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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1940-03-21, Page 6Thursday, march two THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE by Eardley Beswick filllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll have full information as to the posi­ tion of everything by ten o’clock tomorrow*. They’ll only have to swoop down and collect the goods that matter. Those chaps in the work shop’ll have everything ready for the sample and the tubes will be where they can be found if need­ ed." “It’s only a matter of reputation, Geoff. Your reputation mainly, though mine is. by now to a certain extent involved. All this delay has been making your name stink a bit at headquarters and if I hadn’t as- i sured them that you would deliver the goods all right they’d have been swooping down and spoiled things for you before now*. You won’t be properly rehabilitated until you turn ; up smiling with a first-class sample and two tubes of explosive, a day before what they’re doubtless re­ garding as the very last minute, see?” “I see.” "Then let’s make the most of what we’ve got in front of us. It looks as if it might prove exciting and you know I always did like a bit of fun. If we’re smashed tonight we shan’t give anything away. Ou the other hand, if we take the same risks tomorrow night we shall be carrying everything that matters. If I've got to break your neck I’d ra­ ther do it when you haven’t either tubes or sample on your person.” ITe was talking musingly as if expand­ ing the suject in his own mind rather than attempting to convince his' companion. “I suppose I’m a bit mad," he broke out again and af-1 ter another corner had been nego­ tiated. “I never seem able to ima­ gine the possibility of my owm necn being breakable. Anyway, even that’s all in a lifetime and if I’ve got to finish I’d rather do so without the help of policemen and general prac­ titioners. I always was an indepen­ dent sort of devil.” ■By this time they had reached the hotel, pulling up in front of it this time. They entered and Cope went straight up to the reception desk where, after a minute’ wait, a languid colorful young woman ap­ peared to attend to him. She glanc­ ed distastefully at Hendring’ham’s blackened hands and he at once be­ came conscious of their blackness and tried to hide them in his pack­ ets. Cope informed her that he had to go up to London on impor­ tant business and would not be in the hotel that nighJZ She nodded indifferently but the waiter, who art that moment appeared from be­ hind the curtained entrance with coffee on a tray seemed to Hend­ ringham to looked considerably more interested. Note From a Stranger •“I suppose there aren’t any letters for me?" Cope asked as he turned away. The receptionist seemed to recall something. “Oh, there’s this came about half an hour ago by messen­ ger,” she exclaimed as. as if remem­ bering for the first time the envel­ ope she now took from a drawer and handed over to him. “Thanks," said Cope genially. “It’s nice to know that you never forget things like that, isn’t it. Otherwise CHAPTER IX Cope, tl»e Cook Ou the very stroke of seven-thirty he strolled into the little workshop, his arms ungainly with parcels. The mechanics were glad to slack off for the promised meal. They cleared a space on the bench for the spread­ ing of the contents of his parcels and their eyes widened approvingly when they beheld a meat pie, a cold chicken and sausages, fresh lettuce, a loaf of breact, cheese and four bottles of ale. “Reckon you understand catering, mister,” was Evans’s comment and dendringham thought he had rarely seen Johnny Cope appear to be so pleased by a compliment. It put him into such good humor that he kept them amused with light-hearted ironic anecdotes all the while they ate. The scene mihgt have been that of a reunion of old cronies in­ stead of a dirty little stable with a bench and a line of machines, and the guests three oily mechanics squatting on boxes to food they ate largely with their fingers. When they had finished he an­ nounced that he was to sleep for an­ other hour and that he -would be taking Mr. Hendringham away at nine o'clock. He’d