unci be r
^ muj^ove
* Peggy Perm WN.U. RE lfA-se
vira IKIII THUS FU: Kt^oUi
questions Met at her home. Then Is ?
knock at the door, aad Maltha Eraaa,
Tom Fulton's iteWr-to-Uw, esters She
wanted to ten them about the knife
Martha's story la that Alicia was not
mordered with the knlle thai was found.
Thai knife, the declared, waa one she
and Tom had taken away (ram Tom's
tails, Letty, the Inealld aad mental pa*
Stent. Martha declared that Tom did not
know his wile's trae condition, helloeins
her to ho fetttnf better. "Bat she Is
violent at times," Martha laslsted, as
ska told how Letty had attacked her
with the knife one al|bt. "That altht
yon said yon fell aad kart roar aaklcT"
Mot asked. Martha denied It.
CHAPTER XV
Miss Martha said huskily, "Only
I didn't tall?she pushed me down
the steps."
Bob waited, and after a little, she
went on huskily, "Tom and 1 saw to
it that there was never any?any in
strument around that she could use
to hurt herself?or anybody else.
Tom thought she was bedridden; I
hadn't told him that she was grow
ing stronger, that she could walk
not very far, but at least she was
no longer helpless. I knew, of
course, the danger that was growing
around her?danger that she might
slip away from me and?do some
horrible thing?"
Bob said swiftly, "Then you mean
that she managed to get away and
kill Mrs. Stevenson?"
Miss Martha flung up her head.
Her eyes blazed.
"She did nothing of the sort! Use
your head, young man. It's a mile
from our house to Mrs. Stevenson's
place?she couldn't travel that far.
And she hasn't been out of my
sight one single . minute since the
night she attacked me," she blazed
at him hotly.
Bob said gently, "We have only
your word for that, Miss Evans."
Miss Martha's stocky body
slumped a little and she said weari
ly, "Yes, of course?you have only
my word for it?"
"And the knife. Miss Evans?"
asked Bob very quietly.
She seemed to wince as though
he had struck her. She drew a deep
breath and lifted her head a little,
though her shoulders sagged.
,"Yes, the knife," she repeated.
"That was?night before last. As I
said, Tom didn't know that Letty
could get out of bed, or walk; he
thought it was a little foolish of me
to keep every sharp-pointed instru
ment in the house under lock and
key. He thought as long as we kept
them out of her room, out of her
reach?" She shrugged tiredly and
then she went on in that heavy, ex
hausted voice, "so he left a knife
out on the kitchen sink night before
last. I'd?had a good deal of trouble
with Letty and I was very tired. I
slept in her room and I thought
that she was sleeping soundly, and
so I let myself go to sleep. When
I woke up?I don't know what woke
me, but ? suddenly I was wide
awake, and?there was Letty stand
ing beside my bed, bending over
me, the moonlight on?that knife in
her hand?" She set her teeth hard
in her lower lip, and her hands
crushed each other, and in spite of
her efforts at self-control, two swol
len tears slipped from her eyes and
down her white cheeks, leaving little
marks in the thick powder spread
so inexpertly there.
Megan went to her and put an
arm about her, and for a moment,
Miss Martha resisted; then she
turned and hid her face against Me
gan, while the two_ men waited.
Laurence was sick with pity for this
tired, harassed woman who had car
ried her heartbreaking burden for
so long with such indomitable cour
age; Bob's expression was intent,
watchful?waiting.
Miss Martha went on, "1
screamed, and that roused Tom, and
?well, between us we managed to
get the knife away from her. She
fought hard, and then suddenly?she
went to pieces, just slumped be
tween us like a ragdoll that's lost
all its sawdust. We got her to bed.
We knew there was nothing we
could do for her. The doctor warned
us?any sudden exertion, excitement
?would almost certainly result in
a brain hemorrhage?" She paused
again and then went on, "I left her
with Tom. I wanted to get rid of
that awful knife, once and for all
time. So I hid it?where you found
it."
She was limp with exhaustion and
nerve strain and Bob let her rest for
a moment before be asked very
gently, "And?your sister, MSs Ev
ans?"
