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The Huron Expositor, 1953-01-30, Page 21 undo l , rS 4-,.!r.;, o Canadian f,y Newspapers 'Association, r:. ra ltiubseription rates, $2.50 a year in vauee; foreign $3.50 a year. Single piiea, 5 cents each. Advertisingrates on application. PHONE 41 Authorized as Second Class Mail Post Office Department, Ottawa SEAFORTH, Friday, January 30 Unusual Winter The mild weather and lack of snow during the past two months have re- sulted in the saving of thousands of dollars to' district municipalities. - In an average winter, almost half of the jiowplovving budgets in each of the., municipalities would have been ex- pended, but this year the cost up to this time has been negligible. While municipalities are saving money on snowplowing and snow re- moval, the open winter may not be . ithout its costly aspects. The al- ternate mild and cold weather, the freezing and thawing can j'esult in serious heaving of farm lands. And this can well mean poor pasture next summer, particularly if there is no �iitnow for the remainder of the win- ter. Fall wheat, too, will feel the ef- fects from heaving on the one hand, and from lack of protection should there be sustained cold weather with- out the benefit of a cover of snow. While the weather so far has been unusual, the winter is by no means finished. February can produce the worst storms of winter, and until that month is over no one can pre - .diet what the spring may bring. • The Birth of O.K. Despite countless corrections by conscientious parents and teachers; today's youth—and for that matter, yesterday's youth too—have come to regard the expression-"O.K." as an acknowledged member in the family of words which makes up the Eng - fish language. From where did the expression come, and what was its origin? A number of explanations have been offered by historians. It has been held that President Andrew Jackson used "O.K." as. meaning all correct; that O.K. derives from an Indian .word okeh—meaning "it is so." Now Prof. Allen Read of Columbia lUniversity advances 'a new theory. President Van Buren, who followed Jackson, was born at Kinderhook, New York, and was known as Old inderhook. In 1840 his supporters organized Old Kinderhook or O.K. clubs and the letters have survived in the sense they now bear. • Times Change This district, like all other parts of Canada, has experienced many changes during the past twenty years. And not the least of these has been the removal of the church sheds that were a feature of the days when the horse and buggy, or the horse and sleigh, went their leisurely way. "In the old days every country church had its sheds where horses and vehicles, buggy or cutter, could be . hitched under shelter while the :saner and his family attended ser- vice," recalls the' Ottawa Journal. "+On a fine Sunday morning in the spud days it was something to see the arrival and departure of the congre- #libn. There would be smart driv- ing horses and spanking teams, bug- shined . to a piano glitter, ph'ae- with fringed tops, harness glit- g in the sunshine, proud drivers ;.,disinclined to show off a bit even the Sabbath- -a deacon or an elder !Old have a nag able to show a burst A d.a e automobile changed all that, except sometimes on back roads can ,drive all day Sunday without buggy. The farmer of to- keeps ,a driving horse is `.o drive on a busy highway okt t• can y, ' reuze t � to r- h , a .4.. horse combed- and curd within an inch of its Life. "So there is small: use for church sheds any more, except for the sound timber that may be in them, but as they go they sever another link with the old times. They had a place in the development of a new land. "Times change, and the custom of today is the curiosity of tomorrow. We have to assume it is . all for the best, and no doubt that is true in the long vision of the state of the world. "But there was much really fine about what we call, sometimes iron- ically, the good old days. The coun- try church was a part of it. There was a spirit impossible now to recap- ture or revive, but which will live yet a while in the memory of our older men and women." What Other Papers Say: A Killing Pace (Brockville Recorder and Times) Brockville in the past year or so has seen far too many deaths among its ablest citizens, men of various ac- complishments who