THE
GARDEN
MURDER
CASE
By
S. S. Van Dine
Copyright S. S. Van Din*
WNU Service
CHAPTER XV—Continued
—17—
“But why,” asked Professor Gar
den, “didn’t she fire the revolver
upstairs in the first place—it would
certainly have made the shot sound
more realistic—and then hide it in
the garden before coming down?”
“My dear sir! That would have
been impossible, as you can readily
see. How would she have got back
downstairs? We were ascending the
stairs a few seconds after we heard
the shot, and would have met her
coming down. She could, of course,
have come down by the public stairs
and re-entered the apartment at the
front door without being seen; but
in that event she could not have
established her presence down here
at the time the shot was fired—
and this was of utmost importance
to her. When we reached the foot
of the stairs, she was standing in
the doorway of Mrs. Garden’s bed
room, and she made it clear that
she had heard the shot. It was, of
course, a perfect alibi, provided the
technique of the crime had not been
revealed by the evidence she left in
the vault . . . No. The shot could
not have been fired upstairs. The
only place she could have fired it
and still have established her alibi,
was out of the bedroom window.”
He turned to Zalia Graem.
“Now do you see why you felt so
definitely that the shot did not sound
as if it came from the garden? It
was because, being in the den, you
Were the person nearest to the shot
When it was fired and could more
or less accurately gauge the direc
tion from which it came. I’m sor
ry I could not explain that fact to
you when you mentioned it, but
Miss Beeton .was in the room, and
it was not then the time to reveal
my knowledge to her.”
There was another brief silence in
the room.
“But, Mr. Vance,” put in Doctor
Siefert, frowning, “your theory of
the case does not account for the
attempt made on her own life.”
Vance smiled faintly.
“There was no attempt on her
life, Doctor. When Miss Beeton left
the study, a minute or so after
Miss Graem, to take my message
to you, she went instead into the
vault, shut the door, making sure
I this time that the lock snapped, and
j gave herself a superficial blow on
, the back of the head. She had rea
son to believe, of course, that it
would be but a short time before
we looked for her; and she waited
till she heard the key in the lock
before she broke the vial of bromin.
It is possible that when she went
out of the study she had begun to
fear that I might have some idea
of the truth, and she enacted this lit
tle melodrama to throw me off the
track.”
Siefert had leaned forward and
was studying Vance closely.
“As a theory, that may be logi
cal,” he said with skeptical gravi
ty. “But, after all, it is only a
theory.”
Vance shook his head slowly.
“Oh, no, doctor. It’s more than
a theory. Miss Beeton herself—and
in your presence—gave the whole
thing away. Not only did she lie
to us, but she contradicted herself
when you and I were on the roof
and she was recovering from the
effects of the bromin gas—effects,
incidentally, which she was able to
exaggerate correctly as the result
of her knowledge of medicine.”
“But I don’t recall—”
Vance checked him. “Surely, doc
tor, you remember the story she
told us. According to her volun
tary account of the episode, she was
struck on the head and forced into
the vault; and she fainted immedi
ately as the result of the bromin
gas; then the next thing she knew
was that she was lying on the settee
in the garden, and you and I were
standing over her.”
“That is quite correct,” Siefert
said, frowning at Vance.
“And I am sure you also remem
ber, doctor, that she looked up at
me and thanked me for having
brought her out into the garden and
saved her, and also asked me how
I came to find her so soon.”
“That also is correct,’’ Siefert ad
mitted. “But I still don’t under
stand wherein she gave herself
away.”
“Doctor,” asked Vance, if she
had been unconscious, as she said,
from the time she was forced into
the vault to the time she spoke to
us in the garden, how could she pos
sibly have known who it was that
had found her and rescued her from
the vault? And how could she have
known that I found her soon after
she had entered the vault? . . . You
see, doctor, she was never uncon
scious at all; she was taking no
chances whatever of dying of bro
min gas. As I have said, it was
not until I had started to unlock
the door that she broke the vial of
bromin; and she was perfectly
aware who entered the vault and
carried her out to the garden. Those
remarks of hers to me were a fatal
error on her part.”
Siefert relaxed and leaned back
in his chair with a faint wry smile.
"You are perfectly right, Mr.
Vance. That point escaped me en
tirely.”
"But,” Vance continued, "even
had Miss Beeton not made the mis
take of lying to us so obviously,
there was other proof that she alone
was concerned in that episode. Mr.
