Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 141: what you’re looking at

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

HOW MANY CARDS? ment as to the shrinkage of his; capital, Creveling could not have been brought SO low financially that he must steal his own wife’s trinkets. Then a sudden thought halted McCarty in the middle of a busy street, to the imminent danger of his neck and the wrath of the traffic policeman. Urged to action by the honk of a motor- horn just behind his ear he sprang me- chanically for the curb and continued his way as though in a daze. Creveling had opened the jewel-case when he took it from the safe to give it to his wife and she had mentioned that she intend-. ed to have the stones reset almost imme- diately, but he had tried to dissuade her from doing so. Had ‘his disapproval been merely because their antique setting ap- pealed to his artistic sense, as Mrs. Crev- eling said, or had he another reason? Were the stones in those old settings the same ones which she had placed in his charge only a few days before? There was another problem, too, in Mc- Carty’s mind, which bore more directly on the murder, but he thrust it for the mo- ment aside. He had felt from the start of the investigation that Hill held a possible key to the mystery if only he could be per- suaded to speak; would he break silence now if he might thereby save his wife from going to trial? When the former valet was ushered into - his presence at the Tombs McCarty beamed at him in a guileless, friendly manner. “ Hello, Hill,” he began genially. “I guess you knew we couldn’t hang that mur- der charge on you for long, didn’t you? And that’s why you acted so unconcerned.” The man’s face was drawn and haggard ancthe raised burning eyes to meet the clear blue ones which smiled at him. “ What does that matter?” he asked list- lessly. “ You've found ker—” “JT did, but she got away from me Fri- day night,” McCarty said frankly. ‘“‘ Got away!” Hill clutched suddenly at a chair as if for support. ‘“‘ She’s down at headquarters now; that Hopkins woman on the floor below you has been taking care of her, but she gave her- self up when she heard that you were ‘charged with Creveling’s murder, so that she << ‘clear your wife of 107 could prove your alibi, Here! Buck up, man!” With a groan Hill sunk into a chair and covered his face with his thin hands. “That’s why you took me up!” he said. “ You did it to make her show herself! Oh, why did she do it! Couldn’t she realize that I would rather have anytHing happen to me than that she should be caught!” “Twas the very best thing that she could have done!” McCarty asserted stoutly. “We'd have got her sooner or later and what with her jumping her bail and all it might have looked pretty black against her, : but now since she’s come clean, Hill, I don’t } mind telling you that if your wife’s story is straight I’m going to back her up. I’m going to see what Creveling himself might have had to do with the stealing of those emeralds!” For.an instant Hill looked up with a gleam of hope in his eyes. Then they dark- ened sullenly and he shook his head. “It’s only another trick!” he muttered. “Why would any one think that Mr. Crev- eling would take his wife’s jewels? We'd have had no chance to convince people with- out proof, and Ilsa had better have kept quiet; it ‘ll only go harder with her.” “Tis no trick!” McCarty-protested. “I know that Creveling needed money bad and those stones were worth thirty thousand—”’ ‘“ Money?” Hill interrupted him in sur- prise. ‘‘ Why, we thought he had given them to another—”’ He stopped with his lips pressed tightly together, but McCarty finished the sentence for him. “To another woman, do you mean? Hill, I’m speaking the God’s truth when I tell you that if you'll come across with all you know about Cre Ill do my best to e charge against her and get the indictment squashed. That can only be done by finding the stones or prov- ing who took them and what became of — them. I’m willing to say right now that I don’t think your wife is guilty, but you’ll have to help me prove it. Will you?” Once more Hill’s haggard eyes studied his face and after a long minute he drew a deep breath and straightened in his chair. “Yes, sir,” he said. ‘“ I believe you now, (C(O) nn) (C 6)(0)©) S (C(O)