MTDFOTtT) MAIL TRTBTTNE, WEPFORD, Cmm(N. MOXDAY. OCTO'B'FIH 10. 19S8.
-... j';. -.. .... I By MA SALTMARSH K-,- .,,:J
The Character
Hufo Stern, handiomt author,
living on tht French Riviera.
Archie Lumiden, mvitU, Hu
go' t friend.
Ben Gelu, head 0 0 murder
tontpiracu.
Tuterdayi Jtan-Tranfoit lo
cates Baron Stahl't yacht and
oeti a job aboard t Noah More
triei to push me off a crowded
bus, but an Arab working jor
Dunning saves me.
Chapter 35
Toothpicks For Two
THE cafe was a vast sea of crowd
ed tables, set out under a
canopy of trees. Hugo was sitting
at a taoie on the outer rringe.
"Well," I said, as I dropped Into
the vacant chair beside him. "I've
had a quiet day, but the evening
promises to be livelier. If one can
Judge by the advance sample I've
just Had.
For answer he kicked me sharp
ly on the ankle, motioning Im
patiently towards a man seated
with his back to us at the next
table. I bit back an exclamation,
for the fellow had raised his glass
to his lips, and I saw that the In
dex finger of the hand that held It
was missing trom me nrsi loim.
Hugo's eyes met mine, but
neither spoke a word, and so for
a matter of twenty minutes we sat
there, exchanging the most ultra-
banal of small talK. men, sua
denly. things began to shift
I noticed, gliding through the
throng on the pavement, a tall
Negress, in a crisp, white cotton
dress, with a snowy muslin turban
folded flatly about her small head.
She was a splendid-looking crea
ture. moving with a free uiv
trammeled grace, but there was
a purpose In her movements, for
as I looked, she turned sharp left,
threading her way among the
tables, and with a murmured word
of apology sat down In the vacant
seat opposite mv neignDor.
He glanced up at her without
tup slightest sign or recognition.
The Negress settled herself at
the table, reached forward and
helped herself to one of the little
paper-wrapped tootnpicKS irom
the china container oerore ner.
For a moment she sat there Idly
twisting it between her fingers:
then, to mv surprise, instead of
stripping off the flimsy covering,
he started to thrust It Into the
bosom of her dress, changed her
mind apparently, and reolaced It
In the little china pot. it was a
pointless action, but its very mean
Inglessness made me suddenly on
the alert. I glanced at Hugo and
w that he had noticed nothing.
A waiter passed, scurrying, and
the Negress called him and gave
him her order. At the same mo
ment the man opposite her threw
a counle of coins on the table.
yawned ostentatiously and got to
his feet: but as he did so. he
stooped and In his turn, with an
absent-mindnd air. extracted a
tnnthpick from the container.
Then he turned and slowly saun
tered away In the direction of the
. harbor.
"Come on," I said to Hugo. Tve
had enough of this." He giancea
up tharolv. caught the look In my
eve. and rose to his feet. "What's
the trouble?" he whispered as he
followed me down the narrow
aisle to the pavement.
"The trouble." said I. "is walk
ing lust ahead." and In half a
doren words I told him what had
happened. "It's mv bet that a mes
sage passed from hand to hand,
muitlv tucked away In that tooth
pick" He whistled. "What do vou pro
pose to do?"
"Catch him In some dark spot
and take the toothpick off him."
I anwered blithely.
'That's coming out Into the open
with a veniennee! If It could be
arranged I'd prefer something
more subtle" And even as he
spoke. Providence Itself answered
him.
A Mission
T CANNONED Into a dim figure
In flowing white robes, which
promntlv laid a hand on mv arm
"Monsieur." It whispered, "vou
have had nn further trouble?"
It was the Arab carpet-seller
and at sight of him I gave a gnso
of relief 'Tell me." I said, catch
ing him bv the shoulder and draw
ing him on with us "vou work for
Mn"Irnr Dunning?"
"Indeed, vesl" he murmured
"Clonrt enough!" said I "Now
listen' Tve a Inb for vou You ee
that man ahead In the white
shirt and tromers. who Is ow
crntVrt" the souare towards the
lettv? Yon must follow him see
where fce goes, and report to Mon
sieur Punning. Tell him It Is the
man without a flneer and lv will
understand Also," broke off hesl
fating how to broach s delicate
siihlert. "there Is a small matter
of a tonthnlrk which he carries In
his rlcht-hnnd trnuer-norket Is
It nosslhle that, under pretext of
offering him a enrnet. one might
Purloin tHnt tnnthniek am' eon
Vev It to Monsieur Dunning'"
He gnve me a swift nod and
densrted
"And where " said Hugo patient
ly as 1 turned hack to him. "did
vou find that addition to the
te"ue of Nations?"
