| Show synthetic gentleman Gent Seman by CHANNING 8 POLLOCK Q channing pollock j service r owr SYNOPSIS the duke barry gilbert likable youth of twenty three jobless find and broke enters an unoccupied summer home in southampton seeking shelter from a storm lie he makes himself at home dozing at the fireplace he be la Is startled by the arrival of a butler willetts and a chauffeur evans lie he learns that the son of the owner of the house jack whom the servants had never seen cen la Is expected lie he decides to bluff it out ills his supposed parents have left for germany next morning lie he Is given a letter tor for his mother ile he opens it and finds a message from fro m the real jack saying he could not come and returning a hundred dollar bill the boys father had bad pensioned him into obscurity darry barry pockets the money intending to return it later ile he orders evans evana to take him to Blon montauk intending Intend lne to disappear there on the way he meets judge hambidge and his daughter patricia believing he Is jack ridder she invites invite s him to dinner the following thursday barry returns to southampton deciding to stay a bit longer mr wilder sr through his newspaper the globe accuses judge of taking orders irom from tammany hall in a condemnation proceeding barry meets peter winslow prominent attorney winslow tells barry that judge Ilam hambidge bidge had seen been an accident in which a woman was killed by a taxicab at home barry finds the wife of the real jack ridder awaiting him her husband is in jail in new york charged with the murder of mike alike kelly tammany loss boss the girl peggy tells barry how the had met jack in florida and married barric A him as jay rogers jack lost his job and they went to new york where she got work at the cocoanut Coco anut bar there she was accused of trying to pick the pocket of mike alike kelly and was arrested iler her husband went to kellys to induce him I 1 to 0 drop the charge later kelly was foun found d dead his skull crushed by a decanter barry suggests he be can help as jack jac ridder and mrs rogers agrees judge hambidge delivers a decision in the condemnation suit in which kelly had been interested barry cables mrs airs ald der tor for 2000 winslow takes rogers case barry gets a job on the globe under his true name the editor ernie harwood assigns him to cover the kelly murder CHAPTER IV continued 9 lie ile had turned into a cheap restaurant near the globe glob where the slim young man had promised to meet him L lunching un ching he mapped out his immediate future work days carry barry gilbert would live in the little rooms hed taken saturday weekends week ends of course lied hed have to spend at southampton as john clarke ridder kidder jr that was essential to his contact with bail bad nauheim and to another even more essential contact lie ile was to line dine at the again next friday lie recalled with the lady from poston boston to whom pat roust must hae bae written flattering things about him A grand girl pat and suddenly as we have seen not altogether unattainable if I 1 make good carry barry thought 1 I can tell her the truth about myself and ask her to marry me why not all AH tills this jolin john clarke ridder jr busl nessel just seem funny then the slim young man arrived in due time and duly presented its ills charge nt at the homicide bureau first there was tim laugherty at as irish as carry barry and with almost as ready a grin they took to each other immediately carry barry gilbert tim repeated well the names all right anyway tim regarded the kelly murder a as a closed case so did and everyone ebe carry barry met at headquarters the rogers kid idd done it sure tim declared this filipino says he let nobody else in that night maybe somebody elbe let himself in tim singled scornfully illow how there was a I 1 new lock on that dour door show him the keys mac alac mac obliged here billere you are lie said it was chained clial ned to kellys pants button show him the decanter maybe lie he can get gel something out of that mai why not mac alac laughed theres flie res about halt half a pint in it it was a gruesome exhibit that bottle which had killed a man real cut glass and nearly a quarter full of reddish liquor wonder why that spill out carry barry ventured maybe the cork stopped it tim replied they find any finger prints no the guy must have worn gloves listen carry barry ventured again why the filipinos finger prints on the bottle it if he served it guess lie wore gloves too loo sly aly butler always does doeg I 1 well it if lie wore eni em 11 1 I get you tim interrupted it if the guy that done this wore gloves and the filipino wore gloves why then maybe the filipinos the guy that done this exactly 10 say you got a boon bean on you the conceded almost admiringly of course I 1 still think we got ille right party but lies a cagey guy that oriental and he say gay nothing about gloves to me why dont we go over and see if lie he wears em lie at least not when ho he opened the front door say charlie tim began let us in n we want to ask you do you wear car gloves when youre serving stuff IT sometimes did 1111 you wear car cm that ni elit waybe laybe i I 1 dont remember lie was a thin sallow youth with the usual glossy black hair brushed back from liis his forehead nothing remarkable about him film not even ills his shiftiness the three men stood lit in the lie broad hall of the kelly house and charlie repeated the tale of admitting rogers and hearing a quarrel and returning to his room until the visitor left you were in your room when hen the row started d then barry asked yes sir and you could hear the voices pretty plainly yes sir you came upstairs and then went back to your room and stayed there until just as rogers was 1 leaving 41 yes sir kelly must have been dead then if rogers killed him yes sir hut but you hear the sound of ablow a blow in your room nor the thud of it a body falling no answer if you could hear voices downstairs dont you think youdie you dve heard that if it had happened happen edv the filipino looked down from one inquisitor to the other alabe I 1 stay in my room he said at last very slowly 1 I dont remember tim was about to press the point when there was the rasp of a latchkey being thrust into the lock of the front door then the knob turned and mrs airs kelly entered slie she stopped short at sight of the intruders the door remained opened well sir air gaiu I bertyl her tyl she exclaimed so youve come back 1 40 4 14 wa 0 4 1 at Q V R N i 4 cu J 4 X A I 1 R aa t I 1 ll 11 N ki t it was a gruesome exhibit that bottle which had killed a man again with a friend tool why