Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

iv Garden Murder Case by S. S. VAN DINE Copyrlfh* S. S. V.n DiM WNU Scrvfaa CHAPTER IX—Continned —1J— "I was fully prepared to run that risk. It wasn’t a hell of a lot. What did the old oat-muncher pay, any* way?—less than two to one. A dol lar and eighty cents to the dollar, to be exact. I would have been put $18,000. But (here wasn’t a chance of Equanimity^ coming in—I was quite certain of that. I took vhe chance for Woody’s sake.” Vance looked at the man thought fully. “Thanks for the affectin' confes sion,” he murmured at length. ‘T think that will be all for the mo ment.” As he spoke, two men with a long coffin-like wicker basket bustled in to the passageway. Heath was at the door in two strides. “The public welfare boys after the body,” he announced over his shoulder. Vance stood up. “I say, Sergeant, have them go down the outside stairway. No use returning through the apartment.” He addressed Garden again. “Would you mind showing them the way?” Garden nodded morosely and went out on the roof. Markham regarded Vance with dismal concern. “What’s the meaning of Garden’s not placing that bet?” Vance sighed. “What’s the meaning of any thing? Yet, it’s from just such curi ous facts as this that some pro visional hypothesis may evolve.” “I certainly can’t figure out what bearing Garden's conduct has on the case, unless—” Vance interrupted him quickly. “No. Puzzlin' situation. Put ev erything we have learned so far might mean something. Provided, of course, we could read the mean- in*. Emotion may be the key.” * “Don’t be so damned occult,” snapped Markham. “What’s on your mind?” “My dear Markham I You’re too flatterin'. Nothing whatever. I'm seekin’ for something tangible. The other gun, for instance. The one that went off somewhere when the chappie was already dead. It should be here or hereabouts . ."He turned to Heath. “1 say. Sergeant, could you and Snitkin take a look for it? Suggested itner’ry: the roof- garden And the flowerbeds, ^the ter race, the public stairs, the lower hallway. Then the apartment piop- er.” Heath grinned. “And, Sergeant, before you start reconnoitenn', will you fetch Hammlc. You'll probably And him at the bar downstairs.” Hammle strutted pompously into the study and was cursonly pre sented to Markham. The interview was brief and, as it turned out. of peculiar significance. “It is not our desire to keep you here any longer than necess'ry, Mr. Hammle,”—Vance began the inter view with marked distaste—“but it occurred to me to ask you if you have any ideas that might be helpful to us in solving Swift's murder.” Hammle roughed impressively and appeared to give the matter considerable thought. “No, 1 have none,” he at length admitted. “None whatever. But of course one can never tell about these things.” • Of course," Vance agreed. “But I thought there might be something in the relationships of the various people here this afternoon.” * All I can say." returned Hammle. carefully weighing his words, “is that there were many warring ele ments in the gathering—that is to say, many peculiar combinations. There was a combination of this and that, which might lead to— well, to anything.” “To murder, for instance?” Hammle frowned. “Now, murder is a very, very serious business. | But, Mr. Vanco, you can take it from me, in all solemnity, 1 j wouldn't put even murder past any one of those present today. No, by Gad!” “That’s an amazin’ indictment,” muttered Vance; “but I tn glad to have your opinion and we ll consid-^ er it . . . By the by, didn’t you no tice anything irregular in Garden’s placing Swift’s large bet on Equa nimity at the last minute?" Hammle’s countenance went quickly blank. Thon. unable to with- ' stand the direct scrutiny of Vance’s cold gaze, he puckered up Ins mouth into a shrewd smile. “Why deny it?’’ he chuckled. “The laying or that bet was not only irregular—it was damned near impossible. I don't know a book maker in Now York who would take such an amount when there w;aS not even enough time to throw some ‘come-back money’ into the totaliza tor.” Vance leaned forward. “That might easily have had some bearing on tho situation here this afternoon, and I'd like very much to know why you didn't men tion it.” For a brief moment the man seemed flustered; but almost im mediately he settled back in his chair with a complacent look, and extended his hands, palms up. “Why should 1 become involved?” be asked with cynical suavity. “That’s one mty of looking at t» ” Vance draoled “And « k*» Hi points. However . . He con templated the tip of his cigarette, tben asked: “Would your discre tion permit you to comment on Zalia Graem?” Hammle sat ut> with alacrity. “AhI” He nodded his head signif icantly. “That’s something to think about. There are varied possibili ties in that girl. You may be on the right track. A most likely sus pect for the murder. You never can tell about women, anyway. And, come to think of it, the shoot ing must have taken place during the time she was out of the room.” “But don’t think, for a minute,” Hammle hurried on, “that I am inti mating that she had anything tofdo with Swift’s death. Absolutely not! But the mention of her name gave me pause.” Vance stood up with a stifled yawn. “It’s quite evident,” he said, “you’re not in the mood to be spe cific. I wasn’t looking for generali ties, don’t y’ know. Consequently I may want to have another chat with you. Where can you be reached later, should we need ydu?” “If I am permitted to go now, I shall return to Long Island immedi- I Heard What Sounded Uka a Shot. w- • • -v— e k ately,” Hammle answered readily, glancing speculatively at his watch. “Is that all you wish at the mo ment?” "That la all, thank you.” Hammle again referred to his watch, hesitated a moment, and then left us. Vance went to the buzzer, and pressed the button. “Queer reports on ^tat Graem girl.” He walked back to his chair musingly. “The time has come to commune with the lady herself.” Garden appeared at the door. “Dd you ring for me, Vance?'