— ■■i. in — '**• ——m ■ —■————————■—
*A Life For Sale
BY SYDNEY HORLER
a
“Nearly. It was a close
ihing. If his man-servant,
after hearing a strange noise
In the bathroom, hadn’t
forced the door, the news
papers this morning would
have been publishing full
biographical details of one
of England’s most prominent
politicians. As it is, not a
word of the affair will be
allowed to leak out. But why.
Bunny, should a man like Sir
Wilmot Williamson wish to
take his own life?”
“There may be many rea
sons," was the matter-of
fact reply, “but it certainly
seems to point to blackmail.
It would appear to be a case
of personal blackmail, how
ever. In that event, why
should they come to you at
all? Is Scotland Yard in on
this?"
“No. A special branch of
the Secret Service—a sort of
Secret Service of the Secret
Service—has formed, and,
as I have already told you, I
have been placed in charge
of it. As for your query,
Bunny, frankly I am mysti
fied. The fact is known to
very few. I am expected to
root out this evil, but how
they imagine I am going to
do it I don’t know, because
they are tying my hands by
withholding valuable infor
mation. They tell me so
much, but no more. What I
think is taking place is this:
By some means or other
secrets in the lives of the
men who form the present
Government are being ob
tained (if you think the idea
far-fetched, Bunny, reflect
from your own experience
what man hasn’t a secret in
his life) and utilized for
uiuuivuuiu ui uiic aun ui an
other. More than that I can
not say at present. It Is all
very hazy and difficult, and
that is why I want your
help.”
Chipstead was prompt in
his reply.
“I’ll do anything I can,
Bob, of course. Where do you
think we can make a start?"
Sir Robert shook his head.
“I am completely in the
dark,” he said again; "I
called you this morning,
Bunny, because I wished to
know if you were free to take
on this work. Perhaps in a
few days’ time I may have
the beginning cf a clue. Di
rectly 1 have, I will give you
a call.”
The two men, who were
such old friends, and who
had such respect and liking
for each other, shook hands,
and the short interview was
over.
Chipstead was about to
turn to leave, when the door,
which the Secret Service
chief had unlocked, was
violently thrust open.
A man, whoe deeply lined,
cultured face was twitching
with emotion, confronted
Sir Robert Heddingley.
“I must see you at once,”
he said, apparently unaware
of Chipstead’s presence;
“something terrible has hap
pened.”
Bunny, noiselessly leaving
the room, recognized in the
speaker the Prime Minister
of England.
Bunny Chipstead walked
slowly to his club. The im
pression madj on him by his
visit to Sir Robert Hedding
ley was considerable. The
British Secret Service chiel
was not the type of man t:
become so seriously per
turbed without reason, ant
the tense feeling with which
Chipstead was so familial
when starting on a ‘jou
came back to him. After the
bustle of the streets, the du!
atmosphere of the Granville
! Club became Odious. and,
; changing his mind, Tunny
walked to the Savoy for
lunch.
His work had tuned up all
his faculties to an astonish
ing degree of efficiency, and
| it was by accident, and not
design, that he found him
| self overhearing the conver
sation of the two men at the
I next table.
“I tell you,” said the dis
I tinguished-looking man with
I the gardenia i.i his button
i hole, “that the fellow has
completely lost his nerve.
Poor old Ferraby!”
“Old!” ejaculated his com
panion; “I was at school
with Phillip Ferriby. He‘s not
a day over thirty-six. He al
ways was u brilliant chap—
even when a kid he talked
about going into politics—
and now at thirty-six he Is
a Cabinet Minister. What do
you think it is, Maitland?”
| lowering his tone; “drugs?”
Quiet as was Maitland’s
answer, Chipstead caught
the words: “No one knows,
but the poor devil’s a wreck
all right. Well, I must be
going.”
The two men rose and
walked out of the restaurant.
Chipstead finished his
light meal and lit a cigar.
Then he did some reflecting.
The thing, to the solution of
which he had pledged him
self, was assuming tragic
substance. He had known be
fore that Bob Heddingley
was not the man to send him
; out on any wild-goose chase,
but this conversation he had
just overheard substantiated,
in his mind, the startling
gravity of the situation. The
Hon. Phillip Ferriby was His
Majesty's Minister for Edu
cation in the present Gov
ernment.
Still reflecting, Bunny
Chipstead walked into the
Strand. The first thing he
noticed was a newspaper
placard:
SUICIDE
OF
CABINET MINloTErt
Before he paid his penny
for the paper, Buny knew
that the dead man was the
Hon. Phillip Ferraby . . .
