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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1938)
TETYFOTIT) MATT, TTITBUNE, AfEBFCRT), OKEflOy. fONT) AT. BEfT.rBET? 12. THE ARMY POST MURDERS " By Virginia Hanson The Characters Catherine Cornish, myself, ota itiny U2abeth on a mid-wttttrn Army post. Ellimbelh, Colonel Wright's daughter. Adam Drew, otflrsr fn charoe of the Investigation. Xeeterdeyi Adam start flues Honing, while I take notei behind a curtain. Chapter 11 Not Enough To Go On IVHEELER sat down abruptly In ' ' a leather chair beside the big table, fumbled in a breast pocket of his dinner jacket and, producing two cigars, one of which Adam curtly declined, proceded elabO' rately to light up. "What's this about your mother saving you from Anna Carewe? Adam asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Wheeler's preoccupation with his cigar failed to disguise the fatuous look which contorted his sharp features. He leaned back, watch Ing the smoke that rose from his small, effeminate mouth. "That's a lot of rot," he said airi ly. "You know how women are, I'm quite able to protect myself from that type of skirt." Adam half rose from his chair, his knuckles white on the table, but thought better of it. "Explain that," he said curtly. "There's nothing to explain. She made a pass at me and I let her see I wasn't having any. She's shame less." Eyes blazing, Adam rose from his chair, leaned across the table and slapped Wheeler deliberately across the mouth. "I had to listen to your mother's filthy insinuations, he said sav agely. "But I'll teach you to keep a clean tongue in your head." Wheeler turned a sickly white and got to his feet, covering his mouth with his hand. "I forgot I forgot she was dead," he said painfully. There was a long ash on his cigar and he began to hunt for a place to deposit it as if it were a stick of dynamite. It was obvious that Adam had forgotten all about me. He spoke to Wheeler tersely and with some heat, employing pungent language to describe exactly what was wrong with Wheeler and what to do about it. Wheeler heard him out with a uffused countenance in which dumb gratitude struggled with re sentment and shame. They parted, if not amicably, at least on terms of better understanding, while I wondered, in a kind of daze, how much of this I was supposed to put In my notes. I still have those notes a cryptic tangle of unorthodox pothooks and taw-breaking elisions, incompre lensible to anyone but me; and even I am baffled by passages that iook like nothing so much as an cient Sanskrit. They are written In pencil on sheets of cheap sta tionery, stamped with the regi mental insignia, which had been supplied in the reading room for use of the enlisted men. I don't know why I have kept them. They're a macabre souvenir of a night I don't particularly want to remember but am not likely to forget. No doubt the tabloids would have paid me tor them hand somely. As it was, their headlines were to be strangely top-heavy. Triple murder and suicide at Fort Havens. Homicidal maniac that was the explanation dished out by Adam, and they had to accept it, for no one else would tell them anything. The united front in time of trouble . . . A Question Mark I KNEW the exact moment Adam remembered my existence. He paused in his caged pacing, stared fearfully at the curtains, turned a rich pink and sat down suddenly behind the big table. "Miss Cornish?" he called diffi dently. I came nut rubbing my eyes. "I'm afraid I dozed off. Did I miss anything after after Mrs. Wheel er lcft?'r He scowled at me distrustfully for a moment, began to grin and slipped into helpless mirth. There seemed to be nothinR to say on cither side. Adam sobered slowly, found a pack of cigarettes, supplied me and himself and got back to business. "This Is rank slacking," he said, glancing at his wrist watch. "And it's one o'clock. Shaw is holding back the horde at the door. Whom shall I see next?" I considered. "You sent the musicians away?" "Yes, after questioning them briefly. The light was against them all during the balloon dance they didn't see anything going on among the dancers. It would have been impossible for one of them to do the shooting." "Who else can be eliminated?" Adam reached for my pencil and notes and began jotting down names. 