New Britain Herald Newspaper, May 20, 1929, Page 11

\ CHAPTER 1 THE GOLD-MOUNTED PISTOL There was nothing in Nathan Hyde's note that even remotely sug- &ested a connection with what was to happen that night. It there had beer, I should have quailed a little, for I am-getting on for that sort of thing. Not that I am old—at €9 one has hardly begun one's declining years. My garden, my books, and my collection of pistols fill my ac- tive moments, and Lucy, my niece, gives me such contact with life as 1 dosire. & The note, which was written in Hyde's cramped hand, asked me to drep in and see him about an old pistol he thought might inter- est me, I don't care a great deal for Hyde—he is as smooth as a mohogany walking-stick—but he has an uncanny faculty for getting his hands on the rarities collec- tors barter their souls for. Luc calls his shop the “Pirate's Cave, and Hyde, she insists, is a reincar- nation of Captain Kidd. It was early afternoon, I had nothing t4 do, so0 there was no reason, why T should not see Hyde at once, Magnolia avenue is the loveliest thoroughfare of San Fe- lipe and I drove along it with pride, And yet, 30 yeary ago the San Fe- lipe Valley was a sun-burned waste of sage and cactus. But that was before Audrew Ogden, our first @itizen, brought water and accom- plished another of those miracles which. are the wonder of the Southwest. Andraw is my nest door neigh- bor and my friend. His wealth has left him unspoiled and we have]lhe snuff-box. * Ogden slumped over. much in common. In fact, there is between us that fine quality of affection which men achieve so rarely in their friendships. And if, at times, during the nine years we have known each other, I have felt a restraint upon his spirit, had a sense of looking upon a ~mask instead of the man himself, and it his anteeedents are a mat. ter of conjecture, what of it? My feeling was probably nonsense, But if it were not, hasn't he the right to seal what chambers of his memory he chooses? Jerry Ogden, Andrew's boy, and Lucy ha cemented our friend- #hip. Lu 1 see, is wearing a handsome sapphire. 1 shall be sorry to lose her. After the brilliant afternoon sun- light the weird gloom of Hyde's shop blinded me and I had to grope my way forward. There seemed to be no one about; and then T heard voices in the office at the rear. As T approached the office T saw that Hyde was falking with Roy Ham- mond, a local lawycr. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.” I wear rubber heels apd T in- stantly realized that they had not heard me coming. Hyde was sit- ting at his desk. His hawk-like head went up with a jerk and I deftly slid a letter over some ob- ject on the desk. Hammond spup on his heel with a muttered excta- mation. “Excuge me. Hyde" T said, with- wing. “I didn't know you werc I'll drop in Jater.” ‘Ah, Peebles! Nothing of the gort. Come right in,” Hyde pro- tested suavely. He stood up. “long and lean and lank,” as Mr. Coleridge's Ancient Mariner. “I was just going,” Hammond muttered. “I wanted Hyde to bring some junk down from the house It was none of my business th: Hammond had lied. He is a tall heavily built man with a meaty face which I never saw cast in any expression but one of cultivated affability. In his younger da: Hammond prospected through ti desert mountains. A lucky strike gave him a small capital and he went in for law. Now he belongs to every luncheon club and fra- ternal order in town and I believe he has designs on the state legis- lature. He wouldn’t be entrusted with any of my legal affairs. “Well,” T said to Hyde as Ham- mond departed, “what have you got > “It may not interest you.” Hyde's sly chuckle irritated me. But when I saw him reach for his snuff-box, which he keeps in a pocket somewhere in the tail of his morning coat, 1 knew he had something I wanted and I should have to pay for it. The snuff-box, an claborate affair of richly chased silver, had belonged to a French Louis, and taking snuff from it is in the nature of a ceremony Hyde dr bus EYES EXAMINED Booth LLETSJ Hyde deftly slid a letter ov er some object on his desk indulges in bhefore and after After much his hand alw pocketing a fat