Nebraska Newspapers

    SL'KENNEL
MURDER
ZCASE ^
S.S.Vatx Dine~
W.NU
service.
CHAPTER X—Continued
—16—
Vance appeared to accept his ex
planation without question.
"And what time did you arrive
here that evening. Major?”
Higginbottom seemed to ponder
the question; but before he could
speak Annie supplied the Informa
tion.
“You arrived about six o’clock,
sir,” she informed him with a re
spectful naivete. “And Miss Doris
came In at half-past seven.”
“Ah, yes. Quite right, Annie.” The
major pretended to be grateful for
having this moot point recalled to
his memory. “Miss Delafield,” he
explained blandly to Vance, “said
she had been shopping.”
Vance turned to the maid.
“By the by, Annie.” he asked,
“was the dog here during dinner?”
“Oh. yes, sir,” the woman as
sured him. “She always gets un
der my feet when i m serving.”
“And how do you account for the
fact that she disappeared Immedi
ately after Major Higginbottom and
Miss Delafield had gone?”
“I don’t know, sir—honest I don’t.
I looked for her everywhere. I
looked out in the back yard and in
the court, and I went through every
rear hallway in the house. But she
wasn’t anywhere.”
“Why didn’t you look In the
street?” Vance asked.
“Oh, she couldn’t have got into
the street,” the maid explained.
“She was in the kitchen and the
dining room here, sir; and only the
front door of the living room leads
Into the main hall. But that was
closed and locked after Miss Doris
and Mr. Higgonbottom went out.”
"Then, as I understand it, the dog
could only have gone Into the rear
yard ?’’
"Yes, sir; that’s all. And that’s
the strange thing about it, sir; for
if she had been in the rear yard, I
would have found her.”
“Did you look in the vacant lot
next door, between this house and
Mr. Coe’s residence?”
"I looked there, too, sir, though
I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
There’s no way she could have got
ten through the gate, for It’s al
ways kept locked.”
Vance did not speak for a mo
ment ;’ then he asked with unwont
ed seriousness;
“At Just what time, Annie, did
you start your search for the dog?
It is quite important that you be ac
curate.”
"1 can tell you almost exactly,
sir,” the woman answered, without
hesitation. "It was when I was
through with my dishes and the
housework. Miss Doris and Mr.
Higginbottom went out at nine
o’clock, and when 1 had straight
ened everything up. It was exactly
half-past ten.”
Vance nodded. "How do you ac
count for the dog’s disappearance,
Annie?”
“I can’t account for It, sir. At
first, when I couldn’t find her, I
thought maybe some delivery boy,
“She Always Gets Under My Feet
When I'm Serving.”
or one of the expressmen, had
stolen her. She's a sly little devil,
she Is. And very sweet. And she
has a lovable nature. Almost^any
one could pet her to follow them.
But no one had been here after
seven o'clock that evening.”
She turned to the major beseech
ingly.
‘Tm terribly sorry, sir, honest I
am. 1 loved little Miss MacTav
ish—"
“That’s quite ail right, Annie,"
Vance said In a kindly tone. “Miss
MacTavish Is well and happy.”
lie turned to Fligginbottom.
“By the by.” he asked, “where
did you get Miss MacTavlsh, Ma
jor?”
“I bought her from Mr. Henry
Bixby, when she was five months
old, and I turned her over Imme
diately to Miss Delafleld,” the ma
jor said regretfully. “Doris became
attached to her and insisted upon
showing her. I tried to discourage
her—”
“Site was quite worthy of being
shown," said Vance. . . . "So you
drov» out to Mr. William Prentice’s
and had him trim her for the ring—
eh. what? . . . But why did you en
ter her under your own name at
Englewood T'
"By gad, 1 don’t know.” The ma
jor seemed thoroughly disgusted
with himself. "One of those fool
ish things we all do.” lie looked ap
pealingly at Vance, who nodded
sympathetically. “Mr. Bixtiy made
out the papers in my name,’’ the
major continued, “and I never took
the trouble to have the dog re
transferred. It never occurred to
me that Doris would want to show
her. So I tilled out the blank—and
there you are. Trouble, trouble,
trouble. ... Is there anything else,
Mr. Vance?”
