The Key West Citizen Newspaper, April 26, 1939, Page 6

OLD HOME WEEK MURDER by Phoebe Atwood Taylor The Characters Asey Mayo, Cape Cod sleuth. Konrad, a trooper. Yesterday: Asey finds the trooper guarding the Randall house gagged and bound. A man is inside. Chapter 17 Tertius Prettyman ‘HIS time the man started to walk toward the sound before utting his light out. The instant te did that, ey entered by the door and snapped on the trooper’s torch. “Reach,” he said. stand still.” To make it emphatic, Asey squeezed the trigger of the forty- five, unintentionally presenting a black eye to an unframed Currier and Ives lady cacked on a cross beam of the loft. The trooper came dashing back. “Take your gun,” Asey said. “It’s on top of the desk. That’s right. Continue to reach, feller, an’ turn around.” It was not Mike Slade, or anyone he had ever seen before. “Know him?” Asey asked the trooper. “No,”, the trooper’s voice was choked and hoarse, “but you can bet I will before I get through with him, the—” S “Delve: in the gent’s pockets,” Asey, said, “an’ see if he happens to have any callin’ cards with him.” To Asey’s surprise and to the trooper’s utter amazement, the first object to come from the man’s breast pocket was a tooled leather case of calling cards. “Ah,” Asey said interestedly. “A socialite. What's the name?” The trooper held the card up to the light. “It says—oh, but it’s a fake. That can’t be right! It says, ‘Tertius Prettyman.’ ” Tertius Prettyman. Asey thought back. That was Eloise Randall’s boy friend. Old man Prettyman’s son, at the point. 7 “Well, well, how do you do, Mr. Prettyman?” Asey said cordially. “My name is Mayo an’ this gentle- man you was so abrupt with is— what's your name? Konrad? This is Konrad, Mr. Prettyman. Konrad, take some of Mrs. Randall’s mailin’ cord an’ tie up Mr. Prettyman, will you? There’s a nice yard stick over there, an’ if you was to put it under Mr. Prettyman’s knees, Konrad, an’ then lash his wrists an’—ah. You know. That's fine.” While Konrad trussed up Mr. Prettyman, Asey turned on two lamps and drew the curtains. “Cosier, I always think,” he said geen, as he strolled around barn. “Now you know, Mary Randall has some fine stuff here. That’s a good piece of early Israel Trask, that pewter. Too good to be kicking around here. And she’s got good chests, too.” He paused fora Moment in front of one and sur- wal the sewing basket on It. “You much of a hand for old chests, Mr. Prettyman? I got a corker home. Not a family piece. I found it in the dump, an” brought it home, an’ they tell me it’s seven- teenth century—Prettyman, just exactly what is your basic an’ un- derlyin’ motive, anyway?” “Just exactly what do you mean?” If his cool calm voice was any indication, Asey thought, this fellow was going to prove difficult, more difficult than he had first imagined. It was not the voice of anyone easily moved or easily bluffed. In fact, the fellow was definitely amused. “What did you come after, Ter- tius?” “Reach, an’ Really, that’s none of your business, don’t you agree?” Weak In A Blurred Way °. At. pulled out the forty-five and twirled it by the trigger guard. “Wa-el,” he drawled, “it d’pends largely on your point of view,” he looked down at Prettyman, “an’— when did you write that policy?” “Put that thing away,” Tertius said. “It might go off again. What did you say? When did I what?” “You know,” Asey said, “you look awfully like a trussed chicken down there on the floor. In fact, you look plain silly. I asked you when, more or less, you wrote that policy for Mrs. Randall?” Tertius smiled, but plainly the answer was beneath his dignity. Asey looked at him thoughtfully. Someone had said — probably it was Zeb Chase, that Tertius was around fifty. You had to look twice to believe it, for he was slight and wiry. His hands and eyes gave him away, and to a certain extent, his Tace. Asey studied the face. In gen- eral it was weak, weak in a blurred way, as though the mould had been used too many times. But there was nothing pliable about it. Mr. Prettyman, he guessed, was the Sort of person who would probably pursue the wrong course, but he — pursue it with vigor to fhe end. Old man Prettyman—Asey tried to remember about the family. He knew something about them, if he could only drag the details from his mind. Old Prettyman had made a fortune from some patent medi- cine. Everyman's Elixir, that was it. And he'd lost the fortune in some scheme like getting gold from seaweed, or silk purses from sows’ ears, or something. Asey wished he had paid more atten- tion to gossip, and to Billingsgate SPECIAL CAKES AT MALONEY’S Dutch Tart—Devil’s Food—and now, Banana Snow. That's the order of special cakes that have been offered to patrons of Ma- gossip in particular. Anyway, this Tertius had inherited a lot from his mother, and still more from his father’s people. But Zeb Chase had said that he sold which meant that his inheritan had probably lon; peared. He looked like the sort whose inheritances would disap- ar. PetWant him to talk?” Konrad in- quired with a certain grimness. “Don’t bother, he'll get to it,” Asey said. f “What's about a policy?” Kon- tad asked. “Whose policy? What policy? Where?” hunting,” Asey said. “Only he went hunting like a man, an’ Mary Ran- dall’s a woman. She didn’t bother to put it in her desk, or anywheres else special. She just stuck it in her sewin’ basket, over on top of that oak chest there. You see, Kon- rad, Tertius sold her a nice life insurance policy, only it was a fake.” “It was a splendid policy,” Ter- tius corrected him pleasantly. “A sterling policy. Mayo, you wrong Raa, “Then why were you after it?” “Say, I'll make him talk!” Kon- rad unstrapped his belt and pre- pared to remove his coat. “I'll show this—” i “Wait. Tertius, tonight you’ve assaulted a cop, stole his gun, an’ you've c’mitted armed robbery. ‘You—what’s that? You didn’t rob anything? Oh, don’t be finicky with details. We'll fix that. You see, Tertius, d’spite your poise an’ nonchalance, you're hardly in the driver’s seat. Far from it. Now, will you talk? If you don’t feel like it now, Konrad an’ I can take you to the barracks, an’ I'll almost guarantee you'll talk there. Much easier to break down right now. Konrad, bring that policy over to me, will you?” The Beneficiary ERTIUS smiled. “Don’t bother reading it, Mayo. I'll tell you something that'll make you won- der if you are in the driver’s seat as much as you seem to think. The beneficiary is your little friend Jane Warren.” “So,” Asey said, “so it is.” “Your little friend Jane. Oh, aren't you and Zeb Chase going to be sorry you happened in here tonight! Twenty-five thousand, double it for death by violence. Who's in the driver’s seat, Mayo? Fifty thousand dollars does make such a nice motive, dcesn’t it? Roll it over on your tongue. Jane gets fifty thousand it Mary Randall dies by violence.” Asey smiled back at him, but the.smile was somewhat forced. “Saturday,” Tertius went on, al- most dreamily. “She gets the policy Saturday, because I bring it over then.” It flashed through Asey’s mind that the shotgun had first gone into action Saturday night. “On Monday,” Teritus said, “she's killed. Life is a strange un- certain thing at best, isn’t it? One never knows, does one? Here, as the saying s0 cheerily goes, today. Gone tomorrow. By the way, Mayo, yours is a perilous occupa- tion. How are = ou fixed in case of accidents and whatnot?” “Tertius,” Asey said, “I begin to see. Eloise didn’t take you home last night, did she? She dropped you here, an’ you was goin’ to walk back, but you got curious about the cars parked outside, an’ so you looked into tke matter. Guessed what was up, an’ d’cided to make sure, so you go to Weston’s desk where you know he Keeps that ledger. Not findin’ any ledger, you smirked like anything an’ come here for the policy. Shall I guess why?” “Could I have a cigarette? It’s a bit awkward here, trussed up— don’t you think you'd better stop playing games and let .me go? Oh, I do. Definitely, my dear Sher- lock.” “Why?” Asey knew exactly what was coming. He had guessed it ten min- utes ago, but he wanted more than anything to play for time. “Well,” Tertius said, “I'll tell you. You pretend to be a bumpkin, but old Captain Porter left you comfortably