Evening Star Newspaper, March 15, 1929, Page 36

THE RAGGED PRINCESS Copyright, 1925. by Chicago Ddily News ed from Yesterday' Star) | CHAPTER XXIX. &« EARCH every room.” ordered Dick. “The man is still in the house. He's been here.” He pointed to the desk. The papers which lay about in eonfusion bore traces of blood. Dick began his search of the walls for another exit “For the Lord's sake!" he breathed. At the end of the room near the de: was an alcove which the velvet cur: tains screened from view. Drawing these aside, Shannon and his com- panion gazed in amazement at the | thing they saw. | It was a great idol of bronze that squatted on a broad pedestal. Behind | the figure, and incrusted on the wall, | was a huge golden sun, the leaping | flames of which were set with thou- | sands of tiny rubies that in the light | gleamed like living fires. | Flanking the obscene fdol were two | catlike animals cast, as was the figure, in bronze. Their sparkled greenly in the light of the hand lamps. “Emeralds, and genuine emeralds,” said Dick. “We seem to have stepped into Ali Baba's cave. The god beats He is something between Plutus and the Medusas—look at the snakes in his hair!” It was a hideous figure. The head was monstrous, the gaping jaws, with| their jagged ivory teeth, seemed to move as they looked. “The old gentleman seems to have added devil-worship to his other accom- plishments,” said Dick, pointing to two | small braziers, black with smoke, that stood on either side of the figure. “That's blood!” It was Steel who made the discove: On the black pedestal the rays of his Jamp showed a damp impression, and, drawing his finger across it, he dis- played a red smear. “Push the thing and see if it moves.” ‘Three men put their shoulders to the plinth, but it was unmovable. Dick looked at his subordinate, “Where have they put Marshalt's body?” he asked. “It is somewhere in this house. You take the upper rooms, Steel; I will search the ground floor and cellars.” Steel was sniffing. “Do you notice any peculiar smell in the room, chief? It is as though there has been a smoking fire here—the smell that soft coal makes.” Dick had been puzzled by the same | phenomenon. “I detected it when I came in,” he began, when one of the uniformed men interrupted him. “There's something burning on the | | | | a blue spiral of smoke. | effect, and a little stone stalrway was | his finds was a deep Egyptian coffin, { the semblance of a man. He lifted the | room abovi [ By ||| Edgar Wallace carpet,” he said, and the lamp showed Dick slipped on a glove and lifted it up. It was a hot coal, now dull and lifeless, though the carpet was smol- dering “How did that manded Steel had no solution to offer. The curtains concealed other points | of interest. Behind one, in a corner of the room, he found a little door. Apparently this was not governed by the switch controls, and here the fire ax was brought into play with great get here?” revealed. It led downward to the ground floor. through a door into the front room that lay behind the shut- tered windows. At some time or other the drawing room had been a very noble establishment; it was still fur- nished, though every article was so covered with dust and so moth-eaten Led | to give the apartment an air of utter wretchedness. Here was stacked in odd corners a medley of incongruous ar- ticles. Bundles of skins, stacks of Zulu assagais and a queer collection of African idols in every degree of ugli- ness. The skins were moth eaten, the spear heads red with rust. Last, and not least remarkable, of brilliantly painted, with a lid carved in hinged lid—it was empty. “Lacy Marshalt’s body is in the house,” he said, as he returned to the ; “and his murderer is here. Have looked for communication be- tween the two houses? “There is none,” said Steel. “The walls are solid; I've tried them on every foor.” Returning to the room where the body had been found, he discovered the police inspector seated at Malpas' desk. “What do you make of this, sir?" He handed the paper to Dick. It was & half sheet of note paper, and, reading it, Dick Shannon's blood went cold. The paper bore the address of Audrey's hotel, and the handwriting was un- doubtedly hers. He read: “Will you come and see me tonight at 8 o'clock? Mr. M. will admit you it you tap at the door.’ It was signed “A.” Audrey! Only for a second was he thrown off his balance, and then the explanation came to him immediately. This was\one of the notes that the old man had asked her to copy. It was the lure that had brought the million- aire to his death. He took Steel aside and showed him the letter, “I can explain this,” he said: “It is one of the letters which Miss Bedford copled on the old man’s instructions.” (Coprright, 1929, by the Associated Press) -CHAPTER XVIL Having had two experiences in res- cuing 57 men from foundering ships in midatlantic during severe storms and using the radio day after day while at sea for the navigation of my and communicating with the out- side world, I naturally would consider wireless one of the sailor's greatest assets, It is the same medium that provides entertainment for you in your home almost any hour of the day, that is employed to safeguard the lives of millions at sea at all times during storms and fog. Radio as a science is still in its infancy, but, considering how it has| been developed, it is beyond human comprehension 'what we can expect. ‘Without the aid of the radio compass it would have been impossible for me to locate either the British freighter Antinoe or the Italian freighter Florida. I do not believe it is very far off “My Thirty Years I do not use the radio compass in the safe and practical navigation of the ship. When transatlantic liners run on & regular schedule with the promptness of railroad trains the radio compass is one of the most indispensable in- struments. I firmly believe that the maritime law should compel every ship not only to carry a radio compass, but to have three operators aboard while at sea, so that a man is st the key day nn?c hnmxv. on a regular eight-hour wal 3 Several airplanes have already suc- | cessfully negotiated the Atlantic. Avia- tion is also making rapid strides and some day it will nol he uncommon to have a regular transatlantic air service. These planes, carrying radio equipment, will find these radio beacons estab- lished for ships of great value in their navigation. But a good deal of study must yet be given to upper air currents before transatlantic aviation will reach a degree of safety. ‘when radio beacons will be establishea Thill 2=\ 3 i =N 7 7 //fl/‘ i “The radio compass indicated he was 50 miles off the given position.” at various points, so that a vessel in any kind of weather will be able to gt her exact posiiion, thereby prevent- g the possibility of a colliion in a fog with another ship. Several in Operation. Beveral radio beacons are already in operation along the coast of the TUnited States, and I think that for- governments will erect stations at er points. Greenland should have a radio beacon as well as the Azores. with additional ones along the Atlantjc Coast in this country as well as along the European Coast ‘With every ship In the Atlantic equip- ped with wireless to take bearings, nay- igators will virtually do away with determining their locations through ob- servation from celestial bodies. It 1s only a matter of time before every ship will also be equipped with short-range radio beacons as an additional precau- tion against colliding with each other in unfavorable weather. At the present time stations send out radio beams along the American Coast day and night. Vessels with radio compasses can pick up these sta- tions and accurately obtain their fixed position by planning on a chart tie direction of the beams. The position of the vessel on the chart is at the intersection of two or more of those lines. ‘When I went to the assistance of the Antinoe the master gave me his position at the time he sent the S O S. As 1 proceeded to that spot I found that he had drifted. The radio com- pass on the President Roosevelt indi- I think that airplanes will prove more practical in use across the ocean { than dirigibles, because the former are faster and when sufficiently developed { will probably suffer less in a storm than a Zeppelin. Storms will always be a hazard, just as they are now. | Nature’s elements have wrought havoc | with the stanchest of ships and prob- ably always will, so that only planes | of sturdy construction will be in use. | There are many other factors to be | considered, however, and the day of a regular transatlantic plane service, even &s a supplementary steamship | service, is still some distance away, n | my opinion | A steamship at sea is a_small world {in itself. 1In the old days vessels | crossed the ocean and the officers, crew | and passengers never had a word from { the outside world. It was only when | they reached a port that they knew what was in the news. | Today radio brings crew and passen- | gers into communication with their relatives and friends during any part | of the vowage in any part of the world. News dispatches are received every | night. On the larger passenger liners these news items are printed in the | dafly paper, which is at the breakfast tables. Stock quotations of the chiet issues dealt in on the New York Stock Exchange also are quoted, On some voy- |ages we carry bankers, brokers and | traders. They can ask for a quotation on a stock and in & few minutes the few minutes, if they feel' so inclined cated that he was 50 miles away from i answer is received and within anothe the given position so I changed my course_and found him. The Fidtida as also off her position, being 150 ila away. ly ever do I make n vovage that |2n order to buy or sell can be put | through. .