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* Peggy Dcrn ^ wmu. release
THE STORY THUS FAR: Reynold*
questions Meg at her home. There Is a
knock at the door, and Martha Evans,
Tom Fallon’s sister-in-law, enters. She
wanted to tell them about the knife.
Martha’s story Is that Alicia was not
murdered with the knife that was found.
That knife, she declared, was one she
and Tom had taken away from Tom’s
wife, Letty, the Invalid and mental pa
tient. Martha declared that Tom did not
know his wife's true condition, believing
her to be getting better. “But she Is
violent at times,” Martha Insisted, as
she told how Letty had attacked her
with the knife one night. “That night
you said you fell and hurt your ankle?”
Meg asked. Martha denied It.
CHAPTER XV
Miss Martha said huskily, "Only
I didn’t fall—she pushed me down
the steps."
Bob waited, and after a little, she
■went on huskily, “Tom and I saw to
It that there was never any—any in
strument around that she could use
to hurt herself—or anybody else.
Tom thought she was bedridden; I
hadn’t told him that she was grow
ing stronger, that she could walk—
not very far, but at least she was
no longer helpless. I knew, of
course, the danger that was growing
around her—danger that she might
slip away from me and—do some
horrible thing—”
Bob said swiftly, "Then you mean
that she managed to get away and
kill Mrs. Stevenson.”
Miss Martha flung up her head.
Her eyes blazed.
"She did nothing of the sortl Use
your head, young man. It’s a mile
from our house to Mrs. Stevenson’s
place—she couldn’t travel that far.
And she hasn’t been out of my
sight one single minute since the
night she attacked me,” she blazed
■t him hotly.
Bob said gently, "We have only
your word for that. Miss Evans.”
Miss Martha’s stocky body
slumped a little and she said weari
ly, “Yes, of course—you have only
my word for it—’’
"And the knife. Miss Evans?”
asked Bob very quietly.
She seemed to wince as though
he had struck her. She drew a deep
breath and lifted her head a little,
though her shoulders sagged.
“Yes, the knife,” she repeated.
"That was—night before last As I
said, Tom didn’t know that Letty
could get out of bed, or walk; he
thought it was a little foolish of me
to keep every sharp-pointed instru
ment in the house under lock and
key. He thought as long as we kept
them out of her room, out of her
reach—” She shrugged tiredly and
then she went on in that heavy, ex
hausted voice, "so he left a knife
out on the kitchen sink night before
last. I’d—had a good deal of trouble
with Letty and I was very tired. I
slept in her room, and I thought
that she was sleeping soundly, and
so I let myself go to sleep. When
I woke up—I don’t know what woke
me, but — suddenly I was wide
awake, and—there was Letty stand
ing beside my bed, bending over
me, the moonlight on—that knife In
her hand—” She set her teeth hard
in her lower lip, and her hands
crushed each other, and in spite of
her efforts at self-control, two swollen
tears slipped from her eyes and
down her white cheeks, leaving little
marks in the thick powder spread
so inexpertly there.
Megan went to her and put an
arm about her, and for a moment.
Miss Martha resisted; then she
turned and hid her face against Me
gan, while the two men waited.
Laurence was sick with pity for this
tired, harassed woman who had car
ried her heartbreaking burden for
so long with such indomitable cour
age; Bob’s expression was intent,
watchful—waiting.
Miss Martha went on, T
■creamed, and that roused Tom, and
•—well, between us we managed to
get the knife away from her. She
fought hard, and then suddenly—she
went to pieces, just slumped be
tween us like a ragdoll that’s lost
, all its sawdust. We got her to bed.
We knew there was nothing we
could do for her. The doctor warned
us—any sudden exertion, excitement
•—would almost certainly result in
a brain hemorrhage—” She paused
again and then went on, "I left her
with Tom. I wanted to get rid of that
awful knife, once and for all time.
Bo I hid it—where you found it."
She was limp with exhaustion and
nerve strain and Bob let her rest for
a moment before he asked very
gently, "And—your sister, Miss Ev
ans?"
