Evening Star Newspaper, November 14, 1930, Page 56

The Scarab Murder Case By S. S. Copyright. 1930, by 8. 8. Van Dine. nb-'°' wisdom: to simulate mental inferi. Van Dine’ have us think. He's a kind of modcrn us, who has found it the ority.” (Theogomus was a friend of Si- mon Magus, who, because of his fear of the Emperor Caligula, pretended imbecillty in order to hide "his wis-| ) Salveter slowly nodded agreement. | T've felt that same quality in him at es . . . But who else- —" ‘Aht” Who else?” Vance sighed. “I say, - Mr. Salveter; what time did you 70 to bed tonight?” THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, flluminated line. Salveter, too, glanced at_the floor, and frowned. the switch But no one to my knowl- edge has been in there tonight. . . . T'll see.” He toward the door, but Vance mo in front of him. “Don’t trouble yourself,” he sald “I'll attend to it. . . . Salveter fook the dismissal ‘unessily, butl ‘without another word he went up- tairs, 3 When he had disappeared round the banisters on the second floor, Vance gently turned the knob and pushed: the museum door open. Below us, on the opposite side of the room, seated at the desk-table near the obelisk, and sur- rounded by the filing boxes, photo- graphs and cardboard folders, Wwas carlett. His coat and waistcoat were hanging over the back of his chair; & green celluloid shade covered his eyes; and a pen was in his hand, i FRIDAY, M:_In Beryt-Amen. Impulsive young cub.! ‘Well, some one knew of its where- abouts,” Vance remarked. “Doctor Bliss ghoned me shortly after midnight that e had escaped assassination by the proverbial hair's-breadth; so we fid thither and found the point of that poniard infixed in the head of his bed.” “By Jove! You don't say!” Scar- lett seemed shocked and perplexed. “Some one must have discovered the . . . and yet—-" He sto] suddenly and shot Vance a quick look “How do you account for it?" “I'm not accountin’ for it. mysterious. . . . Hani, by the by, found the sheath in the hall near the doctor’s door.” “That's odd. . . .” Scarlétt paused as if considering. Then he began ar- Most renging his papers and photographs in plays submitted are held not to measure neat piles and stacking his filing boxes under the table. “Couldn’t you get any suggestions out of the rest of the household?” he asked. “Any number of suggestions. All of PLAYWRIGHTS OFFERED DRAMA GUILD AWARD Three-Act Contest to Close May 31, With Authors Given Rights of Production. A contest for writers of plays, with a cash award of $50, the prize, was announced yesterday by the Community Drama Guild of Washington. The award will be made for the best three-act play submitted by a resident of the District of Columbia. The ccmmittee on play writing for the gulld, of which Prof. Courtland D. Baker is chairman, reserves the privilege of declaring no contest in the event the up to “accepted standards.” Manu- scripts must typewritten and in the hands of the committee not later than March 31, 1931. The committee stated that any t3 NOVEMBER 14, 1930. NEXT SUNDAY 5:00—6:00 P.M. Radio’s Great Musical Event | poised above a large note book. He looked up as the door opened. “Oh. hallo!” he called cheenly. " 5 em silly, | of Play might be submitt-d and that the S e AN oSt Of €™ S | winner of th: contest would retain the pened to see the gl Sinder the ‘door | Tignts of production or publication. ‘At 10:30,” the man returned ag- gressively. “And I didn't wake up until course, it wasn't In the hall.” X Hani cailed me just now.” Vance looked straight may draw your own conclusion.” Vance appeared satisfled and waved his hand toward the door. “And now, Hani, go to bed. We sha’'n't need you any more tonight. Lelitak sa’ida.” “Leiltak sa'ida wemubaraka.” The man bowed and departed. Vance picked up the sheath and, taking the er from Salveter, fitted the blade into its holder, looking at the | ld embossing cxmully.m . “‘Aegean murmured. “Pretty, ussy. These ‘ornate floral devices of the Eighteenth Dynasty bear the same relation to early Egyp- tian art that the Byzantine ginger-hread does ¢ the simple Greek orders.” held tht sheath closer to his monocle. “And, by the by, here’s a decoration that may interest you, Mr. Salveter. The formal scrofis terminate in a ‘That's curious.” . looked at the 0. jackal’s head.” eh? Hani's given name. Salveter ror: and “And another int might be dered, Mr Vance,” went on, after a pause. “These lower-class Copts are, for all their su- perficial Christian veneer, Fighly su- perstitious. Their minds run along one traditional groove: they like to fit ev- erything to a preconceived symbolism. ‘There have nine mor: or less co- “Anupu, been . incidental deaths of late ¢mong those connected with the excavations : in i Egypt, and the natives ridiculously im- agine that the afrits of their ancestors - lay in ambush in the various tombs to < mow down the western intruders, as a kind of punitive measure. They actu- ally believe in such malefic forces . . . (Salveter was hete referring to the Earl of Carnarvon, Col the Honorable Au- brey Herbert, Gen. Sir