Hunter Caught

Among virile comic-strip heroes, few have had less time for love than Detective Dick Tracy. In the 18 years of his absent-minded courtship of patient Tess Trueheart, Manhunter Tracy has carefully kept himself from getting snarled in talk of matrimony. Often he has let months go by without paying Tess any more heed than a hasty phone call between gun battles. Even veteran fans can hardly remember when Tracy has had a date with her.

Next week, in 350 newspapers, Cartoonist Chester Gould will surprise followers of Bachelor Tracy. With no preliminary buildup, Tracy and Tess will be married on Christmas Day. No fans will be more surprised than editors of the Saturday Evening Post. Only last week, the Post declared: "Women sometimes complain that Tracy ought to ... marry the girl, but he never will. Gould holds that a man who 'may be gone three or four nights hiding in a culvert' has no business with a wife."

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