(Tonwrmwdw‘iwmu at Sea) And then: “I'll go along and break the news to Tonger.” He had forgotten all about Tonger and the effect which the news would bring to the house next door. A small crowd had gathered before the front door when he came out, for the news of the tragedy had spread with that rapidity pecullar to such events. A light showed through the glass paneling in the hall of Marshalt's house and he rang the bell. Tonger would be shocked. He had grown up with the dead man, fought with him and felt with him. Scoundrel as he was, the valet would know some good of his old employer. No answer came to his knock. Look- | ing over the area railings, he saw a | light in the rang again. His foot was on the pavement, he had half-turned to his subordinate, when, from the interior of Marshalt's house, came a shot, followed by two others In rapid succession, He was at the door in a second. the sound of screams, and the kitchen entrance was flung open. | “Murder!” screamed a woman's voice. | In an instant he was running down | the steps. A fainting woman fell | ainst him, but he thrust her aside, | darted through the kitchen and ran | up the stairs which, he guessed, led | to the hall. Here he camee into a group of three hysterical maid-servants and a woman who was evidently the cook, and who proved to be the calmest and most intelligible, though she could give little information except that she had heard shots and the voice of Mr. ‘Tonger. “From there, sir!” A girl poinbed‘ with shaking fingers upward. Marshalt's study!” Shannon went up the stairs two at a time, and, turning at right angles,' saw that the door of the study was, wide open. Across the threshold lay the body of Tonger, and he was dead. { Tonger! Passing his hands under the | a member of the crowd bolder than the | fore a stout door which had neither man, he lifted him without an effort and laid him on the sofa. He, too, had been shot at close quarters—there was | The sports and boning in teen-inch Sizes 27 to For Genuine lock is in bags—red, Regularly $3 V' necklines, s figured_designs. | emerged. We are now showing a large selec- tion of Easter Greeting Cards . . . in modernistic or old-fashioned designs. “All-elastic” Slipover styles with crew or cocoa, beige, red, orange, navy THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1929.° “Prom the inside, sir,” said one of | found a purchase, and as the two were tmmnent he flashed a ray from his “There’s somebody In pu‘l},zd wnnkx‘er the door opened wlth!:und lamp upward. Staring down at a sharp craci no need to call a doctor. Death had been instantaneous. Going to the door, he called one of the maids. “Bring a policeman in here at once.” This time the unknown murderer should not spirit away the evidence of his deed. e He waited until the body had been removed before he made a rough search of the study. Two exploded shells told him that the murder had been commit- ted with an automatic. But how had the murderer escaped? A thought oc- curred to him, and he went in serach of a maid. “When I came up from the kitchen the front door was open—who opened it?” lows kne The door had been open i kitchen downstairs and when they erupted from the basement. |at the visitor, | And then he heard Steel | A superficial examination of the house | | calling him, and went back to meet told him nothing, but one clear fact said the other coolly. “He will perhaps | he de- | his subordinate. Malpas had a confederate, and if either escaped it was the second man. That Malpas was in his house after the murder of Marshalt he was certain, Dick search there. ent back to 551 to continue hi: which defled the efforts of the police to enter. he door must be opened,” said Dick decisively. “You must get crowbars. T'll not leave this house till every room has been combed out.” He was alone in the black-draped room where Marshalt had been shot and was speculating upon the extraor- dinary character of the disappearance when he was conscious that somebody was moving behind him, and he spun around. A man was standing in_the doorway. The first view of him Dick Shannon had was the gleam of his spectacles. It was Brown, the limping lover of London whom he had seen that “Mr. | night in Portman square and who had been so interested in dlamonds. A sus- picion shot through Shannon’s mind. “How did you get here?” he asked curtly, Through the door,” was the bland repl. “It was wide open and, being others, I came in."” “Isn’t there a policeman on duty at the door?” The Correct Foundation for New Costumes “Redfern’” Step-in Girdle type. For draped frocks. Of fine quality knitted elastic with slight satin pockets. Thir- length. Flesh only. 32, (Fifth Floor. The Hecht Co.) New Scarves $2.95 Suit or Frock Triangles, squares, novel shapes and sheer chiffons. Hand painted, hand blocked prints in exquisite color combinations, (Main Ploor, The Hecht Co.) Cloissonne Lift Locks on These | New Handbags calf, morocco and pat- ent leather. Silk lined, well fitted. The simulated enamel of the lift colors to match the green, suntan, brown, blue and black. (Main Ploor, The Hecht Co.) Smart Allies... Sweaters and Skirts Cardigans and Jersey Jackets . . . Sweaters $ 2,95' .95 to $5.95 olid colors or In tan, blue, "% Neither the girl nor any of her fel- | d Every room had been in-| From somewhere in the basement came | vestigated except one on the top floor, | well understand that if a man is foolish | and black. Sizes 34 to 46 (Pitth Ploor.) 