Miss Martha said in a voice that
was a ghost of sound, "She—died
early this morning.”
It was an hour later, after Miss
Martha had had a cup of coffee and
a chance to rest a little, that Bob
went over the story of the knife
again.
"It seems quite a coincidence,
Miss Evans, that all this happened
the same night that Mrs. Steven
son was killed,” he pointed out.
"I don't know anything about that,
young man,” said Miss Martha,
With the faintest possible trace of
her old brusqueness. “All I know I
Is that when I heard you'd found
the knife, I was afraid some inno
cent person would be accused of do
ing away with the Stevenson wom
an by means of that knife. And I
i
knew I had to come and tell you
about it, since telling-you couldn’t
cause my poor Letty any trouble—
now.”
Bob nodded, sitting on the edge
of the desk, his eyes fastened on
Miss Martha’s face.
“Amos, who saw the knife being
hidden, spoke of a ‘thing in white,
about eight feet tall’—” he men
tioned.
There was the faintest possible
trace of a smile in Miss Martha’s
tired eyes.
‘‘I know,” she told him quietly.
"It was a bright moonlight night
and you never know who may be
roaming around late at night in
these parts," and for just the barest
instant her glance flickered towards
Megan and away. "I didn’t want
anyone to see me—you can under
stand that, of course. And it oc
curred to me that that old place
would be an ideal place to hide
something you didn’t ever want
found. But if somebody saw me—
and recognized me—you see?”
Bob nodded. "Of course," he an
swered quickly.
"Well, Tom was with Letty," Miss
Martha went on. "I slipped out into
Then she turned and hid her face
against Megan, while the men
waited.
the kitchen, got the knife, and a
sheet out of the linen closet. I also
took a good stout walking stick that
I sometimes use when I go to the
grocery—there are so many half
savage dogs around—and I put one
of Tom's hats on the end of the
stick, and held the stick above my
head, under the sheet. I imagine
I must have looked pretty fearsome.
But, you see, I wanted anybody who
saw me to think he was seeing a
ghost—and if such things as ghosts
exist, surely their favorite place
would be something like that old
overgrown garden. I never dreamed
that anybody seeing me would stop
long enough to see what I was do
ing—or, if he did, that he would re
port it to anybody.”
“You didn’t see Amos?” asked
Bob quickly.
”No,” answered Miss Martha, and
hesitated so oddly that Bob’s atten
tion was caught and it grew strong
er.
“Whom did you see then?” de
manded Bob.
“No one,” answered Miss Martha
firmly. Too firmly. Too emphat
ically. “I saw no one at all—no
one.”
Bob said sternly, “You’re not tell
ing me the truth, Miss Evans. Up
to now, I believe you. But if you
start telling me lies now, don’t you
see you’re likely to make me believe
that all you’ve told me is a lie!”
Miss Martha said grimly, “You
can believe anything you want to,
young man. I’ve told you all I’m
going to tell you. And I’d never
have told you what I did if I had not
felt so sure that you’d jump to the
conclusion that the knife Amos
helped you find was the one that
killed Mrs. Stevenson—and once you
were convinced of that, you’d not
stop until you'd hauled in some poor
devil that was as innocent of that
crime as—my poor Letty.”
She got up and Bob said sternly,
“I’ve not finished yet—”
Miss Martha eyed him as though
he had been an importunate beg
gar, and said coolly, "Haven’t you?
Well, I have. Good day to you all.”
She looked at Megan and said
tonelessly. “Tom and I are—taking
Letty home. We’re leaving today,
so this will be good-by—and—thanks
for all you’ve done.”
“Miss Martha, whom did you see
that night?” Bob demanded sharp
ly. "I can forbid you to leave, you
know—I can hold you as a material
witness—”
“A witness to what? I wasn’t with
in a mile of the Stevenson place,”
Miss Martha pointed out. "Amos is
my alibi, just as I am his. I’d say
that he and I are the two people
who couldn’t possibly have had any
thing to do with the murder.”
“But you did see someone that
night—” began Bob.
