KCGT5 ETGHT
lnRDFORD MAIL TTJTBTTNE, lEPFORD, (TRFIOV. -WEDNESDAY. MAY 19. 1937.
hv r.LUYAS WILLIAMS
SEATING ARRANGEMENTS
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
Tot further proof addreaa the author, Inclosing a stamped envelope for reply. Reg. TJ. 8. Pat Off.
on tog db.vuu ::,
ri
SVIIL. ... - wild, norm
nlplit 111 f arnnslon Bluff. hom I
o Michael't aunt, when beautiul '
. Jude Bllnshop Is shot to dfolh m :
Iht Muff. MUc; dislocates his
shouldsr huntiTia for th missing .
Skipper, Ms tall and cucedv
' younger aunt She fume up with
- an alibi Aunt Martha, stout, and
prudish, hat a few penteet tan
trum. Cay Palmer, Mike'e red-
headed etseetheart, iceepe airly
calm. Next morning we search the ,
grounds, but find no intruder. ',
Aunt Martha gets me to lead our j
, group investigation, to J send
everyone to his room and try to
puzzle things out with pencil and
paper.
Chapter 12
Slow, Creeping Step
A T LAST 1 put down the pencil.
i Wear ly I read over that Dinar.
fWhoT What? Why? It occurred to
me tnat it is much easier to solve im
aginary problems than eal ones, and
this was all too real. I helped myself
to another drink
On a fresh piece of paper I wrote
MOTIVE in large capitals and con
sidered. M. farrlngton? Obviously
not. Jude was M Farrlnfton's choice
of the year for Mlchaal. If the old
lady had any conceivable reason far
wishing Jude out of the way, why send
for us to swell the number of state's
.witnesses? The Skipper? She had
certainly asked me to keep Mike away
from Juda for some reason. That she
would go to the length of murder to
gain her obscure end, 1 was not pre
pared to believe. Michael? He had
never lost his head over Jude, but
that was hardl.t a suspicious cir
cumstance. Again that Ute-i-tete in the game
room loomed oefore me. 1 discounted
it altogether. Jude and Mike had been
frlenda all then Uvea. There were a
million things they might have talked
about. Gay? She had certainly been
in a rage, but that was nothing un
usual. The furniture might suffer
from Gay's disposition, but the idea
of murder was preposterous.
The servants? 1 ticked them off on
my Angers Hlgglna (ridiculous).
William (pointless). Cook (more
pointless), Annie (absurd).
Such waa my state of mind that 1
gravely considered any possible mo
tive of my own before 1 fully realised
what I waa aclng. t left a blank
after the word MOTlVt and wrote
WEAPON also In large letters.
Again I waa at a standstill. 1 wrote,
"Revolver In the possession of Hlg
glns. All the regular household awara
of It." Sitting back, i reviewed my
handiwork. Then I rang for Higgina.
"Have you kept careful watch of the
Servants?"
"1 have, sir. They are all together
m the kitchen."
"Good. Rouse the rest of the house
and tell them I'd like to see them right
away."
It occurred to me as 1 listened to
his nlow shuffle up the stairs that 1
was probably making a mistake In
questioning them In one another's
hearing. And yet 1 was beginning to
feel that the best way to p-otect that
unhappy party waa to keer. Its mem
bers all together J would have more
luck with Michael anyway if the Skip
per v ere present. He would never He
to. her. But If he were shielding her?
Suddenly x decided to recall Hlgglns
and to approach the whole thing from
I different angle. Too late. The door
opened and Gay walked In.
Prowling In The Ball '
."lOOD Lord, Jim, don't do that
VJ again!"
"Do what?" .
"Leave us all caged up like that and
go prowling around In he hall. It's
amusing to read about, out right now
it's not so darned funny."
I stared at her. "You heard someone
In the hall?"
"Certainly. Do you think I'm deaf?
I heard you coma up and I heard you
go down. You ought to give a Hal
lowe'en party some time. The guests
would be carried out in dozens."
"They're always carried out when
he gets alerted." said Michael from
the door. "What's the big Idea? Some
fancy thlrd-degreelng. or what?"
