Copyright 8. 8. Van Dine
WNU Service
CHAPTER XV-—Continued
2]
“The disconnected buzzer wires
gave me the answer this morning,"
explained Vance. ‘‘Her scheme was
both simple and bold. She knew
that, if she followed Swift upstairs
before the big race, she would have
no difficulty in enticing him into the
vault on some pretext or other—
especially in view of the fact that
he had shown a marked interest in
her. Her intention was to shoot
him in the vault, just as she did,
and then go into the study and
shoot you. Swift's body would then
have been placed in the study, with
the revolver in his hand. It would
appear like murder and suicide. As
for the possibility of the shot in
the study being heard downstairs,
I imagine she had tested that out
beforehand under the very condi-
tions obtaining yesterday afternoon.
Personally, I am of the opinion that
a shot in the study could not be
heard down here during the noise
and excitement of a race broad-
cast, with the study door and win-
dows shut. For the rest, her orig-
inal plan would have proceeded
just as her revised one did. She
would merely have fired two blanks
out of the bedroom window instead
of ene. In the event that you should
have guessed her intent when she
entered the study, and tried to sum-
mon help, she had previously dis-
connected the wires of the buzzer
just behind your chair at the desk.”
“But, good Lord!” exclaimed
Floyd Garden in an awed tone. “It
was she herself who told Sneed
about the buzzer being out of or-
der.”
“Precisely. She made it a point
to be the one to discover that fact,
in order to draw suspicion entirely
away from herself.” Vance paused.
After a moment he went on.
“As I say, her plan had to be
revised somewhat because Doctor
Garden had not returned. She had
chosen the Rivermont Handicap as
the background for her maneuvers,
for she knew Swift was placing a
large bet on the race—and if he
lost, it would give credence to the
theory of suicide. In a way, Doc-
tor Garden's absence helped her,
though it required quick thinking on
her part to cover up this unexpected
gap in her well-laid plans. Instead
of placing Swift in the study, as she
originally intended, she placed him
in his chair on the roof. She care-
fully wiped up the blood in the vault
so that no trace of it remained on
the floor. A nurse with operating-
room experience in removing blood
from sponges, instruments, operat-
ing table and floor, would have
known how. Then she came down
and fired a blank shell out of the
bedroom window just as soon as
the outcome of the race had been
declared official. Substantiatin’ sui-
cide.
“Of course, one of her chief diffi-
culties was the disposal of the sec-
ond revolver—the one she fired
down here. She was confronted with
the necessity either of getting rid
of the revolver—which was quite
impossible in the circumstances—or
of hiding it safely till she could
remove it from the apartment; for
there was always the danger that
it might be discovered and the
whole technique of the plot be re-
vealed. Since she was the person
apparently least under suspicion,
she probably considered that plac-
ing it temporarily in the pocket of
her own topcoat, would be sufficient-
ly safe. It was not an ideal hiding-
place; but I have little doubt that
she was frustrated in an attempt
to hide it somewhere on the roof or
on the terrace upstairs, until she
could take it away at her con
venience without being observed.
She had no opportunity to hide the
revolver upstairs after we had first
gone to the roof and discovered
Swift's body. However, I think it
was her intention to do just this
when Miss Weatherby saw her on
the stairs and resentfully called my
attention to the fact.”
“But why,” asked Professor Gar-
den, “‘didn’t she fire the revolver
upstairs in the first place—it would
certainly have made the shot sound
more realistic—and then hide it in
the garden before coming down?”
in that event she could not have
established her presence
at the time the shot was
and this was of utmost im
tc her. When we reached
of the stairs, she was standing
the doorway of Mrs. Garden's
room, and she made it clear tha
s'ie¢ had hesrd the shot. It wns, of
technique of the crime had not been
revealed by the evidence she left in
the vault . , No. The shot could
not have been fired upstairs. The
only place she could have fired it
and still have established her alibi,
was out of the bedroom window."
He turned to Zalia Graem.
“Now do you see why you felt so
definitely that the shot did not sound
as if it came from the garden? It
was because, being in the den, you
were the person nearest to the shot
when it was fired and could more
or less accurately gauge the direc-
tion from which it came. I'm sor-
r, I could not explain that fact to
you when you mentioned it, but
Miss Beeton was in the room, and
it was not then the time to reveal
my knowledge to her.”
There was another brief silence in
the room.
“But, Mr. Vance,” put in Doctor
Siefert, frowning, ‘‘your theory of
the case does not account for the
attempt made on her own life.”
