New Britain herald., 1927-10-21

extended his legs.
 "A la fin,' he murmured. All things journey: sun and moon, morning, noon and afternoon, night and all her stars Videlicet: we begin 10 make progress
 What the devil are you driving at??" The new complication of ! Pfyfe's peccadilloes had left Mark | ham irritable.
 "Intrestin' young woman, this Mics Hoffman-eh, what?' Vance rcjoined irrelevantly.
 Didn't care especially for the deceased Benson. And she fairly dcta5ts the aromatic Leander. He has prob'bly told her he was mis- understood by Mrs. Pfyfe, and in vited her to dinner"
 Well, she's pretty enough" com mcntcd Markham indifferently. "Bgnson, too, may have made ad- yanccs-which is why she disliked him.
 Oh absolutely" Vance unused a III CllIt4ll. lliAN S'Ep bHt leadin. She's an ambitious gel, and capable, too - knows her business. She's no ball of fluff. She has a solid, honest streak in her--a bit of Teu- tonic blood I'd say"
 He paused meditatively. "Y' know, Markham, l have suspicion you'll hear from little Miss katinka agian."
 Crystal gazing, ch?' mumbled Markham.
 "Oh, dear no," Vance was looking lazily out of the window. But l did enter the silence. so 10 speak. and indulgcd in a bit of cranioogical contemplation"
 T thought I noticed you ogling the girl" said Markham. But since her hair WAS bobbed and she had her hat on, how could you analyze the bumps?-if that's the phrase you phrcnologists use."
 Forget not Goldsmith's preach er," Vance diminished. Truth from his lips prevailed, and those who came to scoff remained ct cetera. To bsgin with, I'm no phrenologist. But I believe in epochal, racial, and heredit'ry variations in skulls. In that respect I'm merely an old-fash- toned Darwinian.
 Every child knows that the skull of the Piltdown man differs from that of the Cromagnard; and even a lawyer could distinguish an Aryan head from an Ural-Altalc head. or Maylalc from a Negrillo. And, If one is versed at all in the Mendelian theory, hereditry Cranial slnllarl- ties can be detected.
 But all this erudition is beyond you, l fear. Suffice it to say that, despite the young woman's hat and hair, l could see the contour of her head and the bone structure in her face: and 1 even caught a glimpse Of her ear"
 And thereby deduced that we'd | hear from her again." added Mark ham ecornfully.
 "IndlrectIy-yes," admitted Vance. | Then, after a pause; T say. in view of Miss Hoffman's revelation. do not ! Colonel Ostranders comments of yesterday begin to take on a phos- i ph'rescent aspect?"
 Look here." said Markham inn patiently. Cut out these circum- locations, and get to the point"
 Vance turned slowly from the window and regarded him pensive- ly.
 Markham - put the question mechanically doesn't Pfyfee forged check, with its accompany ing confession and it's shortly-due note, constitute rather strong mo- tive for doing away with Benson?"
 Markham sat up suddenly.
 You think Pfyfe guilty - is that it?"
 "Wen, here's the touchin situa ton: Pfyle obviously signed Ben sons name to check, told hin about it, and got the surprise of hi life when his dear old pal asked him for a 90-day note to cover th' amount and also for a written con lcssion to hold over him to insure paymen.
 NOW consider the subs'quen facts: First, Pfyfe called on Ben son a week ago and had quarre in which the cbeck was mentioned Damon was prob ply pleading with Pythas to extend the note and was vulgarly informed that ther was nothing doing.
 Secondly, Benson was shot tive days later, less than a week before the note fell due.
 "Thirdly: Pfyfe was at Benson's house the hour of the shooting, and not only lied to you about hls whereabouts, but bribed a garage owner 10 kceu silent about his car
 "Fourthly, his explanation, when caught of his unrewarded search for Haig and Haig was, to say the least, bit thick. And don't forget that the original tale of his lonely o for rr'ure's solitudes in the Catskills-with his mysterious stop