Show THREE ehrl E SHUTTERED D HOUSES H 0 U SES jy by BEN AMES WILLIAMS THE STORY SO FAR driving home through a torrential rain young well to do clint picks up a 1 9 irl scantily clad running in terror stricken flight down the road she rides ride a ahat short ways leaves the car and runs into the woods he decides to talk to his dear rl fiends ends inspector tope and miss moss about his adventure clint till still thinks of 0 her as M miss moss a his former guardian though she and the inspector are re mar married r led clint having settled down now manages the jervies estate himself in n three sh shuttered tiered houses all gloomy and forbidding on kenesaw hill near where clint picked dicku i i up the frightened girl lived three families amules in I 1 one horse house lived old denman Hurder his wife who had bad been ella Kenes awand his bis d daughter u ahter rains kit kitty leford Lea tord and her daughter june living in a second house was abat aunt evie balne uncle justus and brothers rab and asa the third held old matthew bowdon and ahls his wife living on the estate was a man known only to june as uncle jim following their usual custom the three families gathered in the hurder home saturday night 1 kitty junes mother retired early with a headache she was given warm inick and insisted on taking two sleeping tablets one more than usual strangely upset june slept fitfully and in the middle of the night went in to see her mother she finds her dead panic stricken june ran from the room out the unlocked door a and nd into the storm to get doctor cabler it was here that clint je jervies arvies picked her up clint tells his story to the inspector and mrs tope they communicate 0 u 11 i cal te w with ith th the 1 a police who are told by the family doctor that kitty leaford idled 0 of 1 an ove overdose adose 0 of f sleeping powders clint and the inspector are not satisfied rand and feel feell further investigation Is necessary when clint and tope drive back to kenesaw hill they find inspector heals heale and the medical ex examiner miner who also r reports the death due toan tolan overdose of the powders he becomes angry when n tope r 0 pe intimates that queer circumstances surround the tha death after returning home june ran to see uncle jim and told him of her mothers death there clint and the inspector visit them CHAPTER VI continued 6 glovene explained then watching these newcomers 1 I dont know anything about last night hight miss leaford had just told mathat me that her mo mother ther was dead his eyes flickered from one of them to the other and when no one spoke he said in a sort of swift passion some one tell me what has happened why did you come pome here they said miss leaford might be here clint answered 1 iwas I was driving past last night overtook her on the road she was running through all that rain I 1 gave her a lift as far as doctor callers Cab lers house june was afraid he would say m more ore than this she hurried to explain you see uncle jim mother hat ed thunder and lightning so when f the storm came near I 1 went in to see it she was all right and when I 1 saw her I 1 knew she was dead but I 1 lost my head I 1 guess calling the doctor was the only thing I 1 could think of what happened uncle jim an fn n si sted she took too many sleeping tab lets june told him in a low tone you know she was sick from doing that once before her face suddenly was stony calm 1 I gave them to her she whispered 1 I gave them to her and she died clint caught her hand now listen he protested you P her head leaned back the cabin wall she insisted on taking two the girl said 1 I t persuade her not to I 1 was afraid she whispered oh I 1 wish id spilled them all and then she explained pla ined you see she get to sleep so she got up and went to the bathroom and took the rest of them I 1 tope asked thoughtfully you spilled some of them you say while I 1 was getting one tor for her june answered 1 I set the bottle down on the basin and it fell and tipped over they spilled out and ther ewas water in the basin a little the tablets in the water dissolved there but three left in the bottle and I 1 took one of them to her one besides the oni one I 1 already hid had then she must have heard the thunder coming and she was afraid of lightning so she got up and took the other two oh dh I 1 wish Id spilled them all how do you know this uncle jim asked there was a rasp in his tones something challenging and fin angry finery gry how does anyone know what she did why the other tablets were gone said june bottle bottai empty uncle jim insisted T the he girl hesitated 1 I dont know she said we find the bottle its probably under the bed or in the bed or something we look there she was there her tone tone wavered clint held her hand hard he said now you forget it miss dont wor worry theres