Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-03
BLUE MURDER
By Edmund Smell.
Story and
n
By Edmund Smell.


car showed this to be unlikely. II was
far more conceivable that the three oc-
cupants had been boxed in by the side
curtains and the framework.
Still grasping the shoe. Dighton
walked with surer steps right up TO the
olive tree.
He had to move round to the other
side to look in. The result Of his first
glance staggered him. The wreckage
contained foot mats, the overturned
contents of picnic basket. dented
suit case-but no trace of either Of the
three bodies he had expected to find!
This was astounding. 1t hardly
seemed credible that four out Of five
people should have survived such a
catastrophe. judging by the evidence
to hand. he believed that the thing had
turned over and over down the slope.
The hood had offered certain protec-
ton. no doubt. but for all three to
have escaped serious injury was impos-
sible. And vet there was a
spot Just under the road, miniature
plateau. where the car might have
paused for an instant-iust long enough
for a man with the Lizards quickness
of vision to have jumped, dragged Greta
with him.
Standing there irresolute, straining
his eyes for any sign of movement, ne
tried to recall details of accidents ne
had known or of which he had read.
Whole trains had been deralled Win
only a small percentage Of casualties.
He remembered lorry during the war
on the Asiago making Just sucn a nalr-
raising plunge-and the driver spring.
ing from it on to tree. Fate PLAYED
queer tricks on people. Here was he.
f04f RT1Zz0IeSl
with a broken neck-while the otners'
who he'd encountered what on appear
ance was the greater disaster, had got
off scotfree.
That was how it seemed on the race
of it and. for Greta's sake, he hoped 1t
was So If she had still been under
the influence of the drug the Lizard
had administered at the Casino she
might have had a better chance than
either of the other two. Unconscious
people we're often guarded by a special
Providence But he failed to see now
the driver had won clear.
A white metal flask caught his eye,
lying in the grass bv the foot OF the
tree. He unscrewed the top and smiled
at the contents suspiciously. Cognac!
Marney's particular beverage! He swal-
lowed a mouthful and the raw spirit
coursed through his veins like fire. He
was feeling better-tons better. 1t had
come to sight lust at the moment ne
hal wanted a flip to nerve him to the
effort of a prolonged search.
There were scores of places within
easy reach where an injured man might
lie hidden He would have to proceed
warily. He knew nothing about the
missing driver, but the Lizard might
be lying in ambush, waiting for an OPP
portunity of scoring off Dighton, even
if his own end were inevitable.
What worried him most was the time
lost while he had been unconscious.
An hour at least had passed since the
accident. Given that his enemy had
survived with Whole skin, he could
have carried Greta a fair distance in
that time.
His first discovery was made within
the first five minutes and served to lift
the veil of mystery that hung over the
occupants Of the yellow car. A queer
patch on the grass lower down. which
at first sight looked like a long shadow,
resolved itself into the sinister blue
stain with which he had grown familiar.
It was repetition of the scene in
Taverner's study and the tragedy in the
rue des Acacias-only this time the VIC
tim was a stranger to Dighton, man in
the tattered remains of a dark over
coat. Slightly beyond the stain he
found a cap with a bright peak He
knew then how the chauffeur had ended
his journey! The Lizard had patched
up the Pocket Death and employed the
last round in the container to obliterate
his unfortunate driver.
Reading between the lines, Dighton
understood.
The fellow had been injured, too
crippled to walk, but not too injured
to explain his predicament to any one
who might find him. Obviously the
Lizard did not trust him out of his
sight. He had not trusted Daudot or
Mime. Laroche.
A fit of acute depression seized
Dighton as he moved away What a
charnel-house this invention of ALL
borg's was making of the world alreadyI
This pleasant hillside. with its herd of
sheep. its ripping torrent and rugged
scenery. would be avoided by supersti-
tious peasants for years to ccnne. for
fear of encountering the phantoms of
such harmless creatures as poor Dante
and the man who had outdistanced him
on the road!
He flung the shepherds staff from
him and Swore solemn oath to the
cloudless armament: When Taverners
order came to wipe out the Villa Sabine
and the laboratories that turned out
that dev1liSh dope, he would carry 1t
out with good heart. He would stay
there until the fumes enveloped him,
stay there to insure that every crucible,
every beaker every glass retort was
consumed, It would not be crime,
but service rendered to humanity.
He came upon the Lizard so uneX-
pectedly in clump OF trees by the
river that both of them were taken
aback.
The other dropped his burden and
drew a pistol from his coat. but Dighton
had found his own first and was pre-
pared TO take no risks. 1t was tense
moment, tense and dramatic. In that
first glance the adventurer learned
many things. He knew that Greta
lived. knew that she had raised herself
on her hands, heard her call to him.
There was no time to discover how this
miracle had been achieved All else
was obllterated in his mind, eclipsed by
the fact that he had caught the Lizard
unmasked. had recognized him and
understood for the first time the reason
Tor his sudden interest in Greta. The
revelation came to him as a shock. 1t
was unbelievable. astounding It
set aside established theories, turned
everything upside-down.
His fingers sought the trigger clear
second before the other had leveled his
gun. He had pulled it three times In
rapid succession before he realized that
the thing that had barely left his sight
had been tampered with.
The Lizards agents did their work
we'll!
The pistol of the master crook snoke
once and once only. 1t provoked an
agonized scream from the girl and sent
Dighton pitching on to his face on the
Sward.
The last thing Dighton remembered
was Marneys voice rasping in his ear
and wondering what the blazes he was
doing there.
tCoHtinued in TomorroW,s Star