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~~ " THESSTORY THUS FAR argaret Odell is found strangled. Bkeel's finger prints zre found nei. apartment, but Vance believes Skeel had been hiding in a closet while the alge did his work. The thing that bafi the police is the side door to the alley, whi | M 0) had been belted ga the me mad," moaned Vance. "It wrings inside the same way the next morning, Man- nix. Mr, Lindquist and Cleaver all lio! about their whereabouts the night of | the murder. Spotswoode, who had called on the girl, had rushed "to her door at the sound of a scream, but had been reassured through the door that everything was all Hight, Then Skeel is found strangled, after promising to reveal the murderer. Vance then de- monstrates, in support of his theory that Skeel had beer hiding in a closet, how Skeel could ' ave left through the gids dour and relocked the bolt on the nside. CHAPTER XLVI Heath nodded his head cracularly. "A crook, no matter how clever he is, always overlooks something." "Why single out crooks for your criticism, Sergeant? asked Vance laz- ily. - "Do you know of anybody in this imperfect world who doesn't always overlook something?" He gave Heath a benignant smile. "Even the polics, don't y' know, overlooked the tweez- ers." Heat grunted. His sigar had gone out, and he relighted it slowly and thoroughly. "What do you think, Mr. Mark- ham?" "The situation doesn't become much clearer," was Murkham's gloomy com- ment. "My theory isn't exactly a blindin' illumination," said Vance. "Yet I wouldn't say that it left things in pristine darkness. There are certain inference to be drawn from my vagar- ies. To wit: Skeel either knew or recognized the murderer; and once he had made good his escape from the apartment and had regained a modi- c.m of self-confidence, he undoubtedly blackmailed his homicidal coafrere. "His death was merely another manifestation of our inconnu's bent for ridding himself of persons who an- ncyed him. Furthermore, my theory accounts for the chiseled jewel case, the finger prints, the unmolested clo- set, the nding of the gems in the refuse tin--the person who took them really didn't want them, ¥' Lknow--and Skeel silence. It also explains the w.bolting® an} bolting of the side door." "Yes," sighed Markham. "It seems to clarify everything but the one all- lmpoctant point--the identity of the murderer." "Exactly," said Vance. "Let's go to lunch." Heath, morose and confused, depart- ed for police headquarters; and Mark. ham, Vance, and I rode to Delmonico's, where we chose the main dining-room in preference to the grill, "The case now would seem to centra in Cleaver and Mannix," said Mark- ham, when we had finished our lunch- eon. "If your theory that the same man killed both Skeel and the Canary is correct, then 1 indquist is out of it, for he certainly was in*the Episcopal Hospital Saturday night." "Quite," agreed Vance. "The doctor is unquestionably eliminated. . . Yes; Cleaver and 'Manhix--they're the allurin' twins. Don't see any way to go beyond them." He frowned and sipped his coffee. "My original quar- det is dwindline and I don't like it, It narrows the 'thing down too much-- there's no «cope for the mind, as it were in only two choices. . "What if we should succeed in elim® inating Cleaver and Mannix? Where would we be--eh, what? Nowhere-- simply nowhere. And yet, one of the quartet is euilty; let's cling to that consolir' fact "It can't be Spotswoode and it can't be Lindquist. Cleaver and Mannix re- main: two from four leaves two. Simple arithmetic, what? The only trouble is, this case {isn't simple. Tord, no!--I say, how would the equa- tion work out if we used algebra, or spherical trigonometry, or differen- tial calculus? Let's cast it in the fourth dimension--or the fifth or the R eso $8. DINE AUTHOR 9° THE BENSON MURDER CASE sixth, . . * "He held his temples in LER J L - both hands. 'Oh, promise, Markham --promise me that you'll hire a kind, gentle keepeg for me." | "I know how you feel. I've been in the same mental state for a week." "It's the quartet idea that's driving me to have my tetrad lopped off in such brutal fashion. I'd set my young trustin' heart on that quartet, and now |it's only a pair. My sense of order and proportion has been outraged . . . 1 want my quartet." "I'm afraid you'll have to he satis- fied with two of them," Markham re- turned wearily. "One of them can't qualify, and one is in bed. You might send some flowers to the hospital, if it would cheer you any." "One is in bed--one is in bed," re- peated Vance. "Well, well--to be sure! And ore from fcur leavas three. More arithmetic. Three! . . . On the other hand, there is no such ting as a straight lin. All lines are curved; they transcribe circles in space. They look straight, but they're not. Appearances, y' know--so de- ceptive! . , , Let's enter the silence, and substi ute mentation for sight." He gazed up out of the great win- di ws into Fifth Avenue. For several moments he sat smoking thoughtfully. When he spoke again, it was in an