MURDER Bv An K,*uon
ARISTOCRAT I
----
s
“But 1 do know. I know.
Why don’t you tell me the
truth? None of you will tell
me. I feel you are all keeping
something back. You and
Hilary and Evelyn—all of you.
As if I were a helpless old
woman. And I’m not. It’s my
louse. It's my family. I must
know." Adela’s blunt white
hands were shaking. It was
the only time I saw her drop
that impregnable shield of
dignity with which she faced
her family and the world.
Her appeal touched Janice.
1 could see the girl’s face
aoften; I felt she was about
to speak. It was curiously
tantalising, like a play, that
Evelyn should appear in the
doorway at exactly that mo
ment and enter.
Both Adel a and Janice
turned at the sound of her
footsteps. Evelyn’s dark blue
eyes went rapidly from one
to the other. She said, as
Janice had said:
“Is anything wrong?”
“No,” said Janice.
"Yes," said Adela. “Why
will none of you help me? I
can't do this alone.”
Evelyn did not ask what.
With her swift common sense
*he grasped the situation at
once, I think. Perhaps Adela's
amazing moment of weakness
atiocked her as It did me.
“We’ll do anything we can
to help you, Adela,” she said
calmly. “Good heavens, it’s
warm tills afternoon! Can’t
Emmeline make us some iced
tea? Never mind, Adela, I’ll
speak to her.”
It was very still in the li
brary while Evelyn walked
with her customary long,
graceful strides to the door.
Emmeline must have been
near, for we could clearly
bear Evelyn’s concise direc
tions. Adela turned away
away from Janice and sat
down again in her high
backed chair and resumed at
once her beads and her dig
nity.
And Janice, white and still,
stood by the table, touching
and arranging the roses in
the big green bowl, with
hands that trembled a little.
Her eyes were still dark and
wide and touched with hor
ror, and I think she did not
quite know what she was do
ing. Then Evelyn was back
In the room, tossing her hat
onto a chair and sitting down
with a sigh.
“Now, then,” she said,
oooily matter-of-fact, “what
Is it you want me to do,
Adela?”
“I only want you to tell me
the truth, Evelyn,” said Adela
deliberately. She was again
complete mistress of herself.
“Tha is the only way in which
I can prove—’’ She stopped,
touched me with her cold
blue eyes, and resumed, “We
have no need to fear the
truth.”
Evelyn s clear eyes went to
me, too. She took off her
gloves, stripping them off her
brown hands with two quick
gestures, touched her straight
gold hair to be sure it was
smooth and said:
“I’ve Just been up at the
House. There was a letter
trom the boys. And one from
Aunt Hetty. Allen and Hilary
drove over with me; they are
outside. They’ll be in, in a
moment—here they are now.’’
“Good Lord, it’s hot,” said
Hilary. He was pink and coat
less, with dampish spots on
His shirt.
Allen took Adela’s hand
gently.
"Sit down, Allen,” said
Adela. “You have come In
good time. I want you—all of
you—to help me.”
Something In her voice
caught Hilary’s quick atten
tion. He stopped wiping his
face with his handkerchief,
glanced swiftly at Adela and
aharpiy at me, and said at
once:___
Indian Preacher, oF
Shaker Faith, Dead
Hood River. Ore.. —<UP>— Sam
Williams Is dead. An ancient In
dian preacher of the ran.' Shaker
taith. he was a familiar figure In
this region for many years, lie
was buried with tribal honors at
M>«naloose island, in the Colum
bia river, near here.
WiUlami erected a unique
church near The Dalles, where he
owned considerable property. Each
Tbank£g:ving day he gave a gi
caotic mull gan feed to all who
3
“Certainly, Adela. Certain
ly.”
“You see,” said Adela, “I
think we owe it to ourselves
to prevent—any talk there
may be about— Bayard’s
death.”
