SERIAL STORY ; ' ,
'I AM A MURDERER'
BY MORRIS MARKEY . 'SSnZSS!&S&.
CHAPTER XIX
JYNTHIA laid tha cablegram on
the tablo standing at the arm'
of her chair. .........
"I see,"; she said. But It was
plain that she did not see at all.
VOf course you do," said Lieu
tenant Thatcher. "Vou see that
we are dealing with an Impostor,
a pretender o the boldest sort.
And we haven't a single clew as
to who ho really was, or where
he really came from, Except
one. '. . ."
"That Is the extraordinary note
this man left on the desk. It may
bo . the ravings of a crazy man,
cf course. But you see, we can't
depend on that. He may really
have known your father years ago.
And so it Is important for us to
hear everything you can tell us
about Colonel Merrl wether's past
life."
She hesitated. She hesitated
Jong enough for the others in the
room Fred West, first, and then
the rest immediately after him
to get to their feet and move
s toward the door. But Cynthia
called them back. . '
"There is not much" she be
gan. And then, in a very tired,
small voice, she told all of them
tha same story which she had told
Vaughan Dunbar on that night be
side the pool.
When she was done, there was
complete silence for a little time.
Even Lieutenant Thatcher seemed
unable to pick up the thread of
his talk, and Captain Meehan was
lost in a study. It was such a
pathetic and such a little story.
And told so few things . about
Cojonel Merri wether.
Henry Prentiss had sat with his
chin on his fists, looking at the
floor, while she told it, and he did
not lift his head now. Mitchell
Grace was flushed with embar
rassment, as if he had been forced
against his will to witness the
unveiling of privacies. Anna
started to cry, and Fred West. took
her arm in a hard grip, and she
stopped.
Lieutenant Thatcher coughed!
and stood up, and went to the
window. Then he sat down again.
'Thank you, Miss Merriwether,"
he said. "You have helped us a
treat deaL" Which was certainly
not quite the truth. Captain Mee
han nodded. ,
J JE. spoke for the first time, fa
, his cold, methodical voice. "Is
there anything at" all, any. small
or 'apparently unimportant thing.
which you have not told us? Did
this man Dunbar ever let slip any
thing which, mighthave indicated
what was in his mind all the time?
It .was there from the first, you
must remember."
Mitchell Grace shifted his body,
and started To speak, and looked
at Cynthia.
"What is it, Mitchell?" she
asked. . , . .
'"I was only remembering oh.
K was nothing. Let it drop." .
Lieutenant Thatcher was quick
to say, "Please. We must have It'
"I was only thinking of the day
of the game, when he came to
lunch and almost immediately got
a wire calling him back to town."
He explained what had happened.
and then he said, "I thought, and
I believe Cynthia did, too, that he
left in a frightful hurry. Just
well, all of a sudden he was eone."
Lieutenant Thatcher pondered
mis, and looked at Captain Mee
han, and Captain Meehan said,
"Thank you. It may give a little
ugnt later on."
Cynthia said, in her ' steadiest
voice, "It would be possible,
wouldn't it, that if he were a
let's say a spy the people he
knows would deny knowing him,
ana tne records in Washington
would be kept secret Maybe you
know what -I mean they jus
wouldn't tell you even what they
do know about him. ..."
"We shall consider the point,"
Lieutenant Thatcher said. "I am
glad you brought it up, Miss Mer
riwether."
And the telephone rang. They
eouia near it sharp and loud from
the hall. The butler came to say
11 was lor .Lieutenant Thatcher.
And Lieutenant Thatcher heard
through the receiver that Vaughan
Dunbar's Packard roadster had
been found.
"WHEN they got to the place
' where it had been found
after a rushing drive they mut
tered to themselves, Thatcher and
Meehan and Henry Prentiss and
Mitchell Grace, and the burden
of their muttering was that
Vaughan Dunbar was a' very
clever devil indeed.
The car was in a municipal
parking lot In Garden City
about 10 miles from Stone House
and directly southward across the
island a lot that was very large,
situated behind a huge apartment
building, and without regular at
tendants. Sandwiched in its nicha
of space among more than a hun
dred other automobiles was tha
automobile of Vaughan Dunbar.
But it was not easy to recognize.
For, lashed to either side from
hood to rear bumper, there were
canvas signs held in rigid wooden
frames. The signs 'were white.
And upon them the lettering, was
crimson:
ASSOCIATED WILLKIE CLUBS
.OF LONG ISLAND
We The People Want
WENDELL L. WILLKIE
FOR PRESIDENT
The profile, the color, even the
make of thefcar were almost com
pletely concealed. The Hcefisa
plate itself was half hidden by a
flap of carefully torn cunvns
which fluttered down from the
end of one of the signs. But it
was Vaughan Dunbar's license
plate, VR-2121-Y. An alert mem
ber of the Garden City Police De
partment had noticed it as he
cruised through the grounds.
