Evening Star Newspaper, November 7, 1930, Page 37

By S. S. Van Dine Copyright, 1630, by 8. §. Van Dine. INSTALLMENT XXVIL seum, I realized that the Metropolitan did not open until 10 o'clock, and on ALVETER had become sullen, and 7 some sudden impulse I sat down and before he could answer Vance |Pecu; “working on this letter - Jent on. “Most unfartunate,” - Vance sighed, “for your phi i that letter Vo TGN xdolly whe! you prevail upon | made 1t onear D wiry ot he museum between half past 9 and | PIating taking drastic measures.” % 30" orclock 2 “I know it!” Salveter caught his £ ~“T've already told you.” Salveter was | breath. “That's why I lied .to you. { troubled and distrait. “I was compar- | But the fact is, Mr. Vance,'the letter : ing an eighteenth dynasty papyrus re- | Was innocent enough. . . . I know it « cently found by Dr. Bliss at Thebes | Was foolish, but I didn't take it very ¥ with Luckenbill’s translation of the | seriously. Honest, sir, it was really a § hexagonal prism of the Annals of Sen- |lesson in Egyptian composition—not - Tacherib in order to determine certain | an actual communication. £ values for- Vance nodded non-committally. § “Youre romancing frightfully, Mr.| “And where is this letter now?” he £ Balveter,” Vance broke in quietly. “And | asked. % you're indulgin’ anachronism. The | “In the drawer of the table in the - Sennacherib flsm is in Babylonian | museum. I hadn't finished it when unneimrm d-tu about a thousand | Uncle Ben came in, and I.-put it m He lifted his eyes sternly. | away.” ks f::-m:'xg’r:”y?fl doing in the museum | “And you had already mdnde use oé hree words, ankh and was an Salveter started forward in his chair, |tz - but _at once sank back. Salveter braced himself and took a “1 was Writing letter,” he answered | deep breath. “Yes! Those three familiar words were in it. And then, when you first ., asked me about what I'd been doing in “Naturally.” Vance smiled faintly. ‘In | the museum I made up the tale about what language?” the papyrus—" * _An immediate change came over the| “And mentioned three words which man. His face went pale, and his hands, | were suggested to you by the three { Which were lying along his knees, con- | words 'you had ctually used—eh, vulse what?” £ hat language?” he repeated huskl- \“Yes, sirl That's the truth.” % ly. “Why do you ask that? . . “We're most grateful for your sudden " language would I be likely to S burst of honesty.” Vnnces tone was letter in—Bagtu, Sanskrit, Walloon, | frigid. “Will you be so Ido . bring me the uncompleted eplst]e" Id “No-0." Vance's gaze came slowly to dearly love to see i, and perhaps I rest on Salvater. “Nor did I have in | can decipher it. mipd Aramaic, or Agao, or Swahili, or | Salveter leaped to his feet and fairly &Yretian . . . The fact is, it smote [ran out of the room. A few minutes my braia a moment ago that you were | later he returned, to all appearances composin’ an epistic in Egyptian hiero- | dazed and crestfailen. . glyphics. “It isn't there!” he announced. “It's The man's eyes dilated. gone!” “Why, in Heaven's name,” he asked kmvevl% :ah;uld I do - thing like that?” | | Y’ yes—why, indeed?” Vance . ; sighed deeply. “But, really, y° know, Regular Delivery ' :x;my{e;;mgomm' in - Egyptian— !tgr'u 100, q‘o‘o (ln_}lgiu uw‘d The every e great ma- ‘Was 1? What makes you think so?” hnl tgo m:n;euveud m;lllusl I e&}l.ln? [ le. I co even da; nwmhu n a cost i the epistle was intended. ugu daily and 5 cents Bund.yA * hopelessly mistaken, Mrs. Bliss was to If_you are not taking advan- have been the recipient.” Again Vance of this regular service at < smiled musingly. “Y’ see, you mention- 3&' low cost, telephone National ed three words in the imagin'ry papy- m«rvlndlervluwfllm w. rus, which you have not yet satisfac- torily translated—ankhet, wash, and . tema. But since there are scores of . Egyptian words that have thus far re- (R i T | P TOMATO JIlIcE ‘ vDlfl-il:uhr three. And I further wonder- cocKT rich in magic vm-mlm, is. a fine appetizer when seasoned ‘with determinative—can 3 lnnn the ‘living one.’ Was—which is to wash—means ‘happiness’ or rod fortune’; though I realize there come doubt about it—Erman trans- lates it with a question mark, as Gluck. I The tema you mentioned with a double Mhuuknuwnfiom&mllo(eouru flndle ‘.d’:gnph. It mwf.'.’n."&,"u',‘:",,; SA}JCE Gised. “And so0,” Vance continued, “I con- flutyouhubundann in 1l known forms of these three mdmmmuflmb& e two more every two or three hours, More people, by millions, check :: yum ‘:,oldl other method. s popular- Salveter contim at Vi S P i, 4 Yo g T'm going to be truthful with you, sald at length. “That's exactly ‘what I wrote. You ot 1| GPOVe’'S Laxative B e 50 B *BROMO - it o e T "dotng 1t | Jnryun.mdlhenlwuys corrects me | morning, when I B Tablets | Kidwell's Mailkets, Inc.| Buy and Get Y our Money’s Worth Chuck Roast Beef...lb, 17c Ib. 23¢ b. 25¢ Lamb . ... 15¢ . 10c Porterhouse Steak...lb. 26c | Shoulder Lamb Chops Ib. 18¢ Smoked Hams 8-101bs.; Ib. 23¢c | Fresh Pork Shoulder Ib. 18c Smoked Shoulders (large) Ib. Smoked Shoulders Fresh Spare Ribs. . — T —E | Sliced Breakfast Breast of Veal BB icoooonine i (bone out) Ib. 18¢c Veal Cutlets. .......lb. Veal Chops (loin and rib) Ib. 30c 23c Shoulder Veal Chops Ib. FRYING CHICKENS FRESH EGGS c Dozen Fresh Killed—Finest Money Can Buy 3 Dn--. $1.00 Stewing CHICKENS 1b. 25c | Sauerkraut (new pack) qt. 10c [ Bread . ..we.. ... .2 loaves 10c | Fresh Pig Tail 1b. 15¢ || OLEOMARGARINE Vita Brand Oleo (colored)—Always Best for the Least Money Cooking Apples....8 lbs. 25c | Fancy White Potatoes, I Faney N, Y. Colibage 1028 |~ o Loc2o-o--10 Be. 330 § String Beans (fancy) 2 1bs. 15¢ yew SWEET CIDER |Faimer's ciNGeR ALE | Callon ... 3IC | “Bortien.. 4 7 29 | Large Sweet Potatoes 3 lbs. 10c | Grapefruit (extra large) 4 for 25¢ || Lemons .... dozen, 12¢ | ‘Sweet Florida Oranges, doz., 23¢ NEW ONIONS...............4 % 10c EIGHT MARKETS ' 3272 M Street N.W. 2153 Penna. Ave. N.W. | 2611 14th Street N.W. | A 7ths,|nd C Streets S.E. Northeast Pdluc.o;i':h!,ni'm u:d H Streets N.E. MO QUININE Tablets. | Then take v “Oh, is it, now? . . . 'whynhm!drknowwhmnm— tunate.” P’dfldfld ever wrote it. ‘Vance lay back pensively for several ‘m no d.\vlnln¢ Tod."” v-nee was deep- moments. Then suddenly he sprang to though he sought to hide his feet. flct. “Dldn‘t you know better than “It's not there! It's gone!” he | to leave such a missive lying loosely murmured. “I don't iike this situation, | about?” * Markham—TI don't at all like it. ‘It never occurred to me— S ‘Why should the letter “have disap- ‘Oh, didn't it? wonde peared? Why . . . why?” x-nceul:kg s-]h;:ur ahnrprl,y"e “This He swung about to Salveter. no time to speculate. . . . Please go “What k‘ind of paper did you write |t your room. I'll gpeak to.you again. that indiscreet letter on?” he asked, ;. ;. Don’t ask any questions—do as e et ‘d_me Xind Bilveter, witiiont & word, tuned and that's generally kept on the disappeared through the door. We could And the ki yon v your | hear his heavy footsteps ascending the characters with pen or pencil?” stairs. “With a pen. Green ink. It's always (FRIDAY, JULY 13, 4:45 PM) in the museum. Vance stood for a long time in un- Vance raised his hand in an impa- | easy silence. At length he lifted his tient gesture. eyes to Hennessey. “That’s enough. . Go upstairs— “I wish you'd run upstairs,” he said, go to your room and stay there.’ ‘and take & post where you can watch “But, Mr. Va I—I'm worried | all the rooms. I don't want any com- nbout that letter. Where do you think [ munication between Mrs. Bliss and Sal- veter and Hanl.” | The NATIONAL ~ “The Store That Saves You Mon $5.00 Delivers Any Suite I'ly, “But I'm afraid—I'm deuced afraid! At length he rose and shook his DAY, NUvuewcowR 7, 1930, v.ne"ur.nzfl to Markham. Vance went at once to the little desk: “Maybe yrlcelesl young ass ac- table beside the obelisk. He looked at tually gllly letter,” he com- | the yeuow pad and tested the color ‘of mented; and & led look came over | the Th his face. “I sayi?let’s take & peep in the museum.” After a few minutes’ inspection of the “See here, Vance"—Markham rose— | 0dds and ends, he restored the drawer hy should the possibility of Salveter's :‘:n 3{6:‘ and clmewgs ml: h’:':t:bu b:‘: u: ing written a foolish let! etigr., upset ihe tabl, Wfi‘: i Caiea t'om the don’t know—I'm not sure.” Vance down en knees went .3“ the door; then pivoted sudden- looked at each plece of crumpled paj h“ger Such a letter would give the murderer | , “I don't like this, Markham,” he said. a loophole—that is, if what I think is| ~T'd feel infinitely better if I could find | true. " If the letter was written, we've | that lette got to find it. If we don’t find it there | He strolled about the museum looking | are several plausible explanations for its| for places where a letter might have | disappearance—and one of 'em is fiend- | been thrown. But when he reached h. . . . But come. We'll have to ]'-he ldmx}‘\i:pbm xt::;w t“thtehe re;r he search the museum—on the chance that | leane against 'm and re- it was writte: garded Markham hépelessuly. while we're in the museum,” he said to | ened,” he remarked in a low voice. “If Snitkin, V\hu stood leaning against the | this devilish piot should work! | front door, “take them in the drawing | He turned suddenly and ran up the room and keep them the: stairs, beckoning to us as he did so. “If Dr. Bliss and Guilfoyle return 'm becoming more and more fright- | rising. “There's & chance—just a chance,” he |: called over his shoulder. “I should| well I ought to accomplish the uz have thought of it before.” Without too much difficulty, don't y* ‘We followsd him unmpnhendln(ly kne into Dr. Bliss' stu "began_arranging fitting “The letter shouid be in the study,” | scraps . At the end of 10 min- had reassembled the letter. Ther he said, striving to control his eager- ness. “That would be Jogical . . he took a large sheet of white DIDG and this case is unbeilevably logical, | from one of the drawers l:l" the d Markham—so logical, so mathematical, | and covered it with mmci that we may eventullly be able to read | fully he transferred the recomstructed it aright. Its too logical, in fact— | letter, plece by piece, to the that's its weakness. paper. He was already deMn‘ into thn spilled "Thuv. Markham, old dear,” contents of Dr. Bliss' waste basket.|sighed, “is the unfinished letter which After & moment's search he picked up | Salveter told us he was work! two torn pieces of yellow jper. He | morning between 9:30 and 1 0. gnnced at them carefully, pl them (To be continued.) one side, and continued his search. After several minutes he had amassed a small pile of yellow paper fragments, “I think that's about all,” he said, He ‘sat down in the swivel chair and much sy lald the torn bits of yellow paper on the fl)dly. ir hrllnl weighed one-sixth blclur than ours, and their average “This may take a little time, but hehht was 6 !’cet 3 inches. sy The NATIONAL The National’s liberal credit plan makes it possible for you to buy what you need NOW and- pay as you conveniently can. The Suites pictured here are specially priced for tomorrow. Regular $119 Value —Three Pieces as Illustrated. —<Covered with Beautiful Jacquard Velour. —New Serpentine Front Sofa. —Every Piece Filled with Pure Fibre. | —Unconditional Guarantee with Each Suite, Liberal Credit Terms "69 Worth $98.00 —Four Pieces as Pictured. Of Carefully Selected Cabinet Woods. —In Rich American Walnut Finish. —Beautifully Hilighted. —Enhanced wir.. Floral Decorations. —Each Piece Splendidly Con- . structed. —The Suite Is Fully Guaranteed. 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