| Show the men on the dead dimill chest FROM THE BEGINNING during a holdup at the he dutch mill will a fashionable ch cago night club a patron laer later ident fled as dunn clayton Is shot and killed lieutenant of police stanton in vesti gating questions a volun tary witness calling himself buck trembly stanton had kno clayton in france during the world war in clayton a pocket he had found a note signed kalsto making an ap with the dead man at the dutch mill will stanton Is in dined to suspect trembly of the murder at a wisconsin winter camp a boisterous crowd Is gath ered including preston brown an apparent stranger arr ves later two men driving appear to be deeply though secretly in rested te in the party the stran ger leaves the camp in his car after preston brown has been accidentally killed they follow the strangers car passing it A viaduct being repaired la Is out and one of the two men removes remove the red lanterns danger signals the stranger in his car goes over the embankment he Is dead when found the lan lanterns terns are re placed in bro s papers clay ton a name is found CHAPTER ill III continued 4 the local correspondent of the chi cago papers had read of that murder and knew of clayton the advento bious association of names gave an additional news value to the two acci acel dents both beng be ng regarded as such the tribune and the herald exam ner shed the story the tribune on the first page the death on the two bladed knife was ras unusual enough for that and stanton read ng h s news paper at his desk the morning mor of oc tober 5 was stopped by it he ile took up his telephone and called the state s attorney read your newspaper this morn ing be he asked not thoroughly said Cor Corva valeski lesU IN why hy there s something which might in terest you A man named brown had some bad luck in a wisconsin camp two days ago yes and what was it and what of it he was killed in a wrestling bout but 1 I m still asking you what of it he was impaled on the blade of a hunting knife stuck in the wall A man can t be impaled on a blade that s buried in a wall he ile can it if the in fe has a blade opening from each end of the handle all right and then what s on your in nd it its s interesting mister the man who threw brown bron against the knife and killed him was killed himself a few hours later in a road accident he ran eff off at an unfinished bridge and two more things brown and dunn clayton must have known each other dunn s name was found in brown s belongings belonging b but the other man was a stranger and they don t know his name something to think about mr Cor valeski do you think there is a continuity adyth ng more than the incident of Clay clayton tons s name the states attorney ed after a pause there s not much to guess on said the lieutenant but I 1 d like to see the third man ive an irresistible hunch its buck trembly iven if its fan bastic that s the feel n ng I 1 have go on up there ll 11 lieutenant eu tenant said the states attorney assign you and put in a request for you stop in here for your expense money will you do that it if you are right if it Is trembly bour 5 our assumptions regard ing the dutch mill w 11 be conclusive with me not indict the men taken at the mill for murder ril 11 go said the lieutenant I 1 ive ve got a natural curiosity to see that third man stanton took the early morn nc n train and arr ar ved in eagle eagie r ver the next afternoon he ile made the ident fi catlon cation of trembly but did not d it he was driven to lac vieux to the benom nee res re erNat on and to the place of the bridge construction and returned on the fourth day it ha having haing ing been proved that it was trembly who had thrown brown on the blade of the hunting knife and who himself had been killed on the road several things became apparent to the lieutenant and the state states s actor ney as they consi derel what hat stanton had learned in nilas alas county 1 arst if they accepted I 1 natural and even insistent ons it was trembly who had I 1 billed dunn second if tl at on were ad illino s justice must be satis fled even if not ser sen v ed brov d ng no ces in the dutch M 11 murder were to be looked for the deaths of brown and of trembly were of wis cons n action third although a continuity of pur I 1 ose and event was at leat altus ble no motive was discovered wh ch ell could explain tl e three cr mes if they were related to one another an I 1 had a corn com mon or g n balsle wl ose letter I 1 ad made her identity important in the dutch M 11 murder aught m reveal a compote of matr mony erot c sm ir regularity and multiple murder of a peculiar craftiness and remorseless ness but such an assumption was a stra n on the probable meaning of facts as known fourth if it the death at the bridge opening had not been caused by ig norance norance of the road cond eions or by careless dr v ng or both but had the intent to kill back of it and but ing to it ut ur cans caus ng it then there st sti I 1 emaunel emal nel an unknown person or un by CLIFFORD RAYMOND service copyright the babbs bobbs me ile rill co known persons who had contrived or comm eted murder ahe purpose was as hidden as the person or persons themselves the state states s attorney was not so will in ing as the I 1 eu tenant to d ill c consideration of accident even