DEAD MEN'S SHOES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23220, 14 December 1938, Page 9

DEAD MEN'S SHOES

CHAPTER CXXXVJLII.—• (Continued) "Laughing! l}id you join in the laughter?" "I believe I did," said Howe. And laughter rippled through the Court, so swiftly in a murder trial does tragedy turn to je:st. Staniforth waited till it subsided. "A very humorous occasion. A pity the dead man could not be there to hear it; doubtless it would have amused him, too," he said acidly. "Did it strike you that the prisoner was a fairly cool hand?" "I always found him that." "But you found no gun. That appears in your report, I see, though it looks less comic there. Did you ask him if ho owned a gun, though ho was not carrying it ? "Have you seen this?" ' Staniforth held up a slip of paper; ho read it aloud. It was a police permit to Brian Coote Chalmers to be in possession of a revolver, specified, Webley, .44 calibre, No. 677,653, dated twelve months back. "I obtained a copy of that from headquarters the following day," said Howe. "No, he did not deny that he owned a gun. He said that he frequently dealt in diamonds on behalf of Mr. Coote, but he never carried it except for self-protection and when on a dangerous errand." "So he was not on a dangerous errand that night!" Staniforth lyaned forward. "One more question and 1 have done with you. Do you know what became of that gun—where is it now?" Granger, at his desk, sat with a face as expressionless as stone. "Answer Sergeant Howp! Have you ever seen that revolver, .44 calibre, which was not on the defendant when you searched him?" "No," said Howe. And Staniforth sat clown. "No questions," said Granger. "You can go, sergeant." , Amid a commotion of. eager whispering Howe left the stand, his ordeal ended. The judge laid down his pen. "Have you other witnesses to call, Mr. Staniforth?" "Yes, my lord. I shall conclude the case for the prosecution to-morrow." "The court will resume at ten-thirty in the morning." The session broke up. There was a babel of voices as the audience crowded out. "Seven vears for Chalmers —even if they don't' bring the killing home and Granger saves his neck for linn/' said a pressman, gathering up his papers. "Ten!" said his colleague, an old hand who had seen many trials. "And when they've got him they'll pull his wife in, too. She's for it!"

CHAPTER CXXXIX. JUDE REPORTS AGAIN At 10 o'clock next morning, when Sonia was preparing to leave, a note was brought to her at King's Ji-lm House, it was from Granger:— "Dear Mrs. Chalmers,—Against my advice you went to the trial yesterday. You should not have gone there, i am sure you'll see why. "1 can understand vour anxiety, but you added very greatly to mine; I am defending your husband. "On his behalf I urge you strongly to keep out of the Assize Court. Please don't go again—particularly not to-day. "J.G." Sonia crushed the note in her fingers. It hurt like a stab. She knew Granger was right. Anyway, it would bo folly to disobey Granger in the face of this. To do anything that might damage Brian's chance was unthinkable. But so was staying hero alone, cut off from knowledge of tho trial. She must do something! Grant came in with her cloak. ■ "Grant," she said, "you weren't at the trial yesterday?" "Of course not, ma'am. I was standing by here, same as usual." "Well, you'll go now. I'll stand by. Take the car —get along to the Assize Court at once. Here's a note to Mr. Granger. He'll see you get a seat." "I want you to listen to the case carefully, see what's doing; hurry back here at"the midday interval so you can let me know how it goes. Keep me in touch." "Yes. ma'am. It's going well—isn't it?" said Grant eagerly. "I don't know —" Sonia gulped a little. . When Grant had gone Sonia, to keep her mind off the .tension of waiting, went through her own notes of the case, squaring them up with what she had heard yesterday. I'liey were in her desk, tied up along with Judo Stubbings' brief message and letters from up North. < * . > , Sonia was still at her desk two hours later, wondering what was happening at the trial, her nerves so tense that who could have screamed aloud, when the telephone rang. She took down the receiver. "Yes?" she said wearily. "Mrs. Chalmers. Who's speakingr" It was a long-distance call from Louth, Lincolnshire. She had never heard of Louth. Noxt moment she was electrified by Jude's voice grating in her ear. "That you, Mrs. Chalmers? Good! He ain't come back yet—he's expected to-day. It's O.K. this time! You got my letter?" Sonia gasped. "I got no letter! What are you talking about?" "Oh!" Jude's voice came muffled over the wire. "You'll be gettin' it any time now. This stuff's a bit too private to be sluhitin' it out over the 'phone—never know who's listening. Don't want to give it away." "Judo I What's doing—" "I'm waitin' to click; if I do. you'll got u wire. Then 1 want to be quick. I'm a lot surer than I was when I wrote yesterday." There was a crackle and a buzz; Judc> had cut herself off. Sonia rang frantically, but could got no answer. It was maddening. She hung up. Thoro was a'ring at the front door, and, hurrying out, she found the postman in the porch. He handed her two letters; she ran back to tho morning-room with them, One was from Wcisberfj's; she tossed it aside. The other, in Jude's cramped handwriting, she tore open:— "Dear Mrs. Chalmers, I think this is tho goods! Though ( it's miles away from any of the districts you told me to try out, and you'd say I'm on a fool's errand. Perhaps 1 am! "There's a chap lodging in a little country place near here, came two weeks back. He's gone again, but they're expecting him home, and I won't tell you now how I got on to him —too busy! I'm being mighty careful. "I believe bo's our man—he's tho missing witness. "His name is Smith—Captain Joseph Smith, ' . , "If I find it's O.K.'you'll get a wire from me, and all I'll say is 'Clicked!' I'll know to-morrow. "Then will you drop everything and come right away down to the Bull Hotcl> Dykefield, Louth? I'll he waiting for you. "If O.K. it ought to do Mr. Chalmers a bit of good! So no more in the meantime from, "Yours faithfully, 'Jude Stubbings.' " After Jude's letter the communication from Weisberg's was very poor