"Drrw nn vour stool to Hncle's
knee" 1 retorted henevolentlv
"and Til tell vou " for I wa feel
ing fnlrlv nleased with mvself Rut
as we drove home and I unfelHert
the tale. 1 detected a certain tin
renonsiveness In Its rerention.
"It's lmmenelv exciting." he
inld. "hut all it establishes when
boiled down la the fact that Gelss
won't rest until he's done you in,
and if you find that a comforting
thought to sleep on. you may have
it!"
I did sleep on It very comfort
ably notwithstanding, but at six
next morning I woke to find Hugo
sitting on the edge of my bed.
"I can't sleep." he said abruptly,
"and I therefore don't see why you
should either. Look here, Archie.
Do you realize that this is Satur
day? In twenty four huuri the
game starts, and we're as far as
ever from knowing how they mean
to play it I can't stand it I telJ
you I" He broke off and stood up
suddenly, as if the mere physical
movement eased his nerves. "It's
not only Virgoe Wills, but who
knows what they may do to that
fool of a girl, if she tries any mora
of her precious detective work?"
"Steady, old man," said I. "Try
to realize that there's nothing we
can do." But he shook his head
impatiently.
"If I don't do something, I'll go
mad. I'm off to have another shot
at finding out what Amourii is. I've
f;ot an Idea that I can pick up some
nformation on the other side of
the frontier. It's just possible that
it may be some place near Eakov
sky's villa."
"I think It's an uncommonly
sound idea," I assured him. "Do
you want me to come along?"
. "No," he answered more calmly.
"It's essential that someone should
be here in case anything crops up.
Jean-Francois may have stumbled
on something, jr Dunning. 01
even" he hesitated "the girl.
I'll telephone at midday and hear
if there's any news, and I suggest
that you call a conference for, say, ,
six thirty, here. I'll be back by
then, and we can pool every pos
sible shred of Information we
have and try to work out a plan."
The Message
I ACCEPTED my orders the
more readily because 1 could
think of nothing better to suggest
but when I tried to ring up Dun
ning. I was told that he had lust
gone out; Ottilie was not to be
found either, and I had perforce to
leave a message for the big man.
Inviting him and Miss Wills to
cocktails at the chale' at six thirty.
Dunning's vast white figure
lumbered round the angle of the
terrace promptly at the time set
"Where's Ottilie?" I asked, as I
heloed him to a drink.
"Hasn't she come vet7 She said
she'd drive herself, for she was
taking lunch with friends In Monta
Carlo, but she surely won't be
long."
"Well." I said, "Hugo's not
here either, so we're not wasting
any time." But even as I spoke th
telephone rang within the house,
and when I sprinted to answer it
I heard Hugo's voice at the other
end.
Tm here, he said, "and rm
alive and well, to save you the
trouble of anguished nuestionlng.
but I'm no nearer finding what 1
came to seek, and I've had a darned
near shave of being turned Into a
-nrior kind of sandwich paste."
"The deuce vou have." I gasped,
and heard him chuckle.
"Mv own fault entirely." he ad
mitted. "All due to asking too
many questions In the local Inn
and not keeping an eve skinned
when I drove on up the road to
Rakovsky's villa. A very pretty
avalanche of rock crashed down
on the track, not five vards ahead
of me. and If my brakes hadn't
been working, It would have been
farewell for me. As it was. I found
I'd struck a boulder that knocked
a hole In the oil-pan Even tem
porary repairs wi ' take the devil
of a time, and it'll he nearly mid
night before I'm on the road ncnin
so you'll have to do vour confer
ring without me."
I strolled bnck to Dunning.
"We're resolved Into a commit- '
tee of two," I informed him
'Hugo's snent the last two day!
running around after this orecioui
Amoiirie." I added, "and what good
it will do us when he finds It tht
Lord may know, but I cortalnl?
don't."
He looked at me oddly. Trr
not so sure of that." he drawled
"Am I right In supposing that vou
encountered an Arab on the ouas
last night and gave him a lob tc
do? Well he did the lob verr
nicelv. He followed vour flngpr
less friend out alone the lettv. Out
gentleman naused opposite the
goon sh n Renrierrntis and for a
moment it seemed he was going
aboard. The yacht was dark except
for her riding-lights, and the rone
was across her gangwav. hut he
gave a hall and presentlv a heart
bobbed up 'Master ahoard'' savs
he or words to that effect, hut the
head shook Itself 'Oh. well.' ssys
he. 'If he wants his news he must
cross the border fo It. I can t
waif
'Mv henchman trailed him to the
nlace bv the town hall where the
cars are parked, and he saw hie
man halt bv a hie limousine. He
nattered no and 'Nice carpet, sar?1
savs he 'Go to Hades.' said the
other, hut our Arah hung onto Ml
arm. pleading with him. and all
the time, under cover of the ear
nets, his other hand was busy In
the fellow's nockets. Next minute
he received a wcll-nbce.l kirk but
bv that time he'd got what he was
after, and here It l " And with
that he tossed a small rather bat
tered ciulll on the table.