Upon arriving back at his
flat, he had another sur
prise.
Brooks, looking very ponti
fical, handed him an en
velope.
“This was left for you an
hour ago, sir."
“By whom?” sharply de
manded Chipstead.
“By a man, sir.”
Bunny exploded.
“What kind of a man, you
fool?”
Chipstead was slightly on
edge. He had already glanced
at the note.
Brooks’ majestic mien
sagged a trifle. To be ad
dressed in that curt fashion
by a man whom, in his secret
sould, he regarded as a dis
tinctly irresponsible member
of society was gall and worm
wood to the portly ex-but
ler. He answered now in a
tone in which ruffled dignity
and justified reproach were
equally mingled.
“Really, Mr. Chipstead, I
am afraid I am unable to
give you a detailed and ac
curate description of the
person in question. Beyond
noticing that he had a
slight squint in the left eye,
the man struck me as being
distinctly nondescript. May
I enquire if the message was
important, sir?”
“Not in the least, Brooks.
But, all the same, I shall be
glad if you will increase your
powers of observation a
little.”
Brooks bowed. He felt that
moment unable to reply in
words. He left the room with
the stately carriage of an
archbishop.
With the man gone. Bun
ny turned his attention to
the note, which he read
| again.
Neatly typed on a piece of
ordinary white paper were ,
1 the words:
“You are seriously advised
1 not to attempt to interfere in ;
matters which do not con- J
cern you. Kindly accept this,
your first and only warn
ing."
CHAPTER VII
The only answer that Mar- !
tin Creighton received to
his question, ‘‘Why did you »
want my thumb-mark?” was |
an enigmatic smile. The
Colossus, without vouch
safing any word of explana- j
tion, turned away.
Only thing prevented j
Creighton from rushing at !
the man and forcing the
truth out of him. The power
that made him refrain was
the memory of that beauti
ful girl he had seen crouch
ing in piteous terror in her
room the night before. This
girl, every instinct told him,
was in the man’s power. By j
some devilish mischance he
had such a hold over her
that she was being detained
in that house of mystery
against her will. After this
perplexing incident wmi
“Mr. Jones,” he was more
than ever determined, not
only rescue and befriend
this girl, whoever she might
be, but to get at the botom
of the whole baffling affair.
That ridiculous piece of
melodrama, for instance, by
which he was compelled to
sign a document with Iris
thumb-print—what could be
the possible solution? When,
in that fit of ironical des
peration, he had advertised
his life , he had imagined
that the only possible type of
purchaser would be a man
who wished him to start,
perhaps alone on some mad
and foolhardy enterprise,
from which the chances were
he would never return. The
craze for hazardous adven
ture, of the articles in the
newspapers were to be be
lieved, was not entirely dead,
even in this prosiac age; and
he had thought that the
promoter of some particular
ly dangerous expedition
might have been attracted
by his bizarre advertisement.
Yet here he was, plunged up
to his neck in an embroglio
of mystery which bewildered
him at every turn.
This waiting was infinitely
wearisome. But for the fact
that Martin felt fairly cer
tain the gilr was still in the
house, he would have left
by some means or othCr,
despite the grave warning he
had received from the Colos
sus.
“You must remain here
and await my orders,” the
latter had told him. The door
of the room was locked be
hind the speaker, and
Creighton had been left to
some fresh bewildering re
flections.
He would have to be pa
tient, for only by being pa
tient could he help that gii$
who was in such dire dis
tress. The more he thought
about it, the more convinced
he became that some evil
plot was being woven around
her. A subtle plot, for that
remarkable man whose ac
quaintance he had made in
so strange a manner was no
ordinary personality. Like
the girl, his companion, he
was both vivid and magnetic
—an individual who stood
out head and shoulders
above the maporlty of his
kind. A great personal
power, assuredly. And this
was the man whom he, just
a careless, penniless, casual,
happy-go-lucky specimen of
his class, had sworn to
thwart and bring to earth.
Pacing up and down that
luxuriously furnished room,
he found himself gripped by
a great emotion. He knew
V/ il * ** w
this to be something entirely
different from mere nerve
reaction from the excite
ment of the past few hours.
