PAOE TWO
MTDFOKD MATT. TUTBfTNTl. MEDFOTCD. OI?EflON, FRIDAY. OCTOBET? 14, 1938.
I B MAX SALTMARSH!
The Characters
Haro Stern, handsome author,
living on the French Riviera.
Archie Lnmiden, ml, Hu
jo's friend.
Ottllie Willi, beautiful Ameri
can eireee.
yesterday: Ceiu murders Hen
rietta Adams, and Ottllie and 1 are
lacked in the secret room. There
we find the oun that (tilled O'Dm
nelL Chapter 39
A Girl Vanishes-
TOOK another look at the Inert
body on the floor. Beside It was
woman's handbag, and at sight
ol it I knew in a flash Just what
kind of a fool I hau. been.
I snatched it up and tore it open.
There were keys there, as 1 had
known there would be; the big
latchkey of the Chateau la Vague,
the Yale of Geiss's front door, and
smaller, queerly shaped bit of
metal that I knew without telling
would unlock our prison door ana
let us free.
1 whooped with joy like a
schoolboy and raced down the
room to the tartner door.
"Come on, Ottiliel" 1 yelled, and
s she came, I fitted the key into
the little hols and heard the wel
come sound of the wards turning
One minute later we were drag
ging open the garden gate, staring
Into an outer world that we had
hardly dared hope to see again.
The sun was high In the heavens,
1 rubbed my knuckles across my
heavy lids, and as I did so, heard
familiar voice. "May 1 ask," said
Hugo dryly, "if this has been an
li-night party? Or were you
merely sleeping on tne eiiectsr
The girl had been clinging, half
dazed, to my arm, but at the sound
of his voice she wrenched herself
free and, running to him, flung
herself on his breast, twining her
arms round his neck.
"It's you!" she sobbed. '"1 knew
you'd come, but oh, I've been so
frightened! Hugo. I was so terribly
frightened!"
He put his arms about her, awk
wardly, like a man who is half
afraid, and then suddenly strained
tier to him and pressed his lips to
her hair.
"Dearest," he said, very low.
"Dearest, you're safe now. You're
raith me.1'
1 stood there with my hands In
my pockets, feeling slightly resent
ful, for, when all was said and
done, it was I that had done the
dirty work, and he was getting the
thanks. But after a minute he
raised his head and grinned at me
in a shamefaced way.
"Sorry, old man!" he said. "Un
accustomed as I am to public love
making, I forgot all about vou for
the moment!"
"Don't mind me!" 1 retorted bit
terly. "Carry on as long as you like
but when you're through, it
might be as well to get Ottllie back
to the hotel. Dunning must be
throwing hysterics by now.
' He looked suddenly conscience
stricken. "You're absolutely right!"
he declared. "Actually, It's past
eigni aireaay. uituie, my dear,
we'll have to get a move on, but
first, tell me how you got here and
what you've been doing. If I hadn't
run Into Fleuriot and heard that
the last he'd seen of Archie was
when he turned in a purposeful
way up this street, I might have
been searching for you till Dooms
day. As it was, I was Just ponder
ing the best way of brenking into
the villa."
"Fleuriot?" 1 echoed, startled
"What had he been up to, I
wonder." ,
"I don't know," said he, ''but his
ear was inches thick with dust, and
he looked as if he hadn't slept for
a week. He asked me to tell you,
though, that he would be calling
your bluff shortly, whatever that
may mean.''
"well," 1 said, "I'm ready when
he is but taking it by and large,
we've certainly had a full night,
Ottille ond I. We both had the same
Idea of breaking into Geiss's villa,
and we met on his balcony. Fol
lowing that, we witnessed Gelss
murdering Henrietta Adams, and
we've been locked in with her
corpse for the rest of the night, but
we did, at least, locate the missing
gun."
'I Love Yon A Lot'
"pHE Carlton terrace was empty
1 when we arrived. As we halted
Just inside the door, Hugo turned
to the girl and gently unlinked
her arm.
