10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

32: eral of the ladies to fix the eats. As for mine”—a crashing roll of thunder shook the house; he cocked his head to listen— “for mine you.can sizzle me a hunk of steak. When everyone is full I'll tell you why you’re here. Can anyone present play a pipe organ? My librarian doubles = organ punching, but he’s vacation- ng.” Nobody admitted being an organist. Race studied the expressions of amaze- ment on faces. “Some of these people would give another hundred to be back home,” he whispered to Janice Darrow and grinned. The women made a picnic of serving dinner? They became acquainted in the process. The men knew each other by the time their appetites were appeased. Race realized with relief that he’d been ac- cepted as a relative, few of whom knew each other. A middle-aged widow, a Mrs. Dockery, insisted on preparing Roger Leymore’s place and serving it in person, She won a grunted “Thank you,” but nothing else. When the dishes were cleared away, the butler asked for silence. Roger Leymore stood up, lit a cigar, began talking: “You perhaps wonder why I asked you folks here. There’s no mystery about it, I just wanted to look my relatives over before making my will. It won’t do you any good to act and try to fool me. I’m hard to fool. “There are forty rooms in this dump. I want each of you to occupy a room sep- arately. I might want to drop in for a chat. I’m going to give you just one test; a question to be answered in as few words as possible. The question: ‘What would you do with a million dollars?’ Have your answer ready by tomorrow afternoon. Now—how many of you men can play poker?” £ bec driving rain didn’t let up through the entire night. Terrific claps of thunder rattled windows. Race slept fitfully and rose early. Seeing a lull in the downpour, he dressed and slipped out for a look at the island. The house was on the highest spot of the island, which was long and narrow. Hearing the roar of the swelling river, he started toward the bridge for a look. He paused as his eyes caught sight of what looked like a kid glove on a pile of __ brush and dirt. His curiosity aroused, 10-STORY DETECTIVE he walked over to the spot, halted with narrowed eyes. What he had taken for a glove was a man’s hand. A bit of work and he gazed down at the dead body of a middle-aged man clad in a guard’s uniform. The jacket breast was blood-soaked. Bullet through the heart, mused Race. after baring the chest. Couldn’t have killed himself and buried his own body. He went through the poc- kets, found nothing. He studied the spot carefully. There were no shoeprints except his own. No trail proving the body had been dragged to the shallow grave. Then his roving - eyes caught sight of a tire track. He stooped to examine it. The sudden stoop saved his life. He heard the whine of the bullet first, then the report. Alert to his danger he threw his body in a rolling dive over a hummock, reached the shelter of shrub- bery. Gaining his feet, he raced for the house. He had no desire to face an armed foe just then; his own weapon was in his bag. He went to his room. With his pistol holstered under his left armpit, he went down to report the killing to Roger Ley- more. He found Leymore’s room locked, so he hurried to the phone in the big re- ception room, thumbed the directory, He was about to place his call to the sheriff when the scowling butler walked up, banked the receiver back down. “Us- ing the telephone is against Mr. Ley- more’s orders,” he snapped. “Who you fixing to call, anyway?” Race studied the man’s cold eyes, sup- pressed an angry retort. “Well, it does- n’t matter,” he said lightly. “Was only phoning my barber to send me some hair tonic. Say, do you think my hair really needs a tonic?” He stepped back a pace, feeling the man might attack him. “A smart guy, eh,” snarled the butler. “Don’t gimme any of your lip or ’'li—” He didn’t fin- ish. A roaring crash sounded from out- side. The rush of thundering water raised a deafening noise. They heard a man’s shouts. Hurrying to a window, Race eould see nothing for dense shrubbery. Shouts of an approaching man grew louder. The butler was at the opened door. Race joined him; could now see the rising waters. The soaked figure of a man came into view. -- ee