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.wan
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40 .
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SERIAL STORY'
: 'I AM A MURDERER'
BY MORRIS MARKEY
AT some minute past 8 o'clock
, (Daylight Saving Time) ot a
September evening In the year
1040. I stood In full view of per-
!'? haps 30 men and women, all of
iMby whom were acquainted with me,
.! at least by sight, and shot two
bullets Into the heart of Col. Wes
ley Hope Merrl wether. I then'
moved, with such swiftness as may
( bo forgiven In the circumstances,
'"-it away from the scene.
This could lead you to believe j
that I am a fugitive from Justice.!
But that is hardly the case. I am J
not a fugitive in the sense of'
the! word as one in flight I live:
fa ' surroundings of the utmost!
charm and serenity, with no carej
at all upon my mind and certainly i
no fear, while police officers oi
a whole continent search among
the byways of a hodge-podge so
ciety for some trace of me. Such
a trace they can never, possibly,
find. . W
My well, I suppose we must'
call It a vendetta, though I despise!
,wn the word has been accomplished. !
'-A- Perhaps, Indeed, the whole pur-',
Ma pose of my existence has met, andl
passed, Its climax. At any rate,;
jvi. that is the best explanation I can!
" provide for my present compul
sion to set down these facts upon
paper. . ,, , -..,
Ci, I is no doubt odd, at the age;
of 34, to be a man who has.com-.
pleted his work upon this earth,
to be sitting beneath the awning
which covers the afterdeck of his
yacht, glancing out over the blue
waters of the timeless sea, and
dwelling upon memories after the
fashion of an ancient veteran of
long-forgotten wars. ' But such,
las, is the truth of it. . ..
Beally? Well, perhaps within a
certain while I shall hitch my
wagon to another star. Though
bo star in all the heavens could
be so glitteringly compelling as
the last one. The pursuit of no
dream so fascinating, so magnifi
cently satisfying, as that which
left Merriwether dead, and fin
ished, and even a trifle pitiable
because even in the extremity he
did not lose his elegance.
- Be that as it may. Would you
care for the story?
CHAPTER I
crtHE station wagon rolled along
the level paved road, past the
elms and the broad lawns of the
manor houses. Cynthia Merri
wether. was driving, and it. was
an astonishing thing that she could
invest even so commonplace an
occupation: with a spirit of zest
and gaiety. She was a lovely crea
ture, with golden red, hair, and
bright blue eyes, and laughter that
trailed through the open' windows
of the wagon to hang in the soft
ir.
It was: in the nature of things
that she should have not one com'
p anion, but three, and all" of these j
wree men . xienxy . rrenuss was
beside her , on . the front seat.
amiably assuring her that within
the next two hours she would be
bankrupt
"You havent a chance In the
world, Mist Pretty," he said.
"Even If your precious Whirlwinds
had Tommy Hitchcock playing
i; number three, they couldn't beat
a iy crowd today. We're hot, I tell
- trou."
But . remember," she .said,
You're out of it How can Clover1
get anywhere at all. without the
magnificent Prentiss wonder of
the west, southpaw marvel ot the
times?" ; ,
Prentiss laughed., "Clover goes
op three goals, Pretty, when Pren
tiss takes to the sidelines. I'd
rather have Mike in there any
day, if Mike is mounted right He
will be today."
He was an easy sort of man.
His blond hair was burnt with the
sun and wind. His very blue eyes
rarely lost their touch of laughter,
of some profound and secret
amusement that nudged his soul,
Eay in,: day out He was strongly
lade, and his shoulders seemed,
Iperhaps, a trifle broader than they
really were beneath the exag.
(Berated checks of his pale tweed
Backet
Toby Parker, leaning between
(them from the back seat, was tight
end nervous. "How do you get
rated, anyway, Hank?" he asked.
("I thought they ruled out left
handers three or four years ago."
