The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 177, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 28, 1930 Page: 4 of 42
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IrtllSW July 4. 1882
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. THE BROWKSVILLS HERALD PUBLISHING
COMPANY
Dm AmotistMi Pm ts exclusively emitted to the use
tv pubUcatton at all new* dmpachaa credited to It or
am oHMrwtM credited In this paper and also the
Meal Qtet published herein.
2
Three ...g2J6
One Mouth. .75
TEXAS DART PRESS LEAGUE
Danse. Texas. 513 Mercantile Bank Building.
Kansas City. Mo 306 Coca-Cola Building.
CTrtnagn XU Assorts tion Building.
Mew Yost. 350 Madman A recue.
8L Loam. M3 Star Building.
Las Angeles *Cal Rood 1019 New Orpheum Bldg
M & Breed way.
Ms Francisco OaL SIS Kohl Building.
Brownsville Has:
L A population in 19M ol 22050.
A A mean average temperature of 7A
A Bank deposits. 55000000.
A Four railroads seven paved highways.
A International airport five air lines.
A A $€000000 deep water port financed.
7. The best climate soU In the world.
Money For the Hungry in
New York
Net receipts of the Army and Navy game before
g crowd of 70000 at the Yankee stadium netted 5600 -
000 for the New York unemployed fund. That is for
the Salvation Army fund for the unemployed. An
autographed football which was auctioned was bought
by Comdr. Evangeline Booth for 55000. New York
may be e wicked city but when a call goes out in the)
name of charity the sinners go down deep in their ;
pockets and toss the coin Into the plate. Millions
have chipped in millions since the coming of good j
aid winter tune to drive the wolf from the door in
the congested districts of the metropolis of America.
They are doing it everywhere and the cheerful givers j
in individual cases are not shouting their benefac-!
Horn from the housetops.
■ .
Production of Oil In South
/ American Republic
Independent oil producers of the Southwest are
imewing their demand for a tariff of 91 a barrel on
fotmgn crude. This is a reminder that during the
past eleven months of 1930 the crude production in
Venezuela totaled 134488093 barrels a total average
of 372£02 compared with 124.397.231 barrels a dally
average of 373407. in the corresponding period of 1929.
It Is said the combined output of the Royal Dutch
Shell companies in Venezuela during November was
f 133.223 barrels a dally average of 171107. Foreign
crude la on the free list. Woodrow Wilson placed it
there Harding and Coolidge and Hoover refused to
Jpln tK» movement to take it from the free list. Hence
the revolt of the independent oil operators in the oil
producin'; states of the Southwest.
Jobs for Thousands Until Spring
Detroit is one of the great industrial centers of
America Regardless of what the public does In au-
tomobile buying the Chevrolet Motor company guaran-
tees steady Jobe for at least 30.000 men until next
sprmg. This Is the way the announcement reads:
"We fully realize that we cannot expect buyers un-
less men are at work and are receiving wages. To
certain that we hold up our end and so aid in
the business revival we are underwriting the sale of
ourproducts Our plan to improve conditions is to
mmkm an eight hour day and four day week We will
give our men a 32 hour week. We will keep to this
schedule until our employment reaches 40£00. If it
hits this total we will increase the working hours to
mo a week before taking on additional men. The
whole policy Is mapped out to insure employment at
a living wage for as many as possible ” America is
all nght All the world is not going headlong to the
devil and the leaders of the American part of the
world are doing their level best to keep the home
fires burning and the purchasing pcrwtr of the work-
ers at the highest level possible.
in. i
Passing of James Henri Smith
James Henry Smith is dead. He was aNt&tive Tex-
an 52 and one of the greatest contractors and builders
the Southwest has known. He was the head of the
famous wmith Brothers Contracting and Building
company. He started in a small way more than 20
years ago in Crockett his birth-place and in time
tne Smith Brothers in their operations covered the
entire Southwest and amassed millions.
