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The Clinton News Record, 1942-06-04, Page 2II Tie Blue Gerainilurn by DOLAN MTK KLEY One :morning, Mrs,. Rodman (Nina)` Arkwright is found murdered in a dressing room of the swimmingpool at a resort hotel. in California. Be= side her, are a broken flowerpot, a blue geranium, a cheap green hat out of harmony with the rest •of her clothes, and some newspaper chippings about a 'flier, Danny McLeod, who was lost in a trans -Pacific air race sponsored by Nina. A missing fire ax is believed to have been the mur- der weapon. Captain Loring of the police learns that the previous night, shemet her estranged husband and received $100,000 in cash for a divorce.' When she returned to the 1 hotel, she had a black eye, . "was carrying, a flower -pot, and; was: wear- ing a greed fiat, though she had gone out in black one. Among those con- nected with the case are Joel. Mark- ham, young chemist who wa5 ASSOC - who Clinton News -Record with which is Incorporated THE NEW ERA TEEMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $1150• per year in advance, to Can- adian addresses; $2.00 to the U.S. or ogler foreign countries. No paper diecontinuedl until all arrears are 'paid unless at the option of the pub - fisher. The date to which every sub - I b p on is paid .is denoted on the Al! -VF 11t INQ RATES — Transient advertising 12a per count line for fi'rst. insertion. 8e for each . subse- egntetit insertion. Hee ling courts 2 .f'urie's. Small advertisements not to exceed one inch such as "Wanted," "Lost", "Strayed" etc., inserted once for bee, each sithehequent insertion fee. Ratei for drstnlay advertising made known on application. Communications intended for pub- lication must, as a guarantee of good faith; be accompanied by the name h of the writer. M fated with Nina in business; Janet Cooper ,the hotel swimming teacher; Bobbie Crain; debutante; Jaek Sey- fert, whom Bobbie hopes to marry but who was attentive to Nina; and the hotel Janitor, Mac, father of Dan- ny McLeod. Joel and Janet do a little detective work ,andwrite,; down an outline of the case. CHAPTER XXII Joel smoked in thoughtful silence for several minutes. Out of the corner .of her eye, Janet caught sight ,of Mr. Jepperson in a doorway of the hotel. He seemed to be watching her and Joel. When she turned to kook directly at him, he pre- tended a sudden interest in two, gardeners working at the edge of the terrace. "What about Jepperson?" Janet said quietly to Joel. "He must have had business dealings with Nina, since she owned an interest in this hotel. I wonder whether any one has considered him a possible suspect" "Probably Loring is investigating everybody," said Joel,' gkaneing to- ward the assistant manager. "Jep- person looks worried. He's got some- thing on his mind." - Joel finished his cigarette, then ook up his pen again and dr nether sheet of paper toward him. "Let's put down some questions— ome things' we have to know before we can unravel this mystery." He tarred writing. "The green hat-- when, at-when, where and how Nina got The bruised chin, the black eye, whether they were tied in with t loss of her black hat." "The :clippings about McLeod," o fered Janet. "Where she got the why she had them at the pool wi er, and why she seemed upset about cLeod." t a •s s you remember, Mac left the pool when he went to. call the police. He could' have carried a whole tool box inside those overalls of his, let alone an ax." ' "Perhaps Loring has thought of that," Joel said quietly. "Some de- tectives were giving Mae a grilling a while ago. in a room, next to one whore I was being questioned" Just then, old Mac himself appear- ed around a corner of the hotel. He stopped and 'squinted across' the ter- race. Then, seeing' Joel, Janet and Jack, he started .toward•thein. George," the waiter, rushed forward' in an obvious attempt to head him:. off, but Mac elbowed past and came lumbering on. There was. an air of agitation and hurryeabout him. Reaching the table, he fixed his: faded eyes:on Janet. "Morning, Miss. I — I'm sorry : to disturb you but I—T got to talk ft) somebody. Could I—could I see you for a few rniniotes'?" "Sit down," offered Joel, pushing out a chair. Mac slid into it with grateful look, then turned' again to Janet. "Miss Cooper, how could I go about having a person proved dead? I mean legal like, sos nobody could say dif- ew form`." Janet stared•at him. "'You mean your •son?" "Yes, Miss—my Danny." The old man gripped the edge of the table ea tightly that his knuckles showed it. white. "Those police—they're trying and'to make out hexa alive. Him that's he been down there at the bottom of the sea all these years—in a plane that f- wasn't fit to fly in the first place! m, They've got him alive and sneaking th about here and—and killing people!" G. E. HALL - - Proprietor H. T. RANCE NOTARY PUBLIC Fire Insurance Agent Representing 14 Fire Insurance Companies Division Court Office, Clinton Frank Fingland, B.A.. LLB, Barrister, Solidtor, Notary Public Successor to W. Brydone, X.C. Sloan Block — - Clinton, Ont. DR. G. S. ELLIOTT Veterinary Surgeon Phone 203, Clinton H. C. HEIR Barrister -at -Law Solicitor of the Supreme Come of Ontario Proctor in Admiralty. Notary Public and Commissioner. Offices to Bank of Montreal. Building Hours: 2.00 to 5.00 Tuesdays and Fridays. D. H. McIVNES CHIROPRACTOR Electro Therapist, Massage Office: Huron Street, (Pew Doors west of Royal Baak) Hours—Wed, and Sat and by appointment. FOOT CORRECTION by manipulation Sun -Ray Treatment Phone 207 HAROLD JACKSON Lieensed Auctioneer Specialist in Farm and Household - Sales. Licenced in Huron and Perth Counties.. Prices reasonable; satis- faction guaranteed. For information etc. write or phone Harold Jackson, R.R. No. 4 Seaforth, phone 14 -661. 