28 -y “If there is I di the other easily. trop, Capt. Shanno: ‘'m afraid you are,” said Dick, “but you won't go till I discover how you 6 10 sal afrald I'm de|the policemen. the:c now.” “Are you sure?” asked Dick quickly. “Yes, s teeth in a smile. dragged across the floor. “Don’t say that I'm suspect,” he said mockingly. “That would be too|lips and bent his head. Dick listened. bad. To be suspected of killing my | At first he could hear nothing, and old friend, Lacy Marshalt.” then there came to him the faintest Dick did not like his sly smile, saw | Of creaks like a rusty hinge turning. nothing of humor in the tragedy of the | evening, and as he accompanied the , pointing to deep gashes in the | e T e ey, | Wood, “but there was no Toom to swing. le on the door had not seen | Here comes the men with the crow- swore, at any rate, that no- him enter s, body had passed him while he was on ‘Hear that?” asked the policeman | uty suddenly. He would have been deaf had he not. | 1t was the sound of a falling chair, and was followed at an interval by a deep thud. as if something was falling. “Get that door open quick,” g f th by aking one of the erowbars in his | The man admitted he had done this. | hang, he forced the thin edge between |, You might have seen that happen | goor and lintel and tugged. The door | from the inside of the hall or from the | gave “slightly. The second crowber stairs,” said Shannon, unconvinced. | ~ : G the outside, but I| e = “What does this mean?” Dick looked | “It means the constable is wrong," | remember going out on to the sidewalk said | to move the crowd farther back.” aw it from enough to come into a place where a | murder has been committed he only“ has himself to blame if he is sus- pected.” “Where are you staying?” | “I am still at the Ritz-Carlton. I| will remain here if vou wish, but I &s- sure you that the most heinous crime to my discredit is in this instance an un- governable curiosity.” Dick had already verified the man's statement that he was a guest at that fashionable hotel, and the intruder was sent about his business. “I don't like it at all,” said Shannon to his assistant as they went back to Malpas’ room. “He may have come in, as he said. On the other hand, it is quite likely that he was in the house | when the murder was committed. How | long will they be opening that door? Let me see it.” il He followed Steel up the top landing, | where two constables were standing be- | 'APER) EXPERT SERVICE INTERIOR AND EXTE Let Us Renoyate Your Home Convenient Terms Arranged American Decorating & Improvement Co., Inc. 19 11th N.W. Main 8003, Main 10059 For Sale 1413 Hopkins Place N.W. 9 Rooms, Bath, Brick Price, $7,500.00 Easy Terms H. L. Rust & Company Main 8100 key nor handle. “How is it made fast?" asked Dick, ' examining the door curlously. T Hrcat Co F Street at Seventh For the trousseau . . . graduation . . . Sale of 2% Lingerie 2 for $5 Gowns Chemise Costume Slips Step-ins Dance Sets - Beautifully made, frothy with lace. Of heavy good crepe de chine. Many samples, soiled and one of a kind. Pastel shades. Sizes 34 to 42. (Main Floer, The Heeht Co.) 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A sort of thudding!a chair which lay overturned on the| ‘The elderly man showed his white | noise and a sound like a table being | floor, and a table. table, Dick pushed at the skylight above im he saw through the blur of the imy window the outline of a face. ly for & second and then it vanished. A long, pointed chin, a high, bulging Jumping onto the!fanhu , & hideously big nose! (To Be Continued Tomorrow.) He raised a finger wurnln{ly to his | his head, but it was fastened. At that Saving is a matter of good management. It means preparing for future spending, in the one sure way. Whether you plan for a home, an automo- bile, for travel or education, you will find the UNION TRUST a valuable ally. = 2% paid on Checking and 3% on Savings Accounts COMDANY Bring the Children to see the *“Chil- dren’s Bedroom” in Home, Sweet @ Home—4th Floor, The Hecht Co. A Special Purchase Made Possible This Sale of The Newest in Blouses and Vestees $3.95 Regularly $5.95 Printed and plain radium and crepe de chine . . . in tailored or sleeveless vests. The* blouses— sport bows, ruffles, ties, new neck lines . . . both are offered in smart new shades. (Pifth Floor, The Hecht Co.) Chanel Necklace Offered for the first time for " A necklace of great beauty... which up to now has never been sold at this price. 30 glittering tin cut crystals, set in white metal. (Main Ploor, The Hecht Co.) For the Evening Ensemble New Evening Handkerchiefs " Charming squares of chiffon, or georgette. Some plain . . . others printed in artistic designs . . . many trimmed with dainty lace. New shades. (Main Floor. The Hecht Co.) UNION TRUST OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SUTHVIST CORKER FiF TECHTH AKD 1 STREETS MORTINEST EDWARD J. STELLWAGEN PRESIOENT