ral at the aviation grounds. What's that
got to do with it?"

"Everything! Don't you see? The bullets fired from above and behind.
The number of bullets fired. Those two bullet holes in the foot-board
of the car--everything points to an aeroplane. It was done a hundred,
yes, a thousand times in the war. While I was over there with my
hospital unit we used to get a lot of cases of motorcycle despatch
riders who had been picked off by German aviators. They machine-gunned
moving trains and military automobiles. It is one of the simplest
tricks of a pilot's repertoire. Has Woods an aeroplane?"

"He was a military pilot in the French army and is the head of an
aeroplane firm, but I don't think he has an aeroplane here."

"He could get one easy enough."

"The clever devil! Look over there! He had the broad sweep of the
golf course as a perfect landing ground and this road hasn't a tree on
it for a mile. He could have come down within fifty feet of the ground
and followed that car, pumping bullets into it all the way. He had
absolutely everything in his favor."

For a moment I saw red as I pictured Jim, helpless before approaching
death. I could imagine Helen's agony as she saw that dim black shape
come closer and closer and screamed in her terror, "Look out, Jim!
It's going to hit us."

"Yes, but how are we going to prove it?" I asked.

"That's up to us now. An aeroplane has such speed that it was easy for
Woods to fashion an ingenious alibi to account for every minute of his
time on the night of the murder, but there must be some holes in it;
there always is in a manufactured alibi. I want you to go over to the
country-club and check up Mr. Woods' schedule of that night while I
examine the golf links to see if he landed there."

We jumped into my car and drove rapidly to the club. I went into the
house by the back way to avoid meeting people and asked for Jackson.

"Jackson, what time did Mr. Woods get out here on the evening Mr.
Felderson was killed?"

"Ah espect he got heah 'bout six o'clock, Mistuh Thompson," the negro
replied.

"Did you see him at that time?"

"Did Ah see him at dat time? Le'me see? Why, no, suh, Ah don' think
Ah did."

"When was the first time you did see him, Jackson?"

"Ah guess it was at dinnah time, suh. He was heah den."

"You're sure he was here all through dinner?" I asked.

"Yes, suh! He must hab been, 'cause he ohdahd dinnah."

"What time was he throug