PJGE ETGHT
rEDFOTlD ftfA IL TRIBUTE, MEDFORD, OREGON. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1937
the dark ships
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
For further proof address the author, inclosing a stamped envelope for reply. Beg. TJ. 8. Pat Oft
SUBURBAN HEIGHTS
oy GLUT AS WILLIAMS
V HUtBKRT reOTNCR
7 1
Balleti Fly
IT WAS now about 8:30 and ilnct
Mai yland doei not use daylight
aavlng tune, perfectly dark.
The blond young man was not
visible in the (treat outaide. There
were no taxlcabi entiling In thli
part of town, and Neill regretted
that he had not told his driver to
wait. However, he taw a taxicab
standing at the curb across the
street about hundred yards
towards town, fronaoiy the taxi
used by the blond young man.
Neill crossed over. The back of the
cab was empty.
"Will you take me Into townt'
he asked the driver.
"Sorry, mister. I've got a fare.'
"Where is he?"
"Can't tell you that He paid
me 10 wail.
"I'll nay double fare."
"Can't do it, after taking his
money. He's got my name and
numoer.
"He won't say anything," Neill
laughed. "He can't afford to."
"So you say. But I ain't gonna
nsK my jod.
Neill returned across the atreet.
There was a trolley line, but no
car was In sight He walked slow
ly back and forth as if waiting
lor a car, Dut tn reality trying
to spy out where his trailer was
niaden.
It was a quiet neighborhood.
Across the road where the taxi
waited, there was a high bank not
yet built upon. On Neiil'i side the
uttie nouses and occasional stores
were lighted up, but there was
nobody moving on the sidewalk.
ai tne corner a newly-opened
street dipped down steeply and
was swauowed in tne oarK.
Neill found his man nartlv hid
den behind a syringa bush at the
side of a house on the corner.
"Good evening," he said pleasantly.
-ftvening," mummed tne man
huskily. He was trying to disguise
his voice. Neill had a sense that
he had heard it before. Perhaps
me oionaineo nair, tne asny
cheeks, the spectacles, also con
stituted a disguise. Impossible to
tell in the darkness.
"Nice night" said NelH
No answer.
"How often do these blame trol
ley cars run?"
"Don't know. Tm a stranger in
the neighborhood."
The young man's voice was
lhaky. He was evidently laboring
under a powerful excitement
However, Neill apprehended no
special danger to himself. The
taxicab was almost directly across
the street, and Heinrlch's with its
beer drinkers not a hundred yards
away, Neill aimed to quiet him by
adopting a friendly air.
'You Know Too Much'
"UAVE a cigarette?" he asked.
"Don't use them."
"Gosh! I didn't think that there
was a fellow of your age in the
country man t smoxe em.
No answer. '
"Maybe you prefer a pipe?"
No answer.
"I thought from the way you
were standing here that you be
longed in the neighorhood."
. The young man'a voice began
to break. "Is It any business of
yours?"
Neill looked at him steadily.
"Well, yes, since you ask me.
You've been following me around
ever since I arrived in town this
afternoon. Also this morning.
Naturally I'm curious. What's the
Idea?"
The young man made an effort
to get a grip on himself. "You're
mistaken, fellow. I never saw you
before until this minute."
"Come off," said Neill good
naturedly. "That's your taxi wait
ing across the street
"Wrong again, fellow."
"What's the use of stalling?"
aid Neill. "I've had my eye on
you for five hours past In the
Belvedere I heard you sending the
plain-clothes men off on a wild
goose chase. Good comedy. . . ,"
The young man's voice broke
completely. "Damn youl . . ." he
cried. "Damn you . . . you know
too muchl" He whipped out a gun
and fired at Neill point-blank.
Neill saw the movement coming,
and dropped in time. Bent almost
double, he ran down the steep side
street into the enveloping dark
ness. The man Bred again, and a
third time, but his aim was wild.
He came charging after Neill. As
In a dream, Neill heard a shout
from the taxi driver and the
sounds of other people roused by
the shots. Then silence. They were
afraid to follow.
The street was only half a block
long. It ran out on a kind of waste
land where the earth from exca
vations had been dumped, making
Irregular hummocks all around.
Rubbish was heaped everywhere
and It was impossible to run. Neill
swerved sharply to the left and
dropped behind a hummock hop
ing that the man would run by.
But when his pursuer came to
the broken ground, he stopped,
gun in hand, looking around and
listening. He was only half a
doien paces away and Neill could
see .gainst the
starry aajr fTeiil gUy drew out
his own gu.i, but he was resolved
not to shoot the man if It could ba
avoided. He could hear the mur
mur of the crowd gathering at the
top of the street
Neill tried to edge a little further
away under cover of the dark. The
man heard him and fired again.
Neill ran for some yards in s zig
zag course and dropped again. The
man had him pretty well placed
now, and came creeping towards
him, close to the ground. Neill
figured that he would have either
two or four shots left in his mag
azine. "Here I am," Neill said, to draw
his Are again.
But he only kept creeping closer.