Lee Stack, J. Gould, Woolf Joel, Sir Archi- | George bald Douglas Reid, Prof. Lafleur, H. G. Evelyn-White, and Prof. Georges-Aaron Benedite. Since that time two more been added to the fatal list—those of the Honorable Richard Bethell, secretary to Howard Carter, and Lord Wi ) Eani, at bottom a superstitious Egyp- uan, who resents the work of Doctor Bliss—is it not possible he might con- &ider the death of the doctor by a dag- would ing, o Bl er retiring?” ‘Thought you were through with the “You retited, then, immediately after | Bilse ‘menage for today.” you had feiched the memorandum & book from the study for Doctor Bliss.” “It's tomorrow now,” returned Vance, “Oh, he told you about that, did he? | 85ing down the stairs and crossing the . Yes, I handed him the kook | museum. and went on up to my room.” | “What!” Scarlett reached behind him “The book, 1 understand, was in his| and took out his watch, “Great Scott! So it is. Had no idea of the hour. Been working here since 8 o'clock——" “Amazin” Vance glanced over a few of the upturned photographs. “Very interestin’ + + « Who let you in, | by the by?” “That's right. But why this cross- examination about a memorandum book ?” “Thlll dagger,” vun?mexg}-“md' “was also kept in one cof the drawers e e Godtors daskr | “Brush, of course.” Scarlett secmed Salveter leaped to his fect. | rather _ astonished at the question. “I see’’ His face was livid. | “Said the family were having dinner " o fldl {in the breakfast room. I told him Oh, ut you don't Vance mildly|not to disturb 'em—that I had a_bit assures him. And I'd appreciate it| or work ¢o finish, . . immensely if you'd try to be calm.| *.He giant mention your arrival to Your vitality positively exhausts me.|ys» yance was apparently engrossed Tell me, did you lock your bedroom in a photograph of four amuletic dcor tonight?” e, T always lock it at night.” “But why should he, Vance?” Scarlett | | had arisen and was getting into his | coat. “It's a commonplace thing for | me to come here and work in the | | evenings. I'm drifting in and out of | “Nothing at all. I went to sleep the house constantly. When I work | quickly—the reaction, I suppose.” | at night I always shut off the light | Vanc: rose. | on going and see that the front door | ‘And you heard nothing tonight aft- And here is| st “One other thing. Where did the | family have dinner tonight?” “In the breakfast room. It could hardly be called dinner, though. No one was hungry. It was more like a light supper So we ate downstairs. Less bother.” “And what ¢id the various members of the household do after dinner?” | “Hani_went upstairs at once. I be-| levey The doctor and Mrs. Bliss and | I sat here in the drawing-room for an | hour or so. when the doctor excusad | himself and went to his room. A little later Meryt-Ament went upstairs. and I sat here until about half-past 10 try- ing to read.’ . “Thank you, Mr. Salveter. That will | be all.” Vance moved toward the hall “Only, I wish you'd tell Mrs. Bliss and the doctor that we shan’t disturb them any more tonight. We'll probably com- municate with them tomorrow. . . . Let's go, Ma"kham, There's reaily noth- ing more we can do here.” “1 could do a whole lot more,” Heath objected with surly antagonism. “But this case is being handled like a pink tea. Somebody in this house threw that dagger, and if I had my way I'd m the truth out of him.” Markham endeavored diplomatically io soothe the sergeant’s ruffied feel- ings, but without any marked success. ‘We were now standing just inside of the front door preparatory to depart- ing. and Vance paused to light a cig- arette. He was facing the great steel door leading to the museum, and I saw his frame suddenly go taut. “Oh. just a mement, Mr. Salveter,” he called; -and the man, who was now nearly at the head of the first flight of stairs turned and retraced his steps. “What are the lights doing on in the museum? 1 glanced ‘toward the bottom of the | m is_fastened. al about | y coming here after dinner. | “That probably accounts for Brush's not telling us, don’t y' know.” Vance | tossed the photcgraphs back on the table. “But something out of the or- din'ry did happen here tonight.” laid the sheathed dagger before Sci lett. “What do you know about that | bizarre parazonium?” | “Oh, much.” The other grinned, and | shot Vanc: an interrogatory look. “How | did you happen on it? It’s one of the doctor’s dark secrets.” | “Really?” Vance lifted his eyebrows in simulated surprise. “Then you're fa- | miliar with it?” 1 “Rather. I saw the old scalawag slip it into his khaki shirt when he found it. I kept mum—none of my' business. Later, when we were here| in New York, he told me he'd smug-® gled it out of Egypt, and confided to, me that he was keeping i' sequestered in his study, He was in constant fear that Hani would unearth it, and swore me to secrecy. 1 agreed. What's one| dagger, more or less? The Cairo Mu- seum has the cre: of all the exca- vated items anyway.” “He kept it ensconced under some papers in one of his desk drawers.” | “Yes, 1 know. Safe hiding place. Hani 1arely goes in the study. . . .