Show synthetic gentleman by channing ta pollock Chazin ving pollock service SYNOPSIS the duke barry gilbert likable youth of twenty three jobless and broke enters an unoccupied summer bummer home in southampton seeking shelter from a storm lie he makes himself at home dozing dozine at the fireplace lie he Is startled by the arrival of a butler willetts Wll Wi letts and si ft chauffeur evans ile he learns that the ton son of the owner of the house jack bidder whom the servants had never teen seen is expected lie he decides to bluff it out ills his supposed parents have left for or germany next morning he Is given a letter tor for his mother ile he opens it and finds a message from the real jack paying he could not come and returning a hundred dollar bill the boys father had pensioned him into obscurity barry pockets the money intending Intend lne to return it later he orders evans to take him to montauk mon taul intending to disappear there on the way ho he meets judge and his dai ichter patricia believing ho he Is jack bidder s tile it e invites him bim to dinner the following T Barry returns to southampton deciding to stay a bit longer mr air ridder sr through ills his newspaper the globe accuses judge hambidge Hamb idee of taking orders from tammany halt hall in a condemnation proceeding barry meets peter winslow prominent attorney y winslow tells barry that judge iram hambidge bidge had seen an accident in which a woman was killed by a taxicab tail cab at home barry finds the wife of the real jack bidder nidder awaiting him her husband Is in jail in new york charged with the murder of mike kelly tammany boss the girl peggy tells barry how she had met jack in florida and marri married ed him as jay rogers jack lost ills his job and they went to new york where sho she got work sit at the cocoanut Coco anut bar there the was accused of trying to pick the pocket of mike kelly and was arrested her husband went to kellys to induce him to drop the charge later kelly was found dead his skull crushed by a decanter CHAPTER ill III continued 7 that was a lucky break for you because if hed been here ile hodve dve had you chucked right out of the front door think kid lie ile spoken to his son for years paid him fifty dollars a week not to use the family name and then a cabaret girl turns up to say ashes married the boy and he be committed murder or was accused of it because somebody caught her picking dockets in a nightclub night club it sound good the way you put it nothing to the way hed put it but hes bes not here and not the best of your luck the best of your luck Is that I 1 ana am why because I 1 can help you and im going to I 1 am ain if let me it if let me go clarke ridder bidder jr oh the game Is it listen john clarke ludder fake can be the hie best friend john clarke bidder real eer had in his life I 1 can get winslow to take your case it if lie he dont know im a fake I 1 can get judge Ilam bidge to use his influence and plenty I 1 can get money from home because im making good look read that V lie ile darted across the roo room and to the table drawer returning with the letter from sirs mrs ridder read it quick any shock might prove serious lie ile must change chang ge its his will and lie he still reads the papers all right what it if he dedoes does read about a bum named jay Rogers Ko gers that married a nightclub night club girl and Is on trial for killing a tammany boss jay rogers rogera dont mean a thing but it if lie he reads that john clarke ridder jr did all tilts this on top of everything else ese hes done the answer the answer it if lie he dont the answer then Is that a noble young fellow named john clarke hidder and me gets a whole lot JOE interested in an unfortunate guy named jay rogers why because lie believes him blin to be innocent why and dont make any mistake a guy like ridder believing its going to start a lot of other people believing it too I 1 write my mother that ive got to have money to carry on the fight and I 1 get it because the old man decides 1 I carit cant be so bad after all maybe he gets ills his newspaper into the scrap not for ills his ON own n son which help much but for a stranger whether that happens or not ril ill get a job and a lawyer and use era em both for you ill use all the family influence for you and when its over and your husbands acquIt acquitted tid ill be in some position to talk to the old man for you what it if lie he acquitted youve got to face that chance either cither way peggy looked at him with liard hard eyes youre a pretty smart tellow fellow slip she said eald pretty smart if 1 you can talk tale me into keeping my mouth shut while you get the money and the position and everything my husband ought to have will he get it if I 1 dont use your nut peggy what do I 1 gain if you spill the beaus beans tonight what good does it do you and what harm does it do me maybe I 1 go to jail for a few weeks but it dont got get your husband out of jail does it this way might and its the only way think it overt over will you answer me on one e question the girl asked shoot if youve nothing to gain why are you soil doing tills this the duke had been pacing the rozim lie ile stoil stopped ped short now and b 14 ii 11 pit limie fell limp at ills his tf i mum lif lie re rc 11 A I 1 they could hear the clock ticking in the hall then it struck two all right peggy said at last im going to play it your way where do we go from here 1 I think better go to bed the duke answered here why not grinned the duke youve got a whole lot more right here than I 1 have theres a guest room that willetts always keeps ready the girl hesitated what time can I 1 get back to new york she asked theres a good train around nine all right burry barry opened a door the other side of the library and switched on the lights there you are he said all right it just struck me lie he remarked you dont suppose your husband might have given ills his real name no but one reason I 1 want to get back you better come with me too I 1 think youre on the level but im not so sure jacks going to think so 0 K barry assented breakfast at eight good night mrs rogers Il good night mr slie she smiled a wan ghost of a smile standing before the dying fire barry exclaimed what a damned fool I 1 am I 1 and stuffed the letter into ills pocket the newspaper lay before him and with it he came back to the hearth lets see what its all about he said the story filled the first page and overflowed onto the second and third judge eagerly awaited decision was crowded into an upper corner of the fourth page with a two column picture of the judge there was no editorial comment evidently I 1 there been time for that yet for some unexplained reason the paper said the murder was not reported to the police until nearly noon the body had been found by the filipino servant shortly after eight that morning mike kellys skull had bad been fractured by a single blow with a heavy cutglass cut glass whiskey decanter that lay close by its contents still undisturbed there was no sign of a struggle the filipino boys yarn was straight enough kelly had bad