“No, I think not . . . Only, I’d
like to ask Annie another question."
He turned to the maid. “Annie,”
he said, “what kind of lipstick does
Miss Delafleld use?”
The maid seemed greatly sur
prised at this question and stared
at Vnnce. Then she shot a quick
glance at Higginbottom.
“Well, do you know, or don’t you,
Annie?” the major asked her se
verely.
“Yes, sir, l know. Miss Doris
j sent me to Broadway to the drug
j store only Wednesday morning to
j buy her a lipstick.”
"Well, tell Mr. Vance what kind
! it was.”
“It was a Duplex Carmine—or
something like that; Miss Doris
wrote it out for me,” she said.
“Thanks awfully, Annie. That
i will be all.”
As we emerged into Seventy-first
street, the major expressed Ills curi
osity in a question. “What about
that lipstick, sir?”
“Nothing serious—I hope,” Vance
returned casually. “1 just wanted
to clear up a little point. An empty
holder of Duplaix’s Carmine lip
stick was found In the waste-paper
basket in Mr. Coe’s library Thursday
morning.”
“By gad! You don't say!” The
major, however, did not seem par
ticularly perturbed. "Doris must
have dropped in on Archer Coe to
say good-by.”
“Oh, she knew him, then?”
The major nodded sourly.
“1 Introduced her to him about a
year ago. She visited him occasion
ally, I understand.”
Vance held out his hand.
“Well, Major, 1 want to thunk
you for your help. I’ll let you know
of any developments in connection
with the little Scottie. In the mean
time you may rest assured she Is
being taken care of.”
“What should I do now?” asked
the major.
“Well.” returned Vance cheer
fully, “if I were you, I'd go home
and get a good night’s rest.”
When he had gone, Vance en
tered his car, which was waiting
outside the Belle Maison, und gave
orders to he driven at once to the
Criminal Courts building. As soon
as we were shown into Markham’s
office, Vance threw himself into a
chair and. lying back, closed his
eyes.
“I have a bit of news, Markham,
old dear,” he announced.
“I’m most grateful.” Markham
reached into a drawer for a fresh
cigar. “What might it be?”
Vance sank even deeper into his
chair.
“I think I know who killed the [
Coe brothers.”
CHAPTER XI
Death and Revelations.
MAKKHAX1 leaned forward In
liis chair, and gave Vance a j
quizzical look.
“You positively stagger me,” lie
said. “What name slmll I write
ou the warrant?”
“Too much haste, Markham,”
Vance reprimanded him. "Far too
much haste. There ure various
little things to be done—little knots
to be tied—before the nrm of the
law can pounce upon the culprit—
only, arms don’t pounce, do they?”
“In tiiat case, perhaps you could
bring yourself to confide in me.”
Markham still spoke ironically. "1
assume that you know how the ;
crimes were committed.”
"Alas, no!’’ Vance shook his head ,
lugubriously. “That’s the chief rea-J
son why 1 shall hoard my theory as !
to who perpetrated them. 1 could
make out an excellent case against
the murderer for the doing-ln of
Archer. My great difficulty, how
ever, would be that there was no
point whatever In the murderer’s
killing Brisbane. Motive is lacking
—in fact, that particular murder
is meaningless from a logical point
of view. But I'm sure the murder
er most passionately desired the
death of Archer. And yet, it would
be utterly unreasonable to accuse
him or killing Archer lie apparent
ly couldn't possibly have done It.
. . And there you are. Do you
not sympathise with me In my pre
dicament?"
“I'm on the point of bursting into
tears.” returned Markham. "But
Just what do you propose doing to
extricate yourself from your embar
rassing situation?"
