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W^^jjjK by ACATHA ChUISTIE rrvoms. While Mi». Wllletl. Iifr duUKlitvi Vio- let Major llurnaliy und thrte iiciRhbom In thr Kngllsh vlllaife <.'! .Sltluforil wrc nlaylnK at table llpplnK. " ' »|ilrll meii- lagi- waM itctlvcd HlutliiK tlmt i iiptaiii JoBOL.h Tri-velynn, ii r.-tli«>d navy iiiaii. Imd ti.ii mur.hMi-d, For two in..ialiH Ihf WillrtlH hail bctri occuiiyliiK 1 iivo- ls»ir« lu>u»f. He l>a<l bein unable u> re»lHt an o(t.r of 12 Kulncas a tnontli rent and lind taken a Kmall liouHe ai the nearest town. K-xhann>ton. six inile.s aiBlant. TliroUKh Know ImpaHBal.le for »utono.bll.s, Hurnal.y trudges and Ilml'; his friend dead, the t>ii»e of hU »k«ill fraeturcd. TolUc Insixclor Naria.nU quentloned KvanH. t'aiitaln Ireve yantf man. and then went will. Hurnal.y to the offices of Waltern * hlrkw..,>.l, rrevel>an-H lawyers, where Trevel>aii s will waK rend. The eaptain loft all his trouliies to lliirnaty. HI" eMale dU Ide.l Into four equal i.arlH. went t" "'f. «'"- ter. Jennifer liardner, and the thiee children of his deceased slslcr. Mai y rearson. KOW OO 0» WITH THE STO»V. INSTALMENT SIX. Inspector Nftrrncott ran his eye over the will thoujjhtfully. "My deceased sister, aMi-y P<-ar- »on,"' he said. "Can you tell inc any- thing about Mrs. Pearson, Mr. Kirk- ITOOd?" "Very little. Shie died abc»ut tx.-n fwrs ago. 1 believe. Her husband, % stockbroker, had prc<lecease<l her. Af. far lis I know, she never visited CaptAin Trovclyan here." 'Pearson," said the Inspector again. Then he added: "One thing more. The Miount of Captain Trevelyan's estate Is not mentioned. I .should like just Uie roughest estimate as a tjuide. For Instance would twenty^ thousand pounds be out of the way?" "Eighty or even ninety-thousand pounds will be mucli nearer the mark." Inspector Nanacott rose. "By the way, have you the names and ad- dress;es of thi.s Jennifer Gardner and of the Pearson family?" "I know nothing of the Pearson fj.mily. Mrs. Gardner's address is The Laurels, Waldon Road, Exeter." The inspector noted it down in his "That \nll do to get on with," he w.id. "You don't know how many children the late Mrs. Pearson left?" "Three, I fancy. Two girls and a boy. â€" or possibly two boys and a girl â€"I cannot remember which." The inspector thanked the lawj'cr once more and took his departure. When they had reached the street, he turned suddenly and faced his eompanion. "And now, sir," he said, "we'll have the truth about that twenty-five past five business." Major Bumaby's face reddened with annoyance. "I have told you already " "That won't go down with me. Withholding information, that i.s what you are doing. Major BurnaLy. You must have had some idea in mention- hig that specific time in connection with the murder to Dr. Warrenâ€" and t think I have a very goo<l idea of what that something is." "Well, if you know about it, why isk me?" growled the major. "I take it you were aware that a tertain person had an appointment with CapUiin Trevelyan somewhere ibout that time. Now, insn't that »o?" Major Burnaby stared at him in ^u^pri.'<^ "Nothing of the kind," he snarled, "nothing of the kind." "Bo careful. Major Burnaby. What about Mr. James Pearson?" "James Pearson? James Pearson, who's he? Do you mean one of Treve- lyan's nephews?" 'I presume it would lie a nephew. He had one called James, hadn't he?" "Not the least idea. Trevelyan had nephewsâ€" I know that. But what their names were, I haven't the vaguest idea." "The young man in question was «t the Three Crowixs last night. You probably recognized him there." "I didn't recognize anybodp," crowded the nuijor. "Shouldn't any- way â€" never saw any of Trevelyan's nephews in my life." "But you knew that Captain Treve- lyan was expecting a nephew to call upon him yesterday afternoon?" •'I did not," roare<i the major. Several people in the stn'et turned round to »tare at him. "Look here, won't you take plain truth! I knew nothing alx)Ut any appointment. Trevelyan's nephews fciay have hefu in Timbuctoo for all I knew about them." In.spector Narrecott was a little taken aback. The major's vehement denial l)ore the mark of truth too plaitU.r for him to be deceived. "Then why this twenty-five past Bvc business?" "Oh! wellâ€" 1 suppose 1 had better toll y.Ai," the major coughed n an embarrassed fashion. "But min<l you â€"the whole thing i.