© Ben Ames Williams.
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SYNOPSIS
Barbara Sentry, seeking to sober up her
escort, Johnnie Boyd, on the way home
from a party, slaps him, and attracts the
‘attention of a policeman, whom the boy
knocks down. As he arrests him, Professor
Brace of Harvard comes to the rescue and
drives Barbara home. On the way they see
Barbara's father driving from the direction
of his office at 12:45, but when he gets home
he tells his wife it is 11:15 and that he’s
been playing bridge at the club. Next day
Sentry reports his office has been robbed
and a Miss Wines, former temporary em-
ployee, killed. The evening papers luridly
confirm the story, and Sentry takes it hard
Mary, elder daughter, in love with Neil Ray,
young interne at the hospital where she
works, goes off to dinner at Gus Loran's,
Sentry's partner, with Mrs. Loran’'s brother,
Jimmy Endle. Mr. and Mrs. Sentry call on
old Mrs. Sentry, and Barbara. alone, re-
ceives Dan Fisher, reporter, who advises
her not to talk. Phil Sentry, son at Yale,
is disturbed at the possible implications
and suspicion of Miss Wines’ absence from
her rooms for three days during August.
He goes home to help. Sentry is arrested
and booked for murder. Dan Fisher ex-
plains the evidence against him--that the
robbery was a fake, the safe opened by one
who knew the combination, changed since
Miss Wines’ employment there—that a back
door key, a duplicate of Sentry's, was found
in the girl's purse, and that Sentry, too, had
been away those three days in August.
Brace calls, and backs up Barbara in her
denial that Sentry could have done it, be-
cause of the discrepancy of time between
the Slaying and their seeing Sentry on the
road.
CHAPTER IV—Continued
lie
“Arthur was always losing keys,”
Mrs. Sentry assented, and realized
with a faint shock of terror that
she had spoken of her husband in
the past tense, and then, with a
deeper tremor, that Hare seemed
not to have noticed, as though it
were natural for her to speak of
him so.
She said hurriedly: “I hear the
girls coming downstairs. Let's not
talk about details, Dean!’ Her eyes
met his for a moment, held his;
and his after a moment were low-
ered, as though some word had
passed between them.
Phil argued, “But just the
same—"" Then he stopped as Bar-
bara and Mary appeared in the
doorway.
‘“ "Morning, children,” Mrs. Sen-
try said lightly. *“‘Sleepy-heads!”
Barbara saw Dean Hare; she
cried: ‘““Oh, have you seen father,
Mr. Hare? When will they let him
come home?"
“I'm afraid not right away, Bar-
bara,” he confessed. “You know,
these things take time.”
“But they know he didn’t do itl"
Barbara insisted.
“Well, of course we know—""
“They know it, too!” the girl
urged. “I told Mr. Flood—"
Mrs. Sentry spoke quickly, almost
desperately. She knew what Bar-
bara was about to say; that Mr.
Sentry had come home on the night
of the murder at a quarter of one.
But if Barbara said that, Dean Hare
would know Arthur had lied to him.
She fought instinctively to protect
Arthur from that discovery.
“Sit down, Barbara, Mary,” she
said. ‘‘After all, there's breakfast
to be eaten, our routine to go on.”
Barbara insisted: “But mother,
--"
“Barbara!”
Barbara sat down, puzzled by her
mother’s manner; and Mrs. Sentry
thought, amazed at herself: I'm like
an ostrich, hiding my head in the
sand, trying to pretend, to blind
myself-— She said: “We've got to
keep our heads, our sense of pro-
portion. We must go on eating, for
instance!”
Mary said in a low tone: “Must
we? Pretend nothing has happened?
We won't fool anyone but our-
selves.”
Mrs. Sentry ignored her. She
asked the lawyer, in polite and emp-
ty tones, as one makes conversation
with a strange dinner partner,
‘““How’s Olive, Dean?” Olive was
Mrs. Hare.
‘““She wants to come over this aft-
ernoon—if you'd like.”
