The Democrat (Beaver, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 21, 1920 Page: 2 of 14
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*- V «**;
THE DEMOCRAT. BEAVER OKLAHOMA
The
House
Whispers
William
Johnston ~
niuilralioM
>y
Irwin Myers
CHAPTER XXIII—Continued.
—16—
No sense of shunie n<r of jcullt pn«-
eessfd me. I was aware of having
done wrong to no one. A clear con-
fidence kept assuring int* that It wus
malfortune and not error on my part
that bad brought me here. At every
point in the strange chain of circum-
stances 1 felt that 1 had acted an a
man of honor should have acted. My
sense of Innocence upheld me even
though the deliberate malicious plot-
ting of evil men might make it aiipenr
to the Judge, to the Jumrs, to the
whole world that I was a murderer.
Even though I should be sentenced to
death for killing a woman I never had
seen the knowledge that at every point
I had done what I still believed to
have been right, brought me strong
comfort and tilled me with new cour-
age.
Yet It was with lack of Interest that
I listened to the monotonous question-
ing that formed a part of the selection
of a Jury,
"So far as I am Concerned," I hnd
said to my counsel In our lust chat,
"any sort of a Jury will do. Unless
we succeed In upsetting the evidence
against me with a crash that all the
world can hear It makes no differ-
ence*."
"I guess you are right," he answer-
ed, despondently, It seemed to me,
"and If the worst happens, we always
can take an appeal."
Ills reply convinced me that he, .too,
was anticipating the result, which I
long ago had decided to be the only
outcome, unless something unforeseen
happened—a verdict against me of
murder In the first degree.
I heard, almost with amusement,
the district attorney, with eloquent
oratory, tell the jury the crimes he
eipeeted to prove against me. even
smiling a little at the picture he fihint-
•d of a gangster seeking employment
In an apartment occupied by families
of wealth that he might And oppor-
tunities for plundering them, and
when 2 e was surprised in the midst
of hia burglarizing, brutally cholUng
the unprotected woman whose home
he Was despoiling and then as she lay
there, helpless and Insensible, shoot-
ing her through the heart.
In fact, I quite agreed with all he
said, even to his most strenuous ad-
jectives—except for the one fact—
that I knew I was not the man he
was talking about. It had been a bru-
tal, cowardly murder, and I was fully
as anxious as the district attorney
could possibly be to sty the miscreant
who had killed Mlss^Lutan brought
to hook.
The testimony that was to come, I
devoutly hoped, would give some clue
that would lead to the unmasking of
the real murderer. The ttrst witness
called was one of the detectives who
had arrested me. He told concisely,
as though repeating a well rehearsed
story, of having been summoned to
the Granddeck and finding there the
body of Daisy Lutan. He said that
she had been shot through the heart.
"Was there anyone In the apart-
ment when you arrived?"
"Yes, a doctor."
"Anyone else?"
"Yes, Mr. Wick, the superintendent
of the apartment, and the prisoner."
"What did they say? How did they
explain their presence there?"
"They said they had heard n shot
and had coine in to Investigate."
He told of examining the body,
questioning the physician and of mak-
ing a search of the apartment for the
murderer, but finding no one else
there.
"What did you do then?"
"My partner and I followed the
prisoner to his apartment and placed
him under arrest. We searched Ills
room and In the dresser I found a
•revolver with one chamber recently
discharged."
"What made you suspect Nelson?
Why did you arrest him?"
"My partner and I talked it over,
and we both were of the opinion that
it was an inside Job. A burglar would
, have o«> chance to get into a building
like the Granddeck and make his get-
away. It was between the .superin-
tendent of the building, who w.is a
man of responsibility, and this yo.ing
fellow—who was only a caretaker."
"Had anything In Nelson's actions
made you suspicious of him?"
"I noticed that he was greatly ex-
cited."
"Anything else?"
"After Nelson bad gone upstairs to
his own apartment, I questioned Mr.
Wick. He said he had been in the I
elevator when be heard the shot. He '
had gotten-out at the fifth floor, where !
It seonied to have come from. At the I
door of Miss Lutan's apartment he
had found the prisoner."
"That's all." said the district attor- j
ney triumphantly.
My attorney waived cross-examina-
tion. The second detective was put
on the stand and corroborated his
partner's evidence in every respect.
