The Framing of Inspector Denvers

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LX, Issue 24, 28 March 1939, Page 3

The Framing of Inspector Denvers

THE GUARDIAN'S SERIAL

CHAPTER XXI

(Copyright)

Martha Tayne and Joyce Paynter had entered the empty house! For minutes Jimmie Frost watched patiently, very perplexed and somewhat angry. Why had the girl accompanied the man? He was sure they were alone in the house. From outside appearances, the place had not been lived in for some considerable time. Yet the two had entered the house as if long familiar with it; as if they were at home in its dreer darkness. Again he circled the house. Not one ray of light shone from any window or, now, even the hall. He came again to the gardens before the house. So far, he had seen nothing further to excite his suspicions. Yet he was certain the house held a secret. Again he examined the exterior of the house, seeking an easy, noiseless entry. He must get into the house and discover why the man and girl had come there. He must find out if Joyce Poynter was "Cain" in one of his many disguises. If he was, then i—Jimmie Frost smiled. He had confidence in himself—if he could get the girl away, leaving the man alone. He must get into that house—and he must induce the girl to leave, alone. Again he scanned the exterior of the house. At length he decided on a small window on the left-hand side wall as his means of entry. He believed it opened into a pantry. If so, that would be ideal for his purpose. The window opened under the urge of his jemmy; the lock snapping with what seemed, in the silence of the night, to be a loud report. The exdetective waited. Had the people.in the house heard the noise; would the man come to investigate? Five minutes , later he again approached the window, torch in hand, and pushed it open. As he had guessed, the window lighted the butler's pantry. Two minutes later he stood in the room, the window closed. The door of the room was ajar. Holding his torch ready, he moved slowly forward, his torch shut off, relying on his se.nse of touch as guide. He knew he was in a passage; but to what part of the house did it lead? For about twenty paces he groped forward in darkness; then stopped and listened. There was not a sound in the house. Where were the man and girl? As if in answer to the unvoiced question, came the sounds ! of the girl's laughter. Again Jimmie Frost waited. Then, almost covering the lens of his torch with his fingers, he pressed the switch. The light showed that he was standing at the end of a passage, facing a wall, with a baize-covered door on his left. The door swung noiselessly on welloiled hinges. Jimmie Frost moved slowly forward, passing into another passage. Again he waited and listened, before using his light. He was now standing almost at the foot of a flight of stairs. Before him was a door. He believed it opened into one of the rooms In the front of the house. On either side of him were walls. He switched off his light and peered about. Now he saw a light under a door on his right. That room would overlook the gardens at the rear of the house. If Martha Tayne and "Cain" were in that room, why had no light shone out of the window? No ordinary blind, or curtain, could give that dead blackness to the windows he had seen when circling the house. A few moment's consideration and he understood. This was "Cain's" house. It was reputed to be unoccupied—(but "Cain" occupied it. He had allowed it to assume

By AID AN DE BRUNE Author of "The Grays Manor Mystery," "The Flirting Fool," "Saul and the Spinster," etc.

its present forlorn, forsaken appearance to deceive the neighbours and the inquisitive. Jimmie Frost allowed his light to play freely about the hall for a few seconds. He found sufficient evidence to believe the interior to be well-kept and richly furnished.

Then the windows of the house must be hermetically sealed, preventing the faintest gleam of light showing outside. Stealthily, Jimmie Frost approached the door under which he had observed the light. He pressed his ear to a panel, but could only hear a soft murmur of voices. If only he could overhear this conversation; if he could even hear enough to prove to him that he was right, and this man who posed as Joyce Paynter was "Cain," then thej master crook would not again escape him. He knew that his task would not end with his capture of "Cain's" person. Then his work would enter a new phase. He would have to prove that he was "Cain"; he would have to prove beyond doubt that he had committed the crimes with which he was charged. "Cain" would fight to the bitter end, using every artifice his clever brain could conceive to prevent conviction. Jimmie Frost fully realised the big task before him. At no time during the seven years he had been on the master crook's trail had he acquired any direct evidence against the man. nowhere had he left a single fingerprint; no one was willing to try and identify the man; all descriptions of the remarkable criminal differed materially. Yet scattered through the city were the results of the man's crimes; and against him only assumptions of guilt. For long minutes Jimmie Frost rel mained at the door, trying to overhear some part of the conversation proceeding within the room. Occasionally lie could catch a few words, but nothing he heard had definite meaning. Exasperated, he returned to the butler's pantry. In the passage outside the pantry he let the light of his torch play around. He knew he was safe from observation in the offices of the house. He believed there was no one in the house but the twa persons in the lighted room he had just left. He looked about him. The passage contained many doors. He went to the j end of the passage and opened a door, j Now he founds himself in the kitchen. Unlocking the door quietly, he passed out on to the path. A quick look around, and he went along the wall until he came to a window he believed belonged to the room at the moment occupied by Martha Tayne and Joyce Paynter. The window was high above the garden path. Jimmie Frost swept his torch-light around, looking for something he could stand on to lift him to window level. He could find nothing. He went back to the kitchen and fetched a chair. Standing on it he could press his ear against the glass. Again he could hear voices in the room. He could hear the man's deep tones; he could hear Martha Tayne's soft laughter; but he could not make comprehensible sentences of what he could hear. Jimmie Frost muttered angrily under his breath as he carried the chair back to the kitchen. Almost he decided on one bold stroke; to force his way into the room where the two sat and challenge the man, as "Cain." If he did that; if he could take him prisoner, bluff the girl into acquiescence, a search of the house might provide the evidence he had to have. Second, and quieter thoughts prevailed. He dared not risk all he had gained in one impulsive move. He must wait—time and patience were on his side. Suddenly he stiffened, turning to