1 tried not to look as if I had lust
seen a king cobra.
"Oh," I said, "you heard something,
too?"
"Sherlock!" from Michael.
The Skipper and M. Farrlngton
coming in together saved us from an
other argument. They both looked
tired and worried. I didn't wait for
comments.
"Were any of you outside of your
rooms after you went upstairs?" I
demanded.
M. Farrlngton answered promptly.
"Yes, I've been in Barbara's room all
along. I was nervous."
"Did you go through the hall?"
"Why, no. Did you want?"
The Skipper interrupted. "What's
the matter. Jim?"
"Nothing." I snapped and once more
rang for Hlgglns. The silence was
charged with many things. 1 am
afraid I was a little disappointed when
he Anally did appear.
"Higgina, were you In the upper
hall at any time after 1 instructed you
to watch the servants?"
"Why, yes, sir. Just now when you
requested me "
"I know. But were you there at any
other time or could any of the ser
vants have been there?"
"No, sir, I'm positive."
I digested that slowly. "Aunt Mar
thaSkipper, old either of you hear
anything unusual while you were up
stairs?" Their negatives were prompt Some
one then must have come up those
stairs and gone down the ball toward
the east end of the house, since Mike
had heard it and the aunts had not
Gay's room was opposite the head of
the stairs. I whirled on her.
"You heard this person come up
and go down?"
She shrugged Impatiently. "Really,
Jim, you're too obvious. You could
be heard from here to the mainland
slow, creeping steps aa when the
maniac la about to grab the heroine
by the hair. You should have shrieked
occasionally for local color."
It Is one thing to have your ficti
tious hero suspected by every person
present it is quite enother to be sus
pected yourselt by your own room
mate and his fiancee.
"Look here," 1 said, "you can believe
me or not just as you like, but I
haven't been up those stairs since
lunch time."
She didn't oelleve me. 1 could see
it in her face and I could see it in
Michael's.
"Hlggins herd will tell you" 1 be
gan hotly, but Gay intern pted.
"Oh, don't perjure Hlgglns. It would
have worked oetter If you'd only bad
sense enough to"
From somewhere In the rear of the
house a fullthroatcd scream rang hor
ribly through the hall,
A Low, Hysterical Giggle
INTO the startled silence that fol
lowed that frightful sound, came a
low, hysterical giggle. The hair on my
neck was beginning to prickle, i could
see Hlgglns' bulging eyes. It was M.
Farrlngton, collapsed In a chair, her
head in her hands, rocking spasmodi
cally back and forth. Michael movej
mechanically. - ,
"Stop It! Stop Itl With his good arm
he seized her shoulder and shook it
roughly.
"Quletl" the Skipper said. The ef
fect was Instantaneous. At off hours
when 1 have had one drink too many
1 can still see that scen. Michael half
bent over hla aunt's chair. Gay stiffly
erect, and myself gripping the edge or
the desk, while all eyes were riveted
on the Skipper's haggard face. Half
turned away from us, she stood star
ing toward the hall door. Waiting.
Waiting for uihot?
1 didn't walk across that room. J
bolted for the door. If the devil him
self had been In that hall, I would
rather have encountered him than en
dure that wathhi another minute.
The devil, fortunately or otherwise,
was not in the hall. Nor was anyone
else. The scream had come from the
kitchen and In that direction I gal
loped as fast as my legs would carry
me. The door of the servants' dining
room crashed open to my hand.
In the half light from the hall I
could see that the room was empty,
but I could also see the swinging door
leading Into the kitchen moving, as if
someone had Just gone through it
Beyond that door 1 could hear the
sound of heavy footsteps coming,
seemingly, from a point halfway be
tween the floor and the ceiling. One
moment only i hesitated to see Hlg
glns following me In a labored dog
trot Then 1 went througr that door.
Directly against the nearest wall
ran the staircase to the servants' quar
ters and halfway up It stood William
in his shirt-sleeves, one half of his
face covered with lather and a razor
In hla hand. He was breathing heavily
and his staring eyes were fixed on
something on the floor, hidden from
my sight by the kitchen table. Our
eyes met for the fraction of a second.
