THE NEWS AND THE HERALD, KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON
I SERIAL STORY
5 WOULD KILL
' BY TOM HORNER -
copvuisht, MS.
NBA tRVICK, INO.
Yaatarlari Xn. aatfcaraa aa
mil awaaraalp ( Ik aat, ex
plains fear aetlMU m4 laa aorllaa
f B.ataaraa'a aata Malloata
laa Mt. After aaa adatlta aaar
nlltf Tlalrallr wllk arr anab.aa,
Dimoa aeoaara kar of alaltlaa: 4a
kill Drntharar. a aaaka It look
Ilka aalaUa. Wklla ka trai-aa kcr
aaaalala aellaaa a aket akaltara
aa allllaaaa al Ik roam.
CHAPTER XXIV
KJNherel In here!" FJynn yelled
' u he leaped toward Alston's
door. Dawson pushed put Helen
Benthorne and followed. ,
', There mi thin, blue wisp of
moke over the bed u they
crashed through the locked door.
Alston lay there, (ace down, as it
asleep, Just as Dawson had seen
him before. His right arm hung
down to the door, and his finger
tips rested on a small blue-black
revolver. A vivid stain spread
over the white pillow as blood
flowed from a wound In his
temple.
Dawson bent over Alston,;
pressed his ear close to the old
man's back, but it was a futile
gesture. As he straightened up,
he noticed a paper, tightly
clenched In Alston's left hand.
"There's nothing we can do,!
now, Flynn," Dawson said in a:
low tone. "Call the coroner."
It was not necessary. He wasj
standing directly behind Helen!
Benthorne, In the doorway. As
Dawson tuned away from the
body, Alston's daughter rushed to
ward the bed, but Dawson caught
her in his arms and led her,
gently, to a chair.
"Dad! U" she screamed, again;
and again, then wept, hysterically.'
The coroner entered on Daw-:
son's unspoken order, made a
brief examination of the body. He:
lemoned the paper from Alston's j
hand, reed the address and
handed.it to Dawson. "It's for!
you, Captain."
Krone, the coroner's deputy, I
filed into the room and Ara and'
John, still handcuffed, followed.:
All were watching Dawson as he
read Alston's message. Mrs. Ben
thorne's sobbing was the only
sound in the room.
Dawson bent, whispered to Mrs.
Benthorne. Her sobbing subsided
a little. He cleared his throat
"You all are interested in this
letter Mr. Alston has left far me.
It concerns all of you.
"Dear Captain Dawson," he
read. "1 trust my decision to ,
solve your case for you will not
)upset too many of your excellent!
tbeorles. It was inevitable that
you should ultimately reach this!
final conclusion, and I have taken'
it upon myself to anticipate you.
-i lulled Arnold Benthorne.
' " 'Any man who strikes my
j daughter forfeits his right to live.!
"'Helen's happiness has been
my sole aim in life, since her
mother died, and if killing Ben-
tnoroe will remove a cause of un-
happiness I am glad I was able to
do it
"'it was not difficult I came
in the rear entry, went directly to
Benthorne's study, killed him and
then ran to the rear stairs. I was
in the upper hall as Helen went
down the front steps.
' " 'Much of the time I was sup-j
posed to be asleep, I spent in Ar-I
nold's room, directly over the
study. Your voice and those of the
'others were easily heard Arnold
lhad special openings Just for that
Purpose so I knew far more;
t about the progress of your inves
tigation than you guessed. What
jyou did not know, or possibly
overlooked, is that there is a com-;
imunlcating bath between Arnold's
room and my own. That simplified
matters considerably. It would
,have been even easier if I could
I have entered Helen's room by the
i same route, cut her door was al
'ways kept locked.
"'I chose di Torio as my most
likely suspect and tried to fasten
suspicion on him by finding one of
on cigareis in uie passageway. But
he had obliged me by carelessly
dropping one there Mmaaif.
" 'I was listening, upstairs, when:
no guinea to tell you that he had
seen me, so I had to kill him too. I
probably would have done the
same for the girl Ara if she had
not suggested a better way by tell
ing you to iook lor the gun under
Mrs. Benthorne's mattress. You
shouldn't have let her scream that
soioudly. But you arrived just in
time to prevent my putting it
there.
