Southern Oregon News Review, Thursday, December 26, 1946
♦
Laugh and the World Laughs With You!
By JAMES KINSEY
Duke M rC alr. private detective, Is In-
v e itic a tia t the murder ol Curt Vallala-
court, who was about to m arry Veronica
Rlgelow, heiress to thirty million dollars.
She Is the principal suspect.
McCale
uncovers a deep plot to keep control ot
(he (re a l fortune In the fam ily throufh
a deal with Vallalncourt
Shari I.yna,
Vallalncourt's form er wife. Is shot to
death. McCale la shot In the shoulder.
Sybil. Veronica's mother, Is slugged. Sud
denly. the truth strikes McCale. Rushing
out of the mansion, he approaches a
man In sailor’s uniform. He Is Stephen
Bigelow, Veronica's brother. McCale and
his aids overpower him before he can
shoot. Just then Donlevy drives up. and
brusquely takes over.
CHAPTER XVII
When they reached it, they found
Ann M a rrio t dozing by the dying
fire.
She jum ped up, smoothing
ru m p le d h a ir into place.
“ W e ll," she said ta rtly , "a re you
a ll rig h t? Running around lik e that
in y o u r dressing gown. M y good
ness. T h a t’ s no way to c a ll on the
Beacon Street Bigelows.
I t ’ s a ll
over, isn ’t it?
I t came o ver the
ra d io about an hour ago.
You
w ould have to w restle w ith m u rd e r
ers, w o u ld n 't you? You sure you
feel a ll rig h t? " She was try in g hard
to cover up her concern. She had
been w o rry in g about h im a ll eve
ning. a fra id that he m ig h t seriously
h a rm his in ju re d shoulder.
“ I'm a ll rig h t," M cCale said
“ but I'm s till wet and v e ry, v e ry
tire d .”
“ Then you get in to d ry clothes
rig h t away. Rocky, you m ix h im a
h ig h b a ll w hile I m ake coffee. W hile
you’ re g e ttin g the liq u id inside of
you, I w ant to hear about every
thing.
I f you th in k I ’ m going to
tu ck you in and go home before I
get the whole story, you are sadly
m istaken. I f you w ill go out chas
ing a m u rd e re r a ll night w ith a hole
in y o u r side, you’ ll ju st have to take
the consequences. I'm going to ask
questions i f I stay here the rest
o f the n ig h t.”
“ I f you keep this up. spending
y o u r nights w ith me the w ay you
have been doing, y o u 'll have to
m a rry m e to save m y good n a m e .”
“ Y o u r good name. Tsk, ts k .” She
laughed and flounced out the door.
The three of them sat a long tim e
o ver b ra n d y and hot coffee discuss
ing the case. A fte r a lengthy re
sume, they grew silent.
McCale
fin a lly spoke.
D o tó ’ v y took over w ith a brusque
ness th a t was u n fa m ilia r. He herd
ed them a ll in to the lib ra ry , where
an astonished and shaking b u tle r
was fussing around M iss Adelaide.
She stood, a fig u re of stone, drained
of a ll anim ation.
H er face was
g ra y against the m antel, anguished.
' ‘Stephen.” she said in a m u r
m u r th a t became a cry .
The young-old face of Stephen
looked h a lf ugly, h a lf despairing
in the d im lig h t. There was a haunt
ed look behind his eyes. He w et
his lip s w ith the tip of his tongue.
Suddenly he slum ped into a chair.
"Y e s ,” McCale said. H is sophis
tica te d m outh cu rle d in triu m p h and
his tone was b rittle . “ I t was Ste
phen Bigelow, dressed as a sailor,
whom we saw lo ite rin g about the
entrance to the Common ju s t be
fore the m u rd e r. He looked up at
the house once, rem em ber?
He
m ust have seen us a t the bay w in
dow of the d ra w in g room , fo r the
next tim e I noticed h im , he was
reading a paper, p ro b a b ly to hide
his face.
When V a lla in c o u rt ap
proached the house, he m ust have
come across the street in to the shel
“ The m addening th in g about it a ll
te r of the areaw ay th a t goes under
the fro n t steps—the service en was the m o tive , you see. E v e ry
trance. When C u rt was passing, he one who came under suspicion a fte r
s im p ly stepped up to h im and fired Veronica was m ore o r less cleared
had a m otive. B u t not d iffe re n t m o
p o in tb la n k.”
tive
s—they a ll had the same one.”
