Surface Roughness 165
10. Wood Bearings 174
11. Flat Belts 177
12. Center of Gravity 181
13. Machine-Graded Lumber 189
14. Thomas Young 215
15. Metal Forming 244
16. Recycled Metals in Manufacturing 250
17. Thermal Expansion 258
18. Stress Concentration 264
19. Dynamometers 277
20. Threaded Fasteners 281
21. Concrete 338
22. Flexible Floors 372
23. Air-Supported Structures 422
24. Intelligent Bolts 441
25. Weld Testing 449

xiv
 CHAPTER
ONE

BASIC CONCEPTS

a physical system, the resulting deflections or deformations

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES of that system, and the intensity of the internal forces (stress)
This chapter reviews the basic mathematical skills in the system. We study strength of materials to learn meth-
necessary to the study of statics and strength of ods for the analysis and design of various load-bearing
materials. Before proceeding to Chapter 2, you should structures and machines. This topic is considered in Chap-
be able to ters 10 through 18.
䊏 Perform numerical computations and conversions
using both U.S. customary units and the
International System of Units (SI).
䊏 Use standard trigonometric formulas in the analysis
of right and oblique (nonright) triangles.
䊏 Solve groups of two and three simultaneous linear
equations.

1.1 INTRODUCTION:
CATASTROPHIC FAILURES
Statics is that branch of mechanics involving the study of
forces and the effect of forces on physical systems that are in
equilibrium. This topic is discussed in Chapters 1 through 9.
One reason for the study of statics is to determine all the
forces, or loads, that act on a system and the reactions that
develop in response to those loads. It is easy to imagine, for
example, the tremendous forces that are applied to large
buildings (Fig. 1.1). These include such things as the
weight of the structure itself, wind and snow loads, extra-
ordinary forces caused by earthquakes, and the everyday
effects of people and equipment that enter or leave the
building on a regular basis. However, many manufacturing
processes (Figs. 1.2 and 1.3) also utilize large forces that
require careful analysis and management both for produc-
tion efficiency and safety.
Statics is one of the oldest branches of science. Its ori-
gins date back to the Egyptians and Babylonians, who used FIGURE 1.1. In addition to the tremendous forces due to
statics in the building of pyramids and temples. Among the their own weights, large buildings must be able to sustain
earliest written records are the theories developed by extraordinary loads from other sources. This structure, the
Archimedes (287–212 B.C.), who explained the equilibrium St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, was
of the lever and the law of buoyancy in hydrostatics. completed in 1974 and features a unique earthquake-
However, modern statics dates from about A.D. 1600 with resisting system between the base and tower. Even after the
the use by Simon Stevinus of the principle of the parallelo- 6.8-magnitude Nisqually Earthquake that shook the Puget
gram of forces. Sound area in 2001, the facility remains undamaged.
Strength of materials, or mechanics of materials, estab- (Courtesy of BERGER/ABAM Engineers, Inc., Federal Way,
lishes the connection between the external forces applied to Washington, www.abam.com)

1
2 CHAPTER ONE

FIGURE 1.2. Heavy industries often require significant lifting capacity at

some point on their production lines. This facility, which manufactures
about 900 train locomotives each year, utilizes a crane and supporting
structure that is capable of lifting the 400,000-lb weight of a completely
assembled locomotive and moving the unit from one location to an-
other within the plant. The empty cab shown here weighs only 15,000 lbs
and is being moved into position for painting.
(Courtesy of GE Transportation RWD, Erie, Pennsylvania,
www.getransportation.com)

(This item omitted from WebBook edition)

FIGURE 1.3. Plastic parts are often formed by injecting molten plastic at high pressure into a
mold consisting of two or more mating sections. Molding machines such as the one shown
here contain hydraulic pistons that exert clamping forces to prevent the mold from opening
during the injection process. The forces provided by these pistons are multiplied mechani-
cally by a toggle mechanism; although clamping force varies with mold size (90 tons for the
machine pictured), total forces in excess of two million pounds are not unusual.
 Basic Concepts 3

