THE STORY THUS FAR: A Sam Bruce,
FBI aperalor. Ia* pec tor Tope and Hra.
Tope met In the Maine woods. Top*
found a man murdered, who waa at ftrst
idealised ae Ledlorfe. head of New Ear
land utilities. When a ear helteeed to
hare been weed la the marder war.ratted
from the quarries tt wat found to contain
the hady of a murdered woman, Mrs.
Ken. Her has hand committed sui
cide. Joe Dane, assistant D.A., accuslnf
Tape e< bant lint the cue, look complete
charts. Eberly met Lcdforfe to so on a
Anhlnf trip. When they sot la the caaoe,
Ledlorie apeet the eaaoe. He knew that
?burly eoald act swim. When he saw
that Eherty wat not ttnktnt he started
Coward him hat wat stopped hy Tope.
CHAPTER XIV
Eberly said steadily: "He over
turned the canoe, swam away. Then
he looked back, expecting to see me
drowning. He knew I couldn't swim.
But when he saw me still afloat?Mr.
Tope had made me wear a life-pre
server?he. started back to finish
me!"
Ledforge, a bitter hurt in his tone,
cried: "Nonsense! I came to help
you. Carl!"
"There was murder in his eyes,"
Eberly insisted, not speaking di
rectly to the other man at all.
Ledforge whirled toward Tope, fu
riously. "You put this idea into
his head! Of course he's shocked,
doesn't know what he's saying!"
"He had a blackjack on a thong
on his wrist," said Eberly.
Ledforge wore a strap watch on
r his left wrist. He held it up. "Carl
must have seen this," he insisted;
and he said sympathetically: "Gen
tlemen, Mr. Eberly is hysterical.
He has always been afraid of the
water."
Tope, after a moment, spoke.
"Well, you see, Mr. Ledforge," he
explained, almost apologetically,
"there's more to it than just this.
The whole thing started with a man
that left New York last Friday
morning with Mr. Holdom, in Hol
dom's car, and with Holdom's chauf
feur driving. And the next time any
body saw that man, he was dead
under a bed in one of the cabins
at a roadside camp up here."
The others?save young Adam
Bruce?were watching Tope. Adam
watched Ledforge. He saw the
man's pupils faintly dilate, saw his
eyes become fixed in a concentrat
ed attention. Tope paused, and in
the instant of silence, Adam heard
Mr. Eberly's teeth chattering togeth
er. And he had an impression of
racing thoughts behind Ledforge's
outward calm. Then the man asked
curtly:
"What of it?. What has that to
do with me?"
"Why, Miss Ledforge hasn't seen
him yet," Tope explained. "But?
the dead man looked mightily like
you."
Ledforge cried, in quick horror:
"Looked like me? Dead? Heavens,
man, do you mean Christopher?"
"Why, yes, dead," Tope assented
mildly. "I didn't know his name
was Christopher, but he looked
enough like you to be your twin."
Ledforge nodded gravely. "Gentle
men," he said then, "we can't stand
here. Carl is freezing, and I'm cold
myself. Suppose we go down to the
bouse. I must hear the whole story."
Tope asked: "You know who the
dead man was, then?"
"Certainly," Ledforge assented.
His eyes clouded with grief. "You
said he looked like my twin broth
er. Well, gentlemen, he was."
At the house, Whitlock and Beal
by Tope's direction stayed outside.
Eberly disappeared with a serving
man, to drink hot grog and find
dry clothes. Ledforge asked for Miss
Ledforge; and the servant report
ed:
"She had a turn, sir, and is lying
down. Two ladies are with her."
"Good," said Ledforge. "Don't
disturb her."
Tope suggested: "You'll want to
get dry, yourself!"
But Ledforge negatived this.
"There's a good fire on the hearth,"
he pointed out. "I'll be all right.
Come in!"
So they gathered in the big living
room, richly paneled like a baronial
hall; and Ledforge said: "Now then:
My brother dead, and some one else
too, you said?"
"Mrs. Kell," Tope told him.
But Joe Dane could no longer en
dure that Tope should dominate the
scene.
"And Kell too, Tope!" he cried.
"Dead as a herring! And Holdom
dying, so we'll never get a word
out of him."
Tope saw Ledforge's eyes quicken
in a sort of triumph, and the old
man turned to Joe almost roughly.
