The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-02-02
Murder At BridCe az 1tS ass!!s @ ss sss sssx ssesss sss9": O

cord with the dining room bell?" Strawn puzzled. "These modern houses don't have exposed wiring"
 "You forget Sprague's wiring for the alarm bell from here to Lydia's room!"
 He threw back the rug. Near Nita's bed there was a hole in the floor, and out of it came a short length of electric wire. ending in two small metal plates. But att tached also to the wire was the cord from the bronze lamp.
 "The plug of the; lamp cord is nearly out of the baseboard outlet behind the bookcase, just as Miles left it, so that there is no contact with electricity there. And the rug hid the joining of the two wires. An unexplained wrapping of adhe- sive tape both on the lamp cord and on the wire of Nita's alarm bell here gave me the clue. In installing the alarm bell, Sprague copied the arrangement under the dining ta- ble, of course. And Miles simply
 
 augur Sprague had bought, down the four inches which separate the dining room floor from the base ment, and bore a hole through the ceiling. It was that hole I could not understand, and which Ralph Ham, mond assured me was not there Saturday morning. Miles joined a piece of electric wire to the dining room bell wires, and pushed them down through the hole he had bored into the basement ceiling. Now if you'll come down to the basement"
 When the three stood staring up- ward at the basement ceiling, Dun- dee continued:
 "See this long wire running along the ceiling from the hole be- heath the dining room bell? The tacks he used to secure it were also returned to the tool chest, but ne could not get rid of either the augur hole or the tiny holes show ing the course of the wire. Let's fol- low it."
 He led them across the basement to a door leading into a dank, un- finished portion of the cellar. The wire passed under the top frame of the door, and, with a fiashlight Tn his hand, Dundee showed how it continued along a rafter until it reached the place where it was joined, Ly adhesive tape, to the wire Sprague had dropped from Nita's bedroom floor.
 Miles simply cut the wire here where tt enters another hole through Lydia's bedroom wall, and attached the new wi5e." Dundee explained. "The connection between the dining room bell and the electro magnet Tn the lamp upstairs was then complete. Sprague had bought yards too much of the wire fortunately, so far as Miles scheme was concerned"
 But what a chance Miles took on the bullets not hitting her in a fatal spot!" Sanderson com- mented in an awed Voice.
 No. He would only fire the gun if Nita was seated before her dressing table. As an experienced marksman he could calculate the path of ,he bullet to nicety. Of course the machine had to be used that very day. As you know. N;ta herself saveS him his chance. Miles, l until the first faint notes of Juanita told him that Nita was powdering her face, and he could be sure she | was sitting down to the task. Niia saw nothing to alarm her, but the gun kicked, and the big lamp was rocked so that it banged against the window frame, shattering the one bulb Miles had left in it. Of | course he moved the lamp a foo. or so, in the resulting excitement. And if she had been wounded only. living to tell not only how the shot was fired. but who had motive to kill her, Miles would have con,- mitted suicide then"
 What if Nita had not asked him to mix the cocktails or had not gone to powder her face?" Strawn asked.
 'The whole party was going to dine and dance at the Country club. Miles would have escorted her home, as he had done on Mon- day night, and would then have made his opportunity. But I mus, tell you That on Saturday morning according to the telephone operator in Miles office, Nita rang him tc say she must see him as soon as possible, her unexpressed intention being to tell him that she was no. going to bother him again. He told her he would be right out, but N:ta said she and Lydia were going into Hamilton and would not be back until 2:30 the time the bridge game was scheduled to begin. Bul Miles came on out, having pre- viously stolen the gun and silence, and having studied the house.
 How did he get in?" Sandersor wanted to know.
 Judge Marshall had lent him a key in February, when Miles wanted to show the house to ar engaged young man in his offices and Miles never returned it. /. We'll, when Miles arrived he found Ralph Hammond here, and had tc leave, waiting at safe distance until the coast was clear about one o'clock. But even so he had more than an hour to do his carefully planned job"
 "But ycu were wrong about the secret shelf" Strawn gloated.
 "No. It was the absence of finger. prints there that kept me on the right track. Miles had searched the shelf for the marriage certificate which he could not know Nita ha6 already rurned."
 "How was Sprague killed ?" San derson interrupted impatiently.
 Dundee reached into .the too chest and brought out a marrow deep drawer. First must tell yol that Miles got the gun out of tht lamp Saturday night, sneaking 1T while was talking with Lydia il the basement. A little later h'