10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

fine =. 47 e ~- £ ve xe" : sa ~ ot = aan > ae Rot ee Sor = < 23 x sneered. Tie up to a country hick! Cripes, no! He did not even notice that Betty had served him a plate piled higher than the others with country fried chicken, corn fritters and red ripe tomatoes. Slip settled down to eating, his mind on the big time he would be having soon with some blonde from the Gadety line. ... Police Chief Amos Maddox reached his office earlier on Monday mornings, for there were reports to make out, papers to sign and the usual inspec- tion of the city jail. The police chief had just signed the last of the papers when the telephone rang. The receiv- er lost in his big hand, Chief Maddox listened intently for several minutes. His usually tanned face was gray now and pain showed in his faded eyes. Finally he nodded and hung up the receiver. He sighed and his hand trembled as he ran blunt fingers through his white hair. The police chief’s mouth was taut, his broad chin set and hard as he reached into the desk drawer and brought out a shoulder holster and a well-worn Colt .45. He slowly took off his coat and strapped on the holster. Then he carefully inspected the gun before holstering it. On the desk before him was a small picture in a silver frame. The face of the girl laughed out at him, a girl with wide, honest eyes and the hint of freckles on her chin. Chief Maddox couldn’t look at it long; he turned it face down, for that picture of Betty made a lump come into his - throat. “Poor motherless kid!’ he said softly, and there was a suspicious brightness in his faded eyes. Chief Maddox straightened his shoulders and walked slowly toward his office door. As his gnarled hand reached for the knob he stopped, lis- tening. From along the wide hallway outside he heard running feet. The - door was thrust open in his face. He blinked and his lower jaw dropped J in : eae. Peres Cae - ar Rte wot as Se ae - ae ae te Sent, Set Sey > PA we — i = Bae See Tie oD, me pe. = P = 3 tae o45) a “ a = “Why — why, Johnny Dowst!” he faltered. “What in the name—” Chief Maddox stared down into the thin, flushed face of Johnny Dowst upturned to his. Johnny’s eyes were wide now —wide, straightforward and clear. “TJ — I ran all the way — from the laundry, chief,” Johnny Dowst gasped out. “I—I was pretty excited, I guess. Look!” His hand dived into a pocket of his coat and held out something before the staring eyes of the old po- lice chief. “These—these diamonds must have been stolen from Riker’s, chief! They — they were hidden in a bundle of laundry by the — the thief. It was a package Mr. Riker was sending to me for laundering, I —I tied it myself Saturday. When I opened it a while ago the—the jewels fell out!” Johnny Dowst pressed the small package into Chief Maddox’s hands. He flopped breathlessly into a chair, mopping his streaming face with a handkerchief. HIEF MADDOX said nothing. He looked briefly into the lit- tle package and blinked when he saw the shimmering jewels. Wordlessly he picked up the phone and called the Riker store, Five minutes later the jeweler identified the jewels. Not one was missing. As he turned to go he nod- ded to Johnny Dowst. “All I can say, Johnny, is a You can count on me for the money when you want to buy the laundry. Old man Peterson, your boss, told me at the Board of Trade dinner the doc- tor had ordered him to live in Flor- ida. He’d like to sell to you, Johnny. It won’t take much. Go ahead and — deal with him. I got some spare mon-. ey laid away.” Riker grinned as he shook hands. “You can have what you need just on your own signature, Johnny.” He walked out, the little packet of jewets in his hands. “Johnny,” Chief Maddox said