* “Yes.”* Vance nooded. “The buzzer is working now. Sorry to trouble you. but we would like to see Miss Graem. Would you do the honors?” Garden hesitated, hia eyes Axed sharply on Vance. He started to say something, changed his mind and, with a muttered •''Right-©,” swung about and returned down- ktairs. Zalia Graem swaggered into the room, her hands in her jacket pock ets, and surveyed us with breezy cynosm. “Miss Graem,”—Vance’s voice was courteous but firm—"it will be necess’ry to ask you questions that you may deem objectionable. But please believe that it will be for your own good to answer them frankly." “Am I suspected? How thrilling!” “Everyone I’ve talked to thus far thinks so.” He looked at the girl significantly. “Oh, so that’s how the going is! I thought I detected a vague look of fear in people’s eyes. I think I will sit down.” She threw herself into a chair and gazed up with simu lated dejection. “Am I to be ar rested?” “Not just at the minute. But cer tain matters must be straightened but. It may be worth your while to help us.” “It sounds ghastly. But go ahead.” “First,” said Vance, “we’d like to know about the feud between you and Swift.” “Oh, the devil!” the girl ex claimed disgusterdy. “Must that be rakod up 9 There was really nothing to it. Woody bothered the life out of me. I felt sorry for him and went around w.th him a bit when he implored me to and threatened to resort to all the known forms of suicide if I didn’t. Then it be came too much for me, and I de cided to draw a line across the page. But I’m afraid I didn’t go about it in a nice way. I told him I was extravagant and cared only for luxuries, and that I could never marry a poor man." “And ao, the conclusion we may draw is that he played the horses heavily in the forlorn hope of amass ing a sufficient fortune to overcome your aversion to his poverty—and that his bet on Equanimity today was a last fling—” “Don’t mj that!** the girl cnad. “It's a horrible idea, but—it might be true. And I don't want la bear Vance continued to study her crib Ically. "Yes, as you say. It might be true. On the other hand . . , how ever, we’ll let it pass.” Then he asked quickly: "Who telephoned you today, just before the River- mont Handicap?” “What has that to do with any? thing?” _ i -*- “And why were you so eager to take the call on the den phone and •hut the door?” The girl leaned forward and looked at Vance defiantly. “What are you trying to get at?’ she demanded furiously. “Are you aware,” Vance went on, "that the den downstairs is the only room directly connected by wires with this room up here?” The gi^l seemed unable to apeak. She sat pale and rigid. And do you know,” he continued, without change of intonation, “that the wires at this end of the line had been disconnected? And are you aware that the shot which we heard downstairs was not the one that ended Swift’s life—that he was shot in the vault off the hall, several minutes before we heard the shot?” “You’re being ghastly,” the girl cried. "You’re making up night mares—nightmares to frighten me. You’re implying terrible things.” Vance held up his hand to stop her reproaches. "You misinterpret my attitude, Miss Graem," he said softly. "I asked you, a moment ago, for your own sake, to answer my questions frankly. You refuse. In those cir cumstances, you should know the facts as they appear to others." He paused. "You and Swift were not on good terms. You knew, as did the others, that he usually went -up to the roof before races. You knew where Professor Garden kept his revolver. You’re familiar with guns. A telephone call for you is perfectly timed. You disappear. Within the next five minutes Swift is shot be hind that steel door. Another five minutes pass; the race is over; and a shot is heard. That shot could conceivably have been fired by a mechanism. The buzzer wires up here had been disconnected, ob viously for some specific purpose. At the time of the second shot you were at the other end of those wires. You almost fainted at the sight of Swift. Later you tried to go upstairs . . Adding all this up: you had a motive, a sufficient knowledge of the situation, access to the criminal agent, the ability to act, and the opportunity.” Vance paused again. “Now are you ready to be frank, or have you really something to hide?” A .change came over the girl. She relaxed, as if from a sudden at tack of weakness. She did not take her eyes from Vance, and appeared to be appraising him and deciding what course to follow. Before she managed to speak Heath stamped up the passageway and opened the study