Although not as old as statics, strength of materials always be a steady stream of improvements in materials,
dates back to the time of the Renaissance. Galileo, in his manufacturing processes, and construction techniques, so
book Two New Sciences, published in 1638, made reference that new products inspired by style, safety, or cost will nat-
to the properties of structural materials and discussed the urally follow.
strength of beams. As early as 1678, English physicist and A good example of structural innovation is the Grand
mathematician Robert Hooke published the experimental Canyon Skywalk shown in Fig. 1.4. A cantilevered, horse-
relationship between force and displacement that is now shoe-shaped walkway that opened to tourism in 2007, the
called Hooke’s law. In 1802, this work was quantified by structure extends almost 70 ft from the canyon wall and is
Thomas Young, who defined and measured the material 4000 ft above the Colorado River. Because safety is such an
property known as modulus of elasticity. However, much of obvious design factor here, the walkway was engineered to
what is now called strength of materials was developed by withstand 100 mph winds and the extreme conditions of a
French investigators in the late 1700s and the early 1800s. magnitude 8.0 earthquake. Although this structure can sup-
Most notable among them were Coulomb and Navier. port 800 people, each weighing 175 lbs, actual pedestrian
So why are statics and strength of materials important? traffic is limited to a maximum of 120 persons on the sky-
The answer is that any object whose purpose is to support or walk at one time.
transmit some combination of loads, and that is made from Unfortunately, innovation always involves risk, until a
real materials, is subject to the types of analyses presented in new design, material, or technique has proven itself safe and
this book. These objects may be as large as bridges and sky- reliable (see Application Sidebar 1). However, even when
scrapers; of moderate size such as planes, trains, or automo- well-established technologies yield a catastrophic event, the
biles; or small, such as screwdrivers, hinges, springs, and result is often a firestorm of media coverage and bad public-
other mechanical components found in virtually all the con- ity. Typical examples include plane crashes and structural
sumer products that we use on a daily basis. failures such as the deadly collapse of Minnesota’s I-35W
If the design of products remained unchanged, then highway bridge into the Mississippi River (see Fig. 1.5).
there would be little innovation, and the demand for ar- Many failures occur because of poor mechanical design,
chitects, engineers, or technologists who analyze the feasi- such as those caused by overloads, insufficient strength, or
bility of new products would be small. However, there will excessive deflections. However, a number of other sources

(This item omitted from WebBook edition)

(a)

FIGURE 1.4. (a) Owned by the Hualapai Indian Tribe, this 500-ton walkway is anchored in place by 94 steel
rods, each 46 ft long, driven down into the limestone cliffs. (Courtesy of DuPont™ SentryGlas®, Wilmington,
Delaware, www.sentryglas.com) (b) Tourists can view the 4000-ft drop beneath them through a 5-layer
tempered-glass floor that is 2.8 in. thick. The top layer is removable and can be replaced when scratches
and weathering degrade visibility. (Courtesy of Grand Canyon Skywalk at Grand Canyon West, Arizona, www.
destinationgrandcanyon.com)
 HYBRID-COMPOSITE BEAMS 䉲

COMPRESSION BEAM SHELL

REINFORCEMENT (Fiber-Reinforced
(Concrete Arch) Plastic)

TENSION
REINFORCEMENT
SB.1(a) (Steel Rods)

SB.1(b)

Another good example of innovation in the use of building materials and techniques is the recent development of a hybrid-composite beam
for use on short- and intermediate-span bridges. Conventional beams of steel or reinforced concrete are heavy, expensive, and prone to
corrosion, factors that become significant for cities and towns faced with an aging infrastructure in need of repair or replacement.
The hybrid-composite beam shown in SB.1(a) consists of three main elements made of three different materials: load-carrying
capability of the beam is provided by a concrete arch cast in the shape of a parabolic curve; the bottom ends of this arch are tied
together by strands of high-strength steel; and the concrete and steel are encased in a protective shell made of plastic resin reinforced
by carbon or glass fibers. The beam is essentially a tied-arch in a fiberglass box with all the unnecessary concrete removed. As a result,
the weight of these beams is approximately one-tenth that of a steel or precast concrete beam having the same span. This lighter
weight allows for reduced shipping and installation costs, and the fiber-reinforced plastic shell increases resistance to the corrosion
experienced by many beams, especially those located in harsh climates.
The first bridge constructed using hybrid-composite beams was a 57-ft single-span bridge completed in Lockport Township,
Illinois, in 2008. (Installed as shown in SB.1(b), the beams support a standard 8-in. thick deck made of reinforced concrete.)
Although this new beam design makes efficient use of material properties and offers many potential improvements over conventional
techniques, only time will tell if the technology is valid and whether it will become an accepted part of the construction industry.
(Courtesy of HC Bridge Co., LLC, Wilmette, Illinois, www.hcbridge.net)