It was a new and vital force
which had been born in him
through looking Into the
troubled depths of a girl’s
brown eyes. So far girls had
never troubled him a great
deal; certainly they had not
occupied much of his at
tention nor any noticeable
part of his thoughts. Knock
ing around the world as he
had done, Creighton had
found the tang of life in
rough places sufficiently ab
sorbing. He had never dis
cussed the subject, but his
secret opinion had been that
a fellow only fell in love—
to use the usual phrase—
when he hadn't sufficient
else to occupy his mind. Re
turning to London from the
mining camp in South
America, he had certainly
thought that pretty women
gave a distinctly decorative
effect to the streets, but
these women he regarded in
in the mass, and not as in
dividuals. Luck, or fate, had
not sent him any particular
representative of the sex,
and so he hat' gone on view
ing women merely in a
vague, haphazard manner.
U W-iu wao ou
that he could scarcely bring
himself to realize the truth
—a conviction was forced
home upon him: he was so
interested in one particular
girl that everything else in
life sank into insignificance.
Looking back, he realized
that this interest had been
awakened the moment he
had heard her appeal for
help over the telephone wire.
And it was- not the mere
chivalrous instinct alone
which had aroused this in«*
terest; the cause went deep
er and further than that.
Creighton was not very
imaginative; still less was he
impelled by any high-sound
ing, romantic nonsense; ye*,
as he sat down once more,
a mental picture, very real
and very vivid, came to him.
He fancied he saw, standing
clear and definitely outlined,
this girl. Although she was
in the midst of thousands of
other people, she seemed to
dwarf all the rest. She was
looking straight at him, and
her arms wer outstrtchd. . .
Crighton woke with a
start. For the last few
minutes he must have been
asleep. Yet the mental pic
ture which had come to him
in a dream was as real as
ever.
He pulled himself to
gether, annoyed that he
should have dropped off in
that fashion. Then he re
membered that he had had
practically no sleep for
several nights past.
Although served with
luncheon and tea, the hours
dragged by. It was not until
twilight had come and the
rom was in comparative
darkness that his intoler
abde boredom was relieved.
There was a gentle click
ing sound, and the door
oponed. The same man
servant who had brought
him his meals now entered.
“Mr. Jones wishes to see
you, sir. Will you please fol
low me?” The tone was quite
calm and matter-of-fact;
the speaker might have been
a servant In a perfectly con
ducted household.
Only too pleased to change
his present position, Creigh
ton followed the man as
directed.
He was conducted along a
panelled corridor to the
room in which he had signed
in so strange a manner the
extraordinary document
that morning. The Colossus
rose as he entered.
“I hope you have not
found the time hang too
too heavily on your hands,
Mr. Creighton,” he inquired
suavely.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Dynamite Handler
Afraid of Nitro-giycerin
Oklahoma City —(UP)— D A.
i)etar handles dynamite like so
tnuch cord-wood in a warehouse
Just east of here but entertains
deadly fear of nitroglycerin,
Which he has never touched.
"I am afraid of it like the av
erage man is of “harmless” dyna
mite," said Detar. "This ‘soup' is
13 times as strong as dynamite
In the same quantity. Give me
■afe dynamite to handle."
v In his magazine there is usual
*»s * * - ■ *" —'
ly around lo.ooo pounds or dyna
mite and black powder.
He does his smoking at his
j home, half a mile from the ex
I plosive cache.
Maine’s Governor Claims
Boat Commuter Title
Augusta, Me. — (UP) — Governor
William Tudor Gardiner of Maine
believes he’s the nation's only gu
bernatorial speedboat commuter.
Daily he journeys from his es
tate at Phipps Point to Augusta,
the state capital, In Ills trim speed
boat, The Campaigner, usually mak
ing the 36-mile up-stream trip along
the Kennebec river in an hour. Go
ing homeward, downstream at night,
he often clips several minutes from
this schedule.
The Campaigner is 26 feet long,
powered with a six-cylinder motor
permitting a speed of 45 miles an
hour.
Skipper, the governor’s thorough
bred etter, is a regular passenger
on the boat, - ——,_
NEW BEETLES FOUND
Tuscaloosa, Ala.—(UP)—A party
of scientists of the Alabama
Museum of Natural History has dis
covered, on a recent field trip, sev
eral new kinds of beetles heretofore
unknown In Alabama. Another dis
covery was the 57th variety of snake
in Alabama—a small rlng-neek, bur
rowing and nonpolsonous.
From Bad to Worse.
Prom Tit-Bits.
"Yes, my new maid came to ma
from a very good family.”
“Really?” I suppose she wanted a
i chaag§”~—— —
TRICK RACKETS
NET BILLIONS
Chicago — (UP) — “Business
rackets" that have cost the public
approximately a billion dollars in
1931 will be the chief problem fac
ing the National Association of Di
rect Selling Companies convention
here.
