Evening star., 1923-12-22

apartment house is the Burminster. Il
don't know about the affidavits, but
we can subpoena those guys IL neces-
sary." Lyons turned. 'I'll be shoot
ing off now, doctor; I've told you all
| the dope l got"
ITS lot of help. Lyons. and I'll
appreciate il II you'll try to get a.
| line on the rest of Lanes movements
that night. Give my regards to the
| chief. Wen let you have ten min
utes' start and then take a back road
home ourselves"
When the detective from headquar-
ters had departed. DIR. Hood turned
| to his companion. who had not spoken
during the brief interview.
We'll, Geoff, your hunch was right,
you see. 1t looks as If Lane was our
! man"
"Ain't nothin' sure yet" Geoff
pulled out his pipe. thought better of
the impulse and returned 1t TO his
| pocket. IF IL took him bout an hour
| to git from here TO Brooklands Wed
nesday night he must have slowed
down to think things over mebbe,
from tho racketin' pace he hit up
| when he left. He may have been In
| such tarnation hurry to git gas and
| oil at that there garage because he'd
made up his mind and wanted to see
| somebuddy in the city that night to
start workin' agin Bernhard on the
stock market I'm the mornin Hold
yoA horses till you see what his alibi
10
:nAnd whether It's sound" the doc
toNesupplemented grimly. Wen find
| out what else this headquarters man
LIONS can tell us about Lanes actions
that cight before I'll believe him or
| a dozen OF his paid witnesses, Come
on. Geoff; III drop you off at the
crossroads"
The homeward drive was q silent
one. for Geoff had iapsed into the
taclturnity habttual with him under
ordinary circumstances, and his COM
panion was busy with his plans for
the morrow. They parted at the cross
roads, and Geoff proceeded to his own
path. where he retrieved his lantern
and struck out over the meadow for
home.
Once arriving there, however. he
did not Immediately retire, but, after
silencing the dogs, he procured a
spade and the roll of glossy black
fabric which he had uncovered In the
sand of the beach that day. In the
darkness he made his way to a bare
spot in the little garden from which
in the spring he had uprooted a
defunct hydrangea. Digging deep. he
reburied his find, secure from prying
eyes and hands.
Sleep was long in coming to him.
but no was at work on Mrs. Csyley's
garage bright and early. in time to
see the funeral cOrtege start 1t was
simple one, for only Mrs. Cayley
| and her daughter, Mr. Newbury and
Stoneham Lane followed the hearse in
the attorneys sedan.
They had scarcely departed when
an open touring car drove up, and
Geoff caught glimpse of a woman's
| figure alone in the tonneau, with a
| mass of vivid wells floating from her
hat Presently she drove off with
Miss Sherwood beside her, and quiet
settled down again. Could the strange
| lady have been Mrs. Harper Middle
ton?
Geoff gave the supposition only a
passing thought, for he was puzzled
over DR.. Hoods action in permitting
Lane to leave without pressing him
for an account of his movements on
the night of the murder. What il
this supposed family friend did not
return with the others after the fu-
neral? What If he learned OF the in
quiries which had been made con-
cerning him, and decided to delegate
his business affairs temporarily to
somebody else and leave the city for
an indefinite period? 1t would be
give-away, of course. but until the
medical examiner had an iota of proof
against him he could not be brought
back.
The mason was perlexed. too, that
he had seen nothing of young Ashe
nor Sergt. Eliot from the district at
| torney's office, but at the noon hour
the latter appeared. His ruddy face
wore a self-satisffed smirk, and his
deeply sagging fold over a none too
clean collar.
Hello. Peters. Did you folks think
I'd given up this investigation as a
bad job?"
Amt had no time to think. SER
geant" Geoff looked up from his
lunch spread out before him on a
| newspaper under the tree Got to
git this garage finished; there's an
other spell O work waitin' for me
over to the Corners"
What kind Of work." The county
detective planted himself squarely
before the comfortably seated figure.
s'pose." Geoff took a long draught
from the dipper of spring water with
which he had provided himself and
bit into another doughnut. Coin to
do a mite o. fixin' round a place
that's been closed up for a year or
two. That's my trade, sergeant"
DO you know anything about ma
chinery? Ever undertake to overhaul
anybody's car or motor boatf"
Cant says ! ever did," replied the
other cautiously. What could be the
motive behind this catechism?
Then you wouldn't know much
about the motor boats a. sat anchored ,,d9 in
waved brawny arm in the general
direction of the beach. DO you know
who each of them belongs to and
would you be able to tell them apart
ny tHo souHu VI cn6iHcS IL you
couldn't see them? Is there any one
Of them you think you'd recognize
just by the sound?"
Not me!" Geoff responded with
emphasis. II never heard tell o. any
buddy who could, eitheri 1 mind my
own business and 1 amt got no time
to be foolin' round the shore"
He rose, picking up the dipper and
roAg the newspaper into a tight
We and the detective turned away.
Thought you might know how to
fix one I've just rented that's gone
dead on me, but l guess I'll have to
get It towed back to the creek land
ing for repairs" Under his breath,
as he strode off, he muttered some-
thing which sounded very like bone
head and Geoff rs brown eyes twinkled
as he returned to his work. Then his
expression sobered quickly.
The explanation was a lie, of course,
for the sergeant could have no use
for a boat in his investigation, and
yet his queries opened up a new ave-
nue. of conjecture. Had a motor boat
actually landed at Cayleys' dock on
the night of the murder and somebody
come ashore from it to loiter about
the grounds and perhaps see that soli-
race doors? 1t would be like that smart
Aleck to discover it and start to muddle
things up still more on his own ac-
count! There was contingency
which neither Geoff nor the medical
tion. Where under the canopy could
Doc Hood be, anyway?
CONTINUED in Tomorrow's Starr