4
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find out who the fellow was.”
“George Blenkiron, when in town, generally stays at Cox’s,”
Preston said reflectively.
“Does he? Then he may know who the man is, and his name. I’ll
write to him to-morrow. It is such a small hotel.”
Hopford had also a good deal to say about Mrs. Timothy
Macmahon and her intimacy with the late Lord Froissart; about
Marietta Stringborg and her husband; about Fobart Robertson,
whose whereabouts, he said, he was likely soon to discover; and
about Alphonse Michaud, proprietor of the Metropolitan Secret
Agency at the house with the bronze face. One important fact he
had already established—​Michaud was intimately acquainted with
Jessica and Stapleton. Yet at the Royal Hotel in Dieppe, Preston had
told him, Jessica, Stapleton and La Planta had openly stated that
they knew Michaud only by name.
“Which confirms the suspicion I have for some time entertained,”
Hopford went on, “that Jessica and her friends are in some way
associated with the house with the bronze face.”
“There I can’t agree with you,” Preston said. “In view of all that
has happened, such a thing seems to me incredible. Why, we used
to consult the Secret Agency concerning Jessica and her past history,
don’t you remember? And they found out for us several things about
her.”
“Several things, yes, but not one of the things they ‘found out’
was of importance. It is the Agency’s business, to my belief, to hunt
with the hounds and run with the hare, and they do it successfully.
Surely you recollect Mrs. Hartsilver’s telling us how she and Miss
Hagerston had been shown by Stothert what he declared to be the
actual pearl necklace belonging to Marietta Stringborg, and saying
the necklace stolen from her at the Albert Hall ball and afterwards
found in Miss Hagerston’s possession, was made of imitation pearls?
Well, I can prove that on that occasion, as well as at other times,
Stothert intentionally lied.”
“Then what is your theory?”
“That in some way, yet to be discovered, Jessica and her gang—​
for they are a gang—​and the Metropolitan Secret Agency, are
playing each other’s game and have played it for a long time.
Incidentally I have found out, too, that La Planta once represented
an insurance company in Amsterdam, of which Lord Froissart was
chairman or director, and that—​—”
“Forgive my interrupting you, Hopford,” Preston cut in, “but what
you say reminds me that I too was told, by a Major Guysburg I met
in Dieppe. He is a man you ought to meet; he was leaving for
America when we parted, but ought soon to be back, and he
promised to look me up in town on his return. And he can tell you a
lot about Alphonse Michaud, who, he assured me, at one time ran a
most disreputable haunt in Amsterdam.”
Hopford produced his notebook.
“How do you spell the major’s name?” he asked quickly, and
Preston told him.
“And where does he stay when in town?”
“At Morley’s Hotel, I believe,” and Hopford wrote that down too.
“Now for heaven’s sake don’t say ‘how small the world is,’
Preston,” Hopford observed lightly as he replaced his notebook in his
pocket, “because that is a platitude which makes me see red. I must
see Guysburg directly he arrives in London. Certainly we are getting
on. I suppose Guysburg didn’t speak about a diamond robbery in
Amsterdam from a merchant living in the Kalverstraat, which took
place some years ago? The thief was never caught.”
Preston laughed.
“The very thing he did tell me,” he answered. “The stones had
been insured by Michaud, to whom the insurance money was paid
under protest because the idea had got about that Michaud himself,
or some person employed by him, had stolen them.”
Hopford turned to the French woman-detective, and raised his
eyebrows.
“You hear that?” he said to her in French. “Isn’t it strange how
small—​no, I won’t say it! Mademoiselle was employed,” he
addressed Preston again, “on that very case in Amsterdam, and feels
as convinced to-day as she did then that Michaud, aided by La
Planta, spirited away the stones. Yet nothing could be proved. There
were not even sufficient clues to justify the arrest of either of the
two men. By the way, I am trying to get mademoiselle to return to
London with me, and she hopes she will be able to. Also I have
forgotten to tell you that Idris Llanvar is a famous mental specialist
practicing here in Paris—​isn’t that so, Llanvar? Years ago he was
Johnson’s locum tenens in Shanghai, when Johnson practiced in
Hong Kong. It was Johnson who kindly gave me an introduction to
him, when he and I met in Jersey. Aren’t you glad, Preston, that
Johnson is going to marry Mrs. Hartsilver? I think she is such a
charming woman, though I don’t know her very well. But I met the
late Henry Hartsilver once or twice—​a typical profiteer, and, I
thought, a most offensive person. She was well rid of him. Did you
know Sir Stephen Lethbridge?”
Preston looked at Hopford oddly.
“What makes you suddenly ask that?” he said. “What was your
train of thought?”
“I had no train of thought, so far as I am aware,” Hopford replied.
“But there is a vague rumor in London that someone, a woman, a
friend of Stothert’s, holds certain letters written by Mrs. Hartsilver to
Sir Stephen Lethbridge, or by Sir Stephen to her, and that this
woman is trying to sell them to Mrs. Hartsilver. Incidentally, Preston,
your name has been whispered in relation to the affair, which leads
me to suspect that Mistress Jessica may not be wholly unassociated
with this latest attempt at blackmail. Llanvar had a letter from
Johnson yesterday, who is still in Jersey, and in it he alluded to the
rumor, but in very guarded language.”
Preston did not answer. His lips were tightly closed. Then, as if to
distract attention from what Hopford had just said, he produced his
cigar case and passed it round.