James Henry Smith and his associates placed Ban
Antonio on the map so to speak with their great
$10000000 building organization. They constructed
highways everywhere. They built pipelines. They
built sky-scrapers of their own and for others. James
Henry was the directing genius of the organization.
He was a veritable Napoleon among the builders and
developers of his period. He had headquarters In
three cities. He passed out at his room In a Dallas
hotel and suicide was the verdict of the coroner. Fi-
nancial worry was given as !:he cause of the rash act.
He lived while he lived. He mounted the rang of the
ladder In field of constructive endeavor. He was very
widely known and very popular. Men of his calibre
are worth while. They take the waste places and
make them blossom They add to the wealth of the
nation. They march at the head of the procession
and the marchers are ever the makers of the spokes
in the wheel of a new civilisation.
Putting Over the Stubbs Bill
A Washington correspondent predicts a renewed
drive to carry out recommendations of the law en-
forcement commission to exclude minor offenders
from heavy penalties of the Jones five and ten law. It
Is understood the Stobbs bill classified as petty of-
fenses. subject to a maximum penalty of $500 fine or
six months in jail the sale unlawful making or trans-
portation of not more than one gallon of liquor. It
passed both houses but the senate added an amend-
ment designed to prevent habitual offenders or vio-
lators of the act within the last two years from get-
ting light sentences of petty offenders. If the Jones
law Is to be amended according to the provisions ol
the Stobbs measure the sting will be taken out of the
Jones act the pet measure of Sen Wesley Jones ol
the state of Washington. In the campaign of the
year many Washington republicans revolted against
the 18th amendment and the Volstead act and made
the politicians of that state a trifle nervous. Hence
the Stobbs amendment.
High Spots In American Finance
Member banks of the federal reserve system entered
a Christmas season of increased demand for currency
with a smaller volume of indebtedness to the reserve
banks than at any time since 1917. Uncle Sam nai
started on an up-grade trip.
Revenue Collector Jas. W. Bass of the South Texas
district reports income tax collections for the fourth
quarter $50000 higher than for the corresponding pe-
riod In 1929 despite the one cent reduction In the tax
and talk of business depression. This is the Basj
verdict: “Income tax totals refute all the depression
talk and reflect a healthy financial condition." H:*
district included all Texas south of a line drawn ap-
proximately from El Paso east through the Hill
Country to the Louisiana line.
Chrtsmas holiday reason Is here Mike the mo6t
of it. Texas Is the white spot on the map of America
Texas Is Given a Jolt
According to the Metropolitan Life Insurance com-
pany. every state except Texas has complied with the
United States regulation for admission to the regis-
tration area for births and deaths “but the absence
of the Lone Star state still makes It impossible tc
compute mortality and birth rates for the Unitec
States." It appears at the beginning of the late decade
the bureau of the census adopted a program to bring
every’ state into the registration area before the enc
of 1930. South Dakota is on the outside. Texas is or
the outside of the area. Why?
Louisiana Bankers Reject
Garrett Plan
Key bankers representing the Louisiana State Bank-
ers association declined to endorse the Garrett plan
under which loans would be withheld from farmer;
unless the latter agreed to cut their cotton acreage fi
very wise old Louisiana banker told the gathering that
“Louisiana farmers will have to realize that the onlj
salvation in the present agricultural and economic
crisis is to grow a living on their farms.” In othei
words the farmer must furnish the fcod supplies fo;
his own table. There are thousands of Texas farmer;
who furnish the supplies for their own tables. The*
have orchards and gardens corn cribs and smoke-
houses. rows and hogs and turkeys and poultry anr
thetr cellan crowded with the preserved products e:
the orchard and the garden and the berry patch.
i Out Our Way.By Williams
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r
Bel in Here Today
The chief suspects in the mur-
der of Juanita Selim shot at a
bridge party are: Flora Miles in
Nita’s closet reading a note which
she thinks Is from her husband:
Dexter Sprague who wrote that
note and Lydia her maid.