The last two words came
out rather Jerkily, as if with
tremendous effort on Adela’s
part. The room was very still
for a moment—still, yet
echoing those two words:
Bayard’s death. Bayard’s
It was as if it said: I know
which of you killed him; are
you going to tell? Are you
going to be trapped?
“Any unpleasant talk,”
said Adela rather stiffly and
stuck again, looking rather
helplessly at Evelyn. And
Evelyn, blessedly direct, said:
“You mean people are apt
to hint that one of us killed
Bayard? Why, of course, they
will. Probably have already. ;
People aren’t going to pass
up such a chance for talk. I
think that’s very wise of you, j
Adela. It’s a good thing to
prove to our own or any out
sider’s satisfaction that none
of us killed him. Isn’t that
'that you mean?”
“Why—why, ves, said
Adela, taken rather off her
feet, I think, by Evelyn’s
blunt stating of the situation.
“Go right ahead, Adela,”
said Hilary a bit pompously.
“I am ready for any inquiry
you—or anyone else—choose
to make.” He adressed Adela
1 and looked at me. I’m sure
that eevn if I had not over
heard that family conference
I would have known what
they were attempting to do.
j Well, I might spare Janice if
I could; I might even keep
the affair of the diamonds a
j secret. But Hilary was, so to
speak, a horse of another
color.
“Indeed,” continued Hil
ary. “You might like me to
i undertake this—er—inquiry.
I’m more accustomed to mat
! ters of this sort."
“Thank you, Hilary,” said
! Adela tartly. "I’ll do it my
self. The point just now is
to get you all to tell me the
truth. Not to try to hide
things from me. We don’t
fear the truth. Hilary, where
was Bayard when you last
talked to him?”
“Here in the library.”
“What did you talk of?”
“Why, nothing much. I
asked him how he felt. If
there was anything I could
do for him. Ah, here’s Em
meline with some iced tea.
It certainly looks good.” It
seemed to me his gusto was a
little forced.
shrdlu shrdlu shrdlu shrdluu
Ice tinkled in the tall
glasses. Emmeline, tall and
black and spotlessly aproned,
; passed the tray. The inter
ruption gave us all a little
rest from the growing ten
sion. Adela sipped her tea
delicately, slowly. As Em
meline put the tray on the
table and went away, she
said:
“You ana uayara naa nnu
no trouble, had you, Hilary?
If you had, you know, some
one Is bound to have heard
of it. There are no secrets In
C—
“No, of course not,” said
Hilary. He gulped some tea
and continued: “That Is, no
more than we’d always had,
and you know all about that.
He wanted more money, but
you knew that. He always
wanted money. He’d been
bleeding us white for years.”
“Hilary! Don’t use such
coarse expressions.” Adela
was chalk gray. She set her
glass carefully on the table
and touched the turquoise
beads. “It’s quite true, Miss
Keate. I suppose everyone In
the county knows that Ba
yard was—a source of much
anxiety and trouble to us.
He—”
“He was an out-and-out
scoundrel.” said Hilary,
< would come, transients and others,
I Indians and whites.
-»» —
Aged Mayor Drinks
Ocean Water Daily
Ssnta Cruz. Cal. —(UP)— The
old saying o( the shipwrecked
sailor, 'water, wsUr everywhere,
and not a drop to dr.nit" (ails W>
hold true in the case of Mayor
Fred Swanton of Santa Cruz.
The mayor, who U nearly 70
years old, but looks about 45, has
been drinking ocean water for
many yaars. He attributes his
flushing as if the bare mem
ory infuriated him. “Time
after time we gave him
money, started him in some
kind of business, tried to es
tablish him. He always failed,
squandered the money, came
back for more. And he al
ways worked around us some
how to get it. If he couldn't
appeal to our sympathies he
—” Hilary stopped abruptly,
the frightened look coming
into his eyes as they went
quickly to Evelyn.
"Perhaps you don’t know,
Miss Keate,” said Evelyn,
“how difficult it is to have
someone like that in the
family. We couldn’t permit
him to disgrace our name.
