Show T R E E n m U 1 im E E D m n m 0 m u m m E by BEN AMES WILLIAMS copyright SERVICE CHAPTER XI continued 11 arid mrs taine added in her slow precise fashion we have no information to give you my mother was in bed and asleep I 1 was wi with h her my son asa was asleep in the dining room my husband was at home my son rab was in providence miss leaford was I 1 dont know where I 1 knew nothing till the electric lights went out and I 1 started to look at the fuse box and saw the flames from the pantry window rab insisted gentlemen you cant annoy these ladies 1 they have suffered but mrs taine said quietly nonsense rab it is not a question of annoyance or of endurance I 1 do not choose to be questioned that is all she repeated and I 1 vish this dangerous gossip stopped pow now she nodded toward the door in in a gesture of dismissal tope said gently 1 I see you burned your handl mrs taine eyed him steadily yes when I 1 lighted one of the lamps she said the match head but rab cried bitterly gentlemen I 1 wont permit this you must go tope looked to inspector heale for guidance and the other yielded so the two men came out together and out of doors in the lee of the house sheltered from the rain heale mopped his brow chief mason stopped and turned and tope with a nod toward the ruins of the burned houses asked you think you can find anything in there it will be a piece of luck if we do the chief confessed arsons ansons Ar sons always hard to prove he added there was a gas explosion sure and by the way the fire ripped up through that laundry chute I 1 should think oil had been poured down the chute or gasoline its not likely well find anything but we might and he said grimly but ill go through the ashes with a sifter it if theres anything there I 1 mean to get it old denman hurder was a gentleman he always had a word for any man on oil the street I 1 liked him hes still alive tope pointed out hes full of smoke and gas too I 1 I 1 mason replied must have had enough gas to kill him no chance it was accident P tope asked soberly might have been the chief grudgingly assented there was a gas leak somewhere the cellar and their room must have been full of it and crossed wires sputtering might have set it off the place was a firetrap mr hurder had had electric lights put in with a decent installation but then the others connected up to his line and did the work themselves poor job probably its a wonder they had trouble before tope nodded and he asked then how do you know it just crossed wires and a leaky union in the gas line the chief said honestly 1 I dont know how I 1 know but when youve been in this business as long as I 1 have there are some fires that dont smell right all you get a hunch wrong without knowing why h y the inspector looked at him approvingly he had observed something of the sort himself so many times he inquired chief were you slow in answering the alarm tonight dont think so the chief assured him 1 I there but nobody said anything about a delay I 1 id like to know what time the alarm came in tope told him and what time the first apparatus got here ill get it for you the chief promised he turned back to the dying fire tope and inspector heale went on to the police car beside the road and heale confessed in an irascible tone weve got almighty little to go on tope no place to begin 1 I like to find out as much about abou t the time things happened as I 1 can tope suggested lets drive down right now and check up on that telephone call nothing to do here till daylight anyway heale agreed so they departed on this mission heale phoned to ask the providence police to make inquiries about rab taine and they got from fire headquarters a record of the alarm then providence called back heale answered and reported to tope with a dry amusement heres something I 1 rab taine was there all right but he alone mr and mrs registered in under his own name late last night checked out about midnight after he got a phone call tope felt his pulses quicken and heale commented pretty cool proposition going off on a spree with his grandpa dead at home ile he seemed to see no more in the incident than an ugly intrigue and tope tape offered no comment so presently they drove back up kenesaw hill there they could only wait while the embers of the hurder house still smoked and steamed inspector heale went presently to sleep here beside tope in the car A gray and miserable dawn came at last through the drenched and sodden trees to reveal the desolation here where the hurder house had stood was a black pit now with embers and half burned timbers scattered all around firemen were busy and steam still rose from the embers dawn became day and inspector heale woke and took tope away to breakfast and brought him back again they could only wait and it was near noon when they got back to kenesaw hiu hill the chief at last came swiftly toward them with something in his hand he extended it triumphantly there look at he cried tope saw what it was a large lar ge fuse of the sort used in electric circuits designed to carry a considerable current it was a cylinder rv 1 a A all youre fine miss bliss leaford tope tape said this is hard tor for yo yon and I 1 know it and understand some three inches long with brass or copper ends of heavy waxed cardboard composition at one place this tough composition harder than wood had been whittled with a knife till the soft metal conveyer within was exposed this metal now was fused the composition was smutted all around the opening the whole was set as though it had lain in water and chief mason cried triumphantly antly there you are how it was done tope turned the thing in his hand just how do you mean he asked and the chief explained someone turned on the gas in the cellar let it run for a while then he short circuited the light wires somehow and blew this fuse the flash would set off the gas and he added it was a piece of luck we got this the explosion must have blown it off the wall and it fell in a drain ditch full of water burn inspector tope felt a quick premonition of success it was such accidents as this which had betrayed murderers before and would again he looked at Inspector heale wondering whether the other had the same thought but heales eyes were fixed on someone a little distance off and when tope swung that way he saw the man whom june had called uncle jim approaching pr pro aching them at swift long I 1 strides he came near and he cried wheres miss leaford heale said harshly wherever reve you been ive been looking for you glovene made an impatient gesture Is she all right he insisted tope tape said gently yes ashes all right mr leaford and at that word heale swung toward him then back to the other man you mr leaford