Evening star., 1936-05-17
THIS WEEK


topped rise, Eigl pointed to tongue
of water with small chalet beside it.
"Wildsee! he announced.
Dallas parked the car out of sight
off the road. In copse about hun
dred yards from the chalet Eigl bade
them wait, saying he would bring his
wife out to them. With that he set off
along the road and vanished from
sight round the corner of the house.
There was moments silence. Then
a woman screamed.
1t was volley of shrieks. Dallas
and Wolf burst from the shelter of
the trees, making for the side of the
house where as they approached. they
saw Eigl struggling with a woman.
Eigl said breathlessly. ITS my
wife. She was crouched in the passage
leading from the kitchen. She started
to scream the moment l touched her
and kept pointing along the passage
there's been devils work here!
Through the tiny kitchen a door
barred the corridor giving access to
the rest of the house. Pistol in hand,
Dallas opened the door, then recoiled
violently. Good LordT he gasped.
They were looking into small en-
trance hall with staircase on the left;
on the right, double doors folded back
on a living groom. In the doorway two
figures dangled from the transom
below the fanlight, two figures that
oscillated gently in the draught from
the passage, heads dropping, hands
fastened at the back with straps.
"Bartels!" cried Wolf at the sight of
the mans figure.
The other was Arlette Lassagne.
TOO late!" cried Dallas in terrible
voice and darted forward. Between
them they cut the ropes, lowered the
bodies to the floor. Wolf felt the
woman's hands. Dead for hours!
was his verdict.
THE plans" said Dallas and went
through the dead mans pockets.
Stripped bare" he announced
hoarsely.
The woman too," said Wolf on his
knees beside the other body. He took
the table cloth and spread it over the
two lifeless forms.
In the kitchen Frau Eigl gasped out
her tale. About eleven o'clock that
morning, as she was getting the mid.
day meal, Frau Arlette, as she called
her, had burst in.
''Pale as corpse she was, the poor
thing, and all out of breath. Is there
young man staying here, she wants to
know and when say yes, Quick,
Maria she cries. Don't let Herr
Bartels see you, but run to the young
man and tell him to save himself. Let
him hide in the WOOD she says, and
I'll join him there. Hurry she tells
me and says something about break
ing away from some men who brought
her in car and how they re close after
her. With that she throws hundred
schilling note on the table and goes
to run out of the door.
But now, oh, Got. oh Gott, there's
one there who snatches her in his
arms, a great ogre of man with a
twisted foot. She screams and /
scream and Herr Barteis rushes to US
from the living room. But two more of
these wretches have come in, who drag
my poor gentleman and her away to
the front, the lame man hobbling
behind. l 60 to run after them, but
one of the men puts his head in, not
the lame one, a smaller man, who
wore a green raincoat. If I stir from
the kitchen or make sound, he tells
me, I'm a dead woman"
"And after that?" Wolf asked.
"They seemed to be all over the
house. listened at the door and heard
them trampling above stairs and
angry voices in the living room. l
opened the door chink and saw the
man who threatened me descending
the stair with young man who had
a bandage round his head. knew it