-? plain foolish- nesii! Tommy rot, sir. How any Uiinking man can believe such son- tense'" Jnf|>ector Narracotl UkpUccI moi-j and more surj'rised. Major Burnaby wa.s looking more uncomfortable and •shamed of himself every minute. "You know what it is, In.-ipoctor. You have to join in these things to pleasf a iady. Of course, I never thnugl •^ ihere was anythinjf in it." ' Ii^ «ha., Major Burnaby?" "T").>!e turningâ€" table tippinj? and rapp '-.'." "'»â- '' J« turning 7" Nonchalance? Whatever Nurracott had expected he ha«l not expected this. The Major prooe«><le<l to explain himself. Halt ! iiigly, and with many di.<c]ai;ncrs ofj his own belii-f in the thing, he de- scribed the events of the previous af- j ternoon and the me.'^sage at 6.25 thatj had purported to come through fori himself. | "You mean. Major Buniaby, that the table spelled out the name of Tre- velyan and informed you that he was dead â€" murdered?" Major Huniaby wipetl his forehead. "Ye-s, that's what happened. I didn't l)tdieve in itâ€" naturally, I didn't believe in it." Ho IiK>ked ashamed. "Well â€" it was Friday, my u.sual day to visit him, and I thought after all I wouhi make sure and go along and see if everything wa.s all right." The IrLspoctor reflected on the diffi ciillie;- of that .six-mile walk, with the pile<l snowdrifts and the prospect of a heavy snowfall, and he realized that deny it as he would Major Burn- aby must have been deeply impressed by the spirit me.s-sage. Narracott turnetl it over in his mind. A queer thing to happenâ€" a very queer thing to happen. The .sort of thing you couldn't explain .satisfactorily. There might be something in thi.s spirit busi- ness after all. It was the first, well, authenticated case he had come aci'oss. A very queer busine.ss altogether, but, as far as he could see, though it explained Major Burnaby's attitude, it had no practical bt\'uing on the case .so far as he himself we f con- cerned, lie had to deal with ti. > piy- sical world and not the psychic. t was his job to track dovro the rer. And* to do that he required no gnidance- from the spirit world. Glancing at his watch, the inspec- tor realized he could ju.st catch the train for Exeter if he hurried oflF. He was anxious to interview Mrs. Gardner, Captain Trevelyan's sister, as soon as possible and obtain from her the addresses of the other mem- bers of the family. So, with a hur- ried word of farewell to Major Burn- aby he raced off to the statioru The major retraced his .steps to the Three Crowns. He had hardly put a foot across the doorstep when he was ac- costed by a bright young man with a very shiny head and a round boyish face. "Major Bumaby?" said the younj man. "Yes." 'Of No. 1 Sittaford Cottages?" "Yes," said Major Burnaby. "I represent the Daily Wire," said the young man, "and I " He got no further. In true military fashion of the old school, the major exploded. "Not another woixl," he roared. "I know you and your kind. No de- cency. No reticence. Clustering round a murder like vultures 'round a carcafts, but I can tell you, young man, you will get no information from me. Not a word. No story for your confoundecl paper. If you want to know anything, go and ask the police, and have the decency to leave the friends of the dead mfin alone." The young man seemed not a whit taken aback. He .':miled more en- couragingly than ever. "I say, sir, you know you have got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I know nothing about this murder bu.siness." This was not, strictly speaking, the truth. No one in Exhampton could pretend ignorance of the event that had shaken the quiet moorland town to its core. "I am empowered on behalf of the Daily Wire," went on the young man, "to hand you thi.s cheque for £5,000 and congratulate you on sending in the only correct solution of our foot- ball competition." Major Burnaby was completely taken aback. Major Burnaby was completely taken aback. "I have no doubt," continued the young man, "that you have already received our letter yesterday morning informing you of the pood news." "Letter?" said Major Burnaby. "Do you realize, young man, that Sit- taford is about ten feet deep in smow? Wh.at chance do you think we have had in the la.