Miss Martha said in a voice that
was a ghost of sound, "She?died
early this morning."
It was an hour later, after Miss
Martha had had a cup of coffee and
a chance to rest a little, that Bob
went over the story of the knife
again.
"It seems quite a coincidence,
Miss Evans, that all this happened
the same night that Mrs. Steven
son was killed," he pointed out.
"I don't know anything about that,
young man," said Miss Martha,
with the faintest possible trace of
her old brusqueness. "All I know
is that when I heard you'd found
the knife, I was afraid some inno
cent person would be accused of do
ing away with the Stevenson wom
an by means of that knife. And I
knew I had to come and tell you
about it, since telling you couldn't
cause my poor Letty any trouble?
now."
Bob nodded, sitting on the edge
of the desk, his eyes fastened on
Miss Martha's face.
"Amos, who saw the knife being
hidden, spoke of a 'thing in white,
about eight feet tall'?" be men
tioned.
There was the faintest possible
trace of a smile in Miss Martha's
tired eyes.
"I know," she told him quietly.
"It was a bright moonlight night
and you never know who may be
roaming around late at night in
these parts," and for just the barest
Instant her glance flickered towards
Megan and away. "I didn't want
anyone to see me?you can under
stand that, of course. And it oc
curred to me that that old place
would be an ideal place to hide
something you didn't ever want
found. But if somebody saw me?
and recognized me?you see?"
Bob nodded. "Of course," he an
swered quickly.
"Well, Tom was with Letty," Miss
Martha went on. "I slipped out into
Then she turned and hid her face
against Megan, while the men
waited.
the kitchen, got the knife, and a
sheet out of the linen closet. I also
took a good stout walking stick that
I sometimes use when I go to the
grocery?there are so many half
savage dogs around?and I put one
of Tom's hats on the end of the
stick, and held the stick above my
head, under the sheet. I imagine
I must have looked pretty fearsome.
But, you see, I wanted anybody who
saw me to think he was seeing a
ghost?and if such things as ghosts
exist, surely their favorite place
would be something like that old
overgrown garden. I never dreamed
that anybody seeing me would stop
long enough to see what I was do
ing?or, if he did, that he would re
port it to anybody."
"You didn't see Amos?" asked
Bob quickly.
"No," answered Miss Martha, and
hesitated so oddly that Bob's atten
tion was caught and it grew strong
er.
"Whom did you see then?" de
manded Bob.
"No one," answered Miss Martha
firmly. Too firmly. Too emphat
ically. "I saw no one at all?no
one."
Bob said sternly, "You're not tell
ing me the truth. Miss Evans. Up
to now, I believe you. But if you
start telling me lies now, don't you
see you're likely to make me believe
that all you've told me is a lie!"
Miss Martha said grimly, "You
can believe anything you want to,
young man. I've told you all I'm
going to tell you. And I'd never
have told you what I did if I had not
felt so sure that you'd jump to the
conclusion that the knife Amos
helped you find was the one that
killed Mrs. Stevenson?and once you
were convinced of that, you'd not
stop until you'd hauled in some poor
devil that was as innocent of that
crime as?my poor Letty."
She got up and Bob said sternly,
"I've not finished yet?"
Miss Martha eyed him as though
he had been an importunate beg
gar, and said coolly, "Haven't you?
Well, I have. Good day to you all."
She looked at Megan and said
tonelessly, "Tom and I are?taking
Letty home. We're leaving today,
so this will be good-by?and?thanks
for all you've done."
"Miss Martha, whom did you see
that night?" Bob demanded sharp
ly. "I can forbid you to leave, you
know?I can hold you as a material
witness?"
"A witness to what? I wasn't with
in a mile of the Stevenson place,"
Miss Martha pointed out. "Amos is
my alibi, just as I am his. I'd say
that he and I are the two people
who couldn't possibly have had any
thing to do with the murder.'*
"But you did see someone that
night?" began Bob.
She met his eyes straightly and
said coolly, "Did 1?"