“Of course!”
Mary said grimly: “I'm surprised
she’s willing to. I expect most peo-
ple—""
Barbara cried, furiously: “Mary!
You talk as though you thought fa-
ther really did it!” And she said:
“We must all go see him, right
away! We'll all go together.”
Mary said, “I want to see Neil!”
She added, ““This—he and I must
decide what to do.”
The doorbell rang, and Oscar went
to answer it, and Phil followed him
into the hall. Mrs. Sentry suggest-
ed: “Ask Neil to dinner, if you—
like, Mary. Or to tea?”
Mary hesitated, nodded: then Lin-
da Dane came in with Phil. “Moth-
er said it was too early for me to
come,” she confessed quietly.
““She’s coming a little later, Mrs.
Sentry. But I didn’t want to wait.
I knew you'd be up.”
‘“There’s nothing to see!” Mary
told her coldly. “We're not a side-
show!”
Mrs. Sentry protested, “Mary!”
But Linda said: “It's all right,
Mrs. Sentry. I know how you all
must feel; but—I didn’t come to
be curious, Mary. Please don’t feel
I'm prying. We've always—at least,
Barbara and Phil and I have al-
ways bees such good friends.”
Barbara said, ‘Darling! And
Phil said, “Good kid, Lin!"
Dean Hare rose to go, and he
nodded to Phil so that the boy went
with him to the car.
“Phil,” he suggested then, ‘don’t
let your sisters or your mother go
to see your father yet. Not today.
I shouldn't even go myself, if I
were you. In a day or two, yes;
but just now he's terribly shocked.
It would distress any of you to see
him; and I think it would be harder
for him to—keep his self control.”
“Gosh! 1 suppose so,” Phil
agreed, shakily. He urged, “I want
him to know we'rg — with him,
though!”
“I'll tell him,” the attorney prom-
ised.
But then Mrs. Sentry came to the
open door. ‘‘Oh, Dean,” she called,
“will you arrange for me to see
Arthur, let me know when I'm to
come?”
Hare looked to Phil for support;
but Phil said, “I know it will do him
good to se® mother, Mr. Hare.”” And
the lawyer surrendered.
“Very well,” he agreed.
you—""
Oscar came to summon Mrs. Sen-
try to the telephone. “Mr. Loran
calling,” he explained. She depart-
ed, and Hare said doubtfully:
“I still think it's a mistake, Phil,
for her to go. Mr. Loran came
l
b
“11
~
He said: “Mrs. Sentry wants to see
Mr. Sentry this morning. I'll be
with her. Could you hold off on the
questions till this afternoon?”
Irons reflected: ‘“Well, the Grand
Jury's sitting, and the D. A.'s idea
was to give them the evidence we've
got, tomorrow.'” He looked at Hare.
“I understand you and Mr. Flood
agreed not to arraign him before?”
“Yes.”
Irons looked at Phil apologetical-
ly. “It was hunch, as much as any-
thing, when I booked him," he con-
fessed. “But the D. A. got some
stuff last night, and-—-I'll want to
have all the dope I can get, for
the Grand Jury.”
“Of course,’”’ the lawyer agreed.
“But this afternoon will do, to—ask
your questions. Suppose I meet you
here at two."
Phil, listening, felt himself shiv-
er; his teeth pressed hard together
to keep them quiet. There was
something in their tones deeply ter-
rifying. He was almost relieved
when Dean Hare drove away, and
he himself was left with Inspector
Irons.
When Hare departed, the other
men who had come in the police
car approached, and Irons intro-
duced them to Phil. Inspector Hays,
Sergeant Kane, Officer Regan.
And the Inspector suggested then,
Sa
Bid
last night while I was there. He
was just back from New York. Your
father almost broke down, just talk-
ing to him. Mr. Loran was sympa-
thetic, of course, and loyal, and in-
dignant at the police; but—it does
no good to take that attitude. The
police aren't to blame.” He hesi-
tated, said then, “We have to face
the fact that there's a lot of circum-
stantial evidence against your fa-
ther.”
