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Show THE Thursday, May 4, 1939 TIMES-NEW- S. NEPHI. UTAH PAGE SEVEN HOUSES Tq SE -- ir By BEN AMES WILLIAMS Copyright RuthWyeth Spears FT Clint Jervles picks Driving home through a torrential rain, young, well-to-dflight down the road. She up a girl, scantily clad, running In terror-stricke- n rides a short ways, leaves the car and runs into the woods. He decides to talk to his dear friends, Inspector Tope and Miss Moss, about his adventure. Clint still thinks pi her as Miss Moss, his former guardian, though she and the Inspector are married. Clint, having settled down, now manages the Jervtes estate himself. In three shuttered houses, all gloomy and forbidding, on Kenesaw Hill, near where Clint picked up the frightened girl, lived three families. In one house lived old Denman Hurder, his wife, who had been Ella Kenesaw, and his daughter, Kitty Leaford. and her daughter June. Living in a second house was Aunt Evie Taine, Uncle Justus and brothers Rab and Asa. The third held old Matthew Bowdon and his wife. Living on the estate was a man known only to June as "Uncle Jim." Following their usual custom the three families gathered in the Hurder home early with a headache. She was given Saturday night. Kitty, June's mother, retired warm milk, and insisted on taking two sleeping tablets, one more than usual. of the night went in to see Strangely upset, June slept fitfully, and in the middle ran from the room, out the her mother. She finds her dead. Panic stricken, June unlocked door, and into the storm to get Doctor Cabler. It was here that Clint to the his Clint tells her Jervies picked story Inspector and Mrs. Tope. They up. communicate with the police, who are told by the family doctor that Kitty Leaford and the Inspector are not satisfied Clint of of an died overdose sleeping powders. and feel further investigation is necessary. When Clint and Tope drive back to medical and the examiner, who also reports Kenesaw Hill they find Inspector Heale the death due to an overdose of the powders. He becomes angry when Tope After returning home June the death Intimates that queer circumstances surround ran to see Uncle Jim and told him of her mother's death. There Clint and the -to with house June, and tells her that he Inspector visit them. Clint returns leavethe will call her soon. Before they Tope questions the girl concerning the not logical. It would take Is powders. Tope finds that the theory of the overdose more powders than Kitty Leaford knowingly took to kill her in such a short time. CHAPTER VII Continued 7 Heale had no more than finished troductions quietly, but with a quick, appraising glance for Tope and for Miss Moss. He spoke in a slow, sardonic tone, facing them fairly. "I'm told you want to see me," he said. "Why?" And before Inspector Heale could speak, he added In a grim drawl: "To save lying, I might say that I can guess you think Kitty Leaford's death was murder, so you can begin your explanations there." "Well, there are certain circumstances " Heale began. "Someone was in Mrs. Leaford's room after she went to sleep." "How do you know?" "Because Miss Leaford put a certain bottle in the medicine cabi- - giving instructions when Doctor Cabler arrived. The physician was a small man, grizzled, a little bent, his shoulders surprisingly heavy, with a steady, severe eye. After the introductions. Inspector Heale put the case to him. Tope, watching the Doctor, thought his lips stiffened and grew pale as he listened; and after Inspector Heale had finished, the physician was silent for a while. "Her heart was not strong," he said at last reflectively. No one commented on this; and in the end he nodded, surrendering. "I had overlooked that point," he confessed. "Yes, gentlemen, it must be true!" "You mean she must have had more than four tablets?" Heale asked. "Unquestionably," Doctor Cabler agreed. "To die so quickly." Inspector Heale said seriously: "You understand. Doctor Cabler, this gives her death the look of murder." Doctor Cabler nodded slowly. "It seems incredible," he declared. "And yet there is something terrible in those houses up there. Mrs. Bowdon rules them all. She has something massive in her, something like a crushing weight "How about Mr. Bowdon?" Inspector Tope asked; and Doctor Cabler said guardedly: "He surrendered years ago. He is not at all well. His heart plays ugly tricks, and his is very high. He has not long to live." And he added: "I have sometimes thought it was his imminent death which oppressed them all." if The Inspector nodded. "I don't want to come right out and say murder,' Doctor Dabler," he ex"Crushed with grief." plained. "But we want to look around inside the house. Mrs. Tope net in her mother's bathroom, and here suggested that they would all it is gone." go to the funeral. If they do, the Asa Taine smiled without