The Tomahawk., 1916-01-20

visit Sam Webb says he heard them
quarreling about money.
"Now the murder occurred some
time during the night of the 30th,
Decoration day. Nobody heard the
shot, and the tragedy was not dis
covered until seven o'clock next
morning"
why" Hazard queried, "are you so
positive it was murder?"
"There are several reasons why
can't accept the police theory" Miss
Bertel replied.
First, it is asking good deal Of
one to believe that anybody can be
killed by a revolver catching in
drawer in such way that merely
opening the drawer should explode it;
then, that the weapon should be
aimed so unerringly at the victims
heart simply knocks the law Of prob
abilities to smithereens. It's impos-
sible.
"But I got most of my ideas from
Sam Webb-those two card corners,
for instance. He slipped them to me
and told me he had found them tight
ly clenched in the dead mans right
hand. Now there wasn't a deck of
cards in the house from which the
jack of diamonds and the queen Of
spades were missing.
Here are several curious facts in
this connection. Mrs. Pell tells me
that in his younger days Henry Para
dis was gambler, but that years ago
he foreswore cards and all games of
chance. Now then, according to Sam
Webb, early in March the old mans
| interest in cards all at once revived.
and he became pinochle fiend. And,
too, early in March is the time when
young Curtis Paradis, the nephew,
first appeared on the scene. Also at
about this time Henry Paradis took
up with a disreputable individual
named Blackburn, tinhorn gambler
who hangs out at a neighborhood sa-
loon. Sam says there used to be
some notable games at the house,
marked by constant quarrels and
chickering's either between Curtis and
his uncle, or between Blackburn and
the uncle; never between Curtis and
Blackburn, nor, to Sans knowledge,
was there ever game when the three
played all together.
I'm simply giving you these facts
for what they might be worth; they
tell me next to nothing.
Finally, on the afternoon Of May
twenty.ninth Henry Paradis drew
from his bank $4,000 in currency,
which so far is missing"
II.
Felix Hazard spent the better part
of the afternoon nosing about the
North Halsted street neighborhood.
He gathered lot of information of
one sort and another, the net re-
suit of which he summed up in the
reflection: IF Helen wanted to help
her friend, she'd better have let the
coroners verdict stand"
For, among other things, he learned
that Mrs. Pell had called at the Para
dis house early on the evening OF
| May 30th-the evening of the tragedy
and that Curtis Paradis also had
| been seen Whereabouts by at least two
| persons. One individual asserted that
about nine o'clock of the same night
| he had seen Curtis hurrying away
from his uncle's residence and in the
| direction of the car barns at Dewey
| place; that he appeared nervous and
agitated, and that he was tearing to
| pieces as he went along and scatter
| ing broadcast what looked like "a
| couple of postcards" but which, the
spectator having been made inquisi-
tive, on examination proved to be two
| playing cards!
| These circumstances, in connection
with the fact that Henry Paradis
must have been slain some time dur
ing the night of May 30th, and that
the $4,000 was nowhere to be found,
indeed looked bad for Mrs. Pell and
her brother.
It was at nearby corner saloon,
however, that Hazard obtained def
mite knowledge of Blackburn, the
'tinhorn," and in addition some gen.
eral knowledge of Henry Paradis'
character that was in no way credit
thereto.
Speaking of Curtis Paradis, the bar
keeper told Hazard that the young
man was an automobile mechanician
who had come to Chicago from Kan
sas City about March LIST in search OF
employment.
HE sure was some pinochle field"
averred the informant, "a reg'la bug.
Only one other gink around here
fella named Nick Blackburn-that's
as bad. Blackburn, he's a shark, out
for the coin there is in it, and boobs,
like this young Paradis, are pickin's
for him." The speaker abruptly
asked:
Have you any idea why old Henry
Paradis warmed up to Blackburn?
No? I'll tell you. The old man was
learning to play pinochle. Yes, sir,
he was! He paid Blackburn to teach
him; not just the rules Of the game.
y'understand, but the fine points that
win games. For two hours, three
n 1o,