(COP7IUGBT)

By JOHN GOODWIN Author of "Sealed Orders." "Paid In Full,; "l he anaaow man, etc. A atory of a crime that was beyond solution until a loving girl followed her intuition.

reading—they had no results to report —as yet. While she was still pondering over Jude's letter Grant came hurrying in. flushed and elated. "Well?" exclaimedSonia. "Anything good?" "Yes. We're going strong, ma'am!" said Grant. ''They put the doctor up to prove about C'oote's neck bein' broken by the fall on the line when the train hit him. Your man —Mr.'Granger —tied the doctor up in knots directly ho started on him. Granger's great! Next, the police surgeon. Granger sewed him up, too. Neither of them could show how Coote was killed, or when, or who killed him—certainly not that it was the master. "Then the little shepherd chap, Ben Coulter, with liis story about Sam Barber coming away from the mine after he'd robbed C'oote's body, washin' the blood off his hands in the pond. You should have seen the jury sit up when Granger handled Ben! It just about washed Mr. Chalmers out of the trial! And then the faked Coote diamond, that Barber chucked away in the pond when ho found it was no good. It's as clear as daylight to me —Selby and Barber did Coote in—and later one of them killed the other to stop his mouth. "That's when the jury learned what you and I know already, ma'am —that Bannister Coote. even if not so tough as Barber or Selby, was the worst crook of the three; that he'd stolen a diamond worth thirty thousand and replaced it with a faked stpne, besides skinning the trust funds and doublecrossing everybody, includin' his own mates that had pulled the nuts out of the fire for him—and when he got together with the pair of them that night at the mine lie got what he asked for. "That was pretty near enough to lift Mr. Chalmers out of the dock, and if the case had stopped then I bet the jury'd have been ready to shako hands with him! Then the Court broke up—they'll start fresh in forty minutes' time, and Staniforth's nearly through. T don't see how it could bo goin' better!" Soma's eyes shone. "The tide's turned!" she said. "Get some food and hurry back. Grant — don't be late. Tisn't the end yet, you know." Grant's report gave her new life. She knew what a gallant fight Granger was making; but she knew the dangers, too. Could he be as confident as all that! It sounded good. . If only there were news from Jude. Her letter promised it "to-morrow" — that meant to-day. Failure, disappointment, would be heart-breaking now. She had the Dykeficld address. Twice she rang through, but got no answer. All through the afternoon the 'phone was silent. The twilight closed in as she sat alone. Then she heard the car coming up the drive. (To be continued daily.)