The Meeker herald., 1914-04-25

THE PoPHAM CENTER MURDER

Copyright By the lntei
THE P0PHAM CENTER MURDER
The Clearing Up Of 4 Puzxlina Case
II you have been reading the daily
papers at all in the last two years
you already know something of the
Popham Center murder case. You
know-for the reporters spent oceans
Of words in telling you-that Herman
Bauder. the twelve year old son of a
millionaire florist at Popham Center,
pennsylvania, was found dead on his
fathers lawn one July evening with
his toy air rife by his side, and alb
solutely no trace of why or how he
met his death or who was responsible
for the dastardly deed. Later 1t was
discovered that the boy had died from
suffocation, which further complicated
the mystery; for how he could have
succumbed in this fashion out there
on the open lawn on a summer even
ing was inexplicable More investi-
cation showed that he had been
choked. You know also how his
father, frantic with grief. had ragged,
placed his fortune at the disposal of
anyone who could clear up the my
stery, and how for weeks the press
rang with stories of one OF the most
sensational man hunts in the history
Of detective annals in this country.
All this and more you know II you
were reading the papers at the time
What you do not know. and what l
propose to tell. is how the mystery
was cleared up in almost as startling
= manner as that in which the crime
had been committed. Startling to the
layman. that is, for to Cluffer and N.Y.
self. as operatives in the Burns De
tective Agency, 1t came merely as
part of the days work. and to LIS in
no way differed from scores of cases
which we were assigned to clear up in
order to earn our weekly salaries.
The Popham Center murder occur
red on Monday evening, and Tues
day morning the papers were playing
up 1.-THE Popham Center Mystery"
By this name the case became known.
On the Thursday following the office
manager Of our agency sent word for
me to go in and see the Chief. Cluf-
fer, another operative, q short, bow
legged and good humored little Eng
lishman, already was in conference
with Burns. CIuffer was an old man
in the ONCE; I had been q detective
only . few months.
"Chrnel1," said the Chief, we've
eeuS retained to clear up that Pop
NAM Center case over in Pennsyl-
vania. The sheriff and the police
and the county detectives over there
are all up in the air. They've already
arrested three negroes for doing the
job. 1t isn't likely that they've got
the right man. There IL a reward Of
hve thousand dollars offered by the
boys father. In addition to that. the
fathers lawyer has retained US by
wire. Now, you and Cluffer go over
to Popham Center and clear that
thing up"
had been reading the newspaper
accounts of the murder and had been
impressed by the apparently insur-
mountable difficulties that lay in So
luton of the case. It seemed mighty
cool Of the Chief to order us to run
over and clear It up. but that is the
way the modern high class detective
agency works. Crime and the dis
covery of its perpetrators are only
matters of business, and the high
class agency handles them exactly as
another kind of business office hand
les an order for goods.
Have you any theory you want us
to work on?" I asked.
"Yes," said the Chief. Its rob-
berry crime, sure. The kid must Lave
got hold of some money or valuables,
and somebody must have put him out
of the way to get them. That's the
way these crimes most always shape
up. I've listed two hundred of them,
and petty robbery has been the motive
in 100 cases. don't know the situa-
ton over there. but that's the idea
1 want you to base your work on
until you find that I'm wrong, If
am wrong. II the thing looks very
involved after you've been there three
or four days, let me know by wire"
That was all. Cluffer and cnshed
an order for expense money. packed
our grips, and within two hours were
whirling over New Jersey toward
Pennsylvania bound for what after
wards proved to be one of the most
exciting experiences Of our lives.
We reached Popham Center late at
night. 1t was a small. but exceed
ingly prosperous town in the foot
hills of the mountains, and Clutter
and 1 repaired to its single hotel. Nat
urally the place was buzxing with talk
Of the crime that for the moment had
made 1t q place of national import
ance. The rooms at the hotel were
all taken by reporters, photographers
and artists from Philadelphia and
New York, and Cluner and I were
lucky to ind two cots available In