From far away Neill heard the
sound of a clanging gong, rapidly
drawing near. Somebody had
phoned for the police. A new
anxiety attacked him, for he
couldn't afford to face an investi
gation, even though he was the
innocent victim.
' The police car stopped at the
head of the street. The crowd be
gan to move down slowly. Neil
arose and ran again. The man fol
lowed without attempting to shoot
neill could near nis hoarse breath
ing. Neill collided with an invis
ible wire fence, and was flung back
on tne ground, rne man was
almost on him. There was no help
for it now. Rolling over, Neill took
aim at his lea and fired. The man
stumbled forward and, falling
almost within Neill's reach, lay
there sroanine. The eun had flown
out of his hand.
' Barbed Wire Helps
TEILL ran on as fast as he could
down the hill, parallel with
the fence. The nolice were now
spreading over the hummockv
ground. They had flashlights. They
were moving cautiously. A wild
anxiety lent Neill speed and sure-
ness. If he were taken, everything
would be wrecked. Just as he was
beginning to see light ahead.
The oolice heard him running
and began to spread down hill to
cut him off. Neill put his hands
on a lence post end, vaulting clear
of the wire, ran straight away.
His pursuers were less nimble
In getting over the fence. He heard
them cursing as their uniforms
caught on the barbs, and he
gained on them. He then had the
notion of doubling and creeping
back towards the fence, lower
down. He wormed his way down
hill close to the fence until he
was stopped by a stream at the
bottom. Meanwhile the police
were searching the onen ground
above.
He climbed the fence again and.
making his way upstream for a
short distance, came to a group of
dark buildings, a mill of some sort
There was a dam over the stream
with a footway. He crossed it, and
sirucK into a road that climbed
the hill on the other side. Soon he
was among the streets of another
floor quarter of the town. Abso
utely quiet over here. Across the
little valley he could see the flash
lights moving back and forth like
fireflies.
He kept straight on until he had
risen out of the slums into a better
quarter. Upon coming to a wide
suburban road, he turned into it
heading towards town. Presently
a taxicab came bowling along,
having delivered a fare in the
suburbs. Neill hailed it and, sink
ing DacK in tne seat thanked God
tor his luck.
He changed taxis once on the
way into town to baffle possible
pursuers. He was still in some
anxiety because he could not tell
what the wounded man might sav
to the police. Not the truth, any
how. To be on the safe side, he
kept away from his usual haunts
and made no attempt to communi
cate with Mattingly who was still
waiting for him at the mldtown
garage.
In a drugstore on North avenue
Neill took possession of a booth.
and started phoning. From the vel-
low pages ot the phone book it
was easy to establish that the only
banana importer in Baltimore who
ran his own ships was one A.
Lana.ua. Neill called him up at
his home, and -n Italian-American
voice answered. It was Mr. Lanas
sa himself.
After giving him an agreeable
spiel, Neill asked him who his
lawyer was.
The voice turned wary. "What!
I got all kinds of lawyers."
"Well, who are they?"
"No Information given over the
phone. Come and see me in the
morning." He hung up.
This was a setback, but not a
fatal one. Neill had other leads to
follow. He did more telephoning
and a satisfied grin began to
spread over his face. The last
number he called was that given
htm by Johnny Tingstrom, the
taxi-driver who had once shown
himself his friend. He was obliged
to wait beside the booth until
Johnny came In from a trip ana
called him.
Hit. h Kmlttrl fM-,)
Neill teti a ahork when he re
turns Is ID Abraham Lincoln,
tomorrow.
rTcwrvnwcrt iK.UKiwwwritwrt
i Oflftt CMfORHlPi OSTEOPATHIC (ml
flXPifioN FOR
17 ycftre?-.
4
UMPIRE SPENceR,
WHll WfWINS
ft PlKeR OUT.
-Ifcnkakee fcFekln.
SOVIET REIVES
IE
MOSCOW, Oct. .. (API lsral
Veltrr, Soviet comnilMmr for foreign
trade, removed from office today
and M, P. Smirnoff wai chosen by
the central executive committee to
uroeed him.
Veltter, the eighth member of the
Soviet union council of people' com
mlMara removed within a year, re
cently had been attacked for 'rotten'
conditions In Soviet retail srde.
Yeaterday Sergei Sudln. acting So
viet cotnmlKMr of foreign tratfe, wan
removed from hla post.
Fxeftidon of nine loral nr.vui- of
the Zhlobin dutrict la the Wiut
Ruaala republic wm reported by a
Minsk newspaper.
MARCOLA MILL FIRE
EYED BY OFFICIALS
EUGENE. Oft. IB 1VTV-SUto po
lice fin" tmittl0iitrira miihImm p,,in.
of the aioo.000 pineher Lumber com
pany mill whim burned Saturday.
The plant, three mllea north nf
Marcola. had not been operated since
the previous nlht. owners said.
Offlrlata said the mill, with ii.liv
cutting capacity of about 13J.000 le.
proviarn employment for approxima
tely na men.
r'lOirrmnn Lost
ROCKAWAY, Oct It - - The
coaat guard searched ruttlcMly to
day for Ralph Scott of Oarlbal II who
hat been miming at eea aim Sun-
flay afternoon , e Ifl-vwr i.i.i wuh
iol put out la a nrw lS,0Ai funini
boat.