even, delierate voice. "Markham, would it be difficult for you to invite Mannix and Cleaver and Spotswoode to spend an evening--this evening, let us say--in your apart- ment?" Markham set down his cup with a clatter, and regarded Vance narrowly. "What new harlequinade is this?" "Fie on-you! Answer my question." "Well--of course--I might arrange it," replied Markham hesitantly. "They're all more or less under my jurisdiction at present." "So that such an invitation would be rather in line with the situation-- eh, what? And they wouldn't be like- ly to refuse you, old dear--would they?" "No; I hardly think so, . . ." "And if, when they had assembled in your quarters, you should propose a few hands of poker, they'd probably accept, without thinking the sugges- tion strange?" "Probably," said Markham, non- plussed at Vance's amazing request. "Cleaver and Spotswoode both play, I know; and Mannix doubtless knows the game. But why poker? Are you serious, or has your threatened de- mentia already overtaken you?" "Oh, I'm deuced serious." Vance's tone left no doubt as to the fact: "The game of poker, d' ye see, is the crux of the matter. I knew Cleaver was an old hand at the game; and Spots- woode, of course, played with Judge Redfern last Monday night. So that gave me a basis for my plan. Mannix, we'll assume, also plays." He leaned forward, speaking earn- estly. "Nine-tenths of poker, Markham, is psychology; and if one understands the game, one can learn. more of a man's inner nature at a poker table in an hour than during a year's casual association with him. "You rallied me once when I said I could lead you to the perpetrator of any crime by examining che factms of the crime itself. But naturally I must know the man to whom I am to lead you; otherwise I cannot relate the psychological indications of tha 2rime to the enlprit's nature. "In the present case, I know the kind of man who committed the crime; but I am not sufficiently acquainted with the suspects to point out the guilty one. However, after our game of poker, I hope to be able to tell you who planned and carried out the Can- ary's murder." Markham gazed at him in blank astonishment. He knew that Vance played poker with amazing skill, and that he possessed an uncanny knowl- edge of the psychological elements in- volved in the game; but he was unpre- pared for the latter's statement that he might be able to solve the Odell murder by means of it, Yet Vance had spoken with such un- doubted earnestness that Markham was imp d. I knew what was pass- ing in his mind almost as well as if he had volced his thoughts. He was recalling the way in which Vance had, in a former murder case, put his finger unerringly on the guilty man by a similar process of psychological dedue- tion. And he was also telling himsel? that, however incomprehensible and seemingly extravagant Vance's re- quests were, there was always a fun- damentally sound reason behind them. "Damn' it!" he muttered at last. "The whole scheme seems idiolie. . . . And , if you really want a game of v with these men, I've no cial objestion. It'll get you now! --I'll tell you that beforehand. It's stark nonsense to suppose that you find man by such fan- / Vance, "I litle b¢ Td possible for him to have committed the crime." ¢ 1 "As to that," drawled Vance, "the only obstacles that stand in the way of physical impossibilities are material facts. And material facts ure notori- ously deceivin™ Really, y' know, you lawyers would do better if you ignored them entirely." Markham did not deign tc answer | such heresy, but the look he gave Vance was most expressive. : (To be coutirued.) a -.. What New York Is Wearing BY ANNEBELLE WORTHINGTON [ Hlustrated Dressmaking Lesson Furnished With Every Pattern | | 1 A moulded silhouette that adheres strictly to tailored lines, that smart women are choosing for sports and street, is illustrated in Style No- 3378. It is almond green shade that is especially wearable. The bone buttons that give the bodice a double-breasted effect, also combine with inverted plaits of the skirt to carry out vertical line that gives the figure height. It can be had in sizes 16, 18 years, 36, 38, 40 and 42 inches bust, Violet-grey wool jersey, navy blue silk crepe, rust brown covert eloth and blue-violet silk crepe jaunty ideas. HOW TO ORDER PATTERNS Write your name and address plain- ly, giving number and size of such patterns as you want. Enclose 20¢ in stamps or coin (coin preferred; wrap it carefully) for each number, and address your order to Wilson Pattern Service, 73 West Adelaide St., Toronto, BR ny Sing, Boys, Sing! Everyone's against you? 