S o u th e rn O re g o n N e w s R e v ie w . T h u rs d a y , A u g u s t 15, 1946 a n cf be / n u fle c o s D * íp m T H E STORY TH U S E A R : Reynold« question« M e * at her home. T h ere 1« a knock a t the door, and M a rth a E vans, T o m F a llo n 's sister-in -law . enters. She w an ted to te ll them about the knife. M a rth a 's story Is th a t A licia was not m u rd e re d w ith the kn ife that was found T h a t k n ife , she d eclared , was one she and T o m had ta ken aw a y fro m Tom s w ife , L e fty , the in v a lid and m e n ta l p a ­ tie n t. M a rth a d eclared th at To m did not know his w ife's true condition, believing her to be getting be tte r. " H u t she Is vio len t at tim es.** M a rth a insisted, as she told how L e tty had attacked her w ith the knife one night. “ T h a t night you said you fe ll and h u rt your an kle? *’ M eg asked. M a rth a denied it. CHAPTER XV M iss M a rth a said h u skily, "O n lv I d id n 't fa ll—she pushed m e down the steps.” Bob w aited, and a fte r a little , she w ent on h u s k ily , “ Tom and I saw to i t th a t there was never any—any in ­ stru m e n t around th a t she could use to h u rt herself—o r anybody else. T om thought she was bedridden; I h a d n 't told h im th a t she was g ro w ­ in g stronger, th a t she could w a lk — not v e ry fa r, but at least she was no lo n g er helpless. 1 knew , of course, the danger th a t was gro w in g around h e r—danger th a t she m ig h t s lip aw ay fro m me and—do some h o rrib le th in g —” M iss M a rth a flung up her head. H e r eyes blazed. “ She d id nothing o f the so rt! Use yo u r head, young man. It's a m ile fro m our house to M rs. Stevenson's place—she couldn’ t tra v e l th a t fa r. And she hasn’ t been out of m y sight one single m in u te since the n ig h t she attacked m e ." she blazed at h im h otly. Bob said gently, “ We have only y o u r w o rd fo r that. M iss E vans.” M iss M a rth a 's stocky body slum ped a little and she said w e a ri­ ly , "Y e s. o f course—you have only j m y w ord fo r i t —" “ A nd the knife. M iss E v a n s ? " | asked Bob v e ry q u ie tly . Megan w ent to her and put an a rm about her, and fo r a m om ent. M iss M a rth a resisted; then she turned and hid her face ag a inst M e­ gan, w hile the tw o m en w aited. Laurence was sick w ith p ity fo r this tire d , harassed wom an who had c a r ­ rie d her h e a rtb re a kin g burden fo r so long w ith such in d o m ita b le cour­ age; Bob’s expression was intent, w a tc h fu l—w a itin g . ove Theo she turned and hid her face against Megan, while the men waited. the kitchen, got the kn ife , and a sheet out of the linen closet. I also took a good stout w a lk in g s tic k th a t I som etim es use when I go to the g ro c e ry —th e re are so m any h a lf­ savage dogs around—and I put one of T o m ’ s hats on the end of the stick, and held the s tic k above m y head, under the sheet. I im a g in e I m ust have looked p re tty fearsom e. But, you see. I wanted anybody who saw me to th in k he was seeing a ghost—and i f such things as ghosts exist, su re ly th e ir fa v o rite place would be som ething lik e th a t old overgrow n garden. I never dream ed th a t anybody seeing me w ould stop long enough to see w h a t I was do­ ing—or, i f he did , th a t he w ould re ­ p o rt i t to a n y b o d y ." “ You d id n 't see A m os?” asked Bob q u ic k ly . “ N o ," answered M iss M a rth a , and hesitated so oddly th a t Bob’ s a tte n ­ tio n was caught and i t g re w s tro n g ­ er. “ Whom d id you see then?” de­ manded Bob. “ No one,” answered M iss M a rth a M is s M a rth a w e n t on, ‘I firm ly . Too firm ly . Too e m p h a t­ scream ed, and th a t roused Tom , and ic a lly . “ I saw no one at a ll—no —w ell, between us we managed to one.” get the k n ife aw ay fro m her. She Bob said s te rn ly , “ Y o u ’ re not te ll­ fought hard, and then suddenly—she ing me the tru th . M iss E vans. Up w ent to pieces, ju s t slum ped be­ to now, I believe you. B u t if you tween us lik e a ra g d o ll th a t's lost s ta rt te llin g m e lie s now, don’ t you a ll its sawdust. We got her to bed. see you’ re lik e ly to m a ke me believe We knew there was nothing we th a t a ll you’ ve told m e is a l ie ! ” could do fo r her. The doctor warned M iss M a rth a said g rim ly , “ You us— any sudden exertion, e xcitem ent can believe a n y th in g you w a n t to, —w ould alm ost c e rta in ly re su lt in young m an. I ’ ve to ld you a ll I'm a b ra in hem orrhage— ” She paused going to te ll you. A nd I ’d never again and then went on. *‘I le ft her have to