”1 propose to go to the Doe
house and ask many questions of
Its inmates. Will you accompany
me?"
Markham glanced at the clock on
the wall and rang for Swncker.
"I’m leaving for the day." he told
Ills secretary. And taking his hat
and coat from the stand In the cor
ner, he went toward the private en
trance door. “I’m Interested,’’ be
said, “—In a mild way. . . . But
what about Heath?"
“Oh, the sergeant, by all means.”
Vance replied. "He’s definitely Indi
cated."
We got into Vance's car, picked
up the sergeant, who seemed un
usually surly, and drove uptown. At
Fifty-ninth street and Fifth avenue
Wrede Was Bowled Over Back
wards.
we entered Central Park. I noticed
a familiar figure seated on one of
the benches just beyond the cut
privet hedge, a little distance from
the roadway; and at that moment
Vance leaned over and gave an or
der to the chauffeur to halt the car.
“Wrede Is communing with his
soul on yon bench,” he said. “And
he was one of the persons with
whom 1 wished to have parley. I
think I’ll toddle over and put a few
questions to him."
He opened the door of the car.
We followed him.
Wrede was sitting with his back
to us, perhaps a hundred feet away,
gazing over the lake. Just as we
came opposite him along the hedge,
1 noticed the rotund figure of En
right walking down the path toward
the bench on which Wrede sat. He
had the Doberman Pinscher on a
leash.
“Well, well,” Vance remarked;
‘‘the talkative Mr. Enright is invad
ing new territory. Perhaps Itu
precht tired of the vista over the
reservoir. ...”
Just then an amazing thing hap
pened. The Doberman suddenly
halted in his tracks, drew back
a foot or two, and crouched down
as if in terror. Then, with a
curious whine, he bounded for
ward. dragging his leash from the
astonished Enright's hand. He
leapt straight toward Wrede.
Wrede turned his head toward the
dog, drew back, and started to rise.
Hut he was too late. The Doberman
sprang at him with unerring aim
and fastened his powerful fangs
in the man’s neck. Wrede was
howled over backwards, with the
dog on top of him growling throat
ily. it was a terrible sight.
Sergeant Heath yelled at the top of
his voice in a futile effort to dis
tract tiie dog, and jumped over the
hedge with an alacrity that amazed
me. As he ran toward the strug
gling Wrede. he drew Ids revolver.
Vance looked on with a coldness
that 1 could not understand.
“There’s justice In that. Markham,"
he commented, lighting a cigarette
with steady fingers.
Heath had now reached the dog
and placed the revolver against its
head. There were two sharp reports.
The Doberman staggered forward
on its side and went limp, lying very
still.
When we reached Wrede, there
was no movement In his body. He
lay on his back, his eyes staring,
his arms, drawn up. as motionless
as death. His throat was red. and
a great pool of blood had formed
under his head. It was a sight I
wish 1 had never seen.
Enright came lumbering up, his
mouth open, his face the color of
chalk.
“My G—d!—oh, my G—d !” he
muttered over and over.
Vance stood looking down at
Wrede, smoking complacently. He
turned to Enright.
“It’s quite all right, don’t y’
know," he said in a hard voice. “It
serves him jolly well right. He'd
beaten and misused the animal in
some outrageous fashion; and this
is the dog’s revenge."
Vance knelt down and felt thfe
prostrate man's pulse. Then he
stood up nnd shrugged.
“He's quite dead. Markham," he
said without the slightest emotion.
“The dog's fangs severed the Jugu
tar vein and the carotid artery.
Wrede died almost at once fro1'
the profuse hemorrhage and, pos
slhly, an air embolism, . . . No
use rushing him to a doctor."
“And what do you want me to
doY” walled the frightened Knright.
Vance answered him.
“(Jo home and lake a stiiT drink
and try to forget the episode. If
we need you. we’ll call on you."
Knrighl made an attempt to an
swer, hut failing, he turned and
waddled away into the gathering !
mist.
