The Washington times., 1934-12-01


ping off the flashlight. moving
over close to a side wall.
"A whole goldurned flock Of de.
putty sheriffS," the voice answered.
Couldn't you push one of 'em
in and let us get a good look at
him?" I asked. 1--WE been choked
and carved and shot at tonight
until haven't got r UGH faith left
in anybody'S word"
A lanky, knock.kneed man with
thin leathery face appeared in
The doorway. He showed me a
buzzer, fished out my credentials,
and the other deputies came in.
There were three Of them in all.
I'VE were driving down the road
bound for a little job near the
point when we heard all the shoot
ing" the lanky one explained.
Whats up?"
I told him.
This shack's been empty long
while" he said when had fin
ished. Anybody could have
camped in It easy enough. Think
ii was that Papadoooulos, huh?
Well kind Of look around for him
and his freinds-especial since
there's that nice reward money"
We searched the oods and
found nobody. The man had
knocked down and the man had
shot were both gone.
Jack and I rode back tu SauSa-
Tito with the deputies. I hunted
up q doctor there and hat my
back bandaged He said the cut
was long but shallow. Then we
returned to San Francisco and
separated in the direction Of our
homes.
And thus ended the days doings.
Here is something that hap
peued next morning. didn't see
it. heard about it little before
noon and read about it in the
papers that afternoon. I didn't
know then that had any per-
sonal interest in it, but later I
did-so I'll pull it in ehre where
it happened.
At ten o'clock that morning,
into busy Market Street, staggered
a man who was naked from the
up of his battered head to the
soleS of his blood,stained feet.
From his bare chest and sides and
back, little ribbons of flesh hung
down, dripping blood. His LETT
arm was broken in two places
The left side of his bald head was
smashed in. An hclr laser ne
died in the emerency hospital
without having said a word to
anyone, with the same vacant, dis
tant look in his eyes.
The police easily ran back the
trail of blood drops. They ended
with a red smear in an alley BE-
side a small hotel just off Market
Street. In the hotel, the police
found the room from which the
man had jumped, fallen, or been
thrown. The bed was Soggy with
blood. On it were torn and twisted
sheets that had been knotted and
used ropewise. There was also a
towel that had been used as a gag.
The hotel management said the
man had been there two days. He
was registered as H. F. BarroWs,
City. He had a black gladstone
bag in which, besides clothes,
shaving implements and so on, the
police found a box Of .38 car
tridges, black handkerchief with
eye-holes cut in it, four skeleton
keys, a small jimmy, and guam,
tity of morphine, with a needle
and the rest of the kit. Elsewhere
in the room they found the rest
Of his clothes, a .38 revolver and
two quarts of liquor. They didn't t
find a cent.
CHAPTER XVI
While this was happening I was
at the office, sitting forward in
my chair to spare my back, read
ing reports, all of which told how
operatives attached to various
Continental Detective Agency
branches had continued to fail to
turn up any indications Of the past
present, or future whereabouts OF
PopodopouloS and Nancy Regain
There was nothing novel about
these reports-I had been reading
similar ones for three weeks.
The Old Man and went out to
luncheon together, and I told him
about the previous nights adven-
lures in Sausalito while we ate.
His grandfatherly face was as at
tentive as always, and his smile as
politely interested, but when I was
half through my story he turned
his mild blue eyes from my face to
his salad and he stared at his
salad until I had finished talking
Then, still not looking up, he said
he was sorry I had been cut. I
thanked him and we ate while.
Finally he looked at me. The
mildness and courtesy he habitu-
ally wore over his cold-blooded-
ness were in face and eyes and
voice as he said:
"This first indication that Papa
dopoulos is still alive came imme-
diately after Tom-Tom Carey's ar
rival"
1t was my turn to shift my eyes.
I looked at the roll I was break
ing while sad: Eyes"
Coincidence
That afternoon a phone call
came in from a woman out in the
Mission who had seen some highly
mysterious happenings and was
sure they had something to do