They got a squad of these same
local policemen, and began a sys
tematic examination of the build
ing. It had more than a hundred
apartments, and each of them had
its bell rung, and the occupants
of each were asked questions.
With no results. And the man
ager gave assurance that no
body even remotely resembling
Vaughan Dunbar had ever set
foot in the building.
Lieutenant Thatcher hurried to
the station of the Long Island
Railroad, which was close at hand.
But urgent questioning of the
newsman and the ticket sellci
brought only blank faces and
shaking heads.
They took the automobile to tne
sheriff's office at Mineola, and
went through the tedious business
of discovering that its wheel, doors
and driving apparatus bore, amply.
the fingerprints of Vaughan Dun
bar1 and of nobody else.
For the first time, Lieutenant
Thatcher seemed discouraged.
And the metropolitan area alarm
was extended to become a national
alarm.
The police, and his own news
paper, continued the search for
Bill Stewart prowling somewhere
over the embattled continent of
Europe. And back at Stone House,
Lieutenant Thatcher lifted his
cocktail glass to his lips, sighed,
swallowed sparingly, and regard
ed Captain Meehan with care.
To Be Continued)
THIS CURIOUS WORLD
NOW
SPOUTS.
ANSWER: Liberia, on the west coast of Airier ,
NEXT: How are diamonds helping in the war?
AMERICAN POET
HORIZONTAL
1 Pictured
American
poet,
11 Respect
12 He wroto
" of
' Grass."
14 Deduction.
15 Positive poles.
17 Heart (Egypt)
18 Burden.
20 Prognosf V
21 Negative
22 Convent
worker.
24 Portals.1
26 Snake. l
27 Locality.'.
30 Royal Field
Artillery
(abbr.).
31 Walking stick.
' 33 Fascinate.
34 Middays. -
35 Nobleman.
36 Anglice
- (abbr.). -38
Wound witn a
dagger.
AO Mongrel.
Answer to
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mm mm mm
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44 Either.
45 Sailor
(colloq.).
47 International
language.
48 Provoke.
50 Doctor (abbr.)
51 Dominions.
54 Emptied.
VERTICAI,
1 Spider's home.
2 Grand-
parental.
' 1 3 I 5 I 16 I? la la lio
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19 " 28 mf " "J
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' I I I I I t f
HOLD EVERYTHING!
"What shall I do now, sirt It'
knows the passwordl"'
Wouldn't you love to do this
...YOU CAN!
Step tight up, folks, try your hand
At punching Hlrohlto.
You an sock him In tht tetth
And kick him In the xat-o.
AH you need Is txha cash
To set It, clean your storeroom;
Stll the things you iwvtf us,
Buy bonds to stal tht Japs' doom.
Herald & News
Want-Ads
Get Results
By William
Ferguson
GARGOYLES,
USED AS DECORATIVE WATER.
ONCE REPRESENTED V.
SPfSnS FLEEING FROM THE
BUILDINGS'.
, . 1 com 1H3 rr nu snmcE. mc
". t,tj T. H. R& U. S. PAT. OFF.
A SINGLE PLANT OF
WINTER RYE
PRODUCED fousrsBv
BLLOA &OOT-ASSS
WITH A TOTAL LENGTH OF
MILES.
Previous Puzzle
11 Type of riddle'
13 Feeling. -
14 Sped.
16 Soak, "1
lflSleeping. '
'20 Fruit, (pi.)'.
23 More finicaL.i
25 Preposition.
26 Handle.
28 Article.
29 Hearing Organ
31 Type oi
lettuce.'
32Errimet. .
35 Clearer. '
37 Symbol tot
niton-.
3d He was a 19ti
3 Mother of 6
v Apollo S
(myth.
4 Step.
5 Vs.
6 Illustration
(abbr.).
U .century
P (PL). ,
40 Peruse.
41 Fragrant
oleoresin.
43 Hocky
pinnacle,
45 Asterisk ""'v
46 According to,
49 Spread for
drying.
52 Tin- (symbol)
53 Paid notice. '
7 Pairs of
horses.
8 Lion's necft
hairs.
9 English rivei
10 New English
dictionary
(abbr.).
7
VDU ROCKEP
L THEM TO SLEEP
OM THAT .
BOARD ACROSS
"THE ARMS.'
