Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 December 1936 — Page 31

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PAGE 80

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The zaiety of the Christmas party at fhe de Poorest hacienda. “Thander Mesa has a tragic ending when Pearl Sam de Forest, oldest of three brothers, is found dead with a knife in his threat, beneath the Christmas tree There are many strange things ahent “Thunder Mesa.” besides the fart that tach of the three brothers has the frst Ramee “Pearl.” Pearl John is the voungest. Pearl Pierre next Others in the household are: Tante Josephine, old and tn invalid: Betty Welch, her companfon; Ramen Vasquez and Angelique Abesta, guests at the party; Professor Shaw, archeologist, and Bob Graham, tire salesman whe stopped at the hatienda when his car broke down. It is Ramon whe finds Pearl Sam's body. NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY

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one particularly morbid example of jorchead, er a unbe he nad 5 the friars’ art, | fild impulse to grasp at da “This whole place reminds me of throat in both his hands. Then he an old dame rigged out in party shrank back, aghast at the thought. finery that fails to cover her sunken Was he losing his mind, too? Just bones, It's getting me, too.” when he needed to see things! “. & & | clearly, if he was to get Betty and | himself safely out of this mess. With ROSSING pe hail vo She Moone | an effort Bob managed to control <tood, he Desibed = Morons ft the | is; Tooings and, not trusting himdoorway, wondering if anything! iyrned and walked out of the room. should be done about that awful! spot on the floor. Since they had | ..8 not thought it necessary to leave UT after the Hyuscuole ha rethe body where it could be ox-| tired for the night, was amined by the Sherss, pernaps i to remember the inciuent Bs Ri would be as well to cover that death room, and won w spot up, too. Bob stooped to draw | pear] Pierre would turn it to suit the edge of an Indian blanket ver his own ends. Bob was convinced it, when Pearl Pierre's voice de-| now that Pearl Piers was the gs manded behind him; |derer. He was just dropping o “May I ask what you are 100k-|into an exhausted sleep when a ing for in here?” "i pop | YOTIANS shrill cries or My his "“Why—why not ng” | ears from a room on the other s was always conscious of the utter gasped. “I just thought it might | of the courtyard on which his winconfusion that gripped the house- look better if that was out of | dows opened. hold. People hurried up and down sight.” He pointed to the blood| Betty! Could anything be hapthe halls, and in and out of the stain. [pening to her? Throwing on his littered rooms, aimlessly doing un- “I see” From the other man’s | coat, Bob rushed, barefooted, ou: necessary things, as though to ease tone, Bob gathered the impression | into the snow, and ran across the the horror that held them. that Pearl Pierre thought he saw yard. Then he stopped and lisPearl Pierre, now head of the a good deal more than he was tened. Olid Tante Josephine’s cracked family, took charge of affairs and | mentioning. “You seem to find a | voice rose in hysterical wails. She issued orders to have the house Dumber of things to interest you | was accusing Pearl Pierre, and then | chapel put in order to receive his! in this room,” he went on. | Pearl John, of the murder. brother's body. A careful examina- His cold voice and level stare Coed tion showed that Pearl Sam had | made the hot blood rush to Bob's |

been dead for some time there under the Christmas tree. A candle, Just above him had burned itself Al ( JS TIN , HAN DS By Edmond Hamilton stood, watching the servants lift "he Daily Short Story limp form. “Think we ought to re- | Lo

cut and dripped on the gold signet mind Pearl Pierre of that?” | HEN James Nattrick entered clamped handcuffs onto Nattrick's agreed W

CHAPTER VI HENEVER Bob tried to remember just what had happened in the next few hours, he

(To Be Continued)

iff,” Bob protested to Ramon as they

ring on his outspread hand. “They shouldn't move the body until we send down for the sherHe may have forgotten.” his stepfather’s lamplit study, | wrists. Ramon. “These sudden cases are it was five minutes to eight by the| “What's the meaning of this?” hard to handle, you know.” ‘clock on the desk. His gaze traveled | Nattrick cried. “What makes you ‘i 4 4 [to the brick fireplace. As Weal, Sink that 1I—" did it. Natbrick.” AF ’ ~y | the butler had laid kindling and| “We know you » Natiriek, ODI NGLY they novel ver coal there ready for old Cyrus Frost | said Darrel grimly. “Cyrus Prost standing, glowering down ar ir. | 10 light when the study grew chilly. | was killed at almost exactly eight floor, as though it held the ol fon | That was Just as it should be, oclock—we know that. The butler to the mystery. He looked . rn | thought Nattrick, for that unlighteq | Says Jou were in here with hil o p (fire was the pivot of his whole in- | that time. He also says that, re-

