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| The Murder of (By Agatha Christie) Roger Ackroyd CHAPTER XXu Ursula's og 4 For a moment of two the girl look: ed mutely at Poirot. Then, her re- serve breaking down com etely, she nodded her head once, and burst into an outburst of sobs. J Caroline pushed past me, and putting her arm round the girl, patted her on the shoulder. "Th there, my dear," she said soofliny, 'dt will be all right. Yous se -- everything will be all ht." jed under curiosity and scan "ied un there is a lot of kind- ness in Caroline, For she moment, even the interest of rot's revela- tion was lost in the sight of the girl's 8s. ° Presently Ursula sat up and wiped r eyes. heft is very weak and silly of me," she said, "No, no, my child," said Peirot kindly. "We can all realise the strain of this last week." "It must have been a terrible or- deal," 1 said, i "And then to find that you knew, continued Ursula, "How did you know? Was it Ralph who told you?" Poirot shook his head, "You know what brought me to I to-night," went on the girl, She held out a crumpled piece of newspaper, and I recognized the paragraph that Poirot had had in- serted, "It says that Ralph has been ar- rested. So everything is useless, I need not pretend any longer," "Newspaper paragra hs are not al- ways true, mademoiselle," murmured Poirot, having the grace to look ashamed of himself, "All the same, 1 think you will do well to make a clean breast of things, The truth is what we need now." . The girl hesitated, looking at him doubtfully, "You do not trust me," said Poirot gently, "Yet all the same you came here to find me, did you not? Why was that?" \"Because I don't believe that Ralph did it)" said the girl in a very low voice, "And I think that you are clever, and will find out the truth, And also--" Yes?" "{ think you are kind." Poirot nodded his head times, "It is very good that -- yes; it is very good, Listen, I do in verity be- lieve that this husband of yours is innocent--but the affair marches badly, Ii I am to save him, I must know all there is to know--even if it should. seem to make the case against him blacker than before." "How well you understand," said Ursula, "So vou will tell Be the Whple story, will you not? From the be- pri lg ? 3 "You're not going to send me away, I hope," said Caroline, settling her» self comfortably in an arm-chair, "What I want to know," she con- tinued, "is why this child was mas- querading as a parlourmaid?" "Masquerading?" I queried. "That's what I said, Why did you do it, child? For a wager?" "For a living," said Ursula dryly. And encouraged, she began the story which I reproduce here in her own words, Ursula Bourne, it seemed, was onc of a family of seven -- impoverished Irish gentlefolk. On the death of her father, most of the girls were cast out into the world to earn their own living. ~~ Ursula's eldest sister was married to Captain Folliott. It was she whom [ had seen that Sunday, and the cause of her embrrassment was clear enough now. Determined to earn her living and not attracted to the idea of being a nursery gov- erness--the one profession open to an untrained girl, Ursula preferred the job of parlourmaid. She scorned to label herself a "lady parlourmaid." a several arom Joris of Can. SE it its in gold", Another the best thIRE I hor I Li or meursigis, sshe LABPYRIN ond Buch- dey's Mixture ond guich melief will follow. 588 # fas 8 single sip proves She would be the real thing, her re» ference being supplied by her sister, At Fernly, despite an aloofness which, as has been seen, caused some comment, she was a success at her job--quick, competent and thorough. "1 enjoyed the work," she explain. ed. "And 1 had plenty of time to myself." : And then came her meeting with Ralph Paton, and the love affair which culminated in a secret mar- riage. Ralph had persuaded her i that, somewhat against her will, had declared that his stepfat would not hear of his marr, penniless girl. Better to be married secretly, and break the news to him at some later and 'more favourable minute, And sp the deed was done, and Ursula Bourne became Ursula Paton, Ralph had declared that he meant to pay off his debts, find a job, and then, when he was in a position to support her, and independent of his adopted father, they would break the news to him, But to people