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Show vVVWWVI The May Day Mystery By Octavus Roy Cohen Copyright by Octavua Roy Cohen. WNU Srvlc. aaaaaaaa! CHAPTER XI Continued 18 Five minutes later Reagan returned to tlie room. He spread out on tlie table the contents of Vernon's pockets: a handkerchief, a fountain pen, a notebook, note-book, several visiting cards, a fraternity frater-nity pin, a hunch of keys, less than two dollars In silver, a packet of cigarettes ciga-rettes and a box of matches. Hanvey fumbled with the collection. This all. John? Pldn't he have a wallet?" "Yeh." Reagan flushed. "It's In a special box In the warden's safe. Nothing In It hut some money." "How much?" 'Two hundred and ten dollars. I'll get it" "Never mind." Jim was holding the bunch of keys In his hand. "Doesn't this look like a new key, John?" Reagan nodded. "Sure does." "Bank box, I'll bet." observed Hanvey. Han-vey. as though talking to himself. Th-huh. new bank box key. When's the next train for Steel City?" ' j Reagan consulted his watch. "Mid- Eight." I "I wonder if you'd run up there to- j morrow alone?" i "Sure I will. I can be back tomor- f row evening. What's the big Idea?" J Jim detached the key from the ring. I "Take this with you, John. I've got a 1 hnneh that Max Vernon rented a box ; at some big Steel City bank. Take I some samples of his handwriting with I you. because he'd use an assumed 1 name, of course. You can check up cn all boxes rented In the last couple ! of days then compare the handwrit- i lug-" ! "And if I find the box shall I take a look Inside?" ' "Xo-o. We'll just take It for grant- i ed that If he rented a box there the j Marland bank money is in it or. any- ' way. Vernon's share. What say?" i Reagan rose. "I'm on my way. f Chief." At the door he turned. "And ! if we do find that cash. Jim and It turns out tp be Vernon who had It -will you admit then that I was right?" i Jim smiled broadly. "Maybe," he Eaid. "I'll sure think you were pretty near right, anyway. " CHAPTER XII I Warm brilliant sunshine bathed the 1 courtyard when Tony Peyton and Larry Welch walked out on bond to I temporary freedom. There was Ivy j Welch, seeming a great deal older than j she had four days previously, yet Ir- j repressihly youthful withal ; and a score of Larry's undergraduate friends. ! young men and women who had come i down to congratulate the young couple ; on what every one considered the end j of their Jeopardy. j Ivy was particularly happy. "They I wouldn't have let you out If they ! thought yon were guilty, would they, ' Larry?" j He shook his head. "I don't be- j lieve so, Sis." "Hood :" She clasped her hands, j "All the time you were in there. Bud, j I couldn't think of anything except I except " j He squeezed her hand. "Don't you I worry. Kid. I didn't have anything to '; do with it." j Tony was with a group of her par- j ticuiar friends and Larry nodded toward her. "Whv don't you and she make up, I Sis?" ! Ivy's face grew stern. "I don't like her. Larry." I "Why?" j "Because she started all this. If j ehe hadn't butted In on Pat and me; j If she hadn't run to you ; if she hadn't ; been such a fool as to go to Pat's ! room at the fraternity house. . . . Oh ! j can't you see, Larry, that I can't help j believing Pat never would have been ; killed If she had minded her own ; business?" ' "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sis. ! Yon know I'm crazy about her." i Ivy sighed. "I guess I'm just a ! crab. Bud. But if I feel that way ; well, I can't help It, can I?" Then ; ehe reached out Impulsively and I pressed his fingers. "Maybe I'll get ! over it." Several automobiles were waiting, and at the request of the president, j Larry rode to the college with that I dignitary and Dean Boyd. They dis- ! cussed the case gravely and told Larry i a great many things about Max Ver- i non which he had not known. Thpy themselves did not know many de- i tails, but the campus was overflowing : With rumor. Larry was doubtful, i "Tt doesn't seem possible, that Max ', would do a thing like that." "And It didn't seem possible that you or Miss Peyton would, either. We have been mighty worried." ' "You've been darn white to me. 1 Intend to resign so the college won't Buffer." j The two older men smiled. , "We're sorry for the scandal, of course, Tarry. Hut we can't accept your resignation for two reasons: One Is that we believe you aro Innocent. Inno-cent. The second Is that It wouldn't help you particularly If you ever came to trial If we hud acknowledged our lack of confidence