The Daily Alaska empire., 1934-05-25
gg@- o7z.o1elea at N ROCKING HOUSE
 BY WALTER (. BRoWN
BY WALTER C. BROWN.

In few minutes Pierre Dufresn
 stood up. with a great change in hi bearing. His face had become har,
 and expressionless his carriag
 more erect, his step firmer. "I wan
 some hot coffee. Tell Mrs. Whit
 more."
 T Mrs. Whitmore?" Harper repeat
 ed bankly. The name was strange to him.
 | Haven't you seen Mrs. Whit lmore? She hasn't appeared. with al
 this commotion in hereT Seeing
 Harpers blank look. he went on t( explain. Mrs. Whitmore is my , housekeeDer. She and her husband
 have been living in the apartment
 over the garage while the decora
 tors were working in the house. An drews, get her on the house phone and tell her to come over.
 Yes, and call up Aline and Rich ard. MT. and Mrs. Croyden," he ex. pained to the detective. Mrs. Croy. den is my wife's sister Their house is on the next street You can see a corner of it from our back win dows"
 Andrews went to rouse the sleep ing Whitmores. There was special telephone connection between the rear of the house and the rooms over the garage.
 ''ls it necessary to have all these men running through the house?" | Dufresne questioned testify. "The place seems 10 be swarming with police. Who are all these men and what the devil are they doing here?"
 There are certain regulations and formalities to be compiled with in a case of this sort" Harper explained. These men are doing routine work. As soon as it is completed, they'll clear out"
 1 THEY went into the breakfast Il room and Harper closed the door. Although Harper was watch ing closely, he couid detect no spark of emotion on Dufresne's face as he stood inside the door and surveyed the murder scene. With the two faces there before him. Harper saw that there was indeed startling re- semblance. more than enough to confuse the casual eye.
 That's the way we found them. The electric lights were not on. Now. MT. Dufresne, does that sug- gest anything to you?"
 Dufresne shook his head. "I am completely myst!fied. Harper. can not tell you why any man should try to murder me nor why he should disguise himself in that fashion. break in here. and then shoot po- liceman. 1 can't even understand why the policeman entered the house. assume that this is the man who has been threatening me-"
 Ut seems likely. While we have not yet established any definite con nection. the circumstance of the AeQants from this afternoon on. can hardly be laid to absolute coinci- dence."
 Harper removed the false nous stache. the goatee, the eyeglasses. At once the resemblance to Du. fresne was dlssipated This man was atsieast ten years younger The lines of his face exhibited strength. per slstence. and determination. Dog. gedness was in the line of his jaw. Not at all the lineaments of an i'm beeile. nor those of a homicidal maniac.
 .'l never saw this man before in my life" Dufresne declared, em. phatically.
 Are you quite sure of that, Mir. Dufresne? Remember. he had prob ably been following you about for some time. Think we'll" 'l am positive. have good mem- ory for faces-an excellent memory. 1 do not know this man have never seen him before"
 ".Would you have any objections to my bringing in the others and asking them the same question:" Not at all, Earper. l believe that would be the best procedure" Sergeant Harper called in Dr. Mill Ter and the two ambulance men. Well be all through in few min ufes," he said, "Then you can strip this body and take 1t away. In the meantime, you may remove Hamiil." :" There was now more confusion than ever. Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore had arrived and were listening. wide-eyed and almost incredulous, to the low-voiced explanations of Andrews.
 The man had come up from Head. quarters with the missing gray and white dusting powders for the in- sufflator. and Harper set the finger print man to work on the decanters and glass and the two guns. | The trained nurse Dr. Ulrich had summoned arrived in a taxicab and was whisked upstairs by the doctor before the detective had chance to see her face.
 But for all the activity, the house remained what it had seemed when