door. He car ried a woman's black-and-white tweed top-coat over his arm. He cocked an eyebrow at Vanca and nodded triumphantly. "I take it. Sergeant,” Vance drawled, “your quest has been suc cessful. You may speak out.” Ha turned to Zalia Graem and ex plained: “Sergeant Heath has been searching for the gun that fired the second shot.” The girl became suddenly ani mated and leaned forward attentive ly. “After going over the roof and the stairs and the hall of tha apartment, I thought I'd look through the wraps hanging in the hall closet,” said Heath. “The gun was in the pocket of this.” He threw the coat on tha davenport and took a .38 gun-metal revolver from his pocket. He broke it and showed it to Vance and Mark ham. “Full of blanks—and one of ’em has been discharged.” “Very good. Sergeant,” Vance complimemed him. “Whose coat is this, by the by?” “I don’t know yet, Mr. Vance; but I’m going to find out pronto.” Zalia Graem had risen and come forward. “I can tell you whose coat that is,” she said. “It belongs to Miss Beeton, the nurse. I saw her wear ing it yesterday.” “Thanks awfully for the identifi cation,” returned Vance, his eyes resting dreamily on her. She gave him a wry smile and returned to her chair. “But there’s a question still pend ing," Vance said; “—to wit: are you ready to be frank now?” “All right.” She focused her gaze on Vance again. “Lemmy Mer- rit, one of the various scions of the horsy aristocracy that infests our eastern seaboard, asked me to drive out to Sands Point with him for the polo game tomorrow. I thought I might dig up some more exciting engagement and told him to call me here this afternoon at half-past three for a final yes or no. I pur posely stipulated that time, so I wouldn’t miss the running of the Handicap. As you know, he didn’t call till after four, with excuses about not having been able to get to a telephone. I tried to get rid of him in a hurry, but he was per sistent — the only virtue he pos sesses, so far as I know. I left him dangling on the wire when I came out to listen to the race, and then went back for a farewell and have- a-nice-Ume-without-me. Just as I hung up I heard what sounded like a shot and came to the door, to And everyone hurrying along the hall. An idea went through my head that | maybe Woody had shot himself— ; that's why 1 went mid-Victorian and almost pawed out when 1 saw him , That'S everything ” tIO it UASTtMUk IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL S UNDAY I chool Lesson By REV. HAROLD L. LUNDQU1ST, Dean of tho Moody Btblo Instituto of Chlcaso. • Western Newspaper Union. Lesson for April 25 THE OBEDIENCE OF NOAH LESSON TEXT—Genesis 8:10-22; 9:8-17. GOLDEN TEXT—By faith Noah, beins warned of God concerning things not seen as yet. moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house. Heb. 11:7. PRIMARY TOPIC—The Meaning of the Rainbow. JUNIOR TOPIC—The Rainbow’s Message. INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC— following God's Plan. YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC— Deliverance through Obedience. The "book of beginnings” (Gene sis) has already brought before ua the creation of the world, the origin of man, the entrance of sin into the world, and God’a judgment upon that sin. In chapter 4 we find the first murder. Cain, who brought an offering before Gqd which was not acceptable, murdered his brother Abel, whose offering pleased God. Strange it is that man has it in his heart to hate those who expose his sin by their godly life. God does not leave himself with out a witness in the earth. The God-fearing line of Seth appears. There are always those who have not bowed the knee to the Adver sary. Consider the astonishment of Soviet officials at the deep-seated and wide-spread faith in God re vealed in their recent census. But sin again lifts its ugly head and ere long God is driven to the necessity of judgment upon man kind. Read the terrific indictment of humanity in Genesis 6:5-7. It is still true that the heart of man apart from God’s grace is “des perately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Well does a contemporary writer say that even modern “psychology has unveiled the dismal and sinister depths in human nature. Man can no longer flee from reality into the romantic refuge of his own heart; for the human heart has be come a house of horrors in whose murky recesses man cannot erect for his solace either a shrine or a citadel. Man is bad; he ia a sin ner. The depths of his meanness are being unveiled in a ghastly way in individual and social life in these times. What a contemporary ring there is about these old biblical judgments on mankind! (Gen. 6:5, 6; Isa. 1:6.) What a tremendous ar raignment of sinful human nature is Paul’s prologue in Romans 1” (Mackay). So God sent a flood upon the earth. It used to be fashionable to doubt the story of the flood, but archaeology has joined hands with geology and history to agree with Scripture. The facts are available; let us use them. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” and prepared an ark at God’s command. Here again it can be demonstrated that the ark was sufficiently large to meet the need of Noah and all his family, with the animals and their food, and with room to spare. It is significant that the proportions of the ark were those of a well-planned boat. God knows how to build, and man does well to obey his instructions. The rain came, the fountains of the deep were opened, and all the living perished, except those within the ark. What an instructive type of our safety in Christ is the arkt But our lesson concerns primar ily what occurred after Noah came forth from the erk and presented himself before God. I. An Obedient Man (8:20-22). To come before God with accept able worship, man must come with clean hands. The question is not whether he is brilliant, learned, or of high position. The one thing that counts is obedience. When such a man offers the worship of his heart before God, it goes up to him like a sweet savor. II. A Covenant-Keeping God (9:8- 17). The beautiful rainbow in the cloud became a token of God’s promise, and the visible assurance to “all flesh” that the judgment of the flood will not be repeated. Never again will seed time and harvest, nor ahy of the orderly processes of nature, fail throughout the whole earth. What a gracious God we have! And what a pity that men presume upon his goodness. Because he “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45), men not only forget that he is the giver of all things, but assume that they may sin against him with impunity. Let us remind them that it is the clear teaching of Scripture that “every one of us shall give account of him self to God” (Rom. 14:12).. Well Spent Days Oh, what a glory doth this world put on, for him who with a fervent heart goes forth under the bright and glorious sky, and looks on duties well performed, and days well spent.—Longfellow. Purity of Heart A holy life is the very gate of Iteaven; but let us always remem ber that holiness does not const*# in doing uncommon things, but in Go ing everything with purity of heart. --Cardinal Manning. Murmurings of Spring m¥F YOU’D take a few steps, * Sis, I believe I’d be inspired to answer that question, ‘Did you ever see a dream walking?’. You are nothing less than devastating —truly a menace!” “You meow so sweetly, Connie. I’m a bit suspicious that this little peplum frock of mine has got you catty. Your eyes really aren’t green by rights, .you know.” Connie Sews Her Own. “How could you? I think my dress looks as nice on me as yours does on you. Why practical ly all of the girls at the Laf-a-Lot last night wanted to know where I found such a lovely frock. Not one of them guessed that I made it myself. And did I feel elegant when I played Mendelssohn’s Spring Song on Diane’s new baby grand! The girls said I fit into the picture perfectly. I thought if only Dwight could see me now.” “I still say my two-piecer with its piped^x.plum, cute little but tons and stream-lines is the No. 1 spring outfit in this woman's town.” Mother Happens Along. "Girls, girls, if your talk were only half as pretty as your frocks you’d be better off. Sometimes I wonder if you wouldn't be more appropriately titled The Cheek Twins, rather than The Chic Twins.” “Okay, Mother, you win. Let's change the subject by changing clothes. We'll put on our cullottes and join you in a round of golf, how's that? Gee. Mother, you nev er look sweeter than when you’re wearing a casual young two-piece shirt dress. The plaid pique is just the thing for you, too. In fact, Mom, you’re just about tops from any angle.” The Patterns. Pattern 1257 is for sizes 12 to 20 (30 to 40 bust). Size 14 re quires 4% yards of 39-inch ma terial plus 11 yards of ribbon or bias binding. Pattern 1231 is avail able in sizes 14 to 20 (32 to 42 bust). Size 16 requires 414 yards of 39-inch material. Pattern 1236 comes in sizes 14 to 20 (32 to 42 bust). Size 16 re quires 414 yards of 39-inch ma terial. New Pattern Book. Send for the Barbara Bell Spring and Summer Pattern Book. Make yourself attractive, practical and becoming clothes, selecting designs from the Bar bara Bell well-planned easy-to- make patterns. Interesting and exclusive fashions for little chil dren and the difficult junior age; slenderizing, well-cut patterns for , the mature figure; afternoon dresses for the most particular young women and matrons and other patterns for special occa sions are all to be found in the Barbara Bell Pattern Book. Send 15 cents (in coins) today for your copy. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1020, 211 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, HL Patterns 15 cents (in coins) each. • BcU Syndlcat*.—WNU Service. Be Careffll—First Role No one has the right of way when a life is at stake. BLACKMAN STBCRoim/POILTIY mCMU Arm Rmliabim A-Brflt Task SR T Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money back BUY FROM YOUR DEALER BLACKMAN STOCK MEDICINE CO. The Great Kipling Rudyard Kipling’s devotion to his son is shown in a new anec dote, says the Boston Post. Soon after the death of Second Lieuten ant John Kipling, at the front during the World war, an un known admirer accosted the poet on a road neai Burwash, England. “So you are the great Kipling?” he asked. “No, my son is,” was the reply. CLASSIFIED DEPARTMENT PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO FINISHING Any size roll (Urn developed and 16 nevei^ fade prints. 25c coin. TROUP’S PHOTO SERVICE. Toccoa, G«. AMERICA’S FOREMOST COOK I NO AUTHORITY AND MASTER CHEF Of PHILLIPS % beka° ui South** SOUPS