mirth, house would be empty then." and drew from his pocket a small square bottle. "Here it is!" he said. Suddenly, then, Tope asked: There was a moment's incredu"Doctor, can this drug be bought lous hush; then Inspector Heale by anyone, without prescription?" asked sharply: "How do you know "From a friendly pharmacist, per- this is it?" "I've seen it often enough," Asa haps. By some subterfuge." "Mrs. Leaford had used it long?" declared. "Where? When?" "Four or five years. I supplied it to her myself. She did not even "Kitty liked to play 'grande know the name. I gave it to her in dame'," Asa explained. "She used plain bottles, without a label, so to hold receptions in bed. She'd that she would not know what it stay in bed half the day, sometimes. was. This was for her own protec- Rab and I liked her; and we used to tion. She could not secure it except go up and visit with her there. June and Grandma Bowdon did too." through me." "Where did you find it?" Heale "If someone wished to poison her," Tope suggested steadily, demanded. "This bottle." "In the cellar." said Asa. "Under "that person might have stolen tablets out of her bottle, one at a time, the laundry-chute.- " "How'd you happen to look down over a period of weeks, without the theft being noticed. So he would there?" "Second sight, maybe," Asa sughave them when the time came." "Viewing the scene of the "Readily," the Doctor agreed. "I gested. crime!" to a Leaford count Mrs. keep urged "What made you think It was a of the tablets she took; but she was careless and impetuous. She crime?" Inspector Heale snapped. They were all watching him took an overdose once before. Three but Asa Taine said simply: acutely; tablets. It made her very ill." "Kit kill herself. And an wouldn't "I'm trying to understand," Tope overdose wouldn't kill her explained, "how she was persuaded ordinary so I've handled criminal or compelled to take the extra dose. law.quickly. you know." Were there any bruises on her lips. "See any strangers around?" Doctor?" "Why?" Asa countered warily; Doctor Cabler shook his head. and Tope said: "No. none." "I heard there was a man In the "Was there any other medicine woods back of the bouse this mornshe was accustomed to take? In ing." capsules, for Instance? So that "Oh, that was L" Asa assured someone could have crushed some him casually. "I saw you. I was pills into powder and filled a cap- afraid you'd spotted me, at the sule and put it with the others she time." had?" Tope for once In his life was pink The Doctor said again: "No. I with embarrassment; and Miss know of nothing of the kind." He Moss smiled But Tope faintly. rose, and he repeated: "No, noth- asked: ing. I can't help you there." And "What were you doing? Why did he asked in a hushed voice: "In- you hide?" spector, what will you do?" "Private business," said Asa gen"I tly. Inspector Heale hesitated. don't yet know," he confessed. Miss Moss asked: "Mr. Taine, did Mrs. Leaford leave a will?" Inspector Heale went with him to "No, madam," he said. "1 answer the door. And a few moments after- you explicitly: She died intestate, ward Asa Taine was announced. and Insolvent too, for the matter of Tope watched Asa with a deep at- that." moment silent, tention, from the young man's first They were for This Asa Taine he and he turned toward the door; but appearance. may have been no more than thirty, Inspector Heale said abruptly: but he looked older, and there was "Wait a minute." the shadow of dissipation hit "Taine," Inspector Tope excountenance acknowledged !i in plained "Inspector Heale' doesn't blood-pressur- e ml want to make too much trouble; but he must look into this. Can you arrange to give him access to the house during the funeral tomorrow afternoon?" The young man hesitated. He said at last: "Yes, I should say so. You can prowl all you want, but it's too late now. There's nothing left to find." And he exclaimed in a sudden deep passion: "If she was killed, it was someone outside! They might torture her, but they'd never kill her. None of them up there." Then the door shut resoundingly behind him, and he was gone. Inspector Tope wiped his brow, and Inspector Heale muttered angrily: "That fellow knows something. Maybe I ought to hold on to him, make him talk." But Tope shook his head. "If you set out to arrest anyone right now," he pointed out, "you'd have to start with Miss Leaford." And Miss Moss suggested softly: "There might be another possibility. I wonder if Mrs. Leaford's husband is still alive? And how he felt toward her?" The two men stared at her with wide astonished eyes. CHAPTER VIII The fortnight after Kitty Leaford's death was for Inspector Tope a long and tormenting time; for a search of the Hurder house while it stood empty revealed exactly nothing at all. And his utmost urgencies failed to drive Inspector Heale to any vigorous action. And Dr. Derrie