WHY MOTHERS GET GRAY
TOU'LL BE A&LE ( A FFN THIS IS fAIGHlY k
TO SEE IfA F J V, aSs JJQm . NCE OF TOO
v twsjCoBox J zzf&m-ry folks-vll pat
Red Ryder
WELL--VOUVE
C50T THSAME
"COLONEL" ftNNIE-
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O HERV
Little Orohan Annia
AND
WE HAD
WE ,
WANTED
HIM TO
DO, MRS.
SMITH
Wits
SORRY,
FRECkLES,
BUT MRS-
ALTER BEAT
YOU TC) IT J
HE'S
RUNNING
AM ERRAND
for her
Freckles and His Friends
PERHAPS V00
CM HELP M.
AFRWP
CAN W,
COLONEL HARPER
I WAS TOLD CAPTAIM
EASVS HERE AT
THE 6LIDE5 FIELD,
BUT THEY 0UT
LET Me SEE
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my
Wash Tubbs
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KOtA'E.VOH A
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ANNIE I
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MY CADFEY, DID VCU " Tl ( SUCE WAS AK1 1 ' fcfl 1 f"" TTMP '
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SUZ? COULD GOSH.IT WHACT ) OCOOZ THIrJKSn V ' ;) f7 , ' , HIOHWESS.' MO DOUBT
THAT OF BEEM D1DMT LC30K ( TH...P , SO TOO ( Iffl 3 Jt . SA t r-,, KV-iL , '
SURE.' I HADDA. HAVE SOME
WAV TO SLIDE OUT FROM
DEC 'EM WITHOUT WAKIN'
VOL) DON'T THINK IM GONNA
CARRY THAT LOAD ALLTH'
YOU'RE GADPIN
, Ou Our Way
-a 'By J. R. Williams
StOLONEL" ANrAlE BUT SINCE YOU
STRRTEO TH-JUC3!Sg MAVBE H ASK, I AM I
COMMftNDQg J YOU H "COLONEir I
NEVER fl ANNIE --TK I
WEVE GOT A 1 HEARD Vj ONE Y0UR6 f
JUNIOR COMMANDO) O' TW JR. I TALK1N
TTREOUT
I GOTTA DO WHATEVER I
AND XM NOT ALLOWED IO IELl
TRUTH ABOUT ANYTHING
THEBES NOTHING
BUT, SIR, ITS DREAD
FULLV IMPORTANT.'
YOUM LADy
I'VE JUST
THAT I...
HAD A
ALL MY
SIMPLY
HIM
ml
TO
TVVb T Wc.
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UN
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I WAS
TIME
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"A1 tl At I'T
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fM MILDRED
WRISTPIN-MY
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tOUONEL" O OUR
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TOLD TO DQ
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rl'M SORRY-HE ' 1
LEFT UNDER SECRET .-rwH
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WHERE
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poor, little leo
PROBABLS IS IN;
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WHAT VJILL XA
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CALL
1
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SO Vt A NURSE TO A t Vf - 7 "TrAPER , LOLITA
jj StRASSGER N5OVJ-T0L) l YJ- & WE'RE GOMMA
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FOR YOU. I
I-- ID BE GLAD TO BE
JUST A MAJOR. IF YOUD
MILDRED- I
HOW ARE I
THINGS fl
BE WILLIN TO TAKE
COLONEL Ar!E"YQUO
KNOW HOW TO
THINGS OONg-
-r GOIN'Y I
WHY IN HECK COULDN'T MRS- ALTEPt's ODUSlN
GET HIS OWN TRUNK ? I'M LIABLE TO CATCH
A BAD COLD AND CstT A tOUU LAac ur
L.
NtA StBVICt. INC. T. M. Bto
HE'S
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OF IT"? MHN X MVo A, -rf
MOOPLfc OFTEN LFT WE NIBBLE
FISH AND CHIPS AM GAME
AAE A SIP OF ALE:-' IS THE; .
AIODERN CHILD SO FRAIL THPCT
BIT OF GRASiV MENS
FOR. TH&
TJEPAR.TMENT
Our Boarding House
5 With Major Hoopla
By Frod Harmon
GOOD
NOTHIN' DOIN"
(M ONLY VISIT1N
HER6.GOWTA.-eUT
OVER
I D LIKE TO BE A
MEMBER U VOUR
OUTFIT--AN HELP
GET
ALL t CAN-
T
(IMJOlO
aw
By Harold Gray
AMP-TUFN I'LL
HAVE TO Sra
NOME FROM
mc
SCHOOL
By Bloisor
WELL... THAT ALL
A
-11
0
DEPENDS. I SIMCERELY
HOPE SOJ
a
t. i .v.i I,-.-i.vrrr". ,-jt-
:e mm,.:
By V. T. Hamlin
By Crano