Show r FEAT s y J A STORY THUS FAR Adam Bruce Druce I Inspector Tope and Mrs 1 upset et t In the Maine 1 woods Tope a man murdered at auto aut camp pd d by Bee ee lie Ito le was beto be be- to be Mr head of 01 New c id h utilities friend was wasla la In hospital 1 with head bead Injuries Ills His lur ur EcU KeU was found admitted that I on bead head upon Holdom's Tf Sald Said he be did not know where l Tell ell eU was was' Joe Jae Dane assistant DA D.A. t d with and learned from froman nan nan an Priddy that a woman and man manen 5 Jen en n there at time Ume of murder and andin in was called Rupe which might b been en as his Ws name was o J CHAPTER X admitted Matter of fact I It it t there was two women in m inI mJ J I thought she said Ruth arl rI here told me it was a man manI I took both men in his car back ithome in North Vere ere vital witnesses he meant tp p p their in information to himself J while d a you stay here he directed tJ talk to anybody till I come Vu ill u or send for you See went went back to the courthouse Pringle still held his vigil Holdom Hes been asleep of the time the detective reL reLt re- re L Lt Seems kind of dopey Dont Don't DontI I word nodded Ive got a hot trail sorted forted J Have you heard any- any from Mat iy ly yes Pringle told him got that car out of the telephoned for Will Banion's ance ance nce here a minute ago Mrs was lias was in it Dead nodded again loftily Natu the he agreed Well Ill I'll run ere take charge nude made speed toward the 3 yond Dewain's Mill in the seat eat of a car stopped at a fill- fill l ion there he saw Tope sit- sit lone l ne his head bowed sleep But Joe did not stop d no desire to share with this per iper i er his discoveries now ector Tope did not see Joe pass pass by but the old man i 1 ij his eyes were closed was leep Yet he might have been beena id a I for being He had slept not for many hours n Ii Bee the night before took Tope away to see her safe Tope led Adam up to the cabre cab cab- ere re Whitlock and Beal were f and knocked on the door ck k and Beal were still awake with your boss boys old ld them directly Take my myr r for r that Or do you want to tom tom tom m m on the phone lock lock consulted Beal with a and fand and Tope added I know ut you on this Charley told toldIe le Ie said you ou dont don't know F Whitlock admitted irley uley gave me your reports up t morning the last time tiled him up Ill I'll run through 1 f you want show you I know m m talking about lock surrendered Well take ord rd for it he said nodded All right But the that put you on the job in the thel l lace ce says you can quit now need you and Myers says tp work with me OK lock grinned Ive heard a aut out ut you OU old man Glad to you you operate What is this ss anyway hor for ifor a moment did not anThen anThen an- an Then he said heavily half self Lse If u its it's what I 1 think it about as bad a thing as I in into And he added grim- grim Im I'm clear off of the track lre ire three people dead already if it we dont don't watch ourselves to come You boys come comeI I l f set out in two cars Whit- Whit nd his comrade trailing and aid fd to Adam to that lodge son I want to tor r r- r r. r Eberly n assented Hurry he heI het t hiS hiS' I shook his head Its late latey y 1 y he pointed out Hell be f anyway Well We'll have to wake and were we're staying with him slight light so take your time ht Adam assented See if n In n go to sleep Ill I'll try not to au cu iu a bumpy ride with ith the best of intentions on ons s s part that drive through the was vas vas still an ordeal of narrow cods roads missed turns and doublings and t was past four o'clock in the 19 ig and Adam was grimly r I g Bee Dewain's idea of dis- dis and of ot direction before they at last to a gate she had del de de- de- de l and i-and and found it locked At direction Whitlock ond and Beal here with the cars while Tope dam went on trudging along way Insensibly a gray ame stealing through the r said Tope Well time ime enough And he asked n n got your gun s. s Why II Il may have brought some one onee e e that he didn't tell us about ope and said no more Then ame me to the lodge low lOdge low sprawl sprawl- Jilt t of logs with an outlook to st st across the tumbled crests tant wooded hills hUls like tossing s. s A car was parked by the theand theand and nd door and some windows open Mr Eberly came out to meet them and remembered Adam and said gravely I heard your car Sorry the gate was locked He smiled in faint taint mirthless fashion More fore trouble Bruce Not for you sir Adam told him and he introduced Inspector Tope leaving it to Tope to explain their presence here Tope handed Eberly that letter from Miss Dewain thought you'd want it he said As long as its it's this afternoon Mr Led Led- forge wants you to meet him Eberly read the letter swiftly he looked at Tope Miss Dewain showed this to you Yes sir Tope confessed and he said briefly Mr Eberly I dont don't want to try to tell you all that's happened If I told you the story you'd think more about the questions questions questions ques ques- you want to ask than about the questions Im I'm asking you ou Mind if I dont don't start explaining at all Eberly was white and still What is it you want to know Why that's fine said Tope contentedly con con- You know Mr pretty well dont don't you Im probably his most intimate a i i JJ i ii ij i V rati 1 s 1 f fT T 1 Y Yit it 5 Ill I I tt 4 i i J lie He e will II n 1 be here some time lime today friend Eberly glanced at Adam Mr Bruce has of course told you of the banks bank's collapse securIties securities securities se se- were in large part sible But Mr had advised advised advised ad ad- me against carrying so much of his stuff He believed in it himself himself him him- self but preferred that I should not commit the bank so heavily It was my own decision my own Tope nodded Know his family do you Miss yes There is no noone noone noone one else You and he used to go fishing together and so on Yes and still do Fish and hunt Or sometimes just come up here and rest for days on end Tope looked around reflectively And he asked Mr Eberly comedown come comedown comedown down to place with us will you I want to see Miss Led Led- forge and Id I'd like to see that fishpond fish fishpond fishpond pond of his Im I'm a fisherman my my- self Certainly Eberly agreed Ill get some clothes on He had comeIn come