by permitting you to leave the faculty." Later that day Larry and Tony met by OKI Main and walked toward l'lne top . . . a knoll which rose above the surrounding country and from which one could look down upon the Marland campus, and thence still farther far-ther to the sprawling town of Mar-land. Mar-land. Half the student body saw them together and every young man anil woman made a point of waving cordially, cor-dially, hut no one Joined them. The students were more than a littlo embarrassed. em-barrassed. They wanted the pair to know that there was every belief In their Innocence, every sympathy, every willingness to do whatever was necessary neces-sary by way of help . . . but there was a natural hesitancy In Intruding on their privacy. The tragedy had cast a sort of ghastly mantle about them. They reached l'lne top and stood regarding re-garding each other: the man tall and blond and very boyish looking despite the tiny lines of worry about his eyes; the girl vividly beautiful. Their hands were clasped and they drank deep of the wine of freedom and of their Joy at being with each other again. It was Tony who spoke. "You know how I feel, Larry, about what you did." He frowned. "What did I do?" "Telling those detectives that Pat was alive when you left his room. Of course 1 know he wasn't." Larry's checks blanched. "How do you know?" "I know now. Larry. That's all I wanted: To trick an admission from "When All This Is Over, Tony, You Will Marry Me?" you. It was Bne of you, dear. But we must go to Mr. Hanvey and tell him the truth. That Pat was already dead when you reached his room." "But I didn't say" "Oh. yes you did, Larry. Just a second ago. Now listen to me: I don't know what you think about him but I believe that terrible-looking Mr. Hanvey Han-vey is one of the most wonderful men I have ever met. He can tell when we're telling the truth, and he knows when we're lying. I told him the truth, dear even when it looked like I was tightening a noose around your neck. I was scared and yet I wasn't scared. Everything I said seemed to Increase your danger. Mr. Hanvey looked like he had gone to sleep. Then the next thing we knew we were released on bond. Mr. Hanvey knows a lot. And if he's going to help ns, we must help him." He nodded slowly. "I guess you're right." His face was very serious. "It's kind of tough on Max Vernon, isn't it?" "I'm sorry for that boy. Terribly sorry. And yet if killing is ever justified, justi-fied, it was then. We have no right, Larry, to keep the truth from a man like Mr. Hanvey, who Is struggling to help us." "We'll tell him." They stood in silence for several minutes. Overhead a mocking bird trilled gayly ; the pine trees swayed softly in the warm breeze which swept in from the countryside. The air was freighted with the fragrance of flowers flow-ers and on Pine top there was no suggestion sug-gestion of anything but ineffable peace and happiness. It was so different from the solitary confinement at the Marland jail ; so gloriously a relief from the staring at four blank walls and a tiny square of barred window. They were very young and very much in lov-e with each other, and Larry moved so close to her that their bodies touched. "When all this is over, Tony, you will marry. me?" She looked straight into his eyes. "Yes, Larry." "I'd like to put into words ... to be able to tell you how much I love you. ..." "You don't need to. I understand." His arms closed about her and he held her close, staring hungrily Into her eyes. Then, suddenly, he buried his face In her hair and so they stood for an age of time. . . . All that afternoon the campus hummed with crazy rumor and wild conjecture. It was one thing to read In the newspapers of a murder and quite another to come in contact with one. The tragedy had cast a pall over the campus; yet It had brought a new and strange excitement. Even commencement, com-mencement, which at this season of the year usually loomed up as being all-important, seemed a matter of little moment. Examinations held terrors ter-rors for very few of the students. It waa as though they had been confronted con-fronted by dome of the aturknesa of life a month ahead of time. Human life, human love . . . examinations and bachelors' degrees seemed of small moment by comparison. The afternoon dragged away. Larry worked over his class books, trying to rid himself of the effects of the experience ex-perience and wondering what the future fu-ture had In store, for Tony, for himself, him-self, and for Max Vernon. And In his room at the