like Ralph Paton, tu.ning over a new leaf is easier in theury than in practice, He hoped. that his stepfather, while still in ignorance of the marriage, might be Jeraaded to pay his debts and put iw: on his feet again, But the re- velation ofthe amount of Ralph's liabilities merely enraged Roger Ack- royd, and he refused to do anyiking at all, Some months passed, an then Ralph was bidden once more to Fernly, Roger Ackroyd did not beat about the bush, It was the desire of his heart that Ralph should marry Flora, and he put the matter plainly before the young man, And here it was that the innate weakness of Ralph Paton showed it- self, As always, he grasped at the casy, the immediate solution, As far as I could make out, neither Flora n r Ralph made any pretense of love, It was, on both sides, a business ar- rangement, Roger Ackroyd dictated his wishcs--they agreed to them, Flora accepted a chamce of liberty, money, wnd an enlarged horizon, Ralph, of course, was playing a dif- ferent game, But he was in a very been killed before a quarter to ten, and not after, I saw the reflection of that thought in Poirot's next question. "Who left the summer-house first?" "I did" : "Leaving Ralph Paton in the sum- mer-house?" "Yes--but you don't think--" "Mademoiselle, it is of no import- ance what I think, What did you do when you got bick to the house?" "1 went up to my room." y "And stayed there until when?" "Until about ten o'clock." "Ig there any one who can prove that?" "Prove? That I was in my room, you mean? Oh! no, But surely-- oh! 1 see they might think--they might think--" saw the dawning horror in her eyes, Poirot finished the sentence for her. "That it was you who entered by the window and stabbed Mr. Ackroyd as he sat in his chair? Yes, they might think just that," : "Nobody but a fool would think any such thing," said Caroline in- dignantly, he patted Ursula on the shoulder, The girl had her face hidden in her hands, "Horrible," "Horrible," Caroline gave her a friendly shake, "Don't worry, my dear," she said, "M, Poirot doesn't think that really, As for that husband of yours, I don't think much of him, and I tell you so candidly. Running away and leaving you to face the music," But Ursula shook her head ener. getically, "Oh, no," she cried, "It wasn't like that at all, Ralph would not run away on his own account, I sce now, If he heard of his stepfather's murder, he might think himself that I had done it" "He wouldn't think thins," + "1 Caroline, "I was so cruel to him that night 50 hard and bitter, I wouldn't list» en to what he was trying to say-- wouldn't believe that he really cared, I just stood htere telling him what (1 thought of him, and saying the coldest, cruellest things that came inte my mind--trying my best to hurt m," she was murmuring, any such awkward hole financially, He seized at the chance, His debts would be paid, He could start again with a clean sheet, His was not a nature to envisage the future, and I gather that he saw vaguel; the engagement with Flora being broken off after a decent interval hr elapsed. Both Flora and he stipulated that it should be kept a secret for the present, He was auxious to conceal it from Ur. sula, He felt instinctively that her nature, strong and resolute, with an inherent distaste for duplicity, was not one to welcome such a course, Then came the crucial moment when Roger Ackroyd, always high- handed, decided to announce the en- gagement, He said no word of his intention to Ralph -- only to Flora, and Flora, apathetic, raised no ob- jection, On Ursula, the news fell like. a bombshell, Summoned by her, Ralph came hurriedly down from town, They met in the wood, where part of their conversation was overs" heard by my sister. Ralph implored her to keep silent for a little while longer, Ursula mined to have done with conceal m:nts, The would tell Mr, Ackroyd the truth without any further delay. Husband and wife parted acrimon- ously. Ursula, steadiast in her purpose, sought an interview with Roger Ack- royd that very afternoon, and reveal- ed the truth to him. Their interview was a stormy one -- it might have been even more stormy had not Roger Ackroyd been already obsessed with his own troubles. It was bad enough, however, Ackroyd was not the kind of man to forgive the deceit that had been practised upon him, His rancour was mainly