Evening star., 1928-11-10

THE TULE
MARSH MURDER
Copuriuht. 1929 BIZ Bell Sundicnte Ina
By
NANCY
BARR
MAVITY
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Copyright, 1928. by Beu Syndicate. Inc

the doctor muSed, with a glance at the
crammed pigeonholes, when Mrs.
Kane mentioned that she had saved
the breach of promise papers. That
was a rather motiveless thing to do, ex-
cept for the not uncommon type of
person who has a sort Of collectors
mania for preserving every memento
of her past life. And in that case,
there may be other significant memen-
tos. / think we'll have to look them
over. Rifiing lady's desk is not very
nice occupation: but then, we're in
vestigationg the lady's murder, and
murder is not very nice occupation
either. I hardly think We can afford
to stand on etiquette.
Peter sat astride the dressing table
chair. his long legs twisted about the
rungs, his folded arms resting across
its low back, and watched the doctor S
def fingers rapidly unfold sheet after
sheet of folded or crumbled paper and
toss them in a mountain pile on the
floor at his feet.
by the way, where's Ellsworth"
he asked after an interval. "Or am
interrupting?"
mot a bit. A glance is quite enough
for all of this stuff, so far. I'll tell
you if I find anything" DR.. Cavan-
aughs hands did not hesitate in their
task of extracting and casting aside
the contents of the desk. Don is
engaged in a very quiet poker session in
private room at his club, I unoffi-
cially escorted him there myself, al
though he did not know it."
With the whole countryside moving
heaven and earth to find his wife's
murderer? Well, I thought 1 was be-
yond being surprised at anything. y
Peters capacity for establishment was
obviously not entirely exhausted.
mot the whole countryside, young
man. Only a few policemen and re-
porters and people like that. And
Don Ellsworth, when faced with dis
agreeable situation does not sit down
and contemplate it, even when that is
precisely what he needs to do. All
his life he has sought distraction
escape. Always he has found it easily
enough. You needn't be too hard on
him. With his upbringing, it was al
most inevitable Probably Sheila O'Shay
in the beginning, was one of those
distractions. He may not find his di-
version so easily this time, but the i'm
pulse to seek 1t was the most natura
thing in the world for him. You might
be grateful for that, too. He won't bt
in until the small hours of the morn.
ing-which gives us this very oppor'
tune leisure"
"He didn't know you were coming
then?"
mo. He's an iracible young man
and I didn't want to upset him un'
necessarily"
"Yes," Peter agreed with grin, "I'vC
noticed the irascibility."
II told you I was house-breaker
too you know. 1 owe my presence il
the house to Ethel. I'm rather elderly
for pergolas-and perhaps just a shade
too conventional"
"Ethel?" Peter rested his chin OF
the chair back and grinned an impu
dent question at the doctors impertur'
able back
THE maid you saw in the door.
| feel rather sorry for her-she'd have
enjoyed this so immensely. She's {
hero -worShipper, and stepped in the
tradition of Sherlock Holmes. Perhap.
| it's just as we'll she didn't stay to bt
| disappointed. She rather fancies me a.
a sleuth
mo power on earth could persuade
her that I'm not, of course. Besides
she has a moth-and-star sort of devo-
ton to Ellsworth. 1t is quite true that
I thought my visit here might be OF
benefit to him She relished the notion
of the great investigator saving hel
master from unjust suspicion. In fact
she fairly gloated over the whole per-
formance, and her own connection with
it. Well, it looks as if everybody'S
hopes-yours and mine and EthepS-
are pretty we'll blighted. The net re-
suit of all this is nothing at all"
AS he spoke, Dr. Cavanaugh stopped
gathered the heap of papers into an
armload, and thrust them back into
the desk.
From the chair where Peter straddled
came the sound of low whistle tune
a lugubriouS wailing minor.
"By Jove" he murmured; and again
"By Jove--I wonder now!"
He had been staring straight before
him with his chin on his folded arms
his eyes fixed on vacancy. But sud-
denly he realized what he had beer
looking at all along.
With a bound that tipped the chair
over behind him, he sprang to the tele-
phone table and seized the directory
For IS minutes he had been gazing
absently at a narrow projection which
marred the smooth line at the edge
of the pages along the top; and then
in a flash, that little projection hao
taken on meaning.
He fluttered the pages in fingers that
| trembled, and drew out letter. Then
with the single sheet half removed from
the Jagged tear by which the envelope
had been opened, he paused.
It might bessanything-it might be
nothing. But the doctor had openeo
the window to him. Whatever 1t was
it belonged to the doctor.
Here" he said in rather faint
voice, holding out the fluttering slip
of paper to DR.. Cavanaugh. who had
calmly righted the chair behind him
What do you make of thiS?"
ITO ho Continued