Show THREE SHUTTERED HOUSES by BEN AMES WILLIAMS I 1 coper ight CHAPTER XIII continued 14 but it rn mus s been a quarter of an hour hour after clint heard the garage door roll back before he saw a light in the garage then he heard si a starter grind and anda a car backed out ot of the garage its head lights swinging as it turned clint stood frozen in attention the car followed the drive around the house on this side th the e lights tor for an instant shining almost directly toward where clint stood ghedit then it went on toward the road jap asa wis was gone clint felt a a faint de ft t he wondered whit what had be we of inspector tope tape and he hissed a signal but had no reply then he li heard heardt the hicar car returning retura he saw no lights but he did see dimly a dark moving I 1 bulk as the car rounded the corner corne of the house yonder it moved fast dangerously so lie he heard feirda a great crash a shattering of glass a tinny crumpling of metal a e great crash then silence and then topes tapes voice yonder in imperious summons herel here and a police whistle shrill and long CHAPTER XIV after that crashing impact and topes tapes cry and the shrill blast of his whistle silence descended dint clin took one bound toward where he guessed topa tape to be then he checked and turned june from the window above him spoke softly dint clint you an all right better come he said hoarsely it was a matter of sec only until she stood beside her fingers caught his here you take she bade him and pressed topes tapes old revolver into his hand band he saw tope tape kneeling beside a man who lay here on the ground the flashlight illumined his countenance rab dainel his cheek was smeared blood from a cut on his bis head had flowed out over his ear and trickled down his brow and face he lay limp and lifeless dead clint asked a s abd hoarsely tope tape shook his head ead h his hand was on wrist feeling for the faint pulse thai that flutter fluttered id there not noi dead yet he said june pressed close to dint clint and she said miserably its asa oh what is it clint what happened dint clint shook his bis head staring at ati taini who sat here under the fumed med wheel of the car asa was unconscious and there was something mysteriously aff righting in his posture his hands hung down limply by his sides and the bent steering column pressed the wheel itself against his body so that he seemed to bulge in the middle his head was in a grotesque and unnatural position cricked bricked to one side it rested against the frame of the door his head was erect even tilted bick backward ward but his bis chin seemed to be pressed down on his chest it was as though he were frozen in the very act of a cough tope said reflectively as though thinking aloud 1 I guess he piled into that tree faster than he be meant to he must have seen me and that would surprise him I 1 guess he lost his head stepped on it he mean to hit so hard rand and another policeman in uniform came through the rain what happened rand gasped without explanation tope tape said crisply one of you watch the oth house rand you go call inspect 9 heale it if hes not too sick to move get him up here since they first discovered asa here inspector Inspect oi tope had not left the mans side had kept him fixed in the flashlights beam now they saw that hi bis slips lips began to stir and mumble then he blinked the light was in his eyes june cried softly well get you out in a minute asa mrs balne came running out of the kitchen door brushing past rand as he entered drawing some wrap around her she reached the side of the car asal she cried and caught at his bis shoulder tugging at him oh he whispered it was like a whistle of pain my head neck dont touch mrs taine tain e whirled on the inspect y ab quick she commanded get et him irn out oui of f there and she looked all about where is rab shi she cried asa muttered through stiff lips his bis lips were blue sorry mother tie he said and tried to smile he dodged in front of me I 1 ran right into him I 1 help lt ft his lips closed and opened again 1 I help it he repeated we both dodged the same way 1 I was going to town asa murmured cut but my headlights went out an soon as I 1 hit bit the road I 1 came back to get a new fuse his words were spaced widely there were long pauses between them mrs taine did not understand what does docs he be mean she protested where Is rab tope tape said gently hurt too maam well need the doctor bad quick you call him UPI cupl understanding she obeyed him she hurried away and after a moment they heard her voice demanding that rand yield to her the telephone asa asked so some me hoarse question quentio n indistinguishable my neck hurts he complained rab hes dead I 1 tried to miss him and tope tape answered him in slow stern tones you hit rab asa he said 1 I pulled him away in time I 1 pulled him away from OV aa its asa ob what is it clint what happened the tree where propped him UPI his voice had in it the inexorable ring of doom hes alive asa asked slowly carefully his mouth twisted hell come around said tope tape hell be all right by and by without any movement of his head asas eyes swung to seek out their countenances he peered in the darkness and his lips writhed so that his teeth were hideously bare then he moved it was as s though he leaped as though he would have sprung to action his lips set hard his shoulder rose his whole body contorted one hand band darted down it whipped up and a gun showed in the flashlights gleam inspector tope leaning into the car sought to seize the gun but before he could touch asa could grasp the weapon the need tor for action passed when the hurt man thus leaned sharply forward his head was tardy in following his movement it seemed to hang back and then to be jerked aside as though by an invisible hand and this was a strange unnatural thing to see asas head turn turned e d at a grotesque I 1 e s que angle as though it had slipped and instantly asa himself was smaller me like a pricked balloon and quite still clint whispered for gods sake Inspect inspectors orl Is he dead tope tape nodded slowly yes dead he said in a low tone CHAPTER XV for a moment more these three stood silently by the car with a dead man at the wheel then rand returned heales coming he reported right away tope tape nodded this man in the car is dead 11 he said sad stay by him dont touch anything and he turned back to where rab lay on the ground then mrs taine came running from the house doctor cabler will be here at once she gasped and she cried wheres asa what have you done with him june put her arms about