" "You've been searching all over!
nor tne gun that killed Benthorne
and di Torio. It will be found in
my hand with three of its five
shells fired.
" 'I had hidden It in a mnrf r.-n.
venlent location immediately after
i niiiea eenuiome. . . , The latin.
dry chute. Your man didn't find it
When be searched through the
clothes because I hung it within
easy reach inside the chute. Ewn
if he had looked up, from the bot
tom of the chute, he could not
have discovered it unless the door
on the second floor were open
and I paid particular attention
that it remained closed. He might
have seen it had he flashed his
llight up, but I doubt it Anvwnv.
that was one of the chances I had'
to take. You would have found no
fingerprints on it, at any rate.
" 'How did I hang it there? I
thought you might guess when you
saw me with the wire clothes
hanger in my hand. Simply in
sert the hangar upside down diag
onally in the laundry chute, push
it downward, well out of sight
The spring of the wire keeps it
from slipping down. Then hang
the gun by the Digger guard on
the hook of the hanger.
" 'It was simple to get the gun
out, shoot di Torio and return it
after you had gone downstairs. It
I had been caught, I would have
said I was merely disposing of a
used towel.
" "But I've been afraid, through
some trick of circumstantial evi
dence, that you might try to blame
Helen for killing Arnold. That is
why I chose this way out
" 'Full control of Alston Motors
will revert vto Helen. Perhaps she
will forgive me, as she has always
Insisted she already had, tor sug
gesting her marriage to Benthorne.
I urge her to make some restitu
tion to the girl and boy for the
damage Arnold has done them.
" 'And by the way, Captain, if
this case has given you any head
aches, please try those sleeping,
pills I gave you. You'll find they
are Just ordinary aspirin. I will
have a long, and peaceful sleep
now.
" My bank will attest my signa
ture. I am sound in mind, and
know what I am writing.
"'WILLIAM ALSTON.'
aaa
TJAWSON was back at the desk
in the study when Ara and
John entered.
"How about taking off these
bracelets?" Douglas asked, laugh
ing. Dawson smiled at their happi
ness. "I'll give you the key, Ara, at
the City Hall, when you're Mrs.
Douglas. Then, if you're afraid
you'll lose him, you can throw
away the key." And as they turned
to go, he called after them: "YouH
find Nick Smith and his cab out
front Make him take you down
town." He stepped to the window
to watch them go out the front
gate, out into the sunshine. He
smiled again as he saw Douglas
kiss his bride as the taxi sped
away.
e
tTTTELL, Captain, that winds up
another one," Flynn said as
the front door closed behind them.
"Yeah," Dawson agreed. "Now
maybe I'll get that vacation. But
you know, Flynn, this one had me
puzzled. With this suicide and
written confession, we'd never
stand a chance in court but, per
sonally, I'm not convinced that
Alston killed Arnold Benthorne."
(TUB END.)
Says Blueblooded
Hubby Socked Her
OUT OUR WAY BY J. R. WILLIAMS
OUR BOARDING HOUSE With MAJOR HOOPLE .
am.
THE PEEPER. "TRAP
Jf?NHLlMS
li-XI
E6AD. THERE'S THE
DOORBGU. JASON,
1 3TEP ALONb- 6EE WHO IT
16 DOM'T LfeT ANVONu
M P IT SHOULD
BE TlMlfi&S OR A
POLICEMAN- MAK-MAKf
EXPLAIN! THERE IS
A CA"5.OP 6MALL POX
1 IN THE NSSIflHBORHOOD
AND t HAVE 60NE TO
PERNAMBUCO TO
INSPECT AV SUGAR
PROPERTIES
IT A.
6HWT MAM- KlNOA
CROSS LOOKiN - AT
TH'OOOB.MISTAH
WAOOR.'' W MAB
A ONIFAWM CAP
HAVE A 6WBBT OF
PAPAM IN HIS HANV
AH CAINT TELL l
HE'S A DEPPlTV
4m&'PF OR M&VSGr
A SOJE'
I
Ml
rem
RED RYDER
At ARM. 'IT'S TH6
L AUNDRvMAN ,'.