he demanded in a quick astonishment there was a long silence the other at last lifted his hand helplessly yes yes when kitty died I 1 went way away came back yesterday but ut I 1 know about this till just now where were you last night heale demanded in my cabin down there wake up no id lost sleep lately heale made a gesture of satisfaction 1 I guess youre the man I 1 want he said junes father stared at him with narrowing eyes what are you talking about he demanded it was tope who answered we think mrs leaford was murdered think this last night was murder too he said and heale added in a complacent tone so why I 1 want you mr leaford youre going for a little ride with me CHAPTER XH june woke to strange surroundings to a room she had never seen before a bed she did not know she woke and lay with wide eyes remembering mem bering and for a while she was content to stay abed putting her thoughts in order assorting all her horrified impressions of the night before at last she heard someone some orile stop outside her door and stand still there as though listening for a moment she shuddered with vague terrors then decided this must be a friendly step and called come in so miss moss opened the door and june saw kindness in her and strength and affection the older woman came gently to her bedside she said quietly good morning miss leaford did you sleep well 1 I must have I 1 think june confessed what time is it ita past eleven miss iooss moss told her gently stay in bed IU ill b ring bring you some coffee but june sat up quickly oh no S so 0 latel and she asked wheres where clint sound asleep Is he au all right yes yes my dear perfect perfectly aly just a few burns and blisters he was so brave june whispered proudly and miss moss said smilingly hes sleeping like a child he took inspector tope out there last night after you went to bed but he came back soon himself and rid I 1 took care of him june nodded youve always taken care of him you I 1 since his mother died yes of him and of clara the girl insisted on arising and she and miss moss had a long hour together before clint woke at all I 1 moving quietly speaking in half whispers so that he might not be disturbed once the telephone rang and miss moss answered it june heard her speak in a steady negation to some insistent one and guessed the truth before miss moss confessed to her that was your cousin the older woman explained mr taine wanting you to come home he said he would come fetch you rab or asa june asked almost fearfully 1 I dont know oh I 1 dont want to go the girl declared 1 I cant bear to go back there you need not miss moss assured her calmly you will stay here as long as you choose my dear she smiled and lifted the receiver off the hook well not even answer the telephone she declared besides it might wake clint he needs sleep 1 I want to see him june admitted her cheeks bright miss moss smiled and on a sudden impulse put her arm around the girl later miss moss heard a buzzing in the telephone and it continued so persistently that she lifted the rece receiver iv er this was aunt evie insisting in her even pitiless tones that 4 aune une come home but miss moss yielded fielded not an inch and june when she heard who it was cried 1 I cant miss moss mothers dead and now grandma oh I 1 cant go back to them her voice was raised it may have roused clint asleep in inspector topes own bed he came in pajamas to the door his hair rumpled his eyes drowsy still not fully waked but when june saw him there she ran into his arms and lie he held her close and miss moss said in a deep and tender mirth she be happy till you did wake up clint I 1 please her june looked back over her shoulder and said gratefully you were sweet to me but I 1 did want clint too so juno june was able to forget for a while those horrors of last night she and clint and miss moss laughed together over the breakfast table and while they washed dishes afterward but early in the afternoon inspector tope came home the old man was tired and worn and haggard and his clothes were sodden miss moss seized on him and hustled him protesting away to change she would have put him to bed but the inspector balked june asked clint desperately what is it dear what has happened why is he that way and suddenly why do you call him inspector Is he a policeman he used to be clint told her for years he thought uncertainly y to distract her attention and he said almost eagerly he can tell you the greatest stories about the cases he had the things he did I 1 guess hes the greatest detective they ever had around here she stared at him with narrowed eyes detective she whispered but why and suddenly clint saw the blood drain out of her lips and leave them white as marble but her eyes were steady clint she demanded does he think il but he was saved the necessity of answering for inspector tope and miss moss came out to them again and june turned to the older man you think someone killed my mother she said swiftly clint protested something and inspector tope stood uncertain but june turned to miss moss tell me she insisted Is it true miss moss answered her yes june she said 1 I think it is true her voice was infinitely kind junes eyes closed she seemed to grow tall she stood so straight and still she looked at them all again and said slowly you must tell me oh tell me what to do miss moss and clint were silent full of tenderness but ins inspector tope spoke in a deep approval youre fine miss leaford he said this is hard for you and 1 I know it and understand I 1 would like to talk to you he explained gravely if you can stand talk questions tope began with mrs leaford he came at last to the tragedy of the night before your grandmother died he said mr hurder is still alive he ought to be in a hospital to have every chance but mrs taine insists on keeping him there attending him herself he was silent for a moment frowning foreboding in his eyes then he went on now youve already told me about your mother and the night she died you remember when I 1 came out with clint but miss leaford I 1 want to ask you about last night about everything that happened before you left the house to meet clint who you saw what you did what other people did so june picking her words with ca rearranging her memories in order began to ten tell him and while she talked he made an occasional note on a pad of paper till she concluded at last and then clint brought me away brought me in here inspector tope nodded with a deep approval fine he said and he explained ive been trying to figure out the times when some of these things happened ive made a schedule some of this you dont kriol about but you and clint look at it and see if its about right as far as you know TO BE CONTINUED |