The Black Mask — page 81: what you’re looking at

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

i The Triple Murder in Mulberry Bend 79 -man dropped to a. place beside him with a trace of disappointment in his manner. The young man had not seemed to _ notice the long absence. _ “I was able to get the story out of her before she finally broke away from me,” he continued, “then she ran up- stairs and drank poison. It was the only thing left. I brought her back | here and buried her beside her mother. _ There was a post-card picture, taken at Coney Island, in her trunk. She was sitting in an automobile with ‘Spanish Joe’ and Tony Molspini. She was I smiling in all the innocence that I had known before I left her.” _ His jaws came together with a snap. “Tt was on that day she got the ‘theatri- “cal engagement,’ with Louie the Lawyer posing as a producer of musical com- _edy.” “How did you get them into the cel- lar and what did you use to kill them?” asked Cass prosily enough, “T palled with them for a month and let them win a month’s salary from me _ one night right down there in that hole. They had it all arranged to trim me again when—” He paused and there was a sudden ~ ferocity in his tone when he burst forth _ again: ‘The death I gave them was too easy. I was watching across the street when they entered the store together. When 1 saw a light in the cellar I knew I had them. It was just a matter of walking in, lifting the trapdoor and tossing down the flask of gas.’ “Gas!” shouted Cass, jumping to his feet. ‘There was no trace of gas poi- soning found in the examination of the organs.” “Tt was a formula of my own’’—the answer came with a touch of pride—*I had been working on it in France, but the armistice came before the use of it became necessary, The action is nega- tive—absorbs the oxygen from the air, you know.” He chuckled grimly. “I simply sealed the three of them up with it—a horned toad, a centipede and a tarantula all in one bottle.” “Why did you make the finger- prints?’ The question seemed natural enough. But the answer came in a tone of surprise. “T wanted to let the authorities know 1 had done the world a favor—why not ?” Cass smiled approvingly and stood up. The bronzed young man also got to his feet. “Tm ready,” he said. On the way to the gate he drew an envelope from his pocket and handed it to the policeman. Cass read the con- tents curiously. Under the caption “Army Orders” appeared a brief para- graph: “Captain Franklin Hines, med- ical corps, is hereby relieved from du at Camp Merritt and transferred to Panama.” : “Silent’? Cass carefully folded the of- ficial order, put it back in the envelope, and handed it to the army man. “Assignment in the yellow fever squad, eh?’ he remarked. ‘When are q ’ you going to sail?” Captain Hines stared at him. “Aren't you going to arrest me?” he demanded stupidly. “Don’t you want to make good and get your old job back ?” Cass shook his head. “Not at that price,” he said. His hand was on the gate-latch and his eyes roaming down the street toward an ap- proaching trolley car. “Wait, father!” called Nellie from the porch. She ran down into the gar- den, plucked a white crocus and pinned it to his coat. “Against regulations,” he laughed, “but [ve earned the right to wear it today.” In a moment he had bounded across the pavement and boarded the