have died in their fifties and sixties, without warning. This situation should be noted in contrast to the fact . that the town still has a goodly number of men alive who made he same community contributions a generation before but who are still enjoying heartily their seventies and even Iate eighties. Undoubtedly Brockville is not un- ique in this situation, but it would seem that within a generation the step-up in the pace of business life in this country has !become a killing pace. • Pen• • and Sword (Woodstock Sentinel -Review) It's been a long, long time since the old axiom, "the pen is mightier than the sword," was first uttered, but it still holds good. The sword is now a museum piece, while the manufac- turers of pens annually produce new marvels of invention — pens that write under water, pens that can be used in blizzards, pens with snorkel tubes, and so on. One would think that pens designed for such exotic uses would find a rather. limited 'max- ket; how many people find it• neces- sary to use a pen under water? But apparently the public likes to have a pen which safeguards them against any emergency. Back in the days of the Babylon- ians, all you needed to knock out a • letter to the folks back home was a chisel and a big slab of rock — and patience, of course. The final pro- duct was very durable, but it was hard on the writer, the chisel;and the supply of rocks. Besides, `few cor- respondents felt like chipping.. away at passages of deathless prose. The Celts took some of the labor out of writing by substituting a sharp rock for the chisel and the bark of the beech tree for the stone slab. By the time the fifth century rolled around, things were considered simp- ler. The more scholarly citizens car- ried around little wax tablets and miniature daggers or styli with which to make impressions on the wax. These gadgets also'served to make an impression on other people, particularly if an angry scholar felt like whacking someone on a lint: "day. In the Middle Ages the reed pen was developed. Ink was a mixture of iron gall and lampblack. The writing was done on papyrus or a form of parchment. Quill pens fol- lowed the reeds and metal nibs fol- lowed the quills. So man's struggle to write a letter with minimum muscular effort has culminated in the pens of, today— pens designed for use on the land, under the sea, in the air. So far nothing has been claimed about the hereafter. Man himself introduces the only dismal note—the chances are the scrawl he produces with his ,magnifi- eent pen is a -great deal less legible than the crude Words he hacked out stone slab roan centurie* ago. dY l tlt1►11cq Far fly To alra. Moody gg 11a ,d ,:gge0, thtt di&tinction QJPii,t a ii,� 4`ih lady to be setmspat lid a. j *ry c�'�tyv Mrs. - Holland was one iso; four ladies to receive the jury `sutnmonu in Hun% POMMY.- Q.uly AM. Of, tha four were called, however. She is IVIre,.. John Sully, Goderich. The as- sizes of the Saprethe Court opened at-Goderich last Monday with Mr. Justice Smily presiding. It is the first time in the history of Huron County that a woman is serving on the jury. -Blyth Standard. Deer Damages Truck A deer was injured recently. when it smashed into a truck driven by Ken Johnston, son of Sperling Johnston, of Morrie township. Mr. Johnston was on his 'way home from Fordwich with a group of Bel - grave hockey players when two deer crossed the road ahead of them. A third followed and crash- ed into the side of the truck. Some damage was done to the truck door. The mishap occurred' north of Bluevale, on Highway 87. -Wing - ham Advance -Times. Drilling Well For Fire Protection (Drilling operations were started to find a water supply for the vil- lage's proposed $50,000 flee protec- tion system. Fred L. Davidson, of Wingham, has the drilling contract and on Tuesday morning the drill had .penetrated to a depth of 60 feet. The site of the new well is about 30 feet north of the pump - house. This site was chosen be- cause previous drillings • in this area had produced an overflow quantity of water. An eight -inch casing will be put down in the well. -Blyth Standard.. Train Clips Snowplow Norman Kemp and Bill Cornish, both of Mitchell, enroute from Kit- chener on icy roads, had 'reason to be grateful for their good for- tune when their Department of Highways snowplow, driven by the former, stalled at New Hamburg railway crossing just ;as,id wig -wag gave warning of an oncoming train. The 'men were able to jump from the cab of the truck and to reach a safe distance before the tip of the plow was caught by the train. No other damage was done.