off. I've heard him and father talk about you. You're a Porter director, aren’t you? And even if you weren't so richly en- dowed, your friend Bill Porter is, isn’t he? Yes. And Master Chase has all those beans. And you and Master Shase are keeping a mur- der secret, aren’t you? Because of Jane Warren. Zeb likes Jane War- ren. Need I really go on? It seems such a waste of time.” “How much. Asev inauired. “do you want?” “Call it—oh, fifty thousand will cover it nicely,” Tertius said. “I think fifty thousand will do.” Asey nodded. “An’ your plan— of course, I'm puttin’ it awful crude, an’ I know it'll hurt you, but you had a nice plan, didn’t you? You -ome to get the policy an’ — ee — an’ send in a notice dated—yes, I suppose you could of managed it somehow. An’ after makin" Eloise the benefici- ary — honest, that was a brain wave, Tertius. Eloise wants to be Mrs. Somebody, an’ I shouldn’t wonder if she hadn't jumped at you like a starvin’ dog at a bone. An’ then you'd have had fifty thou- sand to blow. Tertius, that was smart.” Continued temerrow. (Copyright, 1939) loney Bros. Bakery, 812 Fleming street, this week, the last named being the special that will be available tomorrow. Why bake when Maloney’s can grace your table with such delicious desserts? Scores of housewives in this city have an- since disap- | “The policy our pal Tertius was | busted into town prgperty, you've | Y SOCEAL _ ACTIVITIES THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Maricnette Unit Arrived Teday | Federal Marionette Unit arri- Marriage Lici fi é Issued Yest tdayro: One marriage licerise was is-{ — Society To = “litéet Tomorrow zr ! An interesting and entertain- ved in Key West today for their|sued yesterday from the office ing program has been arranged second visit and will series of entertaining humorous | Permitted the ceremony to be performances which will be of-j performed for wedding of Thom- ciety tomorrow afternoon present a of Judge Raymond R. Lord, whicn |for presentation at a meeting of the Pan American Poetry So- at 4 fered in the different institutions; as H. Pardee and Billie Ann!o’clock at the home of Mrs. of learning. The following performances are | scheduled for presentation at the judge in his office and was wit- |dedicated places listed below, started 2 o'clock this afternoon at the High School Auditorium with the presentation of Hansel and Gretel. a H Bower. j The ceremony was read by the | Jennie C. Powell. | CLASSIFIED COLUMN : James Adams, 702 Waddell avenue: The meeting will be to William Cullen and were nessed by Lester Powell and;Bryant, and Edgar Allen Poe. Biography of Edgar Allen Poe jand reading of poems by Poe— School days Mrs. Harvey Egan. Reading of prose and poetry At 7:30 this evening Jack and eeccccccececeesscscoececes | by Poe—Mrs. George Archer. the Beanstalk will be shown at the Division Street School. To-! morrow at 11 o’clock in the morn- ; ing Beauty and the Beast at the Convent and at 8 in the evening Little Black Sambo in the High! School. Friday at 2 in the afternoon | Hansel and Gretel will be shown at the Douglass School and 8 in }——— the evening Cinderella, will be | the presentation at the Harris School. | The marionette performances which were given last year un- der the direction of Molka Reich |were considered excellent and | were well attended by both young ! and old. MISCELLANEOUS SMART MEN and Women save at Johnny’s Manhattan Diner, 624 Duval Street. 44; YOUR OLD'SUITS made to look like new. Cleaners, Apply White Star! apr26-1mo | || Address on modern poetry some d. WILL ACCEPT OLD MODEL} Light Car for my equity in late| model car in A-1 condition. ee, dress Box SR, The Citizen. apr25-2t! WANTED j Mrs. Mary Lowe Entertained Mr. and Mrs. Fred Knapp last | 'night entertained at their home on Simonton street, in honor of Mrs. Mary Lowe, who was elected Grand Warder of the Order of Eastern Star. All the 1938 of- ficers of the order attended. The place cards were artis- tically hand painted and were replicas of the embelm which is the official insignia of the Grand Warder. Several interesting games were played and prizes were won by Mrs. Lena