Carbon County news., 1936-06-26


It. Kelly was talking to Hambidge.
recognized the Judges voice, and
slipped into the dining room. Lis
tening, learned why he had writ
ten that decision. And heard Kelly
say, If 1t amt filed by noon today,
I'll have your sister-in-law arrested
for bigamy.'
"Hambtdge said, You can do what
you like; / won't file it,
"The cut-glass decanter was on
the table in front Of me. I picked
1t up, almost mechanically. Kelly
was. in the hall then, shouting
'squealers' and beat it. / suppose
i had some vague idea Of helping
my brother-in-law. l don't know.
Anyway, opened the door between
the dining room and the drawing
room. And, as did so, Kelly came
in from the hall, closing that door
behind him. His left hand was still
on the knob when he saw me.
"'More squealers! he shouted.
witnesses! So you heard, did you?
Well, by God, you're not going to
tell anybodyI'
"He lifted his right hand, and
there was revolver in it.
"Another instant, and he'd've fired.
II hurled the decanter.
ut was just instinct. didn't
take aim. There wasn't time. If /
meant to do anything, it was to hit
his pistol arm. I don't really know
where the bottle did strike. A mo-
ment afterward, Kelly went down
in a heap.
"He wasn't dead. A long way
from it, for the gun had dropped
out of his hand, and he reached for
it. picked it up. Ten seconds
later, Hambidge was on the other
side of that door, trying to open it,
and calling Kelly. I turned the
lights out. Hambidge left. I put
the revolver into my pocket, and
got the certificate out of Kelly's.
There was a white push-button in
the door-frame. / pressed it-or
thought did-and hurried through
the dining room into the street.
Evidently, the bell didn't ring, for
it seems that no one came to Kel-
ly's assistance.
ut never occurred to me that
Kelly was anything more than
stunned. went home, and burned
that marriage certificate. There
was no other record; I'd made sure
Of that. A few hours later, Ham
bidge phoned to say he'd filed his
decision. There was nothing about
Kelly in the morning paper. I'd no
idea. he was dead until long after
dinner that night at Southampton"
Barry nodded.
''Of course, my first impulse was
to give myself up," Winslow said.
"But what good would that've done?
They couldn't convict me. I'd killed
in self-defense, and could come
mighty near proving it. But, In do
ing so, I'd've given away the secret
I'd struggled to keep all these years.
I'd've smashed Julie utterly, and
ruined Hambidge, and Pat. Nobody
was harmed by my keeping my
mouth shut. There wasn't a chance
of their finding Ridder guilty, or
anyone else. If they'd done that,
I'd've confessed in a moment"
II know" Barry declared. "That's
what you meant when you said, IF
we have to get the guilty man to
free Rogers, We'll do it, but let's
give the court chance first"
"Yes."
Peter rose, and went to the win
dow.
"The difficult thing" he continued,
"was not to confess. With that boy |
in Jail. But it was letting an inno- |
cent man suffer a few weeks, or an
innocent woman all her life. If |
you'd seen jules face, when she |
collapsed, after hearing Of Selby's |
arrest" He paused. "Of course,
neither she nor Hambidge knows / |
killed Kelly"
Barry said, "They1l never know
it through me.
"Bon voyage" he added, blithely,
an instant later, his hat in his hand.
"And come back soon. I'd like to
have you two at my wedding"
1.-THE END1