The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-10-25

| to bring the interview to . close
when Vance spoke up.
1T was very good Of you, Miss
Hoffman, to take this trouble TO ten
US about the package; and now that
you are here, there are one or two
questions I'd like to ask. !. +. How
did Mr.. Alvin Benson and the Major
get along together?"
She looked at Vance with . curl
Gus little smile.
"They didn't ret along very well. |"
she said. "They were 30 different,
Mr.. Alvin Benson was not . very
pleasant person, and not very hon
orable, I'm afraid. You'd never
have thought they were brothers.
They were constantly diaputing
about the business; and they were
terribly suspicious Of each other"
That's not unnatural" comment
ed Vance, seeing how Incompatible
their temp'raments were. BY
the bye. how did this suspicion show
itself"
well, for one thing, they some-
times spied on each other. You
see, their offices were adjoining, and
they would listen to each other
through the door. I did the secre-
tarial work for both Of them, and
often saw them listening. Several
times they tried to find out things
from me about each other"
Vance smiled 1T her apprecistivo.
ly.
mot pleasant position for you
"Oh, didn't mind it." she smiled
back. ut amused me-"
"When was the last time you
caught either one Of them Listen
ing?" he ased.
TIE girl quickly became serioss.
"The very last day Mr.. Alvin BEN.
son was aliv, saw the Major stand
ing by the door. Mr.. Benson had
caller-a lady-and the Major
seemed very much interested. L was
in the afternoon.
"Mr. Benson went home early
that day-only about half IN hour
after tie lady had gone. She called
at the office again later, but he
wasn't there OF course, and / told
her he had already gone home"
do you know who the lady was -
Vance asked her.
mo, ] DON'T" she said. "She
didn't give her name."
Vance asked a few other uues-
tions, after which we rode up town
in the subway with Miss Hoffman,
taking leave Of her at Twenty-third
street.
Markham was silent and preoccu-
pied during the trip. Nor did Vance
make any comment until we were
comfortably relaxed in the easy
chairs of the Stuyvesant Clubs
homegrown. Then, lighting
cigaret lazily, he said:
"You grasp the subtle mental proc.
esses leading up to my prophecy
about Miss Hoffman's second com.
ing-eh, what, Markham? Y see,
! knew friend Alvin had not paid
that forged check without security.
and / also knew that the tiff must
hive been about the security, for
Pfyfe was not really worrying about
being jailed by his alter 20.
Il rather suspect Pfyfe was try.
ing to get the security back before
paying OF the note, and was told
| there was nothing doing.
Moreover, Little Goldylocks may be
nice girl and all that; but it isn't
in the feminine temperament to sit
next door to an alteration between
two such rakes and not listen At
tentively.
Il shouldn't care, " know, to have
to decipher the tipping she said she
did during the episode. was quite
sure she heard more than she told;
and | asked myself: Whv this cur
tail .lent? The only logical answer
was: Because the Major had sug-
gested it. And since the gnadires
Fraulein YVES fortnight Germanic
soul, with an inbred streak Of self
ish and cautious honesty, ven.
tured the prognostication that o
soon as she was out from under the
benevolent jurisdiction Of her tutor,
she would tell rs the rest. in order
to save her own skin il the matter
should come up later. Not
so cryptic when explained, what :"
THAT'S all very WE'LL" conceded
Markham petulantly. But where
does it get us?"
II shouldn't say that the forward
movement was entirely inpsreep-
tib1e."
Vance smoked while impassively.
"You realize, | trust" he said,
"that the mysterious package con-
tanned the security"
Zone might form such > conclu-
sion." agreed Markham. "But the
fact doesn't dumbfound rne-if that's
what you're hoping for"
"And. of course" pursued Vance
easily. "your legal mind, trained IN
the technique Of ratiocination, has
already identified it o the box Of
Jewels that Mrs. Platz espied on
Benson's table that fatal afternoon"
ITO Be Continued)