SERIAL STORY
'I AM A MURDERER'
BY MORRIS MARKEY ' fiSrS'Sfife.
SEARCH REWARDED
CHAPTER XXIV
TyjRING ihete year I lived In
Cleveland, O. The nature of
tny business affairs had taken me
there, and I had settled Into
mall, obscure apartment I lived
In the utmost simplicity, and
voided friends. From time to
time, I would change to another
apartment, equally obscure and
at' the same time I would change
my name to a new one.
Tor, from the very , outset, I
knew that the clean execution of
my alms must leave my own his
tory, my own trail through life,
misty and confused one. The
boy 1 named Richard Frye was
'slowly erased from existence upon
the earth. And in his place there
emerged not a single, new Indi
vidual, but a doien wholly In
conspicuous Individuals.
. It was this basic necessity, In
deed, which laid the solid ground
"work for the method which I was
to employ in the final scene, al
though I did not realize It at the:
Beginning.
I fell into the habit of playing
roles: at first, from the, simple
need to allow John Hunter of
No. 12 Cherry avenue to fade out
of life in behalf of Charles Mc
Graw of No. 67 Albemarle street
- But every mortal soul, no mat
ter what the steadiness and singu
larity of his purpose upon the
earth, must needs find some
amusement And so I took to the'
. amusement of creating brief char
. acters when the mood came upon
.. me.
One evening, I would be a
debonair blade in a Chicago caba
ret an immaculately turned out
fellow of the world, easy to meet
at the bar, a ready spender of
money, requesting particular num
bers from the orchestra and re
warding the players lavishly for
playing them.
Again, I was a snarling dock
walloper, or a cold and silent and
dangerous figure in some lakefront
dive. Once, I spent two days as;
a make-believe policeman ac
tually giving summonses to sev-j
eral unhappy violators of the1
parking and speeding regulations!
without being questioned or
. suspected. '."
This . succession of pretenses'
which were, I think, quite harm
less in their effect upon other,
people, became in short my hobby J
Until, at last it dawned upon me,
that it was something more than
a hobby that it would perhaps-;
(play a critical, part in my plan.
f? course, I had no real con-p-'
ception as to the manner in
Iwbich the ultimate scene would
jbe played out I had wit enough
to realize that the stage-management
of that , scene in which my
own complete safety would be of
major importance must depend
exactly upon the setting and the
circumstances in which I would
: at last find him. .
!I knew, with a complete cer-
nty, that I would find him. It
1 occurred to me lor a single
nt that my search would fail.
or that other, and higher justice
Would take its retribution before
I could take mine. For, you see,
I had my own religion and I
had faith in it
! 'I was in Chicago, on an errand
Iconnected with my sporadic busi
ness affairs, when I did, at last,
iflnd him.
. Which Is not to say that ,1 saw
Ihlm, nor recognized at the mo
pent that my quest was at an end.
I had brought along with me a
Ismail accumulation of my trade
Journals. And in one of them, on
la bitter morning when the wind
from the lake fluttered the cur
tains even through the closed win
dows of my hotel room, I cam
upon an item:
t Col. Wesley Hope Meri
wether has announced his re
tirement from all active inter
est in his gold and silver enter
prises, and resignation from the
boards of Twin Valley Smelting
Company, Spillway Develop
ment Corporation, and other
companies with which he haj
been associated. He will retire
to an estate which he has re
; cently acquired at Gull Point
Long Island,
I telephoned to the editor of
the journal.
"This is the Chicago Mirror," I
aid. "We noticed your item on
Merriwether in the current issue,
End we haven't got anything on
im in the files. Can you tell us
a little about him? Is he a Chicago
bum?" , .
There was a wait
?Hello. We haven't got much
On him either. One of our boys
picked up that bit of news, and
we ran it That's about all I know.
He hasn't been in the news much,
t guess. Maybe just some figure
head." "Thank you."
Telephone calls to the corpora
tions listed produced a fact: All)
of them were singularly averse to'
talking about Wesley Hope Merri-I
wether. "Colonel Merriwether has!
given instructions that he is to
receive no publicity."
It was simply a matter of rou
tine to complete my business af-'
fairs and take the train to New
York. '
... .
