The Washington times., 1936-02-25

so involved in 1t, and the papers
publishing nothing else for weeks
there wasn't much she could dc
about it. was there? know she
was awfully worried about it.
about my being right in it, and
she was afraid I might develop
like Allen. Allen is my older
brother. He is only q year ahead
Of me at school because he had
to stay out a year on account of
his health. He is awfully nervous
and sort of moody. heard Dad
call him "neurotic" once, but
haven't found out yet just what
he meant by that. Peculiar" is
what the kids call him; perhaps
Dad wanted to say the same thing.
am awfully fond of Allen in
spite of his being neurotic or pc
culiar. and that is why I felt so
upset when found out about him.
But that comes later.
Dad had lots more sympathy
about things one wants to do when
one is young. He is always telling
Mother not to fuss, especially over
me. He said once, "Frederica, do
not worry over Julie. She is
about as healthy an animal as I
know, from the tip of her curly
black head to the toes on her little
feet"
That was when was so worried
over the evidence was concealing
and Mother thought I was brood
ing on Miss Sinclair's death. Had
she only known!
It all happened last fall. Our
town is q small one across the
bay from San Francisco. and even
though it is so near a big city, it
Is pretty much like all small towns.
So when q murder happened
there, not down over the railroad
tracks where the foreign workmen
live but right in q good apart
ment house, and when the victim
was a teacher from the towns
only high school, business was
practically paralyzed. No one
talked about anything else and
the papers did not publish any
thing else, at least not on the
front page.
I will never get over the shock
Of those first headlines. HIGH
SCHOOL TEACHER MURDERED,
they shrieked, and underneath,
miss Constance Sinclair Shot to
Death." I almost tainted at the
breakfast table.
"Now, julie" cautioned Mother.
"you must not get excited: We
know how fond you were Of MISS
Sinclair and it is a terrible thing,
but we must take it SenSibly."
Allen got up and left the room.
"Oh, DEAR" worried Mother
some more, ALLEN is so sensitive
I do hope"
I broke in to Dad, will there
be any school today?"
81 think so, Julie" then he
turned to Mother. II should not
worry over jules nerves.
Mother"
I didn't get what he meant
then, but saw afterward that he
was teasing even at that moment.
He thought I was concerned about
q vacation. I was really afraid
we would have one. We all read
parts of the story and told each
other the details, even Mother
joining the excitement.
It seemed that she was shot to
death while she sat at her desk
writing a letter to someone whose
name the police had not disclosed.
If they knew it in full. The police
themselves had discovered her
after a mysterious telephone call
from San Francisco had informed
them she had been killed. The
call had been traced to the Ferry
Building public booths. but as
neither the bootblack nor the
checking clerk who had stands
near them could remember the
many persons who had stopped
at the booth that night, the trail
seemed to end there.
The hour Of her death had been
fixed as around 10 o'clock from
this call. Mrs. Sardoni who man.
aged the apartment house had
given the police a list of people
who had called there that day,
the paper said. The last visitor
had been there until $3.50, she
said. The call had come to the
police at .10:45. If the person
who made the call had just ar
rived on the 10:43 boat, and if
this person were the murderer,
then Miss Sinclair must have been
killed not later than 9:40 p. m.
"And to think" I almost
moaned out loud, that I was
there yesterday afternoon and
she was alive and happy"
you were there!" exclaimed
Mother.
"Yes. I was working after
school in the office" Il took a
course in typewriting. and our
principal made me an assistant in
the office for an hour after
school.) "Mr. Perkins wanted
some reports ready in time for
his superintendent's meeting at
4 o'clock. only had half hour
to finish them. I had done the
tipping but I had to fill in each
copy with some figures. Just as I
was hurrying the most, my pen
broke-can I have another, Dad?"
Dad Just nodded and I hurried
on. It tried to use a regular
pen, but the darn-the mean
thing wouldn't work. I only
had 10 minutes and I was almost