Evening star., 1934-10-17
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM

At RANDOM
Mwswa csrmssl.
TuB STRANGE DoARDERs or
pAr.Ac1 cREgcxgT. ~ 4. YhiIlipu
oppsnhsim. Doston: Littis. brown
A %.
A strange lot indeed are the M
diyiduals who % far - general appear
snos and public knowledee may b en-
earned are merely duplication Of the
more or Ieis institutiouAl types OF
homeless men and women 70 be found
IN any first-class boarding house with
areputatin Z for Reasonable prices, good
food and . restricted social standard
Mr.. Reginald DarStowso the Deau
Drummei q the establishment, work,
In , bank somewhere. Mr.. Inke = Z
good golfer. belongs to the bsst clubs
and has the distinction of being The
nrst paying guest to take up his abode
IN the Palace Crescent, but no one
knows how he acquired the wealth
which permits him to live In moderate
luxury and ease. Mr.. Lashwoot
operates . factory IN the east end o1
London for the manufacture Of leather
novelties. Audrey Packe b shy. shabby
young girl earning q meager livenhoot
- Z clerk IN department. store. Freds
MedlincOtt u Q fair.haired, rather
handsome actress without . Job. Col
bennett 10 . retired Indian Army mar
with barely enough money 10 live on
Mr.. Padgham maintains . law once
while his wife gossips and arrays her.
self In finery. Mr.. Bernascon and Mr.
ollivant manage to convey the I'M
pression that they are In finance. lliss
Susannah and Miss Amelia Clewes
genteel spinsters Of moderate means
knit and murmur to each other con.
cerning the odd behavior Of certain
Of their fellow boarderS. Flora ouayne
beautiful, wealthy and . cripple, /,
the star Of the establishment, occupy.
ing . specially constructed suite Of
rooms, luxuriously furnished, and re.
ceiving services and attentions bestov.
ed upon no one else In the house. Mrs
Dewar. owner OF the Palace Crescent
ID hard, stony-eyed, colorless woman
who never smiles, and Joseph, tha
butler. II - hard Of feature and q,
unrespondve Of disposition - his un.
attractive employer.
Roger Ferrisons only concern on
the evening Of his admission to thu
Nh a.
and shelter It Offers will be abort.
lived. for he IL all but dead broke
and the prospect Of acquiring th.
funds to pay for IN extension Of hil
stay 10 dim. Before the blessed un.
consciousness Of sleep brings relax.
alton and rest to his weary body
however, he learns that he d In {
house where strange things occur
A strict rule Of the establishment 4
that the key Of every guest must b,
In tts proper place on . rack In thu
locker room when its owner b In
He and Mr.. Luke are the last to re.
tire to their rooms on that frs,
evening. Yet at two O'Clock In thu
morning, when for some reason In.
explicable to himself Roger u I'm.
PEELED to take = look ut those keys
five Of them are missing, though d
were in place when he said good.
night to Mr.. Luke.
Several nights later, when every one
in the house except himself was sup.
posedly asleep, the shrill summons oi
1 police whistle sent him hurryine
toward the back entrance, where hl
stumbled over the form Of the butler
asleep In . position barring the door
with Q pistol at hand. Outside hi
finds the policeman bending over ths
body Of Col. bennett. The old man
has been murdered, apparently foa
robbery. though he h known to have
been almost penniless. Only one bul.
let pierced his feeble body. and ex-
animation shows that one chamber
Of the buffers pistol b empty.
Between the amorous attentions oi
Flora QuAyne, which he cannot e.
cape, and anxiety over his own busi-
ness and financial difaculties, Roge,
has little time to dwell upon the
queerneBs Of his associates In thu
boarding house, but IN accumulation
Of Questionable circumstances and
mysterious occurrences eventually
causes him to become wary Of his sur
roundings and to seek proper aid foI
the protection Of one he has come tf
love very dearly when suspicion tha,
she IL In grave danger mounts tc
confirmed fear.
A new type Of Scotland Yard de-
tective has been created BY Mr.. Open
helm. and the thick fog Of mystery
through which he u compelled tc
grope before the facts behind the
respectable appearance Of the Palace
Crescent are revealed b sathfyingiy
filled with surprises and thrills. Op-
penheim never disappointa
ALONG THE HIGHWAY OF LIFE
By william Colfax Markham. Pub.
lished in washington, D. c., by
the author.
Characteristic Of the deep interest
and the years Of work which Mr.
Markham has devoted to the material
arteries Of travel Of this country. hs
has given this volume Of verse Q titls
descriptive Of his observations alonl
the spiritual highways on which nc
barriers against mankind are evel
erected. More than nifty poems are
contained in the volume, many oi
them extolling the beauties unfoldec
BY nature for all who follow the high
roads and the bypaths to enjoy. and
others giving expression to emotional
responses inspired BY an appreciative
observation Of human beings at work
ut rest and In various moods Of pleas
ure, of indifference, Of unconscioua
reaction to surroundings or Of sorrow,
They are Interesting poems, al oi
them, rejecting the pefeonality oi
their author and the keen sense OF
perception with which he envisions the
esthetic - wen ~ the practical and
material paths By which mankind ar
rives at . chosen or q chance destina-
ton.
Mr.. Markham was born In Ohio and
has been . resident Of this city since
1871. He was for q long time engaged
m newspaper work and was for many
49, - q