10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 44: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

42————__—_—_—__—_—_——10-STORY DETECTIVE ty evasive in your answers to my ques- tions, Mr. Lindsey.” The chain-store magnate nodded. “So I placed three men about your estate with orders to watch it,” the inspector went on. “When you and Eric, here—” he jerked his head to- ward the giant, who stood near by, handcuffed—‘‘came out, my men no- tified me and we followed you.” “T had been in touch with the kid- napers, then, you see,” the elder Lind- sey explained. “They sent me a tele- gram and told me to call a cértain number. I called that at one o’clock, as I had been told to do, and a man who answered told me to call another number.” Hoke Martin smiled but said noth- ing. “Whoever it was that answered at this second number.” Lindsey con- tinued, “‘told me he didn’t want cash. Afraid of the numbers on the bills, I suppose. He told me he wanted my . wife’s diamond necklace.” “Whew!” the inspector said. “That thing’s worth a hundred thousand dol- lars, isn’t it?” “Yes,” said Lindsey. “Durga prob- ably could have gotten fifty thousand for it, disposing of it through a fence. He told me to bring it to Tieless Tony’s place at once and my son would be freed. So Eric and I started out, not knowing, of course, that you were following us.” “And you didn’t suspect, then, that your son was in on his own kidnap- ing?” the inspector asked. “No,” said Nelson Lindsey, ‘‘and I don’t see yet how Martin figured it out. How did you do it, Martin?” “The main clue was what you said about your son’s penchant for radio,” the private detective said. “On my way to your estate, on the edge of it, -in fact, I was mystified by a voice that seemed to come to me from out of no- where. “So after I had talked with you, I did some investigating. I found a loud- speaker concealed in the stone wall. A wire connected it to your son’s labora- tory. “T already knew Eric was in on it, because of a piece of hemp I found in his trouser cuff. It was a strand from the rope that had been used to tie me when I was horsewhipped. After that, it was easy to see how Eric could have used his voice through the _ loud- speaker, slipped out a basement win- dow, and be in time to shoot the but- ler when the butler came up the drive- way. “It was pretty dark and Eric thought the butler was me.” “God! What a mess!” young Frank Lindsey moaned. “I feel as guilty of murder as if I had shot that butler myself.” “No!” Eric spoke up. “You told me not to shoot. Just to scare. Not your fault.” “You see,” young Lindsey went on, “T had lost a lot of money in Durga’s gambling den and there was no way for me to pay him. I went to my father but he wouldn’t let me have the money. Durga argued me into this kidnaping idea. Said my father would never know the difference.” Hoke Martin smiled grimly. “But you lost your nerve when you heard me downstairs in Tieless Tony’s, say- ing I had come for you. You came to the stairs, and that’s when it started.” Young Lindsey nodded. “There was one narrow escape that even you don’t know about, though. Tieless Tony was snaking a gun up to shoot you when the police came in. I was about to shout at you.” The private detective grinned. “Sure, I knew about that.” He looked at Tony, who stood handcuffed next to Eric. “Nitroglycerine is usually yellow,” Tony said. “Like I told Martin on the way down here. That stuff he had in the bottle was grayish.” He seemed proud of his knowledge. ‘‘What was that stuff you had in the bottle, then?” Nelson Lindsey asked. “Soup,” said Martin. “Just plain chicken soup.” Gomichbooks.com