nothing to be afraid of 1 1 11 I w afraid of you she confes confessed sed and saw the leap of pleasure in his eyes an and was happy that she had pleased him but suddenly she was uneasy she had stay edt ed too oolong long 1 I must go back she said clint roie rose ill go with you willylu Wil lyou f she asked gratefully they went ant past the others miss 11 leato eaford rj is going home clint explained pla I 1 ined ri arll ill come ome back here T they hey came within sight of the houses housen and clint paused 1 I wont go ln in he sald said he member though im coming again soon he catig caught hl her hand and held it incredibly he kissed berhand her hand the backs backson of herfi her fingers shi she saw his eyes eye shine goad b by y he said she ioos loosed ed her fair hand and went on ilone alone and she held one hand over th the a other and treasure the spot hi lips had touched she went on toward the house when the she had g gone on ein e in asa cache came after her quietly out odthe of the wood 17 4 CHAPTER VII it was to be miss moss who perceived beyond dispute that kitty leaford had been murdered she had stayed behind in the car when the garage man thayer in response to topes inquiry went to point out the path that led to jim Gl overes cabin thayer returned and a girl came out of the office of the garage to join him thayer called her lis sa she was miss moss perceived nis his daughter and miss moss had some borne casual talk with them after a time she saw fissas eyes suddenly fix on something toward the house in in an expression of concern and miss moss looked that wa way y to see a man moving secretly among the trees then lissa out a word went toward the house and disappeared indoors she did not much chance he be said not reap reappear pear but neither did the secret man miss moss thought she know his form again she fell to talking with thayer and when by anday and by the inspector and clint returned she thought her time here had not been misspent misspend mis spent clint said eagerly ive seen her talked with her ashes a won derl miss moss said Is she clint fine but she looked expectantly at the older man inspector tope without a word got into the car and clint took the wheel they started back toward boston accident miss moss asked presently tope answered in an abstracted tone doctor derrie says sol he will ill call it accident yes he sighed as though he be were tired IT the h e trouble with me he confessed tm im a meddling tool fool what is it she asked what disturbs you he wagged his head doubtfully 1 I dont know he admitted heres a woman dead and as far as you can see theres no mystery about it but there are a lot of little things strange unusual miss moss asked what are they that miss leaford should run tor for a doctor without stopping to dress for instance the old mad man made a gesture as though to brush away an annoying swarm of mosquitoes why that yes he agreed then the telephone was out of order and the electric light went out at the wrong time and the front door of the house blew open in spite of the tact fact it was always bolted at night and then this man that ahat lives up here in the woods miss moss broke in with a question what is he like what did you think of him hes a strong man answered tope do doing ing nothing lives up there alone writes poetry tor for tun fun tramps around the woods and looks at miss leaford as a though she he meant 0 a lot lot to him he told me that now that her mother li is dead he be had a mind to take june away from here clint cried angrily fHe he did that ill i 1 miss moss mois asked acutely it bes be so ond fond of miss mis leaford what does doe he be ank think of the rest of the kenesaw connection tope chuckled he talked quite a lot about them he I 1 admitted he seemed to know them pretty well know a lot about them me he says old mrs bowdon and her daughter mrs balne have things their own way up there he said they were like people living iri in the va valley uey below a big dam bowdon is a wealthy man and hurder too and their money is like the water behind the dam waiting to how flow down the valley when they die flow into new channels the others all sit there waiting for or the dam to break with their buckets ready to catch the overflow afraid let a few drops get away miss moss said softly why afra af idill tope looked at her in quick attention eh he exclaimed why should they be afraid after all the money cant get out of the family having things makes people afraid she reminded him A man with nothing to lose has nothing to tear fear tope shook his head 1 I dont know he demurred its mighty easy to be afraid theres one other thing probably no connection but when clint and I 1 were on our way in to Gl overes cabin we saw a man in the woods he was coming down the path toward us but he a spotted potted us