"Joe," he said, "you've a real gift
Cor talking out of turn. Mr. Led
forge, here, can lie all he wants to
now, knowing Kell and Holdom can't
contradict him."
Cumberland and Adam were si
lent, strictly listening; even Joe did
not for a while interrupt again. And
Ledforge spoke, a little sadly.
"It's hard to speak openly about
he confessed. "We've kept it
an absolute secret for so long that
silence is a habit now."
And he said earnestly: "But you
know, every important man needs a
double. Dk) that ever occur to you?
Imagine now much easier it would
be for the President, for instance,
tf he were twins. With one twin to
attend to the business of the office.
Mm other to handle the social side.
attend banquets, make speeches,
display himself."
He continued: "But it was more
chance than anything else that led
us Into it. Some years ago the heavy
demands upon my time and my
energy began to weary me. I had
something like a nervous collapse,
and I went away quietly to my boy
hood home?a remote little town in
Manitoba?for a vacation.
"Christopher lived there. He was
a doctor?surgeon and doctor, too,
as small town practitioners must be;
and he took me in hand, cured me.
But he reproached me for overwork
ing; and he suggested that a man
as busy as I ought to have a per
sonal physician to watch over his
health. I persuaded him to come
back with me in that capacity. He
suggested also that I ought to have
a social secretary or an assistant,
to whom I might delegate some less
important activities; and the fact,
which we discovered before we left
home, that not even our intimate
friends would distinguish one of
us from the other, led naturally to
the arrangement which has contin
ued till now."
He looked from one to another.
"It was very simple," he said, "once
"Bat you know, every Important
man needs a doable." '
we began. A little attention to such
details as clothes, haircuts, and so
on. . . . Christopher, ever since, be
sides taking care of my health, has
lived the social side of my life, leav
ing me free to attend to business
without distraction."
Tope wagged his head. "I declare,
that's a queer one," he admitted.
"1 don't suppose many people knew
about this thing?"
"Not a living soul," Ledforge de
clared confidently, "except my sis
ter Alice?and even she can't tell
us apart to this day."
"How about servants and all
that?"
"It was simply a matter of never
appearing anywhere together," Led
forge assured them. "One of us
always stayed out of sight when the
other was to be?visible. Of course,
we used some simple disguises at
times, to give the one who for the
moment did not exist a little free
dom of movement." And he said
suddenly:
"But now it's my turn to ask ques
tions. Who told you the dead man,
Christopher, looked like me?"
"Mrs. Tope had seen you?or your
brother?at a stockholders' meeting
once."
"Probably she saw Christopher,"
Ledforge suggested. "But tell me
what happened? Where is Christo
pher? How was he killed?"
Tope said gravely: "Why?all
right, Mr. Ledforge. I'll tell you:
I found your brother under a bed
in a cabin called Faraway, at a
roadside camp called Dewain's Mill,
up above here. He was dead when
I found him.
"He had on an old sweater and
a pair of overalls. His hands and
feet were tied with wire. He was
gagged and blindfolded with tape.
His hands and feet and head were
muffled in pieces of blanket.
"He'd been alive when he was
put there. He died of a ruptured
appendix.
"He'd been brought there in a
coupe belonging to Holdom, by a
man and a woman. I found their
tracks. Afterward the man killed
the woman?it was Mrs. Kell? and
left her in the car and ran the car
into an old quarry up in the hills.
We found the man's tracks there."
Ledforge made an explosive ges
ture. "HideousI" he cried. "Incred
ible!"
"Pretty bad." Tope assented; he
added implacably: "And my notion
is that you did it, Ledforge."
Ledforge shook his head abstract
edly. He seemed not to resent this
accusation. "Wait a minute, please,"
he said. "Of coarse, I know noth
ing of what happened up be re; but
I can make a guess. Let me think
a minute."
Tope nodded, and- waited, and
calmly filled and lighted hit straight
black pipe; at last Ledforge lifted
his head. "It's part guess and part
certainty," he confessed. "But I
think I see the answer."
The fire had burned low. "I'll take
off this wet coat," he remarked, and
stood before them in flannel shirt,
vest, khaki trousers and light woods
shoes with rubber soles; a spare,
gray, small old man.
"It was Holdom," he began then.
