The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1939-04-27
CHAPTER V-Continued


he called an invitation. Hello,
Doc!" he exclaimed then, rising to
make introductions. "Tope, this is
Doctor Derrie, our medical exam
liner out here. And this is Mr..
Jervies, Doc. He gave Miss Lea
ford lift, on her way to get Doc
tor Cabler, last night"
Doctor Derrie looked at Clint with
a sidelong eye. "I've just been talk
ing to Miss Leaford," he remarked.
He was not much older than Clint.
"Where?" Clint asked, on his feet
instantly.
"At the house," the Medical Ex-
aminer explained. 81 went up with
Doctor Cabler. She was the last one
to see her mother alive, and she
was the one to find Mrs. Leaford
dead. So I had to talk to her."
The others nodded, and Inspector
Heale asked: Find out anything,
Doc? What do you Think"
Doctor Derrie replied, a little
pompously. Mrs. Leaford had a
headache when she went to bed, and
took some tablets" he explained.
lone of the barbituric acids" he
added, like one who must be dis
Greet to protect his hearers. "Doc-
tor Cabler had furnished them to her
for a number of years. Once be-
fore she took three, and was very
Ill. Last night she took two. Miss
Leaford prepared them for her. Mrs.
Leaford was afraid of thunder, and
Doctor Cabler thinks that when she
didn't go to sleep as quickly as
she expected, even with double
dose, she got up and took the rest
of her store of the tablets. Certain
~ the bottle they were in is gone"
They listened soberly; and Inspec-
tor Heale asked: "Then you say it
was an accident; her own doing?"
Doctor Derrie hesitated, and he
lowered his eyelid wisely. "Acci-
dent, yes" he said then. ST shall
agree with Doctor Cabler that it
was an accidental overdose" He
added: "She had been dead for
some time before her daughter
found her."
miss Leaford?" Clint prompted;
and Doctor Derrie explained:
YES" He smiled condescending-.
ly. when the storm broke, she
went m to make sure her mother
was asleep, and found her dead. She
tried to telephone and couldn't raise
anyone, and then the lights went
off and she lost her head, ran down
the road to get Cabler. That was
foolish, and unnecessary, of course,
as long as her mother was already
dead, but she claims she didn't stop
to think of that"
Maybe she didn't know Mrs.
Leaford was dead" Tope suggest
ed; but Derrie confidently shook his
head.
''She knew, all right" he ex-
planned. ''That was the first thing
she said to Doctor Cabler, that her
mother was dead. He and Mrs.
Cabler got some clothes on her,
gave her some whisky, took her
home in the car" He snapped his
fingers in a sort of amazement.
''Mr. and Mrs. Hurder hadn't even
walked up" he explained. "When
Cabler got there, the front door was
open, the hall flooded with rain"
'I saw the light in the hall as
passed." Clint remembered.
Doctor Derrie assented. ''Miss
Leaford said the front door blew
open, and the light went out, while
she was trying to telephone. The
light must have come on again after
she left the house." He rose. ''I'l
give them an accident verdict" he
said, little complacently. Even
If she meant it, an accident ver-
dict will be easier on Mr.. and Mrs.
Hurder."
Clint came to his feet impatiently.
I'D like to see Miss Leaford," he
said. is she up there now?"
Doctor Derrie shook his head.
'She went out before I left" he
told them. "Not a bad-looking girl.
I saw her walking off through the
woods behind the house. as I came
away"
Inspector Heale volunteered:
"She does lot of that, walking
around alone. Then there's a man
lives IN there by the pond, and she's
pretty friendly with him"
Tope asked quickly: where? BY
what pond? Who is this mann"
''Why, there's good-sized pond
on the Kenesaw land" Heale ex-
planned. tits pretty, in there. There
was some talk awhile back of OPEN
ing it up for house lots, but they
won't sell the land. This fellow
names Glovere-has built himself
a cabin in there"