Evening star., 1936-05-13
INSTALLMENT XXXIv.

came in at the western end
OF the city, through soaked parks;
they were crossing Presidio avenue to-
ward Washington street when Tamara,
whose eyes had been rowing about
with the Unsuitable interest in life,
said in an odd tone:
George! Stop"
what Is it?" George demanded,
drawing up to the curb, turning to
face her.
"A newspaper there on the news
. paper stand. 1t had-it had your
name in great big letters! George,
what is it?"
why. we'll very soon see!" George
said What did it say?"
1T said Davis in great big letters
Ind then under it something about
the district attorney-elect." They
drove another block to the next stand,
stopped we're standing together in
the wet street with their eyes drink
ing in headlines.
District Attorney-Elect's Hide
Out Still Mystery. Slayer of Mayne
Mallory Lying Low" George said
aloud, in mild puzzled voice.
Slayer of Mayne Mallory" Tam
repeated looking at him blankly.
George, is he dead?"
Evidently" George said The rain
dripped off his old hat; his brown
face had turned little pale. Yep.
guess that fall did for him." he said
simply. The police are looking for
me, all right. Well-I'I drop you at
the house, Tam, and 60 down to the
City Hall and see what they want.
'Manslaughter,' eh? See this edi-
torial here? Ha-thats a break!
Dead. eh?"
They went back to the car and got
into it, and Tam said:
Go straight to the City Hall,
George. They'll be watching the
house. It'll be better TOTO give your
self up as soon as you can
George turned the wheel obediently.
Neither husband nor wife spoke again
as the car moved through the splash
ing and falling rain toward the city
Jail.
That week end the Davises went
down to the Martell place in Menlo
Park. Bill Martell, the junior member
OF the law firm, stopped for them at
az O'Clock on a dark, somber Satur-
day and drove them down in his i'm
posing big car. Tamara was on the
front seat. Her host entertained her
sll the way down the peninsula with
stories Of the firms and homes they
passed. Tam gathered that Martell
Hunter IL Martell had sued or de-
fended almost everybody in their time.
The enormous packing houses had
all been involved in various sorts of
litigation; the city itself had had
trouble about the bridge; the railway
mad evidently had lawsuit for almost
every mile of its length.
Life is one long struggle in which
you try to eat your fellow man so
that he shan't eat you," Billy Martell
told her cheerfully.
oh, I can't think that" Tam said
turning her disturbed blue eyes toward
him.
Yep. that's it. Graft, that's the
name for highway robbery now" Billy
assured her. But in those DAYS rob-
bers were robbers! Franchises, mines.
land, they grabbed everything in sight.
Now their grandsons give a hundred
dollars a year to the Community
Chest and get a thousand dollars
worth of newspaper advertising for it,"
hate to think the world Is so
bad!" Tam said. George was audiblv
asleep among the bags and coats of
the back seat, and she could 90 on
m a cautious undertone: They
they can't do anything to George. can
they? With every one so bad, and
every one getting away with every
thing. and that man-Mayne NAL
tory-condemned to death anyway.
and no chance Of pardon. how can
they do anything to George"
oh. they'll not do ANYTHING to
George!" Bill said reassuringly. "Thev
may scare him. I mean they NAV
feel that they have to scare him. He's
to be in high public ofice-protecto
OF the safety of the commonwealth,
that sort of thing. But it'd be a good
tnlng for the public health and NOR
ais, Mrs. Davis" Billy resumed with
an oblique glance and the hint of a
smile, II some one would give every
Fellow like Mallory a good paste in
tne mug. He was rotter if ever
there was one! 1 sized that fellow LID
the nrst time I saw him. What gets
me-" the man continued in a musinp
tone as tney went on-"what gets
me is George. Old George! 1t doesn't
sound like him to get mad and sock
any one. What was eating him9
He'd talked to Mallory before. He
knew What sort of man he was. All
or sudden George pulls back. OF
course, Mallory had bad heart-had
angina pectoris, as matter of fact.
You remember he was sick a month
ago?"
on, that's what we're banking
on Tam said fervently.
We'll, of course His time" the
man added whimsically, had evi-
dently come. Under sentence of death
and with a bad heart, and then
George has to step in and hand him
q punch on the nose"
They couldn't" Tam began, hardly
above whisper, they couldn't touch
George? mean they couldn't SEN
tence George?"
mol" the man said so scornfullv
that the nonosyllable came out a
!. long drawn "Naw!"
They won't even have a trial, will
they, Billy?"
Say, I like you to call me Billy"
the driver said, diverted. Tam's color
came up, and she laughed
II always call you that when I'm
talking to George"
We'll, keep up the good work" said
Billy. mo, don't think it'll come to
a trial. There'n be - formalities.
. George doesn't deny he socked him,
and nobody denies that he died the
next day without ever recovering con-
sciousness. The coroner has made his
report, and now it's Just a question