She met his eyes straightly and
said coolly, ‘‘Did I?"
Megan drew a deep breath and
said levelly, ‘‘You saw me, didn’t
you, Miss Martha?”
Bob flung her a startled glance,
but Laurence’s mouth only tightened
a little.
Miss Martha looked straight at
Megan and then she sighed and nod
ded. ‘‘Yes, I saw you,” she admit
ted.
Bob said quickly, "Look here, Miss
MacTavish, you haven’t told me
anything about being up there that
night—’’
"You didn’t ask me!” Megan re
minded him.
"I said that if you were in bed
and asleep, you couldn’t have heard
a scream—”
Megan nodded. "And I said, no, I
couldn’t—but you didn’t ask me if I
had been in my bed asleep,” she
reminded him again.
"Who was with you?” he asked I
sternly. “Don’t tell me you went
out alone at that time of night.”
Megan said quietly, "No, I wasn’t
alone. I was when I left the house.
But when I reached the Ridge—Mr.
Fallon was there and we talked a
little while."
Bob asked abruptly, "Your father
was involved with Mrs. Stevenson,
wasn’t he?”
Megan gasped as though he had
struck her, and Laurence said
sharply, "Hi, lay off, Bob. You have
no right to ask her such a question.”
Bob met his eyes squarely and
said coolly, "Haven’t I?”
"As her counsel—” began Lau
rence heatedly, but Bob's grin was
cool, amused, and it silenced him.
Bob lit a cigarette, first securing
permission from Megan.
And then he looked at Miss Mar
tha and said very gently, "Miss
Evans, just why did you kill Mrs.
Stevenson?’’
It was so unexpected, and the tone
of his quiet, even voice was in such
contrast to the thing he said that
for a moment everybody in the room
went rigid; and outside the door, in
the shadowy hall, there was a
smothered gasp from the unseen,
but listening, Annie.
Miss Martha sat very quiet for a
moment, her body held upright by
her grip on the arms of her chair.
Without raising her face she lifted
her eyes and looked straight at Bob.
He was watching her quietly,
steadily, and in complete silence.
After a moment, Miss Martha
sagged back in her chair, limp and
beaten, all her defenses down.
"All right,” she said, her voice a
mere thread of sound. "I—did it. ’
Megan caught her breath on a
strangled sob and swayed a little.
And Laurence, without taking his
eyes off Miss Martha’s white, rav
aged face, put his arm about Megan
and drew her close.
"Why, Miss Martha?” asked Bob,
very gently, with pity in his voice.
Miss Martha drew a hard breath
and lifted her hands in a little ges
ture of helplessness before she
gripped them once more about the
arms of her chair. "I—hated her.
She was a wicked woman. She
made so much trouble for every
body. She had started spreading
lies and slander about Tom. I was
afraid that Letty might hear—in one
of her periods of lucidity. Tom told
me about the things she was saying.
He had been foolish enough to go to
her house one evening and face her
with a story she was spreading
about him and—Miss MacTavish—”
The tired voice died and she
opened her eyes and looked at Me
gan and said faintly, 'Tm—sorry,
but I might as well tell you the
whole story.”
“So Mrs. Stevenson was broad
casting the fact that Miss MacTav
ish and Mr. Fallon were friends,
and hinting that there was more to
it than that, and you decided to
have a talk with her—was that it?”
Bob’s gentle voice asked Miss Mar
tha.
She rubbed her hands together as
though the palms were damp and her
voice steadied a little. "Yes, that
was it,” she said evenly. “And Mrs.
Stevenson was curious about Letty’s
illness and she came prying and
snooping. Tom and I knew that if
the people here in Pleasant Grove
knew that Letty was—of unsound
mind, they might be afraid of her,
for all that she was completely help-,
less, and that Tom might lose his
job, or worse still, that he might be
forced to—put Letty away in an—
institution. We couldn't bear the
thought of that." Once more the
voice died away, and without a
sound Annie materialized beside
Miss Martha’s chair, offering her a
glass in which there was some pun
gent-smelling, milky-colored fluid.