Vance smiled faintly.
“There was no attempt on her
life, Doctor. When Miss Beeton left
the study, a minute or so after
Miss Graem, to take my message
to you, she went instead into the
vault, shut the door, making sure
this time that the lock snapped, and
gave herself a superficial blow on
the back of the head. She had rea-
son to believe, of course, that it
would be but a short time before
we looked for her; and she waited
till she heard the key in the lock
before she broke the vial of bromin.
It is possible that when she went
out of the study she had begun to
fear that I might have some idea
of the truth, and she enacted this lit-
track.”
was studying Vance closely.
“As a theory, that may be logi-
cal,” he said with skeptical gravi-
ty. “But, after all, it is only a
theory.”
Vance shook his head slowly.
“Oh, no, doctor. It's more than
a theory.
thing away.
when you and I were on the roof
of her knowledge of medicine.”
“But I don't recall"
tor, you remember the story she
told us.
the vault; and she fainted immedi-
ately as the result of the bromin
gas; then the next thing she knew
standing over her."
“That is quite correct,” Siefert
said, frowning at Vance.
“And 1 am sure you also remem-
ber, doctor, that she looked up at
me and thanked me for having
brought her out into the garden and
saved her, and also asked me how
I came to find her so soon. If she
had been unconscious, as she said,
from the time she was forced into
the vault to the time she spoke to
us in the garden, how could she pos-
sibly have known who it was that
had found her and rescued her from
the vault? And how could she have
she had entered the vault? .
see, doctor, she was never uncon-
scious at all; she was taking no
min gas."
in his chair with a faint wry smile.
“You are perfectly right, Mr.
Vance.”
“But,” Vance continued, ‘‘even
had Miss Beeton not made the mis-
take of lying to us so obviously,
there was other proof that she alone
was concerned in that episode. Mr.
Hammle here conclusively bore out
my opinion. When she told us her
story of being struck on the head
and forced into the vault, she did
rot know that Mr. Hammle had
been in the garden observing every-
one who came and went in the
passageway. And she was alone in
the corridor at the time of the sup-
posed attack.
tacked her.”
ment.
the barbital last right.
or as another suicide.
pened, however, things were even
more propitious for her,
further suspicion on Miss Graem.
“From the first I realized how
difficult, if not impossible, it would
be to prove the case against Miss
vestigation 1 was seeking some
means of trapping her. With that
end in view, I mounted the parapet
last night in her presence, hoping
that it might suggest to her shrewd
and cruel mind a possible means of
removing me from her path, if she
became convinced that I had
guessed too much. My plan to trap
her was, after all, a simple one. I
asked you all to come here this
evening, not as suspects, but to fill
the necess'ry roles in my drama.”
Vance sighed deeply before con-
tinuing.
“1 arranged with Sergeant Heath
to equip the post at the far end of
the garden with a strong steel wire
such as is used in theaters for fly-
ing and levitation acts. This wire
was to be just long enough to reach
on this floor. And to it was at-
tached the usual spring catch which
fastens to the leather equipment
worn by the performer. This equip-
ment consists of a heavy cowhide
the old Ferris waist worn by young
girls in pre-Victorian days, and
even later. This afternoon Sergeant
Heath brought such a leather vest
—or what is technically known in
theatrical circles as a ‘flying cor-
set'—to my apartment, and I put it
on before I came here.
“This waistcoat, or corset,”
said, “is worn under the actor's
costume; and in my case I put on
he
the slightly protruding rings in front
would not be noticeable.
“When 1 took Miss Beeton up-
stairs with me, 1 led her out into
the garden and confronted her with
her guilt, While she was protest.
ing, I mounted the parapet, stand-
ing there with my back to her,
ostensibly looking out over the city,
as I had done last evening. In the
semi-darkness I snapped the wire
to the rings on the front of my
leather vest without her seeing me
do so. She came very close to me
as she talked, but for a minute or
so 1 was afraid she would not take
advantage of the situation. Then,
in the middle of one of her sen-
both hands outstretched, and the
It was a simple matter to swing
myself over the balcony railing. I
had arranged for the drawing-room
door to be unlatched, and I merely
disconnected the suspension wire,
walked in, and appeared in the hall-
way. When Miss Beeton learned
well as a photograph of it,
realized that the game was up.”
THE END
Installment !
by William
National Press Bullding
A710 Era
Er
oBeh 1
py LE TW
Bruckart
Washington, D. C,
Washington.—President Roosevelt
ents in his press
Wants Crop conference the oth-
Control Back er day that crop
contrel must be
brought back. He said it with some
emphasis. Within a few days before
that, he had given his approval to a
bill placing a minimum on wages
and a maximum on hours in which
labor could work in industries whose
productions enter into interstate
commerce.