abetted him by sticking to the accident theory. The day after the funeral Tope and Clint talked with Heale in his office, and Tope said to Heale sternly: "Here's my notion, Inspector. Mrs. Leaford was about the most harmless person on Kenesaw Hill. She hadn't hurt anyone; she didn't want her own way about anything; she didn't have any money; she didn't have a thing that would make anyone want to kill her. But someone did kill her; and whoever did it had a deep, hidden reason for doing it. And we don't, know what that reason was. "All right. Now if we if you, Inspector pretend you don't suspect anything, whoever did it will get bold. He or she will do something else. That's what you're waiting for, isn't it?" Inspector Heale nodded an emphatic agreement, and Tope said flatly: "You know what that something will be? Someone else will be killed, up there!" Inspector Heale stared at him. "What "Why?" he demanded. makes you figure that?" "Because there wasn't any reason for killing Mrs. Leaford alone," Tope insisted. "Killing her is bound to have been a part of a bigger scheme. If you let things slide, you'll have another murder on your hands." Clint, listening to the old man whose wisdom he knew, felt himself cold with fear for June, who dwelt in that shuttered house where death had been a visitor. But Inspector Heale said with a slow, fretful violence: "Well, Inspector I'm glad to have ybur advice, any time, of course. But I have to make the decisions. You'll have to let me work this out my own way." And they could not move him. On the way back to town, Clint saw Inspector Tope irritated for the .first time in his experience. "I hate a fool," the old man said fretfully. "And Heale's a fool. I tell you, Clint, there's death loose in those old houses." For the rest of the drive the old man sat silent, absorbed in his own reflections, till they came home to the little house in Longwood, where Miss Moss had dinner waiting. They sat long at table, going over and over the things they knew, seeking to read their implications. And Miss Moss was a guess ahead of the Inspector tonight. Tope had reported that Heale was trying to locate Jim Glovere. "He's gone," the Inspector pointed out, "So Heale thinks he's run away. Heale's like one of these whippets. He'll chase anything that nor O ERTAIN Miss Moss smiled faintly. "I may be responsible for that," she confessed. "You remember I suggested to Heale that he try to find Kitty Leaford's husband." And the two men stared at her; and Clint, whose thoughts now turned always in one direction, cried: "You think this man is June's ago have Gardeners formerly allowed vegetables to grow as large as possible. According to Harold N. Coulter, vegetable expert of the Ferry Seed Breeding Station, this practice gave a higher yield in pounds, but very often lowered the quality of the vegetables. Some vegetables, of course, like tomato, must be mature to be pal- FOR father?" Miss Moss nodded. "What makes you think that?" "Why else did he live so near, except to see June?" Miss Moss suggested. "And why did they let him live there, unless he had some such hold on them?" Clint asked: "Do you think June knows who he is?" Miss Moss shook her head; and Tope said reflectively: "If it's true, if that's who Glovere is, and Heale finds it out, he'll figure that Lea- ford wanted to marry someone else, and poisoned Mrs. Leaford to be free." "I haven't seen the man," Miss "Do you think he might have done it? Remember, the front door of the house was open. Someone went in from outside." Tope sat very stilL "No, Glovere, or Leaford, or whatever his name is, didn't do it," he decided. "But Mrs. Tope, if Mrs. Leaford's glass of milk that night was poisoned, why would anyone have to go into the house from outside? She'd drunk the milk and gone to sleep before the door downstairs was ever locked." "Someone might have stayed in the house, left the door unbolted when he went out." "But why?" Tope insisted. "If Kitty Leaford was already as good as dead, why?" He said half to himself: "Maybe they forgot to lock the door, that night I'm going to see Mr. Hurder myself. See what he has to say." And he added: "t want to figure some way to meet Justus Taine too, and his sons. See what they're like. I've met Asa, but not the other one." Miss Moss suggested an expedi ent to this end; so during the next few days Clint, in his capacity as head of the Jervies Trust, pretended to revive that old project of buying some of the woodlands belonging to the Kenesaw farm and cutting them up into house lots. The office of Bowdon and Taine controlled the land; and Clint made an appointment to see Rab. and took Tope with him. Rab met them in friendly fashion, discussed the project and made shrewd comments; at Tope's suggestion he led them into his father's office, and he and Clint shouted the details of Clint's proposal