The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-01-13

You forget Sprague's wiring for
the alarm bell from here to Lydia's
rooml"
He threw back the rug. Near
Nita's bed there was hole in the
floor, and out of it came a short
length Of electric wire, ending in
two small metal plates. But at
tached also to the wire was the cord
from the bronze lamp.
The plug Of the lamp cord is
nearly out of the Dashboard 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 adj
hesive tape both on the lamp cord
and on the wire Of Nita's alarm bell
here gave me the clew. In installing
the alarm bell, Sprague copied the
arrangement under the dining Ia
BILE, of course. And Miles simply
had to drop a bit, fastened to the
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 I'M
derstand, 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-
meath the dining room bell? The
tacks he used to secure it also were
returned to the tool chest, but he
could not get rid of either the
auger hole or the tiny holes show
ing the course Of the wire. Let's
follow It'll"
He led them across the basement
to door leading into dank, un-
finished portion of the cellar. The
wire passed under the top frame OF
the door, and, with a fiashlight in
his hand, Dundee showed how II
continued along a rafter until II
reached the place where it was
joined, by adhesive tape, to the
wire Sprague had dropped from
Nita's bedroom floor.
miles simply cut the wire here
where it enters another hole
through Lydia's bedroom wan, and
attached the new wire" dundee
explained.
THE connection between the din
ing room bell and the electro mag
net in the lamp upstairs then was
complete. Sprague had bought
yards too much of the wire-for-
tunately, so far as Miles scheme
was concerned"
But what a chance Miles took
on the bullet not hitting her in a
fatal spoil" Sanderson commented
in an awed voice.
mo. He would fire the gun only
If Nita was seated before her dress
ing table. AS an experienced
marksman, he could calculate the
path of the bullet to a nicely.
"Of course the machine had to be
used that very day AS you know,
Mia herself gave him his chance.
Miles, standing at the sideboard,
listened until the first faint notes
of Juanita told him that Mia was
powdering her face, and he could
be sure she was sitting down to the
task.
'Nita saw nothing to alarm her,
but the gun kicked, and the big
lamp was rocked so that it banged
against the window frame, shat
tering the one bulb Miles had left
in 1t. Of course he moved the lamp
foot or so, in the resulting ex-
element.
"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
committed suicide then"
"XXTHAT il Mia had not asked
wv him to mix the cocktails OF
had not gone to powder her face?'
Strawn asked.
1.-The whole party was going to
dine and dance at the Country
Club. Miles would have escorted
her home, as he had done en- Mon
day night, and then would have
made his opportunity.
But I must tell you that on Sat.
urday morning, according to the
telephone operator in Miles Office
Nita rang him to say she must see
him as soon as possible, her unex-
pressed intention being to tell hin
that she was not going to bother
him again.
He told her he would be right
out, but Mia said she and Lydia
were going into Hamilton and woulc
not be back until 2:30-the time the
bridge game was scheduled to be-
gin. But Miles came on out, hav-
ing previously stolen the gun ano
silencer and having studied the
house"
How did he get in?" Sanderson
wanted to know
Judge Marshall had lent him q
key in February, when Miles want
ed to show the house to an engaged
young man in his office, and Miles
never returned it.
well, when Miles arrived he
found Ralph Hammond here, and
had to leave, waiting at safe dis
lance until the coast was clear about
l o'clock. But even so he had more
than an hour to do his carefully
planned job"
But you were wrong about the
secret shelf" StTawn gloated.
mo. 1t 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 Mia
already had burned"
"How was Sprague killed." San
derson interrupted impatiently.
Dundee reached into the tool
chest and brought oy,t O y,orrouy