-^t few days of a regular delivery of letters?" "But doubtless you s.iw your name announced as wi*V» 'r in the Daily Wire, this iiicrningV" "No," said Major Burnaby. "1 haven't glanced at the paper this morning." 'Ah! of course not," said the young man. "This sad busine.s«. The mur- dered man was a friend of your.o, I und«rstand." "My best friend," said the mnjor. "Hard lines," said the young man, tactfully averting his eyes. Then he drew from his poeket a ."mail folded piece of mnuve paper and handed it to Major Burnaby with a bow. "With the compliments of the Daily Wire," he said. Major Burnaby took it and said the on-ly Ihinf; pos'sible urdv". the cir- cumstances. "Have a drink, Mr. â€" erâ€" ?" â- 'Kndprbv Charles Enderby 1 ftot here la.st nigh* William Gray of HiUsburgh, Ont., doesn't mind the odd bee and to show how completely he knows his bees he lets them flock over his "beard". getting to Sittaford. We make it a point to hand cheques to winners per- sonally. Always publish a littls in- terview. Interests our rcadei-s. Well, everyone told me it was out of the question â€" the .snow falling and it simply couldn't be done, and then with the greatest good luck I find you are actually here, staying at the Three CrowTvs." He smiled. "No difficulty about identification. Everybody seems to know everybody else in this part of the world." "What will you have?" said the major. "Beer for me," said Enderby. The major ordered two beers. "The whole place seems off its head with this murder," remarked Ender- by. 'Rather a mysterious business by all accounts." The major grunted. He was in something of a quandry. His senti- ments towards journalists remained unchanged, but a man who has just handed you a cheque for £5,000 is in a privileged position. You cannot very well tell him to go to the devil. (To Be Continued.) Huge Egg Laid Huntington, Ind. â€" An egg measuring 91/2 inches by 8 inches was laid by a hen here. It contained two yolks. Happiness never lays its finger on Its pulse. It we attempt to steal a glimpse of Its features It dlsapppears. â€"Alexander Smith, As the jsensation of hunger presup- poses food to satisfy it, bo the sense ot dependence on God presupposes His existence and character.â€" 0. B. Froth- Ingham. SURPRISE OF THE SHOW By Herbert Shaw Warner Carey and his wife, In a stage box at the CIlfTsea Hipprdrome, were enjoying the show. The touring company were fcivlng a bright perform- ance of a very successful London re- vue. There was a lot of dancing, and there were at least two hundred pretty It'Ks. There were some quite good Jokes. The prettiest legs belonged to one of the chief dancers. She had red hair and an entrancing smile and a pleas- ant and effective voice. Warner ap- plauded her in hia hearty way. His wife said she was very good â€" and such a good dancer. She added: â€" "I shouldn't applaud her so much, though. Whenever she's this way on the stage, she keeps ou smiling at you, Warner." ".N'onsense!" laughed Warner. "You are imagining that, my dear." • I5ut he was curiously puzzled. He continued to study the little dancer. He looked at her name on the program â€"Vera Wayne. His mind went grop- ing. It was as if there were some sort of a dream relation between him- self and her. He struggled hard to find the secret ot it. Suddenly he knev\', and was shocked. He looked round as though the door of the box had opened and let in a draught. "Feel cold?" his wife asked. "I've got cramped. I'll go for a walk round." Warner stood at the back of the house, and the stage, now distant, seemed to bo less menacing. But be- cause he had recognized Vera Wayne at last â€" it was incredible, he thought, that he had forgotten her name â€" he was afraid. Vera and he had been lovers fifteen years ago. She was very sweet and kind, and he had been very fond of her. He was studying in Loudon for his examinations, and to the young man there is romance in having a chorus girl for a friend. They made all manner of promises to each other. Of course, they would meet again, would go into the country together, would laugh together again. But life often laughs at young lovers. It had been good-bye. Since that part- ing he had not seen Vera till to-day. Warner thought of his wife, of his two girls, of his big gloomy house in Western Square, ot his success as an architect. He had made a small for- tune with the growth of the East Coast town. Vera Wayne finished a song. Somebody standing by him clapped vigorously. "Hullo, Warner." It was old Vin- cent, who owned a lot of property In Cliffsea. "Wonderful little woman. Isn't she?" 'Very good indeed," W'arner mur- mured. Old Vincent continued clapping, try- ing to force an encore, but Vera Wayne bowed and ran off; it was the end of a scene. Vincent said: "I've been seeing a good bit of that girl this week. She wants to come and live here when- ever she can. She's got two boys to keep, and one ot them is rather deli- cate." French Military Pilots to Make Flight In Formation Over Colonies This Season Paris. â€" French aviatloL' this autumn will attempt a squadron flight across Africa, prepared and executed after the manner of the exploits of General Balbo and his Italian group flights. Tho French attempt will be headed by tho French Minister of Air, Pierre Cot, who, after dally study under mili- tary pilots since he came into office, has Just obtained his pilot's license. One hundred airplanes and hydroair- planes will participate in the flight, and the pilots and navigators who will man them have assembled this montl at Istres Airdrome, near Marseilles, where they will go into intensive train ing in preparation for the undertak ing. According to present plans, th< group will take off in formation fron the Istres station early in Novembel for a Mediterranean-African circuit, comprising stops in Algeria, Morocco, Western and Equatorial Africa, return' ing by way of Egypt and Tunis to France. Only military and naval crews will take part. Recently Wed name is. my At cxidained. "Made inquiries aJt)k>ut Printe.,,s .Mexih .Mili.aui shown with lier liu^lmiid. the prince. The princess is the former Miss Barbara Hutton, heiress to the Wool- worth niillions. The photo shows the couple when they journeyed out 10 tlie polo field. >'' Warner was astonished. Here in Cliffsea?" he exclaimed, in a way that made the ither look sharply at him. He added quickly, "She's married, then? I shouldn't have thought that." "Nor should I," said Vincent. 'She doesn't look much more than a girl now â€" at any rate, ou the stage. 'Ves, she was married. Her husband died and left her stranded â€" a bit of a waster, from what I hear. I think she is a wonder." Warner tried to frame a question that would tell him more. It was not necessary. The hearty red-faced man at his side continued to talk enthusias- tically at Vera Wayne. "If you ask me, that woman's one in a thousand. She'd had the devil and all of a struggle to look after those boys of hers, and she never lets loose a grumble. It's a hard life, this stage business, and not much money. It's a pity that Cliffsea is a bit on the toney side and dear to live In. But if she can possibly see her way to afford it, she wants one of those little cottages I've got." "You mean those behind Western Square?" asked Warner, with a sudden qualm. "Those are the ones. She's making up her mind about it to-morrow. She's seen me every day this week about the cottage; that's how I know all about her. Between you and me, I've offered her the place at halt the rent I'd want from anybody else. But I can't go any lower â€" business is business! I'll be popping off, Warner." W'arner did not go back to his box before the curtain had fallen. His wife was standing up. He was Just in time, luckily, to help her into her fur coat. She said: â€" "I couldn't think where you'd got to! And you missed the best thing at the end. Something happened that made the whole story different. It was (he surprise of the show!" Waiting in the dull sitting-room of Vera's lodgings. Warner was again afraid. He tried to reassure himself that he would be successful. He must be successful in his plan of prevent- ing her from coming to live in Cliff- sea. When she came in he was relieved. She met him with that lovely smile of hers. She said that it had been splen- did to see his enjoyment ot tho show the night before. After that frank smile â€" the smile she had several times given him from the stage â€" she kept a