| But I'm curious—" | “We're all curious. Distressin’ state, what?” ance gave him no time to| speculate. “Who else knew of the dag- | ger's existence?” | “No one, as far as I know. The doc- | tor certainly didn’t disclose the fact to | Hani; and I doubt seriously if he in- formed Mrs. Bliss. She has peculiar| loyalties in regard to her native coun- | try, and the doctor respects them. 2‘ of | He telling how she'd react to the theft such a valuable treasure.” ‘'What about Salveter?” steel door where Vance's gaze was rest- and for the first time saw a tiny and was overcome with curiosity. . . . Quitting now?” “Yes." Scarlett took up his hat. ‘I'd have knocked off long ago but didn't realizs how late it was.” We all left the house togsther. A heavy silence had fallen over us, and it was not until Scarlett paused in front of his quarters that any one of us spoke. Then Vance said: “Good-nfght. Don't let the dagger disturb your slumbers.” Scatlett waved an abstracted adieu “Thanks, old man,” he rejoined. “I'll try to follow your advice.” Vance had ‘taken several steps when he turned suddenly. “And I say, Scar- lett, if I were you I'd keep away from | the Bliss house for the time being.” (To bz continued.) Many of the ancient Egyptian crafts- men, such as their cabinetmakers and their workers in gold and precious stones, were at least as skillful as ours Until the time of Peter the Great (1689-1725) Russia was almost entirely Asiatic in charecter. %&ausc it consistently sets the fashion, McCallum hosiery is th wom appearance. And, because she is also proud of her practical nature, this name becomes her hosiery standard. McCallum forsmartness and for service—for elegance and economy—for lasting loveliness. Yo SH { Mpnuscripts will_be received by Prof. | Baker at George Washington University. Assisting_him on the committe~ are Dr. George B. Woods, d:an of American University, and Miss Helen Nicolay. | SEES PARADE IN MIRROR Line of March Is Directed by Home | of Paralyzed Veteran. HARRISBURG, a., November 14 (P)—Until six years ago Edward J. | Anderson marched proudly with his wartime buddies in every Armistice day | parade. Th-n he had a bad fall wh'ch condemned him to lie paralyzed on his bed. He could not even go out and see the boys march. But this year his comrades had a grand thought—they changed the route of the parad: so that it passed Ander- son’s house. Unable to rise, he held a long-handled mirror in his thin hand and through it saw the whole rl‘lde. “T'll never forget this,” he said, tears | streaming down his face. e quick choice of every an who is proud of her M Tallum Silk Hosiery U JUST KNOW E WEARS THEM” LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI] and The PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA Stokowski, outstanding genius among the conductors, brings to you another concert which will be sent on the air with the new broad- casting method perfected by Stokowski himself. Again you will hear The Philadelphia Orchestra in radio’s newest and latest broadcasting development—the method which proved so sensational a month ago. In Stokowski’s own words: “Continued experimentation with radio broadcasting convinces me more and more of its immense future possibilities, but also of its present great limitations. After giving much thought to our last radio concert I have decided to discard part of the equipmient we used, and have planned three new types of equipment for our next concert on November 16th. We are aiming thereby to take another step forward on the long road radio must travel, before it will achieve ail its vast but latent possibilities.” —LEOPOLD STOKOWSKIL. Tune in Sunday for the Musical Treat of the Season SPONSORED BY olumbia Wholesalers, Inc. Philco Distributors 1619 L Street N.W. 'SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFF EXTRA SHEETS ' in each roll Not the usual 650 sheets | FLUFFED FOR SOFTNESS Narionat Parer Paobucrs Comrany * Division of CROWN ZELLERBACH CORPORATION - New Yorx * San Francisco * Cuicaco 1 FER —Fluffed Bathroom Tissues EE is new, and we want you to know its superior quality. That is why we make this generous offer of one free roll—40cvalue for 25¢. Zee is softer because a recently perfected proc- ess fluffs up a gentle nap, giving a surface pleas- ant to the touch and adding greatly to the ab- sorbency of the tissue. Though of petal delicacy, Zee is almost as tough and firm as fabric. Zee is made of fresh, pure pulp under condi- tions of sanitary cleanness and the tissue is kept clean by a tucked-in wrapper as protective as the wrapper of hospital gauze. Zee is better, yet more economical! Each roll contains 100 extra sheets. We are confident that if you will try Zee, you will appreciate its fineness and softness and will prefer it to any tissue you have used. So we urge you to take advantage of this offer before your dealer’s limited stock at this special price is exhausted. Fits all projecting or buslt-in fixtures O F F E R—Iuy three 10¢ rolls at special price of 25¢ Receive one 10¢ roll free. 40 vaice for,25¢