06-012 THE McKILLOP MUTUAL Fire Insturanee Company Head, Office Seaforth, Ont. Officers: President A. W. McEwing, Blyth; Vim -President, W. RL Archibald, Seaforth• Manager and Sec. Treae., M: A:. , Seaforth. in Directors: Wm,. Knox, Londesboro; at Alex. Broadtail, eatorth; Chas. fe Leonhardt, Dublin;''lXSrrewart a Clinton. Thos, Mandan 9eafor-h; W R.. Are ibaltt, S " arbh; Aiex eliivr- h ing, Blybh; Frank McGregor, OTinuon; Hugh Alexander, VValton. List of Agents: t re J. Watt, Blyth; J. E. Paper, Bruce- s field, R.R. No. 1; L F. McKercher. did Dublin, RA. No. 1; J. F. Preuter, b Brodhaggeon.ey a' s to the Royal HanleClinton;may' be of l Commee ee, Seaforth, or at Calvin bi Cutt'e Grocery, Gbderich. Parties desiring to effect inner enoe or transact other business will be prompitly' attended to on'applies- tion to any of the above offlarre ad- dressed to their respective poet OS - roc .. res. Loleee inspected by the director Joel was writing this; down when Jack Seyfert came toward them across the terrace. His handsome face ,was sober, and his eyes, usu- ally mocking and amused were thoughtful. He paused. beside their table. "Have either of you seen Bobbie?" be asked. "Not for some time," Joel an- swered. Jack's glance dropped to the sheets of paper spread out on the table. "What's this?.'.' he asked, bend- ing over. "Oh, I see—you're putting down stuff about Nina." "Trying our hand. at a little ama- tune detective work," said. Joel.. He began to draw the papers to- gether, but Jack extracted one with a deft move. 'Greeen hat, " he read. "I don't know why Loring made such a fuss about •that. As for' this bruised -face business, that looks as though Nina had been in a hold-up ok some- thing." Janet exchanged a glance with Joel ,then looked up to find Jack watching them over the top of the sheet of paper. He dropped his eyes, and read some more of the outline. "Mem— those clipping's. It's strange .abou.t them. Funny that Nina should drag them out after McLeod had been dead for years." "Perhaps something new about his flight and disappearance had come up," Joel suggested. Jack 'frowned, said. slowly, "May- be he isn't dead. Nobody's thought of that angle. Alter all, he just vanish- ed at sea. He could have been on an island somewhere all this time, He might have been rescued at last, and might have come back +secretly with the idea of taking vengeance on Nina for sending him on that disastrous flight." "She didn't exactly send_ him." Joel pointed out. "He went of his own• free will. She simply gave him the chance to enter the race she was sponsoring." "Don't forget what Mac told -Lor- g," Jack pointed out. "He said that, the end, his son was getting cold et" "Well, young McLeod still didn't are to go. No one made him." Jack shrugged. "That's true." "I wonder though, how old Mac ally feels about -that 'fiight," Joel. aid slowly, "He claims- that he n't blame Nina for his son's death, be he must have blamed'. her a little. he got up the flighit and got his n into it. He must have felt pretty bit everlosing his boy in some- thing that was just a publicity stunt" Jack pulled out a chair and sat down. "I personally bet that Mac really hated Nina." He paused. "You know, he could have gone to clean those shower roams yesterday morn- ing, found Nina there alone, and had a sudden uncontrollable impulse 'to kill her." In the anemia that followed, Janet exchanged another glance with Joel. She wondered whether Jack could read her thoughts—her inclination to believe what he had just said. After a moment, Jack continued. "Incidentally, I wonder why Loring. hasn't thought of Mac in connection with the disappearance of the ax. If i. - ,k loll IiO A! TIME TABLE Trans will mites et and depart from Mato. as fellows: itafrate sad Godarteh Div. Gots rat. du art' 0.43 a.m. ,Vis' East,East,depart 3.00 p.m. cons wog *Pas - 11.45 Mie- Welt, depart ..M p.a. !My loath as. Sid, ` haws 1.00 p m. CHAPTER XXIII A wave of pity swept over Janet as she saw tears gather in Mac's eyes. Poor old man! Wasn't it. hard enough to lose his son without having the police try to bring the boy back to life and accuse him of miuder? Joel asked, "What reason have the police for thinking your son isn't dead?" "No reason! Just their cussed im- aginations'! Just wanting to figure out somebody