into the ears of Justus Taine, and that man sat stolid and silent, his eyes blank, watching Tope while he heard, or did not hear, what they had to say. Himself spoke at last half a dozen words of dissent, and so dismissed them. Moss confessed. After Kitty Leaford's death. Grandpa and Grandma Hurder moved dumbly about the house, crushed and broken with grief. June tried to comfort and to reassure them; but once when she sought to beguile Grandpa Hurder into some peace of mind he said in slow tones: "Your mother was crucified, June. For twenty years! And I was to blame." (TO BE COSTIM'ED) Mjj P0CKET 1L T rUSEPOR f 33J EDGE BINDING pWO pockets on the inside of this pantry door are used for dish towels the upper for clean towels; the lower for soiled ones. The pockets themselves are made from four dish towels with bright red borders and are hooked onto the door with brass rings. All the dimensions for cutting, and direc tions for making are given here in the sketch. If toweling by the yard is used, 314 yards will be required. These directions are not in ei ther Book I or Book 2, so be sure to cut them out for reference. Each of the books contains complete directions for making dozens of other useful things for yourself, your home and to use for gifts and bazaars. Book 2, Gifts, Novelties and Em broideries, contains 48 pages of directions which have If helped thousands of women. your home is your hobby you will -- step-by-st- ( Safety Talks ) Driving Ability pHE National Safety council that automobile drivers reach the peak of their skill and ability after 20 years of age. Recent studies, said the council, indicate that drivers under 20 years of age have the highest accident rate. This rate decreases quite steadily to the age of about 50, and then increases sharply. ts LVAfip flTOH f Lj authentic patchwork stitches. dress, Mrs. Spears, 210 S. St., Chicago, Ad- Des-plain- es 111. ASK ME f C ) I H Pi K How to Test Silk To test a piece of silk to see if it is weighted, burn a small sample; if it Is heavily weighted, the material will blacken and char, but will not blaze, and the edge will be flat and smooth, with none of the small balls characteristic of unweighted silk. cross-pollinate- OS f d uiz With Answers 1? t KJiiermg jniormation T t . on Various Subjects because the moon rotates on its axis at the sam rate that it re volves around the earth. There2. Who had the "face that fore, it always keeps the same face towards the earth. launched a thousand ships"? 6. A thief is one who deprived 3. How fast could Walter Johnanother of property secretly or son throw a ball? 4. Is there such a thing as a without open force, as opposed to a robber who uses open force or person? 5. Has anyone ever seen the violence. other side of the moon? 6. What is the difference between a thief and a robber? The Questions What is meant by the Roaring 40' s? 1. double-jointe- d The Answers The streets of New York between Fortieth and Fiftieth, especially the Times Square district. 2. Helen of Troy had the "face that launched a thousand ships." 3. A test made at the Remington Arms Co., showed that Walter Johnson threw a ball at the rate of 122 feet per second. 4. No. Loose or stretched ligaments give the appearance. 5. Inhabitants of the earth cannot see the other side of the moon, 1. KILLS MA?4Y MSECTS 0H FLOWERS VEGETABLES 3644 FRUITS I SHRUBS Demand orlalnat ?ift?d H bottles, from your dealer Salt Lake's NEWEST HOTEL tl'.U Awkward Exchanged Tastes "Mum, what was the name of "How tastes do children's the last station?" change as they grow up!" com"I don't know. Don't bother me. plained the mother. "When my I'm reading." two were small, Johnny loved sol"Well, I'm sorry you don't diers and Mary was mad on know, because Jimmy got out brightly painted dolls. But now there." 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Gardens prove more enjoyable and more profitable when successive plantings of favorite crops are made every two or three weeks, providing garden-fresvegetables for the table over a long season. Few gardeners nowadays save flower seeds. Fine flowers growing in the home garden often are by others of the same species, making flowers grown from their seed inferior and untrue. h also want Book 1 SEWING, for the Home Decorator. Order by number, enclosing 25 cents for each. With orders for two books we include FREE, a leaflet of 36 eat her spinach. Mother may be flour, white bread, calcium carbonheard warning her against the dan- ate, tomato Juice, cod liver oil, gers of ariboflavinosis that is, if she can pronounce. Two doctors of the National Institute of Health, Drs. W. H. Sebrell and R. E. Butler, adopted the word which they admit Is "unfortunate" but the best one they could think of to describe the disease, says the Washington Star. Ariboflavinosis, they reported. 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