Yootha was very anxious to see, as she put it, “everything in Paris
worth seeing,” from the Bastille to the Ambassadeurs and the
Cascade, and from the Louvre to the Palais de Versailles, so during
the next few days Preston devoted himself to her entirely. The art
galleries in particular appealed to her, also the Quartier Latin with its
queer little streets of cobble stones and its stuffy but picturesque
old-world houses of which she had so often heard. Exhibitions like
the Grand Guignol and the Café de la Mort, on the other hand, she
detested.
Hopford and Llanvar had dined with them once, and afterwards
Hopford’s friend on Le Matin had piloted them all to various
interesting night-haunts of which English folk visiting Paris for the
most part know nothing. He had also taken them into curious
caverns below the Rue de la Harpe and streets in its vicinity, and
shown them the houses there propped up from below with
enormous wooden beams where the arches built over those old
quarries have given way.
“But how come there to be quarries here at all?” Yootha had
asked in surprise.
 The representative of Le Matin had evidently expected the
question, for at once he had entered into a long explanation about
how, when Paris was first built, stones for building purposes had
been quarried out in the immediate neighborhood; how the City had
gradually reached the edge of those quarries, and how, in order to
be able to continue to extend the City, it had been necessary to arch
the quarries over and then erect buildings on the arches themselves.
“Of course the good folk who live in those houses above our
heads,” he laughed as he pointed upward, “have no idea that their
houses are propped up from below, and some day they may get the
surprise of their lives by finding themselves and their houses
suddenly swallowed up in the bowels of the earth.”
It was late when finally they had all separated. Then Hopford, on
arriving at Rue des Petits Champs, had found a blue telegram
awaiting him. It came from his chief, who said Hopford must return
at once.
“I have most important news for you,” the message had ended.
 CHAPTER XXX.