"Gawd!" said William hoarsely.
Almost I had ceased to feel. Cer
tainly 1 walked around thai table with
as few qualms as 1 might have stepped
to It tor a clgaiitte. Lying in a gro
tesque heap on the floor war the mam
moth figure of Cook. Her arms were
sprawled horribly and blood waa flow
ing from a huge gash on her fore
head. As I knell beside her. William
came heavily down the stairs and
Higgina panted through the dining
room. 1 felt for her heart
tCcpvrloM. 117. Illlir Tyltr)
Annie the maid Is found bound and
gagged, tomorrow
SPEED OPENING OF
10
nOSEBtma. Or.. May iTV
Through arrniagemenu mtde today
with th ktatc highway commiMtoii.
equipment haa been aecured (or uae
In an effort to open the road from
Union Creek to Diamond lake, ac
cording to V. V. Harpham, m per visor
of the Umpqua national forest.
It la hoped, Harpham. Mid. to have
the road open to travel by Sunday,
when the fishing aruon open .t the
lake.
Lacking equipment suitable (or re
moving anow from the road, '(he for
et eervlce, Harpham report has ae
cured use of the highway depart
ment't rotary tno plow '.orated at
Union Creek. Snow depthfi up to 40
inrhee are reported on the road
which, however, la clear to Mulr
creek, five milea from the Junction
Oround Immediately around Ola
tr.ond lake free from enow. Harp
ham aald he waa edvued, but nearby
..now depth measure up to three
feet.
A law number of (lahermen are
expected to make the trip to the lake
for the opening Any of the eeaaon.
A
l
USING 3
UMNfllfiefcCrt 6QUM.
WINDOW OLA.'- We sell arino.i
glaaa and will rrplaos youi oroaei
windows rraaonaoljt. Trowbridge cao
met Works.
PACE QUICK TRIAL
POUOHKEEPSIE. N. T May 10
i.JV Anktng "How long will it be be
fore J get the electric chair?" Lester
Brocket hunt 33, wanted on murder
c A a i gea In t h ree st n t e, board ed a
train today with Bernlce FWton. 18.
bound (or a swift trial In Arkausna,
They were ahackled together end
In the custody of Prosecutor Joseph
P. Melton of Lonoke ctninty. Arkamaa.
Prosecutor Melton, who quoted
BrockelhurM as Aktnk( how toon he
xould face legal death (or the mur
der of Victor Ciatc. wrauthy Little
Rock plantation owner, aald he re
ined: "Six daya at the lciwt after trlat
'taru. and 30 dnya at the most."
"1 am willing to reutrn." aald the
former Sunday acIuK)! teacher. Ill
swert heart, charged with being ,n
accesory. likewise told County Judge
J. Gordon Flannery. "1 am willing to
go back."
RoSerT GrSRRflT of frlncebn,
NSVBR $AW A DGCM UNfll. HE ARRIVED
IN fiREtce fOKIHS Wb 0WMPICS Hi
W0tfTHPWJJ$
PUMPKIN PUMTCftN
PRODUCE OVS
q ounces o?
tfisesTiMftTepTrt&THE
VKoTe cNtt QO.OOp
$3Ja
Prolific Pen.
"The pen of the Revolution" Is the
title aomettmca applied to Thorn na
Jefferson third president of the
United Btates. Well doea he rate It.
In the Interests of America's fight
for Independence and In later life
he wrote more letters by hand than
la believed to have been written by
nny other public man In history.
Existing today are more than 10.000
letters which he personally wrote.
These constitute only a small frac
tion of his correspondence. He Is
credited with having written from
10,000 to 16.000 letters each year for
& long period of time.
Jefferson wrote under a severe han
dicap after his term as minister to
Prance for he broso his right wrist
while holding this position nnd the
injury bothered him the rest of Ms
life. When the pain In his- wrist
grew too strong to continue writing
with It. he switched to his left hand
and continued his work. Eventually
his left hand became as proficient in
writing as his right. No scribbler wna
Jefferson In spite of -the quantity of
wltlng he did. All of his correspond
ence was done In a neat, legible hnnd.
