The Coolidge examiner., 1937-01-21

suggestion, alien m manner anc
clothes, which eXpatriates so otter
acquire unconsciously; his deer
dark colOring; his distinguished, ir
regular aquilinity; Patrick with his
perfect athletes figure, so light ir
pose, so perfect in poise and bal
ance, his sun-shot Irish coloring
his regular Celtic features.
Patrick explained, Il want to ask
you some questions, Doctor Mar
den. l ventured to suggest thai
you come here as l have been u.s.
ing Mrs. Avery's home as sort Of
annex to the police station. II
makes the whole business a little
less unpleasant and we have nc
| kibitzers. You realize that more
evidence in this Blaikie case comes
in from time to time. Then we
have to go over what everybody
else has said and check up. ]
wanted to ask you a few more
questions in regard to Mrs. Stow S
masquerade"
'Quite!" Doctor Marden assent
ed. He sat down.
l arose. Il think I'll ask you to
excuse me-" 1 said.
Both Doctor Marden and Patrick
raised restraining hands. Il would
very much prefer to have you stay,
Mrs. Avery" Doctor Marden de-
clared courteously.
I looked toward Patrick. Its
what the doctor wants, as far as
I'm concerned" he said with a ges-
ture of the shoulders typically Irish
and amusingly like the. French
shrug.
Il must tell you, Doctor Mar
den," Patrick added, thrusting his
keenest glance across the space
between them, that in case of sus-
picion being turned upon you, any
thing you say here may be held
against you and that there is a
witness present"
Doctor Marden made a depreca-
tory gesture outward of his long,
slender hands. ASK me anything
you want, Mr.. O'Brien. 1 shall
avail myself of your suggestion and
answer only the questions I wish
to answer"
l became conscious of mounting
excitement. Everybody else who
had submitted to Patrick's inter-
rogatories under my roof-Sarah
Darbe, Bessie Williams, Molly
Eames, Walter TreadWay, Marga-
ret Fairweather-had said in effect:
ASK me anything you want. l
shall tell the whole truth"
Perhaps Doctor Marden felt that
he had made a false step; for he
Immediately added, Il have no an
ticipation that you will ask me any
question that 1 shall not prefer to
answer fully"
Doctor Marden," Patrick began,
"at what time did you go to the
masquerade"
Somewhere between half-past
nine and ten," Doctor Marden an
swered.
'How did you get there? By
carr"
mo. 1t was such a beautiful
night and as there is only concrete
road between our house and the
Stow house, my granddaughter
suggested that we walk. Besides
she thought that there might be
some difficulty in parking"
What time did you get home?"
Il left earlier than my grand
daughter. Half-past twelve l should
say"
Doctor Marden, between the
time you arrived and the time you
went home, did you leave the Stow
house,"
Doctor Marden answered instant.
ly, Yes"
why did you leave it?"
well, for no reason or several,
just as you choose. l am not much
of dancing man, Mr.. O'Brien. and
after I'd been there about an hour,
l began to find it very hot and also
I wanted a smoke"
He smiled and Patrick met his
charming candid amusement with
a warm Irish appreciation.
What time was this?"
Il should say about half-past
ten-certainly not much before and
certainly not much later
by what door did you go out?''
Through the kitchen and out the
little door in Mrs. Slows garage
why did you go out so secretly?''
"In order to be alone. My head
was buzzing little with the warm
air and l didn't want anybody tc
come with me-"
Did you put on your outer
clothes?"
Yes. l retrieved my long cape
and beret from the garage where
l left them when 1 came in
Did anybody see you 60 out?'
mo! Yes!" Doctor Marden re-
considered; smiled reminiscently;
smiled with that tender gentleness
which l might describe ss my fa-
vcrite of his many charming eX-