comein comein in slippers and gown dressing-gown to greet them At Topes Tope's suggestion they left Eberlys Eberly's car here and walked back to the locked gate roused Whitlock and Beal Deal sleeping wearily in their car and so got under way Eberly told them they need not go through Theres a back road he explained ex ex- explained that comes down past the fish Ish pond A locked gate but I have havea a key When their ring was answered Tope asked for Mr Hes expected this afternoon sir the servant replied Then Miss Miss received them at atthe atthe atthe the table breakfast and Adam thought there was some shadow In her eyes yet she smiled In a friendly friendy friend friend- ly y fashion and spoke to Inspector Tope remembering his call two days before My brother hasn't come yet she explained He will be here sometime today Tope said slowly Why that's what I hear Miss And he said Were from the Myers Agency you see sec Her cheek check colored faintly Oh that absurd proceeding she ex ex- claimed I should apologize for tor troubling you And she explained It was my ridiculous solicitude You see sec my brother wrote last week that he was ill was coming home Friday She hesitated He never took proper care of himself and when he didn't come as he expected expect expect- ed I was concerned She laughed softly He was so amused when I told him what I had done Told me to call to-call call off my dogs I So I telephoned telephoned tele tele- phoned Mr Myers Adam saw Whitlock move as though to speak knew what the other other other oth oth- er was about to say It was early Friday morning before she could have known that her brother hadnot had hadnot hadnot not come home as he planned that Miss had set these men upon the trail But Tope touched Whitlocks Whitlock's arm restraining him spoke him himself sell instead Well maam ma'am that's all aU right And he added I want to leave Mr Whitlock here Hes He's expecting a aphone aphone aphone phone call from Mr Myers Can he stay Of course she assured him and then Tope was saying good goodby Outside the old man said crisply Whitlock you and Beal stay here And he till you hear from me added Your job is to see that nothing noth ing fog happens to that old lady Happens to her What What- I dont don't look for anything Tope admitted Your being here will prevent But you But you stay suy And he turned and with Adam by his side strode toward the car Whitlock Whitlock Whit Whit- lock gaping with bewilderment swung away to where Beal waited in the other machine At the Mill Bee and Mrs Tope were here to greet them After the first moment Bee caught Adams Adam's arm drew him aside I happened she demanded demand demand- ed cd softly Where have you been Lost In an impenetrable forest he assured her chuckling When it comes to giving a man directions youre you're a total loss What were you I trying to do get rid of us for good and all We didn't find the lodge I till daylight Idiot she protested You didn't listen I But its it's hours since daylight Where have you been since And why did he bring Mr Eberly here And what did you find out Well he said we called on Miss L It vas was she who put Whitlock and Beal on this thing because be he- because cause her brother wrote her that he was sick But that doesn't make sense sense- She had no time to shape another question Tope was coming toward them and he called to Adam All right son Lets Let's Co go He climbed into the car Where Whereto to Adam asked and Tope said in ina a mild impatience The quarry man So Adam drove down the road toward till he came to that byway which led up into the hills where the quarries were then turned aside and began the steep climb cUmbo Adam asked You feel sure this Is the Holdom car But Tope reported in an Impatient Impatient impatient tient tone Its bound to be bel Go along When they reached the ledge above the quarry Mat Cumberland came to meet them beyond Adam saw half hall a dozen men engaged inthe in inthe inthe the task here under way Cumberland Cumberland Cumberland Cumber Cumber- land said in slow bewildered red tones Tope Kell told the truth Our dead man cant can't be Theres There's Theresa a story in the New York papers to today today today to- to day that has made a complaint complaint complaint com com- plaint to the governing committee of the Stock Exchange about Hol Hol- dom No Isn't dead Tope absently assented Adam pressed closer as intent as the District Attorney to hear what the old mans man's answer would be but Tope gave them no enlightenment Ill know a lot more two hours from now he said But till Im I'm sure in my own mind Id I'd rather not do any guessing And he added reassuringly reassuringly reassuringly re re- re- re But Mat if Im I'm on the right track well we'll have all the dirty linen washed and hung out on theline the theline theline line by tonight He took the big bigman's bigman's bigman's mans man's arm Now come on Lets Let's see sec what they're doing here They turned along the ledge and Cumberland said The newspapers have got the story Tope Got reporters reporters reporters re re- re- re porters on it it I looked for some of them to be up here before now Tope stopped In his tracks We dont don't want that Quill here Over yonder Cumberland assented assented as as- and Tope saw the trooper kneeling on the Up lip of the ledge to look down Into the quarry pit below and called to him Quill came toward to ward them and Tope said quickly Son go down the road and keep the reporters from coming up here if if they find out where we are Oke Quill assented I ran into them once already today And he reported I found the Holdom limousine limousine limousine lim lim- Inspector Number plates gone but its it's the one all right Hid In the woods Theres There's blood on the floor r rug In the rear seat scat He chuckled I 1 sent the reporters up there They couldn't make anything out of that Tope nodded You looked it over first I Nothing In it It the tools Look at No Why Tope said There was probably blood and hair on on one of ot the wrenches wrench s. s Unless Holdom kept his hat on But no matter Did you see the see the girl I sent you to see Not yet Tried twice but there wasn't anyone at home Well after were we're through here find and her see what she says come and tell me the old man direct direct- ed Think you can hold the reporters reporters re reo re- re porters off oft our Clur neck TO no BE CONTINUED |