Copyright 8. 8. Van Dine WNU Service CHAPTER XI-—Continued see pe Vance jumped down and turned to us. “Frightfully sorry,” he said. “‘Height does affect most people. I didn’t realize.” He looked at th girl. “Will you forgive me? . . .” As he spoke Floyd Garden stepped out on the roof through the passageway door. “Sorry, Vance,” he apologized, “‘but Doc Siefert wants Miss Beeton downstairs—if she feels equal to it. The mater is putting on one of her acts.” The nurse hurried away immedi- ately, and Garden strolled up to Vance. He was again fussing with his pipe. “A beastly mess,” he mumbled. “And you've certainly put the fear of God and destruction into the hearts of the pious boys and girls here this afternoon. They all got the jitters after you talked with them.” He looked up. “The fact is, Vance, if you should want to see Kroon or Zalia Graem or Madge Weatherby for any reason this eve- ning, they'll be here. They've all asked to come. Must return to the scene of the crime, or something of that kind. Need mutual support.” “Perfectly natural. Quite.” Vance nodded. ‘I understand their feel- ings . . . Beastly mess, as you say . . . And now suppose we go down.” Doctor Siefert met us at the foot of the stairs. “I was just coming up for you, Mr. Vance. Mrs. Garden insists on seeing you gentlemen.” Then he added in a low tone: “She's in a tantrum. A bit hysterical. Don’t take anything she may say too se- riously."” We entered the bedroom. Mrs, Garden, in a salmon-pink silk dress- ing gown, was in bed, bolstered up by a collection of pillows. Her face was drawn and, in the slanting rays of the night-light, seemed flabby and unhealthy. Her eyes glared de- moniacally as she looked at us, and her fingers clutched nervously at the quilt. far side of the bed, looking down at her patient with calm concern; and Professor Garden leaned heavily against the window-sill opposite, his face a mask of troubled solicitude. “I have something to say, and I want you all to hear it.”” Mrs. Gar- den’s voice was shrill and strident. “My nephew has been killed to- day—and I know who did it!" She glared venomously at Floyd Garden who stood near the foot of the bed, his pipe hanging limply from the corner of his mouth. “You did it!" She pointed an accusing finger at her son. “You've always hated Woody. You've been jealous of him. No one else had any reason to do this despicable thing. 1 suppose I should lie for you and shield you. But to what end? So you could kill somebody else? You killed Woody, and I know you killed him. And I know why you did it . . .” Floyd Garden stood through this tirade without moving and without perceptible emotion. “And why did I do it, mater?” “Because you were jealous of him. Because you knew that I had divided my estate equally between you two—and you want it all for yourself. You always resented the fact that I loved Woody as well as you. And now you think that by having got Woody out of the way, you'll get everything when I die. But you're mistaken. You'll get nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing! Tomorrow I'm going to change my will. Woody's share will go to your father, with the stipulation that.you will never get or inherit a dollar of it. And your share will go to chari- ty.” She laughed hysterically and beat the bed with her clenched fists. Doctor Siefert had been watching the woman closely. He now moved a little nearer the bed. “An ice-pack, immediately,” he said to the nurse; and she went quickly from the room. Then he busied himself with his medicine case and deftly prepared a hypo- dermic injection. The woman relaxed under his pa- tient dictatorial scrutiny and per- mitted him to give her the injec- tion. She lay back on the pillows, staring blankly at her son. The nurse returned to the room and ar- ranged the ice-bag for her patient. Doctor Siefert then quickly made out a prescription and turned to Miss Beeton. ““Have this filled at once. A tea- spoonful every two hours until Mrs. Garden falls asleep.” Floyd Garden stepped forward and took the prescription. “I'll phone the pharmacy,” he said. “It'll take them only a few minutes to send it over.” And he went out of the room. As we passed the den door, we could hear Floyd Garden telephon- ing. “I think Mrs. Garden will quiet down now,” Doctor Siefert re- marked to Vance when we reached the drawing-room. ‘‘As I told you, you mustn't take her remarks se- riously when she's in this condition. She will probably have forgotten about it by tommorrow." “‘Her bitterness, however, did not seem entirely devoid of rationality,” Vance returned. Siefert frowned but made no com- ment on Vance's statement. In- stead he said in his quiet well- modulated voice, as he sat down leisurely in the nearest chair: “This whole affair is very shocking. Floyd Garden gave me but a few details when I arrived. Would you care to enlighten me further?" Vance readily complied. He brief- ly went over the entire case, be- ginning with the anonymous tele- phone message he had received the night before. (Not by the slight- est sign did the doctor indicate any previous knowledge of that tele- phone call. He sat looking at Vance with serene attentiveness, like a specialist listening to the case his- tory of a patient.) Vance withheld no important detail from him. “And the rest,” Vance