I picked It un and emcerlv with
drew the crumpled tvit of paper
hat it contained, hut as I spread
it out and stared at the single
word ronehlv printed upon It. opce
again T felt that old. hopeless sink
ing of the heart "I 'Am tiHrV
ICnrvrtaM t' Utll Dnllnimh)
Tomorrow: IJrraktnf and entering
I
E
AS IN 1920, CLAIM
WAWINOTON, vt. in, (APt -Preint
railway Irvfl. labor
jfnrB titlflM today, Art nearly th
timt u In 1920.
Bert M. JrwcU. president of tht
Amrrtcan FVdpratiun of Labor' rail
way employes department, made trill
statement In opening Inbor'i oaae be.
fore the emrrenvy fact-ftndlim
board aerXlnu to avert a nationwide
railway strike.
Almost 1.000,000 mil workers voted
to slrlKr recently when their em
ployera ordered a 15 percent wa
reduction,
Jewell told the board, appointed
by President Roosevelt, present pny
srnles "are Milwtflnl'nltv (he same n
these, established In li?0 by a v.
ernment board "
J. Carter fort, counsel for tht nil-
STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN HIX
For farther proof address the author, Inclosing a. stamped envelope for reply. Rex. V. 8. Pat Off.
OhtEGLMi
Vfo'NCH IN DAMBTER.
TriRfiftt? Of i
ISOMll&loNGf
fLORMaoCK-r
Fort Lincoln Cemetery,
ft COWlttW PECKEP
IN f LOWERS,..
a-
Alied Vbrid VarfatepoJ,
mvi 11 TRIPST FRANCE
CAfRVlHfl fWRlCftN 40LDIER4
nFTSR HSR CnnNHfrllnrT ,
HfiP VEEN CUT tk 7HROU6H ,
& GERMAN $&3oTAGE
U f fed Wfv$ NoT VMCWKZ0
mv AFTER THE WAR...
MrJCublM lrefit.
let I0'!03&
V. S. S. Pe Kalb
Strange as It seems on the strength
of pounding crankshaft sawed
four-fifths through by German sa
botageura hung the fate of thous
ands of American soldiers who crowed
the Atlantic on the U. S. S. De Kalb
during the World War.
Formerly the North German Lloyd
liner, "Prince Eltel F'deieh,,, built
In 1004, 16,000 gross tons, the De
Kalb was one of 120 German ships
Interned In the United States at
the outbreak of the war with Ger
many. The skeleton crews aboard these
Boul Together inthe weTToKK? (GsttctoJ
five ?H$otiimiZhm...
.ships attempted to put them out
of commission so that they would
be rendered unfit for transport ser
vice at least until Germany had
time to gain an advantage in the
conflict.
The United States Navy Depart
ment consequently found itself with
the task of repairing smashed cylin
der heads, scored bearings and other
mechanical defects resulting from
the sabotage.
Strange as It seems, a complete
going over of the De Kalb refused
to disclose anything wrong with her,
so she was placed Into transport
servic and made 11 successful cross
ings to France, carrying thousands
of "doughboys" to the Big War.
Confident that all was well, men
and officers alike were blissfully un
aware that the pounding vibrating
crankshaft that drove them through
the ocean waters was ready to shear
off at any moment.
Not until the end of the war was
the damage discovered the Germans
had craftily sawed four-fifths of the
way through the shaft and filled the
cut with grease to hide it I
Tomorrow: Why did Emperor Ti
berius wear a laurel wreath in a'
thunderstorm?
roads, contended rail wages were ad
vanced In 1020 because of large In
creases In the cost of living after
1018, Fort also challenged compari
sons of wage averages 18 years ago
with those of today because "they
were computed in a different man
ner." Earlier, George M. Harrison, speak
ing for a group of railroad brother
hoods, contended the workres had
public opinion behind them In their
opposition to the wage cut.
H. A. Enochs. Inst of the manage
ment witnesses, told the board car
riers were willing to be bound by
arbitration under the federal rail
road mediation act to settle the dis
pute, but the brotherhoods declined.
HeidForAuto Theft
SALEM, Oct. 10 (AP) Three men
charged with grand larceny In con
nection with the theft, riddling with
bullets, burning and sinking in the
Willamette river of an automobile,
were held here today.
Nelson Gets Time
COQUTLLE, Oct. 10. (AP) Henry
Stanley Nelson, Portland salesman
sentenced to nine years In prison for
manslaughter, was granted 30 days
In which to petition for a new trial
yesterday when his attorney, George
Mowry, appeared before Circuit Judge
J. T. Brand.
WINDOW GLASS We sell window
glass and will replace your broken
wtnduws reasonably Trowbridge Cab
inet Works.