Both of them told of finding blood on
my ooat. The physician whom Wick
had summoned gave a somewhat tech-
nical description of the bullet wound,
and the prosecution put In evidence
the bullet extracted from the body
and the revolver the detectives had
found, pointing out that they were of
the same culiber.
"Call Mr. Wick," suld the district
attorney.
I leaned forward to lislen to every
word of Wick's testimony. In >/act
from the moment he was brought In
I never took my eyes from hlru. It
would be black enough for me If he
merely stated the facts as they ac-
tually had happened, but I doubted if
he would he content with that. If,
as I felt certain. Wick was In the em-
ploy of the conspirators. It was more
than likely that they would seek to
clinch the cuse against me with his
testimony.
He gave his name, James Wick, and
his occupation as superintended!' of
the Granddeck.
"How long have you been employed
there?"
"Ever since the building was
opened."
''Where were you employed pre-
viously?"
Wick hesitated. I wondered If Gor-
man's surmise that he bad been In
prison were true, what hip would say.
"Before that," he stammered, "I
was In the employ of Mr. Kent In the
West."
"Who Is Mr. Kent?"
"He owns the Granddeck. He had
known me for years. He brought me
on when he built this building."
' While bis answer seemed to satisfy
the district attorney, I was convinced
from Wick's nervousness that he was
concealing something, that further
questioning Into his past might lend
to unexpected developments.
"Are you acquainted with the de-
fendant?"
"Very slightly."
"How long have you known him?"
I was listening Intently. Would he
admit knowing that I was a relative
of old Rufus Gaston?
"I don't really know him," Wick ex-
plained. "I've seen him two or three
times. Mr. Gaston, one of my ten-
ants, told me that he was going away
and that he had given the key of his
apartment to a young man named
Nelson whom he had employed as
caretaker. He said that the care-
taker would arrive at ten o'clock on
the Sunday morning that the Gastons
went away."
"And did the defendant arrive at
that time—at the time he was ex-
pected?"
"He did not. What first attracted
my attention to him was that he
sneaked into the building earlier than
he was expected."
"You say he sneaked In," the dis-
trict attorney's voice expressed a prop-
er horror of such conduct. "Please
explain to the Jury what you mean
by that."
"Instead of announcing his arrival,
he watched his chance and waited till
one of the tenants was coming in.
He slipped in beside her and went
I Leaned Forward to Listen to Every
Word of Wick's Testimony.
up In the elevator without being an-
nounced. Naturally the elevator man
thought he was a friend of the young
lady tenant."
"How do you know he was not a
friend of the young woman with
Whom he entered the building?"
"I asked lilm if he was acquainted
, with her. anil he said he was. Later
that same day she passed him in the
hall of the building. I noticed that
she did not speak to him or recognize
him in any way."
The prosecutor waved his hand to
the Jury a« If to say. "You sec. gentle
men," and followed on with another
question.
"Was the defendant's conduct in
the building in any other way such
as to arouse your suspicion?"
"He'd hardly got located before he
began bussing the telephone girl, ask-
ing her all kinds of questions about
the other tenants In the building. He
kept trying to get her to go out to
dinner with him."
"Hid sh* gor
"Yes, she did. She reported hlfl ac-
tions to me, and I suggested that she
go with him and try to find out what
his name was."
"What else do you know about the
defendant?"
"That's all—except—"
"Except what?"
"What I saw on the night Miss Lu-
tan was murde'red."
"Tell the circumstances."
"1 was in the elevator coming down
from the top floor. I heard the sound
of a shot. It seemed to come from
the fifth floor. I got off there to in-
vestigate. As the door of the Lutan
ajmrtment stood Mr. Nelson."
"What was he doing there?"
"Just standing there. It looked to
me as if be had Just been coming out
and that when be saw me he had
stop|H*d suddenly."
"What was bis manner? Describe
the position in which he was standing
to the Jury." Again there was in the
district attorney's voice a trlumphunt
ring.
"He wus all excited and tremhl.v-
IIke." Mr. Wick went on. "and his
eyes seemed to be bulging out ol his
head."
"What did he say?"