* Let’s he going, Markham." sug
gested Vance. "Wrede’s appearunce
doesn't churiu me. and the sergeant
will look after things.” lie turned
to Heath. “By the by, Sergeant,
we'll be at the Coe home. Join us
there after the aiuliulance comes."
Heath nodded without looking up.
He still stood, revolver In hand,
gazing down at the dead body of
Wrede, like a man hypnotized.
“Who'd have thought a dog could
do It!” he mumbled.
"Personally I feel rather grateful
to the Doberman,” Vance said in a
low voice, as he walked away to
ward his parked car.
It was only two blocks to the Coe
residence and nothing was said en
route; but when we were seated In
the library, Markham broke the si
lence by trying to put Into words
Ills bn (Tied state of mind.
"There's something queer about
all this. Vance—your Interest In
that Doberman Pinscher, am) then
to have him attack Wrede in that
brutal fashion. And I can’t see
that we're getting anywhere.
There’s just one tragedy after an
other, without any light on the case.
I suppose you see some connection
between the Scottish terrier and
the Doberman. Would you mind
telling me what was In your inlnd
when you looked up Enright?"
"There was nothing cryptic about
It, my dear Markham," Vance was
moving about the room aimlessly,
looking at the various vases and
objets d'art. "When the sergeant
told me that Wrede owned a dog, I
was particularly Interested, for he
wasn’t the type of man that could
love any animal. He was an en
forced egoist, with a somewhat vio
lent Inferiority complex—his ego
ism, in fact, had been automatical
ly built up to cover his complete
lack of confidence In himself. He
had a shrewd, unscrupulous brain
which he was unable to use in any
practical way. And he was con
stantly In need of substitutes for his
sense of inferiority. It Is not uncom
mon for persons of his nature to go
In for dumb animals. They do not do
so because of any Instinctive liking
for the animals, but because, having
failed to Impress themselves upon
their equals, they can bully and tor
ment an animal, and thus give
themselves a feeling of heroism
and superiority. The animal Is
merely an outlet for their lack of
self-confidence; and, at the same
time, the animal gratifies their pro
found instinct for domination. The
moment I heard that Wrede had
owned a dog, I wanted to see the
dog, for I was sure he had mis
treated it. And when 1 saw tne
Doberman’s frightened and timid
demeanor, I knew that he ffad suf
fered horribly at Wrede’s hands.
Markham, that Doberman showed
all the signs of having been beaten
and abused—and that fitted perfect
ly with my estimate of Wrede’s
character.’’
’’But," objected Markham, “the
Doberman certainly showed no tim
idity at the sight of Wrede, lie
was aggressive and vicious—ugh I”
"He hud regained his confidence
in himself," Vance explained. "En
right's kindness and benevolent
treatment after the dog’s terrible
experience at Wrede’s hands, was
what, in the end, revived the Do
berman's courage sufficiently to kill
Wrede."
He sat down and lighted another
cigarette.
"Almost any man may be a mur
derer, but only a certain type of
man can injure a dog the way that
Scottie was Injured here the other
night. By striking that little bitch
over the head, tlie murderer left Ids
signature on the crime. . . . Now
do you understand why I was so
interested in Wrede’s Doberman
Pinscher?”
Markham leaned forward.
"I>o you mean to say that
Wrede—?"
Vance held up his hand.
••Just a moment. I want to talk
to Liang. There are certain things
to be explained, l’erhaps Liang will
tell us—now.”
Before thimble Had brought In
the Chinaman. Heath arrived. He
was pale and upset. He nodded ah
stractedl.v and sat down.
Liang entered the library from
the dining room and stood ivspect
fully at the door, without looking
at any of us.
Vance rose and went to him, hold
ing out his cigarette ease.
(TO HE CONTINUED.)