concluded, ‘“‘you yourself have witnessed.” Siefert nodded very slowly two or three times. “A very serious situation,” he commented gravely, as if making a diagnosis. ‘‘Some of the things you have told me seem highly signifi- cant. A shrewdly conceived mur- der—and a vicious one. Especial- ly the hiding of the revolver in Miss Beeton's coat and the attempt on her life with the bromin gas in the vault.” “1 seriously doubt,” said Vance, ‘that the revolver was put in Miss Beeton's coat pocket with any in- tention of incriminating her. I imagine it was to have been taken out of the house at the first oppor- tunity. But I agree with you that the bromin episode is highly mysti- fyin'."” Vance, without appearing to “I Called the Sergeant Just After I Phoned You.” do so, was watching the doctor closely. “When you asked to see me on your arrival here this after- noon,” he went on, *‘I was hoping that you might have some sugges- tion which, coming from one who is familiar with the domestic situa tion here, might put us on the track to a solution.” Siefert solemnly shook his head several times, “No, no. I am sorry, but I am completely at a loss myself. When I asked to speak to you and Mr, Markham it was because I was naturally deeply interested in the situation here and anxious to hear what you might have to say about it." He paused, shifted slightly in his chair, and then asked: “Have you formed any opinion from what you have been able to learn?” “Yes. Oh, yes. Frankly, how- ever, I detest my opinion. I'd hate to be right about it. A sinister, un- natural conclusion is forcing itself upon me. It's sheer horror.” He spoke with unwonted intensity. Siefert was silent, and Vance turned to him again. “1 say, doctor, are you particu- larly worried about Mrs. Garden's condition?"’ A cloud overspread Siefert’s coun- tenance, and he did not answer at once. “It's a queer case,” he said at length, with an obvious attempt at evasion. "As I recently told you, it has me deeply puzzled. I'm bring- ing Kattelbaum up tomorrow." “Yes. As you say. Kattelbaum.” Vance looked at the doctor dream- ily. “My anonymous telephone mes- sage last night mentioned radio- active sodium. But equanimity is essential. Yes. By all means. Not a nice case, doctor—not at all a nice case . . . we'll be toddlin’.” Siefert also got up. “If there is anything whatever that I can do for you «+ 2 he began. “We may call on you . Vance returned, and walked toward the archway. Siefert did not follow den was in the bedroom, leaning over his mother, “Your solicitude won't do you any good, Floyd,” Mrs. Garden cried. "Being kind to me now, are you? Telephoning for the prescrip- tion—all attention and loving kind- ness. But don't think you're pull- ing the wool over my eyes. It won't make any difference. Tomor- row I change my willl Tomorrow . We continued on jour way out, and heard no more. Shortly after nine o'clock the next morning there was a telephone call from Doctor Siefert. Vance was still abed when the telephone rang, and I answered it. The doctor's voice was urgent and troubled when he asked that I summon Vance imme- diately. Vance slipped into his Chi- nese robe and sandals and went into the anteroom. It was nearly ten minutes before he came out again. “Mrs. Garden was found dead in her bed this morning,’’ he drawled. ‘Poison of some kind. I've phoned Markham, and we'll be going to the Garden apartment as soon as he comes. A bad business, Van—very bad.” , Markham arrived within half an hour. In the meantime Vance had dressed and was finishing his second cup of coffee. “What's the trouble now?’ Mark- ham demanded irritably, as came into the library. now that I'm here, you'll be good while I enjoy this cigarette. Really, cid on the telephone.” He poured a cup of coffee, and Markham re- luctantly sat down. “And please don't sweeten the coffee,” Vance went on. *‘It has a delightfully sub- tle bouquet, and it would be a pity to spoil it with saccharine.” Markham, frowning defiantly, put three lumps of sugar in the cup. “Why am I here?" he growled. Vance drew deeply on his ciga- rette and settled back lazily in his chair. ‘‘Siefert phoned me this morning, just before I called you. Explained he didn't know your pri- vate number at home and asked me to apologize to you for not notifying you direct.” “Notifying me?" down his cup. “About Mrs. Garden. She's dead. Found so this morning in bed. Prob- ably murdered.” “Good God!" “Yes, quite. Not a nice situation. No. The lady died some time during the night—exact hour unknown as yet. Siefert says it might have been caused by an overdose of the sleeping medicine he prescribed for her. It's all gone. And he says there was enough of it to do the trick. On the other hand, he ad- mits it might have been something Markham set CHAPTER XII Markham pushed his cup aside with a clatter and lighted a cigar. “Where's Siefert now?’ he asked. “At the Gardens’. Very correct. Standing by, and all that. The nurse phoned him shortly after eight this morning-—it was she who made the discovery when she took Mrs. Gar- den’s breakfast in. Siefert hastened over and after viewing the remains and probing round a bit called me. Said that, in view of yesterday's events, he didn’t wish to go ahead until we got there.” “Well, why don’t we get along?" snapped