Evening Star Newspaper, December 9, 1934, Page 98

“Hold-up men here,” he spelled; “sele- phone police,” and he spelled it over THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 9, 1934 LR S ] little snappy wor ).\ -J‘*] 'by our fearless sleuth Miystrated By ETHEL HAYS and over again while Fenderton talked, trying to convince Joe that he was telling the sruth. HEN Fenderton Roper’s lef4 front tire blew out just as he was leaving his father’s driveway in moon, Fenderton's father was angry at him and his mother had been forbidden to give him any money; his father declared it was certainly time that Fenderton got a job and showed if he was good for anything at all. With another “Pshaw!” Fenderton got out of the car and pushed it to one side. He took his cane from the seat—for he never went forth without that insignia of manly dignity— set his natty hat at the proper jaunty angle, and set forth for May Middleton's humble home on foot. “Why, Fenderton, May said when she had issued from her rather humble door, “I thought you were coming in your car. You said you were coming in your car, Fenderton.” “I belicve I did express that intention,” Fenderton said in his haughtiest manner, “but I presumed you would rather have me get here on time than to waste a lot of time changing a tire, and not get here on time.” “Why, of course, Fenderton,” said May, fall- ing into step with him. “Did you have & blow-out?” “I should think you would presume that I mrdid have a blow-out when I talk about chang- ing tires, Miss Middleton,” Fenderton answered. “I should think that by this time you ought to know me well enough to know that.” “Well, you needn’t be so cross about it, Fen- derton,” said May in her usual cheerful way. “I only asked you. I like that hat, Fenderton; you look swell in that hat.” HUS mollified, Fenderton condescended to converse in a more friendly manner, and his self-esteem was quite restored by the time they reached Main street. Here, on a door beside a butcher’'s shop, the lettering “Robert Connerty, Private Investigator," eaught FPender- ton’s eye, reminding him that he had a some- what one-sided arrangement with that local - wedetective. “Wait a mirute here, May,” he said. *“I've got to run up and see the big noise a minute. Report, you know. “Why, Fenderton, I didn't know you were still doing detective work,” said May. “You haven't said anything about it for a long time. I guess you can keep things pretty dark when Yyou want to, can't you, Fenderton?” “In the detective line a man has to,” said Fenderton. “An undercover man has to keep it pretty quiet, May,” and with that he opened the door and went up the dirty stairs. Robert Connerty was asleep with his feet on his desk, but he looked up as Fenderton entered. “For shoutin’ out loud!” he exclaimed dis- -, gustedly. “You here again? Talk about pests!” - “I just dropped up to see if there were any cases——" Fenderton began, but Connerty silenced him. “Listen, bo,” he said roughly, “I'm a busy .man, see? I can’t have all you dumb bunnies buttin’ in on me all the time. I told you what -you could do—you find a case and come and tell me, and I'll see will I let you work on it. You dug up a case?” “Well, not.yet, Mr.. CORNerty.” . .. _iyw “Then you get out and stay out until you do, see?” said the detective, and put his feet on the desk again and closed his eyes. “What did he say, Penderton?” asked May when Fenderton was at her side again. “Was your report all right?” “You'll have to excuse me from talking about that at the t time,” Fenderton told her. “This is a pretty big affair I'm work- ing on just now, and the least said the soonest mended. I mean, May, you wouldn't talk or anything like that, but I guess it would be a pretty mean pilece of business if something got out just when we were ready to snap the old bracelets on a couple of scrawled on the bottom torn from a cardboard box said “Boy Wanted.” F_RND!R’ION was far from being a mere boy. A man who has been to college—and Fen- derton had been kicked out of three colleges— and who carries a cane, should be justified in considering himself a man, but with his father in the mood that he was, money was very scarce with Fenderton. In the instant that he hesitated in his words to May Middleton, Fenderton had thought “There's a job,” and had, in his expansive way, vindicated to himself its acceptance—if he could get it. “If I accept that job,” he said to himself, “I'll work in and own the dinky place, and rent a store, and have 60, 100, a thousand chain stationery stores——" and that was as far as he had got when May spoke. “But, of course, I wouldn't tell, Fenderton,” she said. “Not that I want to know anything about your detective work, Fenderton; not until it's all finished. You'll tell me then, won't you, Fenderton? Because I'd be awfully glad to know then.” In confidence it may be said that May Mid- dleton did not take Fenderton’s talk about his detective work very seriously—not seriously at all. She was well aware that Fenderton was apt to ride a8 very high horse at times, and that he liked almost too well to seem impressive, and particularly to impress May Middleton with his importance., Young men who like young women especially well are apt to want to impress them, however, and May Middleton knew that Fenderton was what she would have called a nice boy. She liked him very much indeed, and she knew he would get over his habit of exaggeration when he was just a lttle older. The picture they were seeing at the talkie theater was only fair to middling, but it was not as dull as it might have been, and May Middleton was giving it her entire attention when two men a few seats forward got up and went out. They were young men, and wore sweaters instead of coats, and they had prob- ably seen the last half of the picture and did not care to see it again. Fenderton got up also, and leaned over confidentially. “May,” he whispered, “keep my hat and cane. Don't look around when I go out. I'll be back. Those two fellows—I want a look at them.” Fenderton went up the aisle and out into the lobby and to the street. The two young men in sweaters were already on the street, but Fene derton did not give them so much as a glance. He turned in the opposite direction and hurried to the little stationery store. The “Boy Wanted” . sign was still in the window snd Fenderton went into the little shop. EHIND the counter was & woman almost too fat for the narrow space between it and the shelves on the wall She was waiting on & small boy who wanted a 5-cent tablet of school paper and he was having trouble in deciding between two or three kinds, “Choost a minute, mister,” she said to Fen- to the boy, “you take this one, Nice picture on it; plenty paper in it.” tablet and gave his money, turned to Penderton. “You want, mister?” she asked. “You've got a sign in the window,” Fen- derton sald. .