Lydia says she loved Nita. and
is showing Special Investigator
Dundee presents she gave her when
Tracey Miles one of the guests re-
turns to take Lydia home with him.
Dundee reads Nita's will leaving
everything to Lydia which shows
Nilas fear of death and gives Ly-
dia additional motive. He learns
that Nita went out with Ralph
Hammond Thursday night and saw
Sprague Friday night the night she
made her will.
Miles tells Dundee that when he
called on Nita that morning he
found Nita and Lydia gone and
Ralph there Ralph seemed a little
jealous of his calling on Nit* too.
After Miles and Lydia leave. Dun-
dee finds the kitchen door has been
unlocked. Searching the attic he
finds traces in the bedroom of a
mans' having slept there the night
before.
He calls Captain Strawn. who
comes with fingerprint men and
detectives and learns that a sma’l
grip which Is now gone was In that
room when it was searched before.
He believes that Sprague used the
room and was told by Nita to clear
out. Lydia came up to tell him to
take his things out. Sprague return-
ed that evening and got the grip.
Despite this. Dundee doesn’t be-
lieve Sprague did it.
Now Go On With The Story
CHAPTER XXV
Bonnie Dundee's first thought
upon awakening that Sunday morn-
ing was that it might prove to be
! rather a pity that his new bachelor
apartment as he loved to call his
three rooms at the top of a lodg-
ing house which had once been a
fashionable private home faced
south and west rather than east.
At the Rhodes House whose board-
ing house clamor and lack of priv-
I acy he had abandoned upon taking
the flattering job and decent sal-
ary of "special Investigator attach-
ed to the district attorney’s office."
he had grown accustomed to using
the hot morning sun upon his re-
luctant eyelids as an a’arm clock.
But—he continued the train of
thought after discovering by his
wa*ch that it was only 8:40—it was
pretty darned nice having "dig-
gings" like these. Quiet and pri-
vate For he was the only tenant
now on the top floor. His iary eyes
roved over the plain severity but
solid r^ort of his bedroom and
on past the open door to take in
appreciatively the equally comfort-
able and masculine living rcom
Pretty nice! That leather-uphols-
tered couch and armchair had been
a real bargain and he liked them
all the better for being rather
scuffed and shabby. Then his eyes
halted upon a covered cage swung
from a pedestal.
"Poor old Cap’s!.. .Must be won-
dering when the devil I’m going to
get up!" and he swung out of bed.
lounged sleenily into the small liv-
ing room and whisked the square of
black silk from the cage.
The parrot formerly the property
of nvvdered old Mrs. Hogarth of
the Rhodes House but for the past
year the young detective’s official
I “Watson." ruffled his feathers
poked h!s green-and-yellow head
between the bars of his cage and
croaked hoarsely: "Hullo! Hullo!"
"Hullo yourse’f. my dear Wat-
son!" Dundee retorted "Your vaca-
tion is over old top! It's back on
the job for you and me both!...
Winch reminds me that I ought to
be taking a squint at the Sunday
papers to see how much Captain
Strawn thought fit to tell the press."
• • •
He found The Hamilton Morning
New* in the hall just outside his
living rcom door.
"Listen Cap’n... "NITA SELIM
MURDERED AT BRIDGE’ ..Prob
ably the snappiest streamer head-
line the News has had for many a
day.. .Now let's see—*' He was alien*
for two minutes while his eyes
leaped down the lesser headlines
and the story of the murder. Then.
"Good old Strawnl Not a word my
dear Watson about your absurd
masters absurd performance in
having 'the death hand at bridge'
replayed! Not a word about Ralph
Hammond the missing guest! Not a
word about Mrs. Tracey Miles being
hidden away in the clothes closet
while her hostess was being mur-
dered!...in fact my dear Watson
not a word about anything except
a word about anything except
Strain's own theory that a hired
gunman from New York or Chi-
cago—preferably Nitas home town.