I, Fred West .who sat beside him,
was in quick agreement "Its
dangerous stuff, you know, Hank.
fTo tell the truth, I always go hay
wire when I see you coming down
Ion the ball. Haven't the faintest
pdea which side you're going to
play. Horror of smashing into you
': f head on."
JJOTH of the younger men were
m- in boots and white breeches
, o and the' absurd gray-and-green
;! checked shirts of the Whirlwind
4. side. Behind them, on the floor
1' of the wagon, were sticks and
-,.-' helmets, spurs : and whips and
spare tack and camel's hair coats
and gaudily striped towels.
Prentiss grinned at them. "Well,
it's a little like the time they
ruled out gspltball . pitchers In
COPYRIOHT. IHt
NEA SERVICE. INC
baseball. All spitballers in good
standing could keep on throwing
in their rather unsanitary way
until they workout, but no new
ones were allowed. Same as mi
in this same. The left-handers
with a rating could go on playing,
at least until that head-on col
lision removed them from the lists.
I even think about, its possibilities
myself, sometimes."
Cvnlhia turned her head about
to regard the younger men. The
station wagon, by some special
miracle, continued true upon its
course. "You hearties are begin
ning to sound a liitle Jittery," she
observed. "Get your minds off the
game. Think about Ginger Sogers
Fred AUen. Because you ve
igot to win, you know. I've got
jmillions riding on you. But mil
Jions!" I'd feel a lot easier," Toby
iParker said, "if you hadn't put all
that jack on us. Even if it is only
thousands instead of your crazy
exaggeration. I don't like to play
for anybody's chips but mine. And
if it doesn't annoy you too mucn,
Cvnnie. there's a Mack truck com
ing out of MiHer's drive."
She lauehed and turned her eyes
to the road. They slipped around
the truck, and Cynthia exchanged
quick, amused glance wiin
Henry Prentiss.
"You know," she said, "I dont
really mind if they re "a litue
ner-vl-ous."
Cynthia Merriwether tooled the
station wagon down the length of
the field, just beyond the side
boards, until she came up to theH
little cluster of men and horses
gathered at the far end. She
jumped from her seat and called
out gaily to players and grooms,
and patted a lean brown pony on
THIS CURIOUS WORLD ftSS1 1
SWWglSAMEM CAN4
COPS. 19W BY NEA SERVICE. INC T. M. RES. U. S.
ANSWER:
LATE STATESMAN
HORIZONTAL
1,8 Pictured
late South
American
- statesman. -
13 Wiring
anew.
14 Coronets.
16 On. account
(abbr.).
17 Believer in
an ism.
18 Boon; ...
19 Employ.
21 East Indian
shrub.
Answer to Previous Puzzle
aTnTIJIe JteE yr JU f a
' 1 Isie a CLARE p
LeglE fF pARlP
PTY s wu- IPURI5IE
nlajpIe r yiTItn tIhe a d
giR AT v HB R L K Q. A k 6.
Wl T' PENAL WB.B.OR
3aIei fvbUlYlEl UIsIsIeIt
22 Voung dog;
25 Ambary.
26 Long pasture
grass.
28 Subduer. .
32 Not old.
33 Mend." .
34 Egyptian
. goddess.
35 Distant.
37 Mediterran-'
can island.
40 Rodents.
41 Editor (abbr.)
42 Necessity.
44 Heart (Egypt)
45 Electrical
term.
47 Organ ot
hearing.
48 Slumber.
52 Tavern.
53 Symbol for
ruthenium.
54 Led.
56 Providing
food."
59 Movements;
60 Intercalates.
VERTICAL
1 Cause.
2 Exclamation
ot pain.
Sft
m
35
The nose.-' Everybody TrrlrmeS "rt
her, and Captain Push, the um
pire, Rot down from his tall chest
nut to take both ot her hands, j
and return her smile, and Doom
that she was ruining the game by
betting too much money on it
"Careful, Mr. Puritan," she said,
"or you'll get no bid to the cham
pagne party I'm throwing on my
winnings." .,
"Objections withdrawn!" he
shouted, and the grooms consid
ered this a monstrously amusing
remark.
