Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-06


thought that Sloan told me that | was
going up into Already for week /
stepped up to the door of the house
and knocked on the faded and greasy
frame. ! stood there for several mo-
ments before a slatternly woman APP
peared with baby held over her hip.
Are you Mrs. Gottlob?" ! asked.
with as sunny "A smile as ! could man
age.
yes, ma'am" she acknowledged as
she began to jggle the infant on her
hip. ! had taken the trouble, of
course, to find every name l could
along my line of advance.
Il was told that you might possibly
have some old walnut for sale"
blithely explained. Pm looking for.
old furniture of forcst-erown black
walnut. And I'm prepared TO pay you
quite handsomely for any old pieces
you might care to sell"
was, in reality, looking for some
thing much more important than old
walnut. / was looking for the trail
OF one Spider Beeston, the gem thief,
who'd stolen some $4,000 worth OF,
jewelry from a private car on the
New York Central at Ithaca. Spider
had turned up at Hamilton. where he
purchased four-year-old Sheldon
car, explaining that he was an oil
man interested in the western Ontario
fields. Spider and his car had been
traced as far westward as the city of
ST. Thomas, but somewhere between
that city and the Detroit river the
trail had vanished.
And that was why ] was prospect
ing so carefully along the Talbot road
for specimens of antique furniture in
which ! was in no way interested and
for which l had no possible use.
So ] explained still further to the
slatternly woman in the doorway that
/ didn't care how old the pieces might
be. 1t was a chance, ! pointed out, of
making good money for something
that was of no further service to her,
"What'd you give for a high boy"
she demanded.
II couldn't tell until I looked it
over" l explained, as l pushed my
way in through the door For the
basic motive of that antiquarian ruse
of mine was to bring me into off
nanueu ana unB udTueu conversation
with the different householders on
the dusty highway along which Spider
Beeston had presumably preceded me.
where is the highboy?" l asked,
with forced politeness.
It's down t. the granary," explained
the thin-lipped woman.
II could go there and look at it?" /
half inquired and half suggested.
Yes, ma'am," said Mrs. Gottlob, as
she resumed her juggling of the cry
ing infant.
] was glad to get out into the open
air again. / made out number of di-
lapidated wooden buildings clustered
about straw stack, and approached
them 'abstractedly still oppressed by
the air of hopeless squalor into which
had wandered.
Then l stopped short For from the
building before which ! stood could
distinctly hear the sound of sobs.
l stepped to the weather stained
door, which was partly open. and
peered inside. There, on pile of grain
beside an orange-red tanning mill,
crouched a girl of about twelve or
thirteen. Her matted hair, bleached
almost straw -colored by the sun,
hung over her face. But what glued
me to the spot was the discovery that
the child's clothing had been torn
apart at the back, from the neck
down. This left exposed the white
skin of the bony young shoulders and
the slender torso, almost as low as
the waistline. Across this white skin
! could plainly see row of welts. l
knew at a moment what it meant.
The child had been beaten, cruelty,
atrociously beaten.
Little girl" I said, as stepped de-
terminedly into that granary.
She looked up at me with dull and
swollen eyes. Her face, I could see,
was a likable one But the body shook
with convulsive sobs, and the dis
heveled head sank between the bare
and bony knees.
/ knelt down beside her.
You're not afraid of me, are you?"
] pleaded, trying to control myself as
l studied that cut and welted back
at closer range. I pinned the torn
waist gently back over the bare
shoulders and slipped a hand under
the averted chin and lifted up the
tear-stained face that seemed bowed