"Sweet," he said, "we re too dirty
and disheveled to go through an
other day without cleaning up. but
there's obviously nothing wrong so
far, or Dunning would be in evi
dence. Will yoi. let him know
you're safe, and tell him we'll be
back as soon as we've had a bath
and shave? After that I want you
to promise not to stir from vour
room until I give you leave."
She looked at him, an I for a mo
ment I saw a flat refusal trembling
on her lips; then slowly her ex
pression mftened, and a second
time she reached up and kissed
him softly. "You're a medieval
relic, my precious." she murmured,
"but you re terribly sweet and I
love you quite a lot."
"Hugo, I said, as we turned
down the ramp to the deserted
Crolsetle. "are you going to marry
'hat girl?"
"If she'll have me," he answered
elf-conscinusly.
"She'll have you all right," 1
retorted, and added gloomily, "in
more ways than you thinkl"
He looked at me, itartled' and
resentful, but made no protest,
though his tone, when he spoke,
was a trifle frigid.
"I suppose," he suggested, "that
the next thing is to notify the
police about that woman's mur
der?" "Well," 1 said cautiously, "it de-,
pends what portion of the police
you're referring to. If we report to
the June d'instructton. he'll be
obliged to hold his inquiry right
away; u we ten me commwaire.
he'll want to know how we broke
into the villa, and may feel bound
to arrest us for breaking and enter
ing." "Fleuriot, then?" he suggested.
"Fleuriot or no one," I agreed.
The reception clerk at his hotel
informed us that Fleuriot bad not
been in all night "It is possible of
course," he added, "that the gentle
man has gone to view the confla
gration!" "What conflagration?" 1 echoed
stupidly, for the seemingly chronic
condition of the Lsterels had for
the moment slipped my memory.
He raised a shocked eyebrow.
"The cape!" he explained. "It is
possible that Monsieur has not ob
served? Villages are threatened,
boats are standing by to take off
the inhabitants of the coast towns,
and troops have been rushed from
Nice and even from Marseille to
fight the fia.nes. It is a most inter
esting spectacle." he added com
placently, "but a pity that it should
chance to coincide with the brade
rie. It will be difficult for our visi
tors to witness both."
Back at Hugo's, I had almost for
gotten the fire, when I saw a sight
that halted me, gasping, in my
track. The cape itself was invis
ible, covered with a great pall of
brown smoke that stretched half
across the sky, but every other
second a shower of fiery sparks
would shoot upward, followed by
a searing tongue of flame.
An hour later we took the road
again, and during that time the
whole town seemed to have wak
ened to excited life. The main road
was crammed with jostling motor
cars, carrying sightseers to the
scene ol tne tire, ana through mom,
demanding right ot way with
shrieking horns, tore great lorries
packed with troops, shirt-sleeved
and stcel-helmeted and armed
with pick and shovel to fight the
flames
'Where Is She?'
AS we wormed and twisted our
way towards the Croisette.
signs of the rival festivity began
to emerge, r lags ana ouniing uuv
tc-red gaily on all sides and when
we came to the main street, it was
to find it closed to traffic by a
whitepainted barrier.
Every shop had its stall outside,
piled with a strange iumble of
merchandise. The street was a
seething mass of people, and as the
wine-snops were doing a DrisK
trade, 1 imagined it wouldn't be
long before the fun became fast
and furious; but the Croisette was
still folded in an aristocratic
emptiness, and when we entered
tne canton lounge, it was to nna
Dunning in solitary possession.
He was haggard, crumpled, and
unshaven, and I felt a momentary
pang of compunction that we had
dallied so long before joining him;
but after all, I reflected, he had
known for some considerable time
that the girl was safe, and could
have made his own toilet too, if he
had wished. Even as the thought
came to me though, his greeting
dispelled It
"Where is she?" he demanded
sharply. "Holy smoke! I made sure
you'd bring her along with you."
I gasped. "What the devil do you
mean? 1 demanded blankly. "We
left her here a couple of hours back
and told her to let you know she
was safe and well."
