The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1939-05-13
SHORT SHORT
STORY
Complete in This Issue

choicest criminal literature. It's
owner was undoubtedly eccentric.
He lived alone, a cleaning-woman
the sole outsider to enter it. And
judging by the hints she dropped,
the place contained not only silver,
linen and handsome rugs, but treas
ure of all kinds safely hidden from
sight under lock and key.
From where he stood he could see
only a small portion of his neigh
boris library, and that was almost
ObScured by an enormous bookcase.
He was about to turn away, with a
sigh, when he saw Mr.. Robin ap-
proach this article of furniture, saw
his hand extended to remove a book
from one of its shelves, and then
sink to the floor as though felled by
an unseen hand.
Mr. Tellifer did not daily. In five
seconds his neighbours door had
yielded to his touch, and he was
bending over the old gentleman, who
was lying on his back, blood from
wound in his temple saturating his
thick, silver hair. Close by lay a
small bronze Mercury.
Mr.. Tellifer picked it up, and de-
duced rapidly. Dead as a door
nail" said he. Somebody sneaked
up from behind, and cracked his
skull with this thing"
He looked around, opened as
many closets as he could find, and
walked through every room in the
house. He examined the floor for
footprints, and scrutinized the grass
beneath the windows to see if it had
been disturbed. Nothing rewarded
his efforts. Reluctantly he went up
to the telephone and called head
quarters.
Jim Horton, the chief, answered.
"What did you say?" he demanded,
Murder? A murder in Allenville?"
That's what I'm telling you" re-
piled Mr. Tellifer, trying to keep the
citation out of his voice. I'm in
Mr.. Robbins house, and he's lying
on the floor with hole in his head.
I'm looking around for clues"
Mr.. Tellifer waited patiently I'M
til the sound of heavy boots told him
that Horton had arrived. With him
was Al Bush and Phil Baker. Allen
ville's entire police force. He es-
corted them, with due solemnity, to
the library. But here shock await
ed him. The dead man had raised
himself on an elbow and was look
ing around with an expression of by
no means pleasurable surprise
"What are you doing in my
house?" demanded Mr.. John Rob-
bin.
There was an awkward silence
before Jim Horton answered, apollo
getically, Ger . Err thought
you we're dead"
did you, indeed?" returned Mr..
Robin.
He arose, busted his trousers, and
wiped the blood away from his in
jured temple. "Well, if it will re-
lieve your feelings any, I'll assure
you that I'm not. | was reaching
for book when this statuette, which
that fool of a cleaning woman placed
on top of the bookcase, where it
could do the most damage, fell and
hit me on the head. But I'm all
right now, and as have some i'm
portant work to do, and your pres
ence isn't going to help me do it"
They took the hint. Outside the
house the police force expressed it.
self vigorously, if not elegantly. Mr..
Tellifer would have been panied at
some of the epithets applied to him,
had he been listening, but he wasn't.
He was thinking that even he, vora-
cious reader of detective tales
though he was, had never heard of
a corpse coming to life and destroy
ing all sleuth's careful deductions.