Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1934)
PAGE SIX MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON, TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1934. MOCKING HOUSE BY WALTER C. BROWN Chapter 63) RECONCILIATION H ARPER put Aline Croyden's ring away In the pocket that held the little key to Richard Croy den'i piano. The artist's renuncia tion of his beloved Instrument bad been a poignant gesture. Indeed, Justly or unjustly, the dead ride bard I Harper meditated sourly to himself as he mounted the stairs to spread bis thankless news through the bouse. He tapped on the door of Mrs. Dufresne's room, deciding tbat she was entitled to be told Bret. After that painful Interview be sought out the master of the bouse and found blm In the upstairs II' brary, the scene of his mocking chal lenge of the evening before. Pierre Dufresne was staring moodily out the window when the detective en tered. His face, too, proclaimed the stress and strain of restless hours tbat should have beon devoted to sleep. In plain, unadorned phases Ser geant Harper told the story of the murders. As he talked, Pierre Du fresne paced up and down, exclaim ing, Interrupting with questions, struggling over details wltb a brain tagged from Its own unjust but bard- spurred woes. At times he could hardly credit the tale. "Waltl Walt!" he cried, poured himself a drink and downed It at a gulp. Then he resumed his nervous pacing, firing questions again and again at the detective. When he had finished bis story, Harper said, "Now, Mr. Dufresne, perhaps you will explain your own movements after you got out of the Austerllts? I know you had every Intention of murdering the man whom you suspected was meeting your wife In this house, what hap pened?" . Dufresne flung himself Into a chair. "You wero right, Harper. got out of the Austerllts as you de scribed. Between the alibi I bad pre pared and the letters I had written to myself I felt quite certain that. I would never be suspected, no mat ter what happened. , "I took a taxi and got out some distance from here. I bad been keep ing watch on that sand-urn and I knew a meeting had been arranged for that night I walked past the house. There was no light, no sign of life, and there were no foot prints leading up to the door. I hid behind a wall, watching. It was quite ' dark. "I waited, but nothing happened, I was furious because I had been , outwitted again. Thon I saw a police man oomlng along the street. He was the first person I had seen In the street at all. To my astonish ment, ho turned In at the gate as though he had business here. "He went up the steps and en tered the house, although I couldn't see who bad opened the door. I was greatly puszled. I watched and wait ed, but the policeman didn't come out. I don't know how long I hid behind the wall, but It must have been quite a while, for I began to , get stiff with cold. "Suddenly, the front door began Mo bang In the wind. When tbat kept fp I grew frightened at the pros tact, I knew that something un cjual must have happened and I Tfcntod to keep clear of It. How wald I have explained my absence Sm the hotolT So I loft my hiding ,ace and walked until I caught a ul that brought me back to the wvntor of the city, I had not been Ju.very long before you arrived. P"'When you brought me up here view the bodies 1 couldn't under tiand halt of what I saw and hoard fnd I've boon trying ever since to ilgurs out what really took place In that room." J TTARPER nodded. "That shows what totally dlltorent meanings can be drawn from the simplest things. The notes left In that urn were construed In a different man ner by every one who found out about them. "Only Mrs. Croyden and your wife knew the real truth about them. At any time a frank discussion would have cleared it all up. instead, It was allowed to foster in secrecy. Richard Croydon, the real victim of the whole Intrigue, didn't know ot their oxlstence until much later." The dotectlve looked Plorre Du fresne squarely In the eyes. "I am going to lay aside my role as police officer for a few seconds," he stated, "and take the liberty ot talking to you as man to man, You may resent what 1 am going to say but I shall not apologlie tor my presumption. NOMAD TEST PILOT, E ON SHORT Awaiting