Show W gift M em E M W M 6 4 R orm MW 5 ILIN nu M M I 1 H 9 U by y BEN AMES WILLIAMS corriah Co SERVICE SYNOPSIS driving home borne through a torrential rain young wen well to do clint picks up a 91 girl 1 scantily clad running in terror stricken flight down the road she rides a sho short rt ways leaves the car and runs into the woods lie he decides to talk to his h dear friends inspector tope and miss moss about his adventure clint tuu still thinks of 0 her as miss moss his former guardian though she and the inspector are manages married m arri d clint having settled down now manages the jervies estate himself in three shuttered houses all gloomy and forbidding on kenesaw Keri esaw hiu hill near where clint clant picked up the frightened girl lived three families in one house lived old denman murder hurder his wife who had been eua ella kenesaw and his daughter kitty leaford and her daughter june living in a second house was aunt evie balne uncle justus and brothers rab and asa the third held old matthew bowdon and his wife living on the estate was a man known only to june as uncle jim following their usual asua usua custom the three families gathered in the hurder home saturday night kitty junes mother retired early with a headache she was given warm milk and insisted on taking two sleeping tablets one more than usual strangely upset june slept fitfully and in the middle ot of the night went in to see her mother her uncomfortable position warne warned d june that her mother was not sleeping she was dead panic stricken june ran from the room out the unlocked door and into the storm to get doctor cabler it was here that clint clant jervies picked her up aunt tells his story to the inspector and mrs tope they communicate with the police who are told by the family doctor that kitty leaford died of an overdose of sleeping powders clint and the inspector are not satis satisfied f e d and feel further investigation Is feces necessary s ary when clint and tope drive back to kenesaw HIU hill they find inspector heale CHAPTER V continued 5 someone knocked on the door and he called an invitation hello doc I 1 he exclaimed then rising to make introductions tope this is doctor derrie our medical examiner out here and this is mr jervies doc he gave miss leaford a lift on her way to get doctor cabler last night doctor derrie looked at clint with ft a sidelong eye ive just been talking to miss leaford he remarked he was not much older than clint where clint asked on his feet instantly at the house the medical examiner explained 1 I went up with dector cabler she was the last one to see her mother alive and she was the one to find mrs leaford dead so I 1 had to talk to her the others nodded and inspector heale asked find out anything doc what do you think doctor derrie replied a little pompously mrs leaford had a 2 headache when she went to bed and took some tablets he explained one of the acids he added like one who must be discreet to protect his hearers doctor cabler had furnished them to her for a number of years once before she took three and was very ill last night she took two miss leaford prepared them for her mrs leaford was afraid of thunder and doctor cabler thinks that when she go to sleep as quickly as she expected even with a double dose she got up and took the rest of her store of the tablets certainly the bottle they were in is gone they listened soberly and inspector heale asked then you say it W was as an accident her own doing doctor derrie hesitated and he lowered his eyelid wisely accident yes he said then 1 I shall agree with doctor cabler that it was an accidental overdose he added she had been dead for some time before her daughter her miss leaford ll clint prompted and doctor derrie explained yes he smiled condescendingly when the storm broke she went in to make sure her mother was asleep and found her dead she tried to telephone and raise anyone and then the lights went off and she lost her head ran down the road to get cabler that was foolish and unnecessary of course as long as her mother was already dead but she claims she stop to think of that maybe she know mrs leaford was dead tope suggested but derrie confidently shook his head she knew all right he explained pla ined that was the first thing she said to doctor cabler that her mother was dead lie he and mrs cabler got some dollies clothes on her gave ave her some whisky took her home in the car he snapped his fingers in a sort of amazement mr and mrs hurder harder even waked up he explained when cabler got there the front door was open the hall flooded with rain 1 I saw the light in the hau hall as I 1 passed clint remembered doctor derrie assented miss leaford said the front door blew open and the light went out while she was trying to telephone the light must have come on again after she left the house he rose ill give them an accident verdict he bald baid a little complacently even it 11 she meant it an accident verdict will be easier on mr and mrs hurder clint came to his feet impatiently id like to see miss leaford he said Is she up there now doctor derrie shook his head she went out before I 1 left he told them not a bad looking girl I 1 saw her walking oi off through the woods behind the house as I 1 came away inspector heale volunteered she does a lot of that walking around alone then theres a man lives in there by the pond and ashes pretty friendly with him tope asked quickly where by what pond who is this man why theres a good sized pond on the kenesaw land heale explained pla ined its pretty in there there was some talk awhile back of opening it up for house lots but they wont sell the land this fellow names glovene has built himself a cabin m there I 1 how do we get to his place tope asked heale explained you go back toward town till you come to thay er ers I 1 s garage about two miles from here theres a path just this side of the garage goes right into the pond thayer will show it to you he moved with them toward the mothers dead she said simply door and he asked uneasily wh what at are you after tope it all ah looks plain enough to me tope answered mildly well I 1 dont like questions unless I 1 know the answers to them for instance did something happen to the telephone circuit over the hw hill last night did something happen to the electric current did the harders most generally bolt their front door when they went to bed and why do folks like those people on the hill let some one squat on their land the way you say this glovene does and how does it happen hes so friendly with miss leaford when she got any other friends and where did that bottle go heale grinned and scratched his head and doctor derrie said in a sardonic anger if youre trying to make a murder out of this I 1 can tell you where to start miss leaford put her mother to bed gave her the dose she was the last one to see mrs leaford alive and the first to see her dead begin with the girl the place to bedini CHAPTER VI june leaford loved her mother patiently and tenderly but there was something more an intangible kitty leaford Lea tord whose latter days were such sad and dreary ones had once been gay once she had known romance once for