Markham, standing up. Vance sighed and rose slowly from his chair. “There's really no rush. The lady can't elude us. And Siefert won't desert the ship.” suggested Markham. *“Yes-—quite,” returned Vance, as we went out. geant just after I phoned you. He's the usual police routine. Stout Guite futile.” Garden apartment. She ‘Way Back When By JEANNE FRED MACMURRAY WASHED CARS FOR A LIVING ECESSITY is the mother of in- : vention, they say; and if that is so I think someone should em- phasize that “Courage is the fa- ther of opportunity.” So many times, when things look blackest, it seems that only by drawing on re- serve strength can we keep going. Suddenly we find ourselves face to face with opportunity. Everything looked hopeless befare. We were really almost ready to give up. |bad as they were. - Fred MacMurray was born | Kankakee, Ill, in 1908, and spent {his boyhood in Beaver Dam, Wis. { for an American youngster. In 1925, {when he was seventeen, he was | gion medal for the student show- {ing the most well-rounded develop- iment in scholastic subjects and { sports. His mother worked in of- {ices to support them both, and { Fred attended Carroll college in { Waukesha, Wis., earning his way by playing the saxophone. A bro- ken hip forced his mother to quit work, and Fred left college to try to blow a living out of his saxo- phone. They moved to Hollywood, Calif., for her health and the boy was glad to get a job washing cars in a garage, to pay her hospital bills. Before he could collect his pay, the garage went bankrupt, and Fred MacMurray faced a discour- aging period without a job. He tried to obtain work in the picture studios as a saxophone player, but had no luck. Things looked very black, indeed. Then, he was signed up with a band called the California Collegi- ans, which worked its way to New York city and was hired for the play “Three's a Crowd.” Fred had a small bit which led to a slightly bet- ter part in “Roberta.” A talent scout for Paramount saw him, brought him back to Hollywood, and he was given a contract which led to his success in pictures. - - . POET LAUREATE OF ENGLAND WAS A PORTER IN A SALOON HAT romantic occupation could you possibly predict for a boy so adventurous that no one could control him, so reckless that the aunt who took care of him after his father and mother died inden- tured him to a merchant ship at the age of fourteen to curb him? That was John Masefield's start in life and today he holds the highest hon- ors England can give any poet. Born in Ledburn, Herefordshire, England, in 1874, he sailed the seas for three years. Leaving the ship in port at New York city, he took ‘any odd job he could get. He | worked in a bakery and in a livery stable. He was porter in Luke O'Connor's saloon at the Columbian hotel near Jefferson Market jail Then he moved to Yonkers, at the Vance a faint smile of greeting which he returned. “I'm beginning to think this nightmare will never end, Mr. Vance,” she said. went on into the drawing-room where Doctor Siefert, Professor Garden, and his son were awaiting us. “I'm glad you've come, gentle men,” Siefert greeted us, coming forward. Professor Garden sat at one end of the long davenport, his elbows resting on his knees, his face in his hands. He barely acknowledged our presence. Floyd Garden got to his feet and nodded abstractedly in our direction. A terrible change seemed to have come over him. He looked years older than when we had left him the night before. “What a hell of a situation!” he mumbled, focusing .watery eyes on Vance. “The mater accuses me last night of putting W way, and then threatens off in her will dead! And it was I (TO Bh CONTINUED) i i i i i LR NATIONAL PRESS BLDC WASH Washington.—It appears that an- sther session of congress will go by : without the con- Spending gress and the ad- Will Go On ministration doing anything serious in the way of cutting down govern- | ment expenses. There is nothing that can be done now toward carry- ing out the expressions made by President Roosevelt in his message | last January when he told congress | that he wanted to cut federal ex- | penses and take important steps to- ward balancing the federzl budget. The reason that federal spending is | due to go on for another year at the extraordinary rate of the last four or five years is because a majority in congress, under the lash of the White House, refused to require | states and local governments to | bear a percentage of the relief costs, | In other words, federal spending | will go on because congress and the President have lacked the courage | to start taking the federal govern- | ment out of the relief work and | gradually restore it to the care of those folks in the various communi- | ties who know where relief is need- | ed. There had been a very determined movement in congress compel | the states to share in the gigantic | relief burden. It took various forms and had various sponsors. But the end and aim of all of them was to divide the cost in equitable fash- on. The proposal that had the best chance of getting through was one | offered by Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the Democratic leader in | the senate. He offered an amend- | ment to the relief bill which would have required the states to con- tribute one-fourth of the amount ex- pended