"I can see what was in his mind,
what he tried to do."
And he explained; "A week ago,
I would have been as mystified as
you, because I had always trusted
Holdom. But I know now that he
was a thief and a rascal. I learned
last Monday that he had been using
my collateral to trade in an account
under my name, to sell my own
stocks short. I have already report
ed the matter to the Exchange au
thorities."
He paused, but no one spoke. So
he went on:
"Holdom did not know, you under
stand, that there were two of us;
Christopher and I.
"Now gentlemen, Christopher was
sick. Being a doctor, he of course
knew that he had a bad appendix;
but he was devoted to me. For him
to go to a New York hospital would
have been to risk the discovery of
our duality. He was willing to take
some risk to avoid that, so he de
cided to come up to Holdom's home
here for the operation. Mrs. Kell
had been a trained nurse. Dr. Na
son would come from Boston to do
the operation, in the rooms above
Holdom's garage.
"Christopher himself, pretending
to be me, made all these arrange
ments with Holdom; so Holdom
would naturally suppose that I was
about to be incapacitated for a week
or ten days. Perhaps he thought I
was likely to die. Perhaps he al
ready intended my death. At any
rate, before leaving New York?and
trading in my name?he sold my
stocks short."
He hesitated, then continued: "So
they left New York on Friday morn
ing, Christopher and Holdom, and
Kell driving. I protested, but Chris
topher assured me the drive would
do him no harm. Before starting,
he took a sedative in order to sleep,
to escape the pain."
Tope prompted him. "And you
say you can figure what happened?"
"I can guess," Ledforge agreed.
"When Christopher fell asleep in the
car?Kell was Holdom's man, of
course?they laid Christopher on the
floor, and Holdom too got down out
of sight, so no one saw them as Kell
drove past the house to the garage.
"Holdom was completely unscru
pulous. He dressed Christopher in
that old gray sweater and overalls,
gagged him, swaddled his hands and
feet and head in pieces of the dog
blanket so that he could make no
noise, and stuffed him into the rum
ble of the coupe.
"He sent Kell away with orders
to meet him later at some agreed
spot; then Holdom put on a pair of
Kell's shoes. Their prints would be
easily recognized because at the
heel-plates. He knew that when
Christopher's body was identified as
me, Vade?because of his threat
ening letters to me, and because he
liwsi there at the Mill?would be at
flm suspected; but if Vade were
exonerated and Kell's footprints
found, then Kell would be the next
suspect.
"So then Holdom and Mrs. Kell?
she was his mistress?drove to De
wain's Mill, in the coupe, with
Christopher hidden in the rumble."
He looked at them all, challtnglng
ly. "Doesn't that fit the facts?" he
demanded.
"Well, so far," Tope agreed. "But
?go on!"
"They took a cabin for the night,
and Holdom hid Christopher where
you found him. But Mrs. Kell must
have protested at the inhumanity of
leaving him there alive, till Holdom,
in rage or desperation, strangled
her!"
He hesitated, and the color for
an instant left his cheeks as though
that word had shocked and fright
ened him. "It's sickening!" he ex
claimed then, hurriedly. "But?aft
er that, Holdom would go on to dis
pose of the car, and of Mrs. Kell's
body, and meet Kell, and make Kell
give him a rap on the bead and leave
him to be found beside the road. As
an alibi!" And he said in a low
furious tone: "It is incredible; and
yet something like that must be the
truth!"
He finished, and Joe Dane started
to speak, but Adam touched his arm
and hushed him.
Tope rapped his pipe on his heel,
chucked the ashes on the hearth.
"We showed Kell the dead man,"
he remarked. "He said it wasn't
you!"
"Kell would lie, of course. To save
himself."
"Yes, I figured that," Tope as
sented ; but he said then in a sort of
irritation: "Shucks, Mr. Ledforge,
all that's too complicated for me.
Holdom was in it, sure; but my idea
has been, right along, that what
ever Holdom did, he did because you
told him tO."
"I?" Ledforge cried angrily.
"Why should I tell Holdom?"
(TO BK CONTINUED)
t.l.. k. '|MPROVedli?lm""
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sunday i
chool Lesson
By HAROLD L LUNDQU1ST. D. D.
Of Tbm Moody B1U* Institute of Chicago*
BckMrif by Woatorn Newspaper Union.
