cin e/ b e mu P / g ( j \ P i r THE XTOKV THUS FA R “ A llr la hteveason has been m u r d e r e d !" The » lo ry « a s a ll o v e r P le a s a n t G ro v e in m in u te s. L a te In the afte rn o o n T o m stopped hy to get m ilk , and they ta lk e d abo ut Alicia's d ea th . M eg w as upset, and in v o lu n ta r ily T o m put his a rm s a ro u n d her and c a lle d her “ d a r lin g ." T h a t evening M eg and her fa th e r sat looking a t each o th e r, each r e m e m b e r ing th at the o ther w as out la te the night b e fo re . “ H id you do it? " she finally asked “ No— -did you ?“ Nhe was stunned J im M a r T a v is h suggested they m a k e a b a rg a in : “ Y ou fo rg e t that I was out of the house— I ' l l fo rg e t you w ere try s tin g w ith T o m F a llo n .** son co v ered M eg. A hot tide of c r im C HAPTER XI She caught her breath and could not believe she had spoken, thougn the w ords seemed to q u ive r in le t ters o f fire between them. Her fa th e r stiffened w ith a little je rk His face was w hite and hard and his eyes were veiled, so that she could not guess his thoughts. F o r a m om ent that seemed a cen tu ry long his eyes m et hers, and then he said ve ry so ftly. "N o , m y d e a r—d id y o u ? " " F a t h e r ! " It was a shocked, in credulous gasp that came scarcely above her breath. "H o w —how car» you even—th in k —" Her fa th e r lifte d his shoulders in a gesture th a t was not quite a shrug and d ra w led coolly. "W h y not? You seemed p e rfe ctly w illin g to believe I h a d !" "O h, no, Dad ’* In that breathless m om ent the endearing d im in u tiv e cam e easily fro m her tongue. "1 d id n ’t th in k you had—I couldn’ t ever believe you had—" " Y e t you put the question very e a s ily ," he rem in d e d her d ry ly " I t - it was only that I heard you come in last n ig h t—a little a fte r one— " " A few m inutes a fte r you came In. if I re m e m b e r," said her fa th e r c a lm ly , his eyes never leaving her w hite, ravaged face. n NEEDLEWORK PATTERN! 1, o re W ftu . RELEASE B ut th a t’ s p e r ju r y ," she w his pered fa in tly . H er fa th e r’ s face darkened an g rily . ’ ’D on’t be an id io t! You did I not k ill her. N e ith e r did I. So w hat I possible d iffe re n ce can it m ake—if nobody knows th a t we went fo r a walk? I'm absolutely p o sitive that 1 wasn’t seen; I feel e qually sure you w ere not. So w here’ s the h a rm if we p ro te ct ourselves in a s itu a tion th a t could easily become ve ry , u n p le asa n t? " 1 She hesitated and he said q u ie tly. 1 "Because. M egan, if it becomes known th a t you and I were not in bed and asleep— th a t you were out on the Ridge w ith F a llo n —it's not only going to be e x tre m e ly unpleas ant fo r you. but it's going to finish him , once and fo r a ll H e 'll never be able to get another jo b as a teacher no m a tte r how innocent and accid e n ta l yo u r m eeting was. Peo ple w ill rem e m be r A lic ia ’s little th ru s t about yo u r spending hours together on the R idge.' and people are good at adding tw o and tw o and g e ttin g six o r seven." M egan said q u ie tly . W here were you. F a th e r? " > Gay Appliquée! Party Dress Fruit Designs to Cross-Stitch w ith the thing that was in her h e a rt; the th in g th a t had been there— who could say how long'’ —b u t whose presence she had not d iscovered un t il under the shock of A lic ia 's death " I lik e to ta lk to h im . M iss M eggie —e f yo’ th in k he ain* c o rn in ’ any how. how ’ bout yo ’ c a llin g h im up and a skin ’ h im to? So I could ta lk to h im ? " Annie was grave-eyed and portentous Megan, je rke d out of her unhappy a b stra ctio n by A nnie's tone, looked up at her cu rio u sly. "W h y. Annie, w h a t’ s w ro n g ’ Why do you w ant to ta lk to M r. L a r r y ’ ’ she asked, puzzled Annie d rew h e rse lf up a little and there was a gentle, yet im p la c a b le d ig n ity about her as she said firm ly . " I t ’ s a p riv a te m atte h . M iss M eggie —but i t ’s pow ahful im p o rta n t Yo ca ll him fo ’ m e ’ " "Y e s. o f course. A n n ie ." Megan answered and A nnie thanked her and went out of the room , padding so ftly in the heelless fe lt slippers that she wore to "e a s e " her feet But Megan did not have to call Laurence, fo r at about fo u r o’ clock he cam e down the road and turned in at the gate g rin n in g at her w a rm ly and h a p p ily " I cam e over w ith the co ro n e r and some of the county o ffic e rs ." he told her ch e e rfu lly, d ro p p in g down on the steps at her feet and b a rin g his head to the soft wind "P le a s a n t G ro v e ’ s d e rta in ly g e ttin g her nam e in the papers. There was a new spaper correspondent fo r one of the A tla n ta papers at the in q u e s t." Megan asked, a fte r a m om ent. "W h a t—w hat d id the inquest fin d — "D e a th by m eans of a sh a rp in strum e n t at the hands o f a p a rty or p a rtie s u n k n o w n ." answ ered Lau rence, looking up at her white, d ra w n face w ith su rp rise "O h look here, d a rlin g . I had no idea you were such a close frie n d o f hers ’ ’ " I —w asn't, r e a lly ." a d m itte d Me gan. " B u t— I knew her and it's been a shock—" " O f c o u rse ," said L a rr y gently He took her hand in his and held it closely "W e w on't le lk about it— " " Y e s ! " said M egan so sharply th a t Lau re n ce turn e d su rp rise d eyes upon her. M egan m anaged a fa in t s m ile and said. " I —1 re a lly w ant to kn o w —w h a te ve r they could le a rn —" Released by Western Newspaper Union. WAR CONTRACTS INQUIRY COULD GET OUT OF HAND W A SH IN G TO N . — The p o liti cians are c h u c k lin g at the p o liti cal im p lic a tio n behind the M ay scandal case. • The inside s to ry is th a t M r. M ay, c h a irm a n of the house m ilita r y a f fa irs c o m m itte e , w alked in to the d iffic u ltie s w ith the M ead in v e s ti g a tin g c o m m itte e , and th a t the in v e stig a tio n was not in s p ire d o th e r wise. As M ay is a co n se rva tive D e m ocra t, and Senator M ead of New Y o rk has a sp ira tio n s fo r the g o vernorship, c e rta in p o litic a l au th o ritie s had c irc u la te d the re p o rt th a t the case ag a in st M ay was w orked up fo r purposes o f w iden ing the s p lit w ith in D e m ocra tic ranks by the lib e ra l side fo r the purposes o f p u n ish in g a conserva tiv e Southerner. I f it d id not o rig i nate in such purposes, it c e rta in ly had th a t p o litic a l effect. . H o w ever lo g ic a l th is re p o rt m ay sound to some, the inside s to ry is th a t the Mead c o m m itte e m em b e r ship was m a k in g a rou tin e eheek into the c o m p lic a te d fin a n c ia l set up in the Garsson com panies. Some suspicions about the M ay tra n s action were uncovered but not made p u b lic. Then M ay b rought l) r . Ile n ry Garsson to see Mead to co m p la in about the com panies being ‘ 'p erse cu te d ” by a m e d d lin g inves tig a tio n . w hich, they contended, T ot's P arty D ress was holding up reconversion to rV A IN TY and pretty and so easy peacetim e a c tiv itie s . for M other to m ake—a ch a rm M E A D H A D TO ACT. ing round yoked dress for tots The c o m m itte e m e n c la im other , with a m ere w hisper of a sleeve efforts were m ade to get them to and baby ducks parading around desist, but they w ill not id e n tify the bottom of the skirt. • • • 1 these e ffo rts beyond the p o in t o f ' To ob tain c o m p le te p a tte rn for the A p saying these cam e fro m w ith in the plique B aby D uck F ro ck (P a tte r n No I D e m o c ra tic p a rty . 56001 sizes 2. 