in each state, with the fed- eral Treasury supplying the remain. der. When that amount was offered, | it was something in the nature of a | compromise between proposals that the states should bear 40 per cent and that they should bear none of the cost. With the White House op- erating through the President's lob- byist, Charles West, and Senator 3arkley of Kentucky, the adminis- | tration was able to force defeat of the Robinson amendment. Now, Senator Barkley is assist. | ant Democratic leader of the sen- ate and so we had the spectacle of one of Mr. Roosevelt's spokesmen being on one side and a second one on the other side The one who was spurred on by was victorious. I am not sure that the Robinson proposal would have resulted in an appreciable reduction in the federal | outlay for relief. Of course, it would | have cut the total somewhat but not by the full one-fourth that ap- | peared on its face. It was valuable | as a piece of legislation, however, because it would have required the | states again to assume some of the | burden which only a few years ago they carried in its entirety. It was | a principle for which Senator Rob- inson fought and it was a principle | upon which he was defeated be- | cause Harry Hopkins, relief admin- | istrator, objected and still objects to returning any part of the relief ebligation to the local authorities, 1 suspect that Senator Robinson's activities on the relief proposition will not help his relations with the White House but I think it ought to be said that Senator Robinson demonstrated again his capacity as a statesman. He demonstrated as well that he recognizes the dan- gers confronting the United States Treasury which at the end of the current fiscal year—June 30-had an outstanding debt in excess of to on From among some of the senators considerable worry about the gov- ernment’s spending and they wanted to see the Robinson amendment pre- Also, senators of that school of thought maintained that if states were called upon to bear some of the burden of relief, it would bring home forcefully the fact that all of this spending must sometime do not like to pay taxes and they cannot be blamed for their attitude. Unless they realize, however, that borrowed money is being spent and they and their children and chil dren's children are to be taxed to pay off the loans, they will not be in favor of reducing nafional, state constantly in forcing the federal government to pay the relief rolls in New York city and save his own New York city budget. Another phase of the debate should be noticed. It was the re- its right to direct and control the of federal funds. The to be free and unfettered in his spending and those policies were recommended to Mr, Consequently, with ad- ators, the Hopkins idea prevailed I I think there ought to be a les- this whole situation upon the country can look back The experience gained sum ap- 1 Y rare a by making lump be and how difficult it is to cure that habit, Seldom in history until this depres- contracted appropriations for executive departments to spend as they will Having contracted the habit, how- ever, it is going to be difficult here- rided only sum approg that he ha: in the No do der why ng consti- tutes an important issue. The an- swer is simpl Governments are wasteful and the federal govern- ment, being larger than state or lo- governments, is just that much money carefully. If states and lo- cal communities have to bear ex- penses of this sort out of their own treasuries, they see to it that only those entitled to relief obtain it. Un- happily, the national relief system oy Ty who could get jobs support their fami. ington. Since the national debt is at the in the history of our nation, there is a growing convic- tion at the Capitol that a halt must The present are not yet sometime that there such spending - * » While the steel strike blazed forth with battle after battle, blood was shed and property Baker Takes yas damaged, lit- Labor Job paid to a develop- tle attention was ment here in the nation’s capital—in While all of the sensational things were happening on the steel front, job as assistant relief administrator with John lL. Lewis and his Com- mittee for Industrial Organization. Mr. Baker's unit is to be made up of government workers themselves, a labor union in the government of the United States. For some years, there have been minor labor units among govern- ment employees. They were affili- ated with the American Federation of Labor. Generally speaking, they were impotent and did little more than create a dozen jobs for the offi- cials of the organization. Now, however, the government workers are to have a ‘“‘militant, fighting labor union which will get things done for them.” Such at least is the press agent word that has been spread under Mr. Baker's direction. Mr. Baker is familiar with the problems of government service. Undoubtedly he recognizes that he cannot use the same methods in or- ganizing government workers that are used in private industry. be the end of labor organizations in the government of the “militant, fighting” type. The advance notices concerning Mr. Baker's plans seem to indicate that he is seeking members below the grades of official rank. In other $382 3
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