The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1925-06-04

growl.
Peter pointed at the letter.
II know" snarled Lanfrew. I'm
at your service"
"You were the last man who ever
saw Compton Parmalee," Peter began.
HE came to draw an instrument In
my office"
"A Wilt"
"Yes."
(Which leaves to his widow
"The man isn't legally dead yet"
Lanfrew said severely.
HE has been-say gone-for several
years"
apparently wiped out. Yes. And
there is nothing more to be done. We
exhausted every means except that of
a nasty publicity. It's futile. 1t is
folly for you to waste your time.
Where did you meet Mrs. Parmalee-
old friendY'
81 met her in London"
The old lawyer arose, thrust his jaw
out as If making 1t flexible and ready
to bite, and stared for a long time at
Peter.
"Are you the son of Devote of the
Equity"
"Yes."
LET 1t alone"
"What alone?"
"This affair. Let sleeping dogs lie.
You are a young man DWELL know
who you are. Used to know your
father. l can talk to you cOnfden-
TALLY. I'll say this-Parmalee was q
client sent up to me by our Texas cor
respondents, and as far as / am o n
cerned l wouldn't care a snitchet II
I had never seen him."
Peter nodded.
"You saw the last of him."
Lanfrew looked out the window at
the harbor that appeared to stretch
out like a woolly gray blanket from
the bases of monument buildings; he
wheeled suddenly upon DeWolfe.
He came here that day-the last.
He had tickets for some place and
spoke of taking his wife, but he was
excited. He spoke of an alternative.
He drank. You know that?'
"Was he"
mo; he was nervous, excited"
GAS If afraid?'
mo"
Peter thought a moment before he
said, "Would you say he was thinking
of ~suicide?"
mo, I wouldn't" replied Lanfrew
10 +4i1r +ha +aeco1 op Tho uyipd0u ar1r-
tain with his stubby fingers. "He had
something else on his mind. He spoke
vaguely. I didn't give a d-n what he
had on his mind. 1t was something.
He spoke as if 1t were some Grand
like a man who had received a mes
sage"
"What kind of a message?"
IT don't know. I got the i'm
pression-mind you now and mark me
well, I don't say it was So got the
impression that he was engaged in
somewhat shall I say-investiga-
investigation" repeated DeWolfe
In a startled voice.
Lanfrew nodded his bulldog head up
and down as If there were oiled bear
in his invisible short neck.
"He left no word for his wife,"
asked, shooting the question
when Lanfrew's eyes had met his.
He saw the lawyer finch.
81 asked whether he left any mes
for his wife?"
The other man coughed, felt under
his heavy chin for his concealed throat
and sat down in his desk chair.
ITO be frank with you, he did" he
"This Of course is confidential.
was too brutal to give her"
Peter leaned forward. He said,
''ToO brutal?"
Lanfrew said, Eyes. He said to me,
If | make up my mind not to take
her away-if 1 go on a little journey
myself, you tell her that I'll be back
in two weeks. You tell her Pm going
to cut a knot-that I'm going to re-
Iieve the hell I've been living"
The two men sat silently looking at
each other.
vi GOul0 DC l. NhOh5hb h0 AClCSIdDh
ler," said Lanfrew argumentatively.
4 didn't take his message seriously.
It wouldn't have done her any good
o tell her that brutal message, eh?
And later? Well, l put the thing off.
It cleared no mystery. 1t was incon-
,eqential."
Peter asked, "Then you thought
he blamed her?'
Lanfrew threw up his hands, a ges-
ture which said, There is no ques-
For what2" asked Peter.
Lanfrew chewed upon an imaginary
nouthful he said finally God knows.
Some women-beautiful women-are
poisonous. Rare cases. They carry a
ieadly poison, DeWolfe. Some infu-
.nce, some bane, some corrosive with
.ring, devilish, fatal fluid or vapor or
lura-whatever you choose. Who