the completion of a new Douglas 14-pasenger airplane at Santa Monica, Calif, to be taken to Santiago, Chile, Warren B. Smith, chief pilot for the southern division ot the Pan-American Orace Airways, and Mrs. Smith are vacationing In outturn Oregon, with relatives. Mr. Smith, who formerly barn stormed with the late Ive McKlnney In this section, resided weat of Cen tral Point, before leaving here six yeart ago. He has been with the Airways for the past s'.fc years. Mrs. Smlt'i Is the daughter of Mr. and Mra. A. W. Walker. The Smiths arrived at Miami, Wa May 18 by plane, and from there You know now that you gravely mis Judged your wife. Had you acted with the slightest degree ot sanity and understanding both of you would have been spared a great deal of suffering." , Harper flung out bis hsnd to check Dufresne's rising retort, "Walt until I bave finished. I talked with her Just before I came to this room and sbe explained to me all that she knew. She bad brooded and worried over her sister's plight until she was nearly frantic, not knowing what would happen next. Loyalty to her sister's secret kept her silent and your unaccountable attitude made It Impossible to turn to you for help. Knowing the truth of It herself, she never dreamed that you bad found out about the notes and were accus ing ber In your mind, "When you telephoned and told her about the ambush she was terri fied. She thought that this H.D. was at the bottom of It. From her sis ter's account she knew that he was capable ot nearly anything. She saw that a terrible crisis was at hand, but she didn't know what to do nor which way to turn. She knew about the meeting that night, but this other thing arose too suddenly for her to formulate any plans. "Then came the Are at Mrs. Mop lock's house and she saw the oppor tunlty to slip away unobserved la the contusion. Without thinking, she dashed blindly out of the house, not even properly dressed against the storm. It was a gesture ot panic and It came to nothing. The wind, the snow, the cold were too much for her overwrought state. "Sbe floundered In the storm af ter a short distance and had to turn back. That Is ber story, Mr. Du fresne, and It Is clean and clear. I leave it to your own conscience to point out what amends you owe her for your unwarranted lack ot faith." "fOU know a devil of a lot ot I things, don't you, Harper?" Du fresne asked In a surly voice, reach ing tor the decanter and glass. "Forty-eight hours have revealed more to me about what was really happening In this house than any of you could discover in months of suspicion, quarrels, and Jealous ac cusation," Harper answered quietly. "And If you were half a man you would not be sitting there now brooding, trying to drug your con science with liquor." The glass stood poised, halfway to Dufresne's lips. "Do you really think so?" he queried sardonically. "What would you suggest?" ' "I'd suggest that you go Imme diately and make your peace with your wife. She'll probably be gen erous enough to forgive and forget everything and kill the tatted calf over the prodigal's return to sanity. That's all I have to say, Mr, Du fresne. I shall not step out ot char acter again." Pierre Dufresne frowned, then he laughed, and the smile that Harper had seen.but rarely transformed bis face. He put down the glass un tested and rose from his chair with Ill-concealed resolution! "Will you wait here for a few minutes, Harper? I want to go down town with you, to arrange things tor Richard and give him what help I can." "I'll wait for you," Harper prom lsed. Although the "few minutes" lengthened considerably and the master of the house bad not re turned, the detective was not Im patient, The delay, he mused, wai In a good cause. He browsed along i the book shelves and taking out one ot the volumes, sat down on the broad win-dow-soat. The morning sun began to edge Its way through the leaded glass panes as he Idly turned the psges. Harpr looked up at the sound of footsteps, but It waa old Andrews, and not Dufrosne, who entered the room. The gray-haired butler had a message tor him. "Mr. Dufresne said he would be ready In a minute, sir." Andrews hovered over the tray by the armchair, wbere Dufresne's lssl drink stood untouched. "Shall I re move this, sir?" "Yes, Andrews