A Machiavellian Trend
The word Machiavellian is used
in referring to the political the
ories of the Florentine diplomat
and statesman. Niccolo Machiavelll,
especially to the doctrine that any
means, hovvevgr lawless or un
scrupulous, may he justifiably em
ployed by a ruler In order to es
tablish and maintain n strong cen
tral government. A Machiavellian
trend Is characterized by political
cunning, duplicity or bad faltli.
Get Perfect Quilt
With This Design
By GRANDMOTHER CLARK
The quilting on a patchwork quilt
may make or ruin the entire work, if
the design and work is not done
neatly. Beauty in the design Is nee
essary, but the needlework and even
ness of the stitches bring out the
design, and If done right the result
will be perfect and always admired.
Needleworkers kno v the best way to
transfer a design to cloth Is through
a perforated pattern The design is
perfectly drawn and perforated so
that each stamping Is alike and re
quires very little time. The stamp
ing powder can be brushed off when
work Is finished, leaving no lines or
marks.
Package No. 33B shown above con
tains seven actual size patterns, per
forated on bond paper, also blue
powder for stamping and full in
structions Just how to do it.
Pattern I) 12—10 incli Spider Web
Is suitable for the center of the Wed
ding King Quilt. The outer linos
mny he omitted if a smaller size is
wanted. D 11 Is u 4 inch Butterfly
Motif suitable for corners. D 10 Is
a 1V6 inch Tulip Border. D 13—5
Inch Feather Circle. C 7 a 2V& lnoli
Floral border and corner. C 8—7%
Inch Feather Circle. C 0—by 8
inch Pineapple motif. These pat
terns can be used singly or in com
bination, and can be used many
times. If they Interest you, send 15c
to our Quilting department, and
these seven patterns will be sent you
by return mail.
Address—Home Craft Company—
Department D—Nineteenth and St
Louis Ave., St. Louis, Mo.
Enclose a stamped addressed en
velope when writing for apy infor
mation. J
Forget Self to
Win Popularity
Personality Means Much,
of Course, but There
Are Many Methods.
A girl is popular for some one of
many reasons, or by a combination
of them. For example, a girl who is
good at sports will find herself popu
lar with those of similar tastes. She
must be expert in some Held. It iuaj
be tennis, golf, water sports, sailing
a boat, skiing, etc., and she should
be above the average In some of the
other sports. It Is worth while for u
girl who enjoys out-of-door exercise
to practice and |H‘rfect herself In her
favorite sports so that she will be
sought as a partner for games or a
companion In sports. Her very abil
ity at winning gives her prestige
which makes her agreeably notice
able. If to tills ability she adds a
pleasant manner and Is a good sport
In losing, when she does, as every
one must at times, she tins gone a
long way on the road to popularity.
Some girls are popular In their set
because they have an accomplish
ment which makes them an addition
to any gathering. Playing a musical
Instrument, singing, Impersonating,
being able to Interest a group in an
account of some event or In telling
stories amusingly, In short, being a
good raconteur—any of these things,
when done in a way above the aver
age, lends a certain enviable distinc
tion to the person, and supplies them
with popularity. It is assumed that
there Is also a polish of manner
which gives a gracious and agree
able personality, without which few
can expect to become favorites or he
popular, whatever their field.
Being a good dancer Is one of the
drawing room accomplishments which
. ■
makes n girl sought ns a partner,
and cut In for when already dancing.
A help to this popularity Is to have
a happy expression. The one with
whom the girl is dancing may get
only brief glimpses of this, but those
watching get full view and are apt
to make mental note of expression.
Another drawing room accomplish
ment is playing a good game of cards
plus taking a heating without argu
ments. To haggle over cards played,
to criticize your partner's leads or
the way he failed to follow yours, is
fatnl to popularity.
(Jlrls who are unpopular are apt
to think harshly or even speak dis
paragingly of those who are popular.
It is distressing to find one's self In
the background, but one Is wise to
analyze the situation und find out
why one loses out, before being too
downcast or derogatory.