come home just before eleven ile he was a little drunk the boy admitted ue he had bad let himself in with his latchkey latch key and gone straight to the dining room where he be rang violently the boy had responded and got out the liquor and the glasses then a young man had called ills name was Il rogers the boy remembered and he said he had known kelly in palm beach nelly kelly had said all right show him into the drawing room and the boy had done so and brought in the tray then he had gone back downstairs to the servants quarters A little while later he had heard angry voices in the drawing room and had listened outside in the hall what lie he had heard was pretty much what the girl had bad repeated but tb there e re were e a few additions in the way of 0 threats from the visitor the filipino decided that it was none of his business and returned to his room ten minutes later anxious in spite of himself he re mounted the back stairs As lie he reached the top he be heard the drawing room door closed noisily and saw the caller hurry into the hall and through the front door which he banged after him it was the then n nearly midnight the filipino had been on duty since seven that morning and I 1 reassured lie he tiptoed down the stairs and went to bed that was all lie he I 1 knew ew until eight hours later he came upon mike alike kellys body lying face down on the floor the duke was just about to go to bed himself when he be noticed a small headline artists wife crushed by taxi that would be the accident that upset judge Ilam bidge 1 I might talk to winslow at the lie thought steeply slee ply but I 1 guess peggys peggye right better see jack first ive got a date with winslow at his odice on monday the hall clock struck three nevertheless the duke was up an hour before breakfast lie ile shaved and bathed and tossed a few things into an overnight over night bag hed bed seen in the closet closel E merging emerging lie he ran into willetts breakfast for two the duke ordered mrs imars rogers and I 1 are taking the to new york lie ile thought the butler looked at him sharply As their train left southampton peggy looked even shabbier in her cheap black dress and her little red beret her face was very white for want of makeup make up or sleep its funny she said awkwardly but I 1 sort of feel that every things going to be all right now why dont you and the boy move out here to stay you mean sure I 1 can square it with willetts come along the end of the week peggy after all its where you belong you know 1 I belong with jack she said and anyway lias has it struck you that the old roan man might come back unexpected lips iles leen een road mad six years he going to do when he finds out about all this well barry hazarded if weve got or his son out ile he wont care peggy interrupted tier voice again hard and pitiful I nc never did I 1 lie ile smashed jucks jacks fiddle jack wanted to be a violinist lie ile been too not but the alie old man found he was tolling taking les lessons song 1 I dont want any jazz banders in my family lie snorted youre going to take my place w when lien I 1 die 0 that started it it hed always been hard on jack bossy the old man Is and you cant boss jack ile he got another fiddle lie ile was good on it too when lie he went up to harvard he used to play it at parties when his father heard about that he threatened to cut oft off jacks allowance so jack stopped fiddling and began to drink and one night when he was awful drunk he wrote crotee thee the old mans name on a check ile he tried to get it back the next day but the bank had turned it down and the guy hed given it to was sore and had jack arrested jack had sold his second fiddle to make good ile he ne iwer er got another one the old man cut jack loose ile he came up to boston with a newspaper that printed the story in his handa hand cold as tee ice lie was youve disgraced me he said land and go on disgracing me it if ill let you I 1 wont you can go duliere it here you like and do what you please but not with my name it if sou ever use that again you can starve peggy turned to the window then abruptly how are we going to get in to see him she asked youre his wife larry carry answered and you im his friend and my wilder even re peggye peggys gys story quite pie pare the duke for that meeting ath his other self hed rather expected to see one of those weaklings wea klings who find the world a vast conspiracy against them john clarke ridder jr proved to be merely a frightened youngster A slim rather frail lad in his early awen ties with soft dark hair and large dark eyes and a peculiarly sensitive mouth ills his hands were soft and sen sell too but ty ti ere was nothing effeminate about the boy gee im glad to see you reg peg he blurted 1 I was getting a little bit worried peggys peggye presence reassured him evidently he counted on tier her and felt safe while she was with bl him jack she said quietly and significantly antly ive brought your friend mr clr iles hes going to help us great he observed fortunately for them the guard had other things on his mind lie ile kept disappearing and coming back and looking away from them to a paper that someone had bad given him and that seemed irritating in a low voice peg outlined what had happened and the conclusion that had been reached tile the boy turned to barry young frightened and soft he could reason quickly and talk straight hL 1 I dont understand he said to the duke it if these people will do things for you because they think youre jack ridder why wont they do em for me when they know im jack because they like me never met you and because toy my records clear im not accused of murder under circumstances that well weil they dont sound pretty at first da they they do not and of course theres your mother the sensitive mouth month tightened parry barry gave him the letter be had shown peg peggy gy the alie lad ad read it the old mans got her buffaloed buffaloes buff he be remarked same as hes got everybody else 0 K I 1 have used 5 r I 1 I 1 I 1 1 R X quickly he mapped out his plan my own name anyway letting you use its another thing but peggy thinks youre straight and ashes been wrong yet Ws its a queer game but ill sit in what next barry was relieved the guard had been showing ills his paper to a colleague quickly he mapped out his plans so far as he had any ive got a date with peter ieter winslow on monday and im going to cable your mother for money weve got to have that I 1 hope to get a job pretty soon awl an make my own way but just now theres there s less than a hundred and fifty dollars in the kitty slid and im going to give most of that to peggy for current expenses better write your mother too the kind of letter write in anser ans er to that if you were in my shoes ill bring you the stationery and of course ill mal your letter from southampton well have to amu gle it out of here I 1 suppose now tell me exactly what happened the night before last basli tile the story differed very little from the one barry had heard but it was full of shrewd questions that hadell occurred to him 11 I 1 1 TO BE CONTINUED |