| Show BROADWAY AND MAIN STREET Butterflies Beetles Cyanide Ma Make e a Surprise Vengeance By BILLY ROSE When Martin Quint 71 married Ellie Reynolds 34 their friends in in Nyack didn't give the union much chance of success Five years later however they were ready to admit they had been wrong wrong wrong-Ellie Ellie was doing a good job of taking care of Martin l and as for the old coot well coot well he was a lot friendlier than anyone had ever thou thought ht possible On their fifth anniversary Martin l sent Ellie to New York on an errand filled the parlor with g gifts ts and paper curlicues and invited a dozen neighbors in for a n surprise party The plan was for a lookout at the railroad depot to phone when he I saw Ellie get off oft the train and then they would turn out the lights and hide When Ellie wall walked ed in and turned th them c m on ona a again g a i n everyone would yell Surprise Sur Surprise Surprise prise 1 Well what happened happened happened hap hap- was a surprise surprise surprise sur sur- prise all right but there was no no yell dal ing As the front door opened Quint and his g guests u est s sheard I heard Ellie whisp whis whis- Billy Rose H He p per e r e might be awake I dont don't like t this his h I s sneaking around said the voice of a man Why dont don't you ask him for a di divorce dl- dl vorce Think Im I'm crazy He doesn't figure to live much longer and Im I'm pretty sure to get the savings and insurance Thanks for taking me home See you Tuesday at the regular regular reg reg- ular time Then Ellie Elite closed the door and switched on the lights AFTER THE embarrassed guests had left she said to her husband I suppose you want me to pack Why should I 11 said Martin Its only human nature for you to take up with someone nearer your own age Dont you want a divorce Not unless sinless less you insist on it All AllI I ask is that you stop seeing the young man as long as Im I'm alive aUte I If f you'll agree and put it in writing writ writ- lug ing Ill I'll fix it so you'll yot get gd every e cent Ive I've got And that's how it was arranged An agreement was signed and locked in the wall safe and the couple went on living together Of course the neighbors gossiped gossiped gos gos- a lot particularly when ft t was whispered around that Ellie was still seeing the young man but their talk se seemed med to make no impression on Martin Instead he busied himself himself him him- self with a new hobby the hobby the study of insects insects and and spent most of his waking hours in a spare room over the garage mounting butterflies and beetles on small exhibit boards I wouldn't mention this around he told his wife As it is people think Im I'm not quite all there One evening just after Ellie had brought him the usual glass of warm milk Martin began to have convulsions Ellie phoned the doctor doctor doc doc- tor that her husband was having havinga a heart attack but by the time he hc arrived the old man was dead The doctor examined the body then called the coroner and an hour later the corpse together with the empty milk glass was taken away EARLY THE TIlE following morning a detective rang Ellies Ellie's doorbell I have a warrant for your arrest arrest arrest ar ar- ar- ar rest he bc said According to the coroner your husband died of cyanide poisoning and the drugstore drugstore drug drug- store in town reports that tha t you bought a bottle of ot the stuff two weeks ago right said Ellie Martin Martin Martin Mar tin used the cyanide to kill the Insects insects in In- sects he was studying There are hundreds of specimens in the laboratory laboratory laboratory lab lab- oratory over the garage arage It 1 never neter heard of 0 his being interested in ill bugs said the de- de Can I 1 see this laboratory laboratory labora labora- tory Ellie Elite led the up tip the garage ft stairs airs and opened the door There was teas nothing in the room but a feu few bits o of 0 f junk funk and en es J cycle ecle Im sorry but you'll come along said the dt Youre the only person to profit by Mr death I I I swear I didn't do t tEllie Ellie Both Martin and I wouldn't live long and vt Vie we wean q an agreement which explain thing Its It's In his study 1 She ran into the house Ij q- q the wall safe and took out Sa envelope but when she to open there was nothing a piece of blank paper Blank that Is except tl h word penciled in a childish ish s ss Surprise I |