HafMittf.
BY FRED HARMAN
k
Jeanne Jordan, ex-" Vanities" I
girl, dances scantily clad in a:
New York night dub. Her Phil-'
adelphia socialite husband, Fred-!
erick Steelman Bain, 45, didn't!
like it So, she declared in an'
assault complaint, he burst into!
the club, punched her, tore out
a handful of hair, later followed
her home and repeated the pejM
formance. !
BATTLIWa THE BUSHIMO TORBEMT, THUNDER.
GUIDES HIS MASTER'S BODY TO SHALLOW VWTER-
AMD PULLS RED RYDER,
FROM DEATH IN THE;
RAPlPS
FLAPPER FANNY
Lmtarmtmccaja. T. K. wc. a . wit. ot.
By Sylvia
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE
OnCB MORe RVPER. LOSES vSv. -v A ' ' aiT' M
CONSCIOUSNESS.. J lfrV". ' HHH
THUNDER CANNOT UN" , j S1"aljil W jUj II l 'JaTBl Tl
TI6 THB ROPES THAT 1 Jt!?j2.fa 1l I' (I IfVi
BINO HIM.. UNLESS fLwl ,jfZ )Va5st l I' I C&s-
n.t, aLlWr
BY HAROLD GRAY,
V THERE -THAT
RATHER SHABBY-BUT
SEEMS UKH A NICE.
QOIET NBGHBORMOOO-
MAYBE TAUX ROOMS
THERE
UH-HUH-
MAYBE
SOON FIND
OUT-
z
7 FUNNY- NO ONE TV
COMES TO ANSWER 6HADBS
THB DOOR BELL- ARB DRAWN- t
SOMEBOOYS HOME- MAYBE THEY'RE fj
6MOKITS COMIHO ALL IN TH' f.
OUT OF THE ,b4 BACK O TH' Jb
I OOKT LIKE
TO PROWL. BUT
MAYBE I OUGHT
TO TRY THE BACK
POOR THOUGHT
I HEARO VOICES
INSIDE -
X
Vt OP COURSE-
WET.L AU. CO
A AROUND TO
I THE BACK
I MAYBE THE
BELL'S OUT
OF ORDER- I
HRMlfT .S irrr
Ju . I IA1I.I I
JILL? ANNIE I ,
YOUVS COMB I
YOUYOOVB
COMB'
I
1 IP3
Tit".
FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS
BY BLOSSER
Jnng him over sometime Mac gets awful lonesome all
the other dogs in the neighborhood are too big for him to
lick."
SUPER SLEUTH
HORIZONTAL
1,8 Most famous
detective of
' fiction.
13 To wander.
14 To relinquish.
16 Orient
17 To rent
18 Tedium.
19 Onager.
20 Small tumor.
21 Accorded.
25 Half an em.
26 Uncooked.
29 Trial ending
with no
decision,
34 Mineral '4 I
Answer to Previous Puzzle
RpiSIAL-IPpiNISIEILILIEl -LlllSnPII
AR I AILKlAir A
EISIS EllT I NlN VtinTH R
A K E E SDUAITnTIA RISTT
HTREEsilHoOi&isnL
NiECrmi H0v mm
skSs iiii
ipWAMATTi i lensBAiumY)
serine.
35 Being.
36 Seaweed.
37 Female fowl 56 Front hall.
m inaenmte 67 Opera
' originator.
62 Witticism.
53 Turning
machine.
85 The Supreme
Being.
article.
39 Entrance.
40 Sun.
43 Measure of
area.
44 Peaceable.
46 He is more
famous than
his , or
melodies
58 Persia.
60 He is the chief
in a
series of
stories.
61 He was
' created by Sir 11 Existence.
Conan 12 Street
VERTICAL
1 Senior,
2Pit
3 Opposed to
odd.
4 To soak flax.
5 To be
indebted.
6Food
container.
7 Relative.
6 Female heir.
9 Thin.
10 Spar.
16 Unfilled
, cavity in a
lode.
20 Religious
homage.