M cCale looked at D onlevy and his
“ W hat do you m e a n ? " Ann asked.
men, who were grouped over the
“ W ell, they were a ll in the plot
crestfallen c u lp rit. D onlevy looked
up at h im . I t was so sim ple, re a lly , to get C u rt m a rrie d to V eronica and
now th a t i t was explained. He did in charge of the B igelow m illio n s .
say, the ghost o f d e risio n on his Then when it was discovered th a t
lips, “ P e cu lia r no one m entioned a he d id n ’t intend to give them a
share a fte r a ll, they a ll had the
sa ilo r hanging around.”
“ I k n o w ," McCale answered b it same incentive— to keep h im fro m
te rly . “ M y fa u lt e n tire ly . I p rid e g e ttin g co n tro l of it. When it was
m yse lf on having a photographic cle a r th a t they a ll wanted h im out
m ind, and I missed th a t, too. Men o f the way fo r the same reason, it
in the service are so comm on about became m ore a m a tte r o f seeking
the streets these days th a t q iey go out the person w ith the c h a ra c te ris
alm ost unnoticed anywhere. T hat tic s m ost suitable to c o m m ittin g
is where he was so clever. Who m u rd e r.”
" B r ig h t lad ”
R ocky grinned.
would connect a s a ilo r w ith the B ig
elows?
One th in g I should have “ It's a w onder you fum bled as long
seen, though, m ost c e rta in ly . I ' l l as you d id .”
M cC ale scowled. “ Oh, I know the
never fo rg iv e m y s e lf fo r th a t.”
old one about everyone being a po
“ W hat's th a t? ” asked D onlevy.
M cCale reached out and took the te n tia l m u rd e re r. I had to nose a
hat Stephen B igelow had in his little closer to the ground than ju s t
hand. He cocked a fin g e r and spun accusing one rig h t a fte r the other.
Some of them had to have a stro n g
the th in g around lik e a plate.
“ Well, I ’ll be d a m n e d ," D onlevy e r m o tiv e than ju s t money.
exploded.
C a ll it jealousy com bined w ith
“ I d o n 't blam e yo u .” There was passion. Karen was the ’fem m e
ch a g rin in M cCale’ s tone. “ This hat fa ta le ,' o f course. I th in k she knew
is p e rfe ctly round, w hich identifies fro m the firs t th a t Stephen did it.
i t as the type worn a num ber of She d id n 't give h im away, though,
years ago. The style was changed not u n til tonight. She'd even thought
about five years ago. The new er o f helping him to run away again.
ones t i l t up in fro n t lik e a re g im e n t T h a t’ s why she drew the $800. B ut
al o ffice r’s cap w ith o u t a visor. to n ig h t when I asked h e r i f she ,
I f I ’d only noticed th a t one thing, knew w hy S yb il hadn’ t been k ille d
I ’d have realized the s a ilo r we saw instead of stunned, she d id n 't an
was a phoney.”
He sighed.
“ I t swer. However, as I w ent out the
m ig h t have saved a life .”
He door, she began to p la y the L u lla b y
fro m Jocelyn. I t was her w ay of
thought of S hari Lynn.
D onlevy cleared his thro a t. Then te llin g m e about the m o th e r fix a
there was a ru s tle of feathers and t i o n Stephen had. He could not b rin g
satin a t the door and V ic to ria h im s e lf to k ill her, even though he
w h irle d in. H er eyes w ere b rig h t realized she had gone to the a ttic
and her m ake-up stood out in ghast to see i f his s a ilo r su it was s till
ly re lie f against the paleness ot her there— and the gun.”
“ Oh, th a t’ s w hat she was looking
face. H e r fingers je rk e d to her h a ir
and a sh rie k died on her lips. Two fo r .”
officers moved fo rw a rd a u to m a tic
a lly . She b lu rte d some w ild g ib
berish th a t fo re to ld ris in g hyste
ria ; then suddenly was quiet.
"So you did it , ” she said slowly.
“ M y God, I d id n ’ t th in k you had
the guts. You fool, you u tte r fool.
She isn’ t w o rth it, you know—not
w o rth i t . ”
W hy Sybil's Life
Was Spared
Stephen Goes Quietly
To Prison
B y th is tim e D onlevy was ra ttle d .
He m oved in on Stephen w ith a
c irc le o f his men.
He gave the
charge so low i t was h a rd ly a udi
ble. H is voice dropped fo r an in
te rm in a b le
m inute
before
he
stepped back. As he did, M cC ale
saw B igelow ’ s ja w move, his head
come up slow ly. T ire d , fu rtiv e eyes
l i t up as he looked aw ay fro m the
group th a t surrounded h im . A sin
gle te a r ran out of the co rn e r of
an eye.