Ulsriis rhamp.
As captain of the Princeton Uni
versity track and field team. Robert
S. Garrett made up his mind to at
tend the 1896 Olympic games In
Greece an a member of the U. S.
team. Hearing that the ancient sport
of discus throwing was to be one of
the events on the program, he tried
to find out what a discus was like.
Discus throwing was practically un
known In America at the time. Gar
rett managed to get a rough descrip
tion of a discus, however, and bad a
home-made contraption fixed up. He
practiced with this for a while before
going to Athens for the games. There
he saw a real discus and found It
much lighter than the weight he had
been using for practice. In spite of
the difference, he entered the Olym
pic event and took first place.
Tomorrow: Everlasting Mfe!
MAE WEST WINS FIRST
SKIRMISH IN LAW SUIT
LOS ANGELES. May 19. (A)
Mae West emerged victor today In
a preliminary legal skirmish with
Frank Wallace. New York actor who
seeks to have himself declared her
husband.
Miss West's demurrer to Wallace's
suit which tests the validity of their
alleged marriage In Mllwaukle. April
11. 1011, was sustained yesterday by
Superior Judce Robert W. Kenny.
The court specified 20 days In which
Wallace might file an amended complaint.
An X-ray tube In St. Bartholomew's
hospital, London, la 30 feet long and
weighs ten tons. The patient under
tientment converses through a mic
rophone with the doctors who ob
serve him through a mirror system
KISS AND LOSE TEETH
IS DOCTOR'S WARNING
ATLANTA, May 19. Kiss of
ten and lose your teeth was the warn
ing today of Dr. Marvin M Harris of
the Georgia state health department
And If you want case history he can '
give it to you. j
Four of six girls engaged' In kissing t
games at a recent party developed a -mouth
Infection, he said. I
SlffuES POWrV fO AfYCR
NOON Or" BRIP6E
BF6iKS1'oFiD&E1',MUR
MURIM6 AUflS-f C0W.D
SHEfRV ANMfoER CHAlRj
MI$0rJFbftrHI&H
6ml SlbPS WHILE
WAIRS ARE SHIFTED.
DECLARES 0HE IS
EACfLV RIGHT
BE6IN5 1b 7iD6f A6A IK
M0TTEWH6 SHE DIDN'T
REALIZE rf WAS (JUlfE
SO LOW
6AME STOPS WHILE A
PILLOW 16 PROCURED
FOR HER "lb Slf ON -
EXCLAIMS THAT" -THAf
MAKES ifEXAOW
Rl&Hf
HAS "fO KEEP S10PPIK6
to REARRANGE PIUOW
BECAUSE SHE KEEK
SLIDING OFF If
A1 LAS1 ANOTHER CHAIR,
IS FOUND WHICH SUHS
HCRPFRFEC1W UNTIL SHE
DISCOVERS THATlfWl66LES
AMD MAKES HER NERVOUS
uWAS
5d2
(Oepyrlght, 1937, ty.Tha BH gyndlcaf, Inc.)
S 'MATTER POF
By 0. M. PAYNE
(J f LlKEToUE A Cow-T3oV JfV Sp,r.r
. J f MAlSEfJ TI?OM -TfA- J
Wait A mimute! KVms. N6.rr4e.-R.' Vr"'i
( Ylrry swouudn't j n C A .thtat's V
( Se.T ME To i (V&ff-rr-A, out J
tm . Vgrl LsKCoprrtEht, 1937, by The Bn BrndlctU. lac ) gl
TAILSPIN TOMMY Doubtful . . . But Staunch Friends!
By HAL FORREST
JOMCOttt STOLt
TOMMY'S MYSTCRY
PLAMt AMD
CRASHfD IT.'. .THE"
THIEr- fSCAPC-D
AMD LATtRj TOMMY,
APPtARIMG ATTHf
AIRPOCT SWATHt-D
Irt BAttDAGtS, AS
A RC-SULT OF" A
TALL DOWM AM
tMBANKMC-MT, IS
ACCUSE-D BY THt-
iMSPtcroR or
HAViriG pilotc-d
THE- WRECKED SHIP,
AMD IS "GROUMDtD
' GCt, PAL.. I TRIE-0 TO) ( SKE-E"TS . .YOU
AL I B I FOR OU..SAID DONT REALLY (
YOU WE1?E- WITH ) ( BE-LIEVE- I HtW,
ME-ALL MIGHT.. HE" f THAT SHIP...)
(WOULDN'T BE-LltVt- J (DO YOU? y
'wAt..M-MO...I KMOWtD
YOU WAS AMXIOUS.A
TO TAKE" 'E-R UP J
BUT... 1
TOMMY.'
DONT f-E-E-L
THAT WAY
ABOUT IT.
.WE- BE-LICVt-J
MM YOU.
SURE; TOMMY,
AF-TE-R A
BAD CRASH
LIKE" THAT.
ANYBODY
WOULD Be-
in A FOG
AMD
A rsif (AMD... J
f SO!. .YOU ALL V.
' THINK . . . I'M' C TOMMY.' J
GUILTY. . YOU ) i, J
wont Bt-uevt- (jCk r
BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER It's a Bargain
By EDWIN ALOE"
tJjkWE 6ti TWi AB.MGhT, v ' "f jtt OOWU WHlE I CAUH Ntb, "TOOTS, THaT'S II-WhATA
Y0UKJ6 F-ELVER - PER PWJt kSZ "WE VJIFE - DOES f OM. eOSMAMieMTY, M6HTA I
HUWDR.E0 0OUAR& CAH IU ii?,:"-ii. I "rut 6UyM' IM OUR J I K.UOVJM BETTER'U TO WAJE A
HAUD. TUE WAi9ETT FAMiLYU -THAT'S -i MOU;EOL0- fZ 6AC6AU LKE THAT 'FOae A .
OH $S50 ivj TRADE AT WI6CIU5 S IT- Tf JJ I VJOWAVJ-OKAY TOOT?,, I'LL VO nj
6TORE Kl TWEExn "
ALL R16HT, AAV LAO, HER.E5
The mowey-5'po?.e you
nnrite out a receipt. how-
EVER'fORE TURU TOVER
YOU
8ET j
wll
May I'likrt Mill.
EUOENE. My 1 - (4i Plckrt
Ing uf th Csscadr Lumbrr company,
ma!l awmlll Just outside thr nty
limits west of hrrr. will br ordrrrd
Wwinf1t nv'nins tinlrA rtimpany
orfl'lftl Rrr.- t-i rlinAltdf of fur
I.iimbrt and t . u.ll WorKrr.' union.
It w dlscloMvl tcdav.
THE NEBBS Everything Will Be All Right
Bt SOL HESS
f mow Aeour the palmceA
SJfcJ doe cm TMOse. civrL-'es
' l-ESE. I SAVED UP'iO.
CXJ ACCOUNT OP BOSMESS
(5 SO DEAD I FEEL LilcE ,
CALLnO' A MIIOISTES
Isli i THAT COmAI
go tm eoss
SAVS WE VVAMT5
THIS RMD UP
lT' HEiE I SAVED UP50i
I UVJ AtCOUaOT Ol- CU3ME5S
15 SO DEAD I FEEL UlcE
callho' a miioistes y v
AMD HOLD'MG . ' ,
' . a mess
1V1 JUST UKE YOUS EOSS 1 WAur
IT vew UP. TOO IP WE LEAVES 'EM uFDC
TWEYLl. BE PAD FOR AJD IP HE JFSrt 'fm
OUT THEY RE KIMDLiKXi WCOD-AioD Pr;irM
COMPiCEMTiAU - VM NJEAQLY ENJ&A6ED TQ A
iw-mm warj A UAUOKJ- r3Av . SO SEPATipmtH
. i- i r
,Fk. .Wl t-
I 1
J I 'gagC 1 t aVJP- aw K f O-. . U.VAI II
-7-. f Mi
in . rb. s.j ifrf.i, ut w. 11 -r
sun If v t r .! N,
t