Nogales international., 1936-02-01


lieutenant "You can have aid in going
through it, if you need it. What are you
particularly interested in?"
Every bit of it," Rankin returned.
PI'1l want to make a thorough
search. But first, have you found
Epicture of Dennis among his be-
pongings?"
Becker shook his head. "There
wasn't any, or Our hunt for him
might have been more successful" ;"
81 suppose a description of Den
Inis will have to do then" Rankin
Sobserved. "Of course, you obtained
Ifull details of his looks from Miss
Trent"
Eyes, it's right here-as exact a
lpicture of him as she could give us" !"
D;sappointingly, however, the rec
lord was not overly practical for
identification; it might have applied
sto thousands of similar youngish,
attractive men,
What about his fngerprints?"
Rhe detective queried. ''He must
have have left plenty in his quarters
O&L tAlC al ll(lNo IIO lld1l0LNo'
Lieutenant Becker produced an
ink-smudged paper. "These are the
ones we found on his furniture"
I'D like copy of these" Ran
kin requested.
The detective reached for a suit
lease. "I'll start going through Den
mis- things" he said. eff you'll get
some one to open these other bags
lieutenant, and help me sort their
jcontents. it won't take long"
Instead of summoning assistance,
Becker lent Rankin hand himself.
There were three bags altogether,
Ahe one on which Rankin began his
examination being of brown leather,
1blong and held together by
straps, The second was a roomy
black satchel, somewhat old and
krayed, while the third was pat
snt-leather overnight case. None
bore travelling tags, and only the
Hast manufacturers imprint:
though on the suitcase, the name of
the retailer, a well-known depart
r1ent store in Chicago, was stamped.
Mr.. Lewis watched the detective,
with admiration and wonder at his
ahoroughness. Careful to miss no
item, the detective examined the
band of a crushed felt nat and
gray cap, both size 71s, seeking
clue as to where they were bought.
41e also searched for hairs from
Dennis head that might cling to
them. Similarly, he scrutinized his
Safety razor shaving kit, which was
unmarked. The fugitive had three
inexpensive but sporty suits. The
miscellaneous contents of the pock-
cts included a small revolver, loose
change, a handkerchief, a ring of
Eskeieton keys, and Hask.
"Say, Becker, look at this beltl
iWhat do you make Of that2" said
Rankin suddenly.
} Abruptly, after his excited exc1a-
nation, he broke off and extended
ithe article in his hands. AS he was
irepacking it into the suitcase, he
happened to study it more closely
1t was finely grained, strong belt
of shining brown leather. Smooth
shnd wide, the usual holes were
punched at one end; at the other,
heavy brass buckle still glittered
brightly, after years of storage and
Neglect
Rankin's eyes shone, as though
At an unexpected inspiration, caus-
ing Becker to take it with a bewi1-
dercd frown.
He turned it over. "Well, what
about it, Rankin?" he returned Its
an exceptionally fine piece of leath-
e., I'll admit; but it's just a belt as
far as l can see"
Il wonder" the others voice rang
with enthusiasm "That's just it;
S:'s too good and strong for an or
0;?ary civilian belt 1t looks to me
Vety mich like russet beta fair
leather belt is the slang for it in
the service"
"Service?" Becker repeated, obvi-
ously startled by the suggestion.
"YOu mean this is an army belt2"
Either that or a marine belt,
lieutenant" Rankin directed his ex-
planation more to Mr. Lewis than
20 the officer "No doubt you've
noticed service men in the winter
PartiCulcrlys soldiers and marines
wearing heavy khaki overcoats; they
put these russell belts around them
on the outside They're something
like the Sam Browne belts officers
:Vyear about their uniforms"