Evening star., 1940-10-13

seemed as II no Jewels COulQ be
lovely enough to be placed in it,
when his musings were interrupted
by the modulated voice of a Chinese.
You have an eye for jade, 1 see,"
the voice said pleasantly.
Storm looked up startled. The
man had entered the shop noiseless-
ly. But there was rothing sinister
in his smiling Monaghan face. He
was taller than the average Ameri-
can-Chinese, and his fine bronze
features and upward-tilted eyes bore
the unmistakable stamp of ariStoc-
racy of race. He Wa5 young, and
Storm guessed that he had been
educated in the East for his voice
had an unmistakable Harvard ac-
cent.
You have an unusually fine COL
lection here" the inspector said
with genuine appreciation, but just
at the moment In. interested in
daggers.' He took the cellophane
case out of his pocke' and showed
its contents to the clerk Have you
anything like this in stock?"
Clerk Is Careful.
The clerk looked at it carefully
for a moment. Storm waited appre-
hensively. He had been disappointed
so many times that afternoon that
he was afraid Of having his hopes
thwarted again. But the Chinese
was looking at him ouriously.
why, yes" he salo, I'VE laid in
a stock of knives like that at the
beginning of the season. The yang
and yin symbol on the handle is
distinctive"
He led the way toward a counter
facing the window. Amid supply
of curios obviously designed for the
tourist trade were a number of dag
gers whose hilts resembled the one
that Storm carried in his hand
Have you sold any of these re-
cently?" the inspector asked, his
voice vibrating with suppressed ex-
citement.
The clerk leaned over and counted
them carefully. Yes" he replied.
1--WE bought a dozen at the beginning
of the season. There are only II of
them here now. One of them must
have been sold since the season
opened"
Can you remember to whom you
sold it?" Storm asked. feeling as if
his quarry were at last in sight. He
flashed his police badge
The face of the Chinaman altered.
Fear veiled the friend)iness in his
eyes.
I'm sorry, but r can't help you.
If I had sold the dagger, I should
have remembered it. And I have no
recollection of such a sale"
But you said Just moment ago
that dagger like this had been sold
in your shop. If you didn't make
the sale, who did?"
Willing to Help.
please believe that 1 am willing
to help you" the clerk said, and
despite his fear, h's voice sounded
sincere enough. But if the dagger
came from here, it must have been
sold by my partner. Unfortunately,
he is not in Fairbury just now"
Where is he, them" Storm asked
quickly. I'D like to get in touch
with him Immediately"
I'm expectingly him back late to-
night. He's been away on a busi-
ness trip-buying up few more
curios for the tourist trade. He'll
probably be at work here in the
morning, if you'd care to drop in
then
Thank you, I'll be back" Storm
tried to. hide his disappointment,
for he had hoped to solve the prob
lem of the dagger's ownership that
night.
However, as he left the sandal
wood scented atmosphere of the
shop and stepped out into the cool
evening air, he was conscious of
curious tightening of his spirits. The
rain had stopped and the wind from
the mountains, rinsed clean by the
downpour. blew gratefully across his
face. After all. even though he had
discovered nothing definite, it was
quite possible that the next day
might bring with it the solution of
his problem.
PremOnitions Justified.
He felt that his premonitions were
Justified the next morning when he
again entered the portals of the
K'ang Lo shop. AS the door closed
behind him the jade wind-bells
hanging from the ceiling chimed
delicately, and there came forward
to greet him not the clerk whom he
had interviewed the afternoon be-
fore, but an older man whose vener-
able and benign features might have
belonged to mandarin in some
ancient Chinese legend.
You are Peter Storm, the de-
tective, I presume" he said at once.
Il recognize you from my partners
description"
YES" said Storm, "I hope you'll
be able to help me-
He pulled out the dagger and
showed 1t to the old man. Can you
remember the person to whom you
sold this?"
The Chinaman took it in his
hands and looked at it carefully.
"I shall be glad to help you," he
answered, but I do not like to make
a statement that might incriminate
an innocent man. You must re-
member, my dear inspector, that
these daggers are sold wholesale in
job lots all over the country, and
may be brought in dozen places,
If not in Fairbury, at least in Colo
RADIO or San Francisco-or New York
itself, for that matter. The dagger
that came from this shop, while it
may resemble exactly the one you
have in your hand, may not be the
one that was actually used for the
murder. You realize that, of
course?"
Eyes, yes" Storm said impatient
ly Whoever bought the dagger
will be given every chance to prove
his innocence. But right now, I've
got to prove his identity"