The Helena Star (Helena, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 24, 1923 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 20 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
TIIE HELENA STAR HELENA OKLAHOMA
jj xofyrlgW 1922
I u
CHAPTER X— Continued
—17—
Mills Potter flushed nnd without
waiting for him to say more Bhe In-
terrupted "I never heard a thing not
a thing"
Hartley studied her carefully as he
asked "Are you sure?"
Her face paled then tho color re-
turned but agnln she replied "I heard
nothing until thut horrible cry rang
out"
I saw her shudder os If the mem-
ory of It were almost too much for
her but Bhe continued bravely "I
knew It was beside me and I won-
dered what had happened It fright-
ened me— so much— that I enn't tell
just what happened after that"
She seemed to be telling the truth
yet I could not understand how any-
one had gotten near enough to Brlffeur
to kill him without the person next to
him hearing his appronch
Bartley toyed with a piece of paper
a second then smiled as he Bnld "Of
course the cry startled you Miss Pot-
her But before or after It cnine can
you think of no little occurrence that
might help us? Nothing at all?"
She was silent for a long time then
6lowly as If apologetic she answered
"That Is I heard nothing but— I did
think I felt something brush my dress
—on the side next to Brlffeur I am
not sure however I only thought
something did The next moment I
heard him slip to the floor and knew
something was wrong”
Bartley's eyes brightened at her re-
mark and he asked eagerly "Can you
show us Just where your dress was
brushed?”
She hesitated as if trying to collect
her thoughts and glanced down at
her dark brown dress Then she
placed her hand on a spot a little
above her waistline Bartley came to
her side and looked closely at the
place she Indicated Jthen suddenly
knelt his eyes close to the cloth
Straightening up he pointed out to
us p small splotch a little darker
than the goods of which the dress was
made With a significant glance he
said one word “Blood!"
At the word a look of horror came
Into Miss Potter’s face and she shrank
away '
"Was that stain on your dres? when
you put It on?" he asked as he rose
to bis feet
"No I The dress was worn this
afternoon for the first time since It
was returned from the cleaner’s”
He Said nothing more but went
back to the desk I presume that we
were all wondering what the blood-
stain Indicated The wild thought
rushed over me thnt she might after
all have killed Brlffeur but I dis-
missed It at once as Impossible
"Now Roche" asked Bartley "did
you hear anything?"
Roche of course understood the
Importance of his answer and his red
face became cautious and his hands
clenched Then very slowly as If
counting his words he answered “I
don’t know Mr Bartley that I heard
anything — that Is anything except
the little sound the people behind me
made when the lights went out If
you mean did I hear any one creep
up on that poor fellow I did not If
anyone came near him I should have
at lenst heard something but I1 did
' not hear anything like that”
“What did you hear?” asked Bart-
ley a shrewd smile on his face
The chief actually blushed In an
apologetic tone he said "Now— Mr
Bartley I don’t know if I heard any-
thing But I thought—”
“What did you think?”
Roche shrugfeed his shoulders hesl-
fated then answered “Why I thought
that a second or so before he gave
that cry I heard—" He paused like a
man who Is afraid thnt what he is
going to say will sound absurd “I
don’t know Just what to call It It was
very slight more like a little thud I
could scarcely hear It It sounded as
If a small object had struck some-
thing” The keen face of Bartley was eager
nnd be leaned forward his eyes on
Roche’s face "And thnt was just be-
fore he cried out?" he asked
“Yes only a second before It was
just after I thought I heard some-
thing else”
Bartley demanded "What?"
