"DEATH GOES BY 'BUS"

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 December 1939, Page 10

"DEATH GOES BY 'BUS"

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

COPYRIGHT.

BY

LESLIE CARGILL

I ' (Author of “The Yellow Phantom,” “The Arrow by Night,” etc.)

CHAPTER XXI Continued. Maxley addressed nim earnestly. “Listen to me, Smith—if that is the name you go by—there was a man shot dead on that bus on or about the time you were hanging on behind. All the newspapers have been full of it, and we’ve broadcast a wireless call for you.” The man looked dazed. “I didn't know it was like that,” he exclaimed. “Murder ain’t my line and I don’t wan’t to be mixed up in it. Ted Breaks is my name, and that's gospel. You can look up my prints.” ‘Nobody's accusing you.” Maxley observed. “Yet,” he added grimly. . “Think you could point that spot out , if we took you along?” “Yes, that 'ud be different." A car was at hand. Into it piled a! staff chauffeur, the Superintendent, In-j, spector Lippets, Breaks and Sergeant, ; Matthews. . ; j “Better come, too,” Maxley remarked | with a nod in the direction of Morrison Sharpe. It was a tight squeeze, but the journey did not take long. They pulled up unerringly at the spot where the bus had halted and then went on slowly for about a mile and a half. "That’s the place," indicated Breaks. “See the 'edge when I pugged up . . ." “Now we’ll see where you dropped off.” Turning about they retraced the way until they neared the copse which had figured so prominently in the tragedies. Maxley whistled through his teeth. “Why did you get off here?” he demanded. “’Cos there was some sort'of a stop and a lot of people got off. I ’opped it into that there little wood.” “Into where?” Breaks repeated the information. “But I didn’t stay long,” he went on. “Somebody comes along after me. I gets behind a tree thinkin' I wouldn t be noticed, but the bloke came straight for me.” “Did he see you?” “Gawd knows! I popped away to another tree and he called out, ‘Anyone there?’ ” “What did you do?” “Yelled to him to stay where ’e was. That put 'im off and while ’e was wonderin’ what to do next I cleared off. You couldn’t a’ seen my ’eels for dust.” Enlightenment came to Morrison Sharpe and Superintendent Maxley This must have been the last straw to the overwrought bank absconder. Scared by the commotion which accompanied the fall of Caleb Wainwright, Winslow probably unlatched the emergency exit immediately after Breaks had made for the spinney. The precious case left behind was a further shock. No doubt he had released the safety-strap from about his wrist because of the heat of the day. Only a severe attack of nerves could have driven him away without it. Then the presence of a man in the wood . . . Winslow would not have known why the bus stopped or the reason for the sudden excitement. “The police” would have been his first thought and the panic once started had led to his last act of desperation—already prepared for in case of a desperate emergency. So far so good. This was not the informaton hoped for, but it was valuable in providing an adequate explanation for the second mystery which had previously remained in an unsatisfactory state, despite the Coroner's finding. Could Breaks help any more? He was no fool, though unable to read. It was strange that he should have remained in complete ignorance of the tragedies to which he had been so near. Maxley decided that it was beyond his powers to drag out the obscure factors that might have important consequences. Making an excuse that he wanted io verify the actual scenes, he left his subordinates in the car, and instructed the tramp and Mr Sharpe to accompany him a short distance on foot. It was an obvious move, but one which the puzzle-master thoroughly appreciated. There were one or two things he would like to ask on his own account, and the opportunity was being deliberately made. Actually they learned nothing from Ted Breaks’ careful marking of the trees behind which he had hidden, except that effective corroboration was given to his story. “What do you think, Mr Sharpe?" deliberately appealing to the layman. “Exactly the same as you. concerning the suicide. That subsidiary affair need not be taken any further into account whatever, which is a big advantage. Every elimination brings us nearer*. to the final solution. I'd like to have a few words with Breaks." "Carry on!" “Ain't you blokes finished yet?" inquired the subject of the discussion. , plaintively. Mr Sharpe answered soothingly. ’ "You’ve helped a lot already." lie said. "Maybe you can do a bit more. I'm I going to take you back to where you . waited for the bus. Do you think you can remember everything that hap- : pened, what you heard, and what you saw?" r “Lumme, that's a tall order." "Try! Now take it easy. You hung about under cover?" “Yes. First a big lorry came. When , it was passing 1 made a jump, but i there weren’t no place for me so I got ’ back. Then along comes the bus. That was luckier." J “Go on, please! You found a wide ‘step and an iron ladder to catch hold

