American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1921-07-01

Clednlu anu can slhnu Sefc ldihih
all day"
do YOU know a man named
Krantzg' l flung at her desperately,
in a last effort to arouse some re-
Spouse, +Adofph Krantz."
"No, I don't; Their amt none of
those people yere, 1 tell yer"
The door slapped shut in my face,
and l heard a bolt shot into place
the interview was ended.
l stared a moment at the blank door
In bewilderment; then turned away,
and slowly retraced my steps to the
street. SO the young N had de
ldberately lied TO me had merely been
amusing, herself at my expense; had
sent me on this wild goose chase so
THAT she might laugh over my SIM
pficlty. But was this truef II so,
now was / to account for the strange
,cofncident that both she and Harris
had named the same number, and
street? 1t could not have occurred
merely through chance. Something
must have happened In the lean
while to overthrow all her plans, and
Ito cause this rabid '~housekeeper to
even deny her very existence. And I
held the key Of eIpfanation-the muir
der of Alva.
Beyond all doubt here was both
cause and effect The girl had intend
ed TO either see me herself, or by
proxy in the form of this mysterious
Miss Conrad. But what had since
occurred had compelled a sudden
change in plans, a necessity for con
cealing her escape. There was nu
way in which she could notify me, but
she might very easily have telephoned
to her landlady. And, If the place
was what l suspfeioned 1t to be, she
might have every confidence hat her
secret would be guarded.
! glanced up at the front of the
house, searching lthe windows. but
without results. The curtains were
closely drawn 10 keep out the sun
and the place appeared foriOrn ant
deserted. At the delicatessen shop or
the corner | gained a CLEAN of ligh1
but merely enough TO strengthen my
former Judgment. The keeper, a max.
en-haired Swede, was loQuacious
enough, but had only been in business
there a few weeks.
"247 lie Compile, you say. Yes, she
takes roomers; some are men. and
some are women They come in here
and buy, but ! never ask the names II
was all cash, so why should I caret
Sometimes l hear them call names
sure; but never Conrad. The woman
what keeps the house? Wait and
tell you; 1t is on the books; an! You
read as sine wrote 1t for me-Mrs. Au
gusta Waldron; maybe a widow
What you think7 Bah, she never lik,
anything I have TO sen. I care moth
