PAGE 7LVE
MEPFOKD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOkD, OREGON. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1WT.
STAR PITCHER
By GLUYAS WILLIAMS
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
For further proof "addreaa the author, -lncloatnf a stamped envelope for reply. Rec. TJ, B. Pat Off.
maw mum ri
I
or
A mysterious shot
(ciU JucVBltnshop. m old tame,
at the ((aft of our ttormy uecfc
. end at e'arrinoton Bluff, bom a
Michael' aunts. Slranaa attack!
ybllots; then toe find the body of
Michael's mad father below the
bluff. Stout, Victorian Aunt Mar-.
tha i (hot In the ehoulder and
nearly finished with sleeping;
poudere. The Skipper, Mike'e tall,
tweedy younger aunt, disappears,'
we find her lix houre later, bound
in the lot, all but dead. A (hot
draws ue to the room o Hippins,
the butler, whom ue had strongly
suspected shortly before. He ie
'dead, supposedly a suicide. '
Chapter 48
Murder No. 3
1 BLINKED dazedly. That was the
question. What earthly reason
could there be for HlBgins' amazing
actions? A contented, gentle old man
with tha rest of his life mapped out
for him as pleasantly as anyone could
wish, suddenly goes haywire and kills
a girl be has known since her baby
hood, a man whom he has spent a
good part of his life caring for, and
finally attempts to kill the two people
who represent all the family and se
curity that he has. It didn't make
sense. There could be no question of
money as a motive. I happened to
know that the entire Farrltrgton for
tune had been left In trust for Mi
chael by his grandfather with a re
quest that Hlgglns be provided for as
long aa he lived. The only solution
seemed to be Insanity.
"It's a hopeless mess, William. Can
you think what could have ailed
him?"
William ahook his head. "Must
have been plumb nutty, I guess.
Didn't seem like that, but he must
have been. Funny. You know, when
I was working for the Bllnshops 1 al
ways thought Hlgglns was crazy
about Miss Judith."
I looked around that bare little
room and shivered. Then I walked
out very softly.
My watch said 20 minutes past six.
There waa little point In trying to
hustle people off to bed. We were
bound to be routed out again within
a very few hours, and I knew from
experience that a little sleep is wdrse
than none at all. It was highly doubt
ful that anyone would, be able to
aleep anyway, .-. '
Snapping on the low lamp on the
dresser, I turned out the glaring over
head llghtJ1jjqtly I closed the door
on Hlggins? Jsied made oft In the
direction the main house. Cold
showers,,! Wast ajsd a plan of ac
tion wereY after. ''
MIchsA otnwas empty, but In
mine thai xr was still sleeping
soundlA Jrsjr standing at the
wlndowjf-w- i ' ...
"Wherea'thaTothers?" 1 whis
pered. rKK'y'. '.....'
"I'm not sure. They went down the
hall somewhere Mis.s Farrlngton's
room, I guess. Jim are are you
ure It's over?"
"Absolutely sure, Gay. Waa the
Skipper disturbed at all?" .
"No." Her hands were restless.
"Whatever possessed him? Does any
one know?
I drew her Into the next room. "1
doubt it," I said, "and 1 doubt If any.
one ever wilL Now listen, kid. Go
take a cold shower and freshen up.
William will stir up some breakfast
See that Aunt Martha does the same
thing and send Mike along to me All
the majesty of the law Is going to be
loose around here in a little while
and It Isn't going to be much tun.".
"O.K." There was something about
the Jaunty tilt of the kid's chin that
I liked. I stopped her.
"Gay," I aald, "there'll be a pretty
big fuss over this In the papers. If
Mike suddenly gets noble ldeaa about
not soiling the hem of your gown,
don't let him get away with It"
She flashed me a grin that sent my
spirits soaring.
"Sonny." she said, "If he thinks he
can get away from me now, he'll need
the militia to help him."
Michael Geti A Shower
HER feet clattered cheerfully down
tha hall. Hauling out clean
clothes, I felt a little better. It waa
over at last 1 was Jumping around In
the shower when I heard Michael
come In. Grabbing a towel, I strode
dripping after him.
