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Show J Rendell and J 1 Minnie 1 I t By ANTHONY REIMERT J ........ ....... t(), 1H23, Wentern Newipapr Uniun.) TT WAS in the first days of June that Rendeli's wonder became suspicion, sus-picion, and then certainty. And yet the idea was so monstrous that at first he was unable to credit It. What convinced him was the guilty, furtive looks that his wife Minnie ave him, her over-eager inquiries as to his health. And then one day he came upon her and his friend Jones engaged in a secret confabulation. They broke off at his advent, and if ever the look of guilt was upon any human face, it was upon theirs. Minnie and Rendell had got along together about as well as the average aver-age married couple. And Jones bad been a lifelong friend. Now there was no doubt in Rendeli's mind that they were in a conspiracy against him a conspiracy to murder him. For some days he had been feeling queer. There was an odd taste In his mouth. He had ceased to enjoy his food. His tobacco tasted like hay and he had always enjoyed his pipe so much. Slowly some deadly poison was being administered to him. Rendell Ren-dell had no doubt of that whatever. Jones, too, was solicitous about his health. Jones would meet him in the street and ask how he was feeling, with an expression of cunning anxiety on his face. They were overdoing their part. Rendell cast about In his mind for a plan. He had no doubt that he was being poisoned, and he thought of arsenic. He took a sample of food to a druggist drug-gist to have it analyzed. The druggist, drug-gist, however, reported that thete was no arsenic in it. That bewildered Rendell. It was not strychnine he knew the symptoms of strychnine poisoning. poi-soning. After about ten days, finding that he was becoming no worse, he set to work to fathom the mystery. He hardly ate anything now. He was feeling altogether out of sorts. He imagined, im-agined, however, that he was good for another week. And during that week he meant to catch the conspirators conspira-tors in their trickery. They were becoming reckless. One afternoon, coming home early from the office, he surprised Jones and Minnie in the kitchen. He had entered the house softly, and came upon them unobserved. un-observed. Quietly he darted into a closet opposite, from which he could see what was going on. There was no need to see. The conversation alone furnished him with all the proof he needed. "Poor old Jim ! Do you supposa he suspects anything?" asked Jones sarcastically. sar-castically. "Do you know, I have sometimes thought he did," said Minnie laughing." laugh-ing." He looks at me in the most peculiar way." "If he got wise all our plans would come to nothing," said Jones. "Well, It won't be long now till It's all over," said Minnie. "I'm going to give him double doses from this time onward. What's that?" It was Rendell stumbling In the cup-hoard. cup-hoard. Despite his suspicions, the revelation of this cold-blooded trickery had unnerved him. "Did you hear anything?" "A rat," said Jones. "There are no rats in my house," said Minnie indignantly. "I don't think It was anything. You mustn't let yourself get nervous. After all. It Is the best thing that can happen to him." "Yes, and to me," said Minnie. Rendell felt the veins of his neck swelling. A red mist swam before his eyes. He clenched his hands in the effort to restrain himself from leaping leap-ing out at them. And It was well he did so, for Minnie went to a closet in the kitchen and took out a cardboard card-board carton, which she set down upon the table. Out of this she took a few pinches of white powder, which she proceeded to stir Into some flour. "He likes pancakes, and tonight he's going to have them," she said, smiling at Jones. "Good and strong," said Jones, laughing. "I guess this will about settle him, Minnie. There won't be any more trouble for the poor old chap." Rendell could restrain himself no longer. With a single bound he was out of the cupboard and at Jones' throat. Minnie screamed as the two men engaged in a struggle for life or death. Jones was chokinj. With a desperate effort he shook Kendell off. Minnie was clinging to hlra. "Jim! Jim ! Listen to me !" "Out of my house!" yelled Rendell. "Jim, you don't understand. We did It to help you. Look at this carton! Look! You're cured now! Look at it! It's Tobacco Redeemer!" |