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Show Silver Belt Buckle By V. YARDMAN Associated Newspapers. WNU Service. AFTER listening to Cy Vesta's story of the hold-up. Sheriff Jim Kohr got into his ramshaekled, topless top-less car and drove out toward Temple Tem-ple Valley. Vesta had said that the bandit was masked, neatly dressed in a light gray suit and wore a silver belt buckle. "He wasn't any one I'd seen before," the banker stated. "He came in at noon when Brig was out to lunch, paused in the entry way, I suppose, to slip on his mask, then stuck a gun under my nose. He trussed me up, helped himself from the cash drawer. I watched him remove the mask when he reached the entry, unbutton his coat and slip his gun into his hip pocket. I must say he was pretty cool and matter-of-fact about it all." It was the silver belt buckle that set Sheriff Kohr to thinking. There was only one man living anywhere around Shapleigh who would wear a silver belt buckle. That was young Clark Eldridge, Jake Eldridge's son. Jake owned the Triangle E, and Clark bad graduated from the state university that spring and had come home to live with a lot of high Ideas in his head. Clark was sitting on the veranda reading a book when the sheriff drove up. "Your pa home, sonny?" "No one's home, but me. Why?" "An" you ain't got nothin' to do but sit around readin' books, eh?" "If it's any of your business, I'm reading up on law. Dad wants me to take a P.G. in law this fall." "Git your coat, you're corning with me." "What for?" "You'll find out. Git your coat or I'll take hold of yuh." Clark went into the house and came out again wearing his coat "Has anything happened to my dad?" he asked. Jim stared at him. Sight of the boy all dressed up gave him a new train of thought. "No," he said, speaking less harshly, "your pa's all right, as far as I know." On the drive back to town, Kohr said: "The bank was robbed this noon. Cy Vesta's description de-scription of the man that done it fits you perfect" "What? .Why, I don't even know Cy Vesta. I never saw him in my life. Tom Hardy was in the bank when I went away." "All the same. Cv described vou pretty perfect." "Pshaw!" said Clark, more amused than alarmed, "you're wasting wast-ing your time with me, and mine, too." Sheriff Kohr made no further comment. com-ment. There was a multitude of thoughts running through his mind, among them the decision to have a talk with Jake Eldridge about this boy of his. It wasn't good for a boy to hang around home doing nothing noth-ing but read books. The bank had closed for the day when Sheriff Kohr and his companion compan-ion reached town, but Cy Vesta admitted ad-mitted them through a side door. The banker looked sharply at Clark. "This looks like the chap who held you up, Cy?" Sheriff Kohr asked. Vesta nodded without a moment's hesitation. "That's him. That's the suit he was wearing. I'd recognize it anywhere." Clark Eldridge lighted a cigarette. "I suppose," he said, "you're Vesta, treasurer of the bank. And I suppose sup-pose you're also accusing me of robbing rob-bing your bank." He blew smoke through his nose. "Do you mind my telling you you're crazy as a loon!" Vesta bristled. Sheriff Kohr said: "Hold on a minute, Cy. There's one or two more questions I want to ask. In your description of the bandit you said he .wore a silver belt buckle. That's what made me suspicious of young Eldridge. He's the only dandy dan-dy around here who would wear a silver belt buckle. Clark, unbutton your coat and let's see what you hold up your pants with." Clark started to protest, then changed his mind. He unbuttoned his coat, revealing the silver belt buckle. "That's it!" Vesta exclaimed exultantly.- "I'd know it anywhere." "Humm," said the sheriff. "That suit Clark's wearing is a double-breasted double-breasted affair. You couldn't see the buckle 'less his coat was unbuttoned." unbut-toned." Vesta looked blank. "Well, what about it?" "Nothin', except that you explained to me how the bandit paused in the entry to slip off his mask. You also said he unbuttoned his coat and slipped his gun in his pants pocket. Now if he unbuttoned his coat, he musta had it buttoned, and if he had it buttoned you couldn't o' seen the belt buckle. Which leads me to think, Vesta, you're a dirty liar and that you stole the money from your own bank and hatched up this story involving an innocent kid. Do you want to argue?" Clark accompanied Sheriff Kohr and his prisoner to the jail. After Vesta was locked up, the officer said: "Clark, I'm coming out to talk to your pa one of these days about you. A kid like you shouldn't be sittin' around readin' an' nothin' more. Folks is apt to try an' make a sucker outter you." Clark grinned. "Thanks, Sheriff. But be careful my dad or some one else, like Vesta, doesn't make a sucker suck-er out of you." |