The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-10-13

AhVALh VA II GIL udAJ AdAAC0 " NOi
meet the two events in spite of the
obvious coincidence, on hearing Miss
Prentiss' confession"
Seated in his Office, Mr.. Warwick as
sured the detective of the schools will
ingness to wash its hands of the en-
tire crime; the authorities could pro
duce whatever evidence they chose
The solution was too sensational to
hope to suppress further, despite the
vast influence of alumni and trustees,
the resultant scandalous publicity.
But in such quarters" the super
visor continued, "the students are
thrown together and live more or
less communal life. You'll have to ex-
plain how she manageable mingle with
them on some degree Of intimacy"
It was the second morning after the
actress arrest that Rankin called on
him to discuss the university's final
interest in the case. The supervisor
had expressed his perplexity with GER
lain details of the crime that opened
the above conversation.
'That's just 1t, she didn't" Rankin
met his observation. "The first time
l visited her room, the charwoman told
me how aloof Randall was. She said
he never invited his neighbors into
his room or Joined in the rough-house
they INDUCED in. One typically fem
mime trait she mentioned was his neat
ness in keeping his room in order him
SELF
"Still. there were contacts Mrs.
Jordan could scarcely avoid. Especial
ly in the washroom. no matter how
cautious she was to escape embarrass-
ment."
The detective shook his head. mo,
her practice of staying in bed late
eliminated most of them. Remem-
Der, beside those in the lavatories,
each room has it's individual wash
basin. It's small point, but it meant
the difference between success and
failure in her imposition; without 1t,
her scheme was impracticable. She
could wash and dress fully in her own
quarters. And use the washroom, too.
just as conveniently as the other stu
DENTS"
Mr.. Warwick drummed thoughtfully
on the top of his desk with pencil.
"Well, how about in classes, Ran
kim" he inquired. "She couldn't very
well help being thrown in with them
there and meeting the professors as
WELL"
"She simply failed to attend them
at all, SIR" Rankin replied. "As 1 I'M
derstand it, the teachers receive no
check-up list of who has been assigned
to them; they don't know their pupils
until they present themselves at the
beginning of the course and personal
ly hand in their names.
"Of course, she went through the
formality of arranging her schedule OF
courses for the year and selecting her
particular hours with particular teach
ers. But no one was the wiser when
she just didn't show up, either in oc-
tober for a few weeks or again, in
February and part of this month"
Eyes, that is true Of the college de-
partment," the supervisor nodded.
"where Randall that Is, she
registered. Other departments do give
each instructor the names of his stu
dents. Gymnastics Of some sort, for
instance, are required of every boy
twice a week; how did she evade
that?"
"She might have been excused by
easily obtaining certificate of i'll
health from Doctor Prince" Rankin
reminded him. INSTEAD, for two rea-
sons. she took up military training,
which is allowed as substitute. She
never needed to dress or disrobe in
the gymnasium locker room, which
would be necessary for track, SWIM
ming or other exercise; she could don
her uniform in the dorm and then join
the training corps. And it was an ad-
ditional disguise in itself, increasing
the masculinity of her appearance and
carriage. The hat especially concealed
her hair. Even so, she cut the class
as often as possible. In the first place,
it did not begin this year until Novem-
Der, after she left; and when she re-
turned and Joined it in February, she
expected to leave again, the murder
committed, by the end of initiation sea-
son. So she stayed away practically
all the time, these last six weeks"
"But the one thing she had to I'M
dergo, Rankin, was physical exam
ination. Every student entering the
university must; even when he brings
an acceptable health record from an
other school, he has to stand fresh in
spection."
The detective did not answer at
once; he drew a few more puffs from
his cigarette, forming smoke rings, and
then fiicked it into the waste-basket.
"Yes, 1 realize that" he admitted
slowly, "and it puzzled me for a while.
But l believe I have figured 1t out.
When a student presents himself for
the examination, only his own word
identifies him; he does not bring along
verifying picture. Anyone, there