bring him back as early as possible so that the three of them could keep on through the night. Hendringham did not ques­ tion him. Replete with excellent food and beginning to feel more like himself than at any time since the previous evening, he was quite happy to go back to his lathe and continue to work. ■Crowder, though, said something about slipping away for a bit to let the Missus know where he was. “iShe knows already,” Cope threw’ over his shoulder as he strolled out to the car. “I thought I’d better let her know not t.o worry anout a meal foi’ you. You know what wo­ men are if a meal’s kept -waiting, and quite right of them too, is what I say. I’ve nothing but contempt for the sort of man that keeps a good meal waiting.” “Ow long ’ee been married?" rvas Crowder’s comment when the dooi* had closed behind him, and he -was unrestrained in his admiration when he was assured that Johhny Cope was a bachelor. “A chap that under­ stands women like him ought to be married, though,” he commented. “Of course it isn't as if he was ex­ actly one of them screen stars, but then, it isn’t every woman that wants a hair-oil advertisement for a husband, either.” Hendringham only nodded. The job at that moment was getting down to size and required all his at­ tention. Precisely at the end of an hour he again woke up his friend and the two of them drove aw’ay in the car. “We’re going to make an experi­ mental trip to-night,” 'Cope explain­ ed as he steered through narrow streets back to the market place. “We’ve insinuated the idea into Mench’s head that we’re going to have a sample ready and I want to see what sort of a trap he’ll lay for us when he confirms that we are setting off for London. He’ll be in a fever to prevent that sample ar­ riving, I imagine. Then there are all the others. If we advertise our departure Lon d onwards as openly as possible, we can leave it to them to take what they think is appro­ priate action. Tomorrow night we make the real trip and have all the goods on us, we shall have already sprung their best traps and shall have some idea what to avoid. That; is my idea. Then there’s Morgan- thau, too. Until he sees us posi­ tively setting out he won’t attempt to keep his appointment in ’Geneva. He’s easily the most dangerous of the lot and I want him out of the way rather badly.” Hendringham turned over this ar­ gument in his mind. "There’s only one thing that occurs to me,” he said. "'Supposing you and I get smashed up tonight . . .” "I’ve covered that. If the worst should happen the authorities will Uiiwww■■uh—bimii mmiulwiiiliiiiiiriin■nrimumni m «riumr nri mrim hi1 _AllliredOnt Before Day Half Over Women who should be strong and healthy become weak, run down and worn out, and are unable to attend to their household duties. They get up in the morning dreading the day’s work ahead of them. Some disease or constitutional dis­ turbance has left its mark in the form of shattered nerves, impover­ ished blood, and an exhausted con­ dition of the entire system. Women will find in Milburn’s Health and Nerve Pills the remedy they need to supply food for the exhausted nerve force, and one that Will help them back to sound, perfect health again, Th* T. Milburn Co., Ltd., Toronto, Oat- The girl bridled and tossed her carefully waved coiffure. “Matter of fact it did almost slip my mem­ ory.” she admitted. "However, since you’ve got it. what's the odds?” “Nice efficient young woman, eh?” whispered Cope as the two of them mounted the stairs to his room. "I goot the idea she’d rather not have given us that note just yet only after I’d asked she didn’t actually dare.” In the bedroom he opened the note while Hendringham made an effort to restore his hands to a respectable shade. As he drbid them the note was tossed on a chair beside him. He picked it up and read: “My lead. Follow suit. When in doubt bear right.—--M.O.” “I can’t make much of that,” he said. “Neither can I at the moment. However, whoever it is from seems to mean well. When people don’t mean well they’re usually quite ex­ plicit about things, don’t you think?’ Hendringham's face was to smothered in the towel for his reply to have any value. He was less interested than johnny Cope in the subtler points of psychology, and to | him the note was just a waste of I time. Someone playing a practical joke on them, he imagined. From the hotel they drove first to the Works where they looked in av the toolroom in which two men . were working now. Acting on dope's suggestion he Impressed on them that he was running up to. London and would not be back until some time the next day. He relied oft them, he said, to push the work through for him as fast as possible. They seemed only casually interest­ ed and he contrasted their attitude with the brisk compliance Crowder and his mates had shown the pre­ vious night. He wondered if Mr, Mench had also had a say in the employing of these particular men on the sample, and congratulated himself that he was no longer re­ lying on the efforts of such as they. It was about a quarter to ten when they left the Works and the evening was cloudy and oppressive as if one of those typical English summer storms was arriving to put an end to the fne weather of the last few weeks. Cope drove easily for some miles until they were free of the urban traffic, and, on clear roads, he was able to make safe use of the speed he commanded. The miles began to reel off monotonous­ ly and there seemed nothing that could possibly arouse suspicion as they sped Londonwards and the darkness deepened about their course. Their headlights had been mak­ ing a lane of light before them foi’ some tune and the steady thrum of the engine had almost lulled Hend­ ringham to sleep when a snort from behind caused Cope to draw in and signal for whatever it was behind then to come through. Almost before his bony, loose- hung fingers had - ceased to flag lazily in the wind of their motion a huge low car rushed up alongside them. Cope slowed a little and it went surging past, a single crouch­ ed figure at the wheel. “Better let him have the road if he’s in all that hurry,” he remarked pleasantly. “He must be doing well over eighty. By the wav, I’ve a hunch that M-O means Morgan thau-Ottomeyer.” “'Sounds possible, but I dont know that it explains much to me. Can you see any light on it?” “Ah!” said Cope. "Now what on earth did he want to pass us like that for?” he asked a moment later as the car in front slowed so as to remain well within the beam of their headlights. “I do hate the fool driver who makes a completely unnecessary effort to get in front of you - and then is appar­ ently content to dawdle there. It’s only a pompos sort of fool who doesn’t prefer to be nicely behind any car doing about his own best cruising speed.” For a mile or two the two cars swept along at well over sixty with no more than a hundred yards be­ tween them. Presently Cope leaned over a little and asked: “Do you hear any­ thing behind us? I’ve a hunch we are being followed.” Hendringham, looking back, ob­ served at far less than a hundred yards in their rear the sidelights of another car. There were no head­ lights in use on this one. He leaned to tell Cope. “Careful driver. Making use of our headlights instead of burning his own-, I suppose,” answered Cope, quite cheerfully. “The plot thickens Geoffery. A man that drives a bus powerful enough to hang on our tail isnt usually so parsimonious, Ah, well, I have known borrow­ ing the other fellow’ headlights not to turn out too well as a practice. We will see what he’s capable of, shall we?” He accelerated until the needle of the speedometer had crept round to eighty. The car ahead, as if real­ izing his approach from the inten­ sity of the headlight beam thrown on his low screen, accelerated as well and gradually drew his full hundred yards ahead again. "Shaking Mr. Light - borrower off?” enquired Cope after hurtling along for a few miles at eighty. Hendringham was half turned, crouching, so that his windswept head alone projected above the seat, “No, lie’s catching up again. He’s flickering his headlights on and off at the,bends now.” Fork in the Road It seemed a purposeless sort of chase, if it was a, chase, and not just the coincidence of three fast cars being on the road together, and it amused Hendringham to speculate as to what purpose it could possible have. Beyond the blocking of