ld you w h a t I d id i f I had not w ith Tom. I wanted to get rid o f that fe«t so sure th a t y o u 'd ju m p to the a w fu l knife, once and fo r a ll tim e. conclusion th a t the k n ife Am os So I hid it —w here you found it . " helped you find was the one th a t She was lim p w ith exhaustion and k ille d M rs. Stevenson—and once you ne rve stra in and Bob let h e r rest fo r were convinced o f th a t, yo u 'd not a m om ent before he asked ve ry stop u n til y o u 'd hauled in some poor gently, “ And—yo u r sister, M iss E v ­ d e v il th a t was as innocent o f that ans?” c rim e as—m y poor L e tty .” M iss M artha said in a voice th a t She got up and Bob said ste rn ly . was a ghost o f sound, “ She—died 'T 'v e not finished y e t— ” z e a rly th is m o rn in g ." M iss M a rth a eyed h im as though I t was an hour la te r, a fte r Miss he had been an im p o rtu n a te beg­ M a rth a had had a cup o f coffee and gar, and said co o lly, "H a v e n ’ t you? a chance to rest a little , th a t Bob W ell, I have. Good da y to you a ll.” " w ent over the s to ry o f the kn ife She looked at M egan and said again. tonelessly, “ T om and I are— ta k in g “ I t seems q u ite a coincidence, L e tty home. We’ re le a v in g today, M iss Evans, th a t a ll th is happened so th is w ill be good-by—and—thanks the same n ig h t th a t M rs. Steven­ fo r a ll you’ve done.” son was k ille d ,” he pointed out. “ M iss M a rth a , w hom d id you see " I d o n 't know a n y th in g about that, th a t n ig h t? ” Bob dem anded sh a rp ­ young m a n ,” said M iss M a rth a , ly. “ I can fo rb id you to leave, you w ith the fa in te s t possible trace of know —I can hold you as a m a te ria l h e r old brusqueness. “ A ll I know w itness— ” is th a t when I heard yo u ’d found “ A witness to w hat? I w a s n 't w ith ­ the k n ife , I was a fra id some inno­ in a m ile o f the Stevenson p la ce ,” cent person w ould be accused o f do­ M iss M a rth a pointed out. “ Am os is ing aw ay w ith the Stevenson worn- m y a lib i, ju s t as I am his. I'd say an by means of th a t knife. And I j th a t he and I are the tw o peop!« 'White Swan' Design Embroidery Crochet This Pineapple Runner W.N.U. R E L E A S E knew I had to come and te ll you about it. since te llin g you c o u ld n 't cause m y p«x>r L e tty any tro u b le — n o w ." Bob nodded, s ittin g on the edge o f the desk, his eyes fastened on M iss M a rth a 's face. f “ Amos, who saw the k n ife being hidden, spoke o f a ‘th in g in w hite, about eight feet t a l i '—” he m en­ tioned. T here was the fa in te st possible tra ce o f a sm ile in M iss M a rth a ’s tire d eyes. “ I know*,” she told h im q u ie tly. " I t was a b rig h t m o o n lig h t n ig h t and you never know who m a y be ro a m in g around late at n ig h t in these p a rts .” and fo r ju s t the barest in sta n t h e r glance flicke re d tow ards M egan and away. " I d id n 't w ant anyone to see me— you can u n der­ stand that, of course. And it oc­ cu rred to me th a t th a t old place would be an id eal place to hide som ething you d id n 't e ver w ant found. B u t if somebody saw m e— and recognized me—you see?" Bob nodded. “ O f c o u rs e ." he an­ sw ered q u ic k ly . "W e ll, T om was w ith L e tty ," M iss M a rth a went on. " I slipped out in to Bob said s w iftly . “ Then you mean th a t she managed to get away and k ill M rs. Stevenson.” She seemed to w ince as though he had s tru c k her. She drew a deep b re a th and lifte d her head a little though her shoulders sagged. “ Yes, the k n ife ,” she repeated. " T h a t was—n ig h t before last. As I said, Tom d id n 't know th a t L e tty could get out o f bed, o r w a lk ; he thought i t was a little foolish o f me to keep e ve ry sharp-pointed in s tru ­ m e n t in the house under lock and key. He thought as long as we kept them out o f h e r room , out o f her reach—” She shrugged tire d ly and then she went on in th a t heavy, ex­ hausted voice, “ so he le ft a k n ife out on the kitchen sink n ig h t before last. I 'd —had a good deal o f tro u b le w ith L e tty and I was v e ry tire d . I slept in her room , and I thought th a t she was sleeping soundly, and so I le t m y s e lf go to sleep. When I woke up— I don’ t know w hat woke me. but — suddenly I was w ide­ awake, and—there was L e tty stand­ in g beside m y bed, bending over me, the m o o n lig h t on—th a t k n ife in her hand— ” She set her teeth hard in her lo w e r lip , and her hands crushed each other, and in spite of her e ffo rts a t self-control, tw o swollen te a rs slipped fro m h e r eyes and down