The Coolidge examiner., 1937-10-21
We May Not Die
in Bed
By THAYER WALDO
g Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.
WNU Service.

WHen L1e BldCe lTullS were
brought. But already / had seen
Madeline Malcolm glance at the 9TH
er women with appraisal. / knew
what would take place shortly. That
pleasant old-fashioned custom of
leaving the men alone for while
was always observed at Claude NAL
colm's dinner parties.
My eyes had rested on Madeline
at frequent intervals throughout the
meal She was a creature of radi-
ant charm and splendid beauty.
She spoke, at last, addressing the
women on her left; the words were
clearly audible above the chatter.
Il can see my husband reaching
for a cigar" she said; II know
what that means. He doesn't care
for feminine company when he
smokes. Suppose we have our cof-
fee in the music room and let the
men come later"
The suggestion seemed spontane-
Gus, rather than a part of fixed
routine. Claude did his part, with,
Splendid, my dear; just the
thing"
The exodus was managed smooth
ly, admirably. Madeline paused for
an instant in the doorway to smile
au revoir, then we seven were alone.
"You know" said Claude final
ly, this is very pleasant Some
how that surprises me. 1t always
does. Whenever I come back to the
States-to Hollywood in particu-
lar-I expect to find nothing at all
worth doing. Then I try one Of
these little soirees, and invariably
1t fools me by turning out very well
indeed"
Looking down the table, he asked
me: Remember the first one, in
1920-that stag affair when we
killed five cases of Chambertin, and
Larry Plat cleaned us all at
quinze?"
My memory of it was clear
enough; but kept silent, seeing at
once that the name had called some
thing more to Claude's mind.
He scanned the group again,
smile of faint relish on his lips,
and said musingly:
"Ah, yes! Dean Hanson's no long
er with us, is he. :. -
Settling back in his chair then,
Claude addressed us all
Gentlemen, | have a little story
I think might be of some interest
to you It's very short and simple
incidentally true, if that matters.
I've known it for ten years, but l
promised the man who told it to
me that I'd keep his secret so long
as he was alive. Well, that restric-
ton is removed.
THE whole thing goes back to
that first gathering here, which I
mentioned a moment ago. Of course
you all remember Larry Plat, or
of him; and how he was found
murdered in his rooms not long aft
er that occasion-in January, 1921,
to be exact. Poor DEVIL guess
he was one of the finest directors
in pictures, but he had to wait
for most of his fame to come post
humously. Why, they were still writ
ing about his death in the European
papers when we went abroad six
months later.
well, during that party of mine,
I saw enough to realize that Larry
had an enemy among the men pres
ent. At first l thought it of no con-
sequence. Before the night ended,
l knew it was serious-a matter of
deadly jealous hatred over wom-
ana woman who belonged to
neither"
His voice ceased momentarily.
"On the night the police found
Larrys body" he resumed in slow
er, quieter tones, "a man crawled
up the porch of this house and into
my bedroom-the same man I had
seen as the other half of this fued.
He was exhausted, hungry, half
dead with fear. He confessed to me
that he had shot Platt, and told me
what purported to be the motive.
The woman wasn't brought into it.
He didn't even mention her name"
That seemed to be ALL Claude
was lighting a fresh cigar. Some
one laughed shorty and said: well,
! I'll be damned! And what a fever
the cops worked themselves into
trying to solve that case! I-ah-
suppose you'd rather not say who
the man was?"
Malcolm gave a careless Shrug.
"Oh, don't mind, in this company.
But I'm going to make the same
request he did: Don't repeat this
unless you outlive me-which God
forbid! That man, gentlemen, was
present at our last gathering. He
broke his neck in a fall from a
hotel window here in Hollywood,
a few days later"
Everyone knew at once to whom
he referred. / had guessed it min
utes earlier, and l was not partic-
ularly shocked. Dean Hanson had
always seemed an erratic, violent
sort. Suddenly, however, queer
thought struck me, and / ex-