The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1937-10-23
the dark ships +
Bv hubert FooTNER lsss -; =.

coat ana DleW through IL. IL was
clogged, and he felt in another
pocket for something to clean it.
Mark" said Nell quietly, mo
tice what he has in his right hand"
Bonniger's eyes almost started
out of his head. "By God! The
pipe cleaner!" he cried. Leaning
forward, he snatched the tool from
the astonished Kettering's hand.
whats the matter with your"
Kettering demanded angrily.
Feeling in his own ocket, Bon
niger produced the little spoon
shaped piece they had found on
the yacht. He put the two articles
together with fingers that shook
little. st fitsl" he cried.
There is your murderer" said
Neill.
Kettering stared wildly, and his
jaw dropped. He sagged forward,
then suddenly collapsed. Flinging
his arms out on the desk, he
dropped his head between them.
Janet broke into a nervous
weeping. ooh, Neill!" she faltered.
Wilson, Bickel and Forsythe
gaped at the stricken man. They
had difficulty in taking it in. A
slow smile spread across Bonni-
gers face. He rose and approached
Neill with outstretched hand.
This is grand!" he said. 81 kne1
you were good fellow! You had
me badly worried, but after all a
man can trust his instincts"
They gripped hands.
How NeiIl Checked Up
l0NE word of tire strangers
" speech as reported by Helm
rich had given Neill the clue
which finally led to his identifica-
ton as Kettering: "He said he had
a client who was a banana i'm
porter"
From a servant in the Kettering
home, Neill had adroitly fished the
information that: (a) her master
had not been at home since he had
left for the Office Monday morn
ing; Obj Horace, junior, and his
wife lived with the old folks; (c)
Horace, junior, was out of town
with his father; (d) Mrs. Horace,
junior, was quite well.
A filling station near the Ket-
tering home had informed Neill
that Horace. junior, had started
out alone at 5 a. m. Wednesday
with the camping stuff.
The question about the package
mailed from Absalom's was shot
in the dark that found its mark.
Neill had deduced that the clever
Kettering would dispose Of the
loot in this manner.
After his primary breakdown,
Kettering was unable to recover
his grip. Before daybreak Wilson
got the whole story from him.
A month or two before Ketter-
ing and his son, prominent and
successful lawyers, had found
themselves in money difficulties.
Securities entrusted to them by
clients had been hypothecated;
and, faced with ruin and disgrace,
they were ready to do anything.
Kettering had got into conversa-
ton with Tanning on Baltimore
New York train. Attracted by the
mans good style and frank I'M
scrupulousness, he had followed
up the acquaintance.
The upshot was that lettering
told Tanning of the golden goose
that awaited plucking in Balti-
more. And when Tanning came to
Baltimore he engineered his meet
ing with Miss Rayner through the
unsuspecting estate agent. Barney
was guiltless Of any wroLgdoing.
For obvious reasons, Ktttering
and Tanning kept their associa-
ton secret, and when they met
in Baltimore it was as casual ac-
Quaintances. All their commune
cations were by telephone. It was
part of Kettering's job to keep
Tanning informed of what went
on in the old lady's household.
kettering never approached Miss
Rayner direct, but kept lines on
her lawyer, her estate agent and
her servants. unknown to them.
Kettering's share was TO have
been one-third of what Tanning
obtained. Towards the end he be-
gan to suspect that Tanning was
deceiving him and set about
watching him Tanning made var
ious excuses to delay handing over
Kettering's share of the money.
On Monday night the lawyer fol-
lowed Tanning TO the yacht. He
knew, as soon as he saw il, that
flaming was preparing TO double
cross him and make a getaway.
When he thought , t all he had
risked to win this stake, Ketter-
ing went mad with rage. He stole
down the after companionway
while Tanning and his friends
were dining forward, and locked
himself in the clothes closet of the
principal cabin. Having had no
opportunity to eat while he was
following Tanning around, he had
stuffed a couple Of sandwiches in
his pocket.
During the night, while Janet
slept in her cabin and Tanning in
his. kettering prowled through
the yacht looking for the loot
which he knew must be aboard.
But he did not find il then. On
Tuesday he was forced 10 remain
shut up in his closet for nearly the
entire day while the yacht lay az
AhSalom'S He could only venture
ont on the occasions when Janet
was permitted to leave her cabin.
fCsseisas. isaT. - Eslss,s EsstssrI