Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 158: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

- ~~ ‘ me eG eTTET® Bn rtm. = ° a- eo~ * ‘ Soh eee “wae - ° > . oe -* -_ #-- eee ie 532 ARGOSY- ALLSTORY WEEKLY. self ‘ Hildreth ’?”” McCarty shot the name at him and for a moment the man’s pale _ eyelids quivered, but he gave no other sign. ‘No, sir. I never heard of her, sir.” “Then you didn’t know that that is an alias of Ilsa Helwig’s, the housemaid who stole Mrs. Creveling’s emeralds and jumped her bail?”’ ‘No, sir. Is it, indeed?” “It is,” responded McCarty grimly. ‘‘ And I suppose you’re not stuck on her? You're not known as ‘ Mr. Hildreth ’ down in the neighborhood where she lived before we arrested her again last night? You didn’t leave this house last night between eleven and twelve by shinning over the back fences and go down there, only to run into _ a dick from headquarters who was trailing you and get scared off before ever you had a chance to see her?” ““I—TI did not.” The shot had told, and at McCarty’s mendacious statement of the woman’s arrest Hill had visibly winced. ‘“‘ 1 don’t know what you are talking about. I never heard of any woman named ‘ Hil- dreth,’ and I wasn’t out of the house last night.” “Mr. Udell!” McCarty raised his voice firmly, and the shrinking figure of the night clerk from ‘the Third Avenue drug-store appeared in the door of the breakfast-room. ‘‘ Who is this man?” “ It’s Mr. Hildreth, sir;’ he stammered. “You'd swear to it?” “Td have to, sir, it’s the truth. . Oh, Mr. Hildreth, I hope you'll realize I’m not deing this of my own accerd! I hated to come and give you away like this!” “What have you to say, Hill?” Mc- Carty cut the druggist’s lamentations ab- ruptly shert. Hill drew himself up, and staring straight into Udell’s eyes, he said dis- tinctly: “ Nothing, sir. I never saw this man be- fore in all my life.”” Then all at once he began to tremble uncentrollably. “I haven’t seen Ilsa Helwig since she was _ taken away frem here under arrest! I don’t know any one dewn on Third Ave- nue. I’ve never been there! ”’. “Then how did you know this man came from there? I haven’t said anything about Third Avenue! it was near there the Hildreth woman lived? “You're under arrest, Hill, for the murder of Eugene Creveling!” CHAPTER XXVII. WADE TERHUNE EXPERIMENTS. O Jimmie Ballard’s joy and gratitude he secured his “ beat,” and the Bul- lettin made the most of its exclusive story of Hill’s arrest. McCarty put in a busy afternoon and promptly at a quarter befere eight that night Dennis Riordan made his appearance at the other’s rooms. He was spick and span in a new suit that seemed oddly bulky on his spare form, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and dewn like a buoy, above a collar several sizes too tight for even his thin neck, but although the night wind had the sharp edge of an approaching storm, beads of perspiration stoed out upon his brow. He walked, too, with a singularly noiseless tread as he ad- vanced to the table and laid thereon a pair of bright yellew, semitransparent gloves. The disapproval with which McCarty eyed them changed quickly to curiosity. “Ts it airs you’re putting on, Denny, with your gloves? They look like rubber te me! If that’s the latest style, you male fashion manikin—” ‘Rubber they are, and ’tis protection, not airs,” interrupted Dennis with the de- fensive dignity of one anticipating ridicule. “ And if ‘twill interest you to know it, I’ve rubber-soled boots on, and _ rubberized clothes under these! I’ve no mind to let myself in for any shocks from Terhune’s machines! ” “And I suppose along with your Saint Joseph in. your pecket you’ve got a hare’s feot and one of those little worsted Rin- -tintins like Molly’s husband brought back from France!’ McCarty’s tone sounded the depths of scorn.. “ There’s an old la- dies’ home I’ve been contributing to for years in memory of my mother, with never a soul of my own to get the-benefit of it, but I’m thinking ’twill be just the place fof you, my lad!” ‘Qld woman or no!” Dennis retorted How did you know ECOMRNIC SOOKKS. .CO fy