and 1 think It will be quite all right to take the decan ter along with It." They smiled at each other In sud den understanding. Then the old man bowed to Sergeant Stophen Harper and It was not the stiff nod by which be drew the line between his master's world and everything tbat lay outside. fCopKrijsl, IM, by trailer C. Brown) Tn Exb motored to Hew York, attended "A I Century of Progress' exposition at ! Chicago, and continued on to Med-! ford. Mr. Smith aald today that the ' airplane company la having three new ahlpa bunt, and he la to fly : the first one back to South America The flight from Montevideo, In Uruguay, across to Arte. Chile. which la In the extreme northwest- I ern part of the country, Is 180O miles, ' and the Journey takea two daya, he stated. United States mall and pas sengers are carried on the planea. Two tloorta, one on the Argentina I aide, and one on the Chilean aide. within the last few weeks, have washed out much of the railroad track, delaying the travel by train. At the present time the company I Is operating six trl-motor Fords on the division, but these will be taken off the long flights, and used only for short trips, when the new planes are put In service, according to Mr. Smith. The new ship, he said, will prob ably be completed between the 18th I of July and the 1st of August, and I the Smiths will thin fly back to I i Santiago, TAX LIMITATION no PORTLAND, July 3. (AP) Carl H. Cover, field manager of the Tax Limitation League of Oregon, an , nounced here today that a tax limi tation amendment, signed by 40,000 ' petitioners, will be presented to the ! electorate at the November election. Started first by the Portland Realty Board, the move to limit property taxes In Oregon resulted In organization of the tax league, Cover said. He stated every county In the state turned In a long list of names In the petitions. The working of the amendment, as It will be carried on the November general eltctlon ballot, follows: "Limitation or taxes on taxable prop erty constitutional 'amendment; pur pose limiting taxable property as sessment to half Us cash value; lim iting total taxes by state, county, school district and city or town ex cepting for payment of existing in debtedness, and taxes for any year upon two-thirds vote of people, to the following number of mills each year per dollar of assessed valuation: due, 1935, 20 mills; 1037, 19 mills; 1038, 18 mills; 1030, 17 mills; 1040. 10 mills; any year thereafter, 16 mills; respective levies not to exceed the following proportions of state tax: state, 10 per cent; county, 25 per cent; school district, 26 per cent; city or town, 40 per cent." E WASHINGTON, july 3 (AP) NRA still had not received a signed letter or blue eagle compliance from Henry Ford today, though a local dealer in dicated his Intention to bid on ap proximately 2,000,000 or war depart ment contracts. R. P. Sabine, of the Northwest Mo tor company, "a Ford dealer, and his attorney, F. Hunter Creesh, conferred at NRA headquarters with I. D. Evereltt In the automotive section. It was thought Sabine's bid might be submitted conditionally subject to possible receipt of the signed letter of compliance. NRA officials said they had no In- S 'MATTER POP H5 I BRINGING OP FATHER f I WALL-MatTi ( TU-r WomV ) W, " MOKIH-MSB-ll 7" "TV ". ( O Vl IL'tOo-T ; sV MlLs E i. Toepyright, 19M, by The Bell syndicate, Inc.) TAILSPIN TOMMY "Midnight Patrol" in Danger! huRHS THE (SWEAT SUNS!"0 V7 XWSTT IT DIDN'T HIT THE W WEVE HOT TO tV S FPU fcLMMG OF THE THAT SanB IS ) Iggggg ( BUILDING- BUT CL06E Y I if 6ET THOSE JT f f ShlZ usrepsoDEOF soins to hit s ' JL Sggts srr it--- wljdr fTv u TS V Js i F,Lr1 cans "ff. St r VlONSHT PATROL" THE CUTTING TV ' s.V "t-t-t C I cur GEFOK &( C ML, 1 AKALBOna ROOM 4J ;fe rTkC J, S THE FIRE CZ?t, . 3 ACCtOSNTALLY rjgS4SSSBi l&Yk&l rMsOAMk IS REACHES ksVSJ 4weu. g p p THE NEBBS Mobbe W'" RUOV AIWT RIGHT S5-igJ f SHE COOCOKJrT OO THAT TO BUT tOMfV DID I MAveWV . ABOUT THAT - THEV WH!irIgP I Me - EBBE SHE'S OUST PIWDIKJ& VBLW TUAT 5UITOF ytWiMi A aimS- moboov mm iirrin f-'a' our that awe does Love Me ) clothcs mod ho to alu -- EMOOoH TO SET MOSJE.V , ' f - IT TAKES SOME WOMELM A. LOWS M3 '.TJS . THPHs5Sl2JtM ' V PRKTEK1D1KJ' TWEV'RE . TIME TO MAKE- OP THeiW. 