Hammle here conclusively bore out
my opinion. When she told us her
story of being struck on the head
and forced into the vault, she did
not know that Mr. Hammle had
been in the garden observing every
one who came and went in the
passageway. And she was alone in
the corridor at the time of the sup
posed attack. Miss Graem, to be
sure, had just passed her and gone
downstairs; and the nurse counted
on that fact to make her story
sound plausible, hoping, of course,
that it would produce the effect she
was striving for—that is, to make it
appear that Miss Graem had at
tacked her.”
Vance smoked in silence for a mo
ment.
“As for the radio-active sodium,
doctor, Miss Beeton had been ad
ministering it to Mrs. Garden, con
tent with having her die slowly of
its cumulative effects. But Mrs.
Garden’s threat to erase her son’s
name from her will necessitated
immediate action, and the resource
ful girl decided on an overdose of
the barbital last night. She fore
saw, of course, that this death could
easily be construed as an accident
or as another suicide. As it hap
pened, however, things were even
more propitious for her, for the
events of last night merely cast
further suspicion on Miss Graem.
“From the first I realized how
difficult, if not impossible, it would
be to prove the case against Miss
Beeton; and during the entire in
vestigation I was seeking some
means of trapping her. With that
end in view, I mounted the parapet
last night in her presence, hoping
that it might suggest to her shrewd
and cruel mind a possible means of
removing me from her path, if she
became convinced that I had
guessed too much. My plan to trap
her was, after all, a simple one. I
asked you all to come here this
evening, not as suspects, but to fill
the necess’ry roles in my grim
drama.”
Vance sighed deeply before con
tinuing.
“I arranged with Sergeant Heath
to equip the post at the far end of
the garden with a strong steel wire
such as is used in theatefs for fly
ing and levitation acts. This wire
was to be just long enough to reach
as far as the height of the balcony
on this floor. And to it was at
tached the usual spring catch which
fastens to the leather equipment
worn by the performer. This equip
ment consists of a heavy cowhide
vest resembling in shape and cut
the old Ferris waist worn by young
girls in pre-Victorian days, and
even later. This afternoon Sergeant
Heath brought such a leather vest
—or what is technically known in
theatrical circles as a ‘flying cor
set’—to my apartment, and I put it
on before I came here . . . You
might be interested in seeing it. I
took it off a little while ago, for it’s
frightfully uncomfortable . .
He rose and went through the
door into the adjoining bedroom. A
few moments later he returned with
the leather “corset.” It was made
of very heavy brown leather, with
a soft velour finish, and was lined
with canvas. The sides, instead of
being seamed, were held together
by strong leather thongs laced
through brass eyelets. The closing
down the middle was effected by a
row of inch-wide leather straps and
steel buckles by which the vest was
tightened to conform to the contour
of the person who wore it. There
were adjustable shoulder straps of
leather, and thigh straps strongly
made and cushioned with thick rolls
of rubber.
Vance held up this strange gar
ment.
"This waistcoat, or corset, ne
said, “is worn under the actor’s
costume; and in my case I put on
a loose tweed suit today so that
the slightly protruding rings in front
would not be noticeable.
“When I took Miss Beeton up
stairs with me, I led her out into
the garden and confronted her with
her guilt. While she was protest
ing, I mounted the parapet, stand
ing there with my back to her,
ostensibly looking out over the city,
as I had done last evening. In the
semi-darkness I snapped the wire
to the rings on the front of my
leather vest without her seeing me
do so. She came very close to me
as she talked, but for a minute or
so I was afraid she would not take
advantage of the situation. Then,
in the middle of one of her sen
tences, she lurched toward me with
both hands outstretched, and the
impact sent me over the parapet.
It was a simple matter to swing
myself over the balcony railing. I
had arranged for the drawing-room
door to be unlatched, and I merely
disconnected the suspension wire,
walked in, and appeared in the hall
way. When Miss Beeton learned
that I had witnesses to her act, as
well as a photograph oi it, she
realized that the game was up."
“I admit, however, that I had
not foreseen that she would resort
to suicide. But perhaps it is just
as well. She was one of those wom
en who through some twist of na
ture—some deep-rooted wickedness
—personify evil. It was probably
this perverted tendency which drew
her into the profession of nursing,
where she could see, and even take
part in, human suffering.”
Vance leaned back in his chair
and smoked abstractedly. He
seemed to be deeply affected, as
were all of us.
