Death Duty. In Washington, D.C.. Gunman John A. Kendrick testified that he was offered $2,500 to murder Michael Lee, declined the job because "when I got done paying taxes out of that, what would I have left?"

Set a Thief . . . In Yashiro, Japan, the internal-revenue office warned tax delinquents to pay up or have their salaries attached, published a list of outstanding welchers, included the names of ten tax collectors.

Sweet Smell of Success. In Olympia, Wash., wrung out after an all-night vigil at a maternity hospital, proud father John Arends bent to kiss his wife as she was wheeled from the delivery room, caught a lingering whiff of ether, passed out cold on the concrete floor, was rushed to emergency for eight stitches in his face, repairs to two broken teeth.

Shock Therapy. In Detroit, after he rammed Charles Shepherd's auto, Walter H. Hobbs was fined $10 despite Shepherd's plea in his defense that since the collision his car had run better than ever.

Sea & Sympathy. Near Ellensburg, Wash., after Bob Lillie careened his car down a near-vertical 150-ft. embankment, struggled free from the wreck, swam the swollen, debris-choked Yakima River to safety on an island, shivered there for seven hours, he was hauled off by cops, booked for reckless driving.

Night of the Hunter. In Manitowoc, Wis., Rabbit Stalker Raphael Rusch was fined $100, agreed to pay $250 damages after he chased his target through the woods, lost it, took aim in a fit of pique, assassinated Farmer Arthur Wegner's horse.

Road Show. In Miami, when cops questioned Willie Cooper after they found him wearing four shirts, four pairs of pants, a sweater, two denim jackets, an overcoat, gloves and three hats jammed on top of each other, he offered a ready explanation: "I travel quite a bit and don't like suitcases."

Les Artistes. In Milwaukee, Union Regional Director John Zinos opposed consolidation of garbage and trash collections on the ground that garbage collectors are "specialists."

The Long Voyage Home. In Fond du Lac, Wis., Detective Pat Cotter bagged a drunk, made out a report: "He is not drunk, who from the floor can rise again and take one more. Man could not rise again and, although he had a bottle with a little left in it, he just could not get his hands off the sidewalk to get at it. After carefully noting all the facts in the case, I assumed he must be drunk and arrested him. He still had eight miles to travel home on his hands and knees."

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