Megan drew a deep breath and
said levelly, "You saw me, didn't
you, Miss Martha?"
Bob flung her a startled glance,
but Laurence's mouth only tightened
a little.
Miss Martha looked straight at
Megan and then she sighed and nod
ded. "Yes, I saw you," she admit
ted.
Bob said quickly, "Look here. Miss
MacTavish, you haven't told me
anything about being up there that
night?"
"You didn't ask me!" Megan re
minded him.
"I said that 11 you were in bed
and asleep, you couldn't have heard
a scream?"
Megan nodded. "And I said, no, I
couldn't?but you didn't ask me if I
had been in my bed asleep," she
reminded him again.
"Who was with you?" he asked
sternly. "Don't tell me you went
out alone at that time of night."
Megan said quietly, "No, I wasn't
alone. I was when I left the house.
But when I reached the Ridge?Mr.
Fallon was there and we talked a
little while."
Bob asked abruptly, "Your father
was involved with Mrs. Stevenson,
wasn't he?"
Megan gasped as though he had
struck her, and Laurence said
sharply, "Hi, lay off, Bob. You have
no right to ask her such a question."
Bob met his eyes squarely and
said coolly, "Haven't I?"
"As her counsel?" began Lau
rence heatedly, but Bob's grin was
cool, amused, and it silenced him.
Bob lit a cigarette, first securing
permission from Megan.
And then he looked at Miss Mar
tha and said very gently, "Miss
Evans, just why did you kill Mrs.
Stevenson?"
It was so unexpected, and the tone
of his quiet, even voice was in such
contrast to th.e thing he said that
for a moment everybody in the room
went rigid; and outside the door, in
the shadowy hall, there was a
smothered gasp from the unseen,
but listening, Annie.
Miss Martha sat very quiet for a
moment, her body held upright by
her grip on the arms of her chair.
Without raising her face she lifted
her eyes and looked straight at Bob.
He was watching her quietly,
steadily, and in complete silence.
After a moment. Miss Martha
sagged back in her chair, limp and
beaten, all her defenses down.
"All right," she said, her voice a
mere thread of sound. "I?did it."
Megan caught her breath on a
strangled sob dnd swayed a little.
And Laurence, without taking his
eyes off Miss Martha's white, rav
aged face, put his arm about Megan
and drew her close.
"Why. Miss Martha?" asked Bob,
very gently, with pity in his voice.
Miss Martha drew a hard breath
and lifted her hands in a little ges
ture of helplessness before she
gripped them once more about the
arms of her chair. "I?hated her.
She was a wicked woman. She
made so much trouble for every
body. She had started spreading
lies and slander about Tom. 1 was
afraid that Letty might hear?in one
of her periods of lucidity. Tom told
me about the things she was saying.
He had been foolish enough to go to
her house one evening and face her
with a story she was spreading
about him and?Miss MacTavish?"
The tired voice died and she
opened her eyes and looked at Me
gan and said faintly, "I'm?sorry,
but I might as well tell you the
whole story."
"So Mrs. Stevenson was broad
casting the fact that Miss MacTav
ish and Mr. Fallon were friends,
and hinting that there was more to
it than that, and you decided to
have a talk with her?was that it?"
Bob's gentle voice asked Miss Mar
tha.
She rubbed her hands together as
though the palms were damp and her
voice steadied a little. "Yes, that
was it," she said evenly. "And Mrs.
Stevenson was curious about Letty's
illness and she came prying and
snooping. Tom and I knew that if
the people here in Pleasant Grove
knew that Letty was?of unsound
mind, they might be afraid of her,
for aH that she was completely help
less, and that Tom might lose his
job, or worse still, that he might be
forced to?put Letty away In an?
institution. We couldn't bear the
thought of that." Once more the
voice died away, and without a
sound Annie materialized beside
Miss Martha's chair, offering her a
glass in which there was some pun
gent-smelling, milky colored fluid.
Bob waited patiently until Annie
had performed her act of kindliness
and had once more vanished, as si
lently as she had come.
