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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER, RANDOLPH, UTAH TIE mmn Wfli IE M DILI IE MEIRIIRKB By t) Emllle Loring. CHAPTER VII Continued Lucette frowned at Field. Cant move. How still the room was! The you smile for the lady; Jerry? Ill silence of fear enveloped her like a He crept to a window and peered tell you one thing. Id rather be a cold mist and turned her fingertips in. Dark as pitch except for a giggler than a gob of gloom. Good- to ice. Perhaps she was in a nightwhite blur. That must be the cover night! She dashed from the room. mare and could waken herself. of Aunt Mary Amandas old limouGlorious thought. Shed scream. Daphne ran into the hall. sine. Why was the unused car diHer mouth remained open as a Lucette, dont forget that Mark rectly opposite the door? He re- Trent is giving us a party tomorrow hatless man in blue denim slipped membered now. , Jed had told him night at that swell new Supper past the swaying hanging. His head was wet and sleek as a seals; his that he had o. k.d an offer Henri club. Lucette hung over the mahogany face below his eyes bad eyes was Jacques had reported for the machine. Probably the butler rail. Forget! Not a chance. Think so thickly plastered with white as to had planned to drive it off in the Ill forget a night off from rehears- be unrecognizable. He gave one morning. ing? Nothing short of an act of God furtive glance over his shoulder beThe man who had just made his will keep me away. Sam, the old fore he flitted in ghostly silence y had stopped here. Why? tyrant, is giving us a break. Ill from the room. Had he hidden loot? The silver? be seeing you." Brooke pulled out the drawer of But the silver had been in the Jerry Field picked up his sisters her desk. It crashed to the floor storeroom only a few hours ago. A coat. spilling the contents. Maddening! Come on, Daph, lets go. If It would do that when she was in a few hours! Much could happen in a few hours while the occupants of the Id known that we were to have a hurry. On her knees she scrambled Other House had been at supper at night off, I would have taken you after an electric torch which had the Reyburns. Hed better investi- dining and dancing, Brooke. rolled under a chair. She dashed gate. Lucky he still carried the Nice of you, but I think that a to the hall. Who was the man? What was the stuff on his face? key to his aunts garage 'on his ring. party will be heaps more fun. In the days when they had been You would think that. I dont Shed never forget those wicked friendly, she had insisted upon his know why but this whole evening eyes above a smear of white. The house was dark and still. She ran having a key to the house as has gone haywire. Come on, Daph. well. Soundlessly he slid back the Daphne Field snuggled her hand toward Sams room. Stopped. Better not start him on a man hunt. He door, squeezed in, closed and locked in Sam'Reyburns. it. t, Sammy. Dont love was so impetuous. How did she With the light in his torch me much, do you, darling? know that the intruder hadnt a Sam shook off her hand. dimmed, he tiptoed carefully beIll gun? She must go Scotland Yard tween the automobiles. Brookes love you when you learn your lines, herself. The hall clock told the hour. The long, sleek town car. Sams con- and whats more, if you dont learn vertible coupe. The white cloth em, youll be tossed off the lot. sound echoed, through the house. cover of the old limousine was awry You mean that Ill be fired? Only twelve? It seemed hours since as if it had been hastily adjusted. Daphne opened her eyes at their she had said good-nigto Sam in and years since Part of it lay on the floor. What the living-roo13 out-of-da- te get-awa- Good-nigh- ht m, was that mark? A footprint! A print faint but bloody! foot- With a childish impulse to clutch their, coats and keep the men with her, Brooke Reyburn had listened to the closing of the door behind Mark Trent and Jed Stewart. They had pleaded an early morning start for the city, but she was sure that they had gone because they resented Jerry Fields sulky silence. She would have been glad to get away from his gloomy presence herself. She glanced at him as he stood before the fire. From the back of the house came the crash of dishes, a shout of laughter. Brooke sprang to her feet. I wonder what went then. I suspect that Lucette and Sam started g and' that Daphne was drawn into the scuffle. I should have known better than to let them wash the dishes. Come on, Jerry. Lets investigate. Id rather know the worst at once. Field straightened and thrust his hands hard into his pockets. Same here, Brooke. I whnt to know what you were doing in Mark Trents house while we were at rehearsal. Why should you think I had been in his house? Didnt Stewart find a gardenia outside his front door? I suppose there So what? couldnt be another woman in the world who might call on Mr. Trent wearing a flower, or did you corner the gardenia market today, Jerry? Fields expression changed from gloom to cheer. Theres something in that. Trent certainly is a wow with the ladies. I hear that he could dine out three times an evening if hed accept the invitations heaped