New York of course—sneaked up.
crouched in her window and bump-
ed her off. And life-size photo-
graphs to prove his theory!..*By
golly Cap'n! I clean forgot to tell
my former chief that I’d found
Nitas will and note to Lydia! He'll
think I deliberately held out on
I him...Well—I can't sit here all
day gossiping with you. Work-
much work—to be done then—
Sunday dinner with poor little
Penny.”
Four hours later a tired and dis-
spirited young detective was climb-
ing the stairs of the five-story
"walk up" apartment house in w’hich
Penny Crain and her mother had
been living since the financial fail-
ure and flight of the husband and
father. Roger Crain
"Hello there!” It was Penny’s
friendly voice hailing him from the
topmost landing of the steep stairs.
"All winded poor thing?”
His eyes drank her In—the fresh-
ness and sweetness of a domestic
Penny Crain so different from the
; thorny little office Penny who prid-
; ed herself on her efficiency as sec-
j retary to the district attorney.
Penny in a flowered voile with a
saucy ruffled white apron .... But
there were purplish shadow’s under
her brown eyes and her gayety
lasted only until he had reached
her side.
“Sh-h-h!— Have they found
Ralph?” she whispered anxiously.
He could only answer “No.”
"Mother s all of a twitter at my
having a detective to dinner.” she
whispered trying to be gay again.
"She fancies you'll be wearing size
11 shoes and a 'six-shooter' at your
belt— Yes Mother! It's Mr. Dun-
dee!”
She did not look "all of a twitter.”
this pretty but rather faded middle-
aged little mother of Penny's. A
gentle dignity and patient sadness
which Dundee was sure were habit-
ual of her lay in the faded blue
' eyes and upon the soft sweet
mouth.
But Mrs Crain was ushering him
into the living room and its charm
made him forget for the moment
! that the Crains were to be pitied
because of their "come-dowti” in
life. For every piece of furniture
seemed to be authentic early Ameri-
can. and the hooked rugs and fine
brocaded damasks allied themselves
with the fine old furniture to de-
feat the ugliness with which the
Maple Court apartments' architect
• had been fiercely determined to pun-
j lsh its tenants.
“'Scuse me! Gotta dish up!”
Penny flung over her shoulder as
she ran away and left him alone
with her mother.
• • •
Dundee liked Mrs. Crain for mak-
ing no excuses about a maid they
couldn't afford liked the way she
settled into a lovely ancient rocker
and set herself to entertain him
while her daughter made ready the
1 dinner.
Not a word was said about the
horrible tragedy which had occur-
red the day before in the house
which had once been her home.
They talked of Penny’s work and
the ’ little gentlewoman listened
eagerly with only the faintest of
sighs as Dundee humorously de-
scribed Penny's fierce efficiency and
■j Tim Main Si_4
'!
Intimate Glimpses of the Valley’s Alley
- BY J. R.
Along Elizabeth .... Christmas Statistics .... But Don’t Go ’Way
.... New Year ?leit On Program .... Buffalo Meat
.... A Final Christmas Crack.
_ _ __• . .. « a i_ aa Ian
Along tiiMDcm
Here it is Sunday and Christ-
mas is history... .Sunday Dec. 28
three days after the Yuletidc cel-
ebration and many faces along the
mam stem look like their owners
enjoyed a rather boisterous day...
we see some new faces too.
rather some old faces that have
been missing from Brownsville for
a long time... .Oscar C. Dancy Jr.
and wife Margaret.. .from Orange.
Texas_visiting friends and rel-
atives in Brownsville.driving
along and shouting to old com-
pares_John A. Vlvier. attorney
from Houston-talking to brother
Joe. who owns and manages the
Vivier Music shop....Johnny as
far as we know is unmarried....
Cliff Hansen of the Hansen Con-
struction company of Harlingen...
strutting along the main stem In
a new suit.... Cliff is well known
locally used to make whoopee here
... Robert Rentfro son of the
mayor_back from college—for
the holidays—for that matter
there is a flock of colleglates back
in town — too many to name....
so we won’t try...
