The Nome daily nugget., 1934-12-31
MYSTERY AT RABBIT HILL
 d0
By R. H. WILKINSON
@ Bell syndicate.-WNU Service.

THE mystery at Rabbit Hin
 lasted but week.
 1 Yet It's brevity served to de- tract not at all from the atmosphere of glamor and excitement ana heavy intrigue which 1t created.
 Mysteries are not common In our town of Medway.
 Those of us who abide here the greater part of the time live mediocre life, a life of routine that scarcely, If ever. deviates from tne path of normality.
 Hence, mystery brief though II may be, logical and disappointing though the solution, because of It's sheer incongruity in our staid oid town, is something to talk about.
 Our mystery occurred two months ago.
 The Taylor Winslows, who have occupied the big white house on Rabbit Hill for generations back, departed one bright June morning for an extended motor tour Of the White mountains and Canada.
 Toward dusk of the same day an automobile containing four people swung into the Winslows' drive and stopped just outside the garage door.
 The car was roadster and two of its four occupants, man and Q woman, occupied the rumble seat.
 It was fine summers night, with a crescent moon hanging above the pines beyond the house, with stars, clear and white, blinking overhead, with the air warm with the smell of growing things.
 The four people in the automo- bile had driven far and were weary.
 The present setting was a far cry from the city home they had quit ted several hours before.
 It was restful here and cool.
 They remained in the car for a quarter-hour or more. conscious Of the magic spell Of peace and quiet that enfolded them, and thankful for. 1t.
 Presently the man in the rumble seat stirred and sat erect.
 Let's go inside, Bob. It's getting cold, and there's fireplace in there"
 At the exact moment he uttered the words the young man was con. scious of an unexplaiAable sensa- tion of weirdness.
 For no reason whatever he found himself staring into the darkness beyond the car; he sensed, he thought. a mysterious presence oth. CT than that of his companions.
 The youth looked at the girl.
 Her eyes were open and her face had assumed an attitude of listen ing.
 Those in front were rigid and still.
 The crescent moon had disap. peared behind the pines.
 It was dark and deathly still. The young man who had spoken uttered a laugh that somehow lacked in mirth, and at the exact moment the sound left his lips something neither soft nor hard yet seemingly malleable crashed against his head.
 He reeled, groaned, instinctively lifted up his arm, only to have 1t beaten down.
 One of the girls screamed, and then the other.
 The young man at the wheel swore, and pressed his foot against the starter button.
 The roadster leaped ahead, dis appeared inside the open door of the garage and stopped.
 Ten minutes later the village tele- phone operator had summoned Med ways police chief from his regular evening beat in response to an ur- gent summons. Chief Tom Car mody clamped the switchboard re- ceivers over his head.
 "Hello," came a voice. "Chief Carmody? This Is Bob Winslow. Pm up at Taylor's place on Rabbit Hill. Come up right away, will you? Somebody's hurt r
 Chief Carmody, who himself was not immune to little excitement now and again to relieve the monot- ony of law-abiding community, made short work of the two miles to Rabbit Hill.
 He listened to Bob Winslow's ac- count of what had happened, ex- amined the wound on Harry Car ter's head, made mental note of the frightened expressions on the faces of the two women, and. flashlight and gun in hand, went out to inves. tigate.
 After ten minutes time Bob Winslow began to wonder what had happened to the chief, and when another ten minutes had passed without word from him, went him enIfg fo invostfCato