Bervaldi, first; Mrs. Sue Skelton, second. First prize for men was won by Charles; Lowe. Mrs. Lowe was presented with a beautiful gift. Delicious, refreshments were served ane the evening. j Those in attendance were Mrs. | Lena Bervaldi, Mrs. Sue Skelton, Mrs. Mary Lowe, Mrs. Isabel Fleming, Mrs. Ethel Watkins, Mrs. Irene Watkins, Mrs.. Bertie | Higgs, Mrs. Ruby Hyman, Mrs. Amelia Camus, Fernando Camus, Charles Lowe, and Mr. and Mrs. | Knapp. Entertainment At _ | High School | “What happens to little Sambo, mama Bumbo, papa Jumbo and the four ferocious man_ eating tigers,” will keep the audience in continuous laughter when Bimbo, Florida’s most outstanding and lovable master of ceremonies pre- sents his Federal Marionettes, in | one of their funniest Negro folk | stories, “Little Black Sambo.” The story of “Little Black Sam- bo,” although comparatively mod- | jern, is one that has found its place in the hearts of all Amer-! ic; young and old. ts t Little Black Sambo’s ability to devour pancakes fried in the but- | ter into which the four men eat-! ing tigers had been changed,) “Jes’ becaise he was ‘ungry,” is a scream. | Sambo, true to form, will make |his first appearance in Key West, Thursday evening, April 27th, at 8:00 o'clock, Kéy West High | School auditorium. Legionnaires To Meet Tonight At the meeting of Arthur Saw- yer Post 28. American Legion, to be held tonight, beginning at 8 o'clock, at headquarters on Whitehead street, plans will be formulated for organizing and es- | WANTED—Refined young wom-; Karl Miller, Director of Rotary an, white, for light house; work, assist children. “Stay on! Kansas will bring news of Rotary /#n¢ lt premises. Small salary. Ap-} ply CEjisendrath, 706 South! street. apr24-tf | | FOR SALE | 500 Cash, balance 6% payable monthly 10 years, about $35, per month. Box ES, clo The; Citizen. apr22-lwk | TOW TRAILER, 600-lbs., , ‘with New Tags, also Used Furniture. | Reasonable. Apply 524 Eliza- | beth St. apr21-24-26x | FOR SALE—2 lots, each. 50x100. | Run from Washington to Von Phister street. $1,000. Apply! rear 1217 Petronia street, aprl4-s FORD TRUCK, 1%-ton, mechan- ically perfect, good tires, very economical in operating.,A real bargain, $150. Phone 810. apr4-lmo ROOMS NEW VALDEZ INN, 521 United. Sixteen beautiful new rooms. Across South Beach. Phone | 9135. feb23-tf | - | FOR RENT FIVE-ROOM FURNISHED APARTMENT. 1029 Fleming | street. apr22-lwk | psec SE oy PERT eRe ee iS | APARTMENT, : 1104 ‘Pivision | street, opposite Tift’s Grocery. Moderrt, hot -water. See Ray- mond Lord, County Court. mar29-tf | PAL EST ae | CENTRAL HOTEL—Home of the largest and most. .comfortabk: | rooms in town. Special Sum- mer Weekly Rates now in ef- fect. All new furnishings. Cor- Vocal selection—Mrs. Eva War- ner. Piano accompaniment—Mrs. Ralph Milner. Reading of prose and poctry Everett P. Winter. Unison reading of Bryant's ‘Thanatopsis. Poem by Mrs. Carl Gray Il— read by Mrs. Winter. < Miss Mary Churchill Morgan. Reading or original poéms Mrs. Julio De Poo and Mrs. Rob- ert Byron Russell. Rotary Dinner This Evening International from Dodge City to the Key West club at the luncheon to be held tonight at 8 o’clock at the Parish Hall. The meeting tonight takes fhe place of the the in with Miller. ee PERSONAL MENTION Albert Lynn, formerly radio operator at the naval station, left on the early bus for Miami en route to the World’s Fair at New York. Igriacio| Valdez, Jr., and mother Mrs. ‘Leonor ‘Valdez, left on the early bus.this morning and plan to return by Monday. been spending the season in Key West, was a passenger on amien route to her home Louisville, Ky. Fe res A. E. Smith, Spanish War Vet- eran from Washington, D. C., ac- companied by Mrs. Smith and son son E. F. Smith are visitors in Key West, enjoying the sights, ner Southard and Duval streets. | _apri-tt! A—___ — |} HOTELS | } BRING YOUR VISITING friends’ in need of a good night's rest to} OVERSEAS HOTEL. Clean) rooms, innerspring mattresses. Under new management. 