"I asked him If he had heard n shot
and he said that he had. I asked If
it had not come from the Lutan apart-
ment and he said that it had seemed
so to him. I wanted to keep «iy eye
on him, so I took out my pass-key
and suggested that we Investigate to-
gether. He did not seem at all nnx-
Is That Your Real Name?"
ious to go back into the apartment
with me, but the elevator man was
standing there, so he came along and
was with me when I found the body.
I kept him there until the police
came."
I had expected that my counsel
would offer objections to Wick's tes-
timony, especially to his having said
that I did not appear anxious to "go
back" into the apartment, but Mc-
Gregor contented himself with two
questions.
"Do you not know that Mr. Spal-
ding Nelson is a grand-nephew of Mr.
Rufus Gaston? Did not Mr. Gaston
tell you of this relationship?"
"He did not," lied Wick calmly.
"How was Mr. Nelson first standing
—when you got out of the elevator—
when you first saw him?"
I recalled my attitude distinctly. I
hnd been standing facing the door,
straining my ears to catch any sound
in the apartment. When I beard the
elevator stopping, I had looked around
over my shoulder as Wick emerged.
"He wus standing," said Wick, of
his own accord, speaking direct to the
Jurors, "with his back against the
door. One hand—his right hand—was
behind him. I thought at first he
might have a revolver in it anil drew
one I always carry, hut he had not.
It looked sts if he bad just slipped out
of the door and was reaching behind
him to close It when I discovered
him."
"That will be all." said my counsel,
to my great disappointment. Through-
out the mixed medley of truth and lies
that Wick had been telling, there had
been manifest to me his deliberate
purpose to discredit me and cast sus-
picion on me. I felt certain that an
abler lawyer could quickly ltave rid-
dled bis testimony, but McGregor
showed no disposition to take advan-
tage of his opportunity.
Nellie Kelly was called. Briefly
site told of Iter jyh—switchboard op-
erator at the Granddeck. She cor-
roborated Wick's story of my first ar-
rival at the Granddeck and bore out
his statements about my having chat-
ted with her and also told of having
gone to dinner with me. When I had
begun questioning her about other
tenants, she said site excused herself
and went to the telephone and called
iil> the Grartddeck for advice as to
how she should answer. For some
reason, she said, when she returned 1
after phoning, the defendant hud not
questioned her further hut had seem-
ed anxious to get away from .the res-
taurant.
"You say." said McGregor, as he
began her cross-examination, "that
your name is Nellie Kelly. Is that
your rial name?"
My counsel's unexpected question
came as a thunderbolt to the 0(iposi-
tion. The whole courtroom seemed
to sense that something crucial was
about to be brought out. The jurors
to a man leaned forward to listen for
her answer. The district attorney,
plainly puzzled, half rose in his seat
and then subsided. Wick's face went
white, and the girl herself started and
her eyes turned helplessly to Wick, as
if seeking Instructions as to how to
answer.
"Is that your real name?" Mc-
Gregor repeated, this time a little
more emphutlcatiy.
"It Is—that la—it wa*." she stam-
mered.
'It was your name," «aid Me
Gregor sarcastically, "mid what might
be your name now?"
"My name," the girl hesitated, a*
If struggling with herself, and tti<-b
casting a defiant look in Wick's di-
rection, she answered with pride rath-
er than with boldness, "my name Is
Mrs. Edward Moore."
"The wife of Lefty Moore, the bur-
glar in Sing Sing, you mean, do you
not?" sneered McGregor.
"I am," she replied with a proud
lifting of her chin and a flash In her
eye. "I'm Lefty Moore's wife, and
I'm proud that I am—his lawfully
wedded wife and I don't care who
knows It. I love Lefty Moore."
I here was Instant consternation In
the district attorney's camp. With
visions of discredited testimony con-
fronting him. he was on his feet roar-
ing objections. Throughout tl e whole
courtroom there was a sibilant stir,
and the Judge began rapping for or-
der.
Clone behind my counsel my mother
luyl been sitting, accompanied by some
womqn wearing a heavy veil. * I had
paid little attention to her hitherto,
supposing that it was some hotel maid
whom my mother had hired to accom-
pany her to court, for so far as I knew
my mother had no women acquaint-
ances In New York. This woman
now, to my amnzeiuent, reached for-
ward and plucked McGregor by the
sleeve. As §he pushed back her veil
to whisper to him, to my utter sur-
prise and consternation I saw that It
was Barbara Bradford.