Doctor Siefert was the first to
take his departure. Shortly after
ward the others rose restlessly.
I felt shaken from the sudden let
down of the tension through which I
had been going, and walked into
the drawing-room for a drink of
brandy. The only light in the room
came through the archway from
the chandelier in the hall.
I heard someone enter the room
and cross toward the balcony. 1
saw the dim form of Vance stand
ing before the open door to the bal
cony, a solitary, meditative figure.
I was about to speak to him when
Zalia Graem came softly through
the archway and approached him.
“Good-by, Philo Vance,’’ she said.
“I'm frightfully sorry,” Vance
murmured, taking her extended
hand. “I was hoping you would
forgive me when you understood
everything.”
“I do forgive you,” she said.
“That’s what I came to tell you.”
Vance bowed his head and raised
her fingers to his lips.
The girl then withdrew her hand
slowly and, turning, went from the
room.
Vance watched her till she had
passed through the archway. Then
he moved to the open door and
stepped out on the balcony.
When Zalia Graem had gone, I
went into the den where Markham
sat talking with Professor Garden
and his son. He looked up at me
as I entered, and glanced at his
watch.
“I think we’d better be going.
Van,” he said. “Where’s Vance?”
I went reluctantly back into the
drawing-room to fetch him. He was
still standing on the balcony, gaz
ing out over the city with its gaunt
spectral structures and its glitter
ing lights.
THE END
Science Advances in Telepathy Tests;
University Man Gives Much Information
Is telepathy, mongrelized by years
of vaudeville trickery, at the thresh
old of becoming a science? As
tonishing experiments have pro
gressed to a point where private
home tests are invited. With them
goes the candid warning that, de
spite the fun of using the mind as
a messenger boy, there is hazard,
perhaps tragedy, as a possible re
ward for psychic tinkering.
The man who took telepathy out
of the music hall and put it into
the laboratory is slim, youthful, im
petuous and mop-haired, a rapt be
liever in the theory that the human
mind is, to more or less degree, a
sensitive broadcasting station with
messages for those with minds ca
pable of tuning in the right wave
length, says the Literary Digest.
He is Dr. Joseph Banks Rhine,
whose experiments at Duke univer
sity keep people awake nightly from
North Carolina to California.
Mainly, success depends, he says,
on possession of the “gift” to some
extent, favorable mental conditions
to a large extent. Then:
“First, a genuine interest is re
quired. Preferably a fresh spon
taneous curiosity to see if you can
do it.”
In more than 100,000 trials, con
ducted since 1927, he has obtained
results that seem billions to one
against the operations of pure
chance. Mathematically, at least,
he has shown that, in some per
sons, perception without use of the
ordinary sense does in fact exist.
SuPDort for Dr. Rhine’s faith can
be found in “Man, the Unknown,”
the recent book by Dr. Alexis Car
rel, who wrote: “Those endowed
with this power grasp the secret
thought of other individuals without
using their sense organs. They also
perceive events more or less remote
in space and time. This quality is
exceptional. It develops in only a
small number of human beings. . . .
Clairvoyance appears quite com
monplace to those who have it. It
brings them knowledge which is
more certain than that gained
through the sense organs.”
Dr. Rhine experimented with chil
dren, then college students. The
results were dismaying. Then he
tried hypnotized subjects, and final
ly the key to science, specially gift
ed students. Results followed im
pressively.
He is careful to distinguish be
tween clairvoyance and telepathy.
Clairvoyance, he says, is percep
tion, such as symbols on the cards.
Telepathy is “mind-reading.” Per
sons gifted with one ordinarily pos
sess the other.
Distance, he holds, makes no dif
ference. Indeed, better results are
obtained when test objects are sepa
rated by rooms. High scores ob
tain when several miles intervene.
Remarkable results were obtained
at a distance of 100 miles.
“With all its dangers it is, I be
lieve, the greatest field for intellec
tual adventure that the student has
before him today,” says Dr. Rhine.
“The perils add to the zest, and the
size of the game is unequalled.”
®be Spirit of (Easter
l’uacU L>y Lurctia > uurig.
In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulchre.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord
descended from Heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the
door and sat upon it.
His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow.
And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men.
And the angel answered and said unto the women: “Fear ye not; for
I know ye soek Jesus, which was crucified.
“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place
where the Lord lay."—St. Matthew 28:1-6.