profit. fumbling he withdrew without it. “Queer,” he mumbled. I concluded he had misplac Vever mind, H At his neck a cross of metal burned dully 1N turn up.” His head came up with a jerk. “Eh? Oh, yes, to be sure. The snuff-lox. Let me see. Oh, yes, the pistol. Sit down, Peebles.” I did so and he resumed his own chair with an audible creak of old Lones. My eye fell on the letter he had slid over the object hgneath it. The incident bothered me., Why should Hyde have been in such haste to conceal the thing from me? He quickly recaptured my at- tention by placing the revolver on the desk in front of me. It was all I could do to keep from leaping to my feet, scizing the revolver, and telling Hyde to name his price. Instead, 1 casually picked it up, aware that he was watching me slyly. “Careful, Peebles. It's loaded.” The revolver was a long-barreled Colts .45 of a type in general use 30 years ago. On the bult was a mounting of filigree gold of crude workmanship. It was this unusual feature that had set my elderly Leart thumping like a mill. 8, Hyde was watching me with his g&ecret smile. 1 broke the gun. Six shells, one of them into my hand . 1 caught my breath. My nands began to tremble mpeacd my forchead. T lower over the pistol to hide agitation. “Well?"* Hyde asked blandly. “Do you suppose it is authentic I parried casually. sly chuckle, d the He gave his gew the mounting. —are they not gold mile broadened e on the butt.” matter of fact T was gure the gun was Peterson’s, although 1 could not prove it w any more than he could. A thrill of pleasure ran through me. Ever since 1 be- #un coilecting pistols 1 have wanted 1o get hold of onc of Peterson's gold-mounted revolvers. I had com- missioned several dealers to be on the lookout for me, but [ never had quite tion. And yet here I was with one of the famous guns in my hand. Peterson's fame was mainly local, but 1 was interested in him because he was typical of a phase of the West. T supposed he was dead, but he wouldn’t be an old man if he were alive; mno older than I, in fact. He had had his day in the 90's, but he was a young man at the time. Probably more lcgend than fact clung to his name, but this deepened my interest in him. Tdon't know that he ever did any- thing especially remarkable, al- though his rise above Skull Valley's Jurid horizon must have heen as spectacular (and probably as short- lived) as that of the town of Tor- ridity itself. At least, he lived bravel extravagantly, recklessly; recklessly enough, indeed, to have stamped the imprint of his person- ality upon the gold-mad town and kept green its memory long after it had become one of that abandoned company eof ghost cities which haunt the desolate places of the West. Peterson, it scems, was an in- veterate gambler. He would ftake a chance on anything and he would back his judgment with his last dollar. There is a story to the elfect that once he played poker for »ullets “Ieierson’s exploded, fell | Sweat | hent | @ my | “You | expected to realize my ambi- | |2 human life. He came to Torridity | with nothing but his guns, grew | wealthy, and lost everything he had at poker; or so the story goes. | “Ten-to-One” appears to have been the sogriquet he became known by. { " “Well, do you want it?” Hyde asked blandly. T wasn't going to he caught too casily. “Where did you get it?" Hyde blew his nose. hat,” he said delicatel *doesn’t matter. “Oh, yes, it does. If there's a story in it I shall want that, too.” “The story,” Hyde said smoothly, is not incluled in the price. The price is one thousand dollars.” 1 laughed, wrote him a check for $500, and tossed it over. “There isn't more than $150 worth of gold |in the bullets and filigree.’ He picked up the check, precisely tore it into fragments. “My dear Peebles! 1 said $1,000!" 