3 and 4 y e a rs included in Despite the im m in e n ce of the com ing congressional election, the "Suppose we m ake a bargain, m y R epublicans co-operated w ith the d e a r M e g a n ." Her fa th e r's voice D e m ocra tic m em bers in a ll ways. cam e so ftly, low-pitched, scarcely The R epublican Sen. H om er F e r a lo v e a w hisper, in the tone of one guson of M ic h ig a n «who does not c o n sp ira to r to another run again u n til 1949i has been " A — a ba rg a in . F a th e r? " she term ed the ' b ird d o g " o f the com m anaged fa in tly m ittee Ferguson and his Repub He nodded "Y o u forget th a t I was lica n colleagues were in a position out of the house I 'l l forget th a t you "W e ll, it w a sn 't m u c h ." said L a u to force Mead to act if he trie d w ere—e r try s tin g w ith Tom F allon rence "N o tra ce o f the weapon, a to cover up. Perhaps they m ay on the R id g e ." he said In that gen kn ife or a dagger of some ro rt. No have been gleeful at the prospect tle. yet somehow te rrify in g d ra w l trace of robbery or a n yth in g o f th a t of roa stin g a D e m ocra t on the eve A hot tid e o f crim so n poured over kind. The g ir l at the hank said she of d e p artu re fo r home and election her face and reached from the c o lla r had cashed her usual m o n th ly in A n o th e r in n e r p o litic a l sid e lig h t (if her neat cotton p rin t frock to th-» come check for fifty d o lla rs , a few is th a t the Garssuns h ire d as th e ir v e ry roots of her h a ir " 'Scuse me, suh—but could I ta lk days ago. and her purse was found counsel fo r the in q u iry Wayne " I wasn’t try s tin g w ith Tom F a l to yo’—fo ’ a few m in u te s ? " w ith m ore than th irty d o lla r» in it. Johnson, a w ell-know n New Y o rk lo n ! " Her m outh tw isted w ith d is They feel sure th a t if she had su r C ity Dem ocrat. taste at the thought, and the im p li He sat very s till fo r a m om ent, prised a b u rg la r at w ork, he would The evidence c a rrie d odors cation. his eyes clin g in g to hers, and she not have le ft the purse. They be reaching to high heaven, but did " B u t you did meet him th e re —" thought he scarcely seemed to lie ve that she was k ille d by someone not prove co n clu sive ly th a t M ay "P u re ly hy a c c id e n t!" she Hashed breathe And then he said casually. she kn e w —o r at least someone she ever received any m oney d ire c t H er fa th e r sm ile d th in ly " I be " I went fo r a w a lk ." was not a fra id of. There were no ly , although it produced te stim o n y lieve you. m y dear though I am a And as p roof that he had had his signs of a strug g le in the p la c e ." in d ic a tin g money was sent. The lit t le do u btfu l as to whether oth er say on the subject and no intention M egan sat ve ry s till, her hands co m m itte e m e n have been a u th o r people would, if it ever became nec of speaking again, he got up and locked tig h tly in her lap ized to look over the incom e ta x essary fo r other people to know of le ft the room . K ille d by lom eone »he Knew! re tu rn s of M ay to supply the m iss th a t e r—accidental m eeting " She c o u ld n 't oelieve that her fa Someone she was not a fra id •>f' ing lin ks, and w h ile these cannot She put her face in her hands fo r i th e r had k ille d A lic ia Stevenson It "T h e re was one sensation. " said be used as evidence o r made pub a m om ent and her fa th er watched was an in c re d ib le th o ug h t; but he Laurence a fte r a m om ent not look- lic in any w ay, the c o m m itte e m ay her w ith a curious tensity had been out of the house, and he ing at Megan His eyes were on tire get some leads to the lin ks. The " B u t. o f course. I can see no rea was ve ry anxious that no one should garden, where, despite the fact that law p e rm its P re sid e n t T ru m a n to son why anyone save the two o f us know about that And she thought it was alm ost C h ristm a s a few late au tho rize such looks at the retu rn s. should know a n ything about i t , " he of he rse lf and T om F atlon. on the zinnias and m a rig o ld s were s till in A ll in a ll. the newsmen who sat went on sm oothly "S u re ly if my Ridge bloom and the ch rysa n th e m u m s a t the press table th ro u g h o u t the d a ughter and I wish to go for a were great shaggy things o f glow ing in q u iry thought the whole case w alk in the fresh night a ir. it is no And then »tie rem em bered his beauty "T h a t was when the tele could be put down as a scandal so body's business but our own Un face to n ig ht ,md the tone of his