“You want & boy?” “Boy?” she said, eyeing Fenderton with sur- prise. “You know a boy what wants a job, yes?” “I want a job,” said Fenderton almost desperately. “I've got to have a job, do you see? I guess you can understand that I wouldn't take a job like this unless it was a pretty serious matter with me. I wouldn’t take it if it wasn't for circumstances.” “Succumstances?” sald the woman, *“Yi these days. Choost wait a minute.” Her reason for asking Fenderton to wait a minute was a customer who entered the store. He was an elderly man and he came to the counter where Fenderton stood. He smiled at the shopkeeper, but he said not a word. Mrs. Gruber turned and opened the wall case behind her and took down a tin of Golden Glow smoking tobacco. Without a word the man laid 15 cents on the counter, and took his tin of tobacco and went out. “Dumb,” said Mrs. Gruber, “And deef, poor feller. Mr. Blatz, from across the street up- stairs. Effery day he comes by the store and a tin of Golden Glow buys. Sometimes a paper, yes, or a magazine not so ofien. Ain't it a shame?” “Yes,” said Fenderton. job, now—" “I don't know hardly,” said Mrs. Gruber. “You was plenty big for a boy; we ain't got much room for two such big ones, Well, maybe. We don’t could pay so much.” “What is the remuneration?” Fenderton asked. “Remuneration? You mean how long you work, maybe?” “The pay,” Fenderton explained. much do you pay?” “Eight dollars is all. For a week we pay $8. Only Sunday we stay shut.” “I’ll take $8,” said Fenderton. “Well, I guess maybe we try you awhile any- way,” said Mrs. Gruber. “Maybe you don't fool around so much like a little kid. And anyway maybe the job don't last so long; my husband he got sick and has to go by the country; maybe when he comes back he don't want no boy.” That suited Fenderton well enough. “When do you want me to start to work?” he asked, and it was arranged that he begin the next morning, and he hurried back to the theater. “Did you sleuth them, Fenderton?” May asked in a whisper. “Did you detect them?” “Sh!” Fenderton shushed. “Keep it dark, can’t you? This is a big case, May—a mighty big case. Undercover stuff. I won't be seeing you much for a couple of weeks, I guess: I've got to lay low and pretend like I'm just a dumb- bunny in a shop, maybe. Throw the crooks off the track, see?” “Why, of course, Fenderton,” said May, although what she saw was that Fenderton had probably found another job that was so petty he was ashamed of it. “And about the “How HE next morning at 8 o'clock Fenderton was on hand at the Gruber stationery store, and he found that his duties were such thas he could easily handle them. Mr. Gruber be- fore he had left marked everything in plain figures for his wife’s benefit, and when he needed to know anything Mrs. Gruber was there to be asked. He found, too, that he was most needed to take care of the shop when Mrs, Gruber made a hurried trip to her flat upstairs, where she had three small children. It was about the middle of the afternoon that Mrs. Gruber had to go upstairs to attend to her children. She took all the money except change for a dollar out of the cash register and put it in a small canvas bag and put the bag in the bosom of her “I don't be 50 long,” she told FPenderton. “Right away down I come as [ 388 ol could see, over the window screen, that she was watching him now, and his fingers were busy forming letters of the deaf-and-dumb al- phabet. “Hold-up men here,” he spelled; “Telephone police,” and he spelled it over and over again while Fenderton talked, trying to convince Joe that be was telling the truth about the money. In the window across the street Mrs. Blatz read her husband’s message and ran to the tele- phone. “Listen, bo,” snarled Joe, “you've got one more chance, see? Where's the cash?” “But I'm telling you that there isn't any more here,” said Fenderton. “I'd a A police car swung to the curb and two burly policemen leaped from it. Their automatics were in their hands and they threw open the door. Joe and his companion gave one look and their hands went up and their guns fell to the floor. T WAS 10 o'clock the next evening before Fenderton was able to see May Middleton, but she came out to meet him as soon as she heard his whistle, and she had read the news in the evening paper. The paragraph said: “Joseph Gulkin and Richard Cuffy, two holde up men for whom the police squads have been hunting, were captured yesterday afternoon while holding up the Gruber stationery stere, 857 Main street. Credit for their capture is given to Fennerton Rober, who kept the two men in conversation until the arrival of -Offi« cers Murphy and Hargraves in police car No. 45." “Why, Fenderton,” exclaimed May Middleton as she took his arm and fell into step with him, “you were in earnest, weren’t you?” “I don’t know what you mean, May Middle- ton,” said Fenderton severely. “I hope you don’t presume to say you think I've been kid- ding you.” “Of course not, Fenderton. But—well—you were detecting, weren’t you? And you did cap- ture those hold-up men, didn't you?” “All in the day's work, May; all in the day's work,” he said. “And am I sore?” “Sore?” asked May. “What are you scre about?” “They spelled my name wrong,” said Fendere ton, but he laughed. “But that's life,” he said; “that’s life.”