Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-01


OF his auto
Its the worst horn l ever ran across
he sroaned. without looking up. as I
came in. The blankety-blank thing won't
blow.
lie punched il savagely. finally eiicitins
faint throaty croak.
Sounds like Group 1 suggested. MY
sister-in-law uses camphor and goose
grease for IL: or how about a spice pou!-
ticeo"
But Mcknight never sees any jokes but
his own. He flung the horn Gathering
into corner and collapsed sulkily into
chair.
Now" said. IF You're through
mancuring that horn. Til tell YOU about
my talk with the lady in black"
What's wrong?" asked Mcknight Ian
guidly. Police watching her. too
Not exactly. The fact is. Rich, there's
the mischief to pay"
StOgie came in. bringing few addi-
tons to our comfort. When he went out
told my story.
You must remember" said. that 1
had seen this woman before the morn
ing of the wreck. She was buying her
Pullman ticket when I did. Then the
next morning. when the murder was dis
| covered. she grew hysterical and 1 gave
her some whisky. The third and last
time l saw her. until tonight. was when
She crouched beside the road, after the
wreck"
Mcknight slid down in his chair until
his weight rested on the small OF his
| back. and put his feet on the big reading
| table.
1T is rather facer.'' lie said. Its
really too good situation for a CONF
monplace lawyer. 1t ought to be drama
| tized- You can't agree. of course. and
by refusing you run the chance of jail.
into publicity. which is out of the aues-
ton. You say she was at the Pullman
window when you were?''
Yes bought her ticket for her. Gave
her lower eleven
And you took ten?"
Lower ten"
Mcknight Strengthened up and looked
at me.
Then she thought you were I'm lower
ten
II suppose she did. If she thought at
| ALL
But listen, man." Mcknight was grow
ing excited. What do you figure out OF
| this? The Conway woman knows YOU
have taken the notes to Pittsburg. The
probabilities are that she followed you
there. on the chance of an opportunity
self
Nothing doing during the trip over or
during the day in Pittsburg; but SHE
learns the number of your berth as you
buy 1t at the Pullman ticket ONCE In
Pittsburg. and she thinks she sees her
chance. No one could have foreseen that
that drunken fellow would have crawled
into your berth.
IL
| wanted those notes desperately-does still
| mot for Bronson. but to hold over his
head for some purpose. In the night.
when everything is quiet. she slips behind
the curtains of lower ten, where the
mans breathing shows he is asleep.
Didn't you say he snored?'
HE did / affirmed. But I tell
| you-'
Now keep still and listen. She gropes
cautiously around in the darkness. finally
discovering the wallet under the pillow.
! Can't you see it yourself?'
He was leaning forward, excitedly. and
l could almost see the gruesome tragedy
he was depicting.
"She draws out the wallet Then, per-
haps, she remembers the alligator bag,
and on the possibility that the notes are
there, instead of in the pocketbook. she
gropes around for 1t. Suddenly. the man
awakes and clutches at the nearest Obj
ject. perhaps her neck chain, which
breaks. She drops the pocketbook and
tries to escape. but he has caught her
right hand
1T is all i'm silence: the man is still
stupidity drunk. But he holds her In a
tight grip. Then the tragedy. She must
get away; in a minute the car '. III be
aroused. Such a woman. on such an err.
rand. does not go without some sort OF A
weapon. in this case dagger, which, un-
like revolver. is noiseless.
with Quick thrust-she's big
woman and a bold one-she strikes. Pos
sibly Hotchkiss is right about the left
hand blow. Harrington may have held
her right hand. or perhaps she held the
dirk in her left hand as she CROPPED with
her right. Then. as the man falls back
and his grasp relaxes. she straightens
and attempts to get away. The swayinS
of the throws her almost into your
berth. and. trembling with terror. she
crouches behind the curtains of lower
ten until everything is STILL Then she
goes noiselessly back to her BERTH
I nodded.
1T seems to fit partly. at least" said.
I'm the morning when she found that the
crime had been not only fruitless. but
that she had searched the wrong berth
and killed the wrong man; when she saw
me emerge, unhurt, just as she was brac-
ing herself for the discovery of my dead
body. then. she went into mysteries. You
remember. / gave her some whisky.
1T really seems tenable theory. But,
like the Sullivan theory. there are one OF
two things that don't agree with the rest.
For one thing. how did the remainder
of that chain get into Alison Vests pos
session."
"she may have picked it up on the
floor
Wen admit that 1 said. land I'm
sure I hope so. Then how did the muir
dered mans pocketbook get into the seal
skin bag? And the dirk. how account
for that and the blood stains?''
Now, what's the use" asked Nc
Knight, aggrievedly, "of my building up
beautiful theories for you to pull down?
Well take 1t to Hotchkiss. Maybe ne
can tell from the blood stains IL the muir
derer's finger nails We're square or
pointed
"Hotchkiss is no fool / said. warmly.
Under all his theories there's good
hard layer of common sense. And we
must remember. Rich, that neither of our
theories includes the woman at DIR. Van
Kinks hospital, that the charming pic
ture you have just drawn does not ac-
count for Alison Vests connection with
the case. or for the bits of telegram in
the Sullivan fellows pajamas pocket.
You are like the man who put the clock
together; you've got half OF the works
left over"
"Oh, go home.'' said Mcknight. dis
gustedly I'm no Edgar Allan Poe.
What's the use of coming here and ask
ing me things if you're SO particularly
With one of his quick changes of mood
he picked up his guitar.
Listen to this" he said. 1T Is Ha-
waiian song about a fat lady. oh. ignor-
ant one! and how she fell of her mule"
But for all the lightness of the words,
the voice that followed me down the
stairs was anything but CHEEKY.
There WAS a kanaka in Balu did dwell,
Who had for his daughter monstrous fat
girl"
he sang in his clear tenor. l paused on
the lower floor and listened. He had