about as soon as we saw him a hundred yards away or so and he ducked to one side ide a out of the way and kept out of sight while we went by why you speak to him clint aunt here was in a hurry to go on the inspector chuckled 1 I even see this man 11 clint explained 1 I think the inspector imagined him hes seeing things today anyway miss moss sat thoughtful tor for a while but she said at last smiling he imagine this I 1 saw your man come out of the woods wood the garage proprietor has a daughter he calls her lissa I 1 think that was her young man she was with me when he came in sight but she left me then and neither ot of them reappeared tope chuckled trust you to dig up any romance lying aroun around dl he exclaimed dont know who it was do you no but I 1 know lissa thayer was troubled by his coming miss moss declared that was plain in her eyes and she asked this mr glovene how old did you think he was the inspector watched her for ty five and up he said maybe ten years more old enough to be miss leatores Leat father miss moss reflected and she added still smiling you see I 1 begin to wonder about things too inspector ive caught the habit from you she ceased to smile im wondering now she said gravely how many of these tablets it would take to kill a person so quickly the inspector looked at miss moss with a sort of wonder he said at last mrs tope you make me feel like a man on crutches you can jump farther and straighter than anyone I 1 ever saw 1 I was just wondering she sha protested her cheek bright with pleasure in his praise 1 I think youve hit it he said derrie missed it it and heale and so did I 1 but I 1 think youve hit it on the nose well see he looked ahead clint pull in at the first drugstore drug store he said 1 I want to telephone when he came out to them again clint asked quickly did you call doctor Derr derrie le 1 I called doc gero tope explained pla ined this was the medical examiner with whom the old man had worked for so many years doctor gero thinks that lewold it would need eight or ten tablets maybe more to have killed mrs leaford so soon he said if 11 one was a dose and three made her pretty sick four or five might put her into a coma so that she would die in twenty tour hours or so specially if 11 she had a weak heart but to be dead in three hours that would need eight or ten tablets and maybe more his tone had the finality of doom and there that many tablets left in the bott bottle lel 1 he concluded miss mis s moss said in a low tone 1 I was afraid so then it was murder what will you do tope shook his head why my 1 he said 1 I guess well have j to g go back he chuckled in a dry mirth it looks like id have to annoy young doc derrie again when they came back to headquarters heale was there now what is it tope he asked patiently tope hesitated he said then heres the sticker heale miss leaford gave her mother two tablets there were two more left in the bottle in the bathroom cabinet and doctor derrie figures the dead woman got up and took those two right it heale nodded yes he salti said now then tope explained two and two make tour four if doctor der rles hes right she took four tablets and two or three hours hour slater later she was dead sure heale repeated tope leaned back in his c chair bair then heres the rest of it he said you know doctor gero the medical examiner in town of course well doctor gero says it would take at least six and more likely eight or ten tablets to kill this woman dead in three hours inspector heale looked at tope frowning a little for a long time he started to shake his head then abruptly he lifted the telephone beside him get me doctor cabler he directed and presently doctor cabler inspector heale speaking id like to consult you oh on this leaford case can you come down thanks he returned the receiver to its hook again doctor cabler will know he told them tope nodded the bottles missing he be reminded inspector heale that may have significance or not have you been in the house searched the bedroom heale shook his head no excuse to do that he protested so tar far as we knew officially it was an accident I 1 dont want to antagonize those people unnecessarily tope you can see that id uke like to look around in there tope confessed unofficially without their knowing inspector heale grinned not much chance he said miss moss spoke for the first time when is the funeral she inquired it might be managed then inspector heale agreed it if they all go of course lock the house they have no servants well have to get someone to arrange it so we can get in miss leaford will do that clint proposed id rather try asa taine inspector heale decided he might be reasonable I 1 know him better than I 1 know any of the others he lifted the telephone ill send one of the boys to ask him t to 0 come down he said TO BE CONTINUED |