"So you went to have a talk with
Mrs. Stevenson," Bob prompted
Miss Martha, his tone gentle and
friendly.
"Yes," said Miss Martha, and
now she was pleating the crisp per
cale of ber housedress over her knee
with twitching fingers, ber eyes on
the task.
(TO sz cosrnjrurm
L J" IMPROVED Ji Lm"d
UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sunday i
chool Lesson
By HAROLD L. LIWDQUIST. D. O.
Of Thm Moody Bible UwtltuU of ChlcaJD
Released bor WMtcnNrvipaptr Ualua.
Lesson for October 20
Leaeon subjects sad Scripture texts se
lected sad copyrighted by Internet! one]
Council of Bellgkme Education; used b7
permlssloQ.
PAUL TRAINS FOE
HIS LIFE WORK
LESSON TEXT?Acts ?:l*b-2Z; 11.B. M:
CaUtUns 1:17 U
MEMORY SELECTION?And atraUbtwa)
lva preached Christ in lbs synacofues. thai
ha Is lbs Son of Cod.?Acts S.SO.
The regenerating grace of God
had made Paul into a new man, one
who now had no greater delight than
telling others of the redeeming
grace of God.
In preparation for that fuller min
istry whidh was to follow, Paul first
gave witness in the place where he
had been persecuting the Christians,
in fact, in the city to which he was
bound when the Lord met him. But
now instead of breathing out threats
and violence he met these former
associates and friends with the new
message of the gospel.
He had to meet them sooner or
later, and It was well that he met
them now. A clean break with his
past makes a man ready for future
service.
I. Paul Faces His Past (Acts
9:19b-22).
What a surprise it must have been
for those persecutors of the Chris
tians at Damascus to find that the
one to whom they had looked for
leadership was now a Christian.
What a testimony that was?right to
the point!
"Straightway"?what a good word
to apply to the servant of the Lord.
Paul did not hesitate to declare his
faith in Christ, to proclaim that the
One who had redeemed him was
able to save others.
It is the normal and proper ex
pression of Christian faith to give
testimony to others. That should
be true of every believer. With Paul
there was the added element of his
call to preach, for God had ordained
that he should be his chosen vessel
for that purpose (Acts 9:1S).
Paul's message was Christ. He
proved to the Jews that Jesus was
the Christ (v. 22), the One of whom
their Old Testament Scriptures
spake and for whom they professed
to be looking. He declared him tc
be the Son of God (v. 20).
They were unwilling to accept
the messtage. They were "amazed"
at Paul and "confounded" by the
truth he proclaimed, but they re
jected both it and him, and he had
to escape for his life.
Although our lesson only indirect
ly refers to it (see Gal. 1:17, 18),
it should also be noted that Paul
went up to Jerusalem before he
went to Antioch, as indicated in our
next portion of Scripture.
There he faced suspicion on the
part of the believers, who knew
him as their enemy.
Having faced his past we now
see that
II. Paul Faces His Future (Acts
11:29, 29).
He was God's chosen instrument
to bear his name to the Gentiles
(see Acts 9:19), and at the invita
tion of Barnabas he came up from
his home city of Tarfus to minister
at Antioch, the place which now be
came his real spiritual home, and
thd center from which his great
missionary enterprise was carried
out.
It is interesting to note how this
came about in the providence of
God. Persecution spread the be
lievers abroad (Acts 11:19), and like
the scattered brands of a beaten
fire they carried the flame of Chris
tianity far and wide. Thus the gos
pel came to Antioch, the third great
est city in the world of that day. A
revival broke out and Barnabas was
sent from Jerusalem to be of help.
Good and spiritual man that he
was (Acts 19:23, 24), Barnabas did
nothing to hinder this work of God,
but admonished the people to
"cleave unto the Lord"; that is, to
follow him closely. Would that all
spiritual advisers had such a spirit
and such sound Judgment.
He was also wise in sensing his
need of help. So he went after
Paul, the very man to teach these
young Christians and to lead them
out into a radiant and abundant
life for the Lord. Here it was that
the beautiful name of "Christian"
was first used.