22 Insect
23 An accuser. ',
24 To daub.
27 Monkey.
28 Pale.
30 Wayside hotel
31 Melted.
32 Sick. .
33 Epoch.
39 Wrath.
40 Oriental
guitar. "n
41 Preposition.
42 Purple flower,
43 Cod of war.
45 Indian nurse,
46 African tree.
47 Light wagon,
48 To scorch.
49 Money
changing.
50 Conservative.
51 Land right : .
54 Cravat j
56 South J
Carolina.
New England.
I'-HM Is I7 I h I jp I'Q I" k
is
"n is FJ -
" t 3l P
rSE.Z www
"5T54 1
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V BEueve rr !l u and behold
. GEH, WHEN 1 WAKfi UP
IN THE MOBNINQ , 1U.
THINK THERE'S A STRAWGEft
IN IH5 ROOM i HOPE
MB THIS
VAJULV
mm
I WAS ALWAYS
SO BUSY KEEPING
HOUSE FOR DADDY,
X GUESS 1 DlOH"
NOTICS THE WAY
j. looked;
f Lard nevbr. f
m OAtrt ikAiiru ATTPKfTirwj I
1 TO hAB J
L II III ihmmmrJ S
BOY3 ARC. V,
LIKB THAT
WH6M THtV
LOOKT AT A CAk-P.
They can Never.
EB PAST IHB j
FROST1NO ifj
WASH TUBBS
BY CRANE
AMD JUST A
X WAA PASSIN6
THE BACKCOOC.
nt rr cucivtn
THAT CRAIV MAt),
UMK TUBBS. WtTH
A SKELETON
UNcea ws
AEMrS! .
&ooo
HEAMEHSiJ
i
I HtACP HE5
MAC TWELVE
WlUtb....
WAVBE THAT'S
nue rm rueu i
w.. . . .
El v,i ' 3
. V1HAT LL I TELL VOl). VMEU X-' 1
; rsJ( VI611AMCE cwwiiTTEE jrl
KVECV TIME I STABT OUT
THE DOOR, A !iUWCH Of NOttV
WOMEU ARE WATCHM6. I'LL
HAUE TO STUff THft IM TH6
PURUACE AMD BUHW
ff UP
3T fAERCV
"Mm
Its
BOOTS AND HER BUDDIES
BY MARTIN
HOtW ,A rSE.K6.A i
Oil. ttfftl '. St. VW." TO
CAL YooVlE. lMTtREniD
SfeVLOAU MORE feUtnWtRS TUAM
SHE. CLAIMS 1
LTLAST TWO fiJ
NOT HAMY
lHt L.V
tut La&t was vJv-
THEWE V3A.S DUST
AT
rJOW ABOUT I
.A. votU-
BOWUiV? COSt
HTO OLD tAftM
Pltuw To TMVM.
b 1
a I I r S .
C AU. THE HEASJ ,CKA9,OKOE.
rAM090 -sCv'b -.MOM OMEOVit
TSW VAOULOM'T VUOW ASOW feOCH
Vl MOT A V( .C9W,tO
VJT WtB PA HtR. OMM
0Kl.S-AtJO T fev'T
V.AttE.aiM& TO WW SOMS OOP3.
TWM S'O TAtAM tNOOOV. TO
rWAr4A6B.
1
or v i S7 , r. -
ALLEY OOP
BY V. T. HAMLIN
1 COWT KNOW AW, &ALONEY ULVS3E3
HOW I CAM I DID VOU THIMK THAT AFTER
EVER EXPRESS V-CHASIW VOU ALL
My GRATITUDE ( ABOUWD1 THIS OCEAM
FORIOUB HEROIC V I WUl GOWMA JUS'
EFFORT IN OUR H(.e.rrt, SIT
f m. LAND HO ) WOTTA YA MEAUjlF 55t f WELL, GEWERAL OCX?
I ,, , .T-v-a I HUX, I COULD HOLP K THANKS TO YOUR, t?M
IfelS'-tMrT M. THIS THINa ALL A OREAT STRENGTH WS Mfrl
pQ
-AN LET A LITTLE OL
fa 1ALL. CMPAT UP Ol ITA
TH' PLEASURE OP KICI4IU' J
-X YOUR. TEETH IN f
'ft