Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 January 1937 — Page 24

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| By IDA R. GLEASON |.

BEGIN HERE TODAY The gaiety of the Christmas party at “Thunder Mesa,” the de Forest hacienda in New Mexico, has a tragic ending when Pearl Sam de Forest, oldest of three brothers, is found dead with an ancient knife in his throat. Each of the de Forest brothers has the first name “Pearl.” Pearl John is the youngest, Pearl Pierre next. Others at the house are: Tante Josephine, old and an invalid; Betty Welch, her young companion; Ramon Vasquez and Angelique Abeyta, guests at the party; Prof. Shaw, archeclogist, and Bob Graham, tire salesman stopping at the hacienda while his car is being repaired. The body of Pearl Sam, placed in the house chapel, has disappeared. Later Ramon and Angelique learn that it has been burned. Pearl Pierre announces that officers have been sent for. Next - morning Pearl Pierre fails to appear. He is found, lifeless, below a rocky ledge, the same knife that killed his brother, in his throat. Pearl John announces he is going to destroy the knife, but when he goes to get it, the knife has disappeared. He accuses Broken Shield, Indian servant, of the murders and Tante Josephine defends him. Next morning she, too, is dead, and Broken Shield has disappeared. Prof. Shaw investigates the basement of the house, finds a hidden passage and is about to enter it when some one springs on him. Pearl John, Bob and Ramon find the professor, unconscious. NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY

CHAPTER TWENTY

HE Professor was alive, and when the tapeline had been cut away from his throat he began to breathe more naturally. His unknown assailant evidently had thought him dead and either been frightened away or considered his grisly task complete. The three younger men carried Prof. Shaw to his bedroom, restoratives were applied. After several hours, however, the Professor still lay iin a coma, unable to tell what happened 'to him, though the marks on his neck told only too plainly that the attempt on his life had been real enough. So the menace hanging over all of them was still actively at work! Doors were locked and doublelocked that night. Next morning the storm had blown itself out. De Forest at once set men to clearing the road down the canyon. As soon as this was completed he hurried two servants off once more to Santa Fe. Those who remained on the mesa. settled down to wait further developments.

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NGELIQUE apparently had reA gained .her composure, but Pearl John noticed that she kept 2 close watch on Betty, especially when the other girl happened to be talking to Ramon. Pearl John was rel{eved when the Spanish girl finally

disappeared in the direction of Her “em

own room. He might not have felt so comfortable if- he could have watched her thereafter. For she did not enter her bedroom but, after casting a swift glance around, walked straight to the door with the knocker. It had been quite easy to extract the key from the unconscious professor's pocket, in the brief interval when she had taken her turn sitting beside the injured man. She had also taken his electric torch. Angelique had a great curiosity about that mysterious door; she had wondered about it ever since she watched Pearl Pierre steal down there. Opening the door, she peered down the stairs. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she turned on the spotlight - and made her way slowly down to the big storeroom. Nothing unusual here. She looked rather disdainfull> at the boxes and barrels, then walked to the blank wall that had proved so disastrously absorbing to Prof. Shaw. A slight rustling near her feet made her turn in fright to see a large rat's bright eyes staring at her. ” ” ITH a smothered cry, Angelique jerked backwards, tripped over something on the floor and crashed suddenly against the wall behind. Immediately she felt something slipping under her weight. The next second she fell through an opening made by a smoothly sliding panel in what had seemed a solid wall. After the first shock of surprise, she found that she was not hurt and, picking herself up, turned the beam from her electric torch about her. She was in a sizable passageway that led to other rooms beyond. Since she had come this far Ange- * lique had no intention of failing to satisfy her curiosity and walked cautiously forward. Several bare adobe rooms of varying sizes met her gaze. She realized that she was probably in the lower levels of the ancient pueblo, where rooms, used in ceremonials in the kiva, were located. She had seen such rooms before in restored ruins. But why such secrecy about the stuffy old place on the part of the de Forests? She walked on hesitatingly, half expecting something to spring on her from each dark corner, but apparently she had the place to herself. Suddenly she came to a doorway of modern construction, leading into a large circular room which she knew was the kiva itself. * It had been entered originally by a ladder, let down from above. Dark rings of soot still- clung to the top where smoke from the sacred fire had enveloped each man as he descended into the kiva.

