The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-10-10

me cold,n dlgnineu glare Lhrougn her glasses o car stopped outside and heard a voice calling.
 From the look of absolute delight on Maudle's face and the sinking sensation in my own interior, l knew who had arrived. Why 1t had never occurred to me that Denny would come. l don't know, except that things had moved so swiftly as to leave me more confused than usual. But he was there. Dennis Flynn had worked with the boys in the city room and was one of the best crime reporters in town. If he was here now the story must have big angles. I thought, following Maudie outside.
 sort of gathered myself to- gether, figuratively speaking, be- cause Denny did things to me, hadn't seen him in 8 year and I hoped now that the sight of his red head and freckled face with the funny, crooked eyebrows wouldn't make me feel in a way no teacher of Lit. I should feel. I'd felt that way about him for q long time and had put up with lot, too, because being wtlI Denny after teaching smartly soph- omores in high school day after day was like changing from Cin- derella into the traditional fairy princess.
 mean life to Denny was @ grand adventure, only sometimes the adventures were too crazy, It was one of those that he had taken in stride that finished things between us year ago. After all school teacher has her reputa- ton to consider, and I was quite sure the Board of Education wouldn't approve of his calling for me in patrol wagon he hap- pened to meet up with while wait Ing to catch taxi out to our house.
 Well, Denny had met Tod Palmer when he was out this way or some state assignment, and the way young Tod looked at him I could see he was another pushover for the Flynn charm. The young reporters always were that way. Denny stood for the old type school of newspaperman to them and they were naive enough to hang on his every word in open mouthed admiration. At least, I though, I can look at him with out such an expression on my face. The vision of that Black Maria parked before the house while Denny waited to escort me to the theater in 1t was still vivid in my mind.
 We sat there, Maudie and l, and listened to Denny and young Tod put the pieces of the picture of the crime together. Where Denny had acquired all his information don't know but he knew what we knew and more besides. Maudie was in seventh heaven, While passing out beer and goose- liver sandwiches, which she had made in about two minutes, she managed to ask all the questions she had been mulling over.
 Denny let her talk. "sorry, Maudie darling, but I don't think there's going to be much romantic Inys- tery," he told her finally. Maybe this little country dame Jeanie did have cause to bump Cord off, and maybe your green-eyed Dlxon gal had just as good cause, but he was plugged by good old .32 slug and, knowing his pals in town, I'd say 1t was the work Of tho numbers boys"
 I was nonplussed, but Maudie put 1t into words. Numbers boys7 I suppose you mean the ones being investigated by the Grand Jury" she said. Maudie keeps Up on the news. I knew there was . Grand Jury. but since 1t dealt with e low class of citizenry I never heard about I had given Up reading the stories after the first account. But not Maudie. Some of the names were familiar to her from the days when papa and the boys worked on the paper Ap- parcntly she had read every days account and was up on the latest development.
 Cord had been doing . little fine manipulating" Denny said. He was getting his cut all right -. -. -. 2. - =.