the road by the car in front, which certainly should no dis­ position to indulge in any such tac­ tics, there was no interference pos­ sible that he could see. It was a wide main road and -reasonably clear at that time of night and there seem­ ed no particular danger in three un­ usually fast cars hogging it toward London as fast as they cared to go . . . no danger except perhaps that the car behind was keeping too close on the whole tor the speed. He be­ gan to lose interest in the whole af­ fair and turned in his seat to ob­ serve the road ahead once more. The ^headlights lit it up, a long straight stretch between two big trees, and it seemed as if the three cars would go pn like this for miles without so much as a bend to nego­ tiate, when suddenly it happened. The car ahead seemed to sllOot off the road to the right but tor an in­ stant its headlights showed them that it was still carrying on smooth­ ly along what seemed to be a dark­ er road. “Can’t remember any fork. No signpost,” snapped Cope and swung sharply after it. Their rear-side tyres bounced a little on the verge and they swerved, but Cope pulled her straight again and once more they were speeding at eighty along a normal road on which the red light of, the leading car glowed very steadily about a hundred yards ahead. But almost simultaneously with the thrill of their wobble there had come a crashing, tearing sound from behind. Jerking around Hend­ ringham had been just in time to see the sidelights of the car behind making a most frantic jump on the left of the road where the fork had seemed to be. The lights rose high in the air and descended sick- eningly. They bounced once more, but feebly, and then rolled com­ pletely out of sight. “There’s been an awful t smash behind us," he shouted and Cope braked to a stand-' still and began to run backwards slowly to the scene of the accident. In front of them the headlights of the leading car were already dimin­ ishing with it distance. This time it had not slowed to accommodate it-! self to theii- pace. Cope stopped at the fork, and taking a flashlight from the dash, scrambled out. Hendringham fol­ lowed him from his own side. The peace of the night was perfect after the noise of engines and. of their speed in the darkness. Cope flashed the torch about the roadside, and Hendringham broke the silence with a cry of astonish­ ment. Whatever fork there had been a minute before, one branch of it had indisputably disap­ peared. There were deep tyres marks in the grass of the verge and beyond, between the boles of two huge elms a torn gap in a low-trim- ned hedge. “What do you make of it?” he asked. (To be Continued) C-41 Snell Bros. & Co., Exeter Associate Dealers: G. Koehler, Zurich: J. E» Sorowl Lucan STEP into, your new Chevrolet at Easter and you’ll move right up front in the style parade. For with its streamlined, dreamlined new "Royal Clipper” Styling, Chevrolet has beauty that captures every eye and capti­ vates it! You’ll get a pride-quickening thrill, too, out of owning the longest of all the lowest-priced cars—the car that measures full 181 inches where length counts, from front Of grille to rear of body. Yes, when you buy a Chevrolet you treat yourself to all the beauties, all the performance thrills, all the comfort and convenience, all the most advanced features, all the real joys of motoring at its modern best... and you get them all at the lotvest cost for purchase price, gas, oil and upkeep. So come in today. *. buy yourself a new Chevrolet and an envied front­ rank position in the 1940 Easter style revue. « M Here’s How to Relieve MISERY of COLDS Without Dosing There’s nothing to swallow. Massaged on throat, chest and back, Vicks Vapo- Rub acts two ways at once to relieve misery of colds, FIRST: VapoRub acts on the skin, stimulates like a warming poultice. SECOND: At the same time, VapoRub gives off soothing medicated vapours that are breathed direct into irri­ tated air passages. THIS DIRECT, 2-WAY ACTION loosens phlegm, clears air passages, checks tendency to cough—also relieves muscular tightness and soreness. Because it’s ex- _ ternal and safe, VapoRub can.be Mw • M. used freely and as TfO-W often as needed, for