Show f e Serial I I. I Death Whispers By Philip Wylie Read a new mystery serial complete every week in The Telegram THE HERALD N. N Y Central Avenue lbert L L. Watson Chief lolice blice Headquarters Avenue at Spring St. St New York kar ar Chief Watson Vatson For more than a month the mats mats' mat mat- s' s r described in the attached docu docu- l lent nt has haunted b by conscience have considered calling on you youad ad d d explaining It in detail I am a somewhat retiring peri per pcr- i fand and that idea has distressed e. e I do not talk well well and am un- un isy tsy when cross On the other hand since the ling involves two taro deaths and andrice rice nee one of them was murder I 1 It U that the police are entitled to toe e whole story although as you ou ill see there is nothing left for fori i police to do But because it has been placed proper hands I 1 shall sleep tier Yours very sincerely L l. l Ralph Barrington Walker Valker Chief Watson Vatson read the letter his bald head with the el of his hand and muttered lank frank Lieutenant who was sit sit- ig near by failed to hear td you say Chief Chic II HE bald man held up a type- type itten script seventy script seventy pages of Viand and yawned Some dope l inks inka he solved a murder I guess s 's written the cops a love-letter love out it Imagine Then he began to read Whom it may concern y name is Ralph Walker alker I 1 am editorial writer on the staff of Herald where I 1 have ui 1 employed in various capaci- capaci e 8 for eight years During Juring September and the early rt t t of October I became aware that w what at had as a natural death was a I was able to determine ritually how the murder had a committed and by whom ier ier lives were in danger Mine a. a And through the whole epie epi- epi Ic le e I 1 was stone blind Literally id ad I had undergone an operas opera- opera i s for a somewhat rare ocular and my eyes ees were under adages I was operated on late in gust My doctor had explained I ore the operation that I 1 uld have to wear bandages on eye eyes for six weeks tommy Riker the young mil- mil laire mire is a friend of mine We Ve 11 h been in college together and had kept up a long and pleas- pleas contact He planned to be in rope in September and October I t when he learned the nature m my prospective confinement insisted that I 1 use his apart- apart nt ot during his absence hus two weeks after the sury surY sury sur- sur y Y had been performed I 1 was ved into his luxurious suite I imy's mys place consisted of eight ms Ims on the top fourth floor the Croyden Arms apartment Pine Boulevard When therea there is a e a breeze at all it blew through spacious rooms and andre re I set myself up with his i r colored servants Wesley Vesley and and Miss S Straton tra ton my n and rather prissy nurse r was in no great pain either eithern I n or afterward but I was proby y a difficult patient in spite of it Lt I disliked the blackness insely insely insely in- in sely and it was some days ore I became resigned to weeks it and began to try to find a tain tarn diversion in my affliction that hat diversion took the form forma a normal I enough game It simply of tr trying ng to for sight all my other The blind play that me se constantly because they i 1st t. t I did it to wile away time sa M Straton disapproved of it 1 11 L. L belittled my efforts which efforts which Intensified them And she did best to prevent me from wing owing about the death in the theer theler per ler er apartment on our floor The rhe death of Robert Purvis rl i IR R. R PURVIS died in consider consider- le Ie agony on the afternoon of 16 16 The apartment next door was a versed duplicate of the one ona Id I'd rowed from Tommy It shared rf r back porch and our terrace e er r the street street although although the back ch was open but a high cei co corn ce- ce i rn ment t wall Vt-aJI separated the terraces It was occupied by Mr and Mrs Duval Baylin their two grown I sons Clarence and Duval Junior the who were Mrs Baylin's Baylin's Baylin's Bay- Bay lins lin's mother and father and temporarily temporarily temporarily tem tem- by Lynn Baylin who was a cousin to the boys and the granddaughter Lynn was twenty The two Baylin boys were some Borne years older than she Mr and Mrs Mss Baylin Baylin Bay Bay- lin were rather young to have sons of their age Grandma PurvIs Purvis Purvis Pur Pur- vis was about sixty-five sixty and her husband was sixty-nine sixty when he died I 1 knew that and a great deal more after I had been in Tommys Tommy's apartment for a week They were friendly people people boisterous boisterous even I knew that Grandfather Robert was wealthy and that he had re re- re tired I knew that Clarence was struggling in the brokerage business business business busi busi- ness Duval Junior in the grocery business and that their father was cashier in the bank I knew that Duval Junior was one of the best amateur mandolin players Id I'd ever enjoyed enjoyed If if not the best I knew that Lynn could make an unforgettable chicken pie I 1 knew that Clarence stuttered a little and that Mr Duval Baylin Senior was a famed poker player Some of that