(To Be Continued)
At SEARS
THE IDLE RICH WHO CLIP
THE COUPONS
No Indeed) Ifs the regular
folks who sometimes run
short of money and like the
convenience of Purchase Cou
pons In their purse. Get a
bookful today and. spend
them like cash when you
need them. - Small .down pay
ment, usual carrying charge.
GET YOURS TODAY AT
Your SEARS CREDIT Office
PAT. Of r.
T. aaVib"
5 PENT FOR EACHHOU2 OF i
NAZI OCCUPATION
IN FRANCE WOULD SUPPORT
SOO FPEMCrt FAMLES
OF THREE PEOPLE EACH .
FOR AN ENTIRE VEAJZ.
Malta.
15 Heavenly
body.
20 Before.
22 Postpaid '
(abbr.). - "
23 Slope upward.
24 He was .
'of Argentina
until June 24,
1942. (pi.). .
27 Jugs.
29 Kind of nar
rative poetry.
30 Indian
antelope.. -
31 Yes (Sp.).
3 Two (prefix). 35 Parables. .
4 Silkworm. eV-
38 Sheltered side.
5 Hazards.
6 Powerful
explosive "
(abbr.). ,
7 Giant king
of Bashan,
39 Longs.,
40 Headstrong. .
43 Narcotic
46 Cut.
49 Consume.
50 Dutch city.
8 Old TesUr '
Si-Dash (slang).
ment .(abbr.). 52 John (Gaelic).
9 Equip. 55 Symbol for
10 Sailor.
dvsm-osium.
11 Man's name:
12 European . .
pike, perch. "
13 Defeat. ,
56 101 (Roman).
57 Railroad,
(abbr.).
58 That thing.
B
12
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FmMet'and HtoFrient .' " ' - - "cf -n
M'SIEUR
FIRST, GENTLEMEN, THE
LECLERC WILL
NAZIS FEPvR 0UR BOMCERS,
THEY ARE TRVING TO
HOW VO VOU SPN? TO
Tea OF 80M
HMVEWNCiS
IN 6ERWMW
y "
V ( vgJECnIES 5j
Wash Tubbs ' '
V'rl'bSOK),
''''' Liiin ''minHt twie, tMaT. liittsl
Boots and Her Buddies BV Martin
jZt&WMQ'-MtM1 1 LOOK! ' GEN EBAL OOP AKI' ljS'c' H 'hWUlMi C W GUMMIT, OOP, I KNEW S SORCV.GUZ ...BUT I HAD ) , . . "
WfrlM&IIML UK ; DlMLie? Jfyr (fSrwAHf YOU'D COME THR6USH WITH A ) A HECK OF A TIME Z ... ,
Alley Oop
PECENTRAUZfc INDUaTKY
WHEREVER
POSSIBLE; THEY
MOVE VITAU WAR
PLANTS AW OFFICES
K A Oft
K?""'
TO PLACES PEV0IP
OF MILITARY
OBJECTIMES A
V COPB- 1843 BY
ts ... - i i i-., : . i ...;'" m.je( i n s-i-a
FOR EXAMPLE, PINKELSBORCi WAS ONCE
QOAIHT, UNIWPORTMAT'TOWN IN BAVARIA.
T HAS TWO FACTORIES AND THE OFFICE
noroft.FT PACTS DISTRIBUTION
"
NFA SEWVICt. INC. T. M. RCO.
U. B. Pat. oTira
A
IN THAT OFFICE ARE
NOW
OF
CHARTS SHOWING THE
NAMES AND LOCATIONS
OF ALL AIRCRAFT PLANTS
VI
IF YOU SECURE THOSEl
CHARTS, YOU WOUIP
KNOW WHERE TO
BOWB EVERY AIR
CRAFT PLANT IN
GERMANY. NOO
COULD UTTERLY DE
STROY THE NAZI AIR
rvKCfc!
By CranO
By V. T. Hamlin
o
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