Bob waited patiently until Annie
had performed her act of kindliness
and had once more vanished, as si
lently as she had come.
“So you went to have a talk with
Mrs. Stevenson,” Bob prompted
Miss Martha, his tone gentle and
friendly.
"Yes,” said Miss Martha, and
now she was pleating the crisp per
cale of her housedress over her
knee with twitching fingers, her
eyes on the task.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
WOMAN'S WORLD
Plan Trim New Dresses for Fall
While Fabric Selection is Good
Bu <£rtta J4aL,
[T SOMETIMES Is hard to realize
* during hot summer days that all
the big stores and foresighted wom
en are planning their wardrobes for
fall, but that's a fact. If you plan
your fall wardrobe now, your
chances of getting better material
in a wider selection of colors and
weaves is greater than if you wait
a few weeks.
Every woman likes a few trim
new dresses for fall, and the matter
is easily solved by selecting pat
terns and materials that will be
figure flattering as well as practical.
One dress for the woman whose
wardrobe does not permit the ex
penditure of too much money is a
good basic style with several
changes of collar and cuffs. She
might like one set of collar and
cuffs in a prim and dainty sheer
fabric in frosty white. For more
dressy wear, a good choice would be
a gay stripe or plaid, in taffeta or
one of the rayons.
Then again, the basic dress may
not need collar or cuffs for really
formal, dressy occasions. For this
you might like to splurge on some
clever costume jewelry—a touch of
glitter at the neck, and a matching
bracelet. Remember how popular
pearl type necklaces were—and still
are—and how much they do for a
simple black, brown or navy blue
dress? That’s what I mean.
Basic Dress Must
Flatter Figure
Unless you select the most figure
flattering basic dress you won’t be
able to do a thing with it. The side
drape is only good on some figures.
Others look better in gored or slight
ly flared skirts. Still others prefer
neat pleats or strictly straight lines.
Select figure-flattering material.
All of these things must be im
portant considerations in choosing
a dress that will take the place of
several. Select, too, one that has
good sleeves and neckline. If you
know for example that a V neck
doesn’t do a thing for you—and it
doesn’t do much for the very thin,
flat-chested woman — then choose
something with a little fullness in
the bust.
If, on the other hand, you have
a well-set pair of shoulders and are
well-filled, stay away from too much
material at the top of the dress.
Should you be planning several
changes of collar and cuffs for the
dress, then you will want a basic
style that will be usable with collars
most flattering to you.
Buy a good pattern, a good ma
terial, put the dress together as
carefully as you know how, and yob
will then have the most important
ingredients of the successful dress.
Black, navy blue, brown, dark
green and gray are the classic col
ors for this type of dress. The
one you look best in should be first,
second and third choice.
Small Details Make
Dress Fit Wearer
Recent figures prove what most
of us have always suspected That
is that few women come close to the
perfect figure. This means that small
adjustments must be made on pat
terns and clothes to make them fit
perfectly.
Adjust clothes to your figure.
Some women run narrow in the
shoulders and need an extra dart
there or at the collar to make the
dress lie smoothly. Shoulders, ot
course, can be built up with padding
so that they will balance the figure,
but this is an individual problem
that must be handled directly in
front of the mirror.
Another important problem in fit
ting is the bodice. To give a well
molded line, it’s advisable to take
one or two darts under the arms to
get this effect. How much of a dart,
and just where it should lie, is best
determined by basting and fitting.
Just where the hemline should fall
is another point that has troubled
many of us for a long time. This
should not be determined. I feel, so
much by what the fashion is, but
rather by where the line is most
attractive to you. If you are short
and plump you will want a longer
skirt to give you the long line that
is most flattering. The shape of
the legs is often the most impor
tant factor in the length of the
skirt.
Waistlines and sleeve lengths are
another detail which would be
judged by the figure. For this there
is no guide like the full length mir
ror.
Another detail which can be used
with the basic dress is to have one
of those soft sheer wool or wool jer
sey jackets to wear over it. There
are some gathered-at-the-waist
styles that are nice. There are oth
ers that are more tailored.
