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STRANGE ABSENCE b/ Chapter X X V II H AAPY ever A l IY N (Conclusion). after SI PAN . " Say M. Perichon, how did you get on to the fact that de Laurier was a < ong 'un?" asked Dan. Perichon beamed: " I--I am Peri chon, and Perichon never forgets. Once, long ago, I saw de Laurier with A nia Dushkin, one w ho should be in prison ten tim es over if one could only convict her, but always she is too clever. I ask m yself is de Laur ier her accom plice o r her victim. I get M adem oiselle to confide in me; w e make a little plan. Ah, she is cour ageous, Mademoiselle. I give her a metal cigarette lighter and one night at the opera when she wears fine white gloves she asks the Baron to light it for her." Rivaux handed Peri chon the lighter. " H ere it is. you see." " Finger prin ts!" exclaimed Grant. Perichon laughed: " But yes, my friend. I sent it to Paris and the prints w ere identified. De Laurier was known to the police under the names of D ecartes and Morin." " The telegram !" cried Washburn and Grant together. " But how did you g et a line on that v illa?" "Again, I guessed when M. Gra ham 's lighter was found on the hill. I say to m yself `Go and look.' I And that the villa belongs to Mme. San tron. I make enquiries o f a fisher man and find that sh e is a big lady with red hair and dark eyes. `Ah, I say to Perichon, `mon vieux, it is Ania Dushkin, and som ewhere there is a connection " " But what w as she doing in my Tilla?" asked Dan's sister, Elsa Van Dyke. Rivaux stood up importantly. I can tell you that, 'it was I who ex amined Marie, the servant who show ed her over the villa. When the Dushkin was in your room, Madame she discovered that she had left her bag in her car and sent Marie down to get it. It was then that she took an im pression o f the safe lock. The key was in de Laurier's pocket when h e was taken." Rivaux sat down and Perichon bow ed to him. " My colleague, you see, has the great brain. You w ill get promotion for this, m on ami, without a doubt. " I should say-- " sm iled Washburn, g his elbow into Grant's ribs. " *'But what happened to the red-haired dam e?" " Ah Ania Dushkin-- she was in the Swallow-- the yacht Mademoiselle has mentioned-- waiting for de Laurier. She, too, has been taken. Now I can see that Mile. Jeanne is tired and i d o not wonder, so there is nothing m ore to do but to give back Mme. Van D yke her ring." The Am erican woman gasped: `D'you mean that you've actually go it ? '* Perichon signed to the third man at the table. " Give it, give it, he ·aid. This individual arose, presented Mrs Van D yke w ith a small parcel and begged her to sign a receipt · `Gee, Sir, what d'you know about ihat." laughed her brother. Doreen W inton half rose as she itamm ered: " D'you mean that you fcave my pearls to o ? " Perichon smiled, and everyone lis tened keenly for his reply. Doreen s hands went to her head, the scarlet nails seeming absolutely lund against her white face. E veryone expected Perichon to hand Doreen her pearls hut although he held the box in hi hand, there was a strange expression ©n his face. .. " There is ju st one m ere thing, w ill not take a minute, but it is nec®s' >ary-- very necessary. Our mystery is solved, but there is still 1 one point. pauvre M. Graham who is dead and his sister are not quite cleai v et o f-- er-- certain charges-- y Jean caught her breath and be cam e a little* paler wmlst a frown gathered on Grant's brow. Perichon, however, ignored these signals, and speaking in carelessly measured tones and looking intently at Doreen, he pursued: " Mme W inton has accused M. Gra ham of taking her pearls " " It's a lie," hissed the woman. " No, Madame," retaliated the de. tective with asperity. " It is not a lie. You have said so more than once before several w itnesses." " O, what does it m atter?" Jean broke in, but Grant's arm stole around her and in a moment she nodded to Perichon to go on. " Not only has Madame accused Monsieur, but she said Mademoiselle was an accom plice to the theft, or at least knew where the pearls were "How dare y o u !' ' Leaping to her feet, Doreen stamped her foot and swinging round to her husband, cried: " Why don't you say something, Geof frey? Stop h im !" But W inton's red face wore a sulky obstinate expression and he did not m ove: " Be quiet, Doreen," he ordered. " Yes, Madame," warned Perichon. " It would be as well-- but it would be better even if you were to tell the truth." Exquisite Quality Curbs on Press Eased by Berlin As Readers Drop Falling O ff in Circulation Alarms Ministry -- Still Far From Freedom GREEN TEA Even the Chancellor him self recent ly declared ``it is no fun to read 11 papers all o f w hich have almost the same wording." Lest the concessions be taken too literally they w ere accom panied by a warning that criticism for criticism 's sake would not be tolerated. Criti cism must be linked with positive performance. This conform s with a recent remark o f Herr Hitler that " I w ill not stand for a press which ex clusively exists to destroy what we are trying to build up." 712 Also in Black and Mixed Audience Gets Even LONDON, Eng.