Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 81: what you’re looking at

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

THE LEDBURY FIST. “B43. ‘ Does it seem to you a sensible idea?” ' “Jt seems the only sensible one to me,” Evelyn said firmly. As soon as Inspector Lewis had finished with her, Mrs. Harland began to hurry Evelyn away. Dick walked quickly to the door and Evelyn-turned a white but pitifully smiling face to him. “Good luck,” she said. beastly for you, isn’t it? help you more.” “You have helped me, and much more than you realize,” he replied gravely. Inspector Lewis looked up from some notes he was making and spoke to Dick. ‘“T have nothing more to ask you now, sir,” he said. “You mean I can go?” “ Yes, but I want you to hold yourself in readiness whenever we may require you. That is to say, don’t leave London. Where are you staying?” “With me,” Jimmy Creigh put in hope- fully. It seemed almost incredible to him that old Dick wasn’t immediately to have a pair of those ghastly handcuffs screwed on to his wrists; or that he himself wasn’t, for that matter. “T believe you have Mr. Creigh’s ad- dress,”’ the inspector said to the stenogra- pher, who nodded. ‘Oh, just one thing, Mr. Ardell. Can you think of any one who might have suffi- cient cause to dislike you to the extent of trying to fasten this crime on you? Yes- terday you mentioned that type of hand- writing to be characteristic of your old school.”’ ‘“ By jove, yes!” Jimmy Creigh chipped in. ‘ There was Bruce Norwich—he didn’t love you much, did he, Dick?” “Tt’s rather I wish I could CHAPTER AIII. TRACING BRUCE NORWICH. T was very irritating as Jimmy Creigh said to Dick that evening when they were having a subdued meal together in the privacy of his flat, most irritating that that inspector Johnnie with his haw-haw manner and airs and graces—you’d never take him as having ever been a conimon or garden policeman, would you?—well, any- way, it was tiresome of Lewis to turn you inside out and keep you on a hot grid, and all that, when he’d got some priceless infor- mation up his sleeve that he wasn’t giving away, only to every blessed newspaper in London. Making a complete fool of you when all the time the thing was coming out in the papers. And the thing which had come out that very evening was the request, accompanied by a photograph of the man, that a certain Bruce Norwich, known to have been a great deal in the company of the murdered woman for several months before her death, would acquaint the police with his present where- abouts and explain his movements on the night of the crime. Jimmy Creigh had every reason to feel irritated. For three solid hours after he had blurted out Bruce Norwich’s name to Inspector Lewis, Dick and he had been persuaded into retailing an intimate his- tory of their lives, particularly as: regarded old days at Clavering. And the inspector hadn’t dealt a bit gently with them either. Jimmy had been badly frightened by his severe attitude. It seemed it was a rather serious thing to suggest that somebody might have tried to fasten a murder on you. ‘“ And all the time,” raged Jimmy, “ that mincing-tongued ‘ Miss Nancy’ of the po- lice peerage had this priceless thing up his sleeve. Why couldn’t he have told us, in- stead of making us tell him?” “1 don’t know,” Dick said wearily. He’d had all the discussion he wanted for one day. 7 At this point the telephone rang, and Jimmy answered it. When he came back he was struggling into his overcoat. “It was Justina,” he said. ‘‘ She wants me.” Justina?” Dick asked in some bewil- derment. Jimmy grinned. be formal, the Marchesa di Trevi has com- manded my immediate attendance.” “What for?” ‘““How do I know? Or perhaps we can both guess,” Jimmy replied. ‘She told “Oh, well, if I must - sam ‘ead = Sa => 2 se : =a a4 e % 3 fH Gomichbooks ‘ . ve, As oe | - a * et be eR LA ey se Juba!) BAY as aN * evar Atay vu ‘ ote Pye Pe e Te i i SR te ee ee a Oia! PAR ,, F See ite ee Peete: Pe PN Re Ph War a Ws SS les ale AR ars al ad v a ds