generals

the window. Someone —no, some vehicle, was approaching the house, driving up the gravelled path. He slipped through the kitchen door, closing it carefully behind him, and went to the front of the house. An ambulance van was drawn up before the front door, and two uniformed men were mounting the steps.to the verandah. What was to happen? Jimmie Frost watched, his mind filled with perplexities. The men acted methodically, as if engaged in routine business. He heard the doorbell sound within the house. An interval, and the street door opened, a stream of light dispelling the darkness of the verandah. Then came voices; one voice spoke to a "doctor." Who were these men ? .Why had the ambulance come to that house ? j The ex-detective craned forward ] eagerly. A third man appeared, coming down from the verandah! and going to the door of the ambu-! lance. He flashed the light of a powerful torch into the van. ! Two attendants drew a stretcher from the van. On it lay a long, still form, completely covered by a white sheet. The man with the torch went to the house, allowing the light to rest on the steps. Slowly and carefully the attendants bore the stretcher past the man with the torch, up the steps and into the house. The torch-bearer followed them. As he mounted the steps he .raised the beam of his light. It rested on the form of a man standing in the doorway. The man was Joyce Paynter. Was Joyce Paynter the man the ambulance foreman had called "doctor" ? They were talking together now. Risking discovery, Jimmie Frost crept nearer. Again the foreman raised his voice, calling the man "doctor." They passed into the house and the door closed. Who was the patient the ambulance had brought to the hoU3e. Why had the ambulance man called Joyce Paynter "doctor"? The ex-detective could find no answer to the questions. The affair was bewildering, and made Jimmie Frost still more deter- | mined to get into the house and find [answers to his problems. He waited iin his concealment a few more I minutes, then, as nothing further happened, started on his journey to the kitchen door. Suddenly he I stopped,.pressing himself flat against the ground. Someone was coming up the drive from the road gates. A few moments and Jimmie Frost recognised the step. He was puzzled but certain that his ears had not deceived him. He had heard that step a few nights before; he recognised the quaint slither of the walking-stick on the gravel. Yet he almost doubted himself. A figure loomed through the nightlights, becoming more plain as it approached where Jimmie Fro3t crouched. Leaning heavily on the walking-stock, the tall, erect figure came to the steps and mounted to the verandah. Hardly had the bell sounded when the hall-door opened. The light from the hall illuminated the newcomer. He was Sir Edmund Morgan, Commissioner of Police. As the ex-detective watched, he passed into the house and the door closed. (To be continued) . A home for aged Eskimos may be built in Baffin Land. This is considered to be a vital necessity, as Eskimos have a ruthless custom of abandoning their old people.

The longest telegraph line in the world connects Darwin, North Australia, with Port Augusta. It measures 1900 miles lorfe and took twenty-three months to instal.

Interesting fragments of the podium of a large temple have been uncovered near the Flaminian Circus in Rome. Seven fluted columns with their bases were found, also fragments of marble cornices. Three columns which must have been over 30ft in height are almost intact. Corinthian capitals of two of these have been found. It is suggested that these may be the remains of the Temple of Bellona, dedicated by Appius Claudius the Blind, about 298 8.C., and celebrated because the Senate gathered there to discuss declarations of war, to receive enemy Am--bassadors, and to reward victorious