The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1942-02-05

to him.
Dewitt stood stonily, his small
hands clenched. Ahearn and Lord
struggled with the heavy body
and managed to haul Longstreet
into a vacated seat. Longstreet was
grasping weakly light flecks OF
foam dribbled from his lips.
The growing uproar penetrated
forward into the car. Suddenly a
policeman with sergeants stripes
elbowed through. He had been
riding on the front platform with
the motorman.
Longstreet stiffened again, then
became quite rigid. The sergeant
Strengthened up, scowling. He's
dead. Uh-huh!" He had caught
sight of the dead mans left hand.
More than dozen tiny trickles OF
coagulating blood laced the skin
of fingers and palm from as many
tiny bricks, each swollen a little.
Murdered, looks like. I don't
want anybody to try to get off
this car" He called to the motor
man: "Don't move this car, and
see that those doors and windows
are kept shut understand"
Then he yelled: Hey, conductor!
Run down to the corner of Tenth
avenue and tell the traffic cop
there to phone the local precinct
and tell it to get = Inspector
Thumm at headquarters. Got that
straight? Wait-rll let you out
myself. I amt taking any chance
on somebody giving me the slip"
The conductor, out in the rain,
headed for Tenth avenue on the
run.
The conductor, water streaming
from the visor of his cap, was
hammering on the rear doors. A
policeman stood by his side. The
sergeant admitted them and
closed the doors at once.
Morrow reporting. On duty at
Tenth avenue"
I'm Duffy, Sergeant, 18th pre-
cinct. Call headquarters"
Yep. Inspector Thumm said
for you to take the car to the
Green Lines carbarn at Forty
second and Twelfth. He'll meet
you there. Says not to touch the
body"
When the car reached the huge
shed a group Of men in plain
clothes were waiting. Sergeant
Duffy pulled the door-lever and
Inspector Thumm forged into the
car. The sergeant whispered into
the inspectors ear. Thumm thud-
ded to his knees and, taking out
a flashlight, grasped the material
of the dead mans open patch
pocket, pulled the pocket wide,
and directed the pencil of light
into the interior. Putting down
the flashlight, he produced a
large penknife and with the ut
most caution slit the stitching
along one side of Longstreet's
pocket. Two objects cleaned in
the ray of the flashlight- silver
spectacle case and a small ball
of cork, one inch in diameter,
riddled with at least fifty need
les, the tips of which projected
from the cork a quarter-inch all
around, making the total diam
eter of the weapon an inch and a
half. The tips of the needles were
Stand with a reddish-brown
sticky substance. With the point
of his penknife Thumm prodded
the cork and turned it around.
The needle-tips on the other side
were similarly stained.
Thumm Strengthened up, ex-
plored his own pockets, and prod
uced a small, pair of pincers and
a packet of cigarettes. He dump
ed the cigarettes into his pocket,
lifted the needed cork out of
Longstreet's pocket with the pin
GERS and slipped it into the emp
ty cigarette packet. The inspector
then wrapped this in half-dogen
thicknesses of newspaper and
handed the package to Duffy.
That's dynamite, Sergeant" he
said. Handle it that way: You're
responsible for it,
Five minutes later Inspector
Thum had weeded out the men,
bers of the Longstreet party.
They trUpped silently from tine