guarded look. Warner knew, instinctively and thank- fully, that she was going to say noth- ing about their old romance. That still look of hers warned him to make no reference to it, either. "I'm going to be blunt." said War- ner. "If it is not absolutely impera- tive for you to come to Cliffsea, I shall bo very glad. I beg you not to take a house in Cliffsea â€" please forgive me. She interrupted him, and told him about the cottage. She had almost ar- ranged to take it. It was Saturday. Early the next morning she was Jour- neying to the next town where they were showing, and the papers were all ready, except for her signature. She had promised to let Vincent know by the next Monday. "Ijisten." said Warner. "I know what a hard life you've had â€" Vincent told me. If you can find what you want on the South Coast, and promise me to give up the idea ot living at Cliffsea, I will give you five hundred pounds towards the expenses, and an- other five hundred pounds next year if you want it." Vera Wayne w.is astonished. Then she told him that she wouldn't think ot takin;; the money from him. It was impiissible. He began to argue patiently with her. Of course she must take It. He could afford the money, and it was a â-  pleasure to be able to help her. Vera Wayne thought of unpaid school fees, ot the time when the re- vue would finish, of a dressmaker's ac- count overdue. Warner was airaiii telling her that there was no earthly reason why she should not have the money. It seemed to her that he would go on repeating that forever. Sha must not miss the show. She consented to take it at last â€" Warner would not allow her to refuse. He wrote her a cheque for five hun- dred pounds. In the Cliffsea Constitutional Club, late that night, Warner Carey was thinking of Vera Wayne. It was mar- vellous how she kept her charm â€" and that lovely smile. Old Vincent was quite right â€" she was a wonderful wo- man. Any other woman would have been bitter or reproachful or angry; about those dead, but exciting, days of fifteen years back. Vera had been perfect. She had not mentioned those' days, or even allowed him to think eh© was giving the least thought to theni herself. George Cunningham, the manager of the Cliffsea Hipprodrome, came and stood in front of the big fire. He asked Warner to have a drink, and hoped that Warner had enjoyed the show the other evening. "Very much, thanks," said Warner, "And my wife thought it first-class. I didn't see the end myself, though." "That's a pity,' 'said Cunningham. "It had a really good surprise finish â€" â- _ bang at the end of the last act. Very neatly done. But that's nothing likfl the surprise I've had to-night, Warner," Did you notice that girl in the chiel part especially â€" Vera Wayne?" Warner sat up. "She was very good, we thought." "She always is. That girl's a woa der â€" and a real good sort. She's foun4 things very difficult, with a small family to keep; she's had a iiard strug? gle. But she's just had "S propel stroke of luck â€" that's the surprise of"- the show to me." "What's happened to her?" "You wouldn't believe it out of I book. Of course, she wouldn't tell m\ his name, but some rich man who had seen the show turned up at her di'si this evening and insisted on giving hel five hundred quid. She told me sh« wouldn't take it for a long time, and i quite believe herâ€" she never tells lie< â€"but she took it in the finish to ge( rid of him. He wouldn't let her refusei I'm very glad for her sake." Cunningham thoughtfully lighted a cigar. , "And the strange part ot it is that Vera doesn't know who he was," he went on. "All the time she was think- ing she ought to know him; but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't place him. He knew her all right, that was certain. But Vera couldn't re-' member where she had seen hitn be- fore! And the name on 'the cheque meant nothing to her!" â€" London Tit- Bits." Out of every hundred men sentenced in English courts, only fifteen are guilty of crimes serious enough to re- quire over three months in prison. "This depression could have beet 90 per cent, avoided by the same metl* ods which are now being so success' fully used to cure itâ€" controlling th< price level." ! â- .' \ -^ r;; J. *>; ; ( ISSUE No. 27â€"33 y