of?" “Thats it. guv’nor. A bit of all right. 1 'angs on and that’s all there is to it." "Oh. no! What about the schoolboy?" "You knows all about 'im. I’ve told you and ’e’s told you.” “Up to a point.” “Dunno what you mean.” The man was not an easy subject for mental analysis. Maxley would not have been surprised if his companion had given up in disgust, but Mr Sharpe was not to be daunted. “How did it feel • when you leapt?” he persisted. “Same as usual. It's a knack, and I know exactly what to do. The worst that happens is when you bang your knees or get a crack on your funny bone . . .” “Or when a passenger sees you?” “’Tain’t often. They’re mostly looking to the front. Conductors want watchin'. Sometimes they're staring right at you and then, perhaps, not seeing you.” “About this schoolboy! He was turning round?' "Boys never sit still.” “Nobody else noticed you?” s “Not a soul. I got a good dekko inside.” “How often did you take a look?” “Just now and again. Once I saw a chap messin’ with a window. Seemed to me openin’ it, or somethin’.” Mr Sharpe stole a trimuphant look at the superintendent. This fixed the time as shortly before the shooting. “Did you hear anything peculiar?" he went on. “Not as I knows of. Half a mo! There was some bangs, and it whiffed a bit.” “Excessive exhaust fumes accompanying backfires.” “What’s that?” “Nothing important. That was from the engine. It sounded like gunfire, didn't it?” "Shouldn’t be surprised, though I ain’t never 'card none.” “One of the bangs was more distinct than the other?” “Not to me.” “I see! Probably not! Tell me, was the window opening going on the last time you peeped?" “Y-y-. No, it wasn’t. I looked again just before the bus stopped. But I 'ad to bob down quick. The conductor was turnin’ my way. ‘E picked a bag up from the floor. Countin’ money, or tickets I should think. Then ’e stared all round until I ducked me napper.” “The shot followed immediately?” “What shot? I don't know nothin’ about that.” “But there was some more bangs?” “Lot’s of ’em. Cor! were they shots?" “One was.” Mr Sharpe retorted grimly. “If you had kept your attention on the interior you would have been an eye witness to the crime. Unfortunately, your evidence peters out at the important moment. I suppose you didn’t notice a lady sitting by herself?” “Yes, I saw ’er, too. She’d got a fat ’andbag as made my mouth water. Dabbin' in it for ’er lipstick. I reckons." The notion of the dour Miss Hanson indulging in such a frivolity was mildly amusing, but Maxley didn’t think so. To his way of thinking it lent credence to the confession she had already made. What was to prevent her from firing under cover of the bag? Later he put this forward for the approval of Morrison Sharpe. Ted Breaks had been told to remain in the vicinity in case he was wanted for the witness box. Arrangements were made for him to stay at a Netherton lodging house, much to his disgust, for he strongly objected to four walls and a roof during the fine weather. "I’ve had a report from the medical! officer regarding the woman,” Maxley I explained. "She's got a kink, at least." “Insanity?” Mr Sharpe opened his j eyes to their widest extent. “More or less. Got a bee in her bonnet about certain folks having a down on her, though there’s no sort of truth in it.” “Paranoia.” “That’s what the doctor called it. So you know what it is?” “Yes, rather a common form of insanity. One of its signs is a delusion of persecution. Quite a surprising number of people are afflicted with it in a minor form. Often it is accompanied by a belief of personal grandeur." "What an education you must have had," Maxley said, enviously. “The very best in the world.” “University?” Mr Sharpe chuckled. "They called it the Board School in my young days, although the present tendency to high sounding words favours a more impressive description." "Quite so," the Superintendent muttered blankly. "But they didn't teach you all you know at an elementary school." "All an intelligent man needs is a sound grounding in the three ‘R's’. Plenty of books and a good memory supply the rest. When you lake up crosswords it drives you to dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other works of reference." "You'll convert me yet, Mr Sharpe. Matthews is spending his time doing puzzles. I’ve had to choke him off about it in case he neglects his duties. Maybe I’m wrong." ' "Undoubtedly! But we've wandered I from the? point. Do I take it that Miss j Hanson can now be eliminated?" i Maxley nodded. "1 suppose so. Ap•lparently Ibis complaint of hers makes ■ i her dream of revenge for tnese imaginjed oppressions." I (To be Continued )