The Saint Meets His Match (She was a Lady)

theeee; No lark-ka could pipe-pa to skies sow dull and

gra-a-ay;

Yet-ta, ere I gow, one lesson I can leeeave theeee For every da-a-ay. ...'

 

'I saw Templar speak to him——'

'Shut up, you fool!'

 

'Be gooood-da, sweet maaid, and-da let who can-na

be cle-evah;

Do nowble things, not-ta dream them, awl daaay lawng ...'

 

The telephone bell screamed.

'See who it is, Weald. No, give it to me.'

She took the instrument out of his hands. There was no need to ask who was the owner of the silkily endearing voice that came over the wire.

'Hullo!'

'Yes, Mr. Templar?'

'Please don't let the Angels pester the innocent gentle­man with the criminal voice. He doesn't know me from Adam, and probably never will. I warned you I had mo­ments of extreme cunning, didn't I?'

She hung up the receiver thoughtfully, ignoring Weald's splutter of questions.

The musician below, a man inspired, was repeating the last verse with increased fervour—perhaps as a consolation to himself for having been deprived of the middle one.

 

'Bee goooooda-da, sweet maaid-da,

and-da let whoo caan-na be cle-e-e-ev-ah. . . .'

 

The girl stood by the window, and something like a smile touched her lips. 'A humorist!' she said. Then the smile was gone altogether. 'Second round to Simon Templar,' she said softly. 'And now, I think, we start!'

Chapter II

HOW SIMON TEMPLAR  WAS DISTURBED,

AND THERE WAS FURTHER BADINAGE IN

BELGRAVE STREET

 

IF IT had been possible to prepare a place-time chart of the activities of the Angels of Doom, it would have shown, during the eighteen hours following Simon Templar's departure from the house in Belgrave Street, a distinct concentration of interest in the region of Upper Berkeley Mews, where the Saint had converted a couple of garages, with the rooms above, into the most ingeniously com­fortable fortress in London. Also, like other concentra­tions of the Angels of Doom, it appeared to be conducted with considerable labour and expense for no prospect of immediate profit.

It may be suggested that the district of Mayfair was an eccentric situation for the home of a policeman; but Simon Templar thanked God he wasn't a real policeman. In fact, he must have been the weirdest kind of policeman that ever claimed to be attached to Scotland Yard. But attached he indisputably was, and could claim his official salutes from some of the men who would