Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-07
Continued From Yesterdays Starr
ELEVENTH INsTALLMENT.
IKE all intellectual men, AL

" IKE all intellectual men, Alva
Cropsey cherished the delusion
that the world had lost a second
- lie Cog when fate saw fit to turn
q his talents into other and more
btosaic channels. Once the fishing trip
had been definitely given up and his
Canadian reservations Cancelled, he be-
gan to feel actually elated. The mys-
Gerry hanging over Brides House had
Ared his imagination from the start
Not only because it had baffled the po-
lice for almost a quarter of a century,
but because in all the annals of crime
# stood unique: a history Of sudden
Ind explained death. Four, to be ex-
act. and one disappearance. The man
Tho solved it would prove himself
clever at deductivs reasoning; and
EropSey had passion for deductive
seasoning.
Daily Free Press sat down to break
$Rst In the Apple Blossom tea room
with the businesslike air of one who
carts a much-anticipated enterprise
Under suspicious circumstances. Straw
berries in thick cream. An omelet SO
light it all but f1oated from the plate
Not biscuits And coffee that actually
6nelled and tasted like coffee. With a
curiosity that bordered on awe, he stole
] look at the author of all this tooth
snmenesS.
sMiss Malvina Uptegrove was a
maiden lady tarrying somewhere on the
shady side of 40. Years before she had
fsred forth from the hills and valleys
0f her native State with the avowed
Intention of painting her way to the
Reaux Arts and Paris. Unhappily for
genius in the bud, Greenwich Village
saw her coming and thrust out a meta
NNlNnri0aI fnnt AC Stumbling hlOrE in
the path Of progress Europeward. the
foot proved eficaciouS. In less than six
months Miss Malvina was back in Con-
Yecticut again, sadder wiser and
Hlmbler to the extent that she was
willing at last to take her stepmother's
advice and turn the old family home
INTO tea and gift shop.
aOf that excursion into art, however
rot all was loss. Instead Of canvases
the walls of the Apple Blossom re-
ceived the outpourings of their owners
thwarted soul: murals that gradually
epread from floor to ceiling. Extraor-
dinary cows lunching off violet butter
cups. Humming birds that resembled
% size and spread of wing, the Ameri-
can eagle. A pair of Puvis de Cha.
cannes females dancing over what
1ooked like a forest of tomato plants
That crazy Uptegrove house, the neigh.
E0rS cailed II, DuC OF late the young
intelligentsia driving out to tea anc
dinner had seen fit to set the seal o.
their approval upon it, and the place
enjoyed certain vogue. Nor was it
popularity undeserved. For, in addition
to the decorations, the food was such
d only Miss Malvina knew how to cook
and serve.
s"Business good?" asked Cropsey.
a"FairIy so. We're having a slack
time just at present. So many people
10 to Europe in the Summer. If Il
weren't for you and the other gentle
man"
a"Oh, so there is another gentleman
From what Miss Sinnott told me,
Understood I should be quite alone
here"
s"Mr. Watts won't annoy you," the
proprietress of the Apple Blossom made
haste to explain. Hes been here with
ne for weeks And If it weren't fol
seeing him at meal time, I'd scarcely
know he was in the house. Goes anc
comes like a mouse And such a lit.
tSe gentleman! Really, I've grown quite
fenc of him"
.The editor of the Daily Press looked
Believed.
"a naturalist. I think that.
what he calls himself" Evidently Miss
Malvina felt she had not done full
jAstice to her protege. Wears bow tie;
aid stammers. Always running into
things and saying, Excuse me- You
know the type"
sYes, Cropsey knew the type.
Only two things he's shown AM
Interest in since he came: the old map