directed 'to Ralph, but Ursula came in for her share, since he regarded her as a girl who had deliberately tried to "en- trap" the adopted son of a very wealthy man. Unforgivable things were said on both sides. The same evening Ursula met Ralph by appointment in the small summer-house, stealing out from the house by the side door in order to do s0. Their interview was made up of reproaches on both sides. Ralph charged Ursula with having irre- trievably ruined his prospects by her ill-timed revelation. Ursula re- proached Ralph with his duplicity. They parted at last. A little over half an hour later 'came the discovery of Roger Ackroyd's body. Since that night Ursula had neither scen nor heard from Raloh. As the story unfolded itself, I realised more and more what a damning series of facts it was. Alive, Ackroyd could hardly have failed tw alter his will --'I knew him well enough to realise that to do so would be his first thought. His death came in the nick of time for Ralph and Ursula Paton. Small wonder the girl had held her tongue and played $0 consistently. My m.ditations were interrupted. It was Poirot's voice speaking, and | knew from the gravity of his tone fhat_be; so, Joa fully alive to the of the position. "Mademoiselle, I must ask you one question, 'and you must answer at truthfully, for on it everything may hang: Wh.t time was it when you parted from Captain Ralph Paton in the summer-house? Now, take a little minute so that your answer may be very exact." in all conscience. "Do you think I haven't gone over that again and azain in my owam mad? CT was just hali-past mine when I sent out to mect him. Major | Blt was walking up and down the | terrace, so I had to go round 12: bushes to avoid him. It must have been about twenty-seven min- utes to ten when I reached the summer--house. for me. I was with him ten minutes --mot longer, for it was just a quar- ter to tem when I got back to the house." | 1 saw now the insistence of her question the other day. If only Ack- rovd could have been proved to have was equally deter! The girl gave a half laugh, bins 1 Ralph was waiting - "Do him no harm," said Caroline, "Never worry about what you say to a man, They're so conceited that ! they never believe you mean if if it's unflattering," Ursula went on nervously twisting and untwisting her hands, "When the murder was discovered and he didn't come forward, 1 was terribly upset, Just for a moment I wondered--but then I knew he could. n't--he couldn't, , , , But I wished he would come forward and say openly that he'd had nothing to do with it, I knew that he was very fond of Dr. Sheppard, ant I fancied that per- haps Dr. Sheppard might know where he was hiding." She turned to me. "That's why [I said what IT did to you that day, I thought, if you knew where he was, you might pass on the message to him." "I" 1 exclaimed. "Why should James know where he was?" demanded Caroline sharply, "It was very unlikely, I know," ad- mitted Ursula, "but Ralph had often spoken of Dr. Sheppard, and I knew that he would be Tkely to consider him as his best friend in King's Ab- bot." "My dear child," I said, "I have not the least idea where Ralph Paton is at the present moment." "That is true enough," said Poirot. "But----" Ursula held out the newspaper cutting in a puzzled fash- ion, "Ah! that," said Poirot, slightly embirrassed; *a Dbagatelle, madem- oisclle. A rien du tout, Not for a moment do I believe that Ralph Paton has been arrested." "But then--" began slowly. Poirot went on quickly .-- "There is one thing I should like to know -- did Captain Paton wear shoes or boots that night?' Ursula shook her head. "I can't remember." "A pity! Dut how should you? Now, madame," he smiled at her, his head on one side, his forefinger wagging eloquently, "no questions. And do not torment yourself. Be of good courage, and place your faith i* Hercule Poirot." (To Be Continued) the girl DODDS KIDNEY PILLS KINDS OF BODY WORK AUTO AND REPAIR 4 { 5 3 3 ganize 5 | products, so as to meet the $= MILLION AUTOS OVER PEACE BRIDGE IN FOUR MONTES Three Million Perom Have Crossed Bridge During Same Period FOUR TRAFFIC LANES Not Much "Peace" for Offi- cials During Rush Hours of Traffic Fort Erle, Nov, 26.