• • •
A New Cry
Christmas is over at last and
scattf*d over the United States
are the following:
3095384 broken toys.
10537.472 splitting heads.
1.462.856 cases of indigestion.
146.294.344 dishes of trukey hash
84.582 wrecked cars.
138.472.497 broken window panes
1.485.562 fathers counting ties.
95 374.284 discarded Xmas trees
18.485584 yards of discarded dec-
orations In ashcans.
1594.283505 persons visiting oth-
er persons
9547575 gifts carefully filed away
to be given out next year.
And so on far into the night.
The kiddies have a new chant:
“Only 364 more days until Chiist-
' mas!”
• 66
What No Torkey?
I The Hugo UUda family didn't
lia>o i ui r*v v svt -
as we know. But they ate some-
thing that used to be as common
as beef and is now as rare and a&
hard to find as a generous Scotch-
man.
They had buffalo meat for din-
ner. The meat was a gift from
the famous Pawnee Bill who Is
breeding buffalo up in Oklahoma.
The Milde family said that the
meat was delicious but Mr. Milde
stated that he preferred Just plain
everyday beef.
Ike Club also of Brownsville
received a chunk of buffalo meat
from Pawnee Bill too.
• • •
Next on the Program
Next on the program ladies and
gentlemen we have New Years
Day—to some a more boisterous
celebration than Christmas.
The huge Matamoros fc~m*i ball
always attracts hundreds of Val-
ley citizens each and every one
dressed up in fish and soup. Or is
it soup and fish?
It is rumored—but were not
positive—that the two international
bridges will remain open all night.
They usually do.
Have a big time but remember
that Cameron county officers are
hardboiled about persons driving a
car while blotto. It's a fine and
two weeks in jail—which Is not so
fine.
• • •
A Last Crack
Before we drop this Christmas
business entirely we want to make
one more remark.
If all the type that was used
during the past two weeks to write
the one word “Christmas" was laid
end to end. it would contain enough
lead to make a railroad track en-
tirely around the work! : "vd then
have enough left over to make a
ten-mile detour around Chicago.
On the other hand if this lead
was used for bullets for Chicago
gangsters they could use it up in
1 about three days.
A FEW LITTLE ‘SMACKS’ UNDER THE MISTLETOE!
i± ^
District Attorney Sanderson's keen
delight in her work.
“Bill Sanderson is a nice boy"
the woman of perhaps 48 said of
Hamilton's 35-year-old district at-
torney. "It Is nice for Penny to
work with an old friend of the fam-
ily. or was—until—"
And that was the nearest she
came to mentioning the murder be-
fore Penny summoned them to the
little dining room.
Because Penny was watching him
and was obviously proud of her
skill ss a cook—skill recently ac-
quired he was sure—Dundee ate as
heartily as his carefully concealed
depression would permit. There was
a beautifully browned roast of beef
pan-browned potatoes new peas es-
callopcd tomatoes and. for dessert
a gelatine pudding which Penny
proudly announced was “Spanish
cream" the secret of which she had
mastered only that morning.
"I was up almost at dawn to make
it. so that it would 'set’ in time"
she told him. Dundee knew that it
was not Spanish cream that had got
i her up.
“I'm going to help wash dishes.*’
he announced firmly and Penny j
with a quick intake of breath agreed.
“Hadn't you better take a nap
Mother?" she added a minute later
as Mrs. Crain with a slight flush on
! her faded cheeks began to stuck the
dessert dishes “You mustn't lay a
hand on those dishes or Bonnie and
I will have our dishwashing picnic
spoiled .... Run along now. You
need sleep dear."
“Not any more than you do poor
baby!*’ Mrs. Crain quavered and
then hurried out of the room.
"I called you 'Bonnie' so Mother
would know we are really friends."
Penny explained her cheeks red. as
she preceded him through the swing-
ing door into the miniature kitchen.
"You’ll stick to that — being
friends I mean no matter what
happens won’t you. Penny?" Dun-
dee said in a low voice setting the
j fragile crystal dishes he carried
upon the porcelain drainboard of
the sink.
