The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1896-10-16
THE SPHINX.
By FRANCIS c. WILLIAMS.

copy-boy padded story OF a cable
car smash-up, and wheeled about in his
desls-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. Harris2"
81 can fill it out to half q column" an
swered the person to, looking up from
his desk.
''Malse all you can Of it. Well need
every bit we can get"
1t was just then that Marsh came in.
"Got good story here, Mr.. Camp
bell; how much space can have?" he
said, stripping off his coat.
"All you want" returned the city
editor, half smile replacing the
frown his face had worn. "Now, that
what call luckl' he added. "What'
it about?"
you remember the Kremer mur
der?"
Yes, well enoughl"
''Well, they've got them; at least,
they think they have. The police in
the Twenty-third precinct arrested
fellow to-day who turned out to be
Boch, the German who was with
Kremer the night the murder occurred;
and the circumstantial evidence is
strong, they say. Let's see; how long
ago was it that the murder happened?
Twelve years, think"
"Just about" said Campbell, men
tally checking off the time. ut ought
to make 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, s'pose you see the Sphinx about
that story. Ten to one, he has some
thing fled away about it. If he has
and can give good history of the
crime, let him do it. You do the story
of the arrest and make it az circum-
stantial as you can. Wen see if we
can't save that front page from stagna-
tion somehow"
GAN right" answered Marsh, as he
dropped his pen and rose from his seat
Perhaps the old man can give us a
beat ON the story" he jokingly added,
as he turned to go.
The city editor laughed. The idea
of the Sphinx supplying such thing
as 'beat" was too absurd to take se-
riously, for he had never been any
thing but a machine, grinding out adj
dcnda and obituary notices in non
pareil type since he became member
of the Globe staff three wears before.
lie was, according to his fellow labor
ers, u 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
filed away daily and made use of again
whenever new event recalled an old
subject
splrlCless and silent, always faith
fully executing what was given him to
do, but never Offering a 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 n
week, and the sobriquet had clung to
him and seemed thoroughly to tit 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 a neighboring eating house. He
seemed to have no relatives and no
acquaintances, except of the nodding
sort.
Marsh walked over to the little
cnbbyhole of q room the Sphinx occu-
pied, quietly opened the door and
stepped inside. For all the Jokes they
polSed 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 'Mr Hardin, l have the story
Of an arrest here which Mr.. Campbell
thought you might have some informa-
tion upon.n
What is it, Mr. Marsh?" asked Aar-
din, reaching for his register wherein
he had, alphabetically arranged, the
titles Of the subjects with which his
bureau of clippings dealt.
tits murder answered Marsh;
"the Kremer murder"
Hardin had raised the book from the
table. 1t fell with a bang on the floor.
But he instantly stopped and picked il
mn and bnuap ~ Fv,,lIo - A.
pages. "The Kremer murderP" he
said, in his quiet tones. ''Yes, must
have something about that here"
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 for the
information wanted. Marsh was inn
patient to get back to his own work.
"Well, il you're pretty sure you have
something about it, Mr.. HARDIN he
said, 'Mr Campbell would like YOU to
furnish half a column, or n column. If
you can, ON the history of the crime. l
must 30 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. Tho
Kremer murder, remember! 1t oc-
Cured about twelve years ago, didn't
itp"
NO" replied Hardin, mot twelve;
eleven years ago tonight. That is,
think it was tonight eleven years ago.
The murder made great impression
on my mind. 1t was hellish crime;
wasn't it9n
bad, as murders go, guess" re-
turned Marsh, lightly, wondering at
this sudden squirt of loquacity on the
others part. swell. I'll leave WON y
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