Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-11-29
CHAPTER i--Contlnued

?
'I1l sell three hundred thousand
papers In the next two hours. If |
didn't do 1t, somebody else would"
The medical examiner continued
his examination. briefly. He shook
his head when he finally ros "In-
stantaneous." he said. "The muir.
derer gave him the wound across
the groin first. a glancing blow. pain
full, but not necessarily fatal. Evil
IDENTIFY Franklin struggled" He In
dicated the torn collar. His as
sailant grabbed him there, to pre-
vent his calling for help. There are
blue marks on his throat. AS for
these" he pointed out the small
bruises at either end of the second
wound, II don't know where they
came from. but the second wound
did the business. | think II must
have reached the heart, judging
from the loss of blood"
Sergeant Kilday examined the blue
bruises at either end of the wound
intently. "What do you make of
them, Peter?' he inquired presently.
The novelist shook his head. II
don't know" he said. "Pve been
trying to explain them, In my wi
mind, but | haven't had any luck,
80 far"
They were interrupted by a sharp
rap on the door.
Kilday opened 1t.
A tall well-built man, whose In
tent gray eyes stared beyond the
g detective to the body on the floor,
stood In the doorway.
May I be Of some assistanceT
he inquired gravely. I'm Milo Dun
bar. Franklin and | are-or rather
were-partners."
Kilday stepped aside to let him
by. There was a suggestion of pow
er in the reserved dignity of the
mans smooth-shaven face. He
stopped beside the body. Only for
an instant did the firm lines of his
mouth relax into an expression Of
pity. Then his reserve settled back
on his face. like a mask.
Have you any idea who did this
thing?" he inquired Of the detective.
Kilday grimaced ruefully. "You
can rest assured Wen go after the
man who did 1t. We've got to-" He
gave Nick Royce a wry smile. IF
we don't. every paper In town will
be after my scalp.
"And now the biggest help all Of
you can be is to clear out of this
room until we finish with our In
vestigation. I'll want to talk TO all
Of you, later, but right now. I'd bet
ter have a look at this room, before
anything is disturbed. You can wait
In there" He motioned toward the
Bacristy.
Doctor Alternately escaped from
the room with evident relief, fol-
lowed by Ambrose Carmody and
Milo Dunbar. Cardigan hesitated,
hoping for an invitation to remain,
which was prompt In coming.
Il didn't can you. Peter" the
detective said. I'm glad you're
here. I'll need your help"
How about mel" Nick Royce
stopped In the door. I'm represent
ing Topics"
Outside" growled Kilday. "We
amt let any Of the other newspa-
per boys In yet, have WEI"
None of the other newspaper
boys know as much about this as |
do" retorted Royce confidently.
For instance, l could tell you that
the murderer wiped his dagger on
that curtain over there, before he
ran out the back door"
Kilday examined the dark stain
on the indicated curtain. "Stick
around II you want to-" he yielded
grudgingly. "But I'd have found
the mark on the curtain, anyway"
Under the ~sergeant's direction, the
minute examination began. The de-
tective with the camera began pho
tographing each detail of the room.
A second officer began the painstak-
ing search for finger-prlnts.
The sergeant had been bent over
the table, carefully scrutinizing one
Of the fnger-print specimens busted
for photographing by his subordi-
mates. Now he Strengthened and
faced Royce.
who do you think killed Jim
Franklin, Royce?" he demanded sud
denly.
"A woman" replied the newspa-
per man calmly.
"WhyY
For the first time, Nick Royce an !
swered reluctantly. THAT was bis
weakness" he admitted grudgingly.
The fact La too well known to re-
main a secret long. There have been
a great many women In Jim's life"