Lesson for March 3
Unoo wbltcU and Scrtptura text* m
lceted and copyrighted by lnWrnaUanal
Council of Reuglom education; ujod by
parmlaalon.
A PEOPLE FINDING
A HOMELAND
LESSON TEXT: Joahua 1:1-4: 0:1-11.
MEMORY SELECTION: Thou ahalt bless
the Lord thy God lor the good land which
ha hath given thee.?Deuteronomy 1:10.
God is the Lord of nations as well
as of homes, and he is concerned
that those who honor him in their
homes have opportunity to serve
him in their national life. This was
true in a special way with Israel,
but it is also true of us today.
Ready to enter the Promised .
Land, the people had to part with
their greit leader, Moses, who was :
not permitted to enter. The time
comes when even the mightiest of
men fall, but life must go on and
new leadarship must be found.
I. The Changed Leader (Josh. 1:
1-4).
1. Workers Die?God's Work Goes
On (vv. 1, 2).
God buries his workmen at the
end of their day of labor, but God's
work goes on. The people had be
come attached to Moses and had
learned to trust his leadership, even
though they often murmured. With
his death we might have assumed
that there would be a letdown, but
that was not in God's plan.
The Lord works through men. He
gives them abilities and uses them
for his glory, often in a way which
astonishes them and others. But let
them not become proud, for God
has someone to take their place
when they are gone. They are not
indispensable.
2. The Need Is the Same, So Is
the Blessing (w. 8, 4).
The promise given to Moses was
still good. God's promises are al
ways goo<t. They are the only really
stable thing in a trembling universe.
The question is, Are we ready to
take him at his word?
They were to step out by faith.
The land was promised to them
only as tlie sole of their foot should
tread upon it. Israel never took
out the full promise of verse 4. They
lacked faith.
God honors those who helieve him
and who move forward by faith to
plant the foot of ipiritual conquest
in new territory. Some are doing
it now. Are we?
The enemies of God's people were
many and mighty, but they were not
able to stand in the way of God's
people when they were moving for
ward for him. Here again, Israel
failed. They did not drive them out,
because they did not take God at
his word. The application of that
truth to us is obvious.
n. The Unchanging God (Josh. 23:
X-ll>.
Between our first scripture and
this selection will be found the his
tory of the conquest of the land (at
least, of the larger part of it), and
the division of the territory between
the tribes.
Years have passed quickly, and
the new leader, Joshua, is now an
old man, soon to go to his reward.
He gathers the elders who repre
sented the people and gave them
good counsel for the days ahead,
even as he recalls the blessings of
the past.
1. God Did Help (w. 1-3).
Israel had been in many hard bat
tles. They had gone through the tri
als of pioneer days in a new and
unfamiliar land. Now they were
established and at peace. Perhaps
they were recalling their mighty ex
ploits anil their own sacrificial ef
forts.
Joshua reminds them that it was
God who fought for them (v. 3).
We need just such a reminder in
our land today.
2. God Will Help (w. 4, 8). Joshua
had a word of encouragement for
the days ahead. There was much
yet to be done. The land had not
been fully taken. He reminded them
of God's help in the past, so that
they would depend on it in the fu
ture.
It is one mark of a great man that
he looks beyond the end of his own
short existence and plans for the
future.
What about the future? Joshua
reminded them that every blessing
they had received, every victory
they had won, everything had come
from the hand of God. There and
there alone was their hope for the
future. And it was enough!
3. Help Yourself (w. 8-11). To
keep true In the land where their
neighbors engaged In idol worship
and all manner of immorality re
quired definite action on the part of
Israel.
They were not to deviate in the
slightest from God's way, "to the
right bund or to the left" (v^i),
for a little beginning in the wrong
direction winds up in awful depar
ture from him.
They wire not even to swear by
the heathen gods, not even to men
tion them. They were to "cleave"
to the Lord, a graphic presentation
of the close relation between God
and his people.
There are many thoughts here
which can be profitably applied to
our daily lives. Faith in God ceils
for stalwart action and separated
living far him.
News/^
Behind!
the^mS
By PaULMaLLoTT^"^
Released by Western Newspaper Union.
