Matheson had perceived it,
for he glanced swiftly across in my direction in an oddly
significant way.
"I don't know," replied Burton, who was an engineer. "He was
rather an unsavoury sort of character in some ways, but I heard
that he came to a sticky end."
"What do you mean?" I asked with curiosity, for I myself had
often wondered what had become of Adderley.
"Well, he was reported to his C. O., or something, wasn't he,
just before the time for his demobilization? I don't know the
particulars; I thought perhaps you did, as he was in your
regiment."
"I have heard nothing whatever about it," I replied.
"You mean Sidney Adderley, the man who was so indecently rich?"
someone interjected. "Had a place at Katong, and was always
talking about his father's millions?"
"That's the fellow."
"Yes," said Jennings, "there was some scandal, I know, but it was
after my time here."
"Something about an old mandarin out Johore Bahru way, was it
not?" asked Burton. "The last thing I heard about Adderley was
that he had disappeared."
"Nobody would have cared much if he had," declared Jennings. "I
know of several who would have been jolly glad. There was a lot
of the brute about Adderley, apart from the fact that he had more
money than was good for him.
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