'The musicians. You and I. The Wheelers, I suppose, can be elimi nated" he ipoke regretfully "and those others I sent nome. Doc Moore told me that he was dancing with Mrs. Flower; difficult to see how she could have done the shoot ing without his knowledge." "Put a question mark after her name," I suggested. "She's so easy to suspect" "AU right . . . Barney, of course, couldn't nave done it there were no powder burns. Think of anyone else?" "Elizabeth was at home," I said valiantly. "I suppose Annie will check that." I did not answer, and he added her name to the growing list. "Who's left?'"I asked when wa had thought for a few minutes. Adam oegan a new list. "Mrs. Orpington. Charlie Spencer. The Shaws. Captain Flower and Mrs. Flower question mark." I shivered. "Not many . . ." He shoved the notes away from him in sudden disgust. "Not unless you add the rest of the garrison, the enlisted person nel and any passing' stranger who felt like taking a pot shot at the nation's pampered pels. There's not enough to go on. We haven't found the weapon. Everyone in the club was searching for it even be fore the ambulance arrived that was while you were gone. Some body had one, of course, but what became of it? Anyone on an army post has access to firearms; every officer has a service automatic." 'Abominable "VOU don't know the caliber?" Doc . I'm waiting to hear from I thought he was going to say more than that, but he stopped and I did not press him. A heavy dread was dragging at me. Six names and one of them Charlie's. "How about Questioning the Shaws one at a time?" I suggested nnany. "ihey seemed to Rnow Anne better than anyone." "Good idea. I'd like to know whv Mrs. Shaw was running Anne down the past week or two. You've seen bnaw. Does he impress you as the type to attract Anne? It's hard for a man to tell what women like. Would his wife be iealous of him?" Shed be jealous of anything that belonged to her. But she doesn't need to worry about him. Anne probably enjoyed teasing her." Adam nodded. "About what I thought." He moved toward the door. I ground out my cigarette and slipped behind the curtains again. Mrs. Shaw might have been any age from twenty-five to thirty- live, and her only clmm to distinc tion was a thin, nigh-rridged nose that narrowed her face and drew together her Dale eves. She sailed in regally, wearing a Beaux Arts costume cut on Elizabethan lines that suited her almost cruelly. In looks she was not unlike the pic tures you see of the Virgin Queen. She perched on the edge of a chair the pointed bodice must have been puinfully boned and indicated that she would grant Adam an audience. There followed an exhibition of Adam's celebrated charm. He posi tively hovered over the woman inserted a durable pillow behind her rigid spine, proltercd her cig arettes and, when she refused, con siderately doused his own; perched on tne taDle beside her chair and bent on her a gaze of such solici tous sympathy that I looked for the very stays of her bodice to unbend. 