'Well, they won't be long; Nothing veers so quickly As a thoughtless throng! Don't take any notice, But keep on along, 5 Pull your belt up tighter And just sing this song: Where there is a valley There's a hill as well; What will come to-morrow You can never tell. Life is rather dreary? Well, it might be worse! Some folks may be looking In an empty purse. To your dull condition Quite a spark you'll bring, If you find some laughter And you start to sing: Where there is a valley There's a hill as well; What will come to morrow You can never tell. Clouds are round ahout you? Well, they'll blow away! Darkness goes with morning; Night must leave for day. Rain can't last for ever, Snow goes with the Spring; Take your old umbrella And just gaily sing: Where there is a valley There's a hill as well; What will come to-morrow You can never tell. --p ee. EEE: Modern Air Happy and Jolly But Not| , Declares . T- Oxford, (Eng.)--The modern girl became vigorous in her own defence in the course of a conference which was held recently at St. Hugh's Col- lege. It was the confererice of the Na- tional Council of Girls' Clubs, attend- ed by girls employed in factories, in trade, and in domestic service. The problem of the modern girl arose during a discussion on the func- tions of the clubs, "l am tired," declared Josephine Duckworth, secretary of the Liverpool Union of. Girls' Clubs, these endless criticisms of the modern girl. clubs has a sense of responsibility of which any section of the community could be proud. "When you get to know her as we know her at the clubs, you see that she has a very much greater sense of responsibility and a desire for service than her Victorian predecessor. What is merely a happy and jolly outlook on life is too often interpreted by those eager to chiticize the modern girl as frivolity, She takes a sane and healthy interest in politics, but she has not much time for partisanship." Miss A. Quint, of Manchester, sug- gested that the girl of to-day had to do all her living in her leisure time be- cause her work was so exacting, "Therefore," sald Miss Quint, "she seeks one 'crowded hour of glorious life' to make up for the age-long day at the factory or shop. Clubs are be- ginning to realize that this is the rea- son why se many girls seek excite- ment in the form of pictures, dances, and the streets." In a debate on the ways in which women may be helped in their work by legislation, a number of the girls read short papers which were followed by a general exchange of views. Miss E. Godfrey (Shoreditch) de- clared that a girl should not be turned away from a labor exchange as "not genuinely seeking work' because she Rd Frivo 'of hearing | The girl of to-day as seen in our | "There are many whe assert that If the re has Pact for the elght- hoyr working ddy is adopted by Eng- land, that other countries, even If they accept its provisions, will find some way of evasion. J This non-compliance is gengrally as- fated with E: ries, but Peep from grass. Gurgling brook, Blooming trees, Mossy nook, Balmy breeze. Fervid blood In a riot; Sulphur and Molasses diet. Lambs that skip, Birds that sing. This, Dear Reader, This is Spring! --l ee The Press and Blackmailers Truth (London): There is no ex- cuse for anybody submitting to black- mail nowadays, for the press, anxious to play its part in stamping out what judges have rescribed as "moral mur- der," always suppresses the name of the victim. The result of this pub: lic-spirited behavior is the increasing number of blackmailers who receive the punishment they so richly deserve. URI TE, dent Minard's Checks Falling Hair, ------ ein "However free we may be, we are not free to do the things which inter- fere with the equal fre&dom of other people.--Havelock Ellis. refused to take a floor: ing job. "It is unfair to the mistress and to the girl," she urged, "to force unsuit- abla material into domestic service. When the servant is given every even- ing, one half-day a week, and every Sunday free, like other girls, then I will take a floor-mopping job myself, but not before then." . Miss Dorothy Elliott, National Union of General and Municipal Workers, also protested against taking unskilled people into domestic service. There was no reason, she said, why domestic service should not be regulated by law, as other industries were, NATURE Away! ye burdens laid on thought That draw the spirit down; It is the woodlands and the springs And dells in mountains river, All nature speaking loftier things That draw us into Heaven. --Charles Watts Russell. ------ ie The world knows nothing of fits greatest men.--Sir Henry Taylor. ~-- AN! i} ANY SEASON Is Vacation Time In Atlantic City. ANY VACATION - Is An Assured Success If You Stay at the sis = i i: iH i g ST. CHARLES 'Longest Porch on the Boardwalk. || Walch for the SMP label of quality on all Enameled Kitchen Utensils you buy. 10 ") cause for lament. PERSISTENCE Some men are born with what Is called "hair trigger" minds, They seem to be able to see the right thing to do the very moment the need for it arises. Such a faculty is, of course, a most valuable possession. How- ever, there are far more of us who are not 80 blessed and what we accom- plish has to be done by "trial and er- or," making mistakes and then correct- ing them. But in this we have no There are many of us and i{t may "de comforting to know that most of the world's pro- gress has been fashioned by this kind of men. The qualities of patience and persistence are o. far more