enen in browns brown s death and less so in trem bly alys s doubt dismisses itself said the lieutenant trembly went from the dutch mill to lac vieux the manomi nee says he saw as the two men met each other in the lodge that tl ey were not strangers although they intro deuced them themselves selNes to each other this boy may be a I 1 ar but he tells an antell gent story something about all these men clayton trembly and brown makes males them want to meet as strangers my guess is that they are watching for or breal s and consider ng their alibi they re not gunn ng for or one another in anger brown was surprised by trembly just as clay ton was but it is my guess that both knew what it was ras all about as s on as the other man appeared the trouble Is that we don t the hold up was ras the break of 0 lick 1 ick for trembly in the dutch mill the knife throwing was his break in the little butte lodge the menominee boy started that lie ile said the meu men were grestl ng and roughing to show how good they were and we he thought he d change the game maybe he had more in mind but trembly couldn t have foreseen that tet yet he had a peculiar in fe which could be used as he used it said the he states state s attorney I 1 know it said the lieutenant it s peculiar it s startling b but ut I 1 t invent it haven t I 1 heard that each crime has its own lecul ar ty why d d it snow the day buck called at little butte if it had been the weather of two weel s before or of the next day the gang wouldn t have been beell drinking and roughing in the lodge why was there a hold up at the dutch mill when rhen buck was hunting dunn why did bucks killers know and re member that the bridge was out on his road south and why d d buck if he knew it forget it he ile had the knife it was a beauty a teakwood handle silver mounted with four inch blades of spanish steel A spanish shield in silver was set in the handle an unusual knife I 1 d like to know where he got it the lieutenant forgot to say if he had observed that the handle also had inset in silver of exquisite and minute lettering the words Es pana aanal panal I 1 a sangre a came a fuego a saco the cry of the troops in the spanish fury of the massacre and sack of antwerp trembly had stolen it in peru when he was there on the turner gold hunt my ily guess is continued the lieu tenant that trembly expected to think quickly whenever he saw an opening and that he d d whon the menominee gave h in one it might have fa led then he would have tried something else he ile had nothing to lose assume that it was the same when trembly was k h lied whoever took the lights ariy from the bridge approach couldn coulden t know that buck would be sent off the road there was a chance he would be if he got across the detour safely cometh ng would have happened to him bartl er along the road he ile might have been crowded off into a d tell he ile might have forced the other fellows to some crude work they in have had to shoot him probably safe enough on those stretches of road in october you re sure the lanterns were taken away and rp replaced placed there theres s perfect evidence of that A farmer came along just after dusk and was d n mad beca se they on the road he ile thought the construction concern had neglected the job he ile kne v the road and d in t need the I 1 gats to warn him but when he got home he decided something had bad to be done about it he ile drove back intend ng to go to the construction camp and raise h I 1 but the linteris lin Pin terns were there they m have been late in set ting them out the man who was ble for them swears they were in place long before dark and there s other en evidence idena e that they were somebody took those I 1 gats away and trembly went through the barricade off the road and into the thoroughfare ion hive to ac capt it as intended and that leaves us a killer still at large and a story we don t know it s W econs n juried atlon said the states state s attorney in a county which has no dav of getting at non res dent hoods who rho hanen t left a trace yiu you couldn t expect the sheriff there or the states state s attorney even eien to try it VI 11 hat do you wint done I 1 in curious now said the lieuten int im not a detec detective the but im cur ous I 1 id d I 1 lie I 1 e to know th s story the detective bureau wil w 11 hunt for malsie maisie tl TI ey 11 get into frown s I 1 is tory and trembly s it i 5 tl ti ng hit thit comes of that w 11 come of it sup pose you try what comes of some pub lacity th s Is a newspaper story wl ich chasn t been really told three murders all w th unusual angles un I 1 motives and some killers still at large if you extend 3 vours elf a b t it will go all over tl e country its it s mikan biking a cast bl adly but you may I 1 0 I 1 son on ething and it won t be bad publicity for our oung prosecutor ill think it over said th the e tate tates s attorney dont don t kid me mister said the lieutenant III read it tomorrow to morrow preston brown wis the son of a tennessee baptist clergyman at an early age it was evident that he was not disposed to satisfy his father fathers s de sire to have haie him in the min stry he could sing mountain songs and play tl e gu tar he ile joined a troupe in time to avoid mold appearance for question ing in a ty case he ile had meas