A Dervous Jerk as Romon spoke | cio scheme. |cently, he's heard you arguing with and heard them through without a : | vour stepfather about money.” word. Then a sneer came over his| Cyrus Frost looked from his desk. | YO. ° vt ki " But my stepfather wasn't killed

face, and he said sarcastically: | “Well, James, have you gét the |, eight! You said the butler heard "So you think we should not lay | money?” he asked harshly. |the shot about fifteen or twenty him out decently, do you? Well let| He was a bony, gray-haired man | minutes past eight!” me remind you, Mr. Vasquez, we are | of sixty, whose thin, parchment face! “Sure he did,” Darrel said, “but not used to having outsiders dictate |and narrowed eyes were relentless [that shot was just a fake you must to us here on Thunder Mesa. We do | in expression. (have planted in the fireplace. We things our own way. In the morn- Nattrick said I found the shell when we started ing I shall send for the proper au- | haven't.” | searching, right after we saw the thorities, But, until then, mv broth- | Cyrus flushed angrily. “James, I murder had been committed at er will lie in the chapel which is warned you that unless you returned | eight.” the place for him.” He smiled a to me the two thousand dollars you | “What makes you keep saying little. “He spent little enough time | took from my safe I'd notify the |that?” Nattrick cried hoarsely. “You there while he was alive, Heaven police. I meant it! The fact that Lave no proof that he was murdered knows. All this riff-raff coming in |youre my dead wife's son won't! at eight! You're just accusing me here tonight, which Pear! John | stop me. I'll send you to prison.” |to—" picked up anywhere, the wonder is| «nq you won't,” said Nattrick| Darrel shook his head. “We don't we weren't all Killed where we | smoothly. “You, my gear stepfather, | Dave to accuse you, Nattrick. That stood (are going to die. Right now.” rtcuses you.” “You think he was murdered dur-| Nattrick haa taken from his " = & Ing the party?” asked Bob in aston- | pocket a pistol equipped with a Si- | HE detective was pointing to ishment. lencer, and had leveled it at Cyrus the electric clock on the desk “Why not?” Pearl Pierre turned | Frost's heart. Nattrick’s blood froze as he saw to him. “What is your opinion of | f.48 & that the cord which ran down from his death? Maybe you know more | that clock to a floor plug had been about it than you'd like to have | pulled out by old Cyrus Frost as he us think.” With this acid thrust, he | had lunged around the desk. His walked after the Mexicans as they fallen body had concealed it from moved slowly out the door with Nattrick’s eyes. tele Burden. iE Wee 1 towr And the hands of the clock pointed A pretty SS WwW 1 ; ‘ ™ ight— growled Ramon. “That fellow isn't | Dave no desire to go to prison, Tye od ad = above putting the blame for this on | CYrus Frost snorted. “To prison! a re a Dped over \ 1 ! ; : " the cord, the moment at which he any one of us. Don't lose sight of | YOUll go to the chair, James! had died the fact that he’s the one who really | Nattrick laughed. “You're wrong. | : profits by his brother's death.” I'm no clumsy, ignorant killer. £'d | | like you to die knowing that I] shall escape. I shall kill you with | this silenced pistol. Then I shall

coolly, “No,

HE old man gaped. “You're . Just trying to bluff me! You wouldn't dare to kill me.” “Oh, wouldn't I' You've forced me to it. I gambled away that | money, so I can’t return it—and I

THE END

1936. by _ United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)