White House Lawn Becomes Playground
J w
This is a rare picture—and a hard one to get. It allows some of the
thousands of youngsters gathered on the White House lawn last Easter
for their traditional egg-rolling festival. The custom started shortly
after the Civil war.
“Paint My Egg?—Never!”
This young chick stepped out of the shell just in time to spoil some
child’s Easter fun. But thousands of eggs will be colored this year as
American children participate in their annual Easter custom.
Lambs in Berlin
Spring lambs provide an Easter
feast in Berlin. Here a street vender
is parading his wares for prospec
tive customers.
Easter Rivals Christmas
Easter rivals Christmas as the
big feaBt day of the year in Poland.
Dietitian Offers
Choice Menu for
Easter Banquet
Aside from its religious signifi
cance, Easter Sunday has always
marked actually as well as figura
tively the end of a period of self
denial and fasting. Easter dinner,
therefore, should usher back to the
table some favorite foods that have
been given up during lent.
One dietitian’s idea of a perfect
Easter Sunday dinner follows:
Chicken bouillion with sliced mush
rooms, melba toast
Celery Olives Radish roses
Hind quarter of spring lamb
Potato balls
Broccoli with wine, butter sauce
Fresh lima beans, hot rolls
Molded cucumber salad
Toasted crackers
Fresh strawberry ice, served with
or without whipped cream
Nut cake, demitassa
HO$7>RE
VouytX).AY
/DR. JAMES W. BARTON
Tillci About ®
Operations and the Heart.
ALTHOUGH deaths whilst under
an anaesthetic are now very
rare, every anaesthetist, surgeon
and physician is alert and very
watchful before, during, and after
an operation.
It is to prevent accidents during
the taking of an anaesthetic that
the patient is usually admitted to
hospital the previous day so that
an examination of
heart, blood pres
sure and urine can
be made.
One of the dangers
that is always i n
mind is .that a pa
tient may have
heart disease which
has always been
considered a serious
risk during the an
» fci* aesthetic.
Ur. Barton 11 >s interesting
therefore to read in
Archives of Surgery, Chicago, of the
study made by Drs. J. Hickman, H.
L. Livingstone and M. E. Davies,
Chicago. They followed during a
period of two years the history of
336 patients with heart disease who
had undergone operations.
Fair Surgical Risks.
Since there were only six deaths
due to heart disease and two to
lung disease that could be linked
up in any way with the operation
and anaesthetic in the 336 patients
who underwent 345 operations (a
death rate of about 2 per cent), it
shows that, as a group, patients with
heart disease are fairly good sur
gical risks.
Angina pectoris (the severe pain
under the breast bone due it is
thought to lack of oxygen in the
blood going to the heart), coronary
occlusion(when the blood vessel or
vessels helping to bring blood to
the heart muscle gets blocked), de
compensation (when the heart mus
cle has not the power to pump the
blood properly), hardening of the
arteries, and thyroid poisoning
(poisoning of the heart muscles by
the excess amount of thyroid Juice
from the thyroid gland in the neck),
are, in the order named, the most
serious diseases of heart and blood
vessels with which physicians have
to deal.
These physicians state further:
“Contrary to the belief of many
medical writers, inhaling the an
aesthetic, particularly ethylene —
oxygen anaesthesia, is safe when
a high percentage of oxygen is used
and asphyxia (suffocating) or strug
gling is avoided. Ethylene-oxygen
and local anaesthesia gave the most
satisfactory results in the 336 cases
above mentioned.
“The use of spinal ether or ni
trous-oxygen anaesthesia increased
the amount of complications which
occurred after the operation."
• • *
Causes of Eczema.
Just why some individuals are
bothered by eczema, asthma, hay
fever, and others eating the same
food, doing the same work, and
living in the same climate are free
from these ailments may seem hard
to understand.
And yet if we just think for a
moment we can readily see that as
the cause of the irritation (pollen
from plants, feathers, furs, foods,
chemical substances), is always the
same, the trouble must be in the
individual, not in the substances.
Thus it is now agreed that there
is something about the individual,
something he has had handed down
to him by his parents or something
that he has acquired himself, that
has so changed the cells or tissues
of his body that they are sensitive
to or can be changed somewhat,
by any of the above irritants.
And it would seem that when the
sensitiveness is not inherited some
infection in the system from teeth,
tonsils, or other parts, can develop
or bring on this sensitiveness in an
individual who has hitherto been
free from eczema, asthma, and hay
fever.