--This is an outside service story, It is intended to show how the flowing tide of au- tomobile travel sweeps into and out of Canada over the Peace Bridge a Fort Erle, and the way in which of ficers of National Revenue deal with steady stream of tourists, It may he a Peace Bridge but the of- ficers do not have a peaceful time, 'The Peace Bridge was opened on June 1, 1027, During the month of June 90,318 automobiles passed in- ward, and 87,000 automobiles! out. ward; 2,017 trucks inward and 2,872 outward, The total number of people crossing, exclusive of the drivers of the automobiles, was 264,004 inward and 867,864 out. ward, Tour Lines of Traffic The bridge has a capacity of 4,000 cars an hour, The greatest number handled go far by Customs officers 1s 1,800 cars an hour out. ward, The bridre takes care of four lines of traffle, and when ft is heavy Inward three lines and one outward are used, When the traffic Is returning to tha United States three lines outward and one in. ward are Handled, The outlet of the hridge is fan shape, and there is parking space of ahout four acres, so that no cars are held at the outlet of the bridge, It for any reason an automobile is to be held, it is driven to the park- Ing space, It any duty has to be pald the driver is required to mo to the customs office, The traffic 18 not held up, and the streams are not interrupted, The customs staff last winter comprised 48 officers, and on ae count of the Peace Bridge the staff this winter will be 60 officers. [Owing to the heavy traffie during the summer months 14 seasonal of. ficers also served from about May 15 to September 15, All automobiles are examined, that 1s the officers question the occupants, and if they have any compartments in their car they are opened, At certain periods the of- ficers ask the passengers to step out of the car, cushions and seats are ralsed, and a thoro examina- tion made, The public is, of course, not aware when this will take place, The largest number of cars handled in one day is slightly over 17,000, Army of Cummuters There are many commuters at Fort Erie and Bridgeburg. In the neighborhood of 8,000 families lixe ,along the river and lake shore in the summer months, The depart. ment has provided a commuter's sticker. These stickers are applied to the windshield of a bonafide commuter who makes out his per- mit which is renewed at the end of that time. This saves the officers much time, as commuters are cross- ing backwards and forwards every day. It is not necessary for them to make out a permit or deposit their license card which always causes more or less delay both com- ing in and going back. Total Traffic The volume of traffic, from June 1 to September 30 over the Peace Bridge was:--- Canadian automobiles, inward-- 18.764; outward--18,718, Foreign automobiles, inward --- 483,212; outward 463,011 other vehicles, mostly trucks; inward -- 11,322; outward 10,901. Passengers, in- ward -- 1,634,839; outward -- 1,- 521.757. Grand total, vehicles-- 1,005,992; passengers--3,056,596. August saw the peak of automobile travel with 160,838 cars inward and 149690 outward. In addition there were carried by tween Buffalo and Fort Erie for the four months June-September: ---Automobiles, inward-- 29.469; outward--28,684; total 58,053. Passengers, inward---289,969; to- tal --576,795. The total automobile traffic for the bridge and ferry for the four months was 1,064,045 cars. A rantfor or' The manufacturers of Shingles in British Columbia are derably alarmed over the proposal to impose a duty on the importation of shin- gles from Canada jnto the United States. The business of United States manufactures i on the Pacific coast has declined, owing to the inroads made b the sale of artificial roofing. As shingles are sold in the American market, a high tariff would serious matter. What the manufacturers ought to do i i and advertise s to or- sive campaigns conducted by the manufacturers of artificial roofing. YOUTH AND MIDDLE AGE (London Advertiser) The late Senator MeCoig is de- cribed in one mewspaper as a "wet- eran legislator" He was 4, an age at which many men ly begin their public careers. Mackenzie King, who is 53 was called the "Roy Premier" a few years age The line between youth and middle age has become blurred in these the New York-Ontario ferries be- |: THE OSHAWA DAILY TIMES, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1927 That ~ Moby of By Jas. W. Barton, M.D, WHAT FLAT FEET CAN DO