BLENKIRON’S NARRATIVE.
London was now almost full again, after its two months of social
stagnation, for October was close at hand. Already announcements
were appearing in the newspapers of balls and dances, receptions
and dinner parties, and other forms of entertainment with which
people with money to spend and no work to do endeavor to kill
time. And among the social receptions largely “featured” was one to
be given by Mrs. Mervyn-Robertson at her house in Cavendish Place
in the third week in October.
Johnson and Mrs. Hartsilver were back in town, so were Captain
Preston and Yootha Hagerston, and George Blenkiron was staying at
Cox’s Hotel, but none of the five had been invited to Jessica’s
reception. The leading London newspapers had been asked to send
representatives, however, and at his request Harry Hopford had
been detailed by his chief to attend.
Among the visitors at Morley’s Hotel, in Trafalgar Square, was a
dark man, obviously a foreigner, with black, rather oily hair and a
carefully waxed moustache, a florid complexion and a tendency to
obesity. Hopford noticed his name in the visitors’ book when he went
to inquire for Major Guysburg who, Preston had told him, had just
arrived there from America. The foreigner’s name was Alphonse
Michaud.
“Major Guysburg is dining out,” Hopford was told.
He lit a cigarette, paused in the hall for a moment, then decided
to look up Blenkiron, whom he had not seen since his return to
town, but who was staying at Cox’s Hotel in Jermyn Street. On his
way he called at a flat in Ryder Street, and found a friend of his at
home and hard at work writing. It was the friend who had, at his
request, watched Stapleton’s “cottage,” The Nest, near Uckfield,
while he, Hopford, had been in Paris.
“I am on my way to see a friend at Cox’s Hotel,” Hopford said,
when the two had conversed for some moments, “quite a good
fellow, name of Blenkiron. Would you care to come along? You might
run across the person you shadowed from The Nest to Cox’s that
day, you never know.”
Blenkiron was in, Hopford was told, and a messenger took his
card. A few minutes afterwards he was asked “please to come up.”
“’Evening, Blenkiron,” he said, as he was shown in. “Hope I am
not disturbing you, eh? Tell me if I am, and I’ll go away. I have
brought a friend I should like to introduce,” and he stepped aside to
let his friend advance.
Silence followed. In evident astonishment Hopford’s friend and
Blenkiron stared at each other.
“Haven’t we met before?” the latter said at last. “Surely on the
road from The Nest to Uckfield—​—”
The other smiled.
“Yes,” he replied. “And I followed you back to town, and to this
hotel. Afterwards I tried to find out your name, and who you were,
but failed. I hope you will forgive me, Mr. Blenkiron; but I should like
you to know I followed you at Hopford’s request.”
The three burst out laughing.
“So you, Blenkiron,” Hopford exclaimed, “are the rascal whose
identity has so puzzled us! Really, this is amusing.”
Whisky was produced, and soon all three were on the best of
terms.
“Have you heard the latest about the house with the bronze
face?” Blenkiron asked presently.
 “No, what?” Hopford answered eagerly.
“Alix Stothert, Camille Lenoir, and a girl of quite good family, and
well-known in Society—​I am not at liberty to tell you her name—​and
several others were arrested there about six o’clock this evening for
being accomplices in attempted blackmail. In connection with the
blackmail charge any number of people we know are likely to be
involved. The names of three you will, I expect, guess at once.”
“J. and Co.”
Blenkiron nodded.
“By Jove, how splendid!” Hopford exclaimed. “Who told you all
this, George?”
“The Commissioner of Police himself, so the information is
accurate enough.”
Hopford sprang to his feet.
“May I use your telephone?” he asked, as he walked quickly
towards the door. “Come and stand by me and I’ll dictate the whole
story through right away!”
“Hopford, sit down!” Blenkiron shouted imperatively, pointing to
the chair from which the lad had just risen. “Not a word of what I
have told you is to appear in the press until I authorize it. Not a
word! Do you understand?”
“But the other papers will get it,” Hopford exclaimed, with his
hand on the door handle.
“They won’t. That I promise you. The Commissioner of Police, an
intimate friend of mine, told me while I was dining with him to-night
that the whole affair is to be kept out of the papers until the entire
gang has been arrested. If you print a line now you will defeat the
ends of justice by warning the unarrested accomplices, and so,
probably, enabling them to escape. I mean what I say, Hopford.
Preston, Miss Hagerston, Johnson and Mrs. Hartsilver will be here
soon—​I telephoned asking them to come as I had, I said, something
important to tell them. There will be supper, so you and your friend
had better stay.”
Hopford reflected.
“Have you room for yet one more at supper?” he asked suddenly.
“Major Guysburg, a friend of Preston’s, is at Morley’s—​just come
from America. He knows a lot about a man, Alphonse Michaud, who
is the mainspring of the Metropolitan Secret Agency, and is also at
Morley’s. I have not yet met Guysburg, but Preston has explained to
him who I am, and the major is greatly interested in the movements
of J.’s gang. He should, in fact, be able to throw further light on
some of the curious happenings of the last two years.”
“Then by all means ring him up and ask him to come along,”
Blenkiron answered. “But you are mistaken about Michaud’s being at
Morley’s, Hopford, because he was one of those arrested this
evening at the house with the bronze face.”
“Michaud arrested? Good again! But what was he arrested for?”
“Attempted blackmail—​same as the others. But in Michaud’s case
there is a second charge. Michaud, the Commissioner tells me, turns
out to be a regular importer, on a big scale, of a remarkable drug
you have already heard about, which is made and only procurable in
Shanghai, Canton, and Hankau. The secret of this drug belongs to
one man—​a Chinaman.
“Now, sixteen years ago Michaud served a sentence of five years’
imprisonment in a French penitentiary for attempted blackmail;
became, on his release, a greater scoundrel than ever, and finally
succeeded in becoming naturalized as an Englishman. Then he went
out to the East, set up in business in Canton, and eventually scraped
acquaintance with a Shanghai wine merchant named Julius
Stringborg, who introduced him to Fobart Robertson, Timothy
Macmahon, Levi Schomberg, Alix Stothert, Stapleton, and several
others, including, of course, Angela Robertson.
“Months passed, and then one day Michaud turned up in London
again. None suspected, however, that he was now engaged in
secretly importing the strange drug, for which he soon found a ready
sale at a colossal profit. Some of the properties of the drug you
already know, but it has other properties. Then, after a while he
started systematically blackmailing many of his clients, for to be in
possession of the drug, without authority, is in England a criminal
offense. Not content with that, however, he now decided, in order to
be able to extend his operations, to take into his confidence one or
two of his friends. Among those friends were Marietta Stringborg
and her husband, Angela Robertson and Timothy Macmahon. Those
four formed the nucleus of a little gang of criminals which has since
increased until—​—”
The arrival of Preston and Yootha Hagerston, followed almost
immediately by Johnson and Cora Hartsilver, put an end to
Blenkiron’s narrative. All were now greatly excited, and eager for
information concerning the house with the bronze face and what had
happened there; so that when Major Guysburg was announced he
found himself ushered into a room where everybody seemed to be
talking at once.
 CHAPTER XXXI.