917 Fleming Street. “Key West's Outstanding!” LA CONCHA HOTEL Beautiful—Air-conditioned tablishing the Sons of American ; A unit of the colored veterans of the World" War~ will. alsa. be organized. Michael Whalen—Mary Hart THE MYSTERIOUS MISS X swered the question in favor of 24 Hour Ambulance Service buying these special cakes of- fered daily at Maloney’s. ‘ \_ Phone 135 “Meet Your a. Key West Bowli ‘Opposite Jefferson Hotel 1 5 DUCK PINS . .. TEN PINS Open 11 A.M. to-11 P.M. nov18-ti | Os by “= regular Thursday ,' : —————————| luncheon. This arrangement has S@TY to support |FOR SALE—Nice two bedroom been made to fit | bungalow, close in, $4500; $1,-i schedule of visits by Director | to work for their own subsi Mrs. George Burns, who had | the ; early bus this morning for Mi-} in} ‘LOST—BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, MILLIONS OF AMERICAN HOMES By BERNARR MACFADDEN in April “Liberty” When history views the colos- sal blunders of the present ad- ‘ ministration and counts the cost, the stupendous sum in dollars and cents will be staggering. But one man, in adaition to be- ing the principal source of losses amounting to billions, will also have to put on the debit side of his record the loss of millions of American homes Secretary Wallace, with his plowing-under procedure, his csarity handouts to the farmers, is undobtedly a picasing person- ality, a ikable fellow. In he unquestionably had dreams of making the world over in accordance with his theo- ries. But he is largely to blame for the loss of a large part of our foreign cotton market that would easily amcunt to hundreds of mil lions of dollars. He probably will his i apr26-1mo | by William Cullen Bryant—Mrs. have to take a part of the blame for the hundreds of millions which the government now has invested in millions of bales of cotton stored away. which the ad. ;ministvation will have to market y at a give-away bank- zether the huge losses in. de 's and cents , that canbe credited to Secret iWallace’s dream ideals. suppos ;We consider for a moment the ‘ back-to-the - farm =m nt : which he is credited with des ‘ing altogether. He maint i there were enough people on the uld ovem« > farmers ¢ not sell their present produ why edd to thi increasing the output? He prob ably ¢ jed the tlarmers would ther 5 itional taxes nec« the unemploy- ed on the dole than allow them stence difficulty fon a liberal-sized home garden And that is said to be Secretary Wallace’s reason for killing the movement that would have given millions of-our people homes in and this morning were p ticularly interested in the disp! at the aquarium. NEW SUMMER RATE TERRACE OUTDGOR BOWLING Duval at Angela ‘| 0c DAY or EVENING $j i| Free Instruction Free Parking i Coolest Cor. Now Under Roof ; OVERSEAS CAFE AND LODGE | Marathon, Fila. Phone No. 4 | “The Best in Food and Rooms” Between Key West and Miami COMPLETE GARAGE SERVICE Charley Toppino, Prop. the country . .. air to keep active every member of the family. This would indicate that health and moraie of futun Americans are not important ac- cording to Secretary Wallace's understanding. In the first years of this admin- istration numerous expermme: proved that people could be pu! on the land and taat they would able to provide part of ther be large ex k-to-t prof living prob centage of o least 25 to tims of this ad situa would have gladly gone out to the coun- t try and accepted any crude shel ter for themselves and ther fam lies, instead of occupying the crowded and sometimes quarters in some town or city We all know the strer any nation depends upon stablility of its homes, and t hat are comfortably or crudely furnished are usual more valuable r husing deper ble zens than whe indicated made American ci vermuch luxw The homes that + ° % ' % % ¥ 4 \ N . . ; ® . in che SUNDAY, MAY 14 .- What gift will you give your Mother on her day? Leok for suggestions sponsored by stores that will advertise Key West Citizen “A Community Institution For 59 Years” Md hd edededkedkdedededed So easy to carry ...the six-bottle carton A six-bottle carton of Coca-Cola is as easy to take home as the other good things you buy at your favorite store. It will provide pure, . wholesome refreshment for all the family. VJ LLAALALLALAALAAALLALALALLZA