for the murder whether it's the truth or not!" "Well, if he were alive," Jack put in casually, "I culdn't blame him for killing Nina. She's the one who put him into that fight to Wanu." Mac turned on him fierily. "My boy's dead! Even if he wasn't, he wouldn't be killin' Mrs. Ark Wright! He had nothin' against her. He's dead, and I want him proved dead legally." "You'd have to see a lawyer about that," said Joel. "The question would have to be taken to :court" "By the way, what about Nina's will?" Jack suddenly asked, with seeming irrelevance. "I passed Kay in the hall just now, and she said something about the police having learned it provisions. She looked as though someone had just hit her on the head. I wondered whether she fail- ed to get the money she expected. Do you know anything about it, Mark- ham?" Joel shrugged. "All • I know is that Nina left the laboratory to me." Jack turned and looked at Mac, Whose face had, taken on a wary ex- pression. "Maybe she remembered you, too, Mac," he murmured. "You say she was so anxious to do something for you after your son was lost. Maybe she did something for you in her will." "I don't know," Mae said, evasively. "The police didn't tell you any- thing " "Well they—they might of said +something. 1 don't remember exact- ly Maybe cisc did leave some money." "To you?" Jack persisted. "No not to me. To Danny. I mean, If guess that's what it was," Mac mumbled. "To Danny!" exclaimed Janet. "But how could she if he's—" "The will was made some time ago," Joel cut in. He turned to Mac. "Just what did the police say to you. about it?" Mae wet his lips. "I'm not obliged to tell you," "No, you don't have 'to." "It isn't that I'm: afraid," Mac went on defiantly. "I aint afraid of what folks'll say,. Maybe, through, they'll. say 1 killed ''Mrs. Arkwright because the money was left for Danny but, if he could be proved dead, then -then I'd: get it." Janet and Joel and Jack all stared' ab him in complete silences Janet thought, And I felt :sorry for him! I. thought he was upset 'because the police questioned the death of his son. And it was money he was thinking of all the time! He need's to prove his son dead so that lie can claim Nina's money! ' Joel asked, "How much was left to your son?" YOUR Estrite. as Different from every other. Manyprob- lems are involved — family and financial conditions, requirements and objectives are different. No one person' could be expected to effectively deal with the many duties required of an executor. The Sterling Trusts Corporation brings to these problems the combined experience of a staff fully qualified to administer your estate promptly and efficiently. Name as your Executor STERLINGThUSTS CORPORATION 372 BAY 51., TORONTO --I. ESTABLISHED 1911 �l "gine hundhrili thousand dollars," Mac let the words roll out as though, the 'sound of them was at once please. Mg and frightening. "Whew!" Joel whistled. "And you get that when you prove Danny dead?" Mac nodded. "Legally dead. But now, Loring's trying to prove he ain't dead—he's trying to prove my son a murderer! He's got my book of clip- pings: aobut Danny's flight, and he's been boldin' them under my nose and firin' questions: at me. He says Dan- ny could' have clung to a bit 'of wreck- age and floated ashore on some little island. Re says maybe he went crazy first from heat and: thirst. He says maybe he's been su'fferin' tortures on that little island for the' past four years ,and -maybe he was' finally res- cued; and came back and killed Mrs. Arkwright. "He says to toe, 'She sent hien out on that flight, didn't she? She was responsible for whatever he suffered, wasn't :she?' And I says to Hine 'Read them :clippings. All they say about Mrs. Arkwright is that she offered the prize for the flight, That shut him up, you bet" "But she did secretly finance your son's entry into the race, didn't she?" Joel reminded. "Yes — through some corporation. She seemed awful interested in Dan- ny and, when he was lost, she was terrible upset. She came to me after- wards and asked me whether he'd been satisfied with his plane and all. Well, I knew he'd been kinda worried that it wasn't as good as it might be, so I told her so. She looked right queer at that. Then, 'she got me this job here at the hotel and, whenever she came here, she'd come and ask how I was gettin' along and she'd usually mention Danny some way." "Have you any idea why 'she had those clippings about him with her yesterday 'morning when she was kill- ed?" Joel asked. Mac shook his head. "That's more than I can figure." "Had she mentioned him to you lately?" "Well, yes. It wasn't more than a few weeks ago that she asked me if I had the accounts Danny had kept an how. much he spent on his prepar- ations for the flight. I said. I'd. throwed them out long ago, but I had a rough idea of how much it coat him and, I told hen" "How much was it?" "Around three thousand dollars. Maybe a little less. Not any more." "What did she say to that " "Nothing. I don't know why she asked me, because she must have knowed how much she