STASSEN DDE TO LEAD
PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
WASHINGTON. ? Politic! it
warming up. The young men and
women are coming back from for
eign fields plainly displeased at the
way things are go
ing. Some tell me
Uncle Sam is
known in many for
eign nations as
"Uncle Sugar."
They tell of waste,
inefficiency, or
throwing our mon
ey around, and talk
of getting into poll
tics. The ballot list
Dewey this fall will con
tain a lot of veter
ans who think they can do something
in congress, if they get home in
time. Certainly the group displeas
ure of this 12 million voting mass,
now fairly well congealed in ideas,
threatens a complete overturn of
existing legislative personalities?if
not the whole political complexion
of affairs.
REPUBLICANS ORGANIZE
FOR CONGRESS SEATS
Scenting opportunity, the Re
publicans are getting bnsy. The
national committee has, for the
first time, assumed responsi
bility in the congressional cam
paign (committees of congress
men usually head the effort).
The staff at headquarters has
been about trebled to create 11
departments, one of which has
started a monthly newspaper
with a circulation to date of
230,MM. A state quota system
of raising money (like the Red
Cross) has been started, and a
small contributions mail cam
paign has been launched, In or
der to take financing away from
the gentlemen of bulk contribu
tions, known In the political
trade as "fat eats."
All this has been done by Gov
ernor Dewey's man, Herbert Brown
ell Jr., the committee chairman,
who says his drive is to "elect a
Republican congress."
I hear, incidentally, Dewey has
told friends he is not in the running
for 1948. He points
out to them mat
Republican* have
never in history re
nominated a de
feated candidate,
which waa news to
me% Dewey would
like the nomination
apparently, but
does not expect it.
Personally I expect
much will rest on
whether he is re
elected governor
this year. Last
time he won against Bricker
a split, and it la
possible he will have more for
midable opposition this time. If he
wins, it trill be said no one could
have beaten Roosevelt in a war
year, and he will be back in the
running. '
SUPPORT BEING GIVEN
STASSEN CAMPAIGN
The Stassen grasp for leadership
la finding form, in the way of or
ganization and money. A St. Paul
man is on the road traveling for
him. The same man was high in
the Willkie entourage, and there are
further indications that the New
York crowd which backed Willkie
already has its hand in pocket for
the former Minnesota governor to
be next President. They have been
conspicuous at the speakers tables
where Stassen spoke. A weekly
magazine has published a report
that the ex-Lord and Taylor execu
tive, Walter Hoving, who was ac
tive In the last Dewey headquar
ters, will eventually play Hanna for
Stassen. The Cowles brothers, pub
lishers, appear to be running the in
visible bandwagon so far, particu
larly brother Mike in Iowa. My Re
publican sources say he has been
hiring people.
All this inside activity has caused
many who have observed it to sur
mise that Staaaen will keep on his
speaking tours (he has not yet tak
en a Job that I have heard), the
organizing will increase in tempo
and when the Gallup polls start,
Stassen win be on top. Many think
he will remain there.
My own opinion is he will have
his main trouble keeping in the
limelight without a political office,
now that he has started so early.
Willkie killed himself doing it.
Bricker is a food bet to come
to the senate this year, the in-know
ing Republicans agree. With Staa
sen he is at the top of private party
, polls now. His '44 difficulty was that
he tried to run a campaign wit)
Ohio friends who had not been ac
tive in politica The Dewey people
had the New York know-how. Wit!
the best of publicity success In hii
senate race or later fat that forum
his chances will depend on whethei
he can get an organization to mate!
the one now quickly congealing be
1 hind Stassen?or which Dewey may
set up if events this year warrant
SEWING CIRCLE NEEDLEWORK
Youthful Puffed Sleeve Nightgown
HERE is an exquisite puffed
sleeve nightgown that's de
lightfully simple to make and care
for?it opens out flat for ironing.
Use soft all-over floral prints or
delicious pastels with silk, satin
Cat-stltch seams on baby's sleep
ing garments and underwear to
hold them flat. Helps prevent
needless irritation to his sensitive
skin.
?e?
To darn the bole in your son's
sweater sleeve, baste a square of
mosquito netting over the hole on
the under side. This makes a firm
base on which to do your mending.
?o?
Clean the nnderside of rugs fre
quently, for dirt works through,
and insects are likely to hide un
derneath.
A little salt in the bottom of the
skillet will keep the fat from pop
ping.
