The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-06-18
EANz>ENGJ"tDzEGER
By B6GLx

outside. and Il was smut tlsht. ne
looked UP and down the street and
didn't see anybody, Just some KIDS
playing up at the corner.
Later. he came back inside and
went down in the coal bin and
looked around. too. but there
wasn't anybody there. nothing had
been disturbed. so we decided 1t
probably was Just that the kids
playing around had accidentally
bumped the door. or something"
You're sure it wasn't someone
trying to break in >" To the ears
of the girl concealed behind the
couch Avery's voice sounded
nervous
Sure, Mr.. Avery. II must have
been the boys. They play tag and
run sheep run. and games like that
sometimes. and run into the area
ways to hide. One of EN- prob
ably bumped against the door.
that's all"
"I expect you're right, but you
should have called Mr.. Tatum i'm
mediately. I've told you over and
over to report instantly if any,
thing suspicious happens
But we cidn't think it was sus-
picious, Mr.. Avery" the woman
whined. That's why"
Fine Shape
After this, phone anyway and
let us do the thinking. If we had
to depend on you for that, we'd
be in fine shape"
Madge heard him start TO walk
across the floor toward the stairs,
and taking advantage of the noise
managed to shift her position so
she could peer out from the end
of the couch. She had to get a
look at this man before he got
away.
She saw he was tall, trifle
stopped, and a glimpse of his pro-
file revealed a small black
mustache. He was wearing a dark
top coat and a black soft hat on
his head. His hair seemed black
and came down neatly above his
ears and al the back of his neck.
He was wearing horn trimmed
| glasses and she noticed the bow
/ that came back over his left ear
as he walked past her point of
vantage was unusually heavy.
Making Excuses
He was gone in a moment, and
Mrs. Engle followed him up the
steps, still making excuses for not
having notified him about the
| alarm.
Madge wracked her brain for
some hint that would identify
Avery to her. She was certain she
had met him some place, his voice
was so familiar, but it didn't
match his face, somehow.
OF course she had only had a
momentary glimpse of the side of
his face but that was enough to
reveal that he was someone she
never had seen before.
When she heard the upper door
close and the key turn in the lock,
she crawled out from her hiding
place. Her arms and legs were
almost numb from staying so long
in a cramped position on the hard
floor and she rubbed them briskly
with her hands to restore the cir
culation.
The desk lamp was still lighted.
and she searched about the room
for something that might provide
evidence. But there wasn't a scrap
Of paper, nothing but several
snubbed out cigaret ends and some
ashes on a tray.
She sat down on the couch and
began to ponder her situation. The
alarm on the coal chute was still
off, and she'd better get out there
as quickly as SDe could. The
Engles certainly would be coming
back to the basement soon with
the repair man Tatum probably
had phoned for before he left the
house. She dreaded to think what
might happen if they caught her
there.
Quickly, she got to her feet and
tiptoed through the door leading
from the room into the furnace
room. Her flashlight guided her
footsteps into the coal bin and she
let the beam sweep upward to the
window. She remembered, then,
she had hung down from it by her
hands and barely been able to
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