H. J. Biigh, Chicago publisher,
and a past president of the organ
ization. says that a nationwide sur
vey shows “promoters of trick busi
ness schemes, classified as rackets,
gleaned a billion dollar harvest last
year from the small fry."
Prize contests were one means of
obtaining mailing lists, he pointed
out, and fees for entry in these
contests and for sales samples were
one means of getting money. Home
work plans, employment schemes
and other promotional offers drew
his criticism.
“The unemployed and other per
sons hard pressed for money, who
could ill afford to lose even small
sums, were among the majority of
victims,” said Biigh. “The ‘business
racket’ promoter invariably bases
his appeal on the willingness of the
needy ‘try anything to earn a lit
tle money. Usually he seeks small
individual sums, but goes after a
great volume of returns.”
Evidence gathered by a survey
will be submitted to the federal
trade commission and post office
department, according to Biigh, who
placed Chicago’s contribution to
these rackets at about 15 million
dollars in 1931.
Soup Tureen Recalled
Teras Bombardment
Cuero, Tex. — (UP) — A battered
old soup tureen, relic from the
china closets of 1863, is being dis
played here as one of the few ar
ticles which escaped destruction in
the storms that wrecked the old
seaport town of Indianola.
A nick in the tureen, owned by
Mrs. Mary Kleinecke, recalls an
episode of 1863. Three federal gun
boats slipped into Port Lavaca bay,
allowed 24 hours for women and
children tb find safe shelter, then
bombarded the town. A cannon ball
shattered a double partition wall,
passed through a kitchen safe and
out through a window. The ball
nicked the. tureen without shatter
ing it.
A china piece will be sent to
Witte museum at San Antonio as a
Civil war relic.
Maine’s Governor Claims
Boat Commuter Title
Augusta, Me. — (U?) — Governor
William Tudor Gardiner of Maine
believes he’s the nation’s only gu
bernatorial speedboat commuter.
Daily he journeys from his es
tate at Phipps Point to Augusta,
the state capital, in his trim speed
boat, The Campaigner, usually mak
ing the 36-mile up-stream trip along
the Kennebec river in an hour. Go
ing homeward, downstream at night,
he often clips several minutes from
this schedule.
The Campaigner is 26 feet long,
powered with a six-cylinder motor
permitting a speed of 45 miles an
hour. .
Skipper, the governor’s thorough
bred etter, is a regular passenger
on the boat.
---
Salt Lake City Rents
Lot for Carrot Crop
Salt Lake City, Utah — (UP)—
Rent for a city owned lot will be
paid in carrots.
R. N. Anderson, who leased a
small tract from the city, has
agreed to hand over his entire car
rot crop in payment for rent.
The city commission, by agree
ing to the vegetable payment, has
revived an ancient custom of pay
ing tithes in crops, livestock and
other farm products.
The carrots will be used to feed
animals at the municipal zoo.
Hoover Dam Will
Wipe Out Settlement
Salt Lake City, Utah — (UP) —
One of the famous Mormon fron
tier settlements, St Thomas, Nev.,
will become a very wet "Ghost city”
after the Hoover dam is completed.
Water backed up by the huge
dam will completely Inundate the
ettlement.
Plans are being made to trans
fer the residents, 274 persons, to a
12,000 acre ranch, 135 miles away.
«UUU UOiUMLKUlAL ULlO
DESTROYING “HOPPERS”
Erave, S. D.—(Special)—The
Wood Commercial club is helping
the farmers to obtain the grass
hopper fungus in an effort to save
the corn crop. A car was sent by
the club to Iona, S. D„ the state
laboratory to obtain fungus disease
to be given free to the farmers. This
work has been successful as far as
It has been carried out. Many more
are getting a start of the fungus
and then scattering over their fields
and neighboring fields. Prospects
for corn are good if the hoppers
can be killed off.
WRECKLESS DRIVERS TO
SERVE LONG SENTENCE
Aberdeen, S. D.—(Special)—Wil
liam Haegel, 16, the owner and driv
er of a “collegiate” car, will serve
25 days in the city jail and will stay
out of the driver’s seat for a full
year. He pleaded guilty to driving
while intoxicated, and unable to
pay his fine, must sit it out at the
rate of $2 a day. Haegel admitted
being under the influence of liquor
when he crashed into a parted car.
A girl companion, Lena Malsom,
was painfully injured but Haegel
escaped, with minor scratches.
I NSsrcolizedWax
Keeps Skin Young
Get an ounce and use as directed. Fine particles of
skin peel o!T until all defects such as pimples, liver
spots, tan and freckles disappear. Skin is then soft
and velvety. Your face looks yearn younger. Mercoliaed
Wat brings out the hidden beauty of your skin. To
remove wrinkles uno on# ounce Powdered Hatolito
dissolved in one-half pint witch hazel. At drug stores.
