The Daily Alaska empire., 1934-06-14
g@-c c7z111oe1 af k ROCKING HOUSE
 BY WHtrrR (. BROWN
BY WAlrER (. BROWN.

LTER (. BROWN As I understand it. you and Mir. Whitmore were left in sole charge of this house while MT. and Mrs. Dufresne went to their summer home at Moose Head Lodge?"
 "Yes, sir"
 "The Dufresnes left early in July and did not return unt53 late Oc- tober?"
 That's right"
 During all the time of their ab- sence, there were no disturbances, no attempted burglaries, no prowl- CTS at night, nor suspicious charac- ters seen in the grounds?"
 No"
 Did you have any visitors of your own, relatives, or friends?"
 We did not"
 "The house was never left unoc- cupied. then, even for a day?"
 "Never.". The housekeeper was rapping out her staccato replies as quickly as the detective fired his questions.
 (Which rooms did you occupy?"
 "Our usual ones--the double bed. room on the third floor. front"
 "Oh. thought your quarters were over the garage?"
 Those are only temporary. HARPER struck of on a new line. 1 Did you know Officer Hamill. the policeman who was killed?"
 "Only by sight. l remember seeing him about the neighborhood. didn't know his name"
 Did he ever stop to talk?"
 John. my husband, talked to him several times over the fence in the evenings. He never came into the grounds. that l saw"
 How did you know when the house was to be opened again?" MT. Dufresne sent me a telegram the day they started home. All the preparation needed was to replenish the food supply and notify the maid"
 "Oh. there was a maid? What be. came of herr"
 "She left"
 "Discharged?"
 "No, she left of her own accord" What reason dit, she give? Had she been with the Dufresnes long?" About a year and half. didn't ask her reasons for leaving. She gave Mrs. Dufresne the usual two weeks notice." Mrs. Whitmore's tone made it plain that she had not been overly friendly with the maid.
 What was her name?" "Elen Becker"
 Do you have her present ad dress?"
 "I do not. l believe she has rela | tives somewhere in the city. but I'm not sure. Mrs. Dufresne would know"
 "Surely you have some idea as tC why she left, Mrs. Whitmore? l seems very unusual that she should wait all summer to resume her du ties here in the fall and then leave after few weeks. Surely she hat some explanation to maker"
 "Ellen was always close -mouthed and stand-off1sh." the housekeepel replied. "She never made friends with any one"
 "Why wasn't she replaced?"
 By that time the re-decorating had been decided upon and started MT. and Mrs. Dufresne went to tht Austerlitz. There was no need for { maid until the house was opened again."
 Il understand Mrs. Dufresne di rected the changes. suppose sh, was here a great deal while the worl was going on?'' 1 "Oh, yes, she was in and out al the time, consulting about this ant that. But Mrs. Croyden helped To 1 with it, too"
 Did MT. Dufresne come ou often?"
 Perhaps twice week, to see hoy things were going. He left all the de cisions to Mrs. Dufresne. though"
 Well. that gives me a pretty clea idea of how things stood over tn summer but l need few more de tails about this re-decorating. seems to have been a thorough ur dertaking. Was the whole thing har dled by one firm or were the variou jobs given out to different firms?"
 "No. Johnson 6 Carew handle everything, the painting, paperinf upholstery. even the outside pain ing"
 "Then the only workmen wh . were in this house were in their en ploy?" "Yes. There was quite lot ( them, working at various times. Pc haps dozen altogether" : "They were under supervision a the timer" , "Yes, indeed. A MT. Holiday ha ; charge of the whole job. He was U here every day" '"What were the working hoursl "From half-past eight to for o'clock"