Learn to he good at something
which makes for attraction. To be
good looking isn’t everything. To be
made up too much is no help. To
have a winning expression is a great
aid. To be a good listener is anotlmr.
This does not mean merely being
silent and letting the other person
talk. It means listening so that what
ever comments you do make are to
the point, revealing an understand
ing of the conversation. Try to make
yourself popular In some field and
In some wny. If you do tills with
sincerity and not superficially you
are in a fair way to wdn success.
C. Boll Syndicate.—WNU Service.
Female Help Wanted
SPECIAL EMPLOYMENT for
married women, $15 weekly and
your own dresses FREE repre
senting nationally known Fashion
Frocks. No canvassing. No invest
ment. Send dress size. Fashion
Frocks. Dept. A-385, Cincinnati, O.
□
To a Customer’s Credit
-f JACK- WE SCRIMPED AND
‘ SAVED TO BW THIS STORE AW, TELL HER THAT l
...ANO NOW yOUR BAD L0N6 FAC£ 0F H£RS ) l
- TEMPER IS DRIVING 15 WHAT’S DRIVING \
. CUSTOMERS AWAV ! Trt£ CUSTOMERS ftWAy "
T*. T j
f HOW ARtTwE EVER GOING ! HER IF SHE’LL V
— ™ .-T Turumcx,™ 1 WAIT ON THAT CUSTOMER
TO ocT THE MONEY TO TH^T JU5T CMl£ ^
_ MEET THE LAST TWO S ( *
PAVMENTS ON OUR LOAN ? I > ^ BAWLING
_ i mYMEN 3 WKLOM.jy m our.ITMAHT y
I Ti rr^T1 «** >cXa
/come]
A^4i k
4 JACK'S GOT ME SO MV JIM USED
WORRIED... HE HAS TO HAVE THOSE
HEADACHES AND TROUBLES. BUT
: INDIGESTION..AMO HE HEDCOFFEC- "
CAN'T SLEEP WELL.' NERyE^VV GO N ' ^
—....
JIM’S DOCTOR TOU) HIM TO CUT j
OUT COFfeC MO SWITCH TO U CURSES/ JIM'S
POSTUM... AND THE CHANGE WIFE KNOWS THAT j
WORKEP WONDERS IN HIM / J POSTUM ALWAVS <
lltT7^x A DRIVES ME AWAV /'
GOODNESS/ THAT'S AN ' ■ v
IDEA.. I’LL SEE THAT HE
STARTS ON POSTUM
TONIGHT/ JACK DOGS
v ORlNK A LOT OF COFFEE j
LATER
* ;;;M7- 6UT JACK HAS ru. tellvoo a
! CHAN6ED. TO RATHER SECRET-SlNCE
I'M COMING OVER HAVE HIM WAIT ON HE SWITCHED TO
TO PM Of-F THAT ME NOW THAN ANN P0STUM HE'S
LOAN TODAy, MR. ONE IN TOWN { FELT LIKE A
GARVEV. BUSINESS 1 N£W MAM /
(has 8££N GfiEflT/j l&S^STl
“ISN’T IT amazing how coffee
I can affect a man like Jack ? ”
‘‘Why, no . . . the caffein in
coffee affects lots of grown-ups
just as it does all children. It can give ’em indiges
tion, upset their nerves and keep ’em awake.”
• • •
If you suspect that coffee disagrees with you . . .
try Postum for 30 days. Postum contains no caffein.
It is simply whole wheat and bran, roasted and
slightly sweetened. Easy to make, and costs less than
•/2 cent a cup. It's a delicious drink, too...and may
prove of real value in helping your system throw off
the ill effects of caffein. A product of Genera1 Foods.
FREE — Let us send you your first week’s supply of
POSTUM...Free! Simply mail the coupon.
General Foods, Battle Creek, Mich. w.n.u. mi
Please send me, without coat or obligation, a week’s sup
ply of Postum.
Tfame
Street
City_State_
Fill in completely—print name and address.
This offer expires December 31, 1935