on him. It gets me why he settled down in this burg. Dont be sore at me, sweet thing'. Wasnt it natural for me to think the flower yours when Stewart produced the gardenia that he found at Trents front door when you wearing any? L werent Before she could answer she heard someone approaching. She drew a breath of relief as Sam and the two girls entered. What smashed in the kitchen, Sam? I thought the chimney had fallen in. Nothing but a stack of those warranted unbreakable plates Clotilde And keeps things on in the did they crack up? The floor looked as if thered been a snowstorm. The sound brought Henri down the back stairs in a hurry. Ever seen him in his robe de nuit, rough-housin- , . . ice-bo- Brooke? x. What fe giggler you are, Lucette! course I havent. Youve missed the laugh of your life. He was something straight out of a Cruikshank edition of Dickens. Night cap with tassel; night shirt, the I believe it was called backandmflapbow thin legs, dark ages; ping slippers Was he embarrassed? He was not He behaved more as if he were afraid wed miss the ran appeal of his costume. Heacross around like this. She trotted the floor. CM Her Heart Mounted to Her Throat and Stuck There. I, fired, after Ive had gowns made to wear that will simply stop the show? Come on, Jerry. Nobody likes us here. From the threshold she threw a kiss to Sam. He grinned. ' Sam, do you like Daphne? widest. asked Brooke. Shes good fun. isnt she? Swell looker, In the room she had made her boudoir, Brooke slipped out of the lace frock. If only she could shed with it the .haunting sense of having said the wrong thing. She had been ' bitterly unkind when she had reminded Mark Trent of his divorce. If she could apologize to him and get it off her mind, it would help. Well, she couldnt. Perhaps if she wore the hair shirt of remorse for a while, it would teach her to guard her tongue. In a heavily embroidered Chinese house-coof vivid green, she pulled forward the chair at her desk and began writing a letter to her mother. Suddenly she looked up at the mirror,- and her heart mounted to ard stuck there, beating, her beating. Reflected in the looking-glas- s, the silver-sho- t hanging between bedroom and boudoir filled and swung like the sail of a boat. What had set it in motion? Had a window been opened? She was too far from tha bell to ring. Suppose she rang? Who would answer? Henri and Clotilde were locked in their room probably. What should she do? She stared at the mirror. How could a person get in? From the balcony under the bath-roowindow? That meant that he had come through Mark Trents house. d man who Was it the had been in the attic this evening? She She swallowed her heart. couldnt sit here forever. She must Mark Trent and Jed Stewart had gone home. She tiptoed to the balustrade and listened. A squeak! She put her hand hard over her heart to stop its thumping. Was a window being opened cautiously? If only the wind would stop for a minute. Had the squeak come from the next room which was being used for scenery? It had a small iron balcony like the one which connected Lookout House and Mark Trents. A person might easily slide down the trellis. She tiptoed into the room and closed the door softly behind her. This must be the window that had squeaked; it was wide open. It had been closed this afternoon when she had come in to scatter green paint on the flats and to give another splash of red to the peak of roof on the backdrop. She flashed her light around the room then on the floor over which a sheet had been spread. A can of red paint had been overturned ! It was sluggishly spreading. Slowly Tipped over recently! Brookes light traveled. A red footprint! Uncannily like a bloody one. The man must have stepped into the thick paint. Another! One beyond that under the window. Cautiously she followed the trail. A smooch of red on the window sill. He had gone that way. Was he on the balcony? What would she see if she looked out? She must look out. She wouldnt close her eyes tonight unless she knew that the man had gone where, she wouldnt care, if he were gone. She leaned out cautiously. There was nothing human in sight, only a one - eyed moon was watching through a maze of branches. Cold winter moonlight turned a towering hemlock to purple, shadows to amethyst, and scattered a shimmering trail of golden topaz on the dark water of the harbor. Had one of the shadows moved down by the tree? It had. That meant that the man was out of the house! She cautiously closed and locked the window. Pulled the hangings across it. That was that! She curtained the other window, turned to- switch on the - mist-ike- CHEWJb gj.v'&.ys rrawke. 