CONCLUSION.
The two-column article which appeared in only one London
morning newspaper created a profound sensation. Quoted in part in
the evening newspapers throughout the country, it became the
principal topic of conversation in the clubs and in the streets, but in
particular in social circles over the whole of the United Kingdom.
That the most important secret information agency in London, an
organization which had come to be looked upon as the most
enterprising and trustworthy there had ever been in the Metropolis,
and which half the peerage, to say nothing of the ordinary
aristocracy, had at one time and another consulted in confidence,
should suddenly be discovered to be nothing more than the
headquarters of a nest of rogues and blackmailers, dealt Society a
terrible blow.
The blow was all the harder because clients of the so-called
Metropolitan Secret Agency knew they had poured into the ears of
the benevolent-looking old man who called himself Alix Stothert,
secrets about themselves, their relatives, and their friends, which
they would not for untold gold have related had they dreamed such
secrets might ever be revealed. And now, to their horror, it seemed
that at least a dozen well-known Society people, or rather people
well-known in Society and believed to be the “soul of honor,” were,
and had been all the time, active members of the “Agency Gang,” as
it was now termed, prominent among them being Mrs. Mervyn-
Robertson, Aloysius Stapleton, handsome young Archie La Planta,
and the rich retired tradesman and his wife, Julius and Marietta
Stringborg, to name only a few.
 No wonder the Metropolitan Secret Agency had always known so
much about the intimate affairs of everybody in London who
“mattered,” and about the secret concerns of rich county folk
throughout the country! The knowledge possessed by the notorious
Bertha Trost of Clifford Street, who during the war had been quietly
pushed out of the country as an “undesirable alien” had been
insignificant by comparison, people said. And the Agency’s “methods
of procedure” had been extremely simple. One of their plans had
consisted in worming out of useful clients as much private
information as possible of a compromising nature, not only about
themselves, but about their acquaintances and friends, piecing it all
together, and then, at a later date, instructing some accomplice to
approach or write anonymously to the prospective victims,
threatening them with public exposure if they refused to pay heavily
for secrecy. And so cleverly was this always done that the Agency
invariably safeguarded itself against risk of discovery.
Another method of procedure, equally effective, consisted in
selling secretly, at an enormous profit, the strange Chinese drug
smuggled into the country by Alphonse Michaud, and accomplices
would then threaten with exposure persons having it in their
possession.
In addition to this, Michaud and other members of the Agency
Gang would administer the drug in a particular way themselves, so
that it deadened their victims’ memory from a time prior to the
period of unconsciousness which it produced. It was, the newspaper
article declared, a most extraordinary compound, and, being
colorless and devoid of all smell, could be administered without
arousing the least suspicion of its presence. For which reasons, no
doubt, some members of the gang had gone so for as to dope other
members with it, when they saw that by doing so they could
themselves benefit.
That had happened, it seemed, on the occasion when Archie La
Planta had been called out of the box at the Alhambra whilst
attending a performance of the Russian Ballet. On that night he had
met a friend in the foyer, a member of the gang, who had suggested
his joining him in a drink in his rooms, which were close by, in
Charing Cross Road. La Planta, of course, all unsuspecting, had
walked across to his friend’s rooms, yet when he had recovered
consciousness in his own chambers in Albany, all recollection of his
having gone to those rooms in Charing Cross Road and afterwards
being conducted back to his own chambers by his “friend,” had
completely faded from his memory.
And the reason he had been doped that night and in that way—​
this the man who had doped him confessed afterwards under cross-
examination—​had been to keep him away from Mrs. Mervyn-
Robertson’s supper party, a few hours later at her own house, where
the same ruse had been employed by the same man, with a woman
accomplice, who unseen had then taken from her the key of her
safe, which they had then rifled, taking not only the valuables it
contained, but inadvertently a packet of letters which proved to be
the letters Cora Hartsilver had written to Sir Stephen Lethbridge, and
those he had written to her. These documents Jessica had obtained
some time before, by bribery, from servants dismissed by Cora and
by Sir Stephen for inefficiency, and she had been holding them with
a view to using them some day as levers to extort money from Cora;
but the woman who had stolen them from the safe had taken that
step herself and sent Cora the anonymous letter which had reached
her when in Jersey.
And all through it was the same. To right and left clients of the
house with the bronze face and intimate friends of Jessica, of
Stapleton, of La Planta’s, of Mrs. Stringborg and her husband, and of
other members of the Agency Gang, had been secretly pilloried and
made to pay, while from time to time members of the gang had
themselves been victimized by one or other of their own traitorous
accomplices, generally through the medium of the Chinese drug.
Levi Schomberg, though not a member, had by accident been made
aware of the existence of the gang, its ramifications and its
methods, a client to whom he had once advanced a considerable
sum having promised to reveal what he called “the whole
organization of an extraordinary secret society of criminals operating
in this country and on the Continent” if Levi would cancel a portion
of the debt. This the moneylender had, after some demur, agreed to