-- The score is " all even" in the exchange of scoldings and rebukes between Sir Thoma 3 Beecham, noted conductor, and Co vent Garden opera-goers. Sir Thomas went one up at the op ening o f the season May 1st when he subdued a babble of conversation and ill-timed applause with a " shut up, y o u !" The audience got even recently and liked it. Gotterdammerung was being per form ed in tw o sections and when the audience was reseated punctually for the second section there was no sign o f Sir Thomas. A fter waiting several minutes, galleryites began to clap impatiently. They kept up the demonstration un til the conductor appeared. Then follow ed a burst o f ironical cheers and laughter from the house. Sir Thomas, apparently unmoved, waited for the noise to subside, tap ped for th e orchestra to begin--and things went along smoothly. It w as explained later th at the audi ence's retaliatory rebuke to Sir Thomas was in reality undeserved, since the delay was due to trouble with the stage scenery. " You--you're mad! 1 won't stay here and be " " Sit d ow n !" W inton grasped his w ife's shoulder and swung her down into her chair again. "Go on," he snapped. " But as you do not seem able to tell the truth, I will do so for you-- to save Mademoiselle's honor." One could have heard a pin drop in the room, and the ticking of the little clock on the mantelpiece sounded ab surdly loud in the silence. Moving the least bit nearer and standing directly before Mrs. Winton, Perichon continued: " You gave those pearls to Euan Graham and begged him to take them to Paris, to Chantiers. You said: `Sell them and I will give you £ 2,000 to repay de Laurier. The rost will save me. I owe it to " ``You--you brute, how dare y o u !" Doreen was beside herself with fury, stamping her foot and letting out hard, dry sobs o f rage. "Prove it! Prove it! You're ly in g !" she screamed. But when Perichon drew out a let ter from a T5®cket-booET w hich Jean recognized as1 her brother's, D ^ een W inton's ranting gave place to a sil ence of stark terror. " Your letter to M. Graham, Madame. Shall I read it? " "G eoffrey!" Doreen turned to her husband, who, however, walked to the door and held it open. She hesitat ed, then tossing her head and hold ing it aggressively, she passed him. The door was closing on them when Perichon called: " Madame, your pearls! ' Geoffrey stepped back, took the box, signed for it, then followed his wife from the room. Perichon blew out his cheeks and wiped his glistening brow. Then ten dering the pocket-book, he said: " It was found in the Baron's pocket, Mademoiselle. I daresay he was keep" ing it for some purpose of blackmail." " Monsieur," Jean grasped the old man's hand. " How am T over to thank you?" H e sm iled: "Shall 1 AT.isper it?" She reached up and he leaned down to her ear. As he spoke, the color flushed her cheeks, and she flung an amused glance in Grant's direction. " If he asks me again, I will," she said with a shy little laugh. " Bon! Now we will go, all of us. It is late." Helen Gorst protested: `But you'll stay to tea, M Perichon?" " I thank you, Madame, but I order ed sirop-- aniseed flavour. It w ill be waiting in my room. Tom orrow per haps." In a few moments everyone but Jerry Grant and Jean had drifted from the room, Helen having accom panied the detective and Rivaux to the door. As soon as they were alone the girl got up and stretched her arms up The new Instant Rit is easier to use than wards, and outwards, as if flinging off *ny other tint or dye you ever used. It dis- ! a great weight. It seemed almost ·olves complete im possible to her that at last the ter ly in 40 seconds f Ret rible mystery which had engulfed k . . soaks right -- Send the fr#n^ o in . . . makes a a RIT Packages foi FREE copy o f "T hi Srilliant, e v e n A B C o f Hon.e Rut loned finish . . . Making" tc Jah Huston Co. Ltd tnd lasts and Caledon Ik Rd.. lasts and lasts. ronto. Berlin.-- More freedom is promised to the German press by Dr. Joseph The German press was recently ex Goebbels, R eich 's'M in ister o f Propa ganda, In new regulations announced horted by Dr. Goebbels to show more last week. courage and enterprise, but evidences Reports of public meetings hence of the new attitude have not been forth will be left to newspapers very generally noticeable. Last w eek's themselves, unless important consid confiscation of Die Gruene Post, an erations demand otherwise. Publica Ullstein weekly with over 1 ,000,000 tion o f speeches in official text is not circulation, for an article by one of henceforth necessary, or, when neces its editors dealing with press criti sary, then official texts must be as cism in Germany is unlikely to give short as possible. Exclusion o f edi them much practical encouragement. torials and free lance contributions, Hope, however, is entertained that, in especially as concerns reporting pro the words o f the Chancellor, " In due vincial and local gataherings, will be course of time our editors w ill again b e so trained that they can supply discontinued. In so far as state exigencies per their own valuable contributions to mit, the question of abolishing exist national reconstruction." ing prohibition of news reporting will be investigated. Prohibition o f report ing of special official events will henceforth be the exception rather than the rule. Editorial writers are in future to be as free as possible