information had significance significance significance sig sig- sig- sig later on Some did not Into that family came death Late in the evening perhaps evening perhaps at 11 1130 when 30 when Id I'd been officially put to bed and the building and the he street had quieted down Id I'd rallied myself for a I lay layn in n my bed smoking and listening to Duval play his mandolin He wason was wason wason on the terrace and evidently alone because I couldn't hear even a murmur of conversation I put out my after a while and tried again for sleep But the smell of smoke roused me and I rang for Miss Straton My must have rolled on onto onto onto to the floor I said If there was any smoke smoke smoke-it it drifted in from outside A smoldering smoldering smolder- smolder ing ng trash fire tire no doubt You haven't dropped a Youve You've got the fidgets Ill I'll give you ou something So e 00 0 I IV V WAS AS even more irritated I 1 lay awake trying to think of some way to win my argument about blindness and the analytical mind I heard Grandfather Purvis' Purvis groans roans begin at about and and I knew the time because Id I'd prepared prepared pre- pre pared jared for my siege in the dark by jy buying one of those expensive foreign watches which when you press aress the stem musically denotes the he time in an tone three rings for the hours quarters and minutes I heard the doctor come in at 6 and 6 and anda a taxicab later I caught the sound of the meter flag being racked down and perceived the brief pause for payment It was silent on the boulevard at 6 I knew that the doctor had sent for something or somebody and a taxicab had been used to transport it or him Because I did not know Mr Purvis especially well veil I went to sleep sleep and and Miss Straton did not waken me until nearly noon The afternoon was hot and sun sun- ny I 1 had myself wheeled out on onne the ne terrace At about four o'clock I 1 heard Mrs Baylin come out on her side of the cement wall It required less than a second to identify her voice Mrs Baylin was weeping quietly but with an an- So I knew that her fathers father's nocturnal seizure had been fatal By and by somebody came out and tried to comfort her But she was inconsolable I feel that it is all my fault I peeled them and and Ive I've always been afraid of them so I 1 was very careful and I know that Death Cup the doctor mentioned e I couldn't have missed one in the mess but I did That made things pretty clear Death Cup Destroying Cup Destroying Angel Angel- Deadly Amanita A poisonous mushroom People frequently mistake mistake mistake mis mis- take it for the edible kind I wondered why Mrs Baylin felt so sure of her rightness Tightness about the matter After supper Lynn came over to see me She sounded sad Bad and possibly possibly possibly pos pos- sibly anxious I couldn't be sure I knew she had brown hair and blue eyes and was about five feet six six Miss Miss Straton had vouchsafed that much After an hour or so Rafe Rare and Chan showed up Two youngsters from the city room of See Page 9 Column 4 I MYSTERY SERIAL Continued From Page Three I the Herald They came carne breezing in inand inand and Rafe called ahead Hello Barry you old cockroach Hows How's I being in the Black Hole today They broke off This is Miss Baylin I said Mr Teague Mr Collever Reporters Bum ones LYNN LYNN said Hello and How do you do 1 nicely I Chan apologized We Vc didn't realize you were here Miss Baylin Sorry She answered their questions questions- even about things that were pretty hard to discuss Her grandfathers grandfather's I will for example I really reany dont don't I know know exactly Im I'm sure that he divided it among all of us Weve We've I always alays understood that There I were a few ew other people people Mr Laid- Laid I who law aw who was his oldest friend He I was here for dinner last night And Ella I suppose She's cooked i l for or them for ages ag And a c couple of pet things things like like an astronomical I Ical cal society he heVa was Va interested in and his college I Have any idea how much it itis its I is s Chan asked About three hundred thousand do dollars II aIS aI'S I believe He said something something some- some thing hing like that that that-a a while ago There 1 has never been any secret about I such things in our family I Rafe asked a question I could have socked him for Dont suppose suppose sup- sup pose anybody could have slipped sUpped I him that hat mushroom I 3 There was a little pause Then Lynn said quietly Good hea heavens ns I no Q We Pe all aU loved him After that 1 sent them away I was furious But I was also alarmed alarmed by by a very small thing Lynns Lynn's pause They hadn't noticed it But I had had because because I couldn't see sec so BO every other sense was strained for invisible indices of mood and meaning She got up after a little while Better go back I guess So they I call you Barry That's much nicer than Ralph Goodnight I II I lay there She had turned over o in her mind the question about I the possibility that the thc toadstools had been administered And it had upset her It was was' enough to upset anybody I Continued Tomorrow |