He got to his feet, lo w e rin g his
head as he slow ly turned to take
them a ll in. No one moved tow ard
h im . He gave them a contem ptu
ous glare. F in a lly he turned to V ic
to ria and spoke his la st words in
th e ir presence.
“ Y ou’ H te ll—M o th e r? ” His voice
broke.
She nodded.
“ L e t’ s go,” said D onlevy.
T hey took h im away.
They had le ft the B igelow house
in a sto rm o f questions fro m the firs t
re p o rte rs on the scene, in the din of
explosions
fro m
photographers’
flash bulbs, in the confusion o f the
com ings and goings o f o ffic ia ls fro m
p olice h e a d q u a rte rs and the d is tric t
a tto rn e y 's office. M cC ale was look- j
in g fo rw a rd to the peace and q u ie t
o f his own a p a rtm e n t.
" O f course. Funny. A ll the way
along the line, e v e ry th in g pointed
to the s a ilo r angle. I t w a sn 't u n til
I found the black s ilk square in
the a ttic th a t I realized w hat I had
missed
It was a ke rch ie f, you
know, the kind sailors w ear knotted
about th e ir necks. When I realized
w hat it was, the whole puzzle fe ll
into focus.
There was a s a ilo r
lounging near the gate across fro m
the house on the afternoon o f the
m u rd e r.
Then Miss B igelow had
told me that Stephen had once ru n
away and jo in e d the navy. He even
mentioned the fa c t him self. Then
there was the p ictu re m issin g fro m
Shari L y n n 's w all. The o n ly sa ilo r
in a ll those u niform s.
Stephen's
photograph, o f course. The p ic tu re
was taken years and years ago—
not a v e ry good one—but i f I had
given it m ore than a cu rso ry glance
the nig h t I saw it at S hari L yn n 's,
I th in k I w ould have recognized
h im .”
"L o rd . The whole business was
out in the open a ll the tim e ." This
fro m Rocky.
“ Uh uh.
T h a t's w here he was
clever. I t was alm ost too out in the
open. Stephen to ld no lies
He ad
m itte d being jealous o f K aren. E v
e ry th in g he did was lo g ica l, you
know, except a tta c k in g his m other.
He shouldn't have done that, be
cause he c o u ld n 't fo llo w through on
it. He d id n 't have the h e a rt to k ill
her. I t showed th a t the k ille r had
a fondness fo r S yb il th a t ke p t h im
fro m destroying her. T hat d efinite
ly put the finger on S tephen."
x
7. W hat is a lam a?
8. Do je lly fis h v a ry
size?
g re a tly
in
said—”
THiUesi
x
8. Yes, fro m th a t o t a pinhead
to a g re a t m ass seven and one-
h a lf feet across.
1
How To Relieve
Bronchitis
Creomulslon relieves promptly be
cause It goes right to the scat of the
trouble to help loosen and expel
germ laden phlegm, and aid nature
to soothe and heal raw, tender. In
flamed bronchial m u cou s m em
branes. Tell your druggist to sell you
a bottle of Creomulslon with the un
derstanding you must like the way It
quickly allays the cough or you are
to have your money back.
It All Ends
If ith a Kiss
LRST LOVER
M ove Up
“ D id you shave th is m o rn in g ? ”
“ Yes, s ir . "
“ N e x t tim e stand close r to the
ra z o r.”
“A
w onderful
p a r t y !"
Susan
W hat She Said
B la n kc’ s rye s were shining as she
I t t i b t r — Johnny, g i f t " it ih t
spoke
" I ca n 't im agine yo u r Un
lorm u ln for l u l t r ,
cle W ill g ivin g a p a rty —and on New
Johnny— I I I JKLM NO.
Absent-minded Professor — Will
I'en th tr— n hnl n rt yon J n v m g at?
Y e a r's Eve, at th a tl T h is is one
all of those absent please stand
Johnny — I ’«« ■««</ y tile r J n y lb -I it
puzzle that has me s tu m p e d !”
up?
i ni II Io (),
Handsome Douglass Wilson, w ith
whom she was s ittin g out the dance,
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nodded agreem ent. T here was a m
A S K
M
E
I
A quiz with answers offering ?
ple reason fo r Susan's b e w ild e r
ment. Never, u n til tonight, hud his
Uncle W ill dem onstrated unything
j A N O T H E R
: information on various subjects J
but com plete c ritic is m
fo r the
younger generation. Even the most
r x . ex . e x . ( x . <x- <x. ( x . <x_ ( x . <x. <x. f x . ( x . <x. <x.
< x . <x. <x. f x .
ex . <x. ex . <x. <x. <x. <x. f x - < x . <x- < ~. < .