The President was not specific as
to details of the legislation in either
case but it is important to note that
these two principles for it is to be
the AAA were thrown out by the Su-
preme court a long time ago, and
the President seeks now to restore
confirm assertions that have been
made in various quarters lately that
the President wants to maintain a
“planned economy’ for this coun-
try. It would seem that he is de-
termined to go ahead along those
lines and that his program for reor-
part and parcel of the scheme.
other words, the President's new
wages and hours and his support of
the Wagner housing bill represent a
return to the original theories which
he held for “remaking’’ our nation.
After discussing these circum-
stances pro and con with proponents
as well as opponents in the con-
gress, the conclusion is inescapable
that Mr. Roosevelt and his advisers
are headed into new ground. They
desire evidently to make the federal
government the most important fac-
tor in our national life and to set
aside little by little the functions of
course of action.
Undoubtedly there is strong argu-
ment for the policies
adopted; certainly,
functions which the national govern-
ment can perform more effectively
and more efficiently than they can
be performed by state governments,
and equally, it is true that some
phases of our national life should not
be subjected to the influence of state
they have
there are many
ly is valid reason why Wa
interfere in the daily practices and
convictions of individuals.
The reason I believe
is so important now
there has been a
eral functions to expand. To
this in another way Federal
ficials from the lowest to the
est seem to be equipped th
ticular faculty for
themselves additional
of this
is that always
tendency
ail
of fed-
say
of-
high-
a par-
delegating to
authority as
What the country
croachment upon the rights of states
uals.
thereafter encroachment upon the
rights of states.
all public functions should operate.
I cannot agree. Rather, long ex-
me that the old, old argument for
of the new theories. It may be that
human nature has changed enough
theories and live
happily thereunder but I am quite
convinced that human nature does
*
To get down to cases in applica-
tion of the principles discussed
above, let us con-
Wages and gider the wages
and hours bill
Hours Bill
That measure
shows how this encroachment takes
place and gives a rather clear pic-
ture of the expansive nature of fed-
eral policies.
The wages and hours bill first cre-
ates a labor standards board. It is
circumscribed by certain limitations
which say that it cannot fix wages
above forty cents per hour nor can
it reduce the number of working
hours per week below forty. Fur-
ther, a great number of lines of
work are exempted from jurisdic.
tion of the board-—work of a season-
al character, farm labor, labor in
specified industries which
obviously cannot be subject to regu-
lation without destruction of the
codes which were so hidebound and
so inelastic that thousands of firms
were in open rebellion against the
restrictions unless they were able to
pass on the higher costs resulting
from these restrictions, to the pub-
lic. That is, unless they could make
the consumer pay the added cost,
they faced eventual bankruptcy.
I do not say that the labor stand-
ards board as now conceived will go
as far as the NRA codes but expe-
rience with the present national la-
bor relations board indicates that
the public should expect the maxi-
mum exercise of power instead of
| any middle of the road policies. The
| labor relations board has become a
| festering sore on private initiative.
Business interests everywhere,
while being pounded on the back
{ by the administration to employ
| more workers, are kept in a con-
| stant state of confusion by the bias of
| the board. This is the board which
| was designed by Senator Wagner, of
{ New York, to maintain peace be-
| tween labor and employers. If the
| labor standards board can use dis-
| cretionary powers accorded it and
| can proceed in correcting abuses of
labor as rapidly as is ‘economically
| feasible,” it may be able to develop
better conditions in industry. But
| such language as the words “‘eco-
| nomically feasible'’ are subject to
| all kinds of interpretation and if the
membership of the labor standards
board happens to include some rad-
ical labor leader, most anything will
be economically feasible.
It is from such quirks of law that
bureaucrats expand their powers.
But there is yet another phase of
this policy that d
ation. While the
United States is
one unit under the
federal govern-
made up of a number of
s and each
number of states
» in some cases
ivisions where prac-
| tices in business and living traditions
are as different as day and night. A
regulation as to the fairness of hours
or wages in New England may be,
| and probably would be, wholly inap-
plicable in Alabama or Georgia. A
regulation that would operate sat-
isfactorily in Pennsylvania may be,
and probably would be, completely
sour the Pacific coast states.