Phil said explosively, “You know
darned well my father wouldn't kill
anyone!”
“It's not a question of knowing.
It's a question of proving.”
Then he turned, for a police car
came up the drive. Reporters on
duty like guards at the entrance
trotted after it; and Dan Fisher was
among them. The police car stopped
behind Dean Hare's; but Dan came
along to where Phil and the lawyer
stood, and he said in a low tone:
“Sentry, if you and Mr. Hare are
interested, Flood waited outside last
night till Professor Brace came out,
questioned him."
Phil nodded, only half hearing,
staring at the police car, from which
officers alighted. Fisher asked soft-
ly, “Who was the young lady who
came in a few minutes ago?”
“One of my sister's friends.”
“What's her name?”
Phil hesitated, but Dean Hare
said, “Phil, the best rule with re-
porters is, if they're going to find
out anyway, tell them.”
Phil nodded ruefully. “I suppose
go. She's Linda Dane.”
Fisher said, “Oh! I know her
brother, Joe.” Someone else de-
manded, “Not engaged to her, are
you?” Phil shook his head, coloring
with anger, and Inspector Irons
alighted from the police car and
said to the reporters:
“All right, boys, outside. Give
these folks a break. I'll see that
you get anything that you ought to
have.”
They obeyed him, moved away,
and Dean Hare asked: “Anything
new, Inspector?”
“1 want to have a look around in-
side,” the Inspector explained. “If
that’s all right?”
“Of course.”
“And I might ask some Suestions,
I suppose you'll want to in on
that.” He added, as though ap)lo-
gizing for his own forbearance, “It's
not the way I usually handle things,
but the D. A. says to keep you in
touch as we go along.”
The lawyer nodded. “Thanks”
around?”
“Glad to,” Phil agreed.
“I'd like to have a look at the
garage."
Phil led the way, watched the In-
spector note the cars, study the ga-
rage. "Chauffeur sleep up above?”
he asked. Phil nodded. Old Eli was
burning leaves by the tennis court,
and they went that way. Irons asked
the old man:
“You usually hear a car come in
at night, do you?”
Eli said, “Hey?” And Phil ex-
plained: “He's pretty deaf. You'll
have to talk louder. But he wouldn't
hear anything at night. Takes an
earthquake to wake him."
Eli demanded querulously, “What
you say?”
Irons nodded.
cided.
“Skip it,” he de-
He crossed to the pergola,
low them here. Two ducks sunning
themselves on the bank waddied
into the water and swam warily
away.
“All right,” said the Inspector.
“Let's go in the house.”
Indoors, with his mother and sis-
ters looking to him for strength,
Phil himself was stronger. His
grandmother had come downstairs;
they were all in the living-room.
Phil explained what the Inspector
wished to do, suggested they stay
where they were. Inspector Hays
and Sergeant Kane went toward the
kitchen. Regan had remained out-
side. Inspector Irons and Phil went
upstairs.
thing special you're looking for, I
might help you.”
Irons hesitated.
—put anything over on you,”
said gently. ‘I told Mr. Hare I
“I don’t want to
less he was here.”
Phil colored. ‘““We've nothing to
hide!” he protested.
“Sure, I know,”
agreed,
I want to see everything.
room is this?"
“Mine,"” said Phil. The Inspector
nodded; he opened the drawers of
the chiffonier, the desk, the closet,
the recess under the window seat
where Phil kept rods and fishing
gear.
Phil, looking over the
shoulder, saw something there; a
japanned metal box with a combi-
nation lock. And the cover of the
box had somehow been forced open!
His thoughts went racing . . . In
the summer after his Freshman
the Inspector
him an old single-action .45 revolver,
with cartridge belt and holster; had
told him that the weapon had been
taken off the body of a man killed
in a gun battle, years before. Phil
brought it home; but because Mrs.
Sentry was afraid of firearms, he
never showed it to his mother or
his sisters, kept it here in this locked
box. Only, he had showed it to his
father. His father had known it was
here . . .