"She let mo know all right" the
big man answered bleakly. "Sent
me a note saying she was all right
and would see me and tell me all
the news as soon as she'd cleaned
up. But no word came, and when
I went to see her, I found she'd
never got to her room; all that
greeted me was Cassandra Chubb,
running around like a demented
thing. The only consolation I had
was that Cassnndra'd had sense
enough not to alarm the old man."
tic broke on and wiped his wet
forehead. "Gentlemen." he said
solemnly, "Ottille Wills wrote me
that lctlur, standing here in the
vestibule, and stepped into the ele
vator to go to her own room, but
she never got there, and from that
moment to tins, there s not a soul
in the hotel that's seen her again.
I've asked 'em all: hall-porter, who
saw her come in with you; recep
tion cierx, wno gave ner paper to
write her note; elevator boy who
saw her get out at her own floor:
and not one has set eyes on her
since. She didn't come down again.
eitner ty tne elevator or the stairs,
and short of having a room to
room search of the two hundred
and fifty apartments in this hotel,
I'm at my wits' end. All I could
hope for was that she might have
slipped out by some back exit to
loin you."
"She may have done that" 1 said
doubtfully, but Hugo broke in
sharply.
"Good God. man! She'd never do
such a thing She promised me to
stay in her room, and I'm not dis-
Cosed to doubt her word She's
een kidnapped, or worse, by that
devil Geiss. what are we waiting
for?" he finished harshly "Come
on. Archie! We've got to see the
fiolice and have the town combed
or her."
TffipHeM IMI. Hat SllrmaraSJ
Tomorrow! Ready for the klUtni.
PEACE FADES IN
SETTLEMENT BAY
CITY LABOR WAR
KAN FRANCISCO. Oct. 14 (API
Outlook for MtMemfnt of the depart
ment store strike and the warehouse
shut-down ( discouraging to bard-
Mayor Angelo J. Rossi's special com
mittee of ten doggedly continued Its
conferences, with another one sched
uled for this sfternoon. Meyer Lewis.
AFL representative, was reported on
his wsy here from Houston, Tel., to
aid peace effort.
Conferences also continued today
to eek a quick end to a strike In
Seattle against two fiwayne and Hoyt
vessels, the Point Lobos and Point
Estero. Almon E. Roth, president of
the Waterfront Employers association
of the Pacific coast, said be would
inalat on performance of contracts by
all unions which have left the ship In
support of the CIO Marine Engineers
Beneficial association.
Closing time for Too Late to Clas
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8 MATTER POT
B,C M PAYNE
n chocolate.) cirw mehTT5
Jaw C-A eWST"JJJF ria ")-" 1aM y The Boll Syndicate, he.) 1
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BEING T6 FIND HIStfOUtH
ffluforte IC-!? (Copyright, MM, by
FINDS BUSINESS OFFEEDIrtfe
HIM5E1T PRETiV TlRlKS AMD
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TAILSPIN TOMMY Skeeter Isn't "Foolin' "1
By HAL FORREST
working nsi tutor today.
In the dispute which has clowd
down more thnn 100 wnrfhoum,
throwing a.AOO CIO mi Ion men out
of work, hope of a quick pvace flared
high, aputterix! and then dwindled,
aa Paul C. Smith, newspaper execu
tive mediator, announced wearily:
"The two part lea appeared to m
(after Wodnrininy conference x-paf
ately with dtstunutor and union
leaderai to be about a clone together
aa the north and aouth polo."
flmlth ald he would continue, to
ahuttle trick and forth between the
two aide., doping to get poeitlona
nearer tcnethr ii a oint a-Mton
scheduled for lata today. I
In the department ator atnk,
mm
X
Hi' I; Hi
'Hii-Vl!
Reugvimg that
1-413 PAL, TOMr-tY,
WAS BEEN KILLED
BY THE TVs0 GUN
MEN IN THE. OLO
HOUSE., SKEETER
PUSHES sJERRY
TO 9APETY, AMD
GRIMLY WAITS FOB
THE ARMEO MEN
AT THE BOTTOM
OP THE STAIRWAY,
THE PISTOL WHICH
HE HAS TAKEN
FROM THE CAPTIVE
THUS HELD TS3HTIY
IN HIS HAND . .
TRAINED UP THE
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