To do the things he would
threaten to do. And then be
sides—I think we may as well
tell her the whole truth about
it, Hilary.”
“Nonsense. There’s no
need.”
“I think there is. You see,
Miss Keate, when Hilary was
a boy he did something very
silly. It was when he and
Dave and Bayard were all in
prep school together.”
“Do you think there’s really
any need to tell that, Eve
lyn?” asked Adela, her face
looking old and shrunken, i
her blunt white hands pulling
the beads back and forth,
back and forth.
“Yes," said Evelyn sensibly.
“It can’t do us any harm. We
all know about it, and Hilary
found the tiheck In Bayard’s
things and destroyed it. And
if we don’t tell. Miss Keate
the truth after having gone
so far, she’ll think it was
something much worse than
it is. It was only a boyish
scrape, Miss Keate. Hilary
had to have some money for
something—something that
seemed terribly urgent to him
then.”
“We’d been playing cards—
gambling a little," said Hil- j
ary, looking pompous and
blustering and as shamefaced
as if he were a boy in his
teens again. “I lost, and the |
kid I owed threatened to tell
the Head if I didn’t pay him. I
He—this kid—was leaving
school anyhow, so he didn’t
care. But I knew I'd be ex
pelled. And I didn’t have a
cent, and Ad>jla would never
send checks between our al
lowence checks unless she
knew why we wanted extra
money and approved of it.
Bayard—how I don’t know—
had some money in the bank, i
and I—well, I forged his
name on a check.” He wiped
his face again. It was strange
to hear that man, with sons
of his own, confessing the
boyhood scrape. “It was only
a small amount. We’d often
amused ourselves—you know
how kids are—writing and
imitating each other’s sig
natures. But Bayard—Bayard
kept the check. It was written
In pencil; he erased the date
and amount and kept it all
these years, threatening to
fill it out for a larger amount,
a recent date, and prosecute.
He couldn’t have got far with
it—still I’m not sure. It would
have raised an awful stink.”
“Hilary!” said Adela in
faint protest.
“wen, you ltnow, /vaeia,
| there’d have been plenty of
people to jump at the chance
to discredit me. For a banker
; It would have been—”
I “Then he was using that
j check to bring pressure just
1 now?” I said.
Hilary looked at me uncom
fortably.
“Yes. He wanted a large
; sum of money. Larger than
| I could give him. He thought
it was a good time to squeeze.”
“But Hilary, you didn’t
quarrel with him. That last
afternoon.”
“No. Adela,” said Hilary
heavily. “I didn’t quarrel with
him.”
“You didn’t—” it was Allen,
standing at the window, his
back to us, speaking rather
softly. “You didn't shoot him.
for that.”
Hilary leaped to his feet,
his plump face crimson again,
i “God, no! He was a scoun
drel. A disgrace to the family.
But I wouldn’f have killed
healthy old age to It. Swan on
drinks a glass of ocean water ev
ery day as a tonic.
He is planning a trip to Europe
this summer, and will take a big
; bottle of ocean water with him to
be used on the rontinent. On ship
board he doesn't anticipate much
trouble obtaining his daily glaos of
j salt water.
. ■. ■ . ■■ ■ *
Fewer Automobiles
Registered in 1931
Washington — <UPi — Fewer
auuumbilea operated in the
hire. Good God, I couldn’t do
that.”
‘‘You left him alive,” said
Evelyn quickly. “As I found
him. Remember, Allen, that
I was the last one to see
Bayard alive. That was after
Hilary had talked to him.”
Allen turned suddenly
away from the window,
walked to Evelyn, and put
his hand under her chin,
looking down at her upturned
face and smiling a little into
the steady dark blue eyes so
like his own. The two bright
heads shone above the two
brown faces.
“That’s all right then,” he
said. “We all know you didn’t
shoot him.”
“Then,” said Hilary, “Ba
yard was alive when Evelyn
left him. Dead when Emme
line found him not an hour
later. No one of the family
saw him during that time—’
“You are wrong, Hilary/'
said Janice. “I have just told
Adela that when I returned
from the farm and came into
the house a few moments
ahead of Adela I found him
dead. I saw him dead before
Emmeline found him.”