The chief hesitated agnln pausing
as If to think out cnrefully what he
wished to say
"Why— Mr Bartley when thnt last
clap of thunder came I thought the
house had been struck and was so up-
set that I don't know If I really heard
anything at all What I thought I
heard sounded like a bough moving in
' the wind or ' the whir of a violin
string”
His description was so vague that
we looked at each other puzzled Bnrt-
ley tried to make the chief more defi-
nite but to all bis questions be re-
ceh ed the same reply Roche was not
sure If he had heard anything but if
he had it had sounded like a bough in
the wind Wbat It was or what bad
Charles J Dutton
Illustrations btj
IiwmMyevs
By Dodd Mead and G W
caused It he had not the faintest Idea
Thnt was all ho could tell us That
BrllTeur could have been killed with
Roche within a few Inches of him—
killed by sonio one who did not make
a sound— seemed impossible Yet It
lmd been done I concluded thnt the
thud he had heard was the sound of
the knife being driven Into the body
but I could not account for the sound
of the bough The chief might have
imagined thnt he heard it or hnve
been confused by the movements of the
alarmed crowd behind him
Bartley questioned the others Ruth
her face pale trembled a little as she
answered thnt she had heard nothing
but the cry The district attorney re-
plied that he had heard nothing else
either nnd had not dreamed thnt a
crime had been committed until he saw
the figure on the floor Doctor King’s
answer was similar The Impossible
lmd happened Brlffeur had been mur-
dered not only without anyone near
him hearing the murderer but with-
out his leaving any traces behind him
As person after person denied hav-
ing heard a sound Bartley’s face be-
came grave Later he told me he
agreed with my belief that the mur-
derer could not have crept up on the
chauffeur without making at least some
slight noise When all had finished
he gave a little shrug and a faint
smile came to his lips I would hnve
given a good deal to know what bad
caused It
“Whoever struck that blow" Doctor
Webster commented "knew where to
place It The slightest fraction of an
inch nearer nnd the chauffeur would
have died Instantly The darkness
probably caused the murderer to miss
the exact spot he was aiming for— the
center of the heart"
Bartley agreed and for a moment
nothing was 6aid Then the district
attorney broke the silence with "Mr
“Can You Show Us JustWhere Your
Dress Was Brushed?"
Bnrtley I think that Brlffeur knew
who killed him At least he had an
idea who it was He was trying to
tell us when he died"
"Yes"' Bartley replied with a curi-
ous smile "he was not only trying to
tell us but to point him out ' You will
remember that just before he died In
a Inst burst of strength he half raised
himself nnd snld 'Slyke murdered— I
—killed—’ and fell back dead There
Is no doubt he thought he knew who
killed him He had not of course
seen who it was But he suspected
some one and was trying to point him
out"
"Trying to point him out?” echoed
the district attorney in astonishment
"Yes point him out He pointed
straight at Doctor Webster’s chest"
The doctor started and his face red-
dened In surprise and anger ne
glanced quickly at Bartley to discover
If he were in earnest nnd blurted out
“Me I My G— d I never' was anywhere
hear him I"
“I know that Doctor” Bnrtley said
with a reassuring smile "What I
meant was that he was trying to point
out some one I doubt if he could dis-
tinguish one person from another
You happened to be unlucky enough
to be in front of him thnt Is all”
“I am pretty sure he had no idea
tfcnt he was pointing at me and I
doubt for that matter if he even knew
what he was saying" Doctor Webster
insisted 1
"I agree with you in part Doctor”
was Bartley’s answer “I don’t believe
he had any idea whom he was point-
ing at but I think he knew who killed
him nevertheless"
"But Mr Bartley" Ruth cried won-
deringly "why should any one wish to
kill our chauffeur?"
His answer came in a short sen-
tence "Because he knew who killed
Mr Slyke”
His reply not unexpected by me
seemed to surprise the other Th
girl looked bewildered and Doctor
King’s eyes opened wide Miss Totter
alone remained unmoved Even the
district attorney lawyer thnt he was
demanded "Why do you say thut?”
Bartley glanced at him nB If he had
expected a man with legal training to
have better understanding and In a
wearyi voice explained: "You all recog-
nize tlint Brlffeur was killed as he was
about to testify Whoever did the
deed was afraid of what he knew He
could not of course have foreseen thut
the lights would go out but when they
did he seized the opportunity He
feared that the chnuffour would tell
who killed Slyke And while he might
not have been able to prove his state-
ment he knew enough to he dangerous
For myself I believe the chauffeur
could have told us and that he was
killed to shut his mouth”
Tho district attorney mnde a little
gesture of dissent "I see that but on
the other hnnd how do we know that
Brlffeur himself did not kill Slyke?