-aMit- 041 AtIvgcate. Willing For 011 an March Farm Oil drilling by Imperial Oil Ltd. got under way recently on the fa, m of Huron Murch, lot'37, concession 10, Goderieh townshb. This is Oa first time tis company lids ever drilled for oil in Huron County. An- other rig has been •installed nea Londesboro and oil drilling wil take place there shortly. For the past year Imperial oil Limited has been conducting an irtensive sur vey of oil prospects in Huron Cour ty, and, according to Hugh Mac Donald, London, supervisor of ex ploration 'for Ontario, "always fell some promisea They have foun' rock faults and indications the there is "definitely oil" in this area, he said. For some time now no only Imperial Oil but other large oil companies from,the United States have leased mny thousands of acres of land in this area in the hope oil would some day be found. "We have been exploring for oil for some 'time but this is the be- ginning as far as actual drilling in this area is concerned," said Mr. MacDonald. -Clinton News -Record. Over 1,000 Oil Leases Registered An indication of the interest shown in Huron County as a pro- spective source of oil was indicat- ed at County Council. last week, when the report of the property committee showed an increased surplus revenue for the registry of- fice of almost 690 :per cent for 1952 over the previo s year. The sur- plus of revenue over expenditures in • 1952 was $13,463.74, while in 1951 it was only $2,055.61. "This amount was far above the average due to a heavy run of oil leases," Murray Johnson, chairman of the property committee said in his re- port, referring to last year's out- standing surplus. County clerk- treasurer lerktreasurer Harvey Erskine said that more than 1,000 oil leases had been registered Iast • year, explaining why it was considered necessary to purchase a rectigraph machine, which would take a picture of docu- ments, develop, print, wash and dry the prints, an automatically. The machine could reproduce 53 com- plete copies in one hour as com- pared to 17 per day by a copy girl. -Goderich Signal -Star. To The Editor Toronto, Jan,uajy 23, 1953. Editor, The Huron Expositor: Dear ar Sir:. I was fmP;ressed with that thought credited . to. your Exe- ter contemporary: "At a time when industry is being sold op the idea of decentralization, it would seem advisable for Exeter to make an effort to profit on this trend."; and certainly I heartily approve of the advice you beam at your Own authorities in this same connec- tion. Only last week I read the follow- ing few lines in the course of a lengthy 1952 review of "Industrial Manitoba," in one of, the financial papers: "There has . been a con- tinuation of the trend toward de- centralization of industry in Mani- toba. According to the official fig- ures, juet 35 per cent of all new industries• have located outside the Greater Winnipeg area since 1945." In closing, mayeI draw the follow- ing astonishing table to the notice of your readers in town and coup,- try, showing the problem involved in keeping wheat valuations at rea- sonably stable levels: also .indicat- ing. in no uncertain fashion, man's control (?) over weather'condi- tions. The figures show the wheat production for six specific crop, years in Canada: Year Acreage Crop 1937 .. 25,570,000 180,210,000 bus. 1933 .. 25,991,000 281,892;000 ie 1949 .. 27,540.000 367,406,000 " 1950 .. 27,021,200 461,664,000 " 1951 .. 25,554,000 552,567,000 " 1952. .. 