THE CHINA MAIL FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT, MAY 7. 1987
MIND
READERS Do People Like You?
(Continued from Page 1)
door, steel-lined, and did not budge.
"It's been double-locked on the inside," he said truthfully. "That girl must have done it, Harry. Go and see her and get the key.”
Harry tried the nearest door; that was locked, and the second door was locked, but the door leading into the back of the house was open. It took him down to. a kitchen, and his electric lamp showed him yet another door wide open. He guessed it was the gar- age, the big gates leading to the mews were swinging idly in the breeze.
He went back to his companion. "You wait here," said P. C. Simpson, flew down the stairs, and in a few seconds was in the mews. With shaking hand he dragged his police whistle from his pocket and sent out a shrill warning, circumnavigated the house in time to see three policemen run- ning, and ahead of them a stolid, tall figure.
Inspector Rater had business of his own in the neighbourhood that night, but had surrendered all other interest at the alarm. Breathlessly the police-constable told his story as he half ran, half- walked back to the mews.
"All right, all right," said the Orator, impatiently. "One of you fellows stand in front of the door and don't move.”
He followed Simpson into the house, up to the ground floor. Harry the policeman stood rigid- ly to attention at the foot of the stairs.
tirely empty.
The Orator looked at the police- man, at the floor and then at the window; and then his mind ins- tantly moved to the house of the Marquis Perello, which was on the opposite side of the square: He thought of the Marquis Perel- lo naturally for two reasons: the first was that Len Wilton was in town, and the second that in the Marquis's house, in a safe and not a very safe, were four pac- kets of cut emeralds that had ar- rived in London a few days be- fore.
They were în transit to an illustrious person in Italy who had a passion for emeralds, and had been purchased in the Argen- tine at great cost. The Marquis had notified the police, and Mr. O. Rater had thought it desirable to station a uniformed constable before and behind the house. He knew the names of
those.con-
stables, and, leaning over the balcony, he addressed the small gathering of police officers on the pavement below.
"Is Walton here?" "Yes, sir," said a voice. “And Martin ?”
“Yes, sir,” said another voice. "Then," asked the Orator gent- ly, "why the hell are you here?”
door to be
He was very hurt, because he knew just how quickly Len Witlon worked.. He did not wait for the be opened, but slid down the rope on to the steps, and five minutes later was knocking at. the door of the Marquis Perello's house. He knocked for a very long time. The marquis and his wife were at the theatre. The
By EDGAR WALLACE
AILURE or success in life?
yourself as others see you.
Here is a way of seeing
These questions and your answer tell you whether people like you.
psychologists say, will
They indicate whether you are good And keeping them.
making friends.
Answer each question “Yes” or “No” (be firm with yourself!) Then look at the answers at the foot of this page.
1. Do you express your opinion
freely and unsought?
2. Do you feel superior to three
of your best frienda? 3. Do you like to eat alone? 4. Do you read front-page mur-
der stories?
5. Do tests like this interest
you?
6. Do you talk about your aspi- rations, disappointments, and problems?
7. Do you borrow often?
8. Are you a “Dutch treat”
addiet? (In a Dutch treat every one buys his or her -own drinks).
9. When you tell something that has happened, do you give every small detail?" 10. Do you like entertaining
when entertaining
money?
costs
11. Do you pride yourself upon
your absolute frankness? 12. Do you keep people waiting
when you have an appoint- ment with them? 13. Do you honestly like child-
ren (not your own)? 14. Do you play practical jokes?
15. Do you think it silly for middle-aged people to fall in love?
16. Do - you cordially dislike more than seven people? 17. Do you nurse grudges? 18. Do you frequently use such words as awfully,” “dread- fully," "terribly”? 19. Do telephone operators and. salespersons irritate you? 20. Do you consider stupid and uninteresting the persons who do not share your en- thusiasm for music, books sports?
21. Do you break your word as often as you keep it? (Think twice).
22. Do you criticise often, and to their faces, your family, your best friends and your employees?
Do you become depressed or discouraged when things go badly?
