Nogales international., 1931-12-30
SEVENTH lNSTALEMIIE.NT
SYNOPSIS


Robinson and his sister, Alice, and DR..
Sperry, friends and neighbors, are in the
habit Of holding weekly meetings 1t one OF
them, Mrs. Dane, who is hostess, varies the
program by unexpectedly arranging q spirit.
uaistic seance with Miss Jeremy, friend Of
Dr. Sperry and not a professional, as the
medium.
At the first sitting the medium tells the
details of murder a it is occurring. Lat r
that night Sperry learns that a neighbor'
With Johnson he goes to the Wells residence
and they find confirmation of the mediums
account Mrs. Wells tells them her husband
shot himself in fit of depression.
At second seance. Miss Jeremy adds
details about a summer resort whese
Charles Eilingham was knowsl to have pes-1
at the same time that Mrs. Wells ~as
there. She also speaks of pocketbocK
being lost which contained some impor-
tant car tickets and letters. 1irs. Dane.
alone of the women, seems thrilled by the
investigation.
deserted house. He is frightened by strange
noises as of an intruder in the house, but
completes his Investigation.
NOW co On WITH THE Story.
I know, as it happens, w;ry little
of firearms, but I did realize that q
shot from As CGit autc.r.atic would
have considerable penc4fative pow
err. To be exact, that the bullet had
probably either lodged itself in a
joist, or had penetrated through the
flooring and might be somewhere
over my head.
But nv candle was Inadequate for
more Ian the most superficial exam
inatiCa. of the ceiling, which presented
so f.. as | could see an unbroken
syrf e.. I turned my attention, there
f,Jr 70 the floor. 1t was when l was
tt=,.Fs.y the rig back that | recognized
tx nfigin o. The sound which had SO
st.,c.;>1 me. It had been the soft
mo tsaaIent O. che carpet across the
: fioo' aoards.
Se.se ore, taen, had been there be-
fore .le-scine one who knew what
I kneIa, had reasoned as | reasoned.
Some t.. who, in all probability, still
1urked on the upper floor.
Obeying an impulse, l stood erect
and called out sharply, "Sperry" l
said. "Sperry"
There was no asnwer. / tried again,
calling Herbert. But. only my own
voice came back to me, and the whist
ling of the wind through the windows
l had opened.
.~a-s, never long j. allegiance
:,::.l night, reused again. | mad IN
,:antiy & convection that some human
Squire, sinister and dangerous, was
lurking II TIE shadows OF that empty
toor, ar1 | remember backing away
.-on the door and standing in ths
censcs- Of the room, prepared for
some steaithy, murdcrous assault.
When nonc came looked about f1r-
2 weapon, and finally took the oeiy
thing in sight, coal-:ongs from the
fireplace Armed with that, | made a
cursory round OF the nearby rooms
LIT there was no one hiding III them
went baci, to the rug and cx-
cnlin:d the floor beneath it. | was
right. Some cue had been there be-
fore me- Bits Of spintercd wood lay
about. The second bullet had been
tired, had buried itself in the flooring.
and had, some five minutes before,
been dug out.
The extraordinary thing about the
Arthu: Wells story was not his kill
Ing For killing it was. 1t was the
way it was solved
Here was young woman, Miss
1eyenv who Rad not known younS
Wells, had not known his wife, had,
rrtil that first meeting at Mrs. Danes.
:.evcr met any member O; the Neigh
ho-hood Club Yet, but for her, Arthur
Wells would have gone to his grave
bearing the stigma of moral COW
c~dcc, Of suicide.
The solution, when it came, was
;a.,,a1;ag, but remarkably simple. Like
InoSt mysteries. | have in my own
house, for instance. an example OF al
great rvstery, founded on meres abb
sentrnindcdness.
This is what my wife terms the
mystery of the fre-tongs.
I had left the Wells house as soon
IS ! had made the discovery i'll the
night nursery. l carried the candle
and the fire-tongs downstairs. | was,
apparently, CAIN but watchful. would
Rave said that | had never been more
calm in my life. l knew quite we'll
1',at l had the fre-tongs in my hand. |
last when l ceased to be cognizant |
Of them was probably when, on enter
ing the library, | found that my over
coat had disappeared, and that my |
stiff hat, badly broken, lay on the
floor. However, as l say, | was still
extraordinarily composed. l picked up
my hat, and moving to the rear door,
went out and closed it, When | |
reached the street, however, | had
only gone a few yards when | dis
covered that I was still carrying the !
lighted candle, and that man, pass
ing by, had stopped and was staring
after me.
Ny composure is shown by the fact
that dropped the candle down the j
next sewer opening, but the fact re-
mains that l carried the fire-tongs |
home. I do not recall doing so. In
fact, I knew nothing of the matter
Until morning. On the way to my !
house I was celebrating a story to
the effect that my overcoat had been !
stolen from a restaurant where | and !
my client had dined. The hat offered
considerable higher prices than the
mediocre stock.
There are more cattle in feed lots
in California, Oregon and Arizona
than ever before, recognition of the
fact that producers are aware of
the demand for better quality pro-