dont you step in the parlor tim thanked her and presented barry clad gl id to meet you mrs kelly declared run along you to the filipino come on in boys youre forgetting your key barry said ile he took it out of the lock its a brand new key it he be asked casually sure mrs airs kelly answered ats its a new lock mike alike bad it put on only afew a few days ago how many keys were there two that one and mikes kes larry barry was scribbling on the back of an penelope en cm elope mrs airs kelly was a large woman in her fifties her hair was aas dyed red a brilliant aggressive red unknown to nature but slie she was affable and extremely good humored evidently not grieving herself to death about mike just dropped around to see charlie tim said anything you want to know mr air gilbert just one thins thin where were you the night of the murder mrs airs kelly laughed you dont read the papers much do you why because all about that was in the tribune the morning after the body was found all about what all about my being up in harlem at a darice dance 11 and what time did you get home around daylight did you let yourself in S sure ure androu and you wonder where mike alike was 1 I thought tie lie was asleep we room together the lights was all out no light in the front room no sure dead sure anything else no thanks I 1 mean to keel you so long lone but one thing led to another all right mrs kelly assured him 1 I got nothing to hide bide drop around any time you feel like it no holes boles in that alibi allba tim said as they readied rea clied the sidewalk straight shooter she Is ran nan a saloon when mike alike married her you certainly got wound up what alia was all that about uie the latch key bright and shiny it brand new she told you that so did 1 I when we e were looking at kellys key wallet yes clarry carry admitted but there any new key in that wallet tim laugherty stopped short in ILI fifth avenue youre right lie he said ive got the number barry went on producing its his envelope A write that 1 down A plain round head two of em wheres tb the eother it never was in that wallet because every hooks books filled ailed MB be he carried it loose in hit hl pocket wherever lie carried the key ahert Is it 1 I dont know tim answered it on the body sure by now it was time for its ills dinner appointment with peggy still in high spirits lie walked around to her boarding house barry remembered southampton with shame when he saw the ridders bidders two shabby rooms the boy lay jay in one ot of then them a bright youngster five years old the doctor seem to know nhat hat the matter Is peggy declared 1 I 1 know barry said id be sick in this dump why dont you bring him out to the country peggy lbook her head 1 I want to be near jack she repeated winslow says hes bes likely to be free in a week dining comfortably in a nearby ca cafe fe he be told her everything that had bad lisp happened since their parting all the astonishing toni shing events of that day and with the recital peggys peggye spirits rose too when barry mentioned his new job she actually laughed funny she said youre doing what the old mans real son do ive two reasons barry explained in the first place it puts roe me in a splendid position to help jack in the second well ell the fact Is that im nuts about a girl and I 1 want to make good on her account her name patricia she lives at southampton and she and her father both knew the ridders bidders they think im young of course the next nest morning barry bari y dropped to in again on pete winslow the lawyer had bad talked with peggy peggye s husband and was persuaded of his innocence got a prima facie case though be admitted the grand buryll indict the boy im afraid well get him film tried as quickly as possible and there the slightest chance of his conviction peter leaned forward his bis fingers intertwined between his knees that was a shrewd question yo you U asked that filipino only I 1 wish asked it of me lies iles prepared now never mind when it comes to cross examination he rose with the joy of battle in his eyes but be careful about tipping our hand lie said bring in mrs airs rogers id like to check up on her statement tomorrow make it next week lies hes a great lawyer ernle ernie liar wood sald said when barry repeated as much of this conversation as it seemed wise to repeat and a wizard at cross examination ive seen him discredit one witness after another with mere monosyllables tell winslow I 1 way may have a tip tor for him some day its nothing now just a phone call but it if I 1 ever find who it was party barry devoted that evening to drafting a letter for the real jack ridder to copy and send to his mother so something methin told him that whatever the boy wrote himself would be cold and resentful sent ful that would make the old lady unhappy and carry barry want her to be ive got a job on fathers paper he be wrote with genuine pride ive respected fathers fat liers wish as to using his name except at southampton of course they had bad to know there at the globe im on my own and getting ahead ill be a credit to you yet darling from that he went into some detail as to his interest in the friend locked up for murder he commit and the need of funds for his defense even to jack ridder it was obvious that the letter had to be sent so sent it was in jack ridders hand wr writ it ing from the railway station post box bos at southampton the following friday barry arrived on an early afternoon train lie had wired evans to meet him and found willetts Wll letta waiting in the front hall there was no doubt now that the butler suspected something and barry sure of what he suspected faced him with a broad grin the matter with till you willetts matter sir youve been acting queer eier since the night mrs airs rogers spent here I 1 dont know what you heard that night do you mean eavesdropping sir 21 there was a pained surprise in the mans voice olce not me hr ive got my position to remember ive been a butler with some bome of the best families all right barry soothed him you think im back at the kind hind of behavior that alienated me from my father well im not that glittery lady Is the wife of a man I 1 met in florida 1 and for the third time that week barry related his bis story ashes a brave little kid he be concluded and ashes in trouble up to her neck im going coln to stand by her ive got a job on my fathers newspaper under an assumed name dame because I 1 want to win out on my own ive cabled my mother for money find and everything I 1 can get goes to that lady until her husband can win on his hl own im going to be in town most of the time now working my head off 4 TO ITO BE BC |
