Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-10

book ana fountain pen stemmed thu
Mr.. Diamond" Noah munbled,
looking nervously over his shoulder,
was down to Brides House Sunday
night-the night the deputy was killed"
Cropsey started violently.
How do you know"
Because I seen him, seen him with
my own eyes"
You we're there yourself them"
The face receded q little. It's roseate
flush faded to blotchy white.
"Oh, no. Not me-" Hurriedly. II
was on my way home from q borough
meeting. You know" winking as he
dealt q round of cards in dumb show,
big business. When what should see
come a-stealin up out of the Wood
road but the limousine from Berkshire
Towers. Mr.. Diamond was in back, all
huddled down. And CARING was in the
chauneurs seat, driving"
What time was thati"
About quarter past IL" In a whis-
per, THE deputy was killed on the
hour--or so Miss West says"
Cropsey had never liked the lodge
keeper of Berkshire Towers. There was
the Jail faint about the fellow. Hts
loyalty to his master smacked too much
of the beast held In check by leash.
you're sure It was Mr.. Diamond you
saw?"
Sure"
IAN you know for certain then "a
that the Diamond limousine came UP
out of the Wood road And even that
doesn't prove it was at the house when
the deputy was shot, Might have
passed by before or after the shooting
occurred. now mightn't it?"
Mr.. Peabody gave his guest an odd
! look.
"The Wood roads only four miles
long" he said. There amt no other
house but Brides House on 1t. Unless
you count Doc Cranson's shack. And
that amt on 1t neither being as how
it's in the swamp back of the Runnels
pasture, right where the road ends"
Again CropSey started
oh, so the Wood road ends at
Brides House?"
| About a mile beyond. to be exact.
Peters out like a brook in Midsummer.
Many's the tourist as has been fooled
into taking that turn from the State
highway, thinking to get a short cut to
Danbury" With an oWl-like blink OF
tice and her husband lost themselves
there last December, the authorities
have put up q sign warning folks
away"
Cropsey began to feel that his $50 had
been a good investment
Mrs. Prentice was the bride who dis
appeared" -
yaller hair an big blue eyes,"
You knew her them"
The Ark proprietor turned out the
| light under the percolator before he
answered. "They stopped here on the
very night. 1t was snowin to beat
Sanity Claus; and I'd just made UP my
mind to close up shop when the door
| g., taRgV aVaA
girl-too young to be gettin' married"
Here Mr.. Peabody paused to make .
few remarks anent the younger genera
ton and its precociousness; but the
impatient Cropsey promptly switched
him back to the story Of the missing
bride. THE girl had been cryin," said
Noah.
Her face was all tear stained. While
they was drinkin' their coffee she whis-
pered something to the boy, and
heard him say: If I thought II was
true I'd kill you and him, too Yes,
sir: kill-that's the word he used It
almost hung him. Would have II they
could a found her body"
Cropsey fumbled for his pipe and,
not finding it, asked for package Of
cigarettes. At that moment the door of
the lunch room opened and q crowd
of reporters, detectives and camera
men swarmed over the sill, demanding
lunch.
The managing editor Of the Free
Press, unrecognized even by the rep
resentative of his own paper, found
himself showed into Q corner, where ne
was permitted to sit and listen to half
q dozen solutions of the murders, none
of which took into consideration the
/ sinister events leading up to them.
It was not until he had left the ARK
far behind him and was almost within
sight of the Apple Blyossom Tea Room
that disturbing officiousness in the
manner of Mr.. Noah Peabody intruded
itself among the recollections of his
recent visit. Why had the jovial pro-
prietor of the lunch wagon tried to
| cast suspicion upon John Diamond
| WHO had he seemed so disappointed at
not being able to testify against the un-
| fortunate Willie Prentice? Was 1t a
morbid desire to see his name In print?
Or had he made q bold attempt TO
shield some one by duplicating others2
And II so, whom?
| (To be continued.)