Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

314 body was found at six this morning by a milkman. It was examined within twenty minutes. The surgeon said the chap had not yet settled into rigor mortis. There- fore, Tan Tock was not killed until some time after midnight, at least.” Thornton stared at him, dismayed. The officer pursued his line of reasoning. “ Granting this time of the murder, your red drip is all nonsense. So is your argu- ment about the newspaper ad. Here’s what I think abouf it! That ad got into the bull-pup editions, and Tan Tock, who was watching for it, came right up here. John* Duck killed him and carried the body out into the street. Get me? Now, if we had any means of knowing whether John Duck had a caller last night—” An exclamation broke from Thornton. . “He did! He did! My wife woke me up and said that she heard the elevator creak- ing—it sticks, you know, and you have to shake the cable just so to make it go on— and I remember hearing the cable shak- ng - The captain of detectives rose.. “Come on, let’s go!” he said briskly. “This guy goes to the chair. We'll run up _and collar him here and now. n and shut—open and shut, I tel! you!”’ Thornton nodded, and picked up the roll of skin. III. Joun Ducx opened the door to his calt- ers with a bow. He displayed no surprise nor perturbation when Thornton, instead of re- turning his greeting, threw back his coat to show a badge, and then the police captain followed suit. “Please come in,” he asked, holding the door open. “You bet,” said the captain, swiftly | catching his wrist. “I want you for the murder of Tan Tock late last night. What you got to say about it?” John Duck attempted no resistance. He blinked at his two visitors, and swallowed hard. Then he responded, in a voice that was unsteady : “You,” shot out the officer. ‘“‘ We know aH about it—about the brass snake, and Digitized by Go ogle ‘ARGOSY-ALLSTORY. -WEEKLY. about Tan. Tock coming here to get it, and you cuttin’ his throat: Now—”* ‘‘J—I think you have made a mistake,” said Joha Duck gently. “ Don’t try to pull that with uws—we're hep!”’ said the officer savagely. “Got any- thing you want to say before we calf the wagon?” John Duck glanced from one to the other, then nodded. ‘PH tell you the wicks thing,” he said meekly. “ Sit down, gentlemen. I suppese you saw my advertisement, amd traced it to me?” The captain did net amswer. He frisked his prisoner, found no weapon, lecked the - doer, and returned. The main thing, as Thornton realized, was to get John Duck’s confession at. once; so Thornton let the officer manage affairs. “You're from Singapore?” asserted the captain. ‘‘ Same as Tan Tock?” John Duck nodded without surprise. He seemed resigned to telling all he knew. The three men were sitting in the main room of the apartment the ome adorned with brocades and glittering, whiskered gods of gold lacquer. Thornton glanced into the adjoining chamber, which con- tained the retorts and work-bench and eriel windows; he looked for red stains near the windows, but found none. John Duck took a cigarette from # box on the table beside him, lighted it, and talked, \ “T am frem Singapore,” He said easily. “FE went to college in England, then re- turned home on a vacation, after three years of education. The temple at. which my family worshiped contained that brazen dragon, yonder.” He waved his hand toward the dragon— a tall creature of brass, standing three feet high, holding in one claw a large crystal ‘“ ne brass,” he pursued, work, old and very historic, and valuable. One day it was stolen from the temple and vanished. Together with other men, I searched for it vainly. Then J came to this country and settled here in New York to study. One day, not long ago, I found this historic dragor in a pawn-shop, kept by one