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HE walls were quite bare except one, holding a small shelf. Angelique walked over to it and looked closely at the object that lay on it. Then she drew back. It was the black obsidian knife! ~ Fascinated, she touched the sharp edge, chipped into shape by crude stone implements so many centuries ago. Probably it was now where it had been kept then, and she shuddered to think what bloody part it had played in secret rites in the kiva in those bygone days. The ray from her torch swept. the other parts of the room,- but there was only bare adobe to be seen. Then she looked at the floor. Sure enough, in the exact center was the ancient sipapu. This was the small hole which the Indians be‘lieved communicated directly with the spirits of the underworld. Angelique peered into 1t curiously, though she had seen traces of such shrines in other ruins. This sipapu . was amazingly preserved. She almost expected to hear some ghostly message coming from it. Instead, an oppressive silence seemed to press her back—a stately, all-

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embracing silence, as though she stood ‘in a long-forgotten tomb. Angelique shivered and drew back with ‘the feeling that she was desecrating mysterious forces, whose unknown powers might still. be felt in this ancient shrine. Quickly she retraced her steps. More than once she glanced over her shoulder, but she emerged from the secret panel without accident and found herself again in the storerocm. Giving the panel a little push, she was

i place, leaving not the slightest crack to show its location.

HE pressed it again at about the place where she had fallen against it. After a little expeérimenting she found the spot where it responded to her hand. Grimly pleased that she thus held the secret of the house in her grasp, she made her way up the stairs and carefully opened the door at the top. No one was about, so she stepped out, shut and locked the door and walked away. Once more in her own room, she reviewed her adventure in detail. The thought flashed through her mind that if the de Forests found the secret rooms convenient for keeping things, why shouldn’t she, too, put them to use? Suppose she could get Betty Welch, for instance, down those steps and behind that sliding panel. It would be a perfect revenge for the tales Betty had told de Forest about her. The more Angelique toyed with this idea, the more certain she felt

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amazed to see it glide back into!

biame on her. How sweet it would be to see Ramon and Pearl John squirming under the lash of this new mystery! She could make them do almost anything she wanted, if she cared to press her advantage. Angelique held the trump card in the mystery of Thunder Mesa, inh her own opinion. She even .knew where the sacrificial knife was. If the professor had been willing to pay the de Forests good money for it, why shouldn’t he pay her? He weuld, of course, and be glad to keep quiet about the transaction when he found out that she knew more than he did about the room below the hacienda. ;

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AKING a thick woolen sweater from her suitcase, she went to the basement door and unlocked it. Then she walked to Betty’s room and knocked. A minute later the two girls were strolling past the door with the knocker. : For a moment ‘Angelique hesitated, looking back down the hall. Then, with a lightning movement, one of Angelique’s arms went around Betty's neck, a sweater over her head. Betty struggled, but beneath Angelique's soft skin was strength which rendered the slim Betty helpless, She was roughly dragged through the door and dewn the steps. A rope that had been near one of the packing boxes was tied about her. The sliding panel opened and she was pushed through.

that no one could possibly lay the

(To Be Continued)

Tf === men descended hurriedly into the little basement repair shop. Old Tom Drake raised his eyes from the typewriter he was repairing. Rarely did he have so many callers at once. Neither did his usual customers look so menacing. Tom arose slowly from- his chair in front of his work table. “Good afternoon, gentlemen, and what can I do—" “Pipe down, Grandpa,” one of the men snarled. He carried his right hand in a pocket that bulged ominously. “You won't be hurt if you do what we say and keep still. We're playin’ hide-and-seek with the cops, see? And we jest wanta stay in here a while until we shake e »

“I see, gentlemen. But——" “Shut up, then,” growled the spokesman. He seated himself, snatched up the evening paper, and scowled at a pictured face on the front page. The face was his own, down to the smallest detail—surly mouth, sharp nose, and hard eyes. “‘COYOTE LOOSE AGAIN’,” he quoted the heading over the picture, 2 ” ” ”