1 copitulated and wrote him a check, “Now give the story,” I giowled. He gave re stead. me his secret smile in- “The story is not included Nor is it for sale. your receipt.” And talk as 1 would T could not get him to change his mind. Hyde wrapped my treasure up while T speculated about the tale I hadn't got. My eye fell on the letter which concealed the article beneath it and I wondered if there Was A connection between Peter- son's revolver and the subject of Hyde's -conversation with Ham- mond. T left the shop as happy as with the newest thing in mechanical toys. But if 1 could have suddenly known fthe signifi- cance of what Hyde to tell me, I should him by the throat, and shaken him |until the story dripped word by | word from DLetween his teeth. 1 | might then have been able to avert the tragedy that was to blast the ‘? lives of those dearest to me, CHAPT 2 DEATH OVER THE WIRE I had several things to do in town s0 instead of going straight home 1 dined at Galli's with my old friend Captain Reacon, our chiéf of police. Deacon Lud done more than his share towards making the depart. ment as efficient as any in the state and I respected his keen driving brain. The meal over and my business attended to, 1 drove slowly home. It was just ten minutes past nine when I arrived there. 1 was to re- menher the time. Polyaniria reclined on the hearth. She got lazily up, stretch- ed herself fore and aft and came pit towards me. I picked her up and she made herself comfort- able on my shoulder. Polyandria 5 a gold-brown Angora, a mag- 't animal, and 1 suppose I am surdly fond of her. “No more complaints, Aria? 1 inquired. Luther MacNair. a retired private | detective of considerable reputation had recent come to Magnolia ave- nue. It turned out that he has a pas. sion for growing tomatoes. Polyan- | dria_got among the vines—so he said—and some little damage was done. 1 insisted on paying MacNair's estimate of the damage, but he was | auite nasty about it. Lucy danced in just then. is always dancing in upon mnie, “Look at me instcad of Polyan- dria, Uncle John. Am I all righter I frowned. “How should 1 know whethe you are all right? pex | Jerry.” “He's busy with his father. That horrid old mine again. He tele- phoned me during dinner. Some- thing has happened.” “What 2" “He didn't say. new dress?” “You'll do,” I said. you going?” “To the Chesters. 1 am singing there. Jerry will come for me afte: his father has done with him, 1 suppose. I wish Mr. Ogden would let him reopen that old mine. Jerry believes he can make it pay. 1 don’t know why Mr. Ogden is so stupid.” “He should know best.” “You old people always know Shy Do you like my “Where are from itching torment Evens City, Pa.—“Some time ago I had & bad of eczema and at times I scratched my skin until the blood ran. Finally our family advised me to use Resinol p and Ointment. I obtained relief at once and be- fore long new, smooth skin had taken the place of the old sores. | If Resinol cost me twice as much 1 would never be without it. { had refused | have plunged ! back into his cavernous shop, taken | Polyan- | Obtained Relief at Once— NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, MONDAY, MAY 20, 1929. best! You dear old Uncle John. What were you doing all aiter- noon?” * “Well, 1 bought a pistol.” '‘Goodness! Another?" “It's a pistol I have been trying to get for a long while, my dea It belonged to a man named Peter- son who lived in the mining town of Torridity down in 8kull Valley.” “Torridity! Why, that's where Mr. Ogden's mine is. Isn't it strange that he won't let Jerry open it up?” I chuckled. She kissed me again and fled. Now that Lucy had spoken of it I recalled that the mine Jerry want- ed to operate—some feeling about it had arisen between father and son—was in or near Torridity. The cidence was interesting. I was getting up to uawrap my purchai when Mrs, Moffit came in. Witkout Mrs. Moffit life would he more of a labyrinth than it is and I an infant in the middle of it “How's your head, Mr. Peebles?” she inquired solicitously. “Head?" I murmured. Mrs. Moffit looked disappointed. “You had a headache when yoa got up this morning, hadn't you? 1 suppose it was that pie last night. I was bringing you a powder.” Mrs. Moffit has a powder for everything. “Ah, yee," I said. “Well, it's all right now and it wasn't the ple.” I am very fond of Mrs. Moffit's pes. She skook her head disapprov- ingly. “You always say that. Mr. Ogden phoned a while back. He said I was to ask you to call him up as soon as you came in. He