'I know how vou feel. Marv." he said in a low, regretful voice. "You were Anne's best friend. She was devoted to you. And Nknow you want to do everything in your power to punish whoever did this this dreadful thing." He waited considerately wmle she turned away and dabbed at eyes which I could see were per fectly dry. "ADominawe, "she Dreamed dra matically. "One can scarcely be lieve i. A lovable, charming girl like Anne. Who could be so brutal, so so beastly?" She Daused. as if sens ng the in adequacy of the vocabulary advo cated by her expensive boarding school. Suddenly she laid her hand In a pleading gesture on his knee. "Can't you do something, Adam? You must learn the truthl" I will learn the truthl For a moment Adam's face hard ened with ruthless determination; then ho lifted her hand, pressed it with the precisely suitable degree of warmth and cave it back to tier. 'That's why I want your help," he added more quietly. "Anything . . . she murmured. Adam leaned closer. If there had been any question of his sincerity during the preliminary skirmish there was none now. (CovvrlgM. tfSS, Virginia Hanion) Tomorrow) A sUrtllnf hunch. STRANGE AS IT SEEMS By JOHN MX Tor farther proof addreee the author, inclosing stamped envelope tor reply. Ee TJ. 8. Pat Off. ILL-FATED SHIP SEATTLE. Dec. 19 AP) The 111 fated motorthlp Putter' of Seattle, went aground early this morntnu. for the fourth time wtthtn two month, near the CHilf of Pair Weather, 10 mtlea south of Yakutat. Alaska, a i-adlo meaaaRe from the cutter Hnlrta to the coast guard hrndquarters hero- reported. The Halda wa attaining to the old or the stricken hlp. whoa aklp per reported he hud lout one man ov ;! hoard 'and his verwl was Mow ly break Hv: tip. An fns meaAHfte received In Junt-H". ABka. frotn th? vent at 1:30 n m.' (PUT.! "Id the crew waa preparing to abandon ftblp. 1ji than ft month ago. on No vember 18. the Paterson went aground In Wrangell Narrow. Alas ka, and the Hatda went to her aid but before the cuter reached her aide she worked her way clear. U mihrr Northern California: Pair in north a. id cloudy In south portion tonight and Tuesday; continued cool; general northerly wind o(f const, c-.crpt !rrh southeast wind south of Point tteyea. Oregon; fair tonight and Tueaday; continued cold. Moderate north to eat wind off the const. Kl'iil hrltiTH llnd) OHEOON CITY. Dec. tf.-fAPt The body of Paul t). Khmer, 33. miss ing since an automobile accident last April, was found yesterday on I lie bnik ot the Willamette river near Onk drove. U s Idenfuiist thru a driver' Mceir- -ii mi engraved watch. t'w Mall Trituine Want Ada. 4MM THROUGH SHteK'INFZSTED WATBRS ffe PISH ftR-THEM :7W "TiNY tocoWoTiv'E Read tt A. Pa.. ra&T CfcN EE HlPPEN UNDER . ft COMMON MftlCH AS. age one, of Anaheim, Calif., UWN6 LA 6RhNDMoTllERS l 0? 00 ptfUHPS peRSQUfcRe INCH- eHOUfiHIb WISE SAP ftS HIGH fVs CftUfOKNlW SEVU0lr Living men for bnlt, coconut shell for hires and Itwaoa for hooks Is the strange equipment Tongan natives of the south Paclflo use for shark fish ing. The technique known to natives as "alu'aga" embodies a mystifying but apparently successful appeal to Hlna, shark goddess of Tongnn super stition, which attracts fish to the surface. While ono member of the exhibition chants the sing-song ap peal and offers a tempting tidbit of decayed meat, others rattle coconut shells, strung on looped sticks, be neath the waves. Soon sharks appear, but they swim warily In circles, some distance away. Either the rattles or the mystic chanting seems to keep the sharks In a seml-hypnotlc state, yet they re main beyond an Imaginary deadline. Indifferent to the native coaxing. Then one native quietly slips ov erboard and swims directly to the sharks! Strange as It seems. Instead of attacking the swimmer, the sharks docilely follow him as he swims slow ly back to the boat. 