How had Barbara come to be sitting
there in court at my mother's side?
Delighted as I was at seeing her, I
was puzzled and perplexed. I had
sternly forbidden both Gorman and
McGregor from making any plans to
call her as a witness. I had urged her
to keep silent and not become involved
in any way in the case. My eyes
sought hers for an explanation, but
after that one whispered word, that I
was unable to hear, she had quickly
drawn her veil over her face.
"Your honor," said McGregor, ris-
ing, "In view of this unexpected testi-
mony, I should like to request a re-
cess."
"Granted," said the Judge. "Ad-
journed until two o'clock."
LITTLE ADVICE FOR GROCER
Would Be Wag Had Picked Out the
Wrong Woman on Whom to
y Exercise His Wit.
There was an expression of melan-
choly ringed with resentment on Mrs.
Brown's face as she entered the gro-
cer's shop.
"I want," she began impressively,
"to talk to you about them eggs I hud
Inst week. They weren't anything
like as fresh as they might have been."
"That's strange," replied the grocer,
who fnncled himself something of a
wag. "We always have au almanac
hanging up in the fowl run to keep the
hfns up to date."
"Oh!" came the retort with crushing
emphasis. "Then all I have to say Is
that somebody with braitv? about as
nddled as them eggs has been mislead-
In' the hens with last year's calendar.
J us' you hang up a 1920 card, my good
foliow, and maybe them chickens '11
xtart working overtime to catch up to
it r
CHAPTER XIV.
Impatiently I waited for the recess
to be over. I could not understand
what was happening. Neither Gor-
man nor my counsel came near me.
Even my mother made no attempt, so
far as I could learn, to see me. The
one glimpse I had had of Barbara
there in the courtroom had fired me
again with wild desires to see her.
My feelings were equally divided be-
tween hoping she would and hoping
she would not make any effort to
reach me—at least not until my trial
was over.
That something was happening to
keep them all away—something per-
haps vital to my freedom—I was cer-
tain. On no other ground could I ex-
plain the fact of none of them seek-
ing me for consultation. Yet what it
might be I could not possibly conjec-
ture. Eagerly I hurried into the court-
room again as soon ns the recess was
oyer, at once turning my eyes to see
if the girl I loved was there.
Quickly I located her still sitting be-
side my mother. Her veil now was
boldly thrown back, and as she gazed
at me with sparkling eyes and a con-
fident smile, I felt sure that across
the distance she was trying to send
some message of good tidings. My
mother's, face, too, I observed, now
wore a happier look, and about Gor-
man and McGregor both was an air
of greater confidence than either had
manifested before.
What had happened? What had
they found out? Eagerly I waited de-
velopments.
The telephone girl was recalled to
the stand and her cross-examination
resumed.
"Mrs. Moore." began McGregor—
anil I observed curiously that Ills
voice in addressing her no longer was
harsh and sarcastic but merely suave
and impelling—"you have testified
here as a witness against Mr. Spal-
ding Nelson, accused of having mur
dered Daisy Lutan. have you not?"
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Chautauqua or Circus.
The manager was strolling about
the big Chautauqua tent, which had
just been set up In a small Missonri
town, and the boys were laying the
plank seats, when the whir of engines
was heard, and two automobiles ap-
peared racing furiously toward the
Chautauqua grounds. They stopped
side by side in the dust and smoke
f heavily set brakes, and the drivers
leaped from their seats and ran at
top speed toward the astonished Chau-
tauqua manager.
"I'm a butcher!" gasped the first.
"I'm a butcher!" cried the second.
Then both togethec they shouted, "I
want the contract to furnish meat for
the animals!"—Youth's Companion.
Short Story About Shellac.
Shellac is the jojnt product of in-
sects and plants and coines from In-
dia. The lnc Insects are about 1.25
of an inch long, a bright red in color.
They suck the juices of plants, di-
gest them and exude them in the form
of resin, which soon encases the
whole Insect. When the young insects
have swarmed out, the resin Is scraped
from the branches, ground, washed,
mixed with colophony and orpiment,
cooked slowly and drawn out into the
thin sheets we know as shellac.