. » # (Copyright,

EARL JOHN, approaching then,

made further discussion impossible. Moreover, Bob was too stunned by the sudden accusation to be able to think clearly. This eccentric accusing him of sticking a knife into that other crazv man. And Betty? She, too, might fall under suspicion My brother asked me to remind you that no one is to leave the mesa until this is cleared up,” Pearl John was saving. Bob thought his voice held a sudden coldness, and the drawn look in his white face told only too plainly the tension Pearl John was under He felt sorry for this youngest member of the strange household No matter how the tragic state of affairs ended, he would alwavs be blamed for giving the party and indirectly causing Pearl Sam's death. After Pear! John had walked away Bob tried to reason things out. What had Betty said about | the youngest brother being held | on the mesa by the power of the | older de Forests? Would Pearl John be nearer to freedom now that Pearl Sam was dead? And what about | the sour-faced Indian who guarded | the trail down the canyon? That knife had looked a good deal like Indian artifacts Bob had seen in museums Betty seemed to be busy taking care of the old lady, and Ramon was talking in low tones to Angeligue—evidently trying to soothe her shattered nerves. The girl's coquetry had vanished entirely after the tragedy, and she was plainly on the verge of collapse.

ROF. SHAW, alone, seemed unexcited over Pearl Sam's death. He appeared to view the catastrope | as he might have looked on an interesting, unusual scientific development “Cold-blooded as a rattler,” was| Bob's inward comment as he watched the professor. “Come to | think ‘of it, the old boy seemed to | know a lot about the people here. | Who is he, anyway? And just what « 1s his business on Thunder Mesa? Even Betty did not seem to know what the professor and Pearl Sam had been discussing so earnestly. Could it have been to the archeologist's advantage to put Pearl Sam out of his path?” Still Bob waited, wondering what he should do next, and why Pearl Pierre did not come back to tell «them what he expected tham to do. Suddenly it occurred to him that he might busy himself putting things in some sort of order in the big rooms. Accordingly, he began movi chairs and couches back into ace, and clearing away the litter of ash trays and cigaret stubs left 3 the party. How cold and forbidding the big rooms looked now, with the fires dying down in the fireplaces and the strange gaunt figures of the little Santos staring down from their niches!

: Somethir like a : Bn Tr 2

leave the house at eight o'clock,

calling the attention of Marner, the

butler, to the time. Marner won't come in here after I go—he knows how vou hate to be disturbed. But about twenty minutes after I leave. he'll hear a shot in here and will rush in and find vou dead. with the window open as though a thief had been in here. “Up in that fireplace, there is a cartridge glued to the brick. I put it there today. Before leaving, I shall light a fire in the fireplace. In about twenty minutes, the heat will sufficiently melt the glue to make the cartridge fall into the fire and explode. When that shot is heard, I shall be several blocks away, playing bridge with three unimpeachable witnesses.” Cyrus Frost, convinced at last that his stepson actually meant business, leaped to his feet. As he lunged around the side of the desk, he opened his mouth to shout for help, but, before he could utter a sound, Nattrick had shot him through the heart. He slumped to the floor beside the desk.

8 & 4 ATTRICK listened. There was 1 no sound from the rest of the house. Swiftly, he put on his gloves and opened a window. He tore open

the desk drawers and scattered their |

contents. Then he struck a match and applied it to the fuel in the firepiace. The kindling flamed up quickly, igniting the coal. Nattrick went quietly out of the study, closing the door behind him.

| He strode along the corridor to the

mansions front hall. He rang for the butler to let him know he was leaving. Marner, the shuffling, aged servant, appeared and helped him into his overcoat. Nattrick glanced at the grandfather's clock in a corner. “Bight o'clock already!” he exclaimed. “I'm late for my bridge engagement. I'll have té hurry.” He was grinning as he drove his car away. It had been as easy as

| rolling off a log!

More than a half hour later, he was playing bridge in a friend's home, when the telephone call he expected came for him. A crisp voice said, “Mr. Nattrick? This is Detective Darrel s 3 You had better come home at once — your stepfather has been murdered. . + + Yes, the butler heard the shot and discovered his body about a quarter of an hour ago. . . .” “TH-T'll be right home,” said Nattrick. » ” »

SoME 10 minutes later, he burst into his stepfather's study, where hie found the white-faced butler and {Wo or three police officials. He Assumed a stupefied, incredulous expression as he gazed at Cyrus Frost's sprawled body, “Great heavens!" he choked. “Who could have done this?” Detective Darrel, a keen-faced man, looked at him steadfastly. “You dL" he said

The characters in this story are fictitious.