All this was possible because
III. Panl Faces His Lord (Gal.
1:17-24).
Many years after he had beer
called to Antioch, Paul wrote this
letter to the Oalatians to warn them
against Judaizing teachers and to
urge them to hold fast to salvation
by faith. He declared this to be s
message which he received from
God and not from men.
Before Paul went out to preach and
teach he went up into Arabia to b<
alone with the Lord, as he took what
we might call his postgraduate
course in theology. He learned
alone with God.
His life had been transformed. Hi]
attitudes had been complete!)
changed. His thinking about Christ
was diametrically opposite to hit
former beliefs. He needed tim?
alone with God to prepare himsel:
for the stormy but triumphant yeari
ahead.
*lown
i fiefio*te*
|h WASHINGTON
My Wollar Stead
I WW Cm ignite*
mMO ITulliflo Btutm
uu En St.. a. w.
. Unpavri F?ni?r Rudt
Ratard Farm Pragrtu
, DUBLIC Roads administration ten
L tatively has considered approxi
mately 200,000 miles of secondary
farm-to-market roads to be taken
I into the nation's secondary highway
system under provisions of the 1944
1 federal aid highway act. There is
now available some fOO million dol
lars in the second postwar fiscal
year for this type of road.
Two hundred thousand miles seems
i like a lot of mileage ... a stretch
which would reach from New York
to San Francisco some M times.
Yet, viewed in the light of total mile
age of these secondary or feeder
roads, of which there are 2,400,000
miles and of which 1,400,000 miles
are unsurfaced, it is only a step
toward taking rural America out of
the mud and dust.
This fact was pointed out graph
ically in a recent highway meeting
by Charles U. Upham, engineer-di
rector of American Road Builders
association, who emphasized the
fact that despite federal aid for
farm-to-market roads, local and
county road improvement is not
keeping pace with mechanization of
American farms.
"Improved year-round all-weath
er farm-to-market roads are as acc
essary to the people of the nation
as the primary trunk lines," Upham
said, and to back op his assertion
ho pointed to the fact that of the
S12,tM,M9,M9 worth of term pro
duction annually hauled to market,
nearly the entire amount is $jpeked
over secondary or farm-to-market
roads to reach consumers of the
nation.
As an example, he declared that
' in 1944 approximately 3,620,000 truck
loads of livestock alone?some 56,
000,000 cattle, sheep and hogs?were
shipped to market over these sec
i ondary roads, good and bad.
I
Carry a Third of TrafRe
' Under the 1944 act a billion dol
lars a year in matched funds is
' made available to the nation's high
way system, of which 30 per cent
| was apportioned to these secondary
roads, 45 per cent to the federal-aid
> system or primary roads and 25 per
cent to urban roads and streets.
I States reporting and asking for
these matched funds indicate that
29 per cent of all needed construc
tion work on highways is on the sec
I ondary and feeder road system,
t This is due largely to the fact that
34.5 per cent of the nation's vehicu
lar traffic, measured in vehicle
, miles, is carried over these county
roads serving 68,953,000 people or
52.3 per cent of the population of
continental U. S. A. who live in the
areas fed by these secondary high
ways. . .
Farmers of Mm aaMsa an among
the greatest road asers, stace agri
col tare uses M per eent of all trneks
built, adding np to tracks
bow on the farms ef the aatloa, at
which l.lS4,S0e an farm-owned and
5N,See art fer-hln units handling
farm products and supplies. So the
food distributiea system, so vital In
these days ef food shortages, nlies
almost entirely spoa the secondary
road system.
That congress has at last taken
cognizance of the need for improve
ment of these roads is evidmtced by
inclusion of them in the highway
aid law. Lack of funds, which here
tofore has kept many thousands of
fanners in the mud, is no longer a
valid excuse. Statistics show that
only 45,000 miles of feeder roads
have high-type paved surfaces; 99,
000 miles have low-type bituminous
surface; 788,000 miles have non
treated surfaces; 813,000 miles are
merely graded and drained, and
861,000 miles are classed as "primi
tive." Despite the fact that 200,000
miles are tentatively considered for
improvement, the rural highway pic
ture is not too bright, and immedi
ate action in bringing more mileage
into the system for improvement
is considered essential.