seemed terrible upset about some. thing. I didn't know you were home until Miss Lucy told me just now.” I crossed to the telephone won- dering what was the matter with Andrew. Instead of taking the in- strument up at once I unwrapped the Peterson revolver and ran my fingers caressingly over the barrel and gold-mounted butt. I was on the point of breaking the weapon when the telephone whirred sharp- Iy. As T picked up the instrument my eye fell on the clock on the mantel. It was exactly nine-thirty. “Hello,” T called. that you, John? This is An- drew.” The voice might have been any one's but his, =so strained and unnatural did it sound. “What is it, Andrew 2" “l want to see you. over right away. me? Right—" The voice had stopped. Then 1| heard what might have been a gasp. A queer, strangled #ort ofi gasp. Silence again. Now came a| dull thud and a rattle. “Andrew!” 1 shouted. wrong, man?" Did T hear a faint groan? | I threw off the shackles that hound me, flung myself through the French window near my desk, and plunged tato the maze of shrubbery outside. The moon had not let risen, but my feet quickly found the familiar winding path and 1 raced through the scented gloom toward the Of- @en house. Suddenly, T heard the pound of feet on the cinder walk |ahead and as I neared the walk iJerry Ogden's white flanncls flash- jcd past into the drive. “Jerry!” I called. erry! Jerry.” | Instead of replying, he went on {like the wind and I stopped, dumb- founded. He had seemed to drop something as he passed. but the gloom was too deep for me to be sure of this. The shadows of the place swal- lowed him before 1 could whether he had gone on to the garage, which lies on the other side of the house, or down to the avenue, and I stood with a queer coldness tightening about my heart. . Off again at top speed, I did not stop until I had climbed over the f{ron grille which embraces a tiny balcony just big enough to stand on outside the library win- dow. The doors of the window were ajar, but drawn draperies con- Come You hear| “What's | | 4 i MOST people depend on Bayer | Aspirin to make short work of | headaches, but did you know i just as effective in the worse pains . from neuralgia or neuritis? Rheu- | | matic pains, too. Don’t suffer when | Bayer Aspirin can bring complete comfort without delay, and without : harm; it does not affect the heart, In every package of genuine Bayer Aspirin are proven directions with which everyone should be familiar, for they can spare much needless suffe tell\t cealed the room. with dread. For the moment couldn’t have parted the curtains to see what Andrew's boy had fled from to save my soul. Desperately beating my weak- ness back, I compelled myself to open the window, to part the cur- tains, te look in. Andrew Ogden sat at his desk, his head down upon it. The light of a reading lamp fell upon his reck where a cross of metal burned dully. Copyright 1929, William Morrow Co. I was sweating Jerry flees from his home just after his father has been murdered. Why didn’t he stop when Peebles called? Another gripping chapter ap- Ppears tomorrow. GREAT BRITAIN QUIET ON “NOMINATION DAY"| 1,730 Candidates Go Through For- mality Before Officials—815 Will be Elected on May 30. London, May 20 (M—*Nomination Day” in Great Britain today brought some 1,730 men and women before election officials to secure proper certification to go to the polls at the general election May 30, when 615 will be elected. The nominations were mere for- malities. The candidates appeared before the official returning officer of their constituency or the con. atituency he wished to represent, dis- played his credentials and deposited £150 as evidence of good faith. The ceremony was shorn of its spectacular aspects when prospec- tive candidates hustings and often had te stand bombardment of bad eggs, Vvege- tables and other missiles amid a din of hooting and cheering. Of the total of £260,000 deposited by the candidates most will be re- turned, only those candidates who fail to poll one-eighth of the votes cast forfeiting their contribution. The deposit prerequisite invariably weeds out a few who previously had been announced as