<x.
rx .
sim ple pleasures o f youth had draw n
his frow n. B ut to n ig h t, fo r no ap
1. U n ite d States postal m oney
The A m u /e rt
parent reason, he hud p e rfo rm e d a
com plete about-face and opened o rd e rs w ere firs t issued d u rin g
1.
The
C
iv il w a r.
his own home to Doug's friends The w h a t w ar?
2. The bouquet o f a w ine re fe rs
2. The bouquet o f n w ine re fe rs to its a ro m a .
big, gloom y house, sile n t fo r years
save fo r the guarded tre u d of se rv to w hat?
3. A ta b le t o f law .
3. W hat does the Statue o f L ib
ants, rang tonight w ith gaiety and
4. Yes. The In d ia n s had p la n te d
e rty hold in her left hand?
la ughter!
it am ong th e ir co rn long before
R e tu rn in g fro m the c ity . U ncle
4. Was the p u m p k in here when C olum bus a rriv e d .
W ill had brought horns, whistles, C olum bus cam e to A m e ric a ?
5. I t is 110 degrees below zero.
s illy caps and bulloons fo r the p a rty.
5. H ow cold is d ry ice?
6. A n a u t i c a l mil«.- is III HI 2 feet
And m ost am azing o f a ll, tonight
6. H ow m uch longer is a n a u ti lon ge r than a land m ile .
his usually g rim face was w reathed ca l m ile th a n a land m ile?
7. A B u d d h is t p rie st.
Rocky said, s u rp ris in g ly . “ He was
lu c k y about the false clues, too,
boss. He d id n 't tr y to leave any
h im s e lf—false ones—to p o in t anoth
er w ay, lik e m ost m u rd e re rs do.
There was the red w ig and e v e ry
body being in the same lo c a lity a t
ju s t the rig h t tim e to come under
suspicion. Those things ju s t hap- ln sm lle s- He seemed to be enjoy-
pened. A ll the confusion it caused Ing the evenir>8 llke a schoolboy
was lu c k y fo r h im —fo r a w hile.
" I t s 0,6 m ost puzzling th in g !”
a n yw a y.”
Susan repeated.
“ T h a t's c e rta in ly rig h t.
He al-
She sm iled as Doug pressed her
m ost got aw ay w ith b u m ping m e hand, re m e m b e rin g suddenly how
off. too.”
i m uch she loved h im , ye t how d if-
“ H e'd never been caught i f he'd h cl,lt Uncle W ill had m ade th e ir re
k ille d yo u ,” said Ann.
| lationship. Doug had liv e d there in
“ Oh, I d o n 't know.
D o n le vy's ' tkie big house since his parents died,
s m a rt and he would have plugged Now, grown up, he was m anaging
aw ay u n til he got the rig h t line, no the estate.
do u b t.”
I “ U ncle W ill ju s t began m aking
“ M aybe.” She sounded skeptical, preparations fo r the p a rty when he
"G ood heavens.
It's five o’ clock. , cam e back fro m New Y o rk .” Doug
W hat about you and y o u r good nam e ! said.
“ B u t he hasn't told me a
now ?”
She grinned a t McCale. j w ord. I'm as m uch in the d ark as
R ocky tilte d his b ulk fro m his yo u ' Sue!
ch a ir, saying, " I ' l l mosey along, to o .! They were silent a m om ent. “ I'm
Come on, Ann. I ' l l d rop y o u ."
a fra id th a t to m o rro w he’ll tu rn back
“ You get rig h t in to bed now. ln t0 U n cle G rouch,” he continued.
D uke.” she ordered. “ I hope you’ re
^ust can t re m e m b e r U ncle W ill
going to be a ll rig h t. You a re n 't e ver ’ m ilin g before. . . . B ut le t's
ru n n in g a fe ve r are you?”
about you.
D a rlin g , I d o n 't
She put her hand on his forehead care i f he ls °PP°sed to young peo-
and, bending o ver suddenly, gave ple g e ttin 8 m a rrie d . I'm going to
h im a long kiss.
te ll h im the tru th to m o rro w . I d o n 't
“ I ’m
fine,”
answered M cCale c a re if — ”
h a p p ily , “ but i f you w ant m y tern-
"So you don’t care, eh?” Uncle
p e ra tu re to go up, y o u 're c e rta in ly W ill was suddenly standing beside
them , his expression threatening.
doing the rig h t th in g .”
“ Y ou’ re w illin g to defy m e ? " In j
(T H E E N D )
the shadows they were unable to
see the tw in k lin g in his eyes.