“Janice—” Allen was at her
side. We’d have been blind,
all of us, not to have seen
the love and fear in his face.
But she pushed him away
with steady hands.
“No, I didn’t shoot him. But
I’m glad he’s dead. I think
we ought to stop this talk
We ought not to try to dis
cover who did it. If it was
one of the family, how much
better not to—”
“But, Janice,” said Adela
hoarsely, as if her throat and
mouth were numb, “it was
not one of the family. It was
the burglar. We are only
proving—”
“You ought not to have
started this, Adela,” said Hil
ary agitatedly. “Better let
sleeping dogs lie.”
“You’ll have to let me do
as I think best,” said Adela.
“You were going to tell me,
Janice, about the revolver.”
“The revolver!” cried Hil
ary, bouncing to his feet
again. “What revolver? What
about it?”
“I—I warned you not to
ask me, Adela,” said Janice.
Allen’s hands went out to
hers.
“Don’t talk, Janice. Don’t
say anything—”
“Hush, Allen. The revolver
—was on the floor—beside
Bayard. I put it in the egg
basket—to hide it.”
“The egg basket!” cried Hil
ary, quite frantic with be
wilderment. “What on earth
are you talking about? What
do you mean? For heaven’s
sake, speak up! Why did you
hide it?”
“Why did I hide it?” re
peated Janice, as if we should
have known. “Why, you see,”
she said helplessly, “it was
Dave’s. Dave’s revolver. He’d
already shot Bayard once
with it.”
“Janice—Dave didn’t kill
Bayard.” Adela was on her
feet, her eyes like ice, her
thlckish body swaying a
little. “You are out of your
senses.”
“Now, Adeia, wait, it was
natural for Janice to think
it might have been Dave whc
shot him.” Allen was speak
ing rapidly, trying to get
Adela’s attention. Giving
them all time, I thought. “If
she came in, saw Bayard had
been shot, was dead, saw
Dave’s revolver, of course hei
first thought would be that
Dave might have shot him.
She's not saying he did. She
doesn’t think Dave killed
Bayard. She only acted hur
riedly. Her first thought was
to hide the revolver. To con
ceal the fact. She acted,"
said Allen gravely and rather
sadly, “only as a loyal wife.
You ought to be the last to
reproach her for it.”
Evelyn nodded.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
From Tale Spina.
Mr Newlywed ■ 1 ffidently): I
don't like to mention it, dear, but
there seems to be something wrong
about these biscuits.
Mrs. Newlywed, triumphantly):
That shows how much you know
about biscuits — the cook book
says they are delicious!
United Slates last year than In
1931. according to the federal
bureau of public roads. A total
of 21.136,87# motor vehicles were
registered in 1932, a decline of 68
per cent from the year before.
The state of Washington alone
showed an increase, with 446.001
cars registered, a Jump of 8 per
cent. The declines were largest In
Arkansas. 24.5 per cent: Missis
sippi. 188 per cent; South Dakota,
18.1 per cent.
— ■ #»
The nests of bald or golden eagles
watch from 10 to 12 pounds.
Well-Guarded Sonny Boy
Golden-haired Sonny Raymond Bishop, Jr., doesn’t have to be scared
of kidnapers—or anyone else, for that matter while he has this formid
able bodyguard, fie is showing off the powerful great danes. Top
Sergeant Cherry and Tiger King, prize dogs at the seventh annual show
of the Morris and Essex Kennel Club at Madison, N. J.
Glorifying
Yourself
_By Alicia Mart
<£>1032 BY NEA~5^VIC6 INC.|
CO RIGHT AFTER BEAUTY THIS
SUMMER
Whether you’re lucky enough
to get away or not this sum
mer, make It as much a vacation
time as possible!