the sake of love she had dared greatly even june had seen sometimes the glint of shining armor in her eyes A single valorous action though it may fail and be punished endlessly does nevertheless in degree ennoble the soul and kitty leaford had once done valiantly but now kitty leaford was dead and june moved like a person in a nightmare doctor cabler had brought her home wrapped in his greatcoat but drenched and shivering still and they found the door open the hall half flooded they crept up the stairs like conspirators and so came into the room where the pitiless illumination of an electric bulb revealed this upon the bed dr cabler made his brief examination she is dead yes he said but I 1 dont think well wake the old people just now the middle of the night is a cruel time tor for bad news new S IU go next door and get rab or asa to help me but june said in a cool voice mother like that and without weakness or wavering she helped doctor cabler do what was required not till this was done would she permit him to summon anyone she did not know how long it was before asa come came to her go to bed june he said theres nothing to do here I 1 can do that nothing as well as you 1 I wont sleep she told him go along he insisted to bed and she obeyed in a silent submission in her own room she realized that she was still drenched wet cold she changed into a dry nightgown and lay down she expected to stay sleepless tiu till dawn and in fact she did lie long enough awake to hear the doctor return and hear aunt evie in the hall then she fell asleep and when she woke the sun was shining she opened her door and saw a strange m man an in a black coat go quietly into her mothers room and shut the door behind him below stairs when she descended all these kin of hers were gathered together grandma hurder was crying quietly tears glistening on her gray cheeks she sat erectly in her chair june as she came downstairs heard grandma bowdon say in a heavy anger utterly inconsiderate si no other word describes it and as june entered the room aunt evie remarked in her gentle whispering voice 1 I was concerned about kitty last night you remember she had a headache I 1 know what it is to have headaches I 1 have suffered myself and kitty was sick with them really sick sometimes she continued in her pitiless soft tones kitty resented life so deeply and there was always a rebel in her she would never be happy I 1 am not surprised june stopped in the doorway in credulous and bewildered trying to understand the implication in their words rab and asa were in the room but they did not see june grandpa hurder was here in the hall walking ceaselessly up and down then uncle justus came in through the kitchen and said something about breakfast in the hoglo hollow W voice of the deaf and grandpa hurder shouted into his ear kittys kitrys Ki dead eh said uncle justus aunt evie came swiftly past june and went to silence him and grandma bowdon repeated in a grim an ger she was always selfish no consideration june cried in passionate stifled anger ohl she strode swiftly into the room what do you mean she demanded what do you mean june said grandma bowdon severely mind how you speak to me but grandpa hurder said sternly in the doorway kitty was crucified 1 there was the dignity of anger in him in this moment crucified he said long ago june pressed her hands to td her lips understanding what it was they thought she didenti she she cried she turned to escape she went out through the front door but there was a garland of ribbons on the doorknob so she returned indoors again later she slipped out of the house this time by the side door so as not to see that garland she moved directly away from the house into the tract of wooded land behind here she could be alone there was a sound at some distance and she raised her head without other movement to see what it was she saw asa go quietly past a little way off among the trees and without seeing her along a path that led to the bluff above the pond where uncle jim glovene had his cabin it passed beyond down to the highway near thaders Th ayers filling station and of course this was the way she took when she went to see uncle jim ile he would know how to comfort her she was deeply fond of uncle jim he was a big chuckling man with an amusing eye he lived alone in the cabin by the pond stayed there sometimes for months on end disappeared ared sometimes for as long lie he wrote absurdly poems when she came to the top of the knoll he was still asleep his cabin door was open and he woke when she darkened the doorway woke and looked up and said hullo there youngsters young sterl hello uncle jim she said he sat up in yellow pajamas and rubbed his eyes you caught me napping he chuckled 1 I was awake till dawn writing a poem about a thunderstorm thunder storm she stood beside the cabin door her back against the logs looking down toward the pond while he dressed hurriedly in the cabin behind her he talked steadily cheerfully but she spoke not at all until uncle jim remarking her long silence said behind her tongue tied this morning june the matter mothers dead she said sim simply something dropped to the floor in th the e cabin and silence trembled there then uncle jim cleared his throat dead he whispered I 1 yes she told him he came close to her shoulder kitty leaford dead he repeated in an incredulous tone she turned her head alertly there was a sound in the wood the sound of voices then footsteps So coming she said ile he started to speak then stood silently beside her in the doorway and thus they faced the two men who climbed the trail A young man came in front f and now the color flowed across junes cheek and burned there for she knew him she looked past him quickly at his companion this was a plump white haired old man who walked with a surprisingly alert step his hands swinging at his sides uncle jim passed her and inter posed himself between her and these newcomers and he said casually hullom Hul lol the young man extended his hand im dint clint jervies he explained pla ined this is mr tope he turned to the girl youre miss leaford arent loupp you she nodded slowly without words she was trembling uncle jim asked with narrowing eyes AU all right what of it and clint said in swift driendl friendly Y ja fashion chion why you see I 1 happened to be passing last night in time to give miss leaford a lift and I 1 wanted to to make sure she was all right this morning I 1 hea heard r d about your mother he added turning toward june im awfully sorry alitine june felt the strength go out of 0 her there was a bench built against the cabin front and she sat down as though her knees gave way uncle jim turned to her with a quick solicitude junel june I 1 axe are you ill he whispered are you all right quite she said and tried to smile let me rest a minute her cheeks were drained white she seemed to droop forward he held her and tope said ashes fainting mr glovene Gl overe put her head down but the girl recovered straightened up again and glovene said wait a minute I 1 can do better he disappeared came out with a flask and tumbler she choked and gasped and sputtered but her color did return TO BE CONTINUED |