25,995,000 687,923,000 " "AGRICOLA" Farm News of Huron. The heavy rains of Friday eve- ning and Saturday morning .of last week will greatly benefit the low water supply which has been re- ported in some areas of the come ty. Because of the abnormal mild weather and open winter, farmers are giving earlier consideration to securing their fertilizer and seed requirements for this coming spring. Some seed cleaning plant operators report greater business now than they have ever had at this particular time of the year. • Farm Woodlots Can Be 'Valuable :The farm woodlot is often over- looked as a source of revenue and particularly as a continuing asset through the years, Compared with the other work on a farm the handling of a woodlot is fairly sim- ple, but there is need for a refor- estation or conservation plan to ob- tain the best results. Most farm woodlots need what is termed . an improvement cutting in which comparatively useless spe- cies or malformed and dying trees are removed to make way for the growth of better species or more thrifty trees. The wood from this improvement cutting is usually neither large nor merchantable as logs. It should be used as fuel - wood either on the farm or sold on a local market where it will of- ten bring good prices. The woodlot should be worked or reforested so that t will produce both high quality aw valued products. Yellow birch, maple, pine and spruce, when grown to maturity, will yield high quality logs for which there is a ready mar- ket. The tops of both mature hard- wood and softwood trees will yield a large amount of fuel wood which should be harvested when the IOgs. are cu$, At this time any young or small trees broken or injured when felling the mature timber should al- so be cut. Stand improvement of the farm woodlot at the time of harvesting s te• logieal step in woodlot man- agement. This need• not be done all at once, but when felling enol mature tree the stand .fora good dietanue mrollnd ohould be Gulled t"o lenitive tteelesS mentberu of fie' esonamomeemer stand. In time the whole woodlot will be ii shape- for greatest growth. 'Cared for systematically over the years the faraa woodlot can be 'a source of considerable revenue,„ but if left untended it•will soon become overgrown and. eof little value as a farm asset. Poultry React To Weather Changes (During the winter months when colds and allied respiratory trou- bles are to be guarded against, low- ered vitality is often caused by bad conditions inside 'the poultry house following sudden changes in the weather. Over a period of matey years of recording egg production it has been found that steady cold wea- ther does not greatly affect vigor. but high! winds or dampness do have a particularly depressing ef- fect on 'poultry. Consequently, the prevention of draughts is impor- tant in flock management.. While it is hardly possible to construct a poultry house which will provide ideal. conditions through every variation of weather, proper insulation and, adequate means of ventilation will help. Gen- erally, the type of ventilation should be designed to suit the cli- mate, hut nearby trees, hills or buildings will often cause air cur- rents for which provision must be made. Whatever kind of ventilds tion is considered' most suitable, whether cotton screen, sliding sash or baffled slots, they should be kept in free working condition in order that •adjustments can be made quickly and easily. Perhaps the most importan time for good judgment by the operator is during the night hours. Rain or snow beating in through open air vents results in wet litter. Us- ually, weather forecasts can aid in deciding upon the ventilation dur- ing the night, It is not necessary or practical to paper poultry, but alien an effort- is made to establish nni- forlmity of temperatures, dry sur- roundinge, and moderate air Mot* rebut in; and, out of the house,.. god health is usuallp the results• g Wise parents will not Skip a 'booster' shot. The extra injection Gives added protection. Dept. of National Health and Welfare aestalerageeeereseeeeeerge Years Agone Interesting Items Picked From Tl'b'Huron Expositor of Twen- ty-five . end Fifty Years Ago From The Huron Expositor February 3, 1928 Mr: William Gillespie, , well- known policeman and night watch- man of Seaforth, retired after 33 years of faithful service, taking with bin the respect of all good citizens. Master Thomas Sills, 10 -year-old son, of Mr. Frank Sills, gave an exhibition of youthful courage, nerve and athletic ability last week when he .climbed unassisted the 21 - foot flagpole on top of the post office, inserted the rope. at the top of the pole and unfurled to the winds the flag that for a thousand years has stood 'the battle and the breeze. Monday morning was the coldest of the season, the thermometer registering 14 degrees below zero. Dorothy, little daughter- of Mr. David Gemmell, Tuckersmith, while playing at her home,. had the mis- fortune to fall and fracture her