t
Thiusda.V, July 2(1, 19:51
LA (i KAN UK KVKNINO OBSERVER:. LA GRANDE, ORE,
Page Three "
TTrTliTST' - -
DKMOCKING HOUSE
smut-MX: gun that tilled
one of the two men tuund murdered
tn I'terre linlreene't house is still
about the vlace, although Serueaut
Harper has not been able to find It.
tie has lound a wet viece ot tiring,
however, ehich eecme to have a
connection with the mttxtcrtt. tioio
he tuft located the caelumcr who
Bold n dienutse to one of tlie mur
dered men, eo that he milhi re
eemble ilulreane.
Chapter 29
CRANK LETTERS
'""plIIS man came tu with a pic
! ture." Paglioltl ntldod', "a clip.
ping from a ncwapniior, showing a
man with a beard. He said It was a
friend of Ills and that ho wanted to
make himself up like him as a Joke.
We studied over the picture and I
myself trimmed the beard and mous
tache to match as no wished."
"Was there a name printed under
the clipping? Would you recognlzo
the picture again?
Pagllotll shrugged his resrets.
do not remember. I would have for
gotten all. except for the clipping -Harper
pondered a moment. "Can
you recall anything olso about this
man? Was he well-dressed? Did he
come In an automobile? Was UIb
manner nervous or secretive?"
"There was nothing out of the way
about Ills manner. The other ques
tions 1 cannot answer."
The detective took a long pull on
his pipe. "One more question. Mr.
Pagllotll. you know the man who
bonght that disguise from you Tias
been killed. It has been suggested
that ho was crazy a dangerous ma
niac. What do you say to that?"
Pagllottl's answer was Immediate,
-explosive. "Oh, no, no. 1 do not be
lieve It. Not tlrnt man."
Harper smiled. "I'm Incllued to
agree with you. Thank you very
much. Your Information should be
helpful to us."
The Italian bowed politely, shook
bands, and departed with the alert
Mr. Harris, leaving Harper with a
new and puzzling addition to his col-
iccnon or data concerning this mys
terious affair. The detective began
to lool- .hrough the packet of crank
letters which Dufresne had turned
over to the police.
There were eight ot them In all,
the earliest postmarked November
9th, a little more than flvo weeks
after the purchase ot the disguise.
What had the nmsquernder been do
ing those five weeks? Why had such
a long Interval elapsed before his
alleged letters began bombarding
bis Intended victim? Dufresne had
not evon been back In the city from
his summer vacation when this man
had appeared at Pagllottl's.
Y If this nameless man had really
I' intended to kill Dufresne, why. had
I he not done so without all this fan
fare of threats and hard language?
His course had certainly been that
ot the cowardly "crank," not that of
the determined killer.
The butler appeared. ".Mrs. Croy-
I den thought you might like a bite of
lunch, sir. It can be served in here.
so that, it will not Interrupt your
work. Is there anything special you
would like?"
That s tine, Andrews. Anything
you happen to be serving will be
quite all right Thank Mrs. Croyden
Tor mo, please.
"It will be ready in half an hour,
sir."
"Fine. In the meantime, will you
ask Mrs. Whitmore to come here?"
RS. WHITMORE took at least
1,1 ten minutes to make her ap
pearance. The detective wondered
V what the servants were saying about
the murders, for he knew that in the
sanctity of their own quarters every
tongue would be wagging unrestrain
edly. A great deal of the talk would
ho mere Idle gossip and conjecture,
but mixed with this must necessa
rily be many Items of first-hand
knowledge that would bo Invaluable
to him, could he bu hear them.
When Mrs. Whltn.ore did make
her appearance, her attitude and the
expression ot her face left no doubt
as to her persona1 stand. The bel
ligerent gleam In her eye, the twist
of her tightly shut lips promised lit
tle aid and no sustenance for the
police processes.
"Mrs. Whitmore, I have some ques
tions to ask. As all of you now know,
there was a double murder here last
night. To withhold Information of
any kind Is a serious matter. In a
case llko this it can mean prison.
I want you and all the others to un
derstand that clearly."
' Harper paused, feeling that this
prologue was wasted on the de
termined woman. Mrs. Whitmore
nodded curtly, "1 understand that,
but I didn't have anything to do with
It and 1 don't know anything about
It." she answered haughtily.
"Of course not Don't misunder
stand my purpose in sending for
you. Let us start a little way back.
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When In the market for Ice cream
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Purely vegetable. A pure foot! pro
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Sun-Proof Paint
"The Paint That Lasts"
PITTSBURGH PAINT
STORE
Phone 1S3-J 111 Elm St.
.BY WALTER C. BROWN.
As I understand it, you and Mr.
Whltmpre wero left In sole charge
ot this house while Mr. and Mr
Dufresne went to their summer
home at Moose Head Lodge?"
"Yes, sir."
"The Dufresnes left early In July
and did not return until late Oc
tober?" "That's right."
"During all the time ot their ab
sence, there were no disturbances,
no attempted burglaries, no. prowl
ers at night, nor suspicious charac
ters seen in the grouuds?"
"No.-
'Did you have any vlsltpre of your
own, relatives, or friends?"
"We did not." '
"The bpuse was never left unoc
cupied, then, even for a day?"
"Never." The housekeeper was
rapping out her staccato replies as
quickly, as the detective (lred his
questions.
"Which rooms did you occupy?"
"Our usual opes the double bed
room on the third floor, front."
"Oh. 1 thought your quarters were
over the garage?"