Ask The Times Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any question of fact or information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13th-st, N. W., Washington, D. C. Legal and medical advice can not be given, nor can extended research be undertaken,

Q—How can hens be cured of laying eggs with soft shells? A—Add 2 per cent of fine oyster shell or ground limestone to the mash. If the hens are confineq incoors 1 per cent of cod liver oil should be included in the feed. If they have an outdoor range, and plenty of sunlight, cod liver oil is unnecessary.

Q—How many licensed and unliStates?

1835.

Q—What is the total amount of import duties collected by the United | States government in 1936? A—For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1936, the total amount was £386,936,381 85.

Q—Who said that death is the | greatest adventure in life? A—The last words of Charles | Frohman, who was drowned when | the Lusitania was torpedoed by the Germans, May 7, 1915, were reported by Rita Jolivet as follows: “Why fear death? It is the most beautiful | adventure in life.” J. M. Barrie in | “Peter Pan,” wrote: “To die | would be an awfully big adventure”

Q—What does the name Bersckovitch mean? patronymic de-

A—It is a Polish rived from the Teutonic and means ‘of the pear.”

Q-Who played the roles of Robert Taylor's mother in “Small Town Girl” and “Private Number”? A—Nella Walker played the role in the former picture and Marjorie Q—What percentage of the - lation of Switzerland is Protestant? Q—Do students in the universities of Soviet Russia pay tuition? A—No. Each student is paid a monthly stipend while attending school, and in some instances quarters are also furnished. Q—Which is the closer relation ship, brother and sister or parent and child?

parent. Q—What does the United States Treasury do with wornout paper gy HR ted in & machine _— macera R and sold to paper manufacturers. ; Nita Nilda,

Rudolph

censed aircraft has the United |.

A—Licensed, 7507, and unlicensed, |

OUT OUR WAY

TUESDAY, DEC. 22, 1936

By Sylvia

By Williams | FLAPPER FANNY

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WHAT'S TH' MATTER | WITH YOU? IT was YOU WHO LEFT Tw

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HELP HER.

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CAN KEEP HIM OF FZ)

—By Blosser

THE BOY ISN'T WELL, ITELLYOU! I NEVER SAW HIM ACT “THAT

, NONSENSE! HE'S IN LOVE ! “THAT'S

ALL THAT'S WRONG

IT'S MORE SERIOUS | T TELL THAN THAT! 1 WAS A BOY AND HAD PUPPY LOVE AFFAIRS, BUT I DIDN'T

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TH’ HERO OF TH’ DAY, THAS ME! HO, HO! NO WONDER “X IM TH GRAND WIZER IM A PRETTY 2 SMART BOZO! [77

“You know, Reverend, we might put the bite on that rich Mr. Chutney for a couple o’ G's—say, am I talking a bit oddly?”

DOMONT’S

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HORIZONTAL

1 Man of great strength.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answer to Previous Puzzle

10 Eccentric .

fe A wheel,

11 Region.

6 He was a = character. 13 Herb. & 14 Music drama. 16 Container weight. 17 Door rug. 18 Three-pronged spear. 20 Encountered. 21 Pair. 22 Therefore. 23 Structural unit. 25 Preposition. 26 To perform. 27 Child. 29 Splendor. 31 Turret. 33 Italian coins. 34 Ireland. 35 To weep. 36 Auto. 38 His strength was in his

roses.

50 And.

wife. 58 Hour.

40 To sit. him.

44 To measure. 45 All right. 46 Genus of

48 To bellow.

51 Drone bee. 52 Pitcher. 53 Type standard 4 Southeast, h5 Market, 56 Husband or

59 — betrayed 9 Neuter pros

15 3.1418. 18 To walk uns steadily. 19 To snicker. 22 Skin blemish. 24 Portal. 26 Excuse, 28 Bis. 30 Outer garment RSI 32 Growing out. M LIC] 35 Pushed. 60 He was —= 37 To delay.

lice 39 Railroad, By She Pais 40 The itch,

-41 Soil. VERTICAL 43 Bit of bread, 1 Specimen.

33 Hourly. 2 Axillary. 44 Mister, 3 Witticismf,

fo Ark 12 Alphabet party E KS CIE

E R A N |

47 Land right. 49 One opposed to anything. £4 Myself. 55 Musical note, 57 Half an em, 58 Masculine noun. pronoun.

8 0 MM 2

5 Neither, 6 Cot. 7 Wrath. 8 Curse.

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