1ULL POINT was less than an
hour from the city,, and on
my second day there I saw CoL
Wesley Hope Merriwether, looking
dnto his face as he was pointed
lout to me, passing in the street
iand knowing that I looked into
'the face of Norman Tinker.
I felt no surge of elation. Such
g mi)niej)t hacj been ordained from
- '
the start of time.
I spent four days at Gull Point
as a salesman of drug sundries,
this time, and living in a cheap
room meeting the small business
people, and listening, and dis
covering the nature of this com
munity called Gull Point I
learned that Colonel Merriwether
had a daughter in his household,
and I saw that daughter.
I saw also my mother In her
hair and in the proud fine lift
of her face. But again, it must
be confessed that my emotions
were not profoundly stirred. Those
emotions had been burned brittle
on a day long ago, in the far dii
tant forest
During the four days, I learned
enough to enable me to go bade
to the life of Paul Gray, in Cleve
land, and to sit down and think.
That thinking occupied the bet
ter part of three weeks. From it
there emerged the basic pattern
of the plan. Not the details, of
CMirse. Those must wait upon
events, upon the imponderables of
chance and of human caprice.
But in all of its essentials, the
plan was formed.
It was a long-term plan, indeed.
It' contemplated serious use,
upon the grand scale, of that play
acting with which I had diverted
myself in the past
It required the creation of two
characters, not one. For the prep
aration of them or at least of the
most important of them I decided
to go to California. The choice
was obvious. Nobody knew ma
there, nowadays. And California,
particularly the neighborhood oil
the moving picture studios, was
the one conspicuous spot on earth
where, a stranger might appear
out of ffiior? ahJV5capeeveh
the most casual interest in his
past
I spent a year In the Hollywood
country before I returned at last
to Gull Point: relumed now as a
gay and careless fellow, friend to
all the world. And on the day
that I took the lease upon a small,
carefully chosen cottage, I signed
that lease with the name of my
new self Henry Prentiss.
(To Bo Continued)
Dealer snortages put new
value on used merchandise. Cash
in on your "junk" through a
classified ad. Phone SI 24.
fill:
mm
-- :
PURCHASE COUPONS
$25 TO SPEND
WITH ONLY $5 DOWN
Bo your ktddlet need shoes and
you don't tinva tha moaey? I'm
Purchase Coupon, Get 9S5
worth today and use them,
when U'a most convenient, (or
purchasing any number of ar
ticles costing $6 each or less.
Don't miss a buy or a bargain;
keep coupons on hand. Usual
carrying charge.
GET YOURS TODAY AT
Your SEARS CREDIT Office
THIS CURIOUS WORLD
By William
i Ferguson -
GROUNDHOG'S
BODY TEMPERATUPrS
DURING HIBERNATION
DROPS' TO ABOUT
OR JUST ABOVE FREEZING,
AND HIS HEART BEAT
SLOWS DOWN TO LESS THAN
SOOEA7S fiR A1SJV7Z.
CAST IS EAST AND WEST IS
WEST, BUT SOME DAYS THE
ATLANTIC IS PACIFIC," Says
O WILLIAM ADEE,
EVEN
DANDELIONS
HELP . WITH THE WAR
THEY FURNISH POLLN FOR.
SPRING BEE BROODS...
BEES MAKE HONEY,
AND HONEY SAVES SUGAR..
COPR. 1941 BT NCA SERVICC MCI
T. M. KG. U. S. PAT' 'Jjj
NEXT: When setting forest fires was honorable.
FAMOUS TRAINER
HORIZONTAL
; 1,7 Pictured
I late trainer
j of athletes.
14 Pact
15 Ireland.
16 American '
' humorist
17 Sugary.
19 Come in.
21 Infants.
23.Curtsy. -
li Singing voice.
27 Short-napped
fabric
M Heart. (Egypt)
Bl Courtesy, title. 52 Elevates.
82 Area measure. SS Consumed
33 Plural (abbr.) liquids.
34 Seed 58 Mineral rock,
container. . 60 Prevaricates.