Yet this board cannot ad ster its
regulation n a piece-meal |
they 1
Another
Phase
ment, It is
sectional
| unit
and ev
embraces si
sectional
com
trv ar
TY ana
from the exis
lat it
troy other sections of
The same re be ex-
pected from the effects of these rul-
ings on the employers, except that
where the effect is adverse on em-
ployers businesses can be driven
into bankruptcy—and the jobs they
provided disappear.
I think there can be no denying
that no law will be successful unless
it has the co-operation, the active
support, of a very large majority of
the people. If proof be needed, it is
| only necessary to recall how the
| prohibition laws were not enforced
in those areas where public sym-
pathy with them was lacking. It
does not require very much time to
determine whether a law is popu-
lar. During the life of the NRA,
those who opposed such impossible
regulations as General Hugh John-
son dictated were branded by Presi-
dent Roosevelt at first as *“chisel-
ers.” It was a biting criticism.
Yet, within a few months there were
more chiselers than there were
those who believed that the law
could possibly be made to work. I
am very much afraid that there will
be more chiselers under the wages
and hours law than there are those
who believe in its efficacy.
» * .
The initial operations of the board
and the law probably will not create
a great deal of
Both Sides a
Will Buck
gruntied groups of
workers and there will be dissatis-
fied employers who will seek ex-
emption or changes or special con-
sideration by regulation. In some
cases, obviously, the board will is-
sue new rules. As likely as not
those new rules will upset some oth-
er group or region or section and
they will demand consideration.
Just here, it might be recalled
how under the AAA crop control
law, wheat, cotton and corn were
originally considered but tobacce
had to have protection and rice
and potatoes and peanuts, and every
other farm product had its cham-
pions battling for consideration be-
fore the Supreme court held that
the law with its processing taxes
was an invalid delegation of power
sulls can
i
iis
|
about:
Advertising’'s Value.
ERNALIS, CALIF .—On the
train a charming young
“l always read
the advertisements whether I
want to buy anything or not. Do
you think I'm crazy?”
I told her she was the smartest
young woman I knew. If I were
asked to describe
since
ink came
into common use,
I'd turn to the ad-
period
pers and periodicals
of that particular
age. For then I'd
know what people
wore and what they
ate and what their i
sports were an d qrvin 8. Cobb
their follies and
their tastes and their habits; know
what they did when they were
healthy and what they took when
they were sick and of what they
died and how they were buried and
where they expected to go after they
left here—in short, I'd get a pic-
ture of hum as it was and not
as some pre ed historian, writ-
ing then or would have me
believe it conceivably might have
been.
I'd rather be able to decipher the
want ad on the back side of a Chal-
dean brick than the king's edict on
the front—that is, if I craved to get
an authentic glimpse at ancient
Chaldea.
ater,
» * *
Running a Hotel.
JVE just been a guest at one of the
best small-town hotels in Amer-
id know about good ho-
f in bygone days, I
all the bad ones.
was one back East—
jungle of side tracks.
wrote a piece about that hotel
had hot and cold running cock-
worst
uilt over a
paches
the room
buttons on them
i the roller
n had,
i that
ored under the delusion t
cook with,
dy who'd ever registered
the establishment.
aised funds and
thereby
wanderers of half
» swith $s
as something to
here re
the
re down
naking homeles
Poor Lo's Knowledge.
SOMETIMES 1 whether
A of civ-
iliz 3 believe
we are, just ask us—can really be
as smart as we let on
Lately, out on the high seas, I
met an educated Hopi, who said to
me:
“White people get wrong and stay
wrong when right before their eyes
is proof to show how wrong they
are. For instance, take your de-
lusion that there are four
direction. points—an error which
you've persisted in ever since you
invented the compass, a thing our
Every Indian
knows better than that.”
“Well then,” I said, “how many
are there, since you know sO
wonder
we, the perfected flower
con
ration—and if you don't
only
“Seven,” he said, “seven in all.”
“Name 'em.,” 1 demanded.
“With pleasure,” he said. “Here
they are: north, east, south, west,
Of course, there's a catch in it
The Russian Puzzle.
NDER .the present beneficent
regime, no prominent figure in
Russia's government, whether mil-
ftary or civil, is pestered by the
cankering fear which besets an offi-
cial in some less favored land,
namely, that he'll wear out in har-
ness and wither in obscurity.
All General So-and-Soski or Com-
missar Whatyoumaycallovitch has
to do is let suspicion get about that
he's not in entire accord with ad.
ministration policies and promptly
he commits suicide—by request; or
is invited out to be shot at sunrise.
To be sure, the notion isn't new,
-