Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-06-26


den statement made women tremblef
drew from them a flood of words out
of which MCGEE picked the f1otsam
and the jetsam of evidence. But
Mrs. Hanska did not even give the
preliminary frightened start. She
only transferred her limpid, level
gaze from Rosalies face to Inspector
McGee's.
"Of course" she said simply, II
know enough about law to under
stand that"
But the little blonde spoke now for
the first time; and for the first time
Rosalie turned her attention from the
greater luminary to its satellite. She
was a child of whimsy and the sun.
Her face ran to tiny points and peaks.
her colorings to wrinkles Of light.
Herl blue eyes were swapping now as
she exclaimed:
Implicated! You'll have a hard
time doing thatl" And she gazed true
ulently at Inspector MCGEE.
please don't, Betsy Barbara" said
Mrs. Hanska with no irritation
merely a plain statement of her de-
sires; tits this gentleman's duty TO
warn me, you know"
("Betsy Barbara-that's a cute
name-I bet Mrs. Hanska gave it to
her!" said the mind of Rosalie lie
Grange).
ut would be impossible to impli-
cate me-" pursued Mrs. Hanska, "doz-
ems of people can testify I was in Ar
den. a hundred miles north, last night
that I have not left Arden
for more than month. Perhaps,
she continued, checking an Uniformed
sentence on the lips of Inspector Nc
Gee, ST had better start at the be-
ginning and tell you all about 1t.
She was talking fine" Inspector
Niece reflected. Having got her
started. his best course was to mol
lify her until she began to run down.
"That's always best" he said.
$50 I should think" replied Mrs.
Hanska, but will they use it all at
| the trial?"
mot. necessarily replied Inspector
Niece; I'VE must judge of that" Mrs.
Hanska unused another space.
And the newspapers"
They'll get" said MCGEE, "just
what you tell them-no more"
| Mrs. Hanska sighed as though one
great load, at least, had lifted from
her shoulders; and quite simply she
| began her talk.
st married Captain Hanska ten
years ago-when was 10. He was
nearly So then, although he said that
| he was younger, and he had just
come back from Alaska. He said
| that he got his title in the Bolivian
army. 1 have since had reason to
doubt that. He was an engineer by
profession. 1 realize now how little
mother and I knew about him; but
he was the kind of person who car
ried everything before him-you de-
| ferred to him in those days in spite
of your better judgment, and my
mother was very trusting. Then, too,
Captain Hanska was very charming
man. Afterward he changed--per-
haps need not say anything more
During this statement Betsy-Bar-
bara Lane had been wriggling and
| bouncing in her chair. Then I will"
she burst out Indignantly. HE was
dreadful. He was horrid. He was
bad and he always had been bad
and he treated her shamefully. Every
| body knows that!"
Martin MCGEE, rejecting that he
was making great progress toward
| establishing q motive, forebore to
| check Betsy Barbara; but Mrs. Han
ska interposed firm, my dear, you
| must not interrupt! Then she took
I'D the thread with her extraordinary
| composure.
70
Captain Hanska never really NAL
| treated me. He was kind enough
Perhaps he was too kind; but, you
see 1 found out after time how he
lived That, for me, was the begin
ming of the end. He was brilliant
man. He might have made a good
living in any one of a variety of
ways. But he simply would not
work. He preferred to live by his
wits. Cards mainly 1t was long be-
fore l realized that. He was very
clever at concealment, and it never
occurred to me to doubt his word. In
fact, I did not realize it all until
after our marriage. We were in New
YorlS''-she hesitated again. "Shall I
| tell you the details?" Then, "I mean,
of course, is all this PERTINENT"
1--WE advised you to tell every
thing" replied the inspector.
And now Rosalie LIE Grange. who
had been sitting in unaccustomed
silence, spoke for the first time.
you'll excuse me, Inspector" she
said with an asperity so well as
sumed that Martin MCGEE wondered
for moment whether she was real
ly offended. but Mrs. Hanska don't
seem to know her rights. She hasn't
seen any lawyer. A person don't
knock around this world for forty
years without gettin' line on what
her rights are. I've learned. An I'm
goin' to be your lawyer here, Mrs.
Hanska. Now as long as you tell the
truth, which of course you will, it
don't matter about details. What the
inspector is after is who done this
murder, an anythin' touchin' on the
facts. 1t don't matter how you
learned 1t, but you did learn that
Captain Hanska was a crook"
Mrs Hanska uincad xtcihlu q 81 q