36 Paid (abbr.). 62 Foreigners.,'
37 Color. 65 Deliverers. !'
36 Coalition of 66 Regular ,
enemy nations customer. --:
40 Speech parts.
. Answer to Previous Puzzle
ISE R fl ILWJ A I L.', Nil P
IT E N D ETR 16MetDMSI
APEDB-aO 1-SARISTl
fM VIRGINIA l!eI
lICHBaN T R iff El
lHEfeEATEN T' V Nl
C HPi R L eIsIt on A TIP M
R A I HE RSpfefe E L ER 5
Y R SmN EfEP Yf E T NA S
pIeIsIeIrItIeIdI Ifflobts
42 Tenant
MFinish. "
45 Transpose
(abbr.).
16 Fish eggs, y
47 Russians. ' ...
49 Girl's name
61 Gentle. .
VERTICAL
1 N-ar.
2 Railroad
(abbr.).
3 Examinations. 20 Babylonian
4 Turns to near deity
. side. 21 lie was
9 Indian. famous
6 New York J athletic
village.
7 Myself-.
8 Ship's
company.
S Alcoholic
liquor.
10 Ontario
(abbr.).
1 1 Noblemen.
12 Road (abbr.). "57 Alabama
13 Compass point (abbr.).
18 Tuberculosis 58 Either.
(abbr.).
22 Boat paddle.
25 Gratuity.
26 Commanded.
28 Bestow
blessing.
29 Separately.
30 He was also &
well-known
33 Play on words
35 Noise.
37 Crowds
together.
39 Hitter. ,
41 Individual.'
43 Age.
48 Yes (Sp.).j
49 Employer, 'v
50 Paid notice!
51 Contract into
wrinkles.
53 Influenza
(colloq.),
54 Bind.
56 Knock.
59 Music note?'
61 Steamship
(abbr.).
63 Negative.
64 Symbol for'
. stannum.
' 1 I s T"1"- IT IT-nj"
: 7s :
; Llli
'' 18 H 'J so im
r: m : : r- -
TO KAE, EOT TO hWE
ROOMFUU OF BRILUMT
PCTICE TO IMPRESS
CRT ICAL, IMTELLl&tN I
US-- VNE'CB
TH' BOARD
OF DIRECIOCS!
ALU YOU
HKVETO DO
VMP'PF
IMTELUGEMT.'
kio' k0 MAM
COULD THINK OF
AMY THING fcLSE
IP Ml-. HAD 1 0
COMCENTBrE OKI
1'HH.' JUST GO
AHENO--&EL.U US
OM tOMETHlhi'
VECY &INAPLE
UKE A. SbVESJ-
SCHOOL.
VNFliK
1
S8H
Out Our Way
By J. R. Williams
TVE CRACKED BOARD
INSTEAD OP THE CUCTOMAR PRO
FUSE P,OTAMCDISPLKN M
PRODUCTIOM OP t6bTABLE&
"TO HELP THE WAR EFFORT
VMWN OOKT NOD ADOPT THE-
iV IDEA, INSTEAD o- PlVTTIMG
IN NOUB. OU CROW
rMPtas VPAre. WOO CONE OUT
OF hBERNMION AU5LIMG
JiOtvE.THlNG ABOU v
FORMNL GFt.DEM--
BUT INE MEViEK -SGEM )
ANWTHlMGMEY InMOUR, ).
vard tuat x couldn't
RAI5E In A TJOSTPAM
IMS
Our Boarding Houso
With Major Hoopla
,1
IHD
E'VE SCOURED THE COUN-iRY.'X,".f"i'i5t ""CCr
THERE NO OTriER. PLACE )4-SSr SHALL VOE-
WMl RDW0R.'CABIy1'DE THEY 'RE
;-W17? ( SURROUlDtD J OUTLAWS THESE
TSSflllteaf-A. & CUN-fAANS.' )7 OEE STING5 STILL HAVE
iaY0' Yttk . Ut ME BLIND QUICK,
Jp?yf-S .. I AH V I T Si ( LITTLE BEAVER- HIDE
j$mS Ai f A-SOIM1 V W POCKET BOOK.