"I knew you had something bad
to tell me — Its about—Ralph. I
suppose?” Her husky voice was
scarcely audible above the rush of
hot water into the dishpan. "Youd
better tell me straight off. Bonnie
I'm not a very patient person_
Are they going to arrest Ralph
when they find him? There wasn't
a word in the paper about him this
morning—"
i(i
“I'm afraid they are. Penny."
Dundee told her miserably. "Cap-
tain Strawn has a warrant ready
i but of course—”
"Oh you don’t have to tell me
you hope Ralph Isn't guilty!" she
cut In with sudden passionate
vehemence. "Don't I know he
couldn't have done It? They always
arrest the wrong person first the
blundering idiots—"
It was the thorny Penny again
the Penny with glittering eyes
which matched her nickname. But
Dundee felt better able to cope
with this Penny....
"I'm afraid I’m the chief idiot
but you must believe that I’m
sorry that It should be a friend of
yours" he told her and reached
for the plate she had rinsed of its
suds under the hot water tap.
"Shoot the works!" she com-
manded. with hard flippancy. “Of
course I might have known that
Captain Strawn's theory about a
gunman was just dust in our eyes
and that only a miracle could keep
you from fastening on poor Ralph
since he and the gun are both
missing- Naturally it wouldn't
occur to you that it might be an
outsider someone who had fol-
lowed Nita and her lover Sprague
j from New York to kill her for
i having left him for Sprague.
Oh no! Certainly not!" she gibed
to keep from bursting Into tears
“An outsider would hardly have
access to Judge Marshalls pistol
and Maxim silencer” he reminded
her. "And Captain Strawn received
a wire from a ballistic# expert in
Chicago this morning confirming
our conviction that the same gun
which fired the bullets against
Judge Marshall's target fired the
bullet which killed Nita Selim...
You've washed that plate lone
enough. Let me dry it now_And
there are other things. Penny—’’
“Such as—" she challenged.
"Sprague admitted to me this
morning after I had confronted
him with proofs that he some-
times slept in the upstairs rooms—"
“ told you they were lovers!"
Penny interrupted.
“—and that he slept there Fri-
day night after he and Nita had
quarreled. He still contends that
the row was over that movie-of -
Hamilton business" Dundee went
on. as If she had not spoken. "He
< admitted also that Nita had told
| him to take his things away when
be left Saturday morning nut he
\
says it was only because she didn't
want Ralph Hammond to find a 1
man's • belongings there if he had
occasion to go into the upstairs
rooms In making his estimates for
the finishing up of the other side.
But he contends and Lydia Carr
whom I also saw again this morn-
ing. supports him in it that he
stayed in the house occasionally
when Nita was particularly ner-
vous about being alone and that
they were not lovers.”
’ ’ *
“Pooh!....Don’t wipe the flowers
off that plate. Heres another.'
"I'm inclined to say 'Pooh!' too.
Penny” Dundee assured her “but
Tracey Miles told me last night
when he came to get Lydia that
Nita really seemed to be in love
with Ralph—part of the time at
least.”
“Nita thought enough of Dexter
Sprague to send for him to come
down here and to root her head
off for him to get the Job of making
the movie” Penny reminded him
fiercely making a great splashing
in the dishpan.
“Then—you don’t think she was
in love with Ralph?” Dundee a^ked.
“Oh I don't know!” the girl
cried. ”1 thought so sometimes-
had the grace to hope so. anyway
since Ralph was so crazy about
her.”
"Thats the point. Penny.’’ Dun-
dee told her gently. "Everyone
I’ve talked to this morning includ-
ing Sprague seems sure that Ralph j
Hamilton was mad about Nita
Selim.”
“So of course he would kill her!”
Penny scoffed bitterly.
“Yes. Penny—when he discovered
Sprague's easily-recognized cravats
draped over the mirror frame in a
bedroom in Nita's house_ For
they were there to be seen when
Ralph went into that bedroom
yesterday morning.”