Irons picked up the box, now emp-
ty, and he held it to his face and
sniffed at it. The old holster had
been heavy with grease and oil. Phil
remembered the rich smell. He
heard himself now, saying hurried-
ly: “That's my old tackle box. Used
to keep a couple of reels in it, in
leather cases.” The Inspector did
not turn. “I forgot the combination,
had to break it open with a—'"" He
tried to think what tool his father
might have used. “With a chisel,”
he said, and repeated: “Couple of
reels, and some bass plugs-—"'
“Must have been hard on the chis-
el,” the Inspector commented, and
turned, the box in his hands, and
locked at Phil. Phil saw sympathy
and understanding in the older
man's eyes, and was sick with fear,
Then Sergeant Kane said from the
doorway, in an intent tone: “Hays
wants you, Inspector. Down cel-
lar."
Irons nodded. "Right," he said.
With the broken box under his arm,
he followed Kane.
Phil followed them.
stay behind; but he did not speak.
by the furnace.
was open. The fall had been warm,
these last few days unseasonably
cent fire.
spector.
you see what I see.”
Irons
After a moment
the fire box of the furnace.
stooped to look in.
he stood up.
“Close the door easy,
crisply then. “Close the draughts.
ble or muss them up. I'll get Pe-
ters and Knobble right out here.
They can handle it.”
Phil touched his arm.
it, Inspector?’ he asked.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
In a recent lecture, Air Commo-
dore J. G. Hearson partly lifted the
veil of secrecy surrounding the bal-
loon barrage scheme, in which a
large number of captive balloons
will add to the protection of cities
against air raiders, says the Illus-
trated London News.
Each balloon is handled by a
lorry-winch with a crew of ten.
Toward the end of the World war
“balloon aprons’ were used in the
defense of London. They were
formed by tethering four or five
balloons in a line and stretching a
network of wires between them.
The balloon barrage of today is
not in the form of ‘“‘aprons,” but
consists merely of the cables by
which the balloons are held cap-
tive. At first sight, such a defense
may appear rather diaphanous; but,
if simple calculations are made, it
will be found to be far more ef-
fective than many might imagine.
Assuming that the span of the
wings of a bomber is 70 feet, and
that that bomber passes h a
line of balloons tethered at 100-yard
intervals, there is about one chance
in four of the aircraft hitting a cable
an “in-and-out”
able risk which no attacker could
afford to continue taking if the
cables are lethal; that is, capable
of destroying any airplane coming
in contact with them.
The cables are so thin that they
cannot be seen from a traveling
airplane, even by day and in fine
weather.
The role of a balloon barrage is
to deny passage to aircraft below
the barrage height over the defend-
ed area; thus driving the attackers
to an altitude at which they can be
dealt with by anti-aircraft fire and
interceptor fighters.
Best Words to Indicate Letters
VARIED VIEWS
Two friends met in the street, One
in a sling.
“Say,”
bad
“it's too
How long
said the first,
about your arm!
The injured man shrugged.
“There's a slight difference of
opinion about that,” he replied.
“My doctor says two weeks—and
my lawyer says 12!”
As You Were
A Scots actor came to London and
lodgings. With his morning
thin slices of bread and butter. He
complained.
The next day she sent up three
slices, but still he complained. The
says London Tit-Bits
magazine, she cut a loaf in two, put
a quarter of a pound of butter on
each slab and sent that up. When
he came down she asked defiant-
ly: “Bread and butter all right?”
“Aye, no' so bad,” the Scots-
man replied, “but ye've gone back
to two slices.”
KNOWS THE ANIMALS
Native— When you lived out West
were you ever hemmed in by a pack
of wolves?
New Neighbor—Well,
boarding-house out there!
I kept a
Never Say Die
A small boy was trudging along
dejectedly in the grip of a police-
man. In his arms he carried a
football. There had been a broken
window and trampled flower-beds.
A group of his pals stood on the
street corner. He tried to keep a
stiff upper lip as he passed them.
“What did you do, Fred?" asked
his pals.
“Oh, nuttin’,"” he replied, casual-
ly, “they've just asked me to play
for the cops.” —Boston Transcript.
Knew Herself
Youth (by the sea)—You little
thought a week ago that you'd be
sitting on a lonely seashore with a
man then unknown to you.
Maiden—Oh, yes, I did.
Youth—But, dear, you didn’t know
Maiden—Of course not, but I knew
myself.
Time to Wear Crape
what's the matter with you?
Polite Driver—I'm just fine, thank
Prospects
Parent—So you want to marry my
taken up
Not on His Uppers
“Pa, what is an optimist?”
“An optimist, my son, is 8 man
who figures that when his shoes
wear out he will be back on his
feet.”
More or Less
“You say you once sang in the
What was the aria?”
“Eight thousand square feet.”
ON THE UP AND UP
“Do you always meet your bills?”
“Yes, sir! I ain't one o' th’ kind
that sneaks out the back door when
the collector comes—not even when
I ain’t got a cent!”
Half Measure
Wilfred—You wouldn't want a lit
tle boy punished on account of
something you said, would you?
Minister—Certainly not.
Wilfred—Then if you mention
cookies while you're here, you'd
better thank mother for two dozen
instead of the dozen 1 brought you.
you
Tests
First Mosquito—~Why are
mak‘ng such a fuss?
Whoopee! 1
Second
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QUESTIONS \/
Broken Glass.—Use a wet cloth
or dampened absorbent cotton to
pick up broken glass. Even the
tiniest bits will adhere to it. For
safety, discard cloth and all
. » *
Vinegar Cures Rust. — Don’t
waste time trying to clean rusty
articles with emery paper! Place
them in a jar of ordinary vinegar,
leave for a couple of days, and you
will find that they are quite free
from rust.
* * ®
Repelling Mice.—The smell of
peppermint is most obnoxious to
mice. A little oil of peppermint
placed about their haunts will
soon make them look for other
quarters.
“Like lemons, Luden’s
contain a factor that
helps contribute to your
alkaline reserve. I pre-
fer Luden's.”
EpNA RIGGS,
Lecturer, Los Angeles
LUDEN’'S
MENTHOL COUGH DROPS B¢
Above Ourselves
It is vanity to want to be su-
perior to somec i it is
want 1
want wo
wis-
dom to
ourselves.—Joseph
How Women
in Their 40's
Can Attract Men
Here's good advice for a woman during ber
change (usually from 38 to 62), who fears
she'll lose her appeal to men, who worries
about hot flashes, loss of pep, dizzy spelis,
upset nerves and moody spells
Get more fresh air, ¥
need 8 good general system ton
E. Pinkbam's Vegetable Comp
expecially for women. It helps Nature bul
up physical resistance, thus helps give mor
vivacity to enjoy life and assis! calming
jittery nerves and disturbing symptoms that
often scoompany change of life. WELL
WORTH TRYING!
Source of Progress
And from the discontent of man
the world's best progress springs.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
LOST YOUR PEP?
Relief for
Conditions Due to Sluggish Bowels
If you think all laxatives
pation.
a 25¢ box of NR from your
Make the test — then
delighted, return the box to us. We will
be purchase
ge RR" h]
hat's fair,
AE tL oe NE SE
refund
Bat
NR
ALWAYS CARRY
FAT AIRE EARS
¢
Good Thoughts Live
Good thoughts, even if they ar
forgotten, do not perish.—Publil-
ius Syrus.
The crying of children is some-
times an indication of WORMS
in the system. The cheapest
and quickest medicine for rid-
ding children or adults of these
parasites is Dr. Peery’s “Dead
Shot’ Vermifuge. 50c a bottle
at druggists or Wright's Pill
Co.,100Gold St. , New York N.Y.
Strangers
Honor and ease are seldom bed-
fellows.—Thomas Fuller.
Watch Your