He said you remember 'Slyke mur-
dered— I— killed— ’ Maybe he killed
him hlniBelf"
Black nodded an emphatic agree-
ment This accorded with the theory
ho had advanced ttie night before I
could see that Bartley however was
not convinced As ho made no com-
ment the attorney continued 'Tie
said nothing more but may we not
say that If he had finished the sen-
tence what be would have said would
have been ‘Slyke murdered I
KILLED HIM’"
"Then why was the chauffeur
killed?” Bartley asked with a sarcas-
tic smile
The lawyer shook his head slowly
and answered thnt he advanced his
argument as a theory only
"I hnve an Idea" Bnrtley said "thnt
if the chauffeur hod finished the sen-
tence it would huve been 'Slyke mur-
dered I know who did It’"
As I listened to beth of their theo-
ries one seemed to me Just as likely
to be correct &s the other
CHAPTER XI
t
In Which We Begin to Find a Motive
Bartley had some work for me to
do and I did not dine until the oth-
ers had finished While I was eating
Currie wandered into the dining room
and sat down beside me The mur-
der had taken all the life out of him
It was the first time thnt he had
come so close to a crime He seemed
unable to forget the cry nnd those
awful moments in the darkened room
We discussed the affair for a while
then I excused myself and went in
search of Bartley
I had been thinking for hours of
the latest crime and no solution had
come to me I could not understand
how In those few moments of dark-
ness the murderer had been able to
approach the chauffeur near enough
to kill him nor why the people next
to him lmd heard nothing
When I told Bartley of my bewil-
derment - he answered with a little
grin: “I agree with you Pelt It’s
very mysterious It’s the first time
I ever heard of murder taking place
at an inquest and in a room filled with
people There are no clues apparently
To my mind however the real rea-
son for the murder was to prevent
Brlffeur from testifying Whoever
killed him knew about what he would
say nnd feared that he would tell
who -had killed Slyke”
Breaking In on him I said "But he
could not have foreseen that the
lights would go out and give him a
chance? I thought thnt it was the
storm thnt extinguished them"
Me nodded “That's true enough
It was that last flash of lightning
Darkness was Just what he needed
and he took advantage of it He had
several moments In Which to act
There were not many people near
enough to the chauffeur to have
killed him in that short time"
He rose went over to his bag and
brought back the knife with which
the murder had been committed For
several moments he examined it then
he asked as he passed it over to me
“What do you think of it?”
It was a rather odd knife It re-
sembled a hunting knife and the
edge showed it had had a good deal
of use The blade was very dull ex-
cept at the point It was too large to
be carried In a man’s pocket- but a
woman could have hidden It some-
where In the folds of her clothing
As Bnrtley seemed to expect 6ome
comment from me as I handed It back
to him I said "Save for the fact It’?
not very sharp nnd seems to have
been used a great deal I can learn
nothing from it”
He smiled as he turned the knife
over and over in his hand “Oh
there’s more than that It tells a
great deal- The knife is unusual in
shape nnd length There was a time
when It was used a great deal and
tbe owner kept it very sharp and
clean ' But for some time now he
has neglected It There is one very
Important thing that you have over-
looked You remember those little
drawings I found on the magazine In
Slyke’s room the row of connected
circles? I And the same thing here
I gasped and reaching for the
knife looked at the wooden handle
There faintly scratched on the wood
were a number of circles running one
into the other -
"Do you think" I asked in excite-
ment “that it is the sign of some se-
cret society?”
' (TO BE CONTINUEl)
Australia’s "Model City"
Adelaide the capital of South Aus-
tralia Is a "model city” laid out with
a central town in perfectly square
blocks containing public and business
buildings Outside of that is a belt of
public parks and gardens and beyond
the latter are the residence snbnrba
Man Who Committed Suicide in
1738 Was Tried on Murder
Charge in New Orleans
If you sometimes think our
laws are drastic what do you
think about what they had to
stand for way back In 1738?