arm. She is now in Seaforth Mem- orial Hospital. The many friends of Mr. Tony Siemon, Manley, are sorry to learn that his finger, which • was almost severed by a circular saw, is not improving as rapidly as it was an- ticipated, on account of infection setting in. Mr. and Mrs. Percy Little, Win- throp, entertained Mr. and Mrs. Fergus Bullard, Mr, and Mrs. Jos. Dolmage, Mr. Hugh Ross; Mr. John Bullard, Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Ben- nett and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson ,Gov- enlock Thursday evening. Mr. Melvin 'Crich, the well- known Tuckersmith' �- Shorthorn breeder, has sold to J. L. Oakes, Rockwood, Ont.,'his 16-aonths-old bull, '"Knight Bologna," sired by "Thorn Knight," at a good sum. A •by-law was ,passed at the spe- cial meeting of Seaforth Council appointing W. G. Fee as chief con- stable and collector. James V. Ry- an was appointed assistant con- stable, The ice harvest started this week and the quality of it is first-class. Mr. George Hudson, Hensall, has received the contract for •the care- taking ,of Hensall school, The annual meeting of Carmel Church, Hensall;' was held Friday, when Rev. J. McElroy, B.D., pre- sided over the proceedings, and the reports showed that it was the best year in the church's history. e From The Huron Expositor January 30, 1903 At the meeting of Huron County Council, which opened at Goderich Tuesday, W. H. Kerr, Brussels, was elected Warden. Mr. Kerr will make a good warden, and we heart- ily congratulate him on the-distinc, tion conferred on him by the peo- ple. - Messrs. A. G. Smillie and George Black,. Tuckersmith, who were at- tending the two weeks' course in stock and grain.judging at the On- tario Agricultural College, Guelph, have returned home and were much pleased with everything. The balloting for four new elders in Carmel Church, 'Hensall, result- ed in the following being elected: William ' Dougall, John McArthur, James A. Bell and Peter Moir. Mr. W. H. Willis, of town, is carrying his arm in a sling. He fell on the ice in the rink, injuring it, and a few nights afterwards when returning 'from Gorrie, and when a couple of miles this side of Brussels, his rig was upset go- ing through a pitch -hole, and being thrown out, dislocating his right shoulder. On Wednesday John Hinchley, an employee of the Broadfoot & Box furniture factory, had the misfor- tune to have two of his fingers tak- en off while working one one of the machines. Lawyer Daniel McFadzean, a nephew of Thomas McFadzean, hear Walton, has been elected dis- trict attorney for Tulare •Couety, California, with a majority of 498. The appointment .holds food for four years, with a salary of $3,200 per annum and a fine office. Mr, George Hart Bruoefleld, who has been superintendent of the• Presbyterian Church Sabbath ; School there for a number of year,. was on . Friday made the recipient of a , handsome writing desk, while Mrs. Hart received a fine dedora't, ed berry deet, The address was read iby the 'present superintendent, 8.- R. Higgins, and the presentation made by John McQueen and John *Kenzie. the Macabees of town • held a pleasant open meeting in their hall. arpet ball, ettohre and seleetio en. the gaiamnolihoine can tribttted hi part tO ,:tho evening's enjoyment. 9 I' i J iyHA�PTER• 1(il1 ` x'' 751x9. general public, liar 004 real f'dea of what goes on bphlnd Abe scenes when 'a crime of n ajer importance has 'been committed. SAIOnOel (lath' B9kels tgi the help of the police -1u the provision of elab- orate methods of determining and providing known facts. But the routine want of ferret - ting out the essential facts re- mains largely unchanged, and the.. human 'factor is all important. In- spector Matthews was chiefly con- cerned in gathering together every scrap of information he could get about everybody immediately or remotely involved in the NetheatQn 'murders. "The one thing that seems posi- tive," he said to Morrison Sharpe, "is an inter -connection., LI'p to the present we can't say where .they link up, or why, but it is neces- sary to take them together.". "Then why follow the unfortun- ate clergyman night and day wait- ing to put a hand on this shoulder and read the warrant of arrest you've already filled in." • "That's a. guess." "An accurate• one, or you'd have denied it straight away. It only needs the