Dr. A. M. Memmeshelmer, Ber
lin, reports that of 98 patients with
eczema who were carefully ob
served and examined for the pres
ence of focal infection (infection
starting at some particular point
as at teeth or tonsils), 82 had focal
infections. The infection from bad
teeth was found to be the most fre
quent, then in order came tonsils,
the sinuses adjoining the nose, then
the intestine and gall bladder and
other parts.
This research worker states that
of 76 cured patients in whom the
infection had been found and re
moved, only ten had a relapse with
in a year, while 15 in whom no focal
infection had been found, six had a
relapse. Of course the infection may
have been present and not found by
the examining physician.
The business of trying to find
some point of infection in a patient
afflicted with eczema may be very
"wearisome” to both patient and
physician. However, eczema is a
persistent and distressing ailment,
and getting rid of it is worth weeks
or months of effort.
Remember, it is the cells of the
skin or other parts of the body
that are at fault, not the irritant,
and if something (infection) is mak
ing these cells "sensitive” it is real
ly common sense to try to find
and remove it.
Copyright.—WNU Servlcg.
Ask Me Another
0 A General Quin
© Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service.
1. Is a spider an insect?
2. In what country were pea»>
ants called “serfs”?
3. What do stage people mean
by a “prop”?
4. What is a catamaran?
5. Who was Samuel Johnson?
8. Near what sea was Jericho?
7. What is a more common
name for a trefoil?
8. What famous English poet
helped the Greeks against the
; Turks?
9. What is an isobar?
10. In what mythology was Isle
a goddess?
11. Of what system is the highest
mountain in the world a part?
12. What is sarsenet?
.—
Answers
1. The spider is not an insect
but a member of the class Arach
nids which includes also mites,
scorpions etc. Insects have three
body divisions and four wings,
while spiders have two body divi
sions and no wings. Insects have
three pairs of walking legs;
spiders four.
2. Russia.
3. An article used in a play.
4. A long narrow raft.
5. An English lexicographer
(1709-1784).
6. The Dead Sea.
7. The clover.
8. Lord Byron.
9. A line connecting points hav
ing the same barometric pree
sure.
10. The Egyptian.
11. The Himalaya (Mount Ever
est).
12. A thin fine silk.
Uncle J&lul\
SeujA:
Your Work at Hand
Look to tomorrow and plan for
tomorrow — but don’t forget to
work today.
Grouchy folks are sincere to
this: They do not try to hide their
bad temper. But that makes them
no more likable.
Happiest housewife is one who
has just made a noble pudding
when her husband has unexpect
edly brought a friend home to
dinner.
Scandal is the devil’s merry-go
round.
Future grandpas will tell more
about the hard times of this era
than about the “good old days.**
YOUNG WOMANHOOD
Mrs. Frank Mather of
201 No. Blnff SL, Beatrice,
Nebr., said: “Sometime
I ago I waa in a weakened
L condition. I had to force
I Qiyaelf to eat, had loet
[ weight and felt very tired
and womout Headache
asaoclated with feminine
plaint X took Dr. Pierce'*
Favorite Prescription as a tonic and I relished
my meals, gained weight and strength and
was relieved of the headaches due to function
al disturbances." Buy now at drug store.
Great Troths and Men
The greatest truths are the sim
plest: so are the greatest men.
The Greedy Slave
Who covets more Is evermore
a slave—Herrick.
r *
To Get Rid of Acid
and Poisonous Waste
Your kidney* help to keep you. well
by constantly filtering waste matter
from the blood. If your kidneys get
functionally disordered and fail to
remove excess impurities, there may be
Kisonlng of the whole system and
dy-wide distress.
Burning, scanty or too frequent uri
nation may be a warning of some kidney
or bladder disturbance.
You may suffer nagging backache,
; persistent headache, attacks of dizziness,
getting up nights, swelling, puffin***
under the eyes—feel weak, nervous,' all
played out.
In such cases it is better to reiy on a
medicine that has won country-wide
acclaim than on something less favor*
ably known. Use Doan'* Pill*. A multi*
tude of grateful people recommend
Doan'*. Aik your neighbor]
THE CHEERFUL CHERUB
I look adie^d with
longing
To w> ken there’s J
pe^ce ^OKin -—
My job of beintf
cheerful
Will be so e*Lsy j
then. ST\
itTc*1** (V i