the older woman helo held her away rab needs you now she urged rab aunt evie evic asa the older woman demanded hes he S dead june told her mercifully frank who killed him there was a dreadful challenge in the slow soft tones he was a ve a moment ago talking to me who killed my son he just died june jane told her please we must take care of rab now but mrs taine swung toward the car tope tape with his flashlight bent on the hurt man on the ground heard the mother brooding over asa calling his name pleading with him then june I 1 compelling her to turn th this ismay way there was strength in the girls tones she was able to command aunt evie at last to fetch her here w where here tope tape and clint knelt beside the unconscious man well carry rab to the hou bouse se said the inspector out of the rain clint you take his legs they bore him into the house where tope tape knelt beside him and with careful fingers appraised his hurts mrs taine stood still as ice watching and june held her fast tope tape looked up at last just a bump on the head maam he told mrs taine 1 I cant feel that the skulls broken mrs taine began suddenly to cry and this was a strange thing to see in that woman of iron june said ill make her ue lie down she led mrs taine submissive away when they were gone clint knelt by the inspectors side asked the question he had not dared ask before he nodded toward the door toward asa outside in the rain you think he did it he whispered tope tape assented gravely but I 1 liked him clint protested he was the best of them aall the doorbell rang clint went through the dark hall lighted the gas opened the door doctor cabler clint came back with the physician on his heels and doctor cabler with no more than a nod toward the inspector knelt beside the man on the floor presently he finished tipped back on his heels concussion he said 1 I shall make a spinal puncture try to relieve the preg pressure sure on his brain otherwise the young man may die without recovering consciousness and he directed help me puso husn those two tables together put water on to boll ban wheres mrs taine in the front room said tope tape with june and he explained asas dead in the car outside he ran into that pine tree neck broken I 1 believe alive at first talked then he tried to move his head twisted to one side and that W was as the end of him well such things have happened the doctor confessed after a moment some shock dislocates the vertebrae without dislodging them then a movement an a attempt tte m pt to turri turn the head and the big ne neck ck muscles drag one vertebra across the other like a pair of shears snip the cord doctor cabler and mrs balne dint clint and june could do all that wa was s needful here tope tape watched them for a moment then he went to the telephone called miss moss and told her guardedly that rab was hurt and asa dead she whispered asa dead yes he said Is his wife there miss moss asked lissa and at topes negative she would want to be she has a right to be im coming out ill bring her he was full of a deep comfort to know that she would come all right he assented do he looked at his watch and returned to the veranda As he did so inspector heale came hurriedly across the lawn from the road heale exclaimed tope tape happened here tope tape said slowly habs hurt got a bad crack on the head doctor callers Cab lers working on him he added and asas out in the car wi with th a broken neck lB broken neck heale echoed his voice was husky Is he dead just as dead as it if hed been hanged tope tape assented he said it with something like contentment in his tones as though he perceived a seemliness and order in the world they dont hang in this state any more but I 1 always said it was the thing for murderers I 1 mean heale ejaculated murderers and tope told him briefly yes he and rab had an argument tonight in the garage he hit rab with a monkey wrench propped him against that pine tree by the corner ot of the drive got out his car he drove to the road and turned around and came back again he meant to run into rab finish him but I 1 was there before asa got back id dragged rab away from the tree asa saw me seeing me must have startled him so that he stepped on the gas anyway he rammed into the tree so hard it snapped his own neck heale stood in an incredulous amazement and tope tape concluded kin kill him right off he came to he thong thought ht hed hit rab and he told us it was an accident that rab dodged in front of the car when I 1 told him he hit rab that rab was alive he went tor for his gun but when he moved his neck snapped finished himl him heale was almost wordless gun he repeated here it is said tope tape and delivered asas weapon to the other man then doctor cabler came out to then them gentlemen he said satisfaction in his tones rab is showing signs of returning consciousness hell live tope tape asked oh that certainly the physician confidently agreed and I 1 think by morning he may be able to talk to you he went back into the house and heale roused from his paralysis of surprise you think asa did the rest of it he asked ive known that since this morning tope tape replied why you tip me knowing proving tope tape reminded him and heale ruefully assented 1 I guess ill call derrie he decided at last have him up here in the morn morning and he confessed a little grudgingly youve made a double tool fool out of him inspector CHAPTER XVI the inspectors call had come to miss moss like an expected summons before she dressed she telephoned tor for a taxicab and when she came out it was at the door the providence road she directed ill tell you when to stop when she rang the doorbell 0 of the house behind the garage it was far into the small hours the rain still sheeted down A window opened above her head and thayer called a question 1 I must speak to miss thayer miss moss explained the garage man himself came ca me to the door with his daughter sleepily protesting and bewildered miss moss hesitated unwilling to betray to him the girls secret unless she must yet there appeared no other way miss thayer she said 1 I have hav bad news for you young mr taine she saw lissa white in the dim lit hall he is hurt miss moss explained gently ill come said the girl quickly thayer put a swift protecting arm around his daughter so that miss moss understood he had known the truth if bissas going so am I 1 thayer suggested send your cab away ill take my car miss moss assented and presently they started up the hill thayer driving in the seat behind miss moss held the girl close there there my dear she whispered comfortingly TO BE CONTINUED |