Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 28 January 1937 — Page 24

PAGE 22 _

By DENNIS WHEATLEY

[ ight, 1937, by NEA Service, Inc.; ory Riiliam Morrow & Co.)

BEGIN HERE TODAY Bolitho Blane, British financier, disappears from yacht owned by his principal competitor, Carlton Rocksavage, off Miami. A note found in Blane’s cabin, addressed to his’ secretary Nicholas Stodart, indicates suicide since he faced bankruptcy. A memo written by Stodart shows Blane's company stock, Argus Suds, closing at a new low that day. : Other passengers aboard the yacht "Golden Gull are Miss Ferri Rocksavage, Rocksavage’s daughter; Lady Welter; Reginald Jocelyn, Mr. Jocelyn, Lady Welter’s daughter and: son-in-law; the Bishop of Bude; Coun{ Luigi Posodini, and Inosuke Hayashi. Detective Officer Kettering boards yacht on return to Miami for investigation. . NOW GO ON WITH: THE STORY

CHAPTER TWO

‘Mr. Nicholas Stodart’s Statement.

AR. BLANE told me about a fortM night ago that ‘his companies were in very serious difficulties, but that his principal competitor, Mr. Carlton Rocksavage, had invited him to a conference in the United States. Mr. Blane believed that Mr. Rocksavage’s companies were in almost as serious difficulties .as his own, owing to the price-cutting war . which had been going on between ‘them for a considerable time.

Mr. Blane was the big man of the British soap combine and Mr. Rocksavage the head of the rival group in’ America. : Between them they could have had the virtual control of the world soap market, but they have been trying to smash each other for months past and neither has succeeded to date. : : That cost both groups an immense amount of money, and an amalgamation between them would have meant salvation to . them both, whereas, if they continued their rivalry, it was quite certain that one of them would go under. Mr. Blane accepted Mr. Rocksavage’s invitation and we sailed for the United States in the Berengaria. During the voyage Mr. Blane was very depressed. : . . g on : HE steady fall in the shares of his companies caused him grave anxiety and he told me repeatedly that if Argus Suds went below 45 he would have very little chance of pulling off ‘a deal with Rocksavage except upon ruinous terms and that, if Argus Suds went below 40, there would be no chance ,- of his pulling off a deal at all, as it would pay Rocksavage better, in that case, to let him go under. The fact that the shares of the Rocksavage companies were also _ falling, although in a lesser degree, did not appear to console him. Mr. Blane's depression was so . great at times that I had grave doubts as to his sanity. He seemed to think that Rocksavage and his associates would stop at nothing to wreck him. He knew, of course, that his death would mean a complete slump in the Blane interests and, although “he had never met Mr. Rocksavage, he apparently regarded him as a man who might even go the length of engineering his death in order to smash the Blane companies.

” ” ” E knew that his: only hope of pulling his companies through - was this conference on the Golden | Gull, yet he seemed to think that _ by going on board he would be taking his life in his hands, and it was such statements as these which

made me consider him to be off _ his mental balance at times. We could have joined the yacht in New York, but Blane jibbed at the last moment from this fear that his life would be in jeopardy, ‘but he pulled himself together a few hours later and I cabled Mr, Rocksavage for him that we would fly down to join the yacht at Miami. . Just before 7 o'clock we came out to the yacht in a tender and, on being told that Mr. Rocksavage was on the bridge, went straight down to our suite with the chief steward. . The cabin steward came along and asked if he could unpack, but © Mr. Blane was so nervous that he would not allow the man inside his - cabin, : The yacht got under way just about then and Mr. Blane told me to change at once and, whe I left him, he was starting to unpack his tiings himself,

2 2 ” IRECTLY I had changed I returned to the drawing room and found Mr. Blane had only unpacked a few things from his suitcase. He was sitting staring out of the porthole window. :

After a moment he sent me up to Mr. Rocksavage with ‘a message that he wished to get some cabies off, and so would not appear before dinner, and told me at the same time that I was to get the latest market prices which had come in by radio and send them down to him. b B 8 That was at 7:30. I went straight up to the lounge, and, finding Mr. Rocksavage there, introduced myself to him. He introduced me to Mrs. Jocelyn and Count Posodini, and gave me a drink. I took down the closing prices in which Mr. Blane was interested. Thése were sent down at 7:40 by the lounge steward, who returned to say that Mr. Blane’s door was locked and that

: he could get no reply.

I remarked that Mr. Blane would be changing and was probably in his bath, so the steward was instructed to slip the note under his cabin door. 2 2 2 RS. JOCELYN and Count Poso- ’ dini left us just after that and I remained in the lounge talking to Mr. Rocksavage. The Bishop of ° Bude came in and then Lady © Welter. Mr. Rocksavage remarked shortly after that it was 10 past 8, so he must change at once or he would be ~ late, and if he was we were to “ go in to dinner without him. After he had left us Mr. Inosuke Hayashi came in, then Count Po-

“2 sodini. At 8:30 Mrs. Jocelyn, hay-

ing changed, returned to the lounge

with her husband, Mr. Reggie Jocelyn, to whom she introduced me. It was just after the dinner bugle sounded that the cabin steward came up to the Ppunge and handed me the note that Mr. Blane had left for me. i . Having read it I hurried below with the cabin steward. We found that Mr. Blanes suite was empty and the window of his drawing room wide open, so it locked as though he had thrown himself out into the sea. : #8 ® T was then that the steward picked up a piece of paper from the writing table, which I recognized at once as the leaf from my pocketbook with the share quotations on it, and 1 saw the line of writing in Blane’s hand containing his last message on the back of it. It read, “You see! Argus has gone under 40. So the game is up—" I sent the steward up to get Mr. Rocksavage at once and, immediately I had told him what had occurred, he sent for the captain. This business has been a great shock to me because, although I have not been in Mr. Blanes employ for very long, he always treated me decently and I had got to be very fond of him. I don’t think there is the least doubt about it being a case of suicide. Big business people may use unscrupulous methods at times,

but it’s stretching things a bit too |

far to suggest that they actually murder one another. I think Mr. Blane’s fear for his life was brought on purely by an overstrained imagination and, realizing that his last hope of saving his companies had disappeared, when the Argus Suds shares dropped below the 40 level, he decided to make an end of himself rather than face the music.

” ” ” Statement of Silas Ringbottom, Cabin Steward. UST before the ship got under way the chief steward called for

me and said, “Ringbottom, the two new ones that are allotted to Suite

C have just come aboard. Get along at once and settle them in.” I went to C drawing room and knocked on the door. The secretary opened it and I asked, “Shall I unpack, sir?” and he replied, “No, that’s all right. We're unpacking for ourselves.” So I went back to my pantry. I did one or two odd jobs, a bit of pressing and so on, and then I sat down to read for half an hour, while the guests were changing, until the dinner bugle sounded at 8:30. . ; I then proceeded to my duty of tidying cabins. C suite, that is Mr. Blane’s, being nearest, I meant to start on him. but I found the door of the drawing room locked, so 1 just unlocked the door with my master key and went straight into the room. The first thing I saw was a note addressed “Nicholas Stodart Esq.” and marked “URGENT” in capital letters. I thought that a bit funny as if Mr. Blane had gone up to dinner why couldn’t he have taken it up to Mr. Stodart himself? But it’s not for me to®question the why and wherefores of the guests, so 1’ took it up to Mr. Stodart right away. : ; : 2.8 8 : E just thanked me and tore it open. Then, as I was leaving the lounge to go below, he came hurrying after me and said, “I am afraid something's wrong, steward.” We went down to the late lamented’s cabin together and had a quick look around. He wasn’t in the suite and the drawing room window was open. Mr. Stodart told me that he was afraid the poor gentleman had chucked himself overboard, then 1 spotted a bit of paper on the writing table and gave it to Mr. Stodart saying, “What's this here?” He gave it a glance and sent me up to get Mr. Rocksavage immediately. I did as I was bid and the owner sent me for the captain.

(To Be Continued)

Save this installment as evidence to help you solve the crime, -

AUNTILY, Sefton strode into the , hotel lobby and started toward the desk. “Pickles!” Sefton stopped short, in surprise, at the sound of the nickname he had not heard since his college days. He turned and saw the speaker seated in a nearby chair. Then, with a show of pleasure he wasn't quite feeling, he advanced with hand outstretched. “Mac. It is you, isn’t it? How many years has it been?” A man in rumpled tweeds, which contrasted sharply with Sefton's rather flashy outfit, rose and shook hands. He smiled mildly. “It’s 15 years, I guess, since they sent, us out into the world.” “The years do roll by,” said Sefton, casting a casual but critical glance at the battertd suitcases beside Henry MacDdnough's chair. He was secretly pleased that they looked battered. . “Sit down, if youwe time,” MacDonough invited. “It's good to see you again.” ” 2 ” EFTON sat down, crossed his legs comfortably, and produced two cigars with a flourish. They were good ones. He hoped MacDonough would be properly impressed. Apparently, MacDonough was. “Well, you look prosperous, Pickles. Living here in Chicago now?” Sefton lit his cigar. “No,” he said, throwing back his head and blowing smoke toward the ceiling. . “Not living here. Got a summer place in Wisconsin. Winter where I feel like it. Am in town right now getting my finger in the grain market while ,things are on the up. Had a machinery plant until last spring, but sold it at a good profit. I think the time for a man to retire and enjoy life is when he’s young—provided, of course, he can,” He laughed deprecatingly. “Fortunately, I can—I've been rather lucky, I suppose.” He paused. “What brings you here, Mac?” !