“ HIEF, make him stop it,” whined a pasty-faced youth, indicating Tom, who was again seated at his table, playing a rapid tattoo on the space bar of the typewriter. “Cut it out, Grandpa, if you want to live to tell about this,” said the first man. Then he suddenly paused, and turned to his henchmen. “Say, we can’t leave him here to blab about us. Suppose we take him along. Yeah, Gramp, you can be our chauffeur.” “I'm sorry,” Tom replied quietly, “but I cannct drive an automobile.” “Well, you're coming along, anyway. Be a sort of a—a—Whatda ya call ’em, Ace?” . The third intruder, a short, dark man, turned from the window where he had stationed himself on first entering. “You mean a chaperon, Coyote?” “Yeah, that’s it—he’ll see we don’t get in any mischief.” The Coyote snickered, then, whirled on Tom, with a sudden show of rage, and demanded, “Can’t you leave that blankety-blank typewriter alone?” : Tom was poking at the type bars. “I really must get this machine done,” he said. “Whada ya mean, you gotta get it done?” ? “It belongs to a writer who lives upstairs, and he needs it tonight. He’s coming for it about 5,” Tom explained. The Coyote grinned and shrugged. “Let him come. We'll keep him for our little party, too.” “Won't do, chief,” warned Ace. “Why not let The Kid take the machine up to him?” “Who, me?” quavered the pastyfaced youth. ” u ” 1 calmly started inserting a new ribbon. Finally, he twirled the slate-colored roller, gave the keys a few experimental taps, and nodded with apparent satisfaction. “I think it is quite ready now.” The Kid was still protesting. “I don’t see why I gotta go up there. Why can’t Ace go, Chief?” “Your face ain't as well known as Ace’s,” said The Coyote. “Where does he take it, Gramp?” “To Mr. Solsby on the fifth floor. Here’s my bill.” The Coyote grabbed the statement, gave it a thorough examination for a hidden message, then shoved it at The Kid. “All right, get goin’.” The unwilling messenger lifted the heavy machine in his arms, and departed, still grumbiing. The minutes dragged. Ace kept constant watch of the street, which was a little above the barred wincow. The Coyote kept his eyes on Tem, who. appeared to be under no strain, sitting at his desk, idly unwinding a roll of type ribbon. Presently, The Kid returned. There had been no hitch. he reported. 2 ” ” GAIN, the time crept. The three men smoked cigaret after cigaret. Tom commenced puttering with another typewriter. “Go ahead, Gramp, and enjoy yourself. That'll be the last type-

writer you'll fix,” jeered the Coyote.

TOUGH CUSTOMERS

By Nellie Guy Daily Short Story

Getting no fise out of Tom, he re-

sumed his admiration of himself in the news sheet. Finally, an hour had dragged by. “Guess it’s safe now,” decided the Coyote. “Come on, Gramp.” Tom obediently put on his coat and hat. The Coyote and Ace each took him by an arm. They opened the door into the hall and started out, followed by the Kid. Suddenly, from out of dark corners, a group of blue-uniformed, armed men surrounded them. The Kid let out a howl and threw up his hands. The Coyote jerked his weapon out of his pocket, but was overpowered before he could get it into action. Ace was simultaneously seized. . The fray was over in a moment. The three gunmen were hustled out, with a minimum of excitement.

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Moe SOLSBY, mystery-novel writer, shook Tom by the hand. “Good work, Mr. Drake! was quick thinking, I'd say.” “I just took a chance you'd use the machine soon, sir,” Tom answered modestly. “Sure. I had just been reading the paper, so when I saw ‘Coyote Here’ typed on that new cylinder with a fresh ribbon, I contacted the police. immediately. Say, you'll prabably get that reward that’s been offered for the Coyote . . .”

THE END

That

(Copyright, 1937. by United Feature )

Syndicate, Inc.

————

The characters in this story are fictitious.

Ask The Times

Inclose 3 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—Can residents of the District of Columbia vote in Presidential elections? A—No.

Q—Is there more strain on a rope when 10 men are pulling in opposite directions at each end than when one end of the rope is fastened to a solid support and 10 men pull on the other end? A—The strain on the rope is the same in both instances. The tension is no greater than the pull at one end of the rope. Q—What is the name of a salad made of sliced or chopped cabbage? A—Coleslaw. Cole is an old name for cabbage. The erroneous name “cold slaw” is sometimes used.

Q—What percentage of the peo- |

ple of the United States are church members? A—Out of a total population of membership is approximately 54,approximately 127,000,000 the church 576.000.

Q—When and where did the Wright brothers make their first successful airplane flight? A—On Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil, Sand Hills, near Kitty Hawk, N. C.

Q—Where and when did the Ford Motor Co. establish its first foreign plant? A—In Ontario, Canada, in 1904. The first Ford plant established overseas was in Manchester, England, in August, 1911.

Q—Which Presidents of United States were childless? A—George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, James K. Polk and Warren G. Harding.

Q—Who wrote the novel, “Tom Brown’s School Days”? A—Thomas Hughes.

Q—On which finger should an engagement ring be worn? A—Third finger of the left hand.

Q—What does the name Florence mean? A—A flower.

Q—Does the Constitution prescribe minimum or maximum ages for Justices of the United States Supreme Court? : A—No.

Q—As between two succeeding days, to which date is 12 o'clock midnight assigned? A—Midnight does not belong to any day. It is the unmeasurable instant between two civil days. It is the time which expresses both the ending of one day and the simultaneous beginning of another day.

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MOUNTAIN

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THEN, YUH PUSH DOWN ON THET PEDAL AGIN~THEN! PULL THIS HICKEY T'WARD YUHTHET'S ALL THER IS TO IT~ YOU'LL GIT ALONG ALL RIGHT, BUT BE KEERFUL ON THE

TRAIL ~YUH

KNOW, IT'S A THOUSAN'FOOT DROP!

