10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

4 —__1_}}0 OCAUST HOUSE ried forward, Race kept pace with him. Before they reached the door it was opened from the inside. A medium-sized man, thin-faced, with thinning hair, stepped out. He wore a bathrobe. “William Wadlow,” Race heard a man exclaim. He pushed ahead of the butler, entered the lighted room. Lying on the floor was the body of the tall guard, trickles of blood fanning out from. un- der the body. Lying nearby was a pistol. The butler gave one look, mouthed an oath. “That rat killed Slim. Probably try- ing to rob him.” Dr. Lathan came into.the room, knelt beside the body, turned it over. He looked at Race. “This man is dead. A bullet through his heart killed him.” At the door Wadlow—one of the rela- tives—looked at the doctor, fear in his eyes. Race got out his handkerchief, picked up the weapon by the barrel end. A number of men crowded into the room. A woman peered in from the door, screamed and left hurriedly. - Race held the weapon up, looked ques- tioningly about. “It ain’t Slim’s,” the butler growled. Race’s eyes roved from face to face. Negative nods greeted him. His gaze fastened on Wadlow’s face. The man started, stepped forward, and peered closely at the gun. “It’s — that’s my gun,” he said hoarsely. “I didn’t kill him. You needn’t look at me that way.” Race deftly examined the gun. “It was fired once. Suppese, Mr. Wadlow, you tell us. If you didn’t kill him, what brought you into this room and how your pistol fired the fatal shot.” Wadlow looked about at the grim — faces, shuddered a bit, licked his lips, “When I went to my room to go to bed, © I found a note on my pillow.” He searched the pockets of the bathrobe. “T remember now. I left the note in my vest pocket. Anyway, it told me to come to this room at two o’clock. Said the writ- er had some extremely important news for me. It warned me to keep mum and to be there promptly. It was signed, ‘A Friend’.” Race nodded. “What happened when you came here?” Wadlow pulled nervously at his ear. “I knocked on the door. Softly at first, then louder. I heard him”—pointing at the body—‘“‘get up and unlock the door. I walked in. [ heard a gun go off behind me, and started to turn. Something hit 35 my head, and everything went black. When I came to, I was on the floor. I got up and saw his body there. I opened the door and met you fellows coming in.” The men exchanged iooks. Race looked at Dr. Lathan. “Okay, Wadlow, you say you left the note in your vest pocket. We'll go to your room and you can show it to us.” His eyes caught sight of some- thing behind a footstool. He stepped over, picked up a heavy; brass candle- stick, Putting it on the table, he said, “Lead us to your room, Wadlow.” In his own room Wadlow fished in his vest pocket, hastily fished through the © others. ‘Tt’s gone,” He searched through his suit, his light topcoat. Shook his head hopelessly. “It’s no use, it disappeared.” “Knowed you was lying,” the butler snarled. “You went to Slim’s room to rob him; he woke up and hit you with the candlestick, so you shot him.” “T think,” Race said dryly, “we better lock this man up until we can get word to the sheriff.” Heads nodded approval. Wadlow loeked stunned. “Why not lock him in his room?” Race said. “He ean’t escape with this flood on.” Heads nodded again. Back in his own room Race wrapped the pistol up,. hid it in a big vase. He got out his own weapon, put it under his pillow. Two men had been put away with two bullets. He didn’t intend being the -third? He looked to the door, peered through the three windows of the room. As far as he could see, a cat couldn’t get a foothold outside those windows. He crawled in bed and wasted no time trying to puzzle out.a clue to what had happened. He.was asleep in less than three minutes. EXT morning a rap on his door by Dr. Lathan awakened Race, He ushered the doctor in. “Mr. Bennett, doesn’t it strike you as odd that everyone in the household knew about the killing last night except Mr. Leymore?” Race considered that a few moments. “Not so odd, doctor. His room is at the far end of the house. Nobody thought to arouse him. But he should be told at once,” _ “That has been done. The butler and f gave him the facts. He thinks Wadlow is guilty without any doubt; told us a Streak of insanity ran through Wadlow’s family. is instructed the butler and me “ eae es a a i> ee — 7 x tn er = >, ae — — : S~ 2 + mies ee eee — wa faa 9 x i. : Aine * ~— ” / y 4 \/ 5 ——— - gener as =a mi] | ) - : ar a | \ y | re é ‘ o J = RT i ? < oe ~ = = —_ ~ ~ er * =) += - = . tnd =z Ss 4 =>