“How do you know he saw
them?”
“Because he left this behind
him.” Dundee admitted reluctant-
ly and wiped his hands before
drawing an initialed silver pencil
from his breast pocket. “I found it
under the edge of the bed The
initials are R. H.”
“Yes I recognize it” Penny ad-
mitted turning sharply away. “I
gave it to him myself for a Christ-
mas present. I thought I could af-
ford to give silver pencils away
then. Dad hadn't bolted yet—” She
crooked an elbow and leaned her
face against it for a moment. Tien
she flung up her brown bobbed
head defiantly. “Well?”
Ralph must hare been—well. In
a pretty bad way. since he loved
Nita and wanted to—marry her”
Dundee persisted painfully. "Re-
member that Polly Beale found him
still there when she stopped to
offer Nita & lift to Breakaway Inn.
It is not hard to imagine what
took place. We know that Polly
curtly canceled her luncheon en-
gagement with Nita and the rest
of you. and went into town will;
Ralph after making sure that Clive
would Join them. I saw young
Hammond myself for an instant
without knowing who he was. and
I remember now thinking that he
looked far too in to eat. I was
lunching at the Stuart House my-
self when they came Into the
dining room you know.”
“Plenty to hang him on I seel**
Penny cried furiously.
“Theres a little more. Penny”
Dundee went on. “Polly Beale and
Clive Hammond were mortally
afraid that Ralph would come to
the cocktail party! I'm sure Clive
made Ralph promise to stay away
and that both Clive and Polly did
not trust him to k—o his promise.
That is why 1 am sure Clive beck-
oned Polly to Join him in the
solarium without entering the liv-
ing room to speak to Nita. You
remember they said they stayed
there all during the playing of—"
• • •
“If you call it the ‘death hand’
again. I'll scream!”
“All right — They stayed there
until Karen discovered the mur-
der. I am sure they chose that
place because of its many windows
—they could watch for Ralph's
car dash out and head him off.
Take him away by force If necces-
sary to keep him from making a
scene. I believe they knew he had
murder in his heart and that he
would find a way to get a gun— ‘
“Have you also found out that
he stole Hugo’s guu yesterday?”
“I have found that it was pos-
sible for him to do **r Dundee
said slowly. ‘‘The butler was off
for the afternoon until six o’clock.
There was no one in the houseT>uVX^<
the nursemaid and the
months-old baby.” •r
“Well? And I suppose you thinlr
Clive and Polly didn’t have a
chance to head Ralph off. as you
say. but that they did see him run-
ning away after he killed her?”
Her voice was still brittle with
anger but there were indecision
and fear in It too.
“No” Dundee replied “I don t
think they saw' him. I feel pretty
sure he came into the house by the
back way and through the back
hall into Nitas room. He must
have known Clive and Polly would
be on the lookout for him.... At
any rate. I have proof that who-
ever shot Nita from in front of
that window' near the porch door
fled toward the back hall.”
And he told her of the bi*
bronze lamp whose bulb had been
broken reminding her of Its place
at the head of the chaise longue
which was set between the two
N’st windows.
That was the bang or bump’
Flora Miles heard while she was
hiding in the closet." he explained.
“I suppose Flora has told all of
you about it?.I thought so.
Muffled as she was in the closet
it is unlikely that she could have
Heard Nita's frantic whisperings to
Ralph — I doubt If he spoke at
all....Nita must have been sure
he was leaving by the porch door—”
Dimly there came the ring of the
telephone With a curt word.
Penny excused herself to answer
it. Dundee went on polishing glass-
es with a fresh towel_
“Bonnie!” Penny was coming
back walking like a sonambulist
her brown eyes wide and fixed.
’ That was—Ralph! And he
even know Nita is dead!"
fTo Be Continued)
X Prices X
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^ and service desired. ^
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The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 177, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 28, 1930, newspaper, December 28, 1930; Brownsville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1393208/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .