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.« x igCL, i S.5.VAN DINE COT/RIGHT &*.VAN DINS W.N.V. SERVICE. CHAPTER Xm —IS— Vance seemed profoundly puzzled and said nothing for some time. Then he glanced up suddenly. “How much light was there in the room?” he asked. “Only a dim shaded night-light by my bed.” “In mat case, you might con ceivably have mistaken an empty bottle for one filled with a colorless fluid.” “Yes, of course,” the nurse re turned reluctantly. “That must have been the case. Unless . . .” Her voice trailed off. “Tell me, when did you discover that all the medicine was gone?” Vance asked. “Shortly before Doctor Siefert ar rived this morning. I moved the bottle when I was arranging the table, and realized it was empty.” “I think that will be all just now, Mias Beeton.” Vance glanced at the girl sombrely and then turned away. “Really, y' know, I'm deuced sorry. But you'd better not plan an leering here just yet. We will undoubtedly want to see you again today ” Heath, who had been waiting tn ly for the girrs die- to report that Ste- “Yes, immediately.” Garden still looked puzzled. “That’s exactly what I did. And a few minutes later Madge and Kroon arrived.” There was a short silence during which Vance smoked thoughtfully. “Tell me. Garden,” he said at length, “did any of your guests en ter your mother’s room last night?” Garden’s eyes opened wide: color came back into his face, and he sprang to his feet. “Good God, Vancel Zalia was in mother’s room I” Vance nodded slowly. “Very In terestin'. Yes, quite ... I say, do sit down. Light your beastly pipe, and tell us about it.” Garden hesitated a moment. He laughed harshly and resumed his seat. “Damn HI You take It lightly enough,” he complained. “That may be the whole explanation." “Ona never knows, does one?” Vance returned indifferently. “Car ry on.” Garden had some difficulty get ting his pipe going again. “It must have bean about ten o'clock.” ha said at length. "The mater rang the little ball aha keeps on the table beside her bad. and I was about to answer it when Zalia rd 12 UNCOMMON AMERICANS Iff*. Where Is he. Sergeant? “He went Into the den when he came downstairs.** Heath told him with s jerk of the heed. Vance walked up the hall and opened the den door. I was just behind him. As the door swung In ward and Vanes stepped over the threshold, we were confronted by an unexpected tableau. Miss Bee- ton and Garden were standing just in front of ths desk, outlined against the background of the window. The nurse’s hands were pressed to her face, and she was leaning against Garden, sobbing. His arms were about her. At the sound of Vance’s entry they drew away from each other quickly. The girl turned her head to us with a sudden motion, and I could see that her eyes were red and filled with tears. She caught her breath and, turning with a start, half ran through the connecting door into the adjoining bedroom. “I’m frightfully sorry,” Vance murmured. “Thought you were alone.” “Oh, that’s all right,” Garden re turned, although it was painfully Evident the man was embarrassed. “But I do hope, Vance, you won’t misunderstand. Everything, you know, is in an emotional upheaval here. I imagine Miss Beeton had all she could stand yesterday and today, and when I found her in here she seemed to break down, and—put her head on my shouldkr.’’ Vance raised his hand in good- natured indifference. “Ob, quite. Garden. A harassed lady always welcomes a strong masculine shoulder to weep on. Most of them lea %'s powder on one’s lapel, don* y* know; but I’m sure the* . . . Dashed sorry to By Elmo Scott Watfloo Earliest Raimi TN FRONT of the statehouae in 1 Boston stands the statue of a woman, with a Bible in her hand and a child snuggled against her. The in scription on the monument tells you that this woman was a “Courageous Exponent of Civil Liberty and Reli gious Tolerance.” But 300 years ago Massachusetts wasn’t calling her by any such complimentary names. In the year 1637 she was “that proud dame, that Athaliah,” a “notorious Imposter,” a “dajmgerous Instru ment of the Devell raysed * up by Sathan” and a “Breeder of Her esies,” For she was Anne Hutchin son, the earliest rebel in this coun try. She became a leader of a group of people who fell under the dis pleasure of the stern Puritans of Massachusetts Bay colony. Because these people held meetings in her house to discuss and criticize the sermons of the Puritan ministers, they finally placed her on trial for heresy, a trial that has L-een com pared to that of Joan of Arc at Rouen. Under their questioning, she proved herself more than a match frr her prosecutors. But just at the moment when it seemed that aha had defeated her accusers, she burst forth into a long speech describing God’s revelations to her. Thus she convicted herself and her penalty was banishment from the colony. Be a recipe not to tof. Use N spar- Infly at Aral, than add more If Eggs la Pets tees Bake pota toes. Cut off tops, scoop out cen ters and season with butter, salt and a little .pepper, mashing thor oughly. Half fill shells with pota to mixture and drop a raw egg, salt, pepper, a little grated cheese and one teaspoon butter in each. Put back in hot oven for four minutes to set egg. « • • Eliminating Food Odors — A small quantity of charcoal in a container on the top shelf will help eliminate food odors from the re frigerator. • • • Hole in Tablecloth—If a small hole is burnt or worn in an other wise good white tablecloth, it can be “mended” most effectively by stitching a motif in fine crochet over it and cutting away the spoiled fabric underneath. Add one or two more motifs so that the necessary one does not look odd. This is certainly more decorative than an obvious darn! » • • Keeps Cauliflower White—A ta blespoon of sugar in the water in which cauliflower is cooked will keep it white. # • • Glazing Liquid for Cookies—A mixture of two tablespOona of sug ar and one-fourth cup of milk makes a good glazing liquid for cookies. Apply on the surface of the dough with a pastry brush be fore baking the cookies. en syrup or sugar and gently stow till tender. Serve with a rteo or sago mold or hot milk pudding. using a circular knitting noodle, immerse it in hot water for a few minutes to make it pliable. Be fore it cools, and hardens, hold it in knitting position, and make any desired adjustments such as straightening the ends. This dis penses with a long breaking-in pe riod. • • • Unwrap Food—Food should not be stored in the refrigerator while wrapped in paper because the pa per prevents the cold air from circulating freely over it. • * • To Keep Frosting From Run ning—A half teaspoonful of bak ing soda added to boiling frosting will keep it from running. WNU S«rvic*. Coleman Iron UMTS IISTMTLY-M WAITIM .♦ nd I i r i had returned by I heard round of “Miss then, of course? 1 ' Yes, long before that, her come In about eleven ’* “And after your guests had gone, what did you do?” “I tat up for half an hour or so, bad another drink and a pipe; then I shut up the front of the house and turned In.” Vance lighted another cigarette, look several deep inhalations on it, and settled himself deeper in the chair. “To go back a bit,” he said casu ally. “The sleeping medicine Doc tor Siefert prescribed for your mother seems to constitute a some what crucial point in the situation. Did you have occasion to give her a dose of it while the nurse was out?” Garden drew himself up sharply and set his jaw. “No, I did not,” he said through his teeth. Vance took no notice of the change in the man’s manner. “The nurse. I understand^ gave yow explicit instructions about the medicine before she went out Will you tell me “Wky wires have murmured, as If talking to self. “How could they have been related to Swift's death or to the shot we heard? There was no mech anism. No. I'm convinced of that. After all, the wires merely connect two buzzers ... a signal . . . • signal between upatairs and down- stairs ... a signal—a call—a line of communication . . .’* Suddenly he stopped his medita tive pacing. He was now facing the door into the passageway and he stared at it as if it were some thing strange—as if he had never seen it before. “Oh, my aunt!’’ he exclaimed. “My precious aunt! It was too ob vious.” He wheeled about to Mark ham, a look of self-reproach on his face. “The answer was here all the time,” he said. “It was simple—and I was looking for com plexities . . . The picture is com plete now, Markham. Everything fits. Those disconnected wires mean that there's another murder con templated.” He led the way downstairs. Heath was smoking gloomily in the lower hall. “Sergeant.” Vance said to him. cmwee. m forward to • toff this evening 1ft we’re m for M, one will be sergeant, with Garden’s help, baa got tn touch with all those who were present yesterday, and they will foregather again in the Gardens* drawing-room at six o'clock . . .** He glanced at his watch and, ringing for Currie, ordered our lunch. ”lf we don’t tarry too long at table,” he said, “we’ll be able to hear the second half of the Phil harmonic programme. Melinoff is doing Grieg’s piano concerto.’’ But Markham did not go with us to the concert. He pleaded an ur gent political appointment at the Stuyvesant club, but promised to meet us at the Garden apartment at six o’clock. , Sergeant Heath was waiting for us when we reached the apartment. “Everything’s set, sir,” he said to Vance; “I got it here.’* Vance smiled a little sadly. ’’Ex cellent, Sergeant. Come into the other room.” Heath picked up a small package wrapped in brown paper, which he had evidently brought with him, and followed Vance Into the bedroom. Ten minutes later they both long for the wandering fool of the former journeyman printer soon be gan to assert Itself. He published "Artemus Ward. His Book” which had a phenomenal sale. Then be took to the lecture platform and “Artemus Ward,” until now a ficti tious character, became a living reality to thousands of Americana. One of Ward’s devoted reader* was President Lincoln and his book played a role in an historic scene at the White House during the Civil war. In September, 1862, Lincoln called a meeting of his cabinet members whom he astonished by reading Excerpts from Ward’s book. When they failed to join in his laughter, Lincoln threw down the book and said“Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I didn’t laugh, I should die and you need the medicine as much as I do.” He then told them the real pur pose of the meeting which wee to reed to them e paper he had pre pared and which be proposed to issue when the time wee ripe. That per wee At EmaocipeUon Pro©- CHEW LONG BILL NAVY TOBACCO TQ LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Fred Nther