If you wish to have a bolero jack
et as another change of costume
with the basic dress, select enough
material and then choose a contrast
ing print for lining it and make a
belt of the print to have with the
dress.
Easy to Sew
A simple pattern plus a simple
rayon fabric that is easy for a be
ginner to handle makes this a nice
frock on which to start sewing.
The neckline can be worn high or
low, and the flulTy pcplum at the
hip adds nice detail to the cos
tume.
Lingerie Touches
A dress will always do more
for you if you have proper cloth
ing to wear underneath it. A
bulky slip can ruin the good
lines of a dress, and a sagging
slip is a mark of poor groom
ing.
Slender figures can wear bias
cut slips; the stout figure should
have one with gores.
Pay just as much attention to
the seams on the slip as the fit.
A too-small bias-cut slip will ride
up and yield little comfort.
Select the correct length for
your height. They now come in
short, medium and tall lengths
and everyone can be fitted prop
erly. Leave only the minor ad
justments for the straps.
Seams on slips should be flat
and double-stitched. The zig-zag
stitched seams wear well, but
they may look wrinkled if you
are wearing a sheer dress.
The top of the slip gets hard
wear and should be flat and self
stitched around the edge. Lacy
tops are pretty and dainty, but
if a lightweight dress is worn,
a simple slip will give the best
lines underneath the garment.
Fashion Forecast
A good fall pick-up for last year’s
suit or this year’s too is a smart
stitched dickey. It’s fine foil for
the felt hats which are destined to
appear soon.
If you're buying a good skirt for
day wear, select at least two
blouses to go with it for extra wear.
One may be tailored and in bright,
jewel-like colors, while the other
may be crisp tubbable white.
Tailored frocks for business and
school carry ever-popular saddle
stitching, leather belts and other
bright accents that liven the cos
tume.
You'll notice some influence from
men's wear in some of the sports
wear. Some plaid jackets are tai
lored like the men's, and there are
coats, 80 very sporty looking, that
have four pockets.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERNS
8052
11-18
8059
4-12 yn.
Crisp and Fresh
I DEAL school frock for the gram
* mar school crowd. Sailor
dresses are a favored style with
young girls—they’re so crisp and
fresh looking. Make this one in
a bright check or plaid material
and have the collar in snowy white
trimmed with contrasting braid.
She’ll love it for that first day
back at school.
• • •
Pattern No R059 Is for sizes 4. 6. 8, 10
and 12 years. Size 6. 2'/« yards of 36-inch
fabric; */» yard for contrasting collar; 3
yards braid.
Keyhole Neck
A S NEW as tomorrow is this en
chanting date dress designed
especially for juniors. It features
the popular keyhole neck, deep
I
Way to locate a tiny leak in a
roof is go into the attic on a bright
sunny day. Then no matter how
small the hole, the light will show
through.
—•—
A pair of tweezers is useful for
plucking threads that have been
caught in sewing-machine stitch
ing.
■ —•—
For a good swinging-gate sup
port, use an old wagon wheel
buried and staked down so the hub
is level with the ground. The gate
Is bolted to the axle, which is then
placed in the hub.
—•—
Rub tin and iron utensils with
unsalted fat and they’re rust-proof
for even a long period of rest.
—•—
A child’s sprinkling can is very
convenient for watering house
plants.
—•—
Don't overcrowd the dishpan.
Wash one pan at a time and you’ll
spare knobs and handles from use
less dents and breakage.
sleeves and softly rounded hipline.
Make the wide belt of the same
fabric o ruse one of the smart new
purchased ones. A honey of a
frock.
* * •
Pattern No 8032 comes In sizes 11, 12,
13. 14. IB and 18. Size 12 requires
yards of 3S or 39-lnch fabric.
Send your order to:
SEWINO CIKCI.E PATTERN DEPT.
330 South Wells St. Chicago 7, III.
Enclose 25 cents in coins for each
pattern desired.
Pattern No_Size_
Name
Address_
I
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