her w hite cheeks, leaving little m a rk s in the th ic k powder spread so in e x p e rtly there. NEEDLEWORK PATTERNS who c o u ld n 't possibly have had any­ th in g to do w ith the m u rd e r." “ B ut you d id see someone that n ig h t—" began Bob. By P aul M allon ^0 * She m et his eyes s tra ig h tly and said co o lly, “ D id I?” HrlruarU bv W eilern N ru R p .u xr Union. Megan d re w a deep b re a th and said le v e lly , "Y o u saw me, didn't TRIAL OF MIIIAILUVITCH you. M iss M a rth a ? " A PROPAGANDA STUNT Bob flung her a s ta rtle d glance, | W ASH IN G TO N The Anal de­ but L a u re n ce 's m outh only tightened | fense o f M ih a ilo vite h . hero of the a little . Ich e tn iks, was little reported in th is Miss M a rth a looked s tra ig h t nt country A m e rica n popular interest Megan and then she sighed and nod in him wuned when he was reported ded. “ Yes. I saw y o u ." she a d m it­ to have “ a d m itte d acts of co lla b o ra ­ tio n " w ith the enemy d u rin g the ted. Bob said q u ic k ly , "L o o k here, M is s ' w i,r- O f such a c h a ra cte r is our M acT uvish, you haven’ t to ld m « !> cu ll! sense o f justice. But in this a n yth in g about being up there th a t|® *se 11 ba» been successfully abused and misled. n ig h t—*• "Y o u d id n 't ask m e! Megan re ­ M ih a ilo vite h spoke fo r fo u r hours m inded him . fro m notes he hud made fu r 30 “ I said th a t i f you w ere in bed days, ending his speech at m id n ig h t and asleep, you c o u ld n 't have heard w ith this fin a l accounting fro m an a scream —" anti-N azi resistance soldier: Megan nodded. “ And I said, no, I "I had against me a competi­ c o u ld n 't—but you d id n 't ask ine i f 1 tive organisation, the Commu­ had been in m y bed a sle e p ," she nist fiarty, which seeks its aims re m in d e d h im again. 1 was •'Who was w ith y o u ? " he asked j w ithout compromise. s te rn ly. “ Don’ t te ll m e you w e n t1 out alone at th a t tim e o f n ig h t." Megan said q u ie tly , “ No, I w a sn 't alone. I was when I le ft the fiouse B ut when I reached the R idge—M r. F a llo n was there and we ta lke d a little w h ile ." Bob asked a b ru p tly , " Y o u r fa th e r was in vo lve d w ith M rs. Stevenson, w a sn 't he?” M egan gasped as though he had s tru c k her, and L a urence said sharply, “ H i. la y off, Bob. You have no rig h t to ask h e r such a q u e stio n ." faced with changes In my own government and accused of connections with every possible secret service, enemy and Al­ lied. I believed I was 03 the right road and called on any for­ eign journalist or Red army mission to visit me and see ev­ erything. Hut fate was merci­ less to me when it threw me into this maelstrom (between the western democracies and Rus­ sia). I wanted much. I start­ ed much, but the gale of the world carried me away from my work.” Bob m e t his eyes sq u a re ly and said co o lly, “ H a v e n 't I? ” BROKEN HY TORTURE "A s h e r counsel—” began L a u ­ This is a Serbian soldier o f re ­ rence h eatedly, b u t B ob's g rin was fa r , . fro m the . e a cool, amused, and i t silenced h im . , sistance, , . „ ... , rly tim e Bob lit a c ig a re tte , firs t securing when hc a" d B ritis h alone were p e rm issio n fro m M egan. , re sislln e «»• Nazis bu‘ Ru” la wus And then he looked at M iss M a r . '" 01' •P«al‘ in * a f,e r c le vcr Com m u- tha and said v e ry gently, "M is s n ist to rtu re in a m ockery of tria ls E vans, ju s t w hy did you k ill M rs I w hich could ftnd a coun‘ c r Pa r‘ Stevenson*’ ” Moscow treason tr ia ls to r . . . . 1 Russian propaganda purposes. The It was so unexpected, and the tone me(hod, of t(jrtu re w hlch broke of his quiet, even voice was in such nund have bcen (re q u e ntly d c. c o n tra st to the th in g he sa.d th a t scrlbed UJ booRs a va ila b le a t our fo r a m o m e n t e ve ryb o d y in the room | , ib ra rie g (Ian V a ltin .f „ O ut o f lhc w ent r ig id ; and outside the door, in N igh r ) . Thus w a, thc s la v ic tc m . 6 » k a ° " - v 1,1 • 1 e*"e " a s 8 1 peram ent and m in d led to confess sm othered gasp fro m the unseen, i „ anything his captors w ished fo r but liste n in g , A nnie. th e ir purposes o f propaganda in M iss M a rth a sat v e ry q u ie t fo r a .. .. , s, u a u ij • u; . strengthening the d islike d T ito gov- m om ent. her body held u p rig h t bv . ■ .. . . , . . t e rn m e n t in Y ugoslavia, and fo r e t­ her g rip on the a rm s o f her c h a ir. , , . .. u . »«. d i . • • u > l .... ■ fee1 upon people throughout the Bal- W ith o u t ra is in g her face she lifte d , . j ■ i j . A . „ L , kans.