EATONIC Users
—Do This—Get the
Greatest Benefits
Chicago, III.—Thousands of reports
from people all over the U. S. who
have tested eatonlc, show the greatest
benefits are obtained by using It for a
few weeks, taking one or two tablets
after each meal.
Eatonlc users know that it stops
Belching, Bloating, Heartburn, and
Stomach Miseries quickly, but the
really lasting benefits are obtained by
using eatonlc long enough to take the
harmful excess acids and gases entire-
ly out of the system. This i-equlres a
little time, for eatonlc takes up the
excess acidity and poisons and carries
them out of the body and of course,
when It Is all removed, the sufferer gets
well, feels fine—full of life and pep.
If you have been taking an eatonlc
now and then, be sure and take it regu-
larly for a time and obtain all of these
wonderful benefits. Please speak to
your druggist about this, so that he can
tell others that need this help. Adv.
The Verdict.
Spoiled Star—The critics say I am
Just killing in this part.
The Manager—Yes, they do say
▼ou murder it.
SICK WOMEN
HEAR HE
You Can Be Free from Pain
as I Am, if You Do as I Did.
Harrington, Me. —"I suffered with
backache, pains through my h i p ■
and such a bear-
i n g down feel-
ing that I could not
stand on my feet.
I also had other dis-
tressing symptoms.
At times I had to
give up work. I
tried a number of
remedies but Lydia
E. Pinkham'B Vege-
table Compound aid
me more good than
.anythingelse. I am
regular, do not suffer the pains I used
to, keep house and do all my work. I
recommend your medicine to all who
suffer as I did and you may use my let-
ter as you like."—Mrs. Minnie Mitch-
ell, Harrington, Me.
There are many women who suffer as
Mrs. Mitchell dj<J and whoare being bene-
fited by this great medicine every day.
It has helped thousands of women who
have been troubled with displacements,
inflammation, ulceration, irregularities,
periodic pains, backache, that bearing
down feeling, indigestion, and nervous
prostration. J
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com-
pound contains no narcotics or harmful
drug*. It is made from extracts of
roots and herbs and is a safe medium
for women. If you need special advica
write Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co.
(confidential), Lynn, Mass.
Specific.
Lawyer—You went in the house
while the prisoner was disputing with
his wife whom he accuses of aggra-
vating him into the assault. How did
she strike you?
Witness—I think the frying pan was
the first thing which came handy.
ASPIRIN
Name "Bayer" on Genuine
"Bayer Tablets of Aspirin" is genu-
ine Aspirin proved safe by millions
and prescribed by physicians for over
twenty years. Accept only an unbroken
"Bayer package" which contains proper
directions to relieve Headache, Tooth-
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Colds and Pain. Handy tin boxes of 12
tablets cost few cents. Druggists also
sell larger "Bayer packages." Aspirin
is trade mark Bayer Manufacture Mon-
oaceticacidester of Saiicylicacid.—Adv.
Watch Your Kidneys!
That "bad back" is probably due to
weak kidneys. It shows in a dull,
throbbing backache, or sharp twinges
when stooping. You have headaches,
too, dizzy spells, a tired nervous feeling
and irregular kidney action. Don't neg-
lect it—there is danger of dropsy, gravel
or Bright's disease! Use Doan's Kid-
ney Pills. Thousands have saved
themselves more serious ailments by
the timely use of Doan's. Ask your
neighbor!
A Kansas Case
Mrs. O. Couch, 725
Holllday St., Osage
City, Kan., says:
"My back became
lame and sore and
pained a great deal.
It was difficult for
me to stoop or
straighten. My kid-
neys acted irregu-
larly and I had se-
vere headaches and
dizzy spells. I felt
tired and worn out.
Doan's Kidney Pills
removed the back-
aches and helped my kidneys in a sat-
isfactory manner."
Cat Doan's at Any Store, 60c ■ Bos
DOAN'S
FOSTER MILBURN CO.. BUFFALO. N. Y*
Unvarying Disapproval.
"You say you have always object- |
ed to the use of money in politics?" }
"Always," answered Senator Sor-
ghum; "especially when a fellow has |
more of it to use than I have."
Contents 15 Fluid Draoh
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Cox, A. W. The Democrat (Beaver, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 21, 1920, newspaper, October 21, 1920; Beaver, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc236164/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.