The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-06

| the little gentlewOman listened eagerly with only the faintest of signs, as Dundee humorously de- scribed renny's fierce efficiency and District Attorney Sanderson's keen delight in her work. l Bill Sanderson is nice boy" the woman of perhaps 4S said of Hamilton's 35-year old district at- troney. Ut is nice for Penny to work with an old friend of the fam | ily--or was-until-"
 And that was the nearest she came to mentioning the murder be- fore Penny summoned them to the little dining room.
 Because Penny was watching him and was obviously proud of her skill as q cook-skill recently &C., quired, he was sure-Dundee ate as heartily as his carefully con- cealed depression would permit. There was q beautifully Drowned roast of beef, pan-browned pota- toes. new peas, escalloped tomatoes, and. for dessert, a gelatine pudding which Penny proudly announced was Spanish cream" the secret of which she had mastered only that morning.
 q was up almost at dawn to make it. so that it would set in time" she told him. Dundee knew that it was not Spanish cream which had got her up.
 "Im going to help wash dishes." he announced firmly. and Penny, with quick intake of breath, agreed.
 Hadn't you better take a nap, mother?" she added minute later. as Mrs Grain, with q slight flush on her faded cheeks, began to stack the dessert dishes. You musn't lay a hand on these dishes. or Bon- nie and 1 will have our dishwash- ing picnic spoiled. Run along now. You need sleep, dear.' Not any more than you do, poor baby." Mrs Grain quavered, and then hurried out of the room. "1 called you Bonnie so mother would know we are really friends" |" Penny explained, her cheeks red. as she preceded him thrugoh the swinging door into the miniature kitchen.
 You'll stick to that - being friends. 1 mean, no matter what happens won't you, Penny?" Dun dee said in low voice, setting the fragile crystal dishes he carried upon the porcelain drainboard of the sink.
 q knew you had something bad to tell me. . It's about-Ralph, suppose Her husky voice was scarcely audible above the rush of hot water into the dishpan. You'd better tell me straight off, Bonnie. I'm not very patient person. |. Are they going to arrest Ralph when they find him? There wasn't q word in the paper about him this morning"
 'Im afraid they are. Penny" Dundee told her miscra bly,. Captain Strawn has warrant ready. but of course"
 "Oh, you don't have to tell me you hope Ralph isn't guiity." she cut in with sudden passionate vehemence. Don't l know he couldn't have done it? They always arrest the wrong person first. the blundering idiots"
 It was the thorny Penny again, the Penny with glittering eyes which matched her nickname. But Dundee felt better able to cope with this Penny
 "rm afraid I'm the chief idiot, but you must believe that I'm sorry that it should be friend of yours" " he told her, and reached for the plate she had rinsed of it's suds under the hot water tap.
 "Shoot the works!" she cOm- manded, with hard flippancy. "Of course I might have known that gunman vas just dust in our eyes and that only miracle could keep you from fastening on poor Ralph, since he and the gun are both missing. Naturally it wouldn't occur to you that it might be an outsider, someone who had fol- lowed Nita and her lover, Sprague. from New York, to kill her for having left him for Sprague. Oh. no! Certainly not" she gibed, to keep from bursting into tears.
 "An outsider would hardly have access to Judge Marshall's pistol and Maxim silencer." he reminded her. And Captain Strawn re- ceived wire from a balstics ex- pert in Chicago this morning. con- firming our conviction that the same gun which fired the bullets against Judge Marshalrs target fired the bullet which killed Nita Selim. You've washed that plate long enough. Let me dry it now. And there are other things, Penny
 "Such as" she challenged. "Sprague admitted to me this morning, after 1 had confronted him with proofs. that he sometimes slept in the upstairs bedroom"
 q told you they were lovers" Penny interrupted.
 and that he slept there Friday T night, after he and Nita had quar- reled. He still contends that the row was over that movie of Ham, iton business" Dundee went on, as if she had not spoken. "He ad- mitted also that Nita had told him to take his things away when he left Saturday morning, but he says it was only because she didn't want Ralph Hammond 10 find a mans belongings there if he had occasion to go into the upstairs rooms in making his estimates for the finish ing up of the other side. But he contends and Lydia Carr. whom l also saw again this morning. sup ports him in it, that he stayed in the house occasionally when Nita was particularly nervous about be- ing alone, and that they were not 1 lovers"
 Pooh. Don't wipe the