do, with the result that afterwards he had been himself able to
extort money from Jessica and Stapleton, and other members, under
threats of exposure, in precisely the same way that they levied
blackmail on their victims.
“And La Planta,” Hopford said, as he and others were talking the
case over in the reporters’ room some time after his article had
appeared. “La Planta admits that he drugged Levi Schomberg in the
box at the Albert Hall on the night of the ball, though he swears it
was not his intention to poison him. Either he mistook the dose he
administered in the whisky and soda, he says, or else Levi must
have had a weak heart—​Doctor Johnson will probably have
something to say about that. La Planta declares, too, that he gave
the drug on the advice of Stapleton, who handed him the actual
dose, saying it was the right amount. Whether it was or not, I
suppose we shall never know, though Stapleton has yet to be cross-
examined. And another thing we shall probably never know is why
Levi Schomberg disliked Mrs. Hartsilver so intensely. He never
missed an opportunity of maligning her when her back was turned.
Can he at one time or another have tried to extort money from her,
and failed? Or have tried to make love to her, and been turned
down? Or can he have had some reason for fearing her?”
“Talking of that, Hopford,” his colleague said, after a pause, “do
you remember the night you stood up so stoutly for Mrs. Hartsilver,
the night I told you that you must be biased in her favor because
you knew her socially? What, after all, was the truth about those
rumors concerning her and concerning Captain Preston? Did you
ever find out? I tried to, but I heard nothing more.”
“Why,” Hopford answered, “that was more of the Agency Gang’s
dirty work. They invented a scandalous story, which they put up to
Preston when he was in his house-boat during Henley week. The
story would take too long to tell—​George Blenkiron got it at first
hand from the Commissioner of Police, and retailed it to me
practically word for word. The upshot was that Preston would have
either to abet—​assisted by Miss Hagerston, whom, I see, he is to
marry next week—​an attempt to blackmail Mrs. Hartsilver, or himself
be ruined financially, which of course would have ended his army
career. Members of the gang, Blenkiron tells me the Commissioner of
Police assures him, were the originators of those unwholesome
rumors which, you remember, were common talk in clubland.”
“But how could they ruin Preston? What had he ever done to give
the gang an opening?”
“Nothing dishonorable, of course; I don’t believe he could be
dishonorable if he tried. But it seems that years ago he backed two
bills for a brother officer whom he looked upon as a friend. The
fellow turned out to be a scoundrel; was cashiered, later became
one of the gang’s ‘creatures,’ and actually faked the bills into bills for
much larger amounts. And those faked bills were, if Preston refused
to help in the plot against Mrs. Hartsilver—​it had to do with some
compromising letters she had written—​to be presented for payment
this month. Poor chap! No wonder he has been looking so dreadfully
ill of late. It would be interesting to know how many suicides the
Agency Gang has been responsible for directly and indirectly. Since
that night at Henley Preston has always carried a loaded pistol in his
pocket, and he vowed he would shoot that former brother officer of
his dead if ever he met him again. And he would have done it, too,
and have chanced the consequences.
“As for that robbery of Marietta Stringborg’s necklace at the ball
at the Albert Hall, the whole thing was a bluff. The pearls were not
real, and it was Stringborg himself who took them from his wife at
supper and slipped them into Miss Hagerston’s bag. Jessica Mervyn-
Robertson had become furious at Yootha Hagerston’s determination
to find out all about her, furious, too, with Mrs. Hartsilver, and the
others who were making the same attempt—​she had heard about
these attempts from Stothert, because Preston, Mrs. Hartsilver and
Miss Hagerston had several times consulted the Metropolitan Secret
Agency—​and she had made up her mind to ruin them financially and
socially, and indeed that, her first attempt to disgrace Miss
Hagerston, might well have been accomplished.
“Really,” he continued, “there would seem to be no end to the
machinations to which the Agency-Gang have had recourse within
the past few years. We shall never know one-tenth of the crimes
they committed or tried to commit. Several of the gang’s members
were actually staying with Sir Stephen Lethbridge at his place in
Cumberland, Abbey Hall, as his guests, when he shot himself. By the
way, I hear that Fobart Robertson has at last been discovered, living
in a garret in Lyons, and that he is being brought over to give
evidence against his wife and Stapleton and others regarding the
secret exportation of the Chinese drug from Shanghai long ago. He
ought to prove a useful witness.”
And so the clouds which had so darkened Yootha’s and Cora’s
happiness, the happiness also of Preston and of Johnson, had at last
almost rolled away. The four had arranged to be married towards
the end of the month, and already were busy buying trousseaux,
acknowledging letters of congratulation and the receipt of presents,
and attending to the many other matters which so engross
prospective brides and bridegrooms. George Blenkiron had promised
to act as best man to his life-long friend, Charles Preston, and the
latter had decided to send in his papers at an early date, for, though
an excellent soldier, the monotonous life of an officer in peace time
would, he knew, bore him to extinction.
Harry Hopford had asked Johnson to allow him to be his best
man, “in return,” as he put it, “for services rendered, and the way I
helped to bring about your engagement!” Johnson suspected, and
Cora knew, that Hopford himself had been greatly attracted by “the
beautiful widow,” as she was commonly called; and perhaps had the
lad not had sense enough to realize that for him to hope to marry
