PAGE SIX 1? MOUTHPIECE COPYRIGHT—RELEASED BY V&BL Sy O EDGAR WALLACE VMly CENTRAL PRESSASSOCIATIOM / an J ROBERT CUR T/S CHAPTER 44 f JUST AS Jacqueline felt that she could not draw another breath when Joplin’s huge hands began to squeeze her throat, the pressure jwas relaxed and she sank into a 'limp heap on the floor. "That’s what you’ll get—see?” came Joplin’s voice. ! Jacqueline attempted no reply, and after a moment the man went on. "Listen,” he said. "That’s what you’ll get an’ then you’ll go over board. Twenty-five hundred dol lars I’ll get for doing it. Get me?” He stirred her with his foot. "Get me?” he repeated. "Tha’s the offer the gentleman made —s2,soo to put you out and keep me mouth shut.” I Jacqueline gazed at him with horrified eyes. i "You were offered $2,500 to —to iget rid of me?” “Ah.” "By Colonel Lutman?” "No names,” said Joplin. “Incog, see? Turned it down, I did. Kill ing ain’t my line. Twenty-five dol lars a week, I said, an’ I’ll keep j’er till she pegs out—but no kill ing. Tha’s me. Gentle, I am.” I Jacqueline’s fingers touched her throat. "But no larks —see?” added Jop lin. “No hollering. No whistling. No nothing. Twenty-five dollars is $25, and I ain’t losing it. Any more larks and I’ll .. .” He raised ;his hands again and moved them toward her throat. “Get me? (And then overboard you go. .Twenty-five hundred dollars —see?” He turned, lumbered to the door, and paused. "Get me?” Jacqueline nodded. "Well, that’s ’nuff, then.” The girl climbed back into the bunk, lay down and closed her eyes. * * * | Mrs. Smith was not in the best of moods. To begin with, dawn, when she opened her eyes, greeted her with a reminder that the pleas ant future to which her thoughts had lately flown as soon as she awoke in the morning, no longer existed as a possibility. Jacque line, with her blunt refusal to marry Jim Asson, had completely shattered all prospect of the com fortable, carefree life to which her mother had been looking forward, and the future now simply would not bear looking into. Mrs. Smith, with an uneasy feel ing that fate was about to deal Tier another blow, set down the cup of tea and proceeded to investigate. The fact that Jacqueline’s pajamas were not in their case on the pil low caused her a quick stab of fear and sent her hurrying to the dress ing table. And there she received another stab. Brushes, comb and hand mirror were missing. She crossed to the wardrobe and peered inside. Several frocks, she real ized, were not there; and when the chest of drawers revealed that most of her daughter’s under clothes had disappeared, there seemed to Mrs. Smith to be noth ing for it but to believe the incred ible. Jacqueline, without a word of explanation or warning, had gone away.- But why? And where ? It struck Mrs. Smith with sud den devastating force that Charles Stuckey might well be the cause of all the disasters that had over taken her since she had so satis factorily arranged her own and Jacqueline’s future. And the more she thought about it, the more feasible that explanation became. Jacqueline obviously liked the man. Even at Cobenzil, when he had worn those preposterous ‘plus fours and that ridiculous hat, she had been far more charming to him than she had ever been to Jim Asson, and it had been quite evi dent that the Stuckey person had been very much attracted to her. She remembered now that during the journey to England Jacqueline had taken no notice of Jim and had Picture of Faith ' JB /l striking study of Monsignor Luis Maria Martinez, newly consecrated Archbishop of Mexico, who faces the enormously difficult task of heading the Catholic church in Mexico with a smile. This picture was taken shortly after he had been consecrated. *Central Press) Charles gave her a quick glance of surprise spent most of the time talking to Stuckey. That morning at the office, too —the way Jacqueline had insisted on speaking to him alone, and the way Stuckey had backed her up. She should have realized then that there was something afoot and have refused to stand any non sense. They probably hadn’t dis cussed the marriage settlement at all—had just go£ rid of the others on that pretext so that they could have a little time together and lay their plans. In moments of crisis Mrs. Smith was rarely at a loss to know what she should do. Long experience of recurrent financial crises in Conti nental