24. Are you altogether glad of
the success of
of your friends. (when you are out of luck) 25. Do you ever indulge in inter-
esting gossip?
Here Are The Answers
Here are what the paychologists regard as the right answers (as far as popularity is concerned) to the question: Do People Like You? Check your answers against thése, and for each of your answers that agrees score yourself one point. The higher the score the more likeable you may presume yourself to be.
The highest possible score, of course, is 25, but you can total up to 17 and still be pretty well liked:
“Where's the lady? Have you seen: her?"
Harry had not seen or heard her. He ventured the suggestion · that she must be "in a faint," for he was a family man, and knew the effects of such events upon the weak frame of woman- hood.
The Orator was half-way up the stairs, and missed the plau- sible explanation.
"That's the room, sir." Inspector Rater turned
handle and pushed.
the
"Locked," he said and, stoop- ing, squinted through the key- hole.
He could see that the door to the balcony was open, and asked a question.
"I left it like that, sir. There was a rope tied to the rails of the balcony. The man who done it must have got out that way, sir
“Lend your shoulders to the
said the Orator.
Two strong men pushed togeth- —and again. The lock broke with a snap, the door flew open
"Where's your body?"
P. C. Simpson stared; where the dead man had lain there was no dead man. The room was en-
three maidservants
were locked in a room upstairs. The armed valet who kept guard over the safe was found bludgeoned in the drawing-room, and the safe was
open.
"He worked four-handed,” said the Orator philosophically.
Len Wilton invariably worked fourhanded, so the Orator had made no great discovery. And after a job was done the four would separate and leave England by various routes.
There is, for example, a steam- er that goes from Dundee to Hol- land, and yet another that sails from Plymouth to one of the French ports -
→ Len never made the mistake of following the beat- en track. His methods s were unique, nobody but Len-- would have taken a furnished house in Burford-square and staged an elaborate murder mystery in or- der to bring all the police in the neighbourhood running to that one particular spot and leave, un guarded the place he wished to burgle.
A search of the house reveal- ed nothing of value except - in the fireplace of the dining-room were a number of burnt papers and a little slip printed in red which was only half-burnt. It had
1. No
6. Yes'
11. No
2. No
7. No
12 No
3. No
8. No
13. Yes
16. No 17. No 18. Yes
21. No
4. Yes
5. Yea
9. No 10. “Yes
14. No 15. No
19. No 20, No
22. No 23. No 24. Yes
25. Yes
apparently to do with passengers and guides and the difficulties of Customs.
He put the little slip in his poc ket very carefully and sent forth widespread enquiries. The only clue he had and that came to him the next morning--was from a constable of the City police who, standing at the junction of Queen Victoria-street and Cannon-street, had seen a car in which was a woman" He was not even certain it was a woman, but she had that appearance, for the head and the upper part of her body were en- closed in a frock. She was, in point of fact, at the moment he saw her, engaged in slipping on a dress.
Cannon-street Station drew blank, no woman had arrived in car at that hour. She had ob- viously gone east of Cannon-street. The Orator was something of a psychologist himself. He knew Wilton's methods, and knew that that gallant gentleman would first assure himself that his beautiful He lady confederate was safe. interviewed P.
Simpson,
man,
resentful crest-fallen and from whom his first murder had been ruthlessly snatched.
"Yes, sir, she talked with a sort of foreign accent."
"I want you to remember every word, she said, Simpson,” said the Orator gently.
P. C. Simpson thought very hard, trying to coax, by a vigor- ous massage of his head, the half- forgotten facts of the conversa- tion.
"L can't-
remember anything
she said, sir. The only thing that struck me as curious – was that while she was a-moaning
8-groaning she had her and
on
her wrist watch. saw her look twice."
"The time was about eleven, I think?
The constable thought it was little later
"To me," said the Orator, “it is as clear as daylight.”
When P. C. Simpson had gone, the Orator took from an envelope the little half-burned slip of print- ed paper that had been found in (Continued on Page 8)