Cora when almost his sole source of income consisted of the salary
he was paid by the newspaper to which he was attached, and the
payments he received from miscellaneous other journals to which he
contributed, was hopeless, he might have felt tempted to press his
own suit.
True, he had once gone so far as to think the matter over
seriously, carefully weighing the pros and cons, but the decision he
had come to was that Cora did not care for him sufficiently to be
likely to accept him even should he have the audacity to propose to
her. The thought that if he did propose to her and she accepted him
he would, after the marriage, be in a position to abandon his
profession and live thenceforward on her income, of course, never
entered his mind.
“I pity any woman who marries a journalist or a literary man,” he
said mentally, as he considered possibilities one night over a cigar.
“We writing folk may have our good points, but I think our chronic
irritability more than outweighs them, to say nothing of our
inconstancy where women are concerned, our ‘sketchiness,’ and our
lack of mental balance. If I were a woman I would any day sooner
marry a lawyer or a stockbroker than a man who earns his livelihood
by his pen. Such people at any rate give their wives a sporting
chance of being able to live with them in peace, whereas we news
seekers and scribblers—​—”
He shrugged his shoulders, and smiled as he mixed himself a
brandy and soda. Yet even then he could not wholly dispel from his
imagination the picture of Cora Hartsilver. Suddenly his telephone
rang, and he unhooked the receiver.
A fire had broken out in Smithfield and was making rapid
headway—​a big fire—​steamers hastening to it from all directions—​
yes, half a column, but a column if possible—​yes, not later than
midnight—​—
He picked up his notebook and thrust it into his pocket, switched
off the light and went downstairs. A taxi was passing as he reached
the street, and he hailed it.
“Yes,” he said, as he passed swiftly along Oxford Street, “a
journalist’s wife must have a dog’s life!”
 Some days later the newspapers contained an interesting “story,”
regarding a theft of diamonds some years previously in Amsterdam
from a well-known diamond merchant whose place of business had
then been situated in the Kalverstraat. The arrest of Archie La Planta
in London in connection with the Agency Gang crimes had, it
seemed, attracted the attention of the Amsterdam police, and
among the people in England with whom they had communicated
was a certain Major Guysburg. Eventually, the story ran, Major
Guysburg had been called upon to identify two men still residing in
Amsterdam, one of whom, it then transpired, had shared lodgings
with La Planta at the time of the robbery, and had now turned King’s
evidence, while the other had once been Alphonse Michaud’s
secretary. After a good deal of legal quibbling, Michaud was proved
actually to have stolen stones which he had himself insured, and for
which, after the robbery, he had been paid his claim in full.
On the night before their wedding—​for finally Cora and Johnson
and Yootha and Preston had decided to get married in London on
the same day—​the two happy couples with their best men, Hopford
and Blenkiron, sat at supper in the grill of the Piccadilly. Not too near
the band played the inevitable “Dardanella”; around them supper
parties chattered and laughed loudly; waiters carrying dishes and
wine hurried hither and thither as though their lives depended upon
rapidity of action.
Presently the manager approached, a broad smile on his pleasant
face. He came up to Preston.
“At the request of Mr. Hopford,” he said, “I have just informed six
officers of the Devon Regiment, who are dining in a private room
upstairs, that you and these ladies and gentlemen are dining here;
and on Mr. Hopford’s instructions I have given them other
information.”
His smile widened.
“And the officers present their compliments and wish to say they
hope you and your friends will join them in their room at your
convenience.”
“What are their names?” Preston asked.
The manager told him.
“Good heavens!” Preston exclaimed. “It’s my dear old C.O., and
five of the very best—​we were all in France together about the time
of the first attack on Thiepval. I haven’t seen them since.”
He turned and addressed the manager:
“Will you please say that we accept the kind invitation, and will be
up shortly? Harry, you rascal, how did you find out about these
officers dining here?”
“Quite by accident, when I was prowling in search of news this
morning. My first idea was to look up your old C.O. at once. Then I
decided it would be better, because less formal, if I sprang the news
on him to-night, while they were at dinner, that you were to be
married to-morrow, and that we were all here to-night. I knew they
would be glad to see you again.”
He looked at Yootha.
“Is anything the matter?” he asked, for she was suddenly looking
sad.
“Nothing at all,” she replied with a forced smile, though her moist
eyes belied her words. “I was thinking of my brothers, both still in
Mespot, and apparently likely to remain there. I have not seen either
for over two years, and to-night I feel a longing to have them here.
Their presence would complete my happiness.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Hopford answered with twinkling
eyes. “News came through to the office this evening, just as I was
leaving, that your brothers’ regiment has been ordered home, so
probably you will find your brothers awaiting you on your return to
London from your honeymoon unless,” he smiled mischievously,
“they go direct to Cumberland to stay with your father and your
stepmother!”
THE END.
 Transcriber’s Note:
Words may have multiple spelling variations or inconsistent
hyphenation in the text. These have been left unchanged. Obsolete
and alternative spellings were retained. Misspelled words were
corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences and
abbreviations were added.
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