'v . rri l i ; i Z-2-38 There the sharks are attracted toy the decayed meat and rise from the water to reach It. When one comes close to the boat, a native quietly slips a rope noose over Its head and quickly cinches It tight against the boat's gunwale, where It Is clubbed. This strange procedure Is des cribed In detail by Charles Plumb and Chorles Stuart Ramsay, famous swimming mailman of "Tin Can Island." in a recent book of that name. The authors accompanied sev eral "slu'aga" expeditions from Ton-go-tabu, one of the Tongan group. PROSPECT PUPILS 10 STAGE SHOWS PROSPECT. Dec. 1 3. ( Spl . ) The freshmen and sophomore classes of Prospect high school will present two fast-moving and mirth-filled com edies In the high school gymnasium, at 8 p.m.. Wednesday, December 14. "Orvllle's Big Dat,' is the title of the initial offering, which will be followed by "Be Homo by Midnight." Action In the first named comedy re volver about Orvllle's monagemont of his three charming sisters. The sec ond play deals with certain family relationship problems which fre quently confront high school boys and girls. Mrs. France Pearson. English In structor Is director for both productions. Woninn Fatally Burned PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 12. ( AP) Flames from an open stove fntally burned Mrs. Viola Turlay, 92, at her home yesterday. Her 67-year-old son, Ben Turlay, beat out the flames, but the aged woman died a short time later. Killed By Auto NORTH BEND. Dec. 12. (AP) An automobile struck and fatally injured Charles Padrlck, 71. oyster bed watch man, on the Coos Bay bridge yester day. The driver was not held. MOTHER'S PRESENT By GLUT AS WILLIAMS f COMB HOME WrlH MOTHER'S PRKEUT A aiEHDAR Wrrrt PicfORE WD VERSE ON EJERV PA6E - VEW BEAUtlFUL SHIT6 HIMSELF IM Hl$ ROOM AND PROUDW EXAMINES tTAGWH PA6E BV PA6E I' V REMJC-forHW WRAPS If w, uhwraps if 1b Take AUBf lOOKAfrf, AMD WRftPSlfllPAfeAJrl HEARS Sl5K IM HAIL. AND BECKONS HER 1b, COME tti UNWRAPS PRESEhtf AKD HOtiCES THAI If ft 6Ef- CAN'f RE5l5"f SH0W1N6 DISPLAVS If BUT WON'T 1WG DlRfV AND TRIES 10 rf To FATHER WHEN. HE LEf HER HANDLE If CLEAN If OFF OX SLEElE, COMES HOME WHICH MAKES THIK6S ' WORSE. WRAPS K UP WRAPS IfUP AND TUCKS tf AWAV. EXAMINING IT DA1LV 60 TrtftT 8V 0)R)Sf "f IWo CALENDAR LOOKS LIKE AM HEIRLOOM (Copyright, 1938, by Tha Boll Syndicate, Inc.) 3 MA ITER POI By 0. M PAYN" V-A -pickle aw' a J YA A sumac4 acbJ )foTT06 Am' A- SKANTEj-C7 T f jellv-cake AH mr yt M , 1 -Wn T IT Copyright, 1938, by Tt B, TAILSPIN TOMMY Luck Rides Dual with Skeetsl By HAL FOBREP LEVEL OFF! . . SKEETSl . WEDF OM TH WAVES! A V SI no!, rr was busted th' 'cjrkjsw f DlD..ao" Vv ME!.. I BUSTED WINOOWi . . . W WAS TOO STUFFY. V"". ( VsE . .. I V I 1 TH WINDOW , .rl,. SWHV? AM IT 5MELLED CaA" WlTH MY SHOE BEN WEBSTER'S CAREER Too Lute, Jason! By EDWIN ALOF" DID YOUW OH, DOC KILEY. S jf CALL FOR If READ THIS 1 1 1 ME, U IT'S TERRIBLEllhJ 1 t -v J. 1,Hm TOsm Y WELL, WHAT uiu you EXPECT? OH. DOC. I KIN EVPLAIN EVERYTHING.1 I WAS ONLY TRYIN1 TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT; MEANTIME, NOW MILES FROM THE FARM, TWO BOYS. AND A DOG TRUDGED ONWARD INTO THE NIGHTJ ST l THE NEBBS The Sarcastic Mr. Slider B? SOt tTW mf" "-s. : r iissr . . . . "ssss&aat TWIMK OF THAT, SLIDER, WOW OlO YOU lSi GAVE THI5 COMPDEMTIAU IMTER3S TME COKIVETiSERS. lTDOKl TO SUSPECT J IT WOULD BRikjG A LOT OF CROOKS " V A PICTURE OF" TMEM V TUEM DOMM MERE. AND WMEM TME J ' ( AMD SEMT IT TO THE ( ---ar S COMVERSERS STARTED TO y- ' i-VgOLICE AMD TUATS, ) t-S f FAWN OVER. ME, I SAID, i ',i.j f nl'vl' rsvwj -yt- x.tr y-N L-,..f'J ui!lv...i.,....,., 1 l VVrli I... P yiA fT COULD EVER. DOUBT FROM APPEAR AMCES THAT NOU AMD RUDY WERE BROTHERS. BUT WUFrvj IT COrAES TO IMTELLIGEMCE AMD ALL-ROOMO ABIHTV THERE'S MO EV1DEMCE OF RELATIOMSHIP.. HE'S GOT A VJlLLIMG MOUTH -IT WOULD HAVE BEEM A FIME COMBINATION WITH VOUR BRAIMS y mm .I"-- r