But if my spirits were up, his were
bitting a new, all-time low He
flopped down on the bed.
"Don't be such a damned Polly
annal" he growled.
My spirits began to slide, "How's
M. FaxrlnjtonY
"How do you think? Jim, what the
devil do you suppose ailed him? Why
did he do 117 It s It's "
"Cut it out, Mike," 1 said. "We
don't know and probabl we never
will. What difference does It make
now? Get Into that shower. You're
all In."
Michael kicked at the rug. "It
makes a lot of difference. Hlgglns
never had a thing wrong with him
In his life. And he never did a thing
Civil Service For
Attorneys Ft R. Aim
WASHINGTON. June 30. (AP)
President Rooflevelt asked congress
today to enJJ5iisglslet.on to place
attorneys (, experts ot the aoclaj
eecurlty lx under tlvll eervlce.
In a lej Ato the senate, Mr.
Roosevelt' t sreaeed "regret" that
the lnte 0 office appropria
tion blllli stained a provlalon re
quiring strtMte Vonllrmetlon of ap
pointment f experts and attorneys
receiving saKrles of asooo, or more,
per year.
Ancient Warehouse .
Burns in S. F. Bay
BAN rRANCISCO. June SO (AP)
A apectcular fire awept through
historic Mission Rock warehouse, a
relic of the old aalltnts daya, Tuesday
A watchman, only person known
to have been on the rock, rowvd
ashore Barely.
Huge burning embera fell from me
warehouse In the oenier of China
Basin, waterway of dan Pranctsco'a
Industrial district, and floated to
ward Battleship Row where 94 war
ahipe of the United Butaa fleet were
moored. Tha watr quenched ' the
embera before they endangered anything.
in hie life but look after my damned
family." ,
Michael has an Irish streak which
calls for the noble and highly dra
matic. Right then I had no answer for
him. 1 felt rather like a person lost
in the woods who knows there is an
animal of some sort behind him, but
doesn't dare turn -around- to look.
Hlggins must have had a motive. But
Just then I didn't care to turn around
and look at It -
"The police," I said, "will have no
reason for thinking anything but that
the poor old chap lost his mind. You
haven't either. Stop, trying to , dig
yourself up a family skeleton. Go
take" i
"The hell with your shower!" Mi
chael exploded. "Who givea a damn
what the police think? I've got to
know why he did It I've got" -
"to take a shower," I finished
grimly. Picking him up clothes and
all, I carted him, struggling, Into the
bathroom. It was something of a Job
to hold him, but be waa thoroughly
doused before he managed to send me
crashing on my ear and atalk out I
threw him a towel, .
"Take a rubdown ," 1 said.
"You go to hell!" But he caught the
towel with his bad hand. I grinned
and set to work on my own dressing,
leaving him to his fuming. The at
mosphere was so natural that I could
have whooped for Joy. I waa busy
with my tie before he got to the point
where he could directly address me.
"Do you suppose there Is any way
that they could leavo the aunts out
of all this? If the story about my
father hlta the headlines, Aunt Mar
tha will never get over It Foster
ought to be able to keep them away
from the Skipper for a while, any
way." 1 aald, "I think the best thing to
do, Mike, Is for me to go Into the vil
lage on the first boat that gets here.
I'll go straight to Foster and leave it
all up to him. Then, If he'll let me.
I'll push on to the Bllnshops'; O ight
to be back by seven tomorrow night,
easily." - ' ' " , - ... . .-.
Michael was silent for a moment
"That'a decent of you, Jim."
I climbed into my coat "Forget it,"
I sajd. "Keep your ear cocked for the
Skipper. I'll see how the breakfast Is
coming." ,
Splotch On The" Wall
IN broad daylight, the effect of the
electricity .in the hall was rather
ghostly. The sooner we got all the
lights out and the house nearly nor
mal, the better - for everyone' con
cerned. Switching them off as 1 went,
I headed down the hall and Into the
servants' quarters. At the head of the
back stairs 1 remembered the lights
in Hlgglns' room' and In Jude'a. 1
turned back. With my eyes averted
from the bed, 1 made for Hlggins'
dresser. And then something leapt
Into my throat.