signature of a Justice of the Peace and then you'll swoop-" "Oh, well---" "Coyness doesn't become you as I've said befere." "What am I to do, sir? The Chief Constable is pushing me like a wheelbarrow. Naturally r don't want to make a bloomer, neither can I afford to risk offending the big noise. However, if yote tell me I'm barking up the wrong tree I'll one " follyou to a more promising ow Morrison Sharpe regarded his friend through half-closed eyelids. "I didn't say you were wrong," be observed slg�s'ly. "Then yoeagree with my conclu- sions?" "Not that, either. At the back of my mind, something is simmer- ing, but it isn't ready to place •be- fore you for the .present." "Better hurry up," Matthews warned. Mr, Sharpe had expected more than a few hours to develop his teats, and it was with a shock that he saw the contents bilisof the evening newspapers: "SENSATIONAL ARRESTNETHERTON" "Curse Matthews,", muttered Mr. Sharpe. "He can't 'possibly hang Thorne on the evidence he's got, and that, means . ," His musingswere interrupted by Inspector Hodgkiss, who was look - log,. exceedingly plc -aced with him- self. "We've got him, sir," he was saying. "Many thanks' for your valuable help." "Bah!" "Eh!" The grin faded from the man's face, to be replaced with an expression of bewilderment that nwasealmost comic in its thorough - ss, "Don't mind me. It isn't your fault." "I'm sure I don't know what you're talkitte,, about." Werhaps I don't myself. Well, if you see Inspector Matthews tell him I'm going to read the local papers with a considerable amount of interest," "Is that all, sir?" "You ,may say that I shall be at home this evening if he wants to talk things over." "Afraid: he'll be tied up. But I'm open to bet' he'll be at my place before I go to bed, and that won't be very early either." "Busy with a puzzle of your own, I'll be bound," the .Inspector said knowingly, "That's truer than you realize," Mr. Sharpe replied. Matthews called, as he had an- ticipated, but not until after eleven o'clock, "Still up and awake," he greeted ocularly. Morrison Sharpe frowned, a thing he rarely did, and sure sign that he was worried, "Sit down," he commanded, "and tell nie what happened as a result of roasting Thorne." "Nothing much,' Mr. Sharpe leaned forward. "So our friend the vicar hasn't' made any confession?". "No. Had you expected him to?" "It was a ,possibility." "Sia you agree that we've got the right man?" "Certainly not. I said 'possibili- ty,' not 'probability'," "You baffle me, sir, I'm afraid. If Thorne isn't guilty, who is?" "Too soon to say, old man, I'm not e'en prepared to rule your prisoner out. But 1 feel sure you haven't •sufficient evidence to con- vince a jury. In other words, a bad actical mistake has been made." "We;11 ,see about that. At any ate the Chief Constable is well atleiled-" • "Which makes it more comfort- able for you at headquarters, of nurse. It is nothing tO me if Mar or Martinshawe wishes to save his ace, and yours into • the bargain." "Really, sir, you're going too far t once. I always thought" you ere on our side." "I'm strictly without bias, In- pector, So I must warnyou that or the time being I may. seem to, e working against you." "Good luck. if you can prove we've been in the wrong I shall: be he fiest to congratulate you, Not e of us, from the Chief down to he,' youngest- constable, would like o think a scapegoat had been ound:" "That's the way to talk. It oesn°t please me .at all to have say '1 told you so'." "Very. Martin , behaved very Matthews chuckled. "Consider- well in the curcumstances. Lola g the number of banes yoi do it was a fiend." ou manage to ,if wonderfluly "Temper?" eery. But ,if you're going to "Drink -and worse. I don't know m& Ice a habit of finding all my why, I'm telling you thio. One- -goners not guilty: led beats doesn°:t usfrally' talk about salt plea fftuke, a point of consulting .