hotel, Jim Hanvey sprawled on tlie bed and devoured a detective story. It was there that John lteagan found him. Jim put the book asldu reluctantly. "llosh," h commented, "It's great that story. Just as soon as I got Interested In something like this, you have to come butting In. What Is it?" lteagan spoke crisply. "On the morn ing of May second a man answering Max Vernon's description and there ain't any doubt, Jim, that It was Vernon entered the American National Na-tional bank of Steul City and rented a box. Ho gave the name of William T. Aragon. He took the box with him into a little booth. Then he left th, bank. The box is number two thirty-five, thirty-five, and unless I'm all wrong you'll find a lot of Brother Fiske's lost money right there." "Good work, John. You didn't look In the box?" "No. You said not to. But I left word that no one was to be allowed In there, even with a written order from Aragon. That's fixed good and tight. And so " The telephone buzzed and Hanvey answered. "This Is the warden at the jail," announced an-nounced the voice at the other end. "Miss Peyton and Mr. Welch are down here. They want to see you as soon as possible." "Send 'em over to the hotel, will you?" Then he turned away from the telephone and grinned boyishly at his friend. "Welch and Miss Peyton are on their way over, John. Stick around if you want. I have a hunch we're going go-ing to hear some Interesting dope." Tony Peyton acted as spokesman. "Larry and I have been talking pretty seriously, Mr. Hanvey. We've decided that you're plnylng square and are entitled to have the whole truth so far as we know It." Jim's big face beamed. "That's fine. Miss Peyton. But I want to ask one thing before we start: Am I going to get the whole truth or only part of it?" "The whole thing." "Croat ! Suppose you begin." She shook her head. "I haven't a thing to add to what I told you at the Jail. That was the plain, unvarnished truth. I think you know the truth by instinct. That's why I told It to you In the first place." "It's a pity your boy friend didn't get the same hunch. We'd maybe j have let him out earlier." "I was a fool. I suppose," broke In : Ijirry. "But I knew I was innocent and thought you'd never be able to convict me. So I wasn't very much j of a hero, after all. And I was a i trifle 'frightened." I "By what?" "By the thing you've know all the time: that Pat Thayer was dead when 1 went to his room. Knowing that Miss Peyton had been there and that i she was desperate and seeing Thayer dead I had every reason to be afraid. Suppose I had said Thayer was dead when I was there and you had believed be-lieved me? And then suppose It turned out that Vernon had never, visited the room? Can't yon see that it would have checked it back to Miss : Teyton beyond any argument?" "Yeh. . . . That's right, sure enough. I I'm mighty much obliged. Son, for! clearing all these things up In my! mind. And now suppose you tell me'' about that visit?" I "There Isn't much to tell. I was rather appalled by the depth of Ivy's Infatuation for Thayer. I was in a peculiar position, In that I had promised prom-ised Miss Peyton I wouldn't tell anyone any-one about her marriage to Thayer. I figured that by that time two o'clock she had had plenty of chance to see Pat and I felt it was np to me, as Ivy's brother, to warn him off." "What did you have In mind when you went to Thayer's room?" The young man hesitated. 'Tm trying try-ing to be honest, Mr. Hanvey, and the fairest way to answer that question Js to say I don't know. But it's only honest to say that I Intended to make It mighty clear to Thayer that he'd better keep away from Ivy." "I see. . . . And when you got there?" "He was dead. I got rather sick, just looking at the body." "Did you touch him?" "Good G d! No!" "How long were you in the room?" "I don't know. Maybe two minutes, min-utes, maybe ten. I can't remember." "Why didn't you report finding the body?" "Because I thought of Miss Peyton." Hanvey nodded approval. "Pretty straight story, Welch. There are just one or two more questions. First of all, did you touch the knife?" Larry's face expressed surprise. "What knife?" V,The knife Thayer had been killed with." "I didn't see any knife." "I see. . . ." Jim extracted a black cigar from his vest pocket, snapped the end from It and lighted the thing with a brief nod of apology to Tony. "You took that diamond ring off Thayer's finger, didn't you?" Again that startled light flashed in Larry's blue eyes. "I told you I didn't touch the body at all." (TO BE CONTINUED.) |