Registered in accordance with the Copyright Act. A patient consulted his physician complaining of & sore knee on left side. The inner side of the knee was painful after standing any length of time, he physician diagnosed it as a Erna. ep strapped it with adhesive tape, which supported the inner side of the knee, and this helped it temporarily, As the patient continued to com- plain, the physician made a more thorough examination and discov. ered that the patient's left foot was quite flat, and as the weight of part: 'e PP » py? a ST days. Judging br appearances "has disappeared dn the case of the! ladics. by the arch of the foot, the inner knee ligament was receiving the entire weight of the body, and nat. urally it became painful from the severe sirain, By taking a plaster impression of the foot, and getting an arch made that fitted he foot, the weight of the body came on the foot proper, and he knee became well again, Now a flat foot can cause pain In other regions also, because if the weight of the body does not rest on the "springy" arch of the foot, it is going to rest somewere else, because the body must be supported. The other places are the knee joint, the joints between the back bone and the hip bone, and the curves in the 'back bone" or spinal column, Therefore with a strain on these P---- --_ Wright Funerals J. A, WRIGHT PUNEASL PRESTON Ave DISNEY FUNERAL Service Simcoe St, 8, Pao 1082 a) Ambulance Service I 17 ARE I! mt | | il) Il (ih | Joints you are going to have "back" pain, either down low in the back, in the small of the back, between the shoulder blades, or even in the buck of the neck, because it is at these points you find the "curves" in the spine, and at the most curved point, the pain will be most notice able, . Very often a headache itself re- sults from a flat foot, because as the spring which should be in the foot 1s missing, the jar from walk- ing goes right up the body to the brain, 80 the point is that in cases of pain at inner side of knee, pain in the hips wich sometimes runs down the back of thigh, pain in the back anywhere, may often be due to flat foot, and this should always be remembered. Where there 1s no flat foot, and no infection of teeth, tonsils, and so forth, the back pains are fre- quently due to weak abdominal muscles, which permit the abdom« inal contents to drop forward, thus pulling the spinal column forward. In young folks the development of abdominal muscles by bending exercises, with knees straight, is the correct treatment, In aider folks or invalids a good fitting ab dominal helt is of help, . hi \ Wi b | = Ai | A It RRR ! LAR TERT 1 Wl I So popular has the new Orthophonic Victrola become through its superior that two things are happening which may lead to a most disappointing experience on your ormance (1)--People are beginning to be under the impression that any talking machine is a new Orthophonic Victrola. (2)--Certain retailers are taking subtle ad- vantage of these erroneous impressions, ond may find occasion to take advantage you, unless you proceed in any pur- chase of a new Orthophonic Victrola,-- as follows: 44 Ce Gi ™" Orthophonic Go only to the dealer di "His Master's Voice", of the instrument for Master's Voice" (shown below) and for the word "Orthophonic" (also shown belo At the time of this publication, the new Orthophonic Victrola is made only models,--as follows: The Automatic,--which changes its own records,~at $775; the Cre- denza at $385; the Barona at $225; the Alvara at $190; the Paloma at $160 and Model 4-3 at $115, instrument with electric dri $40 additional. $790. Check up when buying. All obtainable on convenient terms from Kis | Master's Voice dealers only, / All these Trade Mark Reg'd Victrola Victor Talking Machine Company of Canada Limited, Montreal The new Automatic Orthophonic Victrola may, be purchased right in Oshawa. !t will be a pleasure for us to show you our large stock of machines -- a large stock of the newest Records always on hand. D. J. BROWN King Street West Come In and Hear One of These Wonder Oshawa Victrolas Play For You ! ying the trademarl Look under the lid trademark y in seven eliminates at' he Elects Nor 12:55 a The mark Orthophonic is registered by Victor--3 the Osthophonic patents are Victor-controlled--! and only Victor can manufacture the Osthophonic} . ® oa LS Phone 189