voice g ra m fro m her husband a r r iv e d —" p la in ly m a rke d w ith evidence that fo rtu n a te ly , in a m u rd e r investiga when that little w ord " d a r lin g ” had " H e r —h u s b a n d *" she repeated in no one could co ve r it on any side. tio n a great m any seem ingly u n re s lip p e d o u t th e lo o k In h is credulously D e m ocra tic. R epublican. PAC. or lated facts come out O f course eyes naked and ixngnant and un any other th e re 's no like lih o o d that we should ashamed. the w a rm th and te n d e r Laurence nodded "T h a t seemed be in any way connected w ith this ness in his shaken voice that had REP . C O F F E E IN V O L V E D . te rrib le a ffa ir N either of us had been lik e a shining garm ent wra|tped as m uch of a shock to everybody B ut lo and behold, the case p ro there as it is to you, ' he told her any m o tive to want A licia out of the shoot her ch ille d body " B u t it seems that when the detec duced a p o litic a l ta il la rg e r than way —that is 1 had none 1 hoped "O h . no no 1 won’ t h a v it ilk e tive s were going through her papers the dog. The Coffee case, fo llo w to m a rry h e r ! " th a t! I won’ t be in love w ith him 1 ye ste rd a y they found that she had ing im m e d ia te ly th e re a fte r, con She stared at h im caught hy some w o n 't!" she w ailed, deep in her a husband and th a t he was the one cerned a le ft-le a n in g D em ocrat. odd note In his voice And after a frigh te n e d , stricke n m in d But her who was sending her fifty d o lla rs Rep John M. Coffee, who received m om ent he answered the look in her h eart went relen tle ssly on. "Y o u a m onth They w ire d h im and the $2,500 fro m a w a r c o n tra c to r for eyes. "O f course if it should become ca n 't help it ' You ca n ’t stop it. answ er was b ro u g h t to the inquest services He votes m o s tly on the known that you were v io le n tly op You d id n ’ t ask fo r it but you can this afternoon The husband is Ir ftis h side |M»sed to me m a rry in g her. that you never deny it! He knows it. to o — som ew here in the west, but he's fly- Thus the scandals cam e out even resented the thought of having her he feels as you do you saw it in his n in g east to c la im the body Should In D e m o c ra tic ran ks between the here in the house, and had been un eyes heard it in his voice to n ig ht be h e ie to m o rro w or next day. they tw o co n flic tin g factions, and the able to persuade me to give up rn> You love h im and he loves you and th o u g h t” Republicans gained the m ost plans to m a rry her w ell -’ ’ Once he has a w ife who has a g re a te r " B u t she was a w id o w ’ " Megan ground fro m the e n tire tra n s a c tio n again he lifte d his shoulders in that , c la im on him than if there were protested, dazedly A t least no one showed they claim ed gesture th a t was not quite a shrug ch ild re n Y u love can never, nev "A p p a re n tly n o t." said Laurence to have or were s e llin g any influence but that was an e ffe ctive d ism issa l er m ean a n yth in g except h e a rtb rea k looking up as Annie apf*eared be I t was Senator B re w ste r. Republi Megan drew a long, hard breath and self d e n ia l' You know th a t— hind the screen door th. : led into can o f M aine, who to ld the com "Y o u know 1 co u ld n 't possiMy but you c a n 't stop lo vin g h im ' Any the h a ll "Hello. A nnie-how about m itte e o f the Coffee m a tte r, which have— " She set her breath against m ore than you can stop b re a th in g !