It’s all in the planning. And
don’t forget that the energy and
repose you store away in your sys
tem this summer is just that much
velvet on the road to beauty next
winter.
For the healthy, vibrant person
is really the beautiful one. Fea
tures don’t make a bit of differ
ence in the long run. Nor does
color of hair or eyes. It’s the
spirit and contentment that you
radiate that makes folks think
you beautiful.
Go after beauty this summer.
The first step toward beauty
health this summer is to keep as
cool as possible. Wear the light
Spotting a Winner?
To see the very latest in feminine
fashions visit a race track. Here ii
Mrs. Harold E. Talbot, noted so
ciety leader, pictured at Belmont
Park, N. Y„ in a sporty ensemble
composed of s white glove silk dress,
trimmed with polka dot material,
with gloves, scarf and hat band
matching.
Inventor of Autcgiro
Exhibits New Airplane
London —(UP)— A new and sim
plified autogiro, wingless and rud
derless. recently was demonstrated
by ita inventor. 8 nor de la Clerva,
at Hanworth Airdrome
The me chine la capable of 100
miles per hour, but also can travel
so slowly as to be out run by an
ordinary man.
With only a couple of tail-fins
and one undcr-fin in the body
near the tail, the machine can
change motion in any direction—
est clothes you can, and this
means one of those summer gir
dles, if you wear one. They don’t
cost much. And keeping cool
through the waistline and over the
hips is something, on a torrid day.
When you get home nights from
work, peel off your things and take
a dip and then get into a minimum
of clothes. Go barefooted, if your
family will stand it. If they won’t
W'ear barefoot sandals. The more
air you get onto your body, the
better will be your health. Sneak
out by yourself, find a nice spot,
and get a sunbath, every chance
you get. Long after winter has
settled down to freeze you, the
glow from summer sunbaths will
still keep you feeling good.
Sheriff Halted Civic
Improvement Program
Augusta, Mont. —(UP)— It took
Sheriff Arthur C. Parsons to halt
an ambitious civic improvement
program started by Augusta resi
dents.
The sheriff received numerous
complaints Augusta citizens were
tearing up the sidewalks of the
nearly deserted town of Gilman,
and transferring them to their
own community.
Parsons informed the Augusta
city fathers the “city beautiful’’
campaign would have to stop until
Lewis and Clark county commis
sioners approved the transfer ot
sidewalks.
Man’s Job Is a “Snap”
—He Turns Off Lights
Oklahoma City, Okla. —(UP)—
Clarence P. Craig, 54, turned-off
of lights in downtown store show
windows, has a job that is almost
a perpetual “snap."
For 16 years he has made night
ly rounds to an average of 300
stores, accumulating a total of ap
proximately 1,700,000 twists of
light-switches to the “off” posi
tion.
During Craig’s long years on the
job he has walked an estimated
350,400 Miles around town, wear
ing the soles off a pair of shoe*
once each two months.
— ■ ■♦♦
Old German Jig-Saw
Puzzle Puzzles Church
Perrysburg. Ohio —(UP)— Jig
saw puzzles are nothing new in
the life of Rev. Peter Kluepel,
67, who brought a homemade puz
zle over from Germany when he
came to this country 47 years ago.
The puzzle contains 649 pieces,
and is so difficult that members
of his congregation are having
trouble piecing it together.
Rev. Kluepel spends a great deal
of time in his worshop, and makes
about three puzzles a week. He also
has found time to publish a book
of hymns. He is president of the
Ohio Lutheron conference and a
trustee of Capitol university
upward. downward, sideways —
merely by the tilting of its btg
horizontal rotors. So easily con
troled is it that it can be made
to jump over obstacles on the
ground like a grasshopper, and
can land or tane off almost ver
tically.
It is understood that the air
ministry has decided to order a
large autogiro of the new type, to
carry four or live passengers.
—-• ♦ - ''
Planes having their ba.e on Mayo
Lake. 100 miles east of Dawson,
: are used to transport food ami does
* 1,1 Aioikan gold mines.