within the scope of the press law so that in all matters they can give their own standpoint. It is pointed out, nowever, that whatever freedom is now offered re mains within the National Socialist conception of things. The press law lays down its aim to "make the Ger man journalist as free and as inde pendent as possible, upon his own re sponsibility, in h% creative work for National S ocia lis^ on stru ctiv p work." Tile offer o f' freedotf to the German press, which in reality only serves to show how bound the Ger man press actually is, undoubtedly results from a serious crisis of the German press during the past few months. Popular objection to a uni form and uninforming press has shown itself in the tremendous drop in the number of newspaper readers. her was solved: that she was free. Her brother, of course, was dead; but she had learned, too, in these last weeks that there worse things even than death. To die honourably was better far than to live dishonourably. In a day or two now she would be able to go away. Her father had written that he would arrive almost at once, as he was flying from Khar toum, and they would go home. Grant watched her a moment, then shook his head ruefully: " Jean, I was a jealous devil. No use at all." She smiled and murmured demure ly : " O, I thought you were going to say something else!" " Something else?" He raised his eyes to hers, then a smile broke over his face, Hurrying tp her side, he took her by the shoulders: " Jean, dear, will you marry m e?" She laughed. " That's better. Yes, Jerry, please." THE END. Increased Invention Held W orld'* Need CHICAGO-- More, not fewer, inven tions are needed in the world today, in the opinion o f Mr. Charles P. Ket tering, research engineer of the Gen eral Motors Corporation, quoted in the current Rotarian magazine. " Inventors of the world should be chided for not doing enough invent ing instead of doing too much," he declared, and asserted that " there has not been an invention o f any im portance in the past fO years." Scouting the suggestion for "a mor atorium on mankind's inventive ge nius" Mr. K ettering maintains this would have to com e in the form o f a law against thinking. And this would defeat the very ob ject o f those who seek a way out of our present difficulties by such a move. "W e are not at the eud but at the beginning. Now the engineers and scientists, instead o f being stopped in their work, should be encouraged to continue to balance matters-- and they w ill--by the invention of laborcreating systems." Literary Workshop Prints Student Tales NEW YORK -- Sponsored by an im posing array o f Am erican educators Volume 1, Number 1, o f " The Liter ary W orkshop" made its initial ap pearance recently as the first nation wide intercollegiate literary maga zine. It hopes to establish a stable outlet for student literary expression in all parts o f the United States. Self-criticism is the unique method by w hich " The Literary W orkshop" expects to becom e a constructive force. Every story printed w ill be reviewed " by leading authorities" it was announced. Even rejected man uscripts w ill carry critical and con structive comment back to the auth or, with a view to aiding both profes sor and student in the teaching and assimilation of writing technique. The first issue contains short stories, poems, articles and reviews from writers representative o f every section of the United States. More Rain, Few Grasshoppers Good News or the Prairies Winnipeg -- Cheering words for agriculturists o f W estern Canada w ere issued recently by A. W. Meggett, past president of the W innipeg Astronom ical Society, who predicted more rain and iew er grasshoppers are indicated for Manitoba and the W est between now and 1938. The reason for his assertion Is that spots on the sun are approach ing their maximum period. Every 11 years the sun goes through a sun spot cycle, and records show the ef fects on the earth are definite. Since 1928, Mr. M eggett explained, the last time at which sun spots were at their maximum the sun has been fairly quiet. There has been a falling off in rain and insects, including grasshoppers, have been multilplying. " Records kept in Manitoba since 1895," he said, "show that where there has been a maximum sun spot period there has also been a mini mum grasshopper period." "A s the number ajid size o f the sun spotts increase, the amount of ultra-violet rays also increases, play ing havoc with the insect world and bringing increased rain because the electrification of the upper atmos phere helps to form cloud particles with m ore abundant water vapor." Mr. M eggett stated a group o f sun spots he was observing through his telescope at present grew from 16,000 miles in diam eter to 85,000 miles In five days. FALSE TEETH D nW ER H ETS PO W D ER Would you like false teeth to fit so firmly yet comfortably they feel natural -- eat, shout, laugh--all day long you can forget about them. Simply sprinkle -- prescribed by on Dr. Wemet's Powder--prescriL ,, w orld' s forem ost dentists-- the one p ow d er th a t assures 1 0 0 % secu re comfort; SPECIAL FEATURE con* fort-cuehion protects sensitive gums-- always keeps mouth clean and sanitary. Inexpensive-- any druggist. 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