?o?
Screw a book into the end of
your broom handle. You'll find it .
handy for reaching objects on high
shelves, also the window shade
pull that springs to the top. And
naturally you hang the broom up
by its hook in order to preserve the
bristles. |
?o?
For cleaning tiles in the bath
room and kitchen, use a soft cloth
moistened with kerosene.
?o?
If salt fish are soaked and
cooked in milk they become much
sweeter than when soaked in
water.
?a?
Paint wooden knitting needles
and crochet hooks with a coat of
colorless nail polish the minute
they begin to get rough or
scratchy. Smooths them off. Make
sure polish is thoroughly dry and
hard before putting needles to use
again.
?o?
Shoes that are stiff after being
worn in the rain will become quite
pliable if vaseline is well rubbed
in with a soft rag.
?o?
Should the load ticking of a clock
in the sick room bother the pa
tient, place a glass bowl over the
timepiece.
r velvet ribbons, or lor a trous
eau gift, glamorous white satin
'ith wide blue satin ribbons.
? ? ?
To obtain complete pattern and flniab
g instructions for the Round Necked
?ht?own (Pattern No. 9818) sixes 14. 18,
I. Included, send 16 cents In coin, your
ime. address and pattern number.
Send your orders to:
SEWING CIRCLE NEEDLEWORK
1158 Sixth Are. New York, N. Y.
Enclose 16 cents for Pattern.
No
Name
Address
War Pensions
Besides the $312,000,000 in pen
ons which the United States gov
rnment now pays annually to
le 587,000 veterans and depend
nts of veterans of the First World
ar, it still pays $155,000,000 each
ear to some 225,000 pensioners
[ the Mexican war. Civil war and
panish-American war.
SON-IN-LAW AND
DAD ARE REGULAR
No More Constipation Now
?They Eat Famous Cereal
Constipated? Harsh laxatives
got you feeling down? Then read
this sincere, unsolicited letter:
"I ni trabbd wttk eonetipwloa Sw
year*?until 1 itartsd catinc an oobm mt
K LLLOGCS ALL-BRAN ewsry day. Nmr
have any trouble now. Told my father-in
law about It. Now he takes ALL-BRAN
and baa the same results as I do. Be As tt
years youny." N. Mavaos. 18 BsreHy
Street, Mctbuen. Mssa.
If yonr trouble is constipation
due to lack of bulk in the diet, von
may never have to take another
laxative?if you eat an ounce of
KELLOGG *3 ALL-BRAN every
day and drink plenty of water. Try
it for ten days. If not completely
satisfied, send the empty carton to
Kellogg*! of Battle Creek and get
double year money back.
ALL-BRAN Is net a purgative.
It's one of nature's finest sources
of gentle-acting bulk, which helps
promote normal taxation! Ifs a
wholesome cereal made from the
vital outer layers of wheat. Eat
ALL-BRAN every day either as s
cereal or in muffins.
Get ALL-BRAN at your gro
cer's. Made by Kellogg's of Battle
Creek and Omaha.
"666
COLD PREPARATIONS
UQUtO.TAM.EIS. SALVE. NOK MIR
CAUTION-USE ONLY AS UUUM?
A fanoHta bo?tbold ?tieaptk dw?
log and Uaat for M yeara?flaMt
BALSAM OF MYRKHI It , I 1
?oothiac f?to rcfiesra the aareaaaa and
ache at o?r-?ad and Mnaad 111
Takaa the ating end itch out at bar?,
acalda, in?ct bit?, oak and rry pc?on
inc. wind and eon tm, * " i ad
chopped (Ua. Ita aatiaeptk action laaa
ahin ia cot or ti i nbaa.
^C?p^a ba^kM^iv the niaor
ac. HMtfOBO Mra Co7?|i biiQL Y.
SoJe ?a hare o4
I ^
|rSMfl^UlEU kilil
I..WS//V Sen-Gay QBKKI ,
? Whan children feel eore and ache? with a cold, rob in
Ben-Gay. Watch the iniilaa aa Ben-Gay hrln^ comfort!
Cortaina op to 2Vi timea mote methyl aalicytate and
mantbol?famooapauwelierinf agents that every doctor H
knows?than Sea other widely offered robins. MM
Ben-Gay was especially developed for children.