hotels had made her both resolute and quick-witted, and in this crisis she decided instantly what must be done. She must go to Stuckey’s office. That was ob viously the first step. If he really had married Jacqueline, he would have to listen to what she had to say to him, and answer a few ques tions. Mrs. Smith felt that as Jac queline’s mother she had a right to know what sort of an income •Charles Stuckey made, and what sort of an allowance her daughter was to receive, Mrs. Smith as a rule could be relied upon to keep her head in an emergency, but in the present one she so far lost her accustomed poise as to forget the depleted state of the family exchequer and traveled to Rotherhithe by taxi. But long before the cab stopped outside the office of Messrs. Stuckey & Stuckey she was quite herself again. As she entered the office and Mr. Bells rose to attend to her, she was dignity personified and self-possession incarnate. “Is Mr. Stuckey in?” “He is, madam,” replied Mr. Bells. “Ah!” said Mrs. Smith, as though the fact of Mr. Stuckey’s presence caused her supreme sat isfaction. “Then please tell him, my good man, that I wish to see him.” “Mr. Stuckey is engaged, mad am—” began Mr. Bells, but Mrs. Smith cut him short. “Mr. Stuckey will see me,” she said. “Tell him it is Mrs. Smith.” Then, as Mr. Bells hesitated, she crossed to the door of Charles’ pri vate room and grasped the knob.-' ‘‘There’s a taxi waiting at the door,’’ she said. "Please pay the Wife Preservers A safeguard against spontane ous combustion is to keep oily rags used for cleaning and dust ing in glass or metal container!. ENGLAND'S KINGS y N0%3 Richard II 1937, KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, Inc. NEXT—Struggle®* HenrylVagalnst and Owen Glendower. Battteof Shrewsbury, lieury begins persecution of Wycliff’s HENDURSOJN, (N. C.) DAILY DISPATCH, MONDAY, MAY 10, 1937 man and dismiss him.” And before Mr. Bells had even begun to search his mental archives for some precedent and to consider whether such a payment, if permissible at all, should be made from petty, cash or as a loan from his own pocket, Mrs. Smith had opened the door and sailed in. r ’She found Charles seated at his desk; and beside the desk, without his eyeglass or any trace of his usual genial smile—he was, in fact, scowling and raising his voice as if he were conducting a heated argu ment as she entered —stood Colonel Lutman. As she came into the room, however, the Colonel sudden ly stopped speaking, and smile and monocle slipped into their accus tomed places. | “My dear Mrs. Smith,” he began, “this is a most unexpected pleas- 1 ure.” But Mrs. Smith did not so much; as glance at him. She planted her-i self in front of Charles’ desk and fixed the solicitor with a discon certing stare. ; “Well, Mr. Stuckey,” she said, “I am waiting to hear. Where is Jac queline?” Charles gave her a quick glance of surprise. j “We will have no pretense, If you: please, Mr. Stuckey. I have a right to know, and I intend to know. What has become of my daugh ter?” “Hadn't you better explain, Mrs. j Smith?” suggested Charles. “Jac-j queline is not here.” “My dear Mr. Stuckey, I hardly expected that she would be. And I can see that she isn’t here. lam asking you where she is.” “I’m afraid I can’t help you,” began Charles, but again she cut him short. “Oh yes, you can, Mr. Stuckey. I have an intuition that you can! tell me all I want to know. Where is Jacqueline?” “I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith, but I have no idea where Jacqueline is. The last time I saw her was here in this office —when she came to sign the deed.” “Ah!” said Mrs. Smith signifi cantly. “That’s what you natural ly would say. But it’s not the truth, and you’ll do no good by : telling lies, Mr. Stuckey.” “Really, Mrs. Smith!” exclaimed. Charles angrily. “I’m not accus-1 tomed to being told that I’m tell ing lies.” (To Be Continued) Wife Preservers A pinch of baking powder add ed to the eggs you are scrambling will make them lighter. If MOUTH PI EC \cng/ central press associatioh and ROBERT CU&T/S CHAPTER 43 JACQUELINE lay back on the bunk of the barge and tried to think clearly. It seemed quite ob vious to her that the only person who could possibly be responsible for what had happened to her was Colonel Lutman. v Mrs. Joplin’s de nial of all knowledge of him meant nothing: it was merely part