Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 21, 1922 — page 80: what you’re looking at

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

710 been there then, but had been expected back shortly. The landlady had gone out. In her absence Thornton had returned. The assumption presumably was that he had killed Thornton then. He had to prove that he had not been in the house—that he had not seen Thorn- ton after their encounter in the superin- tendent’s office. As that fact stood out, he caught his breath sharply. What about the girl—Sutherland’s daughter? She would know that he had not been in the house. She had been there herself. Had she killed Thornton? Had Thorn- ton been in the house all the time she had been there, with the knowledge of the land- lady or without it? He took up the paper again. A theory of how Thornton had been killed was of course advanced. He had been shot to death with a re- volver of small caliber. The coroner had easily established that. Just how had he been shot? The reporters drew a vivid pen-picture. Apparently Thornton had just come in. His umbrella, still damp, had been found in the hall below. He was wear- ing his rubbers. He had not removed his coat, though it was damp. His hat had lain near him as if it had dropped off when he had fallen. That seemed to dispose of the question as to whether he had been in the house when Shelby inquired of him. But there were other entrances to the house. He might have come in by one of those while the landlady was ovt. Miss Sutherland would have been there. Shelby remembered now that he had not noticed lights in the house. There might have been one in the parlor, back of drawn blinds. The girl might have sat waiting in the parlor. The door might have been closed. Thornton might have come in and gone up-stairs, unaware of her presence. She might have stolen after him and shot him. He pictured her again as he had first encountered her. He recalled the hard hos- tility which had been in her manner as she had confronted him. She had seemed to lack the girlishness which her years would have given her. Certainly she was a girl of admirable poise. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Gad!” said Shelby to himself. “If she had reason enough, she’d have nerve enough.” Again he took up the paper and went through the story, line by line. Nowhere was there any mention of Miss Sutherland. Indeed, a reporter had asked the landlady if Thornton had had any other callers that night, and the landlady had answered that- he had had none. And yet the girl had ad- mitted that she had gone to the house to see Thornton, adding that “ something else’ besides the wreck and the missing order had taken her there. It was certainly very curious. He felt the urgent necessity of seeing Miss Suther- land at once. Remembering her gray eyes, he hesitated to draw her into the case till he had had a chance to talk to her. He smiled grimly as he reflected that he doubt- less wouldn’t draw any one into the case right away. He could not speak without betraying himself, and his notion just now was that he was going to fight to the limit to be free every minute. The men from the factory had left the restaurant now, he discovered, and he put some change on top of the check the girl had left beside his plate and started for the door. He had almost gained the door when he saw the portly form of a police- man swing into view beyond the front win- dow. The policeman was looking straight ahead, but Shelby turned and walked back to his table. The waitress was there. “It’s funny how giddy I feel,” he said. ‘“* Wonder if I could have another drink?” “* Sure,” the girl said. She handed him a glass and he went to the cooler, and with his back to the win- dow, drank slowly. Then he returned to the girl. The sight of the policeman had shocked him into a realization that he must hide himself more completely than he was now hidden. He must have another estab- lished identity. A name and a job were what he needed. His overalls and jumper had given him an idea. “Any of these factories need men?” he asked. “TI say they do,” the girl replied. “ They’re workin’ night and day now. Can you run a machine?” comicloool C©