Directly In front of me at the level
of my eyes, was a splotch In the wall
plaster, and within that splotch the
bullet which had ended Hlgglns' life.
Passing a bewildered hand over my
eyes, I looked again There was no
mistake. The bullet was there. Was
my memory of the situation blurred?
1 rushed to the bed and flung back
the blanket . ; v '
Hlggins lay on his back with his
arma flung out at his sides, the revol
ver tightly clenched In the right
hand. In his right temple was the
bullet hole, and in tha left, the nasty
gash made by the bullet tearing
through. But the mark In the plaster
was In the wall on his rlghtl
Ideas began bouncing through my
head. A man falling In a faint or for
any reason other than ,a blow, falls
on his face. Unless. Hlggins had been
sitting on the bed, he could never
have landed In that position. Could
he have been Bitting? I crouched un
til my head was approximately at the
level of a person Sitting on the bed.
For a bullet to have passed through
both sides of the man's head and
landed where it had. It must have
passed right through the top of his
skull. And Hlgglns' wounds were in
his temples.
Much as the Idea of the old man's
guilt hurt 1 wanted the whole thing
to be over with. Perhaps, I reasoned
frantically, the impact of the bullet
spun him around. Perhaps My next
ralliatlon sent me staggering against
the wall. The revolver was In his
right hand, and Hlgglns had been
left-handedl Murder number three!
Right then and there my atate of
mind clarified. All along I had been
nearly as much afraid that we would
catch the murderer aa I waa that wa
wouldn't But 1 thought of that tor
tured old face aa I haJ last seen it
alive. 1 took one more look at it aa It
waa then. And 1 wanted that mur
derer. If It waa Michael himself, I
waa going to sea him die before my
own eyes.
My mind began to work aa coldly
aa If It were dealing with a problem
In bridge. Not the Skipper. 1 had been
sitting beside her when the shot waa
flred. Furthermore, the murderer had
put her behind that chest Higgins
must have aeen them, to his undoing.
CepifrtffM. .IMT.'sTsMer Tultr)
I devise a trap fer the murderer, to
morrow. Astoria Prepares
, For V.F.JV. Session
ASTORIA, Ore., June 30 (AP)
The Astoria post of the Veterans of
Ftoretgn Wars completed arrangements
today to greet the Oregon depart
ment at 1U 17th annual encampment
Thursday through Saturday.
State Commander R. L. Preston of
Rose burg will open the business ses
sion at 0 a. m. Thursday. A banquet,
drill team competition and military
parade will freture the cnventlon.
Election of officers and selection of
the 1038 meeting place take place
Saturday.
Land Bank Measure
Passed By Senate
WASHINGTON. June 30. (AP)
The senate compleUtd congressional
action today on a bill to extend for
one year the 914 per cent Interest
rata on federal land bank loeua.
At the end of one year a 4 per cent
rat win become effective.
The measure also would reduce the
rata on land bank commissioner loans
from 0 to 4 per cent lor two yars,
The bill now go to the White
tfouae, Prealdeut Roovelt has ex
pressed his opposition to It and ad
ministration Ir-adert said he might
Dnughters of Their Husbands.
Early Roman law held women In
complete disdain. Under Its provi
sions members of the fair sex were
excluded from holding civil or pub
lic office, could not sign wills or
make contracts, were not aiiowed to
act as witnesses and could not in
herit property from anyone dying In
testate other than their brothers or
husband a.
Because of their "imbecility" (the
word actually used by law), women
were given certain privileges. Under
special circumstances they were al
lowed to plead Ignorance of the law
when they ran afoul of It and were
exempt from torture.
In tlie eyes of the law, a married
woman was the daughter of her hus
band. All property was owned by the
husband. In the event that he died
MARY McCORMIC FILES
DIVORCE APPLICATION
CHICAGO, June 30.( AP) Mary
McCormlc, the opera star, filed suit
for divorce today, charging Homer
V. Johannsen, a l.wyer, knocked her
TA1XSPIN TOMMY Into the
T AMDING HIS
"PLAne in a
pasture- on
THE- ErDGt OF
THtr CITY Of
TULSO, TOMMY
MAKE'S F-inAL
PRE-PARATIONS
TO PtntTRATt
THE" HE-AD-QUARTfcR
S OF
THt ESPIOMAGt
ORGANIZATIOn..
BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER
THE NEBBS Honey Face?
C eee. homey FAce.sxxi
LOOK SWELL INJ THAT
f THt LA0TVH0VJ Do ( "0 SOU WaUT
I OF MaU ) YOU DO, )TO HEAR ABOUT J
I UtAB,T, J AMW. oVHk 6WAO
OUT RT A.NJO 1 LIKE. YOUR TIMES AKJO IT5 TWE
MAT- IT'S A BIT DiMlcy
view itbtoM:-
.or THEIR
1tH of i&fc PKesiPeisTs
of Trie UNiTeo etwes
at
before his wife, s'.ie came under the
guardianship of any man named by
her husband In his will.
Unmarried women were under the
perpetual guardianship of their fath
ers or nearest male relative.
Modern Cave Town.
On the banks of the Loire river In
southern France Is Troo, one of the
strangest towns In the world. Carved
out of a rock cliff, It homes are a
combination of the ancient days of
the cliff dwellers and our own days
of electricity and modern conveni
ences. "Main Street" In Troo con
sist of a stairway leading past the
town's cave homes.
Presidential Slave Owners.
Strange as It seems, two of the
United states presidents who owned
down last March 17 and threw her
across a table six days later.
The singer, alleging cruelty, asked
a divorce and return of her maiden
name. She did not ask alimony.
They were married lat Novembor
20 after a brief long-distance court
alitp. They separated March 35, she
said, because of his alleged cruelty.
Enemg Carry) 1
Tessle Tuttlngton
f MOT MUCH
its fumnsN-i wad
If!
YTUS OUTFIT OKJ MAkN
RRSTTIMe.YOU MOTICElO LOOK A BIT PRETUBBEO KXXlVI LOST25 A
IT- - 1 -JBEUEVE VOU'KE . 1 fJL,(-i--tr-1
TRYlW TO
TAIK ME
op Kwri
.AntfftNToWN Of,,
uve in ewes cquiiw ;
C0MHlHC, INCLUDING
a w-rVa a .T I
WSClKHeWlM
slaves played major parts In the free
ing . of the slaves. One was U. B.
Grant, commander of the Union
forces during the latter part of the
Civil war. The other was , Andrew
Johnson, vice-president and successor
to - Abraham Lincoln, the "Great
Emancipator.' ' '
Other slave -owning presidents were
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Mon
roe, Jackson, Tyler, Polk and Taylor.
"Pester" derivation.
"Pester," , derived from the Latin
word "pastorlum," originally meant
"to shackle or clog a horse," came
to mean "to encumber or clog" gen
erally speaking, and eventually ar
rived at Its present meaning, "to
annoy."
Tomorrow: Political Hodgopodire.
8 Treaties Ratified.
WASHINGTON, June 30. (AP)
The senate speedily ratified today
eight Pan-American "Good Neighbor"
treaties signed last December . at
Buenos Aires.
Closing time for Too hut to Clas
sify Ada Is l :30 p. m.
TO TEU.-TO&Y 60T VT .
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HEAD FROM SIDE ft S1PE SHAKES HEAT? fROVAL AND START'S
WIND-OP
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, AKYWAV
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'OH, 1 WOULDN'T VJAUT TO
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IGfr 0 (Copyright, 1'837. by The EtH Syndicate, Inc.)
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6E.T OUR. 6AKER TO FOU.OVW IT AW5 6AKi
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TAKE IT JU9T )
V THAT, SUH, b
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By 0. M.. PAYNP
By EDWIN ALGER
A 6EUEROU5 FROPOCil-
PER.SOWALW ASSIST YOU
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