"Those are only temporary."
HARPER struck off on a new line.
"Did you know Officer Hamill,
the policeman who was killed?"
Only by sight. 1 remember seeing
him about the neighborhood. I
didn't know his name."
"Did he ever stop to talk?"
"John, my husband, talked to him
several times over the fence In the
evenings. He never came Into the
grounds, that 1 saw."
"How did . you know when the
house was to bo opened again?"
Mr. Dufresne sent me a telegram
the day they started home. All the
preparation needed was to replenish
the food supply and notify the
maid."
"Oh, there was a maid? WUat be
came of her?!"
She left."
Discharged?"
"No. she left of hor own accord."
"What reason dli she give? Had
she been with the Dufresnes long?"
"About a year and a bait. 1 didn't
ask her reasons for leaving. She
gave Mrs. Dufresne the usual two
weeks' notice." Mrs. Wliltmore's
tone made It plain that she had not
been overly friendly with the maid,
"What was her name?"
"Ellen Becker."
"Do you have her present ad
dress?" "I do not. I believe she has rela
tives somewhere in the city, but I'm
not sure. Mrs, Dufresue would
know."
"Surely you have some Idea as to.
why she left, Mrs. Whitmore? it
seems very unusual that she should
wait all summer to resume her du
ties here In the fall and then leave
after a few weeks. Surely she had
some explanation to make?"
"Ellen was always close-mouthed
and stand-offish," the bpusekeepcr
replied. "She never made friends
with any one."
'Why wasn't she replaced?"
"By that time the redecorating
had been decided upon and started.
Mr. and Mrs. Dufresne went to the
Austerlltz. There was no need for a
maid until the bouse waa opened
again."
"I understand Mrs. Dufresne di
rected the changes. I suppose she
was here a great deal while the work
was going on?"
"Oh, yes, she was In and out all
the time, consulting about this aud
that. But Mrs. Croyden helped a lot
with it, too."
"Did Mr. Dufresne come out
often?"
"Perhaps twice a week, to see how
things wore going. He left all the de
cisions to Mrs. Dufresne, though."
"Well, that gives me a pretty clear
Idea of how things stood over the
summer but I need a few more de
tails about this re-decorating. It
seems to have been a thorough un
dertaking. Was the whole thing han
dled by one firm or were the various
Jobs given out to different firms?"
"No. Johnson & Carew bandied
everything, the painting, papering,
upholstery, even the outside paint
ing." "Then the only workmen who
were in this house were In their em
ploy?"
"Yes. There was quite a lot tf
them, working at various times. Per
haps a dozen altogether."
They were under supervision all
the time?"
Yes, indeed. A Mr. Holllday had
charge ot the whole job. He was up
here every day."
What were the working hours?"
From half-past eight to four
o'clock."
I Copyright. J0JI. bu Walter C. Brown)
Tomorrow, Harper gives Mrs,
Whitmore soma startling Informa
tion. AUTHORIZED ..
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In 580 1105 Washington
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W. II. Parkinson
1208 First St.
: :'W aflf.-f
? ..I.irlv
irv ifin
The Aroma The Flavor
and the Price
are the big (actors in
Airway's popularity
t" (glFtF
3 lbs.
PORK &
VAN
No.
POST TOASTIES
7 c
pkg.
SWANSDOWN
Pkg. jc
RAKING POWDER
CALUMET
Lb. Can pc
MOTHER'S OATS
CRYSTAL WEDDING WARE
Fkg.
White King
Gran. Soap
Large Pkg.
29c
Le -
j
BEANS
CAMP'S
300s
can
Tapioca
Minute
13c
Pkg.
StiveFipS. Bf Sati., JMy 27-28
ULY WHITE SAFEWAY
AT LA GRANDE STORES ONLY
AT LA GRANDE STORES ONLY
ALL FLAVORS
UTAH Solid Pack
PALM OLIVE
S bars
Field Ripe
FREE!
Bottle of Nadja
Perfume
($1.00 value)
For 7 White King Toi
let Soap wrappers
(when mailed to fac
tory). While King Toilet Soap
7 for
Grapefruit
Del Monte or
Libby's
... No. 2 Cans ....
Cans 29c
BEST FOODS PRODUCTS
Ql.
Mayonnaise 29c
pt.
Mayonnaise 19c
Ql.
Salad Dressing 26c
pt.
Salad Dressing 16c
MR A
S-X
10h. cloth
HAG
TOMATO SAUCE
SOAP
LIGHT GLOBES Sip- r""""W 10c
MARSHMALLOWS & 16c
BRAN
Gold Medal
Wheaties
Re sure and mttil in
your sales slip
23c
rJL.LJLn -k'JA n I f" II II" I il"SI I
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A Problem, Especially in the Summer Time.
SAFEWAY STORES are at your service to
furnish you with the choicest of food sup
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4911). sack 2o41
cans
25-LB.
(OTH
HAG
cans
STERLING HEALTH
FLAKES
osrs
59c
S pkgs 241
FRESH FRUITS
VEGETABLES
Well bleached and crisp
CELERY 15c
Water KloiUlykes i
MELONS ....., 2c
Fancy liiiu.s
LEMON S ,. 25c
Delicious Flavor Large 30s
CANTALOUPES K,u
10 to 22-lb, boxes Elbertas
PEACHES
TALL CANS
$145
NO. 2a.
NO. IK
19c
CANS
19c
I5ARS
9 c
PKG.
ii DC
.,,k 79c