Red Ryder
Gooo-e '
CBYE.'UNCLE 9 ftWE-
MALCOLM --G'BVE. 4, fr-nr
MR. HURT- j;:if'- T-L
iv
WELL, SHELL "3"
Be SAFE IN SCHOOL
FROM NOW TILL
EVENING" WELL GO
UP TO HER ROOM
AND HAVE ANOTHER
LOOK AT THOSfc I
PAPERS. EH. HANS y
YES BUT THAT
CHILD -DO YOU
NOD THIr SHE
WILL TALK? I
WOULD NOD LIKE
ANYONE TO SUSPECT
ANYTHING
r t i
IS
Ii
na! yoltre just
A FRIEND O' OLD
MITT HELPIN' HIM
ON HIS BOOK
NOTHING PECUUAR
ABOUT THAT-
IS
NO -YOU'RE
RIGHT-WELL.
LETS GET
TO WORK
LOCATE THAT
FORMULA-
A
m r ?,
Hv Frod Harmon
THAT GUY. HANS HURT!
TH WAY HE JUST POPPED
IN FROM NOWHUW.-S'POSe
HES a K." MUST BE. F
HES 'UNCLE" MALCOLMS FRIEND -
BUT IF HE IS O. K., CHECKIN
UP ON HIM WON T DO
ANY HARM
Hi
5
TV yhtA,t.x:-ii
MM
r.T: wtv
i'J It. ft ltL ( 1
i
Little Orchan Annie
Bv Morcltl tjrav
This is AMAZING
HIS TEMPERATURE: IS 20
DEGREES BELOW
NORMAL
It noEMT
SURPRISF MB,
DR. ALTER'
15
r
All of a suddem
kav mouth felt
COLD. If WAS AL
MOSr AS IF I HAD
REACHED OUT THAT
WINDOW
Freckles and His Friends
And grabbed a
handful. of snow
AND chewed OM 177
JUST BEFORE VOU
GOT HERE I
fS
Bur OF COURSE. I
wouldn't THINK OP
DOING A THING
LIKE THAT
.
r ; V
t V K . If J
u said met,
5V CAREFULLY " )i
i,
V 2-1
By Blosior
rf?HE PROCEDURE
Uflf TUF AMFPIAM
RAIDERS 15 SIMPLE.
DKAlllFr) A MEM'
BERS0FTH6E5TAPJ(I
ANO brtAKIN&otB'l
ntLi ne.y A nnOAHru I
A GUARD OUTSIDE p JfA
Wash Tubbs
K-VOUR ARREST. ' i i
ncan it i i. a t :i-:z . 'm- m
f'f- BUT, HERR
? MAJ0R.THIS IS
1 FOR ONE By THE
a name of hans
Vheinkel
AND MY NAME J TAKE CARE OF HIM, BLATZ. WEQHMBANER
nnon tx, will cut thb i tLCKnc
..LiVeyW PROCEED WITH THE
WILL CUT THE TELEPHONE HUE., THEN WEU
OTHER 6UARDS
ww:
ft n
COCR. 1M:
8 tt -WiSMlu
IA BERVICE. INC. T. M. PEG, 0. U. I'AT. OFF.
WOT VCyfA-COWfc TO OSt 1 I'M
ViOLiVOVO" V.
f
m p HUCB
BiM..r..
Booti and Her Buddici
KovAi r AOTf?tbb rLv L
W!K TrhNV r
1
1 1
8
m
ii
OVoOOOd
1 f
"ML
4j Btf WA uul
o i iMri c nop FF. Hnw.uPl L(YWAIT' HOLD IT BOYS
FROM WHAT 1 L&T'S JUil SLlr-Vr-UM
YOU WELL OUR POR I'M
ON MY WAY,
S-nir'l I 7
HOP
VEZZ.IR,
'BOyS.I'M
yER. DAD'S
OL' PAL
OOP
ft? ST
OL' FIRE-EATIW
PAL.I
OKAy.
JUST PS
you
SAY
Mi
HE SURE
WAS SOME
WARRIOR,...
THALI If t
. By Martin
fiWW,, OH STOp THAT GROUSING.'
AW ..DAD Sl'VE JUST GOT TO HAVE
MUM1M.G.,. . V HOUSEWORK.,
'&GR-WOOE
I
5
..'1 COI'ft. 1M1 BY"
Alley Oop '
By V. 1 . Hamlin