arable luck as a card sharper and later made a respectable success as a bucket shop broker he married the widow of A peyton Sharp field sl SI e di divorced arced him in carls I 1 arts in 1994 and aft afterward erRard was killed by apaches who robbed her of her pearls it was ob to the kurete tl at a parisian gang had been gu ity but no one was apprehended the stolen necklace hor however e er was a paste imitation of mrs peyton crown brown s heirls which were ne never neer er found after her death but wh ch ell it was later known she was not wearing when she was murdered she v was as beai ing tt tl e paste the story might h hive hie i e been Inter interesting eRting and mr crown brown might have told it HP ile was destitute when his wife divorced him but her death marked the beginning of a solvency which endured for the remainder of I 1 is life it was beyond doubt that the necklace for which the apaches murdered her was synthetic but the genuine pearls were very val liable CHAPTER IV mr whittlesey esex pops in and out john whittlesey esex in dorset vt read in ing his new york paper at home the early mornin morning of october 12 laid it on his knee and closed his eyes lit tie tle furrows came in his forehead he ile opened his eyes picked up his paper and reread the story which had caused him to close his eyes and think darn it he said martha I 1 be he called to his wife who was in tl t e kitchen you remember the names of those fellows in that story I 1 told you about the will I 1 wouldn t draw up some vears bears ago one of them clayton clay ton dunn clayton you kemem ber me telling you mrs whittlesey esex called back that she did not remember you know what I 1 mean ies mrs whittlesey esex knew what he meant but she did not remember any of the names I 1 can cant t blame you for that said john I 1 can t ri remember member them myself so io one ought to have a memory like mine darn it I 1 yet I 1 im m pretty near sure anyway I 1 in go going to call up matilda field what s her number martha four six eight two rin rings s sure I 1 he ile went into th the e hallway where the telephone was fixed to the wall and in calling asked for three rings when there was ras a response he said matilda oh mrs bartlett Gart lett sorry to d esturb aou v ou yes I 1 wanted matilda field oh shucks I 1 les two rings sorry mrs bartlett blame it on central but I 1 did ask for three rings lie ile replaced reo reD laced the receiver tor for a mo ment put it again to his ear and waited central he said III bet the best way is for you to g ve me miss matilda fields field s number be obliged to vou on thank you matilda Is that you matilda do you remember the names in that will we didn dian t draw you know what I 1 mean one of them dunn clayton you said you kept your notes will you yop look them up and give me the names ill III be obliged matilda call me up after supper plaguing you john mrs whittlesey esex asked as he came and stood in the kitchen doorway ng Is the right word martha if matilda telephones me what I 1 think she may im going to write to the states state s attorney of cook county in chicago ind and tell him something that mav may inter interest t him of course W if what parses pases asca as A memory for me has done me another of its tricks I 1 won t be writing h in anything october 16 the states state s attorney in chicago go b hid bid id a letter from dorset ily 1 dear sir I 1 am a practicing at torney in dorset in the state of ver mont five years ago I 1 was asked to draw a will A number of circum stances es have impressed it on me it was ras thanksgiving day my wife had haa been called out of town by her moth ers illness and thit th it knocked our thanksgiving iving d finer into christmas the house was too forlorn to ba be ab ded consequently I 1 wis was at my I 1 should inject here t that hat this letter relates to your dunn clayton murder and others and not to my thanksgiving tribulations five years ago nevertheless I 1 must say that my resentment of the small steak and germin germ in fried potatoes I 1 ate that day Is permanent the man who visited me in my office that afternoon was casually known knorn by me lie ile had bought an ex and lovely tract of land near here the bear ear before some touch of eccentricity attached to him I 1 do not recill why I 1 WI en ell I 1 asked him after his knock anc in at my door why rhy he had looked for a vermont small to attorney at ahli office on tl TI anks giving day he said he understood that I 1 was an eccentric tl TI Is on top of the small S steak teak and almost almot cold potatoes poti toes alq wib almost too much I 1 hardly refrained from asking him to close my door and be on the other side of it at the time I 1 am the soul of conventionality almost its vie tim the man was big not fat but hard lie ile had a smile you might like or not I 1 couldn t tell whether I 1 did or didn dian t and cant can t now we finally got down to business I 1 mean there was ras some preliminary chaffi chaff in which he laughed a great deal and asked me if i I 1 bel believed leed in a benevolent god and if I 1 did how bow could I 1 prove I 1 im up lie ile ed me what 1 thought of hate as an ennobling emo tion as a cherished possession I 1 said that he might persuade me of it if he remained a hilf hour lie ile laughed at that he then |