candidates, the com- munists usually suffering most heav- |1y, Rumania Celebrates Jubilee of Founding Alba Julia, May 20 P—Rumanian peasants gathered here today to cel- ¢brate the jubilee anniversary of the founding of Greater Rumania, their number estimated at from 100,000 to 200,000. Lack of local accommodations forced the government to provide for their upkeep and free bread. meats, fruits and wines were distributed to | the pilgrims. Four milk white bulls were slaughtered and roasted on spits a8 in the days of Julius Cae- sar, and their flesh was fed to the ponulace. The child king, Michael, receivel a salute of 101 guns when he arriv- ed for the event. which was the last feature of the greater Rumania ccle- brations. appeared at public | AIRPLANE CRASHES Army Pilot Dies—Home-Made Machine Cracks Up By the Amociated Press. Seven persons were killed and eight were injured, three seriously, in six airplane crashes Sunday. One of the planes involved in the acci- dents was an army ship and another was a home made monoplane. Major Joseph Noyes. 40, of Okla- homa City, United States ment of commerce inspector for lllinois, was Kkilled, and Frank Groves, Lowell, Ind., was injur- ed seriously at Kankakee, Iil, when Graves' plane crashed from a height of 65 feet after a 2,000 foot at- tempted spiral landing. Major Noves, who was stationed in Chicago, had gone to Kankakee to inspect a new airport and was examining Graves for a commercial pilot's license. Corporal Archibald Bryent, 90th squadron, third attack group, U. S. air corps., was killed and Lieutenant Edward Hertzberg, pilot, slightly injured at Galveston, Tex. In an attempt to take off the ma- chine nosed into the ground. Nose Dive is Fatal At Muskegon, Mich.. George ¥ King. 28, and Morris R. Mellinger, 25, lost their lives in their home made monoplane. A wing was torn from the fuselage whle King was pulling out of a voluntary nese dive and the ship crashed 1,500 feet. A Calgary Aero club plane crash- broke when the plane was making a loop and the machine fell from a height of 2,500 feet. Louis Scott, 19, mechanic, was fa- |tally injured and 0. G. Corben, pilot, was slightly hurt in a crash near Pawhuska, Okla. in an attempt to land after engine trouble had devel- oped. The plane struck high tension wires and fell into a ditch Four persons were injurced, two scriously, in a crash of a plane in an attempted take off at Roosevelt Tield, N. Y. The seriously hurt were {Dorothy Gusnell, Raltimore, Md., and Mrs. Lucianne Dc La Paulle, New York. Six thousand Sunday {the Lambert-Field St. Louis fiying field in St. Louis saw a plane piloted by Oscar Heintze, 21-year-old trans- port pilot, crash from 150 feet. The pilot and his passenger. Will Lange- |dorf, 21, were slightly injured. IFlnnper_s Will Replace Negroes on Dirning Cars Spokane, Wash., May 20 (®— “George” of the familiar “Yassah.' will disappear and pert bobbed- haired blondes and brunettes will balance trays in dining cars of the Northern Pacific Yellowstone Park [trains after June 20. R. €. Taylor, assistant superinten- |dent of dining car service on the | WHIPPET 6 SEDAN Down paymest caly GASPIRIN lfl\‘lhhfln ‘; Resinol Soap is most refreshis and Resinol Ointment has quic P Signed) E.J.Ensien. Adopt these products for daily use and kesp your skin clnr“ $292 WHIPPET 4 COACH Dowa paymest caly $218 Balence in 12 sasy monthly paymenss. Line includes Coxge, Coach, De Lasn Sedan, Roadster. Balancs in 12 easy monraly ;l‘:l:dn ;,'ufl, Sedas, e, Id&a—&hfl? "'ICI an .“."m_ WILLYS-OVERLAND, ELMER AUTO CO. 2 Main Street TAKE SEVEN LIVES depart- | was | | visitors at . Line DeLuxe Seda Commercial Chassis. Al J- 0. b. Toieds, 7 nijet » |Northern Pacific, announced that |girls are being trained to replace |negro waiters, chefs and assistant Ichefs on their trains running be- {tween Livingston and Gardiner, Mont. The new order, Taylor asserted, is in line with the company's effort to appeal to feminine tastes in the mat- |ter of food. “We cater to women,” he said, “because they are experts in food and know all about it. Give a man enough and he is satisfled.” ST. MARY'S CHURCH GIRLS CROWN VIRGIN'S STATUE | | | | | | ful ceremonies of thé' entire chureN* year, - S, " Dressed in white, the "girls fled: slowly to their places in the chureh,’ Suspended about their necks were the badges of their order hung ew blue ribbena. Their voices were rais- ed in praise of the Virgin in the beautiful hymn “Ave Maris Stells.” As the solemn moment arrived fe the crowning of the statue, the members of the soclety formed an arch of lifes and Miss Marie M. fatt, president of the Children of Mary, followed by Miss Rita 8t. Law- rence bearing the jeweled crown, proceeded to the foot of the statue and placed the crown upon the head of the Queen of Heaven. 5 Twenty members were received ! Beautiful Ceremony in Honor of Quecn of May Carried out | | sSunday Aften.oon | Singing hymns in honor of the| Virgin Mary, members of the Chil- | dren of Mary society and the Im- | maculate Conception Guild of St. | Mary's church, took part in m.-! beautiful ceremony of reception of | members and the crowning of the statue of the Virgin in the church yesterday afternoon amid scenes portraying one of the most beauti- “Before | Started | | Countless men and women, rejoic- ing over the splendid results in new | ana glorious health wrought by Bon- Tone, the great herbal tonic, pause i their happiness to express amaze- ment at the speed with which this | wonderful medicine goecs 1o the source of the ailment and how soon improvement is apparent. Go and | tee the Bon-Tone man and learn | about th is great remedy and how it is achieving such wonderful success | —learn about the many victories over the most obstinate cases and of | | the great good it is doing so many | | FiENt in your own home town. into the Children of Mary by Rev. Matthew J. Traynor. pastor, and, Rev. Walter A. McCrann delivered, an inspiring sermon on the mecaning of the occasion. Following the ceremonies, there’ |was Benediction of the Bleased Sac- rament with a special musical pre- gram arranged by John J. Crean, or- ganist, and sung by members of the ' senior choir. The diameter of the earth at the equator is 7,926.68 miles. The di. ameter at the poles is 7,899.98 miles. Taking Bon-Tone My Stomach Was An Everlasting Source of Aches and Pains.” “My Troubles Disappeared Like Magic and Today I Feel Fine,” Say: s Mr. Johnson. Just read below what Mr. Oscar Johnson of Berlin, Conn., who has been connected with the Stanley company for the past 12 years, says Bon-Tone did for him: *For about | a year, I suffered untold agony with | stomach trouble. In fact, my stom- ach caused me so much discomfort that 1 was unable to work properly. Gas would form something terrible, 1 would have to stop and bring up a lot of gas, which would make me, feel so embarrassed. I also suffered from severe headaches, and I was very badly constipated, as I was con- tinually taking laxatives. My kidneys hothered me a great deal, and I was never able to obtain a good night's rest, on account of being disturbed frequently during the night. I would =uffer badly from dizzy spells, and was in a general dundown condition. Finally, after hearing so much about Bor-Tone, 1 decided to try it. I have only taken a few bottles, and I now enjoy the food I eat, with no distress afterward. No more headaches or dizzy spcils, and constipation has been entirely corrected. My kidneys are much stronger and I can now sleep soundly throughout the enmtire night. All in all, 1 feel just fine— thanks to Bon-Tone." Mr. M. D. Woodwand, ‘Tone man, is at Miller & Drug Store, Church street, New Beit. ain. SIX-FOOT-THREE” Never before has there been offered such b o big car comfort at such s low wheelbase and ive the new Superior Whippet— Fours and Sixes—the roominess of costlier cars. The form-fi heavily sengers seats are broader and upholstered, enabling pas- sxed to enjoy restful, re positions atall times, E: wide doors afford easy entrance and exit. Noother low-priced vital advan car has a//these tages: Full force-feed lubrication, silent timing chain, “Finger-Tip Control,” oversize bal- loon tires, invar-strut big four-wheel pression extrs ake come- P i, & e ick-y| gfi :Phavy seven-bearing crank- shaft. INC., TOLE it NEW SUPERIOR 4 DO, OHIO