value to the world than sheer brilliance. Patience and persistence may build slower but they build more surely and they are among the finest tools the salesman can acquire, ---- lp em A new conceit in the lingerie note on the print frock Is the collar and sleeve tab of white organdie, elaborat- ed with an incrusted motif of the print. It is quite different from the usual pleating or bit of embroidered batiste. TILL] Wear unexpected spacious- ness in this C Tourist Third Cabin Dining-Room, typical of the accommodation on this 'popular class|l Intimate little tables, laden with flowers; spot- less napery; and a menu of endless variety and astonishing generosity | «Tourist Third Cabin rates adjusted. Cabin Class rates PAINS No matter how severe, you can always have immediate relief: "Aspirin al he in quickly. It does it mri effects. Harmless to the heart; harmless to anybody. But it always brings relief. Why suffer? revised. Ask for information. Weekly sailings from Montreal (and Quebtr) <h EC Book through The Cunard Line, Corner of Bay and Wellington Streets, Toronto, (Tel. Elgin 3471). or any steamship agent CUNARD CANADIAN SERVICE ASPIRIN bd TRADE MARK gq. CABIN + TOURIST THIRD CABIN THIRD CLASS | submitted lions, an there is a difficulty, too, with Ameri ca. "G. G. 8." writing in .the "Co operative News," says: "With the Government's promises to get Parlia- ment to at last give legislative effect to the Washington Pact for the eight-' hour maximum working day, it will be as well to keep the overtime ques- tion well in mind." Under the title of "How New York Gets Round the #8-Hour Week," "Gi G. 8," in his Co-operative News, Lon- don, contribution, says: = "A discovery has been made by the State Labor Department of New York that whenever the Legislature seeks to restrict the length of the working week of women in the shops and fac- tories of the State, the employers make every effort to obtain permission for exemption to meet seasons of ex- ceptional demand. "The present New York State Law permits a maximum of seventy-eight hours of overtime to be worked in the case of a woman ff the course of a year, Questions have arisen from time to time of the way in which the exception clause was being used, and a recent investigation has given the following results: 'The inquiry concerned seventy. three factories and forty-eight mer- cantile establishments in which over time was worked by women. It was discovered that as a rule the overtime allowance was worked no matter whether a peak period of demand existed or otherwise. Most frequent. ly, the firms added the seventy-eight hours to their regular schedules in or- der to ke p their plants going as long as permitted by law. Fifteen Minutes Extra "Thirteen factories and forty stores definitely planned to increase their working hours. Some added fifteen to eighteen minutes daily; a half- hour, hour, or one-and-a-half hours on certain days; four-and-a half hours on the shortest day of the week until the maximum allowance was exhausted for a woman. It seems customary to use the overtime on Saturdays throughout the year; all forty stores used ft in that way from fifteen min- , | utes upwards to ninety minutes. "Seven of the factories altered their working period from six t five days a week by using the overtime allow- ance. One did this by working over time for a half-hour on three days each week throughout the year; the other six had the five-day week in the sum- mer 'and worked from thirty to sixty minutes overtime daily in that period. Four factories--to use a technical term of 'staggering'--managed to rum a long day continuously. "The 'staggering' meant working the women In turn to use up their overtime allowance. A woman would \work off her seventy-eight hours by an hour a day for five days of a week, When she had done sixteen weeks on ie overtime basis she was placed on e ordinary basis, The overtime wo- men were worked in groups so that some of them would be working the extra hour every day. "Thus the factory got in.an extra hour every day of the year from some of the work-people. A schedule for one department showed one set of wo- men on the extra hour daily from January 1 to April 23; another set from latter date to June 1; overtime was not worked in summer; a third set was on overtime from September 12 to December 31. "Those responsible for the inquiry have had a difficulty in coming to 4 conclusion in opinions, It is consider ed hardly justifiable to say whether or not the , demand for overtime is based on seasonable or emergency grounds from the study of 121 estab lishments, 'Nevertheless, the fact re- mains that of the 121 plants, employ- ing around 10,000 women, fifty-seven worked overtime during their busy regularly throughout the year in order to work their plants on a longer dally or weekly basis." --p en "CHARACTER That which raises a country, that which strengthens a country, and that which dignifies a country, that which '| spreads her power, creates her moral influence, and makes her respected to, Yends the hearts of 8 4 : i 31 HT