MOST VAUfoei ftlfl-WftRlNS
AMIMftUlNTHEWflaD-
PNMBPmeRA 5ED3UG
Named for a Bedbug.
For as little as aio.oon von miht
be able to pick yourself un a chin
chilla coat, but It would bo a real
bargain. A first clmu. run inrh
chinchilla coat costs around S30.000.
Yet, strange as It seems, the little
rodents that supply the fur for these
rather high-priced wind breaker. Ha.
rive their name from that of the
lowly bedbug. It la taken from the
Spanish word "chlnche." because of a
certain odor given off by the chin
chilla similar to that of the bedbug.
do rare la tne chinchilla that only
one chinchilla coat, consisting of
about 140 pelts. Is made In several
years. Tho animal's only natural
habitat Is high In the Andes of Chile
and Peru, but for the post few years
a successful chinchilla farm has been
conducted In Inglewood, Cal., by M.
F. Chapman. First to successfully
transport the delicate rodent to the
United States alive. Mr. Chapman
now has 1.350 of them, ared from the
dozen he Imported from South Amer
ica. Chinchillas sell for $.1,200 a
breeding pair and their pelts arc
worth from 200 up.
Bedridden Editor.
Since 1018. Dr. C. B. Rowlingson of
Los Angeles has lain In bed, able U
move only his hands and arms. Yet,
for 17 of the le years In which he
haa been bedridden, Dr. Rowllngson
has held the post of secretary and
treasurer of a largo medical society,
the California Osteopathic associa
tion, and has been editor of the or
ganization's monthly publication.
Several Ingenious contraptions, rig
ged up at his bedside, have made It
possible for the Invalid to carry on
hla work. Among them la a reading
mirror, allowing him to read In com
fort from a prone position: a micro
phone for speaking to members of
the household wherever they are in
the house, and a portablo recording
instrument for taking dictation,
mounted on a metal arm that swings
over his bed.
MRS. PRLEh, WHO ENTERTAINED THE CLUB LECfORER AT
LUNCHEON, GOT HER TblHE MEEHN6 ALMOST AN HOUR
LftTE, BECAUSE WHEN If CAME f)ME "TO DRIVE HER OVER
She found ihaY fred had -told the men to come ft the
ckimmev and she couldn't seffhe car out of the sarafce
U)luiAr7S
(Copyright, 1987, by The Bell Syndicate, Ine.)
S 'MATTER POf
By 0. M PAYNE
Bridegroom Speeds
To Football Game
PULLMAN. Oct. 19 (API Joe Slen
ko. Washington Rtnta tenlrtr nnri
gar half, back, got to the clubhouso
juai in iimo suiuraay to ct Into his
suit for tho contest against the Uni
versity Of Washlncton. Ha hnri kw
reason for his delay he waa Retting
married in Colfax to Miss Barbara
Cahoun, of Olymplq, Hla brltlo u in
the stands when he caught a pass In
the first quarter which paved the way
for the Cougars' lone touchdown.
Governor To Speak
CORVALLI8, Oct. 18. (AP) Oov
ernor Charles H. Martin will be the
principal speaker at the annual ban
quet of the Oregon Reclamation con
gress which meets at Portland Fri
day and Saturday. October 31 and 22.
His topic will be "Stole Development
nnd Reclamation."
YOUNG BEAVER FOUND
ENJOYING CITY LIFE
PORTLAND, Oct. 19. ;p( Portland
residents are convinced the animal
kingdom falla to recognize the exis
tence of a big city.
Recently a cougar raided pig peas
near the westelde city limits. Yester
day Mrs. R. R. Renner found a young
mountain beaver making himself at
home on her lawn.
TAILSPIN T0MMY-
-Tommy and Betty Compare Their Discoveries!
glt2j aOopyrirtt. 1037, by The B.U Byadrj
By HAL FORRES'
BEN WEBSTER'S CAREED Conference
By EDWIN ALQEB
BETTY I IT WAS HIS S l KV at 7- ' ) THIS SCRAP BOOK Y&53 M GET IT i MARTI M 13
AUTO THAT MADE THE ) S .J? SM3 ' I B "wiTri0" fSZ '3 FILLED WITH KHKH BEnTLY HE T
iwck Ano i found KiPW' bJmtlv H M' X V S1MILAR CUPPIMf 4"15f about wa Taw,c
) lXLJr V .. SfrfcM Pg?006", V?yl&V talemt to destroy
- t- Z2A , JZuMnkmM uT?i rXrl UTTLE MOVJEV, AM0 MR. 6RA8BEP. j 601W6 TO UPStT OUR HAWS (hELP 'tlX I
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XHE DEBBS-ForgWe nnd Forget
WEV, BRUCE. SOU -p LL-1 'IM SORRV I EVER NCiice 02 1 JMT1 C? Vfli oM Y 1 DMT BEUEVE "N , ,
A ( N'CE SOOD MAM-. AAWMAM WHO LOVES, GtttoOO ENOUSM TO TOSvl AMD
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By SOL HESS