of the service she rendered in exchange for $25 a week. Colonel Lutman, if he had not actually kidnaped her himself, had undoubtedly arranged it, and Jim Asson, perhaps, had had a hand in the business. Only those two could have any reason for kidnaping her. But when she came to ask her self what their object could be, she found it hard to find a convincing reason. They wanted her to marry Jim Asson, and their reason for that she had discovered. She was to marry Jim, having signed that deed transferring all her money to him, and the Colonel, no doubt, was to have his rakeoff. A pretty little scheme, and it had very near ly come off. She sat up in the bunk, listening intently. No sound reached her but the lapping of the water against the barge, and she con cluded that the Joplins had retired for the night. Very cautiously she climbed out of the bunk, first slip ping off her shoes, and crept silent ly across to the door. She stooped and put an eye close to the key hole. There was no key in it, and as she straightened herself her eyes were alight with excitement. The Joplins, evidently, were satis fied that she would give no more trouble and were trusting to the stretch of dark swirling water that lay between her and the shore to keep guard over her for them. She opened the door a fraction of an inch and paused. She heard nothing, and opened the door an other fraction of an inch. The faintest squeak came from the hinges, and for a few moments she was rigid, straining for the least sound. None came, but if the door was going to squeak, she told her self, it would be asking for trouble to open it slowly. She must fling it open suddenly and slip through it and up the stairs before the Jop lins, if they heard the squeak, had time to reach her. Once up the stairs, she would not hesitate this time. With a sudden sweep she flung the door wide open. As she did so there came of metal and she stepped aside just in time to avoid a large zinc bath which, with a couple of heavy iron sauce pans and a frying pan in close attend ance, toppled off the chair in which they had been balanced against the door, and crashed to the floor. The next _ ipqment Alfred Joplin loomed up frojfjq the direction of the steps. without Mrs. Jop lin and her expansive smile, he looked a great deal more terrifying as he stood there, staring at her with sullen, resentful eyes. Jac queline was certain that if he came any nearer to her she would scream. The No. 1 Angler Off for Gulf Fishing s . likkW ?■ Ilf 1111' illll BByjsJMwafeky < fife. IMBIIifeBM / En route to New Orleans, where he will embark on the yacht Potomac for a two-weeks’ fishing trip in Gulf waters, President Roosevelt is pictured on the observation platform of his train as it left Washington. With him are (left) Attorney General Homer S. Cummings and Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper. (Central Pre»s) But he came no nearer. He picked up the various parts *of the ingenious alarm signal, put them in the bath, and placed the bath outside the door. Then he turned to her again, scowling. "Don’t do it—see?” he growled. "What’s the good? I’m on the stairs —see? And next time I’ll fetch you a fourpenny—get me?” He closed the door, and with a sigh Jacqueline seated herself in the chair and lighted another cig aret. The Joplins, it seemed, were not so trustful as she had imagined, and with Mr. Joplin sit ting out there on the steps, wait ing to "fetch her a fourpenny”, escape that way was definitely out of the question. And there was no other way, unless ... Her gaze rested on the small window. It was very small, not more than a foot square, and on a level with the upper bunk, and she realized at once that if she was to leave the barge she could not do so by that exit. It was as ut terly impassible as was Alfred on the stairs outside. The hard truth was that she could not hope to get off the barge, and, that being so, the only possi bility of getting out of the trap in which Colonel Lutman had caught her was for someone to come onto the barge and take her off. In some way she must get free. She got up, placed the chair in position, stepped onto it, and ex amined the window. She found that the catch moved easily, and very carefully she slipped it back and pulled the window open. There was only just room for her face in the opening, and her range of vision was limited; but by