Highway T axes Divert ad
One of the disturbing factors in
the farm-to-market highway picture
and indeed in the entire field of
highway construction, is the contin
ued diversion of highway-user taxes
L to other purposes by the several
i states. Improvement is being made,
i however, since during the past 17
i years 18 states have passed consti
i tutional amendments to prevent dl
i version of these funds.
> How these taxes have grown Is in
dicated by the fact that under a reg
istration of 29,485,880 motor vehicles
' In 1938, total receipts from all high
way-user sources was $388,625,000.
In 1944, with a registration of 29,
900,000 vehicles, only slightly great
i er than seven years earlier, receipts
' had grown to $1,128,570,000, more
t than three times the amount collect
i ed in 1938. The average auto owner
pays $53 64 a year.
f With federal aid added to state
1 funds there should be plenty to take
rural America out of the mud.
NEEDLECRAFT PATTERNS
Gay Cut-Ups for Kitchen Towels \
' I "HESE puppies get into mischief
1 from Sunday through Saturday.
They play different tricks every
day.
Presidential Seal
The seal of the President of the
United States, unlike the IT other
federal seals, is not employed to
confirm, ratify or authenticate doc
uments, its only official use being
to seal the flaps of envelopes that
carry Presidential messages and
other papers to Congress.
Oh. so gay and colorful for your kitchsa
towels . i to easy to embroidsr. Pattern
7491 has a transfer of 7 motifs about 5l?
by 8 inches.
Send your order to:
Scwtag Circle Needlecraft Deft
82 EigMh Are. New Tort
Enclose 88 cents for Pattern.
Ho
Address
fiAoiJwi. to dbvoihajt.
The occasion was a dinner ia
honor of a valued customer of the
arm. Among those present was a
member who was of a painfully
nervous temperament. Through
out the evening he made awkward
remarks?intended to be compli
mentary?to the customer and oth
ers.
On the way home he was taken
to teak for his failings by another
member.
"Look here, Jones," the other
said decidedly, "you're an ass!
Why couldn't you keep quiet, in
stead of making asinine remarks?
I'm speaking to you as a brother?"
Loud laughter greeted him at
this point, and for a moment ha
wondered why.
? Rub in gently-wannijac, Hurtling Ben-Gey for fmt MM
? relief from macular icww and pain. BeoGey coo
tains up to 2V4 times mora methyl salicylate and
1^1 doctor?than fire other widely offered rub-ins. Insist
on genuine Ben-Gay, the laiginal Demise Anslgeasqusk
* ? * n Tn nrroi
How to help your child figlit
FEAR OF DARKNESS
ml l?lm Ci H.. J ML T.
1? .
? ? dna* o< tto
IB ? ckiU.
9 Brias back the dartiphc
? world be lion, wiib
rWIreiaady-iajhUghr...
?how that the yard. or iha
bafcmcw. a tbc aac fond- "
?ar place br oiffcr u br day. |
Or (bat myweriooa nifbrume I
modi are made br ample
thin*j - rattliop ihadet, moe*
?a| braacbca pea. Let Wei ?
are roar dnhliphr himreU
or. better will, pet ham am at
buowa Tie.
3 fill tasks after dark,
afcaa ha Bay aaa kit "I?
ready'?ashl<skt. lock as p?
tsaa kss soys away or IIII1^
aasilliiiW for yaa from a
dark doaec. Abort aB. area*
fripfcaa turn wick 'Bovcy.
appeal id kis pnda.
Tkca ka win arrapr ilnloa
aa jast aaochar pan of tka day.
a
Foe ANY flashlight ate, rtlf oa
"leeready" bumiti. Their repo
tatioa for loopt life of brighter light
hat made them the largest-telliag - :
flashlight batteries la the world?aad
jmutj! Aiit your dealer for "leereadr"
batteries by aaase; their extra light,
extra life coat you aitliag extra I
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