children and grown- k<J" ups. No wonder it’s * ii/ti/C used in 1 out of 3 j Canadian homes. w VapoRub CORBETT * The many friends of the late Mrs. J. Carruthers Sr. were shocked to hear of her death on Monday, March 11th at her home on the 21st con­ cession, Stephen, after* only a week’s illness. The deepest sympathy of the community is expressed to the bereaved family. We are pleased to report that Gordon Wellington, the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hutchinson is improving, f Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hodgins, spent Sunday with Mr. Jas. E. Hodgins and Mrs, Garfield Steeper and Lyle. Mr, and Mrs. Roy Hutchinson, Mr, and Mrs. Jos, Carruthers, Mr, and Mrs. Robert Murray were Sunday visitors with Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Mellin. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Hodgins spent Friday with Mr. and Mrs, Roy Hod­ gin's. Mr. Calvin Greenlee is visiting with his cousins Messrs. Joe and Jack Hodgins. Mr. Wilbert Young spent several days in London recently. Mr. Robert Hodgins was assisting Mr. Gofdon Young for a couple of days last week. MAKE THEM This Year Hogarth Chicks HIGH QUALITY, BLOOD TESTED CHICKS AT REASONABLE PRICES <i Once You Try You Always Buy ‘From Hogarth BARRED ROCKS, WHITE WYANDOTTES, WHITE LEGHORNS, NEW HAMPSHIRES, JERSEY BLACK GIANTS, COCKERELS, PULLETS AND STARTED CHICKS CUSTOM HATCHING HOGARTH CHICK HATCHERY EXETER, ONT. Phone 266 Ml o The Exeter Times-Advocate Eutablished 1873 and 1887 at Exeter, Ontario Published every Thursday jnorninM SUBSCRIPTION—$2.00 per year in Hdvoncu RATES—Farm or Real Hertate for sale 50e. each insertion for first four insertions, 25e. each subse­ quent insertion. Miscellaneous ar­ ticles, To Rent, Wanted, Lost, or Found 10c. per line of six woTds. Reading notices 10c, per line, Card of Thanks 50 c, Legal a<L vertising 12 and 8c. pot line, la Memoriam, with one verse 50c, extra verses 25c. each, Member of The Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Professional Cards GLADMAN & STANBURY (F. W. Gladman) BARRISTER, SOLICITOR, &c Money to Loan, Investments Made Insurance Safe-deposit Vaults for use of our Clients without charge EXETER and HEN SALL CARLING & MORLEY BARRISTERS. SOLICITORS, LOANcl, INVESTMENTS, INSURANCE Office: Carling Block, Mhin Strep4, EXETER, ONT. Dr. G. F. Roulston, L.D.S.,D.D.S. DENTIST Office; Carling Block EXETER, ONT. dosed Wednesday Afternoon® Dr. H. H. COWEN, L.D.S.,D.DS. DENTAL SURGEON Office opposite the Post Office, Main Street, Exeter Office 36w Telephones Res. 36j Closed Wednesday Afternoons ARTHUR WEBER LICENSED AUCTIONEER For Huron and Middlesex FARM SALES A SPECIALTY PRICES REASONABLE SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Phone 57-13 Dashwood R. R. No. 1, DASHWOOD FRANK TAYLOR LICENSED AUCTIONEER For Huron and Middlesex FARM SALES A SPECIALTY Prices Reasonable and Satisfaction Guaranteed EXETER P. O. or RING 138 USBORNE & HIBBERT MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY Head Office, Exeter, Ont. President ............ JOHN HACKNEY Kirkton, R. R. 1 Vice-President .... JOHN McGRATH Dublin, Ont. DIRECTORS W., H.. COATES .................. Exeter ANGUS SINCLAIR ... Mitchell, R. 1 WM. HAMILTON ... Cromarty, R. 1 T. BALLANTYNE ... Woodham, R. 1 AGENTS JOHN ESSERY ................ Centralia ALVIN L. HARRIS ... Mitchell R. 1 THOS. SCOTT .................. Cromarty SECRETARY-TREASURER B. W. F. BEAVERS ............. Exeter GLADMAN & STANBURY Solicitors, Exeter Lumber Shingles Our Prices are the Lowest they have been for several years* If you are building it will pay you to call and get prices. Just think Matched Lumber at $35.00 per M. feet A. J. CLATWORTHY Phone 12 Granton We Deliver PUTTING IT BRIEFLY Talleyrand, the brilliant French diplomatist, was famous for his la­ conic way of saying tilings. One day he received a letter from a lady in­ forming him of the death of her hus­ band. Immediately he seized his pen and wrote in reply: "Dear Mar­ quise: Alas! Your devoted, Talley­ rand.” Some time later the same lady sent him a missive announcing her approaching marriage. This time he wrote: ’’Dear Marquise: Ho ho! Your devoted, Talleyrand.”