“ W ell, it's the only th in g we can
do,” Doug answered h o tly. "Y o u —
yo u 're so h ard about e ve ryth in g , we
have to de fy you, since you put It
th a t w a y .”
“ You d o n 't have to, s o n !" U ncle j
W ill had come closer and placed an
a rm around each of th e ir shoulders, j
“ You can m a rry Susan ju s t as soon
as you w ant to— ”
“ B ut, we don’t u n d e rsta n d ," Doug
gasped. “ Why, only a week ago you
BY “ffzien
In vo lve d
M rs. B la c k We re u lly m ust get
a new c a r, John.
M r. B la c k — W h a t—when w e 're
s till p a yin g in s ta llm e n ts on the
c a r I exchanged fo r the c a r 1 sold
in p a rt p aym en t fo r the c u r w e've
got now?
“ I said those things d e lib e ra te ly,
c h ild re n .” U ncle W ill in te rru p te d .
"Y o u see, th e re ’ s som ething I
haven’ t been able to te ll you u n til
tonight, Doug. When y o u r fa th e r
died, m a k in g me y o u r guardian,
he stip u la te d th a t you were to in
h e rit his estate only i f you rem ained
single u n til January 1 this com ing
y e a r—th a t is, u n til m id n ig h t tonight.
A t the same tim e , fo r some pecu
lia r reason, he stipulated th a t you
w e re n 't to be told about this p ro v i
sion— so i f I ’d let you get m a rrie d
sooner, yo u 'd have lost e verything.
I t was a strange p ro visio n th a t he
m ade in his w ill,” he concluded.
“ B u t i t ’ s w orked out sa tisfa cto r
C R E O M U L S IO N
for Coughs, Chest Colds, B ronchi ti>
Sñnp/y ¿/efo/eess
R A IS IN B U N S
r
* *
* '•
/ *
X*
-s
L i» i
• Melty-rich, piping hot Raisin Buns
— made with Fleischmann’s Fast Ris
ing Dry Yeast! IF YOU BAKE AT
HOME —use it to help you turn out
delicious breads at a moment's notice.
Stays fresh for weeks on your pantry
shelf—ready for quick action. Dissolve
according to directions—then use as
fresh yeast At your grocer’s.
11
•ray»
»•«« n i
Stays fresh -on your panfry shelf
Ifou/c (pn/iA/moL S&atrdh'..
ûhuj, IE . S - SaoinqA. dBond&J
J í T l
ily. . . .”
Ric McFarlane, a private in the U. S. army, picked
a "lemon" for a bride— a woman who was out to
get Ric's share of Buzzard's Hill farm before he
was discharged from the army. But . . . an old
beau comes to call on Julia McFarlane, Ric's
mother, in the nick of time.
You will enjoy this poignant story of the
Doug was gasping. "A n d th a t’ s
w hy yo u ’ ve been so opposed to m y
m a rry in g Sue?” he asked.
“ T h a t's rig h t, D oug,” he nodded.
’ T ’ve wanted so badly to te ll you
these past few months, b u t you see,
I couldn’ t—u n til to n ig h t!”
He p ulled h im s e lf loose fro m th e ir
grasp.
“ Come along, you young
s te rs !” he shouted gayly.
‘ T ’ ve
thought o f som ething to c lim a x this
p a rty. I t ’ s ju s t tw o m inutes to m id
n ig h t, and I'm going to announce
yo u r engagem ent!
H appy New
Y e a r!”
McFarlane family, one of Helen Topping Miller's
Japan Celebrates New
best.
(fie-
Su/ui. Jo fhuuL
LAST LOVER
BEGINNING NEXT ISSUE
Year's Fourteen Days
A t least 14 days are needed in j
Japan to celebrate the com ing of
! the new ye a r. D u rin g the fe stiva l j
streets are made liv e ly by s tilt
w a lkin g , top-spinning o r ba ll-p la yin g .
W hile the youths are enjoying the
outdoor sports, the older people
w rite New Y e a r's poems o r p la y
games. A fte r tw o weeks o f re v e lry
the b u rn in g o f decorations end the
celebration.
I
• R| b ’r ® f n ' G° y fo r Rently warm ing, soothing,
speedy re lie f from cold discom fort! Ben-Gay contains
up to 2>/2 tim es more o f those famous pain-relieving
ingredients known to every d o c to r-m e th y l salicylate
and m en tho l—than five other w id e ly offered rub-ins
In sist on genuine Ben Gay, the o riginal Baume
Analgesique. I t acts fast!
U m
fo r P ain d e e t o RHEUMATISM, MUSCLE ACHE, and STRAWS.
Ask fo r Mild Ben-Cay fo r Children.
ty/M ...
♦ &
4