Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1895-06-27
THE SPHINX


"Well, OF all the days this has been
the worst ever saw!" grumbled Camp
bell, the city editor, - he gave tho
copy-boy padded" story Of . cable
car smaah-up, and wheeled about In his
desk-chair and addressed the Office In
general and no one In particular.
"Ten o'clock and only two display
heads up, and neither Of them worth
Its place. How much'll that shipping
story make, Harrisr
II can I'll It out to half column, an.
swered the person to, looking up from
his desk
Make all you can Of 1t. Well need
every bit we can ret"
1t was just then that Marsh came in.
Got . good story here, Mr. Camp
bell, how much space can ! have?" he
said, stripping OF his cost.
IAN you want" returned the city
editor, . half smile replacing the
frown bis face had worn. NOV, that's
what call luck!" he added. whats
II about2"
you remember tho Kremer muir
der?''
"Yes, we'll enough"
well, they've rot them, at least,
they think they have. The police In
the Twenty-third precinct arrested .
fellow to-day who turned out to DO
Boch, the German who was with
Kremer the night the murder occurred,
and the circumstantisl evidence Is
strong, they say. Let's see; how long
ago was 1t that the murder happened9
Twelve years, l think"
Just about" said Campbell, men
tally checking Oh the time. 1T ought
to make a good yarn. Do your best
with IT,"
Marsh nodded and fell TO work.
For time only the scratching Of .
pen broke silence In the room. Then
the city editor suddenly said: II say,
Marsh spose you see the Sphinx about
that story. Ten to one, be has some
thing fled away about II. II he has
and can give . good history Of the
crime, let him do It. You do the story
Of the arrest and make II o. circum.
stantial as you can. Well SEQ II We
can't save that front page from staQna-
ton somehow"
"All right" answered Marsh, as he
dropped his pen and rose from his seat.
Perhaps the old man can give us Q
beat on the story" he jokingly added,
as he turned to 60.
The city editor laughed. The idea
of the Sphinx supplying such thing
as "beat" was too absurd to take Sc
riously, for he had never been any
thing but machine, grinding out ad.
denda and obituary notices In non.
pareil type since he became member
Of the Globe staff three years before.
He was, according to his fellow labor
ers, queer lot None Of them pro.
fessed to know him better after that
lapse Of time than when he first came
among them and was given charge Of
the newspaper clippings, which were
fled away daily and made use OF again
whenever new event recalled an old
subject
Splrltless and silent, always faith.
fully executing what was given him to
do, but never offering suggestion,
and in no instance mingling in the
amusements or conversation Of his
companions, he had been dubbed the
Sphinx before he was In the office q
week, and the sobriquet had chung to
him and seemed thoroughly to fit him.
John Hardin was the way he was en-
tered on the payroll, and the most
that anyone knew Of him was that he
lived by himself in bare room near
the Globe building and took his meals
at neighboring clearinghouse. He
seemed to have no relatives and no
acquailtances, except Of the nodding
sort,
Marsh walked over to the little
cnbbyhole Of room the Sphinx occu.
pied, quietly opened the door and
stepped inside, For all the jokes they
poked at Hardin behind his back, there
was . certain something about him
which compelled respect when they
were In his presence. And so Marsh,
when this man looked up from some
clippings over which he was bending,
said, almost In the same tone he used
in addressing the dreaded magazine
editor "Nir. Hardin, have the story
of an arrest here which Mr. Campbell
thought you might have some informa-
ton upon.n
What Is 1t, Mr.. Marsh?" asked har.
din, reaching for his register wherein
he had, alphabetically arranged, the
titles Of the subjects with which his
bureau Of clippings dealt.
"It's q murder" answered Marsh;
"the Kremer murder"
Hardin had raised the book from the
table. II fell with = bang on the floor
But be instantly stopped and picked 1t
up, and began to tumble over the
pages. "The Kremer mprder9n he
said, in his quiet tones. Eyes, | must
have something about that here.p
He continued to run over the pages,
and Marsh noticed that he twice
stopped short Of the letter x, under
which he should have sought Tor the
information wanted. Marsh was Inn,
patient to get back to his own work.
'Well, II you're pretty sure you have
something about It, Mr., Hardin" he
said, "Mr, Campbell would like you to
furnish half a column, or q column, II
you can, on the history Of the crime. /
must 60 back to my own story.
They've arrested Boch, the fellow who
did the murder, they say, and they'll
end in hanging him, Of course; the
circumstantial evidence is strong. The
Kremer murder, remember It oc-
Cured about twelve years ago didn't
tip
NO. replied Hardin, mot twelve;
eleven years ago tonight That Is, l
think it was tonight eleven years ago,