The San Francisco call., 1910-12-25
CHIEF LEES AND
THE POISONED CANDY

Centinued From Preceding Page.)
sold the story of her life readily. not
s.ufrlng necessary details. but she de-
N.afeo her innocence of the awful crime
OF which she was accused, denying the
accusation time and time again. Ma
lNrally the woman was nervous
markedly so. Who would not be placed
IN ike position?
She sat at the table while the wary
old chief interviewed her, asking her
JUST such questions about her past as
We're of especial moment to him.
For several hours he kept up this
questioning. Mrs. Bardin became more
enc more nervous. Her fingers trem-
pled Without thought, as one grasps
any straw within reach to relieve the
nerve tension, serniconsciousIy she
seized upon penholder
She moved it about here and there,
scarcely noticing what ii was she held
she was answering questions. It was
the tense, exciting moment-the crisis
] saw, then, the chiefs ruse There
vas sudden fash Of hope in his ewes.
t1e kept on prodding the prisoner not
caring to lose the thread Of her story
or 10 permit her for even a moment TO
comprehend his uppermost desire. Her
woman's wit would have fathomed his
thought on the instant and the oppor-.
tunity been lost But his face betrayed.
10 me who knew him so well. anxious
expectancy. however well concealed
from the prisoner before him.
Mrs Bardin had the pen in her hand
She dropped it. Then she picked il up
again Apparently quite unconscious
~ she dipped the pen point in the ink
WelL There was convenient sheet OF
paper close to her. In her excitement
TO conceal her nervousness. no doubt.
she began scribbling on the paper. She
was certainly writing something-it
was not mere pen scratches.
The old chiefs ruse had obtained
MIS- Bardin had written her name.
and the words san Francisco, Califor-
MA and the day OF the week and the
date OF the month
Suddenly the chief bounded from his
chair and roared an irrelevant order at
me Mrs. Bardin, frightened at the
rough tone OF his voice rose from her
chair The chief dismissed the prison
er. who was led away. and like the
drowning man grasping at the straw,
pounced upon the long looked for ex-
emplar OF handwriting
The second round was won
Then came the long battle before
the governor OF the state as TO where
the prisoner was TO be tried as to
where the crime had been committed.
After a long. tedious session of sew
eral weeks duration, the governor
nnally decided that the trial should
take place in San Francisco. witnesses
were brought from the east, the home
OF the victims Of the murder. All the
evidence was purely circumstantial, but
step by step, link by link, il pointed
directly and convincingly to the defend
ant There was not even the shadow
OF reasonable doubt as to her guilt
The evidence was clearly presented
by the witnesses. The jury was an un-
usually intelligent one. The motive was
plainly established Eminent counsel
bitter fights in the history of the state
10 no avail The defendant was con-
Vlcted and sentenced to states prison
for life There were the usual appeals.
with no result. The prisoner ended her
days in San Quentin prison. where she
but recently passed TO the great be-
yond. Deering, too, the indirect cause
OF her crime. has also passed away.
One Of the tensely dramatic episodes
during the long drawn out trial OF Mrs.
Caroline Bardin for the triple murder
was a question propounded by the de-
Sense TO Deering, husband Of one OF
the victims OF the murder, as to his re-
iatiOns with the defepdant The man
was between two horrible fires, devo-
ton to the memory OF his murdered
wife and his honor as a gentleman TO
the defandant. lie refused 70 answer.
He was cited for contempt OF court
and remanded into the custody of the
sheriff, there to remain until he re-
sponded TO the heart rending query
Deering remained in jail His honor
was more TO him than any punishment
that the presiding judge, or any one
else, could infict
Daily he was brought before the
court and the question repeated. He
still refused TO answer. After being
IN Jail for some days the attorneys for
the defense withdrew the question and
Deering was given his liberty.
The jury brought in its verdict in
the Bsrdin murder case at o'clock in
the morning.
Chief Lees sat drowsily in HIS chair.
His duty had been faithfully and we'll
done. 1t mattered little 10 him what
verdict the u would bring. He had
done his best, and as his conscience
had dictated.
Poor creature" he murmured to me.
as we left the courtroom, poor mis-
guided woman. I'm sorry for her, truly
sorry" and his looks echoed the SEN
timent
What time is IT, Billy?" he asked.
'sWhat2 Three o'clock2 Well, call a
cab 1 guess it's never too late for
our Welsh rabbit, is itT