New Orleans— Even though the
present-day American is so surrounded
by laws that he has to watch Ills step
at every turn he Is not so bad off af-
ter all In 1738 a person In New
Orleans could not even commit suicide
end go unpunished
Someone having asserted that the
Sixty-seventh congress recently ad-
journed enacted 031 new laws and
with mnny stute legislative bodies
clearing their decks for action in order
to add a few broadsides to the list
of statutes Inquiring persons here
have been examining musty old Span-
ish and French official records In New
Orleans to ascertain how the people
of other days fared
Sentence Dead Man
A man committed suicide here in
1738 nnd the records show thnt the
courts tried him for taking a life He
was found guilty and It is set forth
that “the Inanimate body thnt held
life too great a burden" was sen-
tenced to abandonment without buriul
Petty theft involved a penalty of
flogging three years’ Imprisonment
confiscation and a fine of 50 francs
Persons convicted of having shot or
wounded an animal owned by another
were sentenced to capital punishment
As in these days and times a mur-
derer was executed by hanging but
execution for wife murder was by
strangulation
There was no Volstead law but for
permitting bis slaves to become in-
toxicated one man was forced to
mount a wooden horse and was drawn
through the streets while his' neigh-
bors laughed at him
The wooden horse seems to have
played a prominent part in the punish-
ment of petty criminals Patients at
the city hospital learned that meat
they had been consuming with a rel-
ish was dog and cat flesh One Robert
Vllieneuve a butcher who supplied
the institution was haled before the
court on a complaint filed by the pa-
tients who charged thnt they had
been served "roasted dogs”
The records show that Vllieneuve
was mounted upon the wooden horse
and given the same treatment received
by the man who bad permitted his
slaves to become drunk In the case
of Vllieneuve however his chest and
back bore placards Inscribed : “Master
Eater of Dogs and Cats”
Tie Cat Around Neck
After this punishment bud been
All Religions Hateful to Soviets
The execution of the Roman Catholic prelate Mgr Butchkavich is the out-
come of the terrible w ar waged in Russia against all religions Children It is
said are being taught in school to hate religion while a soviet law prohibits
religious teachings to all children under eighteen Here is a caricatured effigy
of Buddha being carried in a Moscow anti-war procession
Man Rescues Costly
Diamond From Sewer
Pottsvllle Pa— Harry Cotier
hunted for a "needle” In a hay-
stack and found It The “needle"
was worth $1500 however --
Cotier dropped a diamond
ring Into a sewer drain With
the city’s consent he dug into
the drain and found the ring
Find Harpoon 50 Years
Old in Whale Carcass
Bergen— In the carcass of a whale
caught In the Davis strait Greenland
and recently brought Into a Norweglun
port the head of an old harpoon has
been found deeply Imbedded in the
blubber Experts declare that the
whale must have carried the harpoon
in Its body for some fifty years since
it is of a pattern used by American
whalers when they fished the Green-
land coasts hqlf a century ago
r Law-
meted out the record further states
that "an old gray cat was hung around
tbe neck" of the culprit
And finery for tbe women played its
part theu ns now for one document
refers to the purchase by u father of
"seemly clothes" for bis eighteen-year-old
daughter The pnrullel of the
clothing problem then with thnt of the
present duy continues In this case for
it seems the purchase consisted of
"feathers nnd thread stockings”
The finery got into the records bo-
cause the father went into debt for
them and debt then was a crime If
one could not pay So reduced In dr
cumstnnees was the parent that he
reported to his creditor: "I nm on
broth I have but one chicken to kill"
The outcome of tbe nffuir could not be
ascertained from the documents
Bite of Stuffed Fox
Head Fatal to Girl
Paris— A few weeks ago Mile
Ernestine Lablelle twenty years
old wore her white fox fur to
a dance at St Uraine near here
A friend Jokingly snapped the
head of the animal on the girl’s
nose and as a result the girl Is
now dead of blood poisoning
caused by 'the animal’s teeth
Want American
©ran
Scientists Ask Canada and
United States to Combine in
String of National Parks
Washington— To benefit science and
popular education during future gener-
ations the American Association for
the Advancement of Science the larg-
est scientific body In the world has
proposed establishing an international
system of museums of the original
American wilderness
Its object is to preserve examples of
the primitive in nature from the Arctic
ocean to the Gulf of Mexico making a
continental scientific laboratory and
popular educational exhibit covering
both Canada and the United States
International System Exists