MacDonough coughed. “Traveling for the company just’ now. Haven't done so badly this tr#p. Things are picking up.” Sefton didn’t ask what company. “Well,” he said sympathetically, “the traveling game is pretty tough —particularly if you're marYied. You married, Mac?” MacDonough nodded. children.” “That makes things harder,” said Sefton, shaking his head.

” ” ” : ACDONOUGH glanced at his watch, sheltering it. Sefton hoped it was a cheap one. MacDonough rose, beckoned to a bellhop, then turned back to Sefton. “About time for my train,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s been nice to see you, Pickles.” Sefton rose and shook hands heartily—too heartily. “Coming back this way soon?” he asked. \ “Afraid not,” said MacDonough. “I'll have to stick pretty close to the grindstone in New York for a while now.” “I might look you up sometime when I'm East,” Sefton offered grandly. “I may take a little jaunt to New York this fall.” “We're living in the suburbs right now,” MacDonough replied evasively. ig move a lot—you. know how it is.” “Quite understand, old boy. Good luck!” A final handclasp. Then, MacDonough and the bellhop gathered up the battered suitcases and departed. ; Sefton looked after them, and sighed with relief.

» ” ” HEN his manner changed. Dif-

“Yes. Two

fidently, he approached the.

hotel desk. The clerk looked up. “My name,” said Sefton hesitantly, “is William Sefton. “I've come in regard to—”" ! “Oh,” said the clerk, recognizing him. “You're the waiter who was in here last night looking for a job, aren't you?” “Yes — I got a phone call this morning telling me to come back.” * “Welly” said the clerk, “you're in

luck that an opening has turned

CLASSMATES

By W. R. Gwinn Daily Short Story

up.” Then, confidentially, “Headwaiter’s snotty—sir him plenty.” \ Sefton leaned across the desk andy lowered his voice. : “How're tips?” . The clerk winked. “Good: Plenty of money bags around here.” Sefton nodded and went into the dining room to get the job—the job he needed very much indeed.

. ” ” 2 EANWHILE, MacDonough arrived at the station and wrote two telegrams prior {to boarding his train. .The first was to his wife, whom he had left behind in their “suburban” home—on their Long Island estate, in fact. He told her that the $100,000 deal that had brought him to Chicago had been completed satisfactorily and that he was on his way home. The second wire was to his broker, telling him to hold that $10,000 block of stock until he, MacDonough, had a chance to reconsider his intention of selling it. A little later, settled in his compartment, he turned his thoughts to Pickles Sefton. Poor Pickles! Amusing, and yet sad in a way, that he had never lost that brazen front that hid an innate inferiority complex. That affected heartiness— good cigars and good clothes—even when he was broke. That was Pickles. Well, he was glad to have been able to do the poor fellow a good turn. Strange coincidence that he had happened to be sitting in the lobby last night and, from behind his newspaper, had recognized Pickles, and heard him inquiring at the desk for a waiter’'s job. He had seen him turned away and then, when Pickles was gone, had fixed it up with the management to send for him today—but Pickles would never know the hand he, MacDonough, had -had in the matter, nor that he cwned a large part of the stock in the corporation that owned the hotel. . .

THE END

1937. by

(Copyright. 3 Syndicate,

United Feature Inc.)

The characters in this story are fictitious. mt ————

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Q—Is there a criterion of behavior that is applied to persons seeking = to -become naturalized American citizens? A—Section 4 of the naturalization law declares that an applicant for American citizenship shall have “behaved as a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.” : Q—What musical selection was played by Fredric March, for the young nurse in the motion picture, “The Road to Glory”? A—Chopin’s “Prelude,” Opus 28 No. 1. Q—How high is the Statue of Liberty? A—From base to torch it is 151 feet 1 inch.

Q—What unit of length in France corresponds to the English mile? A—The kilometer. Q—Where is Gen. Robert E, Lee buried? ' A—Lexington, Va. Q—Are fires caused by lightning more difficult to extinguish than other fires? A—No. Q—What do the words Nife, Uffizi, and Ikh mean? A—Nife is the hypothetical core of the earth; Uffizi is a famous art gallery of Florence; Ikh, in ancient Egyptian religion, is' the spirit of man, - Q—What is the average height and weight for boys 15 years old? A—Average - height, 62.9 inches; weight, 108.4 pounds. sl

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THE CLOCK HAS STRUCK NINE THREE TIMES, Now! DON'T You THINK

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By Lichty

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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