* p u ttin g another plate on the table firs t was m entioned in a m a y o ra lty the sob that clutched at her th ro a t and le ttin g me stay fo r su p p er’ ’’ The inquest was held the fo llo w in g ca m p a ig n in Tacom a. Wash . by " O f course, m y dear I know that "Y e ss uh. M is t' L a r r y - us s 'o be R epublicans afternoon in the ric k e ty nondescript you are co m p le te ly incapable of any little fra m e b u ild in g w here the Draft glad to ," she assured him . beam ing. I th in k thfi sum to ta l of the such deed of v io le n c e '" her father I Board m et. and t seemed that, e x <nd then asked uneasily. " ’Sc use scandal m a tte r is th is : If any assured her. and there was » I cept te r the few bedridden in the me. suh— but could I ta lk to yo' - fo ’ • one sta rte d tu rn in g o ve r e ve ry w a rm th that was ve ry elo«e to ten « few m in u te s ? " town, everybody was there w a r contract, a t th is p a rtic u la r derness in his voice But it won’t La u re n ce looked surpriaed. but Kveryb«»dy th a t is. except M«*«ati tim e o f w o rld c ris is and d iffic u lt be what 1 know that w ill count. Me to his feet For c o n tra ry to peace, even to gain gro u n d in an gan it w ill be what we can prove and her fa th e r J im ’ s uneasy fear n e ith e r he im < "Of COMI »» Annie A m i tell me election, the u ltim a te outcom e —or disprove!" you w ant to d ivo rce Amo«, a fte r all w ould be d iffic u lt to fo re te ll. At Megan had been ca lle d to a^ w ar these y e a r s '" he laughed excus ng any rate , the Mead co m m itte e He let her sit h o d ^t-d m u heap I L ittle Hetty H e n d rix. P ill Logan M rs S tu a rt. and a few of the others h im s e lf to M egan as he m oved to went to w ork on soine p re sum ably fo r a m om ent as H igh to think th a t o ve r And then he said quiet- I who had been firs t on the scene had w ard« th# screen do.,r w hich Arut *• m in o r cases on the P a cific coast Megan did not q u ite held ey»«n t e r h i m • • • iy. 'T h a t's why I say there is no | he en called " I a m t auah M ist ».ari di st 1 « kN I U t VAAMtCC r t t l t b o t t » reason why anyo e should be told know w hether to he m ore relie ved th a t you and I were out of the house o r m ore frigh te n e d that n e ith er she a to 't «w ine « it n d o dat ahtUteask The P a ris g a the rin g of 21 nations nor her fa th e r had rece ive d orders no'-count (Uglier, «hr* m iff’ «h« a«- to consider the B ig F o u r peace «-though, u n fo rtu n a te ly . not togeth fr«r«d h im d a rk lv $» she Ird the w ay deal sta rte d off under unique c ir to apt car But she had firm ly e r fo r several hours last n ig h t’ " declined T its S tu a rt's h e a rty in v i to th« kitch e n cum stances The 170 m im e o Whom d id you think I ’d be like ly ta tio n th a t she go anyw ay K tcgan got up fr» la ir graphed pages c o m p ris in g the pro to te ll? " »he asked hirn husk ly ' .«•here she had been si ttin g for n lo re* posed texts are considered by ex Megan m ade h e rse lf keep pusv a fte r a m om e n t in which she fought than an h.-ui • |M • « .« ’Tor pe rts to have been v e ry poorly io p u ll hers»«'f l< aether so that thro u g h o u t a day that seemed age d b e e n w « »rm d ra fte d fro m a te c h n ic a l standpoint • long When Annie put m tddav dh speech was at a ll i«**sible ( expression Th.s was charged to T h e re w ill be an Inquest, ot ner beside Megan and asked a fa in t and pleasant here but a Uh the e mg o f duhk a c h ill k tie taind got the difficulties f tra n s la tio n As t c o u rs e ." he rem in d e d her " U n uneasiness in her voice. "M is s Meg • i*es gie is M is t' L a rr y co rn in ' to m o riu w the m eanings o f the agreem ents d o u b te d ly we, as her closest neigh and guarantees few thought them p o ts and I suppose her closest ac night?" any stronger than the governm ents qua in ta n ce « w ill he called to te stl " I suppose so, Annie Megan an it w hich would operate them . fy And if we S im ply say that wc «wered, and q u iv e ie d a little tns'd* w»-. • *o bed a lit t le a fte r te n —" it the thought o f fa c li g La irenc« p a tte rn . Send 20 c en ts in coin, yo u r n a m e , a d d re ss a n d p a tte rn n um ber. R u n n e rs' H eartbeat Most g rea t distance ru n n ers have m ade their records because their bodies had unique functional powers, one of which w as a h ea rt beat slow.er th an the norm al rate . For instance, G lenn Cunningham ’s ea rtb ea t is usually around 49, '.under H ag g 's 47. Paavo N urm i's 5 and Leslie M acM itchell's 40. 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