The Coolidge examiner., 1933-09-15

with him or interfered with his pur-
suits. But to prove that Buckley
had reason TO commit the crime
was not enough, If he lacked the
opportunity. That problem Rankin
could not deal with until he learned
where the two missing brothers had
been during the initiation. 1t
seemed impossible that Buckley,
presumably a stranger to the ritual.
was nevertheless present at the
ceremony.
Rankin went TO the dormitory
post office; and introducing himself
to Mr.. Thorne, in charge of sorting
and distributing incoming mails.
questioned him as TO letters Jor-
dan might have got. But the post
master never had occasion to no
tice his particular mail Still, ne said.
as the boy owned a letter box. num-
ber 397, and a corresponding key.
he probably received a great deal
of it. He promised faithfully to
watch for further communications
and apprise Rankin of them.
II was three-fifteen when the de-
tective reached the Mu Beta Sigma
house. Anthony Graham opened the
door for him. and Stanton, looking
more harassed than ever, joined
them in the hall. Before leaving
headquarters, Rankin had phoned
the fraternity. requesting that Larry
Palmer and Ben Crawford await
his arrival; the president said that
they had been there since two
O'Clock.
Rankin aPologized for his tardi
ness. ut took me longer than | ex-
pected to settle other details of the
case. Now, Mr.. Stanton, If
you will allow me to have the llv-
Ing room alone for a short while.
I'll speak to them in there. Sepa-
rately. of course; It is immaterial
which you send In first"
Benjamin Crawford presented
himself irst-the only member Of
the chapter he had not yet met. A
dapper youth, with well-rounded
features. artless eyes and blond
hair. his efforts TO look more ma
ture were amusing. He seated him
self nonchalantly on the sofa, adopt
Ing a psuedo-sophisticated attitude
to foster that impression. But
neither pose nor the fine mustache
he sported could conceal the fact
that he was only nineteen.
"You know what | want from you,
Mr.. Crawford" Rankin said. 81
don't have to explain. after last
night, the Importance of checking
the movements of every one in the
house. You were absent and |
couldn't do 1t in your case. The
question is. where did you spend
your time yesterday eveningT"
"It's an awful business, isn't II.
sir?" Crawford replied without hesi-
tation. Poor Stuart. l had a
date with a girl and missed the
whole thing"
Weren't you at the initiation at
all? You didn't stay a while and
leave before the ceremony was
over?'
The boy shook his head. mo, l
went out at least fifteen minutes
before the meeting started. My
date was for nine o'clock, way up
in Oak lane; as II takes almost
an hour to get there, left the house
at eight"
That's all that really matters"
Rankin said. Let me have your
friends name and address; as a
matter of form. she will have to
confirm your statement"
"But | can't" Ben Crawford re-
turned. That's just the trouble. |
don't know where to find her or
what her name is You see, 1t was
a blind date in the first place
a pickup. in fact I was never in
troduced to the girl. And then.
when I reached the place l was to
meet her. she wasn't there" His
injured tone showed he considered
himself lily used. "She stood me
up"
Rankin's voice was suddenly
sharp. "But although she failed to
keep her appointment at only nine
o'clock, you had not returned to
the house here by three-thirty this
morning. How do you explain the
delay, Mr.. Crawford?"
The students blase poise re-
mained unruffled Its a rather
long story. sir. met her. first last
Thursday night. out In Oak lane.
had been calling on another girl
who lives at 6100. north of the first
station. | left her at twelve-t thirty
and went to the corner of Godfrey
and York roads for my car. And
here was this girl by herself. |
don't suppose we would have got
acquainted, much as | wanted to, if
| hadn't caught her looking direct
ly at me- Then, when our eyes met.
she smiled as if she wouldn't mind
speaking to me, either" Conceit-
Il L. T. Il