screw ing her head sideways she could see a short distance along the river in each direction. She knew very little about the river, her experi ence having been gathered chiefly in a punt in the neighborhood of Cookham, but there must, she imagined, be a good many people within earshot, and if she shouted someone would surely hear. There were river police, too, she believed, though how to know a police boat from any other boat she had no idea. She would stay where she was, anyway, and if she caught sight of a boat she would shout and wave her handkerchief. If only she could attract someone’s attention and get a few words with him, the rest would be plain sail ing. It was some time before her pa tience was rewarded, and then at last she heard the chugging of a motor boat. The sound was faint, and though she twisted her head this way and that, she could not get a glimpse of it. It might, of course, be right across the river close to the bank, in which case it would be useless to shout, and she would have to wait in the hope that another might come along later, close enough to give her a chance of making herself heard. Gradually the throb of the engine grew louder, and very sud denly, so it seemed to Jacqueline, it came into her ranee of vision. PIECE She saw its lights clearly and could just make out the outline of the boat. She watched it anxiously as it drew nearer. „ If it kept to its present course it would pass quite close to her—not more than a dozen yards away, she calculated— and one good yell should be enough to attract the attention of its oc cupants. Better, perhaps, to whis tle —one of those shrill piercing whistles with two fingers in her mouth which, after much labor, she had learned to produce under the instruction of her father and the unqualified disapproval of her mother. They’d be sure to hear a whistle. I She waited, with her fingers in readiness and her face close to the window, until the boat was almost opposite and she could see the fig ures of three men seated in it, and then her fingers slipped into her mouth and an ear-splitting whistle came shrilling out of it. She saw the men turn their heads, glancing around as though uncertain from which direction the sound had come. She put her fingers into her mouth again and took a deep breath. But before the sound had left her lips, hands were suddenly clamped onto her shoulders, and she was jerked vio lently backward. She staggered, clutched wildly, and, overbalancing the chair, crashed to the floor. In stantly she was on her feet, to find Alfred Joplin, his lips twitching and his eyes dark with fury, facing her. She saw that his hands were clenching and unclenching ner vously, and as she stared at them, feeling that she dared not take her eyes off them, she saw him raise them, half-open, the knotted fin gers with their short broad nails curled as if about to grasp some thing, and move slowly toward her. She glanced at his face, saw his tongue pass across his lips, read murder in his eyes, and only with a tremendous effort stopped her self from screaming. Suddenly, as he took another step toward her, she seized the chair with both hands and swung it above her head. “Come one step farther,” she gasped, “and I’ll use it.” Joplin took no notice. He took another step toward her, and as he did so Jacqueline swung the chair and brought it crashing with all her strength on his head. For an instant Joplin wavered, and then his hand shot out, grabbed the chair, wrenched it from her grasp, and sent it clat tering across the room. Once again he moved toward her. Jac queline, her gaze fixed on those curling fingers, backed away until, as the back of her head reached the edge of the bunk, she could re treat no farther, and she cowered into the corner. The next moment she felt Joplin’s hands around her throat, encircling it like a steel band, squeezing relentlessly until she gasped for breath; her head seemed bursting and great waves of color went swirling across her vision. (To Be Continued) NOTICE OF SALE OfT77! C H. H,ght dated and recorded in the office of h’ Register of Deeds of Vance r 10 in Book 140 at page 563, ing been made in the payment note' therein secured, on request (l ? holder of the same, I shall sell cash by public auction, at the Cn I Hour door in Henderson n C to It ‘highest bidder, at 12 o’clock N ( „ m a Monday, the 24th day of May m,