Wonder What Party at
Other End Was Saying!
Albert D. Lasker's pet story of the
week Is about the colored maid In
the home of a friend who answered
an imperative ring of the telephone.
“l'as’m,” her mistress heard her
say. And a second time:
“Yas’ra.” Then she added:
“It sho is,” and hung up.
The telephone rang again imme
diately and the girl made identically
the same replies, then disconnected.
“What kind of conversation was
that, Lucy?” her mistress asked.
“What did they want?”
“Well, they asked if this was the
Blank house and I said yas’m, and
then they asked if Mrs. Blank was
home and I told ’em yas,” the girl
answered. "Then they said, ‘Long
distance from Washington,' and I
said ‘it sho was.’ ”—Chicago News.
PARKER’S
HAIR BALSAM
Removes Dandruff Stops Hair Failing
Imparts Color and
Beauty to Gray and Faded Hair
60c aad $1.00 at Druggist*.
Hiscog Chem. Wka.. Patchogue.N.Y.
FLORESTON SHAMPoA — Ideal for use in
connection with Parker'sIIairBalsam. Makes the
hair soft and fluffy. 60 cents by mail or at drug
gists. Hiscox Chemical Works. Patchogue. N.Y.
Camel-Step Surveying
The best aid in surveying the des
ert regions of Asia is the camel, ac
cording to Dr. Sven Hedin, Swedish
traveler and explorer. In a recent
newspaper article he disclosed the
methods he had used for preparing
his maps of the most inaccessible re
gions. “Anything simpler than the
equipment of instruments carried by
me on my travels can scarcely be
conceived,” he wrote. “On the whole,
I use for mapping 18,000 miles of
mostly unexplored territory only
compass, watch, measuring tape, pa
per, lead pencil and one of my most
important Instruments—the camel.
For computing the distance traveled
I used as uit of measure the length
of steps of my riding camel.”
This Man Had Faith
Lost 24 Pounds
“Last November I weighed 192 lbs.
Today, (February 5th, 1932) 1 am
down to 168 lbs. and full of pep all
day long —since using Kruschen I
have not had to use the laxative that
was customary.” — Theo. A. C.
LaFleur, Providence, R. I.
What do you think of this—yon
men who doubt—you stay fat—be
cause you want to think that nature
made you that way.
You’re all wrong—most fat men
were made fat because of their abil
ity to handle a knife and fork In a
business like manner.
Be frank with yourself. Are you
too timid to take a safe, harmless
conditioner that not only takes off
surplus fat but is so helpful that it
makes you feel years younger?
To reduce safely take one-half tea
spoonful of Kruschen in a glass of
hot water before breakfast every
morning—cut down on fatty meats,
potatoes and sweets. Kruschen is
sold by druggists the world over.” A
jar that costs but a trifle will last
four weeks—but be sure you get
Kruschen—your health comes first.
Didn’t Mean to Waite It
A Kansas City (Mo.) druggist was
requested the other day for a refund
on half a bottle of medicine, one of
the customer’s children having re
covered from an illness sooner than
was expected. The druggist declined,
whereupon the customer inquired:
“Do you know of any other sick peo
ple In this neighborhood that night
be able to use this?"
DAISY FLY KILLER
diced inywhere. DAISY FLY KILLER attract* ind
kill! lU flies. Neat, clew, ornimental. convenient ind
cheip. List! all sea
son. Made of metal;
can't spill or tip over:
will not loll or Injure
anything. Guaranteed.
Insist upon DAISY FLY
KILLER from your dealer.
HAROLD SOMERS. BROOKLYN, H. V.
Momentous Gathering
The Mad parliament was a session
of the British parliament held at Ox
ford in 1258, In the course of which
Simon de llontfort began the attack
an the rule of Henry III which
resulted in broadening the rights of
barons and commons and the weak
ening of the royal despotism.
Gas Logic
Ho (driving)—Good-night! Out of
gas right In the middle of traffic!
She—You can’t stop for that.
John! Here comes a cop!
If one is a success at selling peo
ple what they want, he does not
need to become expert in selling
what they don’t want.
j^Tfytydia E. Pinhham's Vegetable Compound j
Had Melancholy Blues
Wanted to die . . . she felt so blac
and wretched! Don't let cramps ruin
your good times. Lydia E. Pinkham's
Vegftable Compound gives you relief.