The basis for this International sys-
tem already exists the scientists be-
lieve in the national pnrks systems of
the twt nations No political or ad-
ministrative union of these is advo-
DISPLAY OF BABIES SHOWS
FRANCE’S BIRTH SHORTAGE
Window Exhibit in Paris Tells
Story of Decreasing Race
Paris— A row of three babies of
diminishing sizes clotbed in white and
resting on a black background has been
attracting attention in the windows of
tbe National Alliance for tbe Increase
of French Population
It Is a show window way of telling
the story of a decreasing race The
largest baby has written underneath
“Year 1868—1034000" the second
baby “Year 1913—746000" and the
last baby “Year 19267—500000"
The trouble between France and
Germany is one of babies according to
the spokesman of this organization
and Germany is bound to win the next
war because of more babies
According to the latest figures Ger-
many has 500000 babies and France
but 35000 above her death rate
LEARNS HE IS A BARON
To be a humble window dresser one
day and an Italian nobleman the next
Is un unusual experience It happened
to Raul Sillro Sobrero resident of
Los Angeles who has Just received
papers from Rome attesting tbe fact
tlint he is a baron The title was con-
ferred upon Sobrero’s father for serv-
ice rendered the duke of Genoa in
a battle The title passed from father
to son but Sobrero didn’t know it un-
til It was thrust upon blm
Lelpsic Fair Attracts Allens
Lelpslc— Ofilclal statistics on tbe
attendance at the annual Lelpslc'
spring fair show there was a total of
160000 visitors surpassing the record
figure Inst year Approximately 23500
of the visitors were foreigners
cated but an international policy of
complete conservation from industrial
uses backed by perfected laws in both
countries
The association Issued the following
from its headquarters in the Smith-
sonian institution here:
"Whereas By repeated action of con-
gress for more than half a century
widely approved by scientific and other
societies and by the public generally
the national parks of the United States
have been completely conserved from
Industrial uses so as to constitute a
system of national museums of native
America and
"Whereas One of the national parks
of Canada Is similarly completely con-
served and
"Whereus The combined national
parks systems of both countries cov-
ering geological biological and geo-
graphical examples from the Alaskan
range through the Canadian Rockies
to the Grand canyon of Arizona If pre-
served untouched will constitute a
unique continental exposition of In-
estimable vulue to science and to the
popular education of future genera-
tions therefore
"Be It resolved That the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science earnestly requests the people
and the congress of the United States
and the people and the parliament of
the Dominion of Canada to secure
such amendments of existing law and
the enactment of such new laws as
will give to all units In the interna-
tional parks system complete conser-
vation alike and will safeguard them
against every industrial use either
under private or public control at
least until careful study shall Justify
the elimination of any part from park
classification”
The American Association for the
Advancement of Science Is interna-
tional its nearly 1000 members rep-
resenting both Canada and the-United
States
German Thieves Steal Knobs
Berlin— Door-knob thieves are caus-
ing Berlin householders much annoy-
ance Hotels apartment houses office
buildings and private dwellings are
all prey to the searchers for second-
hand brass In one of Berlin’s lead-
ing hotels all the brass nozzles on the
fire hose In the corridors disappeared
one night together with many other
brass fixtures
' -
France’s present population is placed
at 39200000 whereof 1500000 are for-
eigners Her native population for the
first six months of 1922 increased by
9045 compared to 15849 in 1913 a
normal prewar year
With the number of marriages in-
creasing (193452 for the first six
months of 1922 as compared to 160-
722 in the corresponding period of
1913) the birth rate Is slightly lower
as is the death rate ’
The national alliance however
points out that there Iq a 3 per cent
decrease In the German birth rate due
to postwar poverty and to a number
of other causes
France Is endeavoring by legisla-
tion to Increase the birth rate' Fa-
thers of four or more children are
given higher salaries and other meas-
ures are being adopted one of which
Is to give a father an f ytra vote fot
every chill
f-J
1:'
?
i i i
f'
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Cowgill, W. T. & Cowgill, J. F. The Helena Star (Helena, Okla.), Vol. 18, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 24, 1923, newspaper, May 24, 1923; Helena, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1726875/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.