Evening star., 1928-11-28
By
NANCY
BARR
MAVITY

NO taking IN the courtroom, please,
barked the disciplinary bailiff.
Il told you I was angry when
wrote it. And affection is hardly the
term / should use for my feelings to-
ward Sheila O'Shay. loved her ter
ribly." Orme spoke with tremulous in
tensity.
quite so. And this lady whom you
loved terribly" the district attorney
sneered, you first knocked down, then
abandoned, and then disregarded so
completely that you did not learn of her
subsequent marriage until almost a
year after 1t had taken place" AL
though he merely leaned forward across
the table, the district attorney seemed
fairly to spring upon the man before
him. And what, may I ask, were
you doing in the meantime?"
II don't know" Orme said duly. II
seem to have been just wandering
around"
"Oh, yes, wandering around. And
your wanderings I take it, were con-
Quoted by automobile
'rI have never had a car"
''Yet you made the public automobile
camp your headquarters. Can you ex-
plain that discrepancy"
Some one must have given me a
lift on the highway as far as the auto
camp. Then, when I was there I
stayed. I had no money, you see."
quite so, no money. And having
thus belatedly discovered your wife's
marriage to rich man, you doubtless
saw an opportunity to recoup your
finances by threatening to make the
illegality of her marriage known"
'I would not have taken cent from
Sheila if I had been dying!" Orme's
face, which had paled to the gray
white Of dead ashes at the opening of
the cross-eXamination. suddenly famed
"Of course not! And yet your earn
ings as sandpaper artist could scarce
ly have supported your menage during
the period Of your married life"
Graham half rose to object, thought
better of it, and relapsed into his seat.
II sid not think of money then one
way on the other. did not dream
that she thought of it either. I loved
her"
80 you have told us. And yet you
made no effort to keep In touch with
her affairs-affairs which were rather
widely published-until three days be-
fore her death?"
"I have told you that I did not know
of her marriage to Ellsworth"
And having had your little chat
with the lady, you left her on street
corner - having made no attempt to
follow up the threats conveyed in your
letter to her-and fled back to the auto
camp, where you concealed yourself
under the assumed name of Daniel
Osgood?"
1T was the name by which I was
known there. I adopted it after I left
Sheila."
"Oh! And just why did you find it
necessary to adopt an alias at all?"
"I don't know
The district attorney dropped his air
Of elaborate sarcasm. He half rose
from his cnair, pointing his finger
menacingly at the man in the witness
chair. His voice doomed through the
courtroom.
David Orme," he roared, "I suggest
that you deliberately waited until Sheila
O'Shay was in position which you
could threaten. suggest that you
used threats of exposure in order to
wiring money from her, and that, when
she refused to submit to blackmail, you
struck her down in a rage-you had
done just that before, I believe you
said-and killed her.
IT suggest that you we're in possess
sion of an automobile in which you
drove the body to the marsh and which
you afterward junked or ran into the
bay; that you then very astutely
thought to lose yourself In the floating
population of the auto camp, hiding
under an assumed name, in order not
to arouse suspicion by attempting to
flee from the scene without funds.
suggest, David Orme. that you did viii
fully and feloniously murder Sheila
O'Shay!"
Orme rose to his feet, his eyes fixed
in a fascinated stare on the face Of
the prosecutor. He was trembling
violently from head to foot, but he
steadied himself with both hands on
the arms of the chair behind him.
Before God, I don't know whether
killed her or not!" he screamed in
the high shrill voice of hysteria. But
don't think it can be possible be-
cause loved her more than my music,
more than anything else on earth!"
(To be Continued)