The Coolidge examiner., 1935-04-19
CHAPTER x
The seo;,iss Trail.

snd explained TO the secretary. Mr
Ferry B Rice. the nature of the In.
formation he sought Mr.. ri g
Introduced Us 20 AIRS. Del Campo
the head o, the show department
Mrs Del Campo. when Mr. Rice sx.
plalned 10 her what Vance wanted
found the marked EuEleHood caia
logue. Turning 10 the Scottish ter
rier section. abe ran her finger
down the list of Pupy Bitch entries
until she came 10 the winner oi
The class The owners name was
given as julius HiEginbotiom. and
the name OF the dog Itself as Mlss
AacTavlsh- The breeder wus Herr,
Bi1by.
Vance made note of these data.
and expressed bis admiration for
the A X. q system.
When We arrived NJ The district
attorneys nfiice on the fourth aoor
4 - the Criminal Courts building.
Markham VAS In conference with
Sergeant Heath. swacker. the dis
irict attorneys secretary. ushered
as Immediately into Markham's pri.
yaie Office.
Things are moving Vance sat
down and took out his cigarette
case. Il hsye Just come from the
American Kennel club and have dis.
covered BIT OF most lntereslln' In
formation. The wounded Scottie.
Markham. belongs 70 none other
than Julius Hlgglnboliom.
And who might be be. vancef
And why does the fact interest
your
Il have met Hlgginboiiom He's
member OF the crexiylew Coun
Try club. and be has large country
estate AT Mount Vernon. where he
spends bis entire time living what
be imaglnes to be the life 81 a coun
try gentleman"
Heath sat forward IN bis chair.
III was the CresiyIew Country
club al Mount Vernon" be inter.
iecied. where Miss Lake and GrasSl
went TO a dance Wednesday night. "
And that's not all. Sergeant +"
Vance sprawled luxuriously In bis
chair and took n deep inhalation.
-Higginboitom knew Archer Coe
pretty well. Several years ago
Higglnbotiom inherited. from an
aunt. a very One collection OF early
Chinese paintings. many o, which
Zoe bought from him nj a prepos
terously low price HIgginboitom
ls something OF gay bird-the
sporting type OF man-and knew
nothing OF the value OF the paint.
ingS After be had sold them 10
Zoe be learned from n dealer that
they were very valuable. and there
was consequent talk. In certain New
York art circles. 10 the effect that
Coe had put over a shrewd and
somewhat uneihical deal on Hlggin.
bottom, who. as know. took the mat.
ter up with Coe. bur without any
success. and there has been a GER
tain amount OF bad blood between
them ever since. Higglnbottom
was a major In the World war and
is hotheaded sort OF chap"
Markham beat a nervous tattoo
on the desk.
We'll. where does that get usT'
he asked Are you Implying that
Higginboitom came down from
Mount Vernon with his dog and
murdered Coe?"
Good Lord. MOI" Vance made a
slight gesture OF annoyance I'm
not lmplyin' anything. am merely
reportin' my findings. But | must
confess that | Gnd the Relationship
between the ScoTtie and Major HIg-
gInboitom and Archer Coe bit sat
Isfyln'. / am motoring Immediately
TO Mount Vernon. where hope TO
have polite-and ] trust. illu-
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. with the ma
/ jor concerning Miss MacTavish.
Would You care 10 hear the result
OF my social endeavors?'
al be here all afternoon" Mark
ham answered glumly.
We bad little difficulty In hnd
Ing the Higginbottom estate. and We
were lucky enough 10 fnd the ma.
jor sitting on the big colonial front
porch.
TO what do owe the honor OF
this call. sirG" He spoke with hos
pltable good nature. Il am really
delighted. You should come often
er."
I'D be charmed" Vance sat down
beside a small glass table But
today. Major. d We see. I hoped
out here on a little matter OF bust.
ness. The truth Is. I'm dashed
interested In a Scottle bitch belong
ing TO you-Miss MacTayish-who
was shown at Englewood. :"
At the mention of the dogs name
Higginbottom gave a loud cough,