THE KASHMIRI NECK— ACE CAME TO AMERICA ene 3

ay OF INDIA, SIX

AGO. — SINCE THE [ IT HAS BEEN OWNED \ 8Y SIX DIFFERENT

PEOPLE.

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FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS

HEROES ARE MADE | NOT

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(THURSDAY, JAN. 7, 1937 NNY

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I SHOULD SAY NoT! I'M GONNA KEEP IT RIGHT HERE ..... FOREVER !!

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ALLEY OOP GONE? PANG THAT EE (RR HIM MOST1? Te NUMBER SIX XI 3X 202 A porTED HIM AN HIS DINOSAUR

TALVAL E! ms HE STUMP | DNI SAT ON

WHAT MADE You HAUL THE “THING ALL THE WAY UP HERE 2

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[AWRIGHT, YOU MUGS! | HATCHA) STANDIN' AROUND FOR GIT A PLATOON TOGETHE COMBAT EQUIPMENT WE'RE HITTIN" FOR SAWALLAY

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“I've been secretly engaged to Jack for two months now, but tonight I’: , going to tell him.

that are drowned float face downward and those of women face up? A—That popular belief is not substantiated by facts. Usually the bodies roll like logs and when they float in one position it frequently

Is caused by the kind of clothing worn.

Q—Why do the kidies of males

Q—When and where did the airship “Shenandoah” crash? :

‘A—Near Ava and Cambridge, O., Sept. 3, 1925. Q—What is Bira-Bidjan? A—A settlement set apart for Jews and Jewish colonists in Siberia, down the Amur River from

Khabarovsk. It is virgin land, but considerable progress has made in Da rming it into a

fertile agricultufal and stock-raising

country, wit : modern methods and

equipment. Q—Give fi ie number of births in

the United ¢ tates in 1930, 1931, 1932,

1933 and 19: L : A—1930—: 203,958; 1931, 2,112,760; 1932—2,074,0: 2; 1933—2,081,223, ‘and

been | 1934—2,158,9. 0.

Q—What i the area of Lake Erie? - A=It is 4¢ 0 square miles, . .

FOOZY-YOU STAY HERE -TAKE NY COMMAND OF TH' GARRISON =T'M »

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—By Blosser

AW, HECK, NUTTY...DON'T | ASK ME! 1 GUESS 1 MUST HAVE DONE IT IN A MOMENT OF wEAkNESS !/ YL

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MEANWHILE: THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER, WHO WITNESSED ALLEY OOP'S DEPARTURE, BEATS HIS WAY THROUGH =n THE JUNGLE

HORIZONTAL 1.6 - = Jacobs. o— OMe puser of songs 10 Instrument 11 Noisier. 13 Quantity 14 Barley spikelet 15 Sun god. i6 To marry. 17 Let it stand. 18 Mystic syllable

19 Imitated 20 Wing. 21 Loved. 24 Perturbed» 29 Mooed: 30 Unit. 31 To habituate. 32 X symbols. 33 To peep. 34 Parts of dramas. 35 To. cry. 36 To melt. 37 Barked. 41 Ringlet.

42 Dower ‘property. 44 60 minutes. 45 Sanskrit dialect. 46 Grain.

48 Ireland. 49 Melody. in . 52 She wrote

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answer to Previous Puzzle

47 Sawlike organ

51 She was born 9 Theatrical.

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her songs. 17 Hurried. 19 God of wan 20 Era. 22 Female deer. 23 To possess. 24 Some. 25 Afresh. 26 Wine cask. 27 Before. 28 Writing tables 30 Eye. 53 Seed bag. '34 Saint's tomb 35 Harem. 36 Bulb flower. 38 Exclamation. 39 Tiny skin opening. 40 To murmur as a cat. 41 Auto. 42 To challenges, 43 Auditory. 45 Tiny vegetable, 46 Elf’s child. 47 South America.

LEIAM TELL

VERTICAL 1 Company. 2 Capable. 3 Crucifix. 4 To soak flax. 5 Exultant. 6 To bat a ball. 7 Alleged force. 8 Orange flower oil.

12 Was indebted. 16 She became

“A —— Day.” —— through 50 Preposition.

Hollywood is just a small town on a slightly larger scale. In Hollywood, if you go out with a girl, for example, it gets in the papers. Well, in my home town, when I took a girl to a dance, somebody would write on the barn, “Bob loves Gerfrude."—

LRobert Taylor, movie star.

I've had a lot of ups and downs— mostly downs. So“when a citizen hands me a hard-luck story, I'm all ears. I work on the theory that youd better treat ’em nice going up, because you've got to meet ’em coming down.—Victor A. Meyers,

lnow Lieut.. Gov. of Washington,

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