•you'as things to stretigers. Who are,ybuf ,general precaution•. T suppose r a e j f a w s P t on t d to In ch pr, b, you,il ebbe ,yi ,l j?ig' faellItiea to talk: 'kith QMtits 'Mane?" • "I• doubt if he'd want to see: 1Ine, Anyway' I haven',t time. The Queen Mary sails for America tomorrow,"" "What's' that got to. do with it?", "M-yi::::'reltervations are already" made." "That's a • hat one. If yonlvet seeking Mrs. Martin Rotherson per - hang YOIVIl 'b:0, ial+,res!Ee4 to kB0Wt that we've already been in com- munieation with the s_ol,iciters itt California." "Attorney, in America. Of course' I expected that. And you've had; bad break." "Guessing?" "Mental arithmetic. Two anc two—" "Makes four. Double it, take- away the number you first thought. of, and the answer's a lemon." "Sour as that, eh?" "Yes. The alimony was transmit- ted to another 'sot -attorney New York, and his client has been. in the habit of calling in person at. irregular intervals to collect, the accumulated funds." "Witten did she pay her last vis- it?" "Over two years ago." Mr. Sharpe tut -tutted reproving- ly, "There are many questions r have refrained from putting to, you," he said. "Presuming we were on a partnership basis it, didn't seem necessary. One of them, now I do think of it, is the result of the anlysis of the choco- lates found near Mrs. • Thorne." ',Doped with cyanide up to the lid, as you have undoubtedly con- cluded without being told. The same stuff was on the surplice you unearthed in tale Church Room and the vicar had bought fresh sup- plies a few days before." "Nothing in that, although I exp- pect you're going to make a lot of it in evidence. At this time of the year the keen photographer and? - the ardent entomologist begin to get busy." "Trust you'to find an excuse,. sir!" "Not at all. --.That's your job.. You ought to be one ahead on the explanations of the defence. Has your man got anything to say about the surplice?" "Nothing! But he'll have • a: dickens of a job to wriggle out •ot that. It was his own garment,. identified' by the laundr i mark." "Doesnst it seem strange that a, parson should use a nice clean art- isle of his own as a towel,. leaving; a clue as plain as Mont Blanc on a• clear day?" ' "iauite the usual thing, Mr: Sharpe. There never has been the - perfect crime yet." • "Unless this is it!" "Not to•my way of thinking:. You're wasting a lot of money rush- ing half way across the world on se wild-goose chase." -• - "Don't -bother about me. I'm not a poor man and there are plenty' of philanthropists itching to giv)3. me more than I know what to de with." -"Wish my crosewording was as, lucrative as yours." "Don't forget I make a career of solving puzzles. In the' police - force you only get one a year at the outside. The rest of your jolt is preventing' crime. Well, don't keep me up any longer. It's after midnight." "Good night, and a pleasant voy- age. Look after yourself in Amer- ica, They say the girls there ai',te particularly pretty. Who knows. you, might be looking round for a: wedding ring before the week is, out." Morrison Sharpe looked after hun: musingly. "Now I wonder," he murmured. "Was that a mere wise- crack or is.Matthews sharper tJian he sometimes seems to be?" CHAPTER IX Morrison Sharpe had never boa fore visited America, although it. was an experience he hail often. promised himself. He had seized. upon the excuse of extending in- vestigations across the ocean with boyish eagerness. On the voyage out he was the object of a consid- erable' amount of tolerant curiosaT by more hardened voyagers, Several people took a friendlyr interest in the passenger who nev- er tired of asking: questions... Among them was 'Greta Veilchen.a the European -born film actress,. who had 'known Martin Rotherson fairly intimately and claimed ac- quaintanceship with Karl Kron- feld. "A very sad business," she ob- served, •as jihey stood at the ship's stern watching the churn of White- water in their wake. "Everybody liked poor Martin." "Especially. the ladies, I under- stand." "Perhaps," She gave him arch look. Mr. Sharpe beamed. "That is • not surprising when there is so' much 'beauty all around." ,She gazed pensively seaward., "Once I thought I was in love with,. -Martin Rotherson. He was very ihandsome in his. darkly English.. way." "Which, no doubt, accounts for his preference for blondes!" "You knew that?" "`One would suppose so." Witb• great deliberation he glanced ad- miringly at the famed Veilehen tresses. She accepted the 'implied eoranl.iment as a due. '"Hie 'wife was blonde, too," elle- said, Surprisingly. It was exactly what he had been. leading up to, only the knowledge. that Greta had been more than a friend of Rotherson holding back a direct question, "An unhappy marriage," he said softly. an,: (Contitntled on Payee 3) '..