1 ) ttKE BOV1K1CS A POLI CEMAM 'Si jrWMjfKHHS y.NCT SICK. J" ,4, L MIMOS T UNIFORM BECAUSE S OM E V tgW -3 POUTIOArvJ II ?Jbm SoMrRuL,?OKVH I SUPPOSE YOU II VEA' l'M FROM 11 I AM' AIN'T 7. A OONIT TOO U I A-p ssFj'nr f tti I have ahs-L1J , Lsr- ffdr- rrr" "m " A Pi in t cr L wvmb?sarb r rc home. r ur dlcation that the letter of compliance approved Saturday by Hugh 8. John son would not be signed by a re sponsible Ford Motor official, but said they new of no person In the capital qualified to sign for Ford. IS PORTLAND, July 3. (AP) Pro jects to cost more than $57,000 were approved by the state emergency re lief administration here yesterday. Recreational work at Salem, Albany and Oregon City was authorised; CCC educational work at the Wast Timber camp and Oregon camp was approved, and school repaln In some districts was undertaken. The largest enterprise approved was for enlargement of the Powell hurst school near Portland. BOY IS DROWNED IN WATERS OF UMPQUA ROSEBURO, Ore ..July 8. (AP) Roe Edwin Harris, 6, son of Mr. and Mrs. Foxx Floyd Harris, residents of the Tyee district, 36 miles vest of Roseburg, was drowned Sunday night while swimming with members of bla family In the Umpqua river. He Is survived by his parentis, four sisters and a brother. Wuffl STANDARD AOUNEWJ,. k UNSURPASSED IN JlwANTED 1 , I .1 1 - 1-11 - 1 1 ii I 1 DANGER OE FIRE HALTS L( . SEATTLE, July 1-CAP)-All log- glng operations In western Washing- ton were under ordera today to shut down today and tomorrow as a fire protection measure, under authority given In the NRA lumber code. The order waa given last night by C. S. Co wo, chief fire warden for the Washington Forest Fife association. It waa believed to be the first such action ever takn In the west. SALEM, Ore.. July S. (AP) Lynn Cronemlller, state forester, said today that although no lumber mill in Ore gon la closed because of the forest fir hazard, some may have to be closed down If present conditions continue after July 4. Three weeks ago all mills In the Clackamas and Marion county forest association were ordered closed for several days. The order later was re voked. Underwear Was His Bank. ' DOVER, O. (UP) County officials Investigating the sudden death of Vincent Sakay, 75. at New Cumber-, land, near here, found In a Dover fu neral home $2240 In piece of rubber tube sewed to underwear worn by the man at the time of his death. Sued for Rabbit's Death. BERLIN, N. J. (UP) A dog killed a prize rabbit owned by Fred Robin son. Now Robinson is trying to col lect $4 from the borough council for the loss of the rabbit, claiming bor- jough officials were to blame for allow- i Ing dogs to run loose, j UnmUzzlel. I unlicensed and WASHINGTON, July 3 (AP) Jos eph P. Kennedy, New York financier today waa chosen chairman of the new securities and exchange commis sion after a two hour conference among the democratic members of the commission. DIFFICULT DECISIONS E John T. Ross, who resides on route one, 3',i miles from Med lord, has placed an attractive display In the Chamber of Commerce window, of numerous articles he has made from madrons, or laurel wood, red oak, and white oak. The candlesticks, bowls, stands and boxes are fashioned from wood found m this section ot the country. Al though highly polished, all are fin ished in their natural eolorlnga, and are quite attractive. Articles made from the white oak, V0NDSR1N6 WHAT To DO WlTV) NiMH CONES Which you have bought as a treat for the ball team which at the moment is disappearing around the corner IN PURSUIT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. (Copyright, 1934, by The Bell Syndicate, Inc.) taken across the grain, then others of a vertical finish were attracting visitors at the Chamber, of Commerce. CCC MEMBER KILLED -IN FALL OUT WINDOW PORTLAND, Ore., July 8. (AP) Dave Gregory, 38, an Indian from the Warm Sprlnga CCO camp, was fatally Injured here last night when he fell from a second floor tire escape In a rooming house. His neck was broken, and his skull fractured. Police and witnesses said he was Intoxicated. Beekeepera aay the queen cells should be cut at regular Intervals of seven days to prevent the hives from swsrmlng. Use Mall Tribune want ads. By GLUYAS WILLIAMS 6U!Yfl? By 0. M. Payn By Hal Forrest By Sol Hess By Oeores McManm