1 r.S'&.Y'ly s blunders I excel Im suck e. "tml to Ir my i'olks I me-trs- . IXrt so well! WNU Service. wall light. Stopped. The door was opening! A glare of light. Had the man come back? Had he a pal?, Had her heart parked in her throat forever? She couldnt see, but she could still hear: Well, for the love of Mike! The wall light snapped on. Brookes blood, which she had thought frozen, surged through her veins. Sam was staring at her, Sam in pink and white pajamas which made him look for all the world like an animated stick of striped candy. His copper colored hair was on end; without his spectacles his eyes were big and dark and vague. He shook her arm. Hey! Snap out of it, Brooke! Have you got that darn scenery so on your mind that youre walking in your sleep to sling paint in here? Brooke swallowed the lump in her throat. I wasnt asleep, Sam, and I wasnt slinging paint. I heard someHer voice sounded hoarse thing. to herself. A window being opened? WNU Service. in Man The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint. The affectation of sanctity is a blotch on the face of piety. Lavater. Honesty ITS GREAT TO BE BACK AT WORK Thats what I heard. But how could you get here so soon? Breathlessly she told him of the man who had slipped through her room, of following him into the hall. Youre kidding! No? Then why didnt you yell for me? Youre so reckless, Sam, I was afraid you might be hurt. Thats the funniest thing I ever heard. How about yourself? Beat it back to bed. Sam the boy sleuth is hot on the trail. You mustnt go downstairs. Who says I mustnt. Ill snoop around outside to be sure the guj has gone. Beat it. If you go down, I go too. Oh all right, all right. I know better than to argue with you when you use that tone, Brooke. Got a flash? Well creep down the back stairs. Follow me. Well get into the front of the house that way. He switched out the wall light, opened the door and stood motionless, listening. 'Lets CHEERFUL go! Brooke nodded in response to his whisper. The hall seemed miles long as she tiptoed through the dark; the back stairs endless in number as she stole down, stopping at every creak, holding her breath at every sound which echoed as if amplified in the walls. Sam stopped at the kitchen door to listen. Crept on to the front hall. Brooke controlled an hysterical urge to laugh as she stole after him. The Reyburns go sleuthing, she thought, and chuckled. She felt Sams quick turn and glare, though she couldnt see it. The turn was catastrophic. He lurched into a chair. His muttered, Thunder! was submerged in a hoarse command: Dont move! Ive got you when youve found a way to ease the pains of RHEUMATISM and do it the inexpensive way, too. You can pay as high as you want for remedies claimed to relieve the pain of Rheumatism, Neuritis, Sciatica, etc. But the medicine so many doctors generally approve the one used by thousands of families daily is Bayer Aspirin 15 a dozen tablets about 1! apiece. Simply take 2 Bayer Aspirin tablets with a half glass of water. Repeat, if necessary, according to directions. Usually this will ease such pain in a remarkably short time. For quick reiief from such pain which exhausts you and keeps you ask for genuine awake at night Bayer Aspirin. virtually tablet cov- ered! Faculty of Fools It is the peculiar faculty of fools to discern the faults of others at the same time that they forget CHAPTER VIII The ausk about Mark in the gatheir own. Cicero. rage went black. A bloody footprint! Had the crime horror spread to this small point of land? Brooke! Had anything happened to her? The possibility stopped his heart. He had been so intent upon finding Jed, To keep food waste soft upon identifying the prowler that and moving, many doche had not thought of danger to the occupants of Lookout House. Sam tors recommend Nujol was there. Nothing could happen because of Its gentle, to his sister with that boy near. .lubricating action. Why was he letting his imagination loose? Would a man who stopped Copr. 1987, for a shave and a bath in the midst Stanco Inc, g of be guilty of a bloody crime? But the footprint? house-enterin- (TO BE CONTINUED) at tlr-oa!- m black-glove- P. Q., Not I. Q Called Real Basis of Success, by a University Authority Success depends upon a good P. and not I. Q., says Mrs Beatrice Hunter Cahill, of Boston universitys department of student counseling. Mrs. Cahill says a P. Q. personality quotient is so important that is lost, without it the writes a Boston United Press correspondent. Future success can be assured only when personality for specific vocations is commensurate With abilities, capacities and aptitudes, she says. Mrs. Cahill believes a man must be master of himself before he can master others. The teaching field in particular requires social balance, because a highly neurotic teacher in the classroom is an incentive to lack of discipline, Q. job-hunt- er the educator says. should be emotionally and have a self-confide- nt ity." teacher A well-balanc- INSIST ON GENUINE NUJOL WNU W 37- -41 ed personal- Many doctors devote their lives to research work because Jhey do not have the ability to make the social contacts necessary in general practice, she says. Personality problems start at birth and end at death, Mrs. Cahill says. The first adjustment is made when the pupil enters the public school system and adjustment continues even after a satisfactory life vocation is found. An important factor and cause of unhappiness in this world is the inability to make vocational adjustment, due to personality handicaps. ADVERTISING is as essential to business as is rain to growing crops. It is the keystone in the arch ol successful merchandising Let us show you how to apply it to your business. Mjgcini r-n- ir |