allowed him." Joel suddenly rose end turned to Janet. "Let's go in. I've just thought of something I've got to db." He gathered together the 'sheets of paper on which he had written his outline of the case, and put them into his pocket. As he and Janet moved off across the terrace, Mac too rose and shuffled away, but they heard Jack call the waiter and order coffee. • Inside the hotel, Joel led Janet to the little banquet room. There was no one there now, and the bleak dec- orations had all been removed. Joel closed the door, then took his outline from his pocket and handed it to Janet. "Keep this for me," he said. "I'm gong into town. I want to leek u'et. the news files on young McLeod and; his flight. If, as Mac says, Nina had kept up her interest in him for four years, there's more in this than meets the eye!" (TO BE CONTINUED) (The characters in this serial are fictitious) You won't have any TIRES a few months from now unless they get expert regular service. Sign up today for the ... 470.44,0 TIRE LIFE EXTENSION PLAN WELLS Auto „Electric O >nton Ontario MURK,JUITLI" -TRI•2 CANADIAN R.A.F. SQUADRONS The Canadian Squadron of the flown thcusan'ls British Royal Air Force, Coastal' Command; has just completed the first two months of operational flights. Using Hudson aircraft carry- ing a crew of four the pilots have of miles attacking enemy ttackin,enemy shipping and taking part in. sea rescue work. The squadron has developed its own 'technique of attack, which is proving successful A recent record for one week was 13 certain hits' in three days. The ground crew and the Canadian pilots work well together; A Hudson bomber before taking off at dusk, with the crew studying their course. ' NO FLYING GLASS Prom Britain's Windows During Air Attacks After losing millions of panes of glass in air raids', Britain now knows almost everything there is to be known about keeping' glass from scat- tering. Although nothing will 'pre- vent window glass from being broken by blast, it can be so bound together that spinitt'rs from it do not fly about and injure people either inside the bombed building or in the streets outside. • r The task which the scientists of the British Government's Building Re- search Station set themeselves was to find materials not in demand for more urgent war needs which would stick firmly to glass and remain ef- fective for a reasonable length of time, aims which apply equally to any other country likely to suffer air attack. Many popular remedies have been 'rejected as worthless in these tests, including most of the liquid treat - meets and also the cross -wire and pad contraption of which so many were sold in Britain to shops and stores early in the war. Strips of adhesive cloth tape or cellulose film though of less value than treatment covering the whole surface are reasonably ef- fective if they are closely spaced; but paper strip: are no use unless a really stout paper is used. Research test have however brought to light a useful range of materials. They are showed two classes to be of value — transparent cellulose sheets and textile netting. Both of 'these, when struck all over a glass pane, effectively Ascent splinters from flying. • – v REMEMBER HARPURHEy The Farmer's' Advocate in a recent issue recalls an interesting incident of an early plowing match held in Huron. The Advocate says: "It is a strange :coincidence but ap- parently historical fact that in the spring :of 1859 the best ten ploug- men from Perth and a like number from Huron met at Harper Hay (practically on the same site as the forthcoming International match) and there conducted a challenge ploughing match that created a great stir in Western Ontario. Special trains were run from Stratford and other points, huge crowds assembled and excitement ran high. "The results of the match showed You Roll Them BefferWith OGDEN'S FINE CUT CIGARETTE TOBACCO •orwsinsomarismis a complete triumph for the Huron county ploughmen. They stood first, ,second , third, fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth, Perth won seventh, eighth and tenth places'. "When perparing for the match this fall Perth county might well use the slogan: "Remember Harpurhey!" —Seaforth Ebcpositor, Monday, June 8th FARE and ONE-QUARTER For Round Trip Good going from noon, Friday; June 5th, until 2 P.M. Monday, June 8. Return: leave destina- tion up to midnight Tuesday, June 9, 1942. Forfaresand/amber information apply to any agent. CANADIAN NATIONAL .r.0160. Hungry For News People who have lived in Clinton but are now living elsewhere, are always interested in what is happening "back home." Your local newspaper tells them more in one is- sue than would of could be told in a dozen letters. Your local newspaper goes regularly and act- ually costs less than a letter a week, when postage, stationery and time are considered. Your local newspaper cost only $1.50 a year to any address in Canada, $2.00 to the Untied States. SEND YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER To That Absent Friend or Relative Clinton News -Record