NO USE
By GLUYAS WILLIAMS I
I..1. '
WrM C0MPANV COMIlfe
FOR DINNER, WASHED
HIS HMDS WlfHOUl'
finishes dressing. aj
TICKS HI6 ToONfftlN! PEN
UP OfF DESK AKD WS ff
IN POCKEf
UUtAr
FlKHWmPUff)HS
iHECAPOH.HFSOflrJK
OH m$ FIN6ERS
WASHES HRNP5 A6AIN,
REViEh1BEBlN6 Wlfrt
DISMAV HE WAS ibu
to SHINE HIS SHOES
Tries To SHWEitiEM
Wl1rlOUr6EiriN65HOE
POLISH ON HAWDS.
10 -V
5I6HS AND WASHES 60E5 DOWNSTAIRS AND AS fOMPfiliV ARRIVES
HANDS A6AIN 15 ASKED To FeCCH S0MF MOfHER WHISPERS AUDI
wood k0m the cettar ibly 10 60 wash his
for The Fireplace hands, she's ashamed
of him. 60e4 up, si6h"
WHAT'S the use ?
(Copyright, 1638. by Tht Bell ByBdic.lt. Inc.)
3 'MATTER POI
Bv 0 M PAYNE
KIN SELL ) ! J
Va ouatlTA i ($n K-t-Mem To tU -
HmMOopyrinht, 1888, by Th B.U milio"u. tttc.T 5
TAILSPIN TOMMY And Tommy 'a Life Hangs in the Balance I
Bj HAL FORRESX
811
h
Mhl
EE
In the upper sroay
OP A VACANT HOUSE,
A MAN IS SIGHTING
ALONG A HIGH
POWERED RIPLE, TRAINED
PROM A WINDOW,
WHILE HIS COMPANION
LISTENS AT A RADIO
SETl THE RIFLE IS
equipped with both
a telescopic sight
and a silencer,
and it 13 aimed
directly upon the
announcer's stand
at the airport
hff I J KaatVjust as scon 1' Meanwhiu- 'crouch W avd vou folks, vW 7 hold it I right
H lM IU.W AS TAILSPIN STEPS l SKEETER BEHIND I HEBE'S TAILSfhl iiljji WHERE YOU Mil ISl IPfflTOl
' iPJWti UP TO THATMIKE I I AND TH' STEPS, y. TOMMY. . . COMItiQ Dgfl I ARE, SNOOPER. Ml HNKHl
JEga:Y' jeRRY,i ' F,: j
BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER "He'll Spill Everything!"
By EDWIN ALOES
:'VE 60T PLENTY
THE SUNSHINE
PELLETS, PR. KILEY
WE DON'T NEED
ANY MORE NOW-
THESE DON'T
HAPPEN TO BE
THE VITAMIN PILLSJ
BEN, BUT THEY
MAY COME IN
HANDY TO US
TODAY!
a j n ii iii
MEANTIME, AS BEN AND DR. KILEY SPED
TO THE FARM, ANOTHER SCENE WAS
TRANSPIRING IN THE OFFICE Or JUNIUS
JIPPEM!
WELL. STOOKER, YOU DON'T
SEEM TO HAVE HAD MUCH
SUCCESS IN GETTING THE
WEBSTER KIDS SECRET-
THE LITTLE 60UIRT
STOOD HIS GROUND,
JUNIUS. BUT I KNOW
I'VE 60T HIM READY
TO C0USH UP
NOW
II T HE'S AFRAID OF S0IN6 TO JAIL" T " ' "2s I
V III I'LL SO BACK TONIGHT WITH A I U I
I f HOW. 1 1 H COUPLE OF THE BOVS AND TURN L-rfr"" 7
I J C0ME7U ON THE HEAT AND I JUST t ' "4Vt
WW,. V ' l KNOW HE LL 55HLL EVERYTHING! JfivS.
M?w, i sv.'nn
THE NEBBS Yea Indeed
Bv SOI HKS8
Mf II IT WOMT DO SOU MO "X" L'l CAS1 FORGIVE. PEOPLE NAk1D A
:MWrz2-7 voutee PicxErnoe twe Vwfri good- sreve ues 'e po tmeir lovjuv BiR.rw if Weooo OJE.fn
l n-vl MOTEL AG, AlSJ IS IT STEVE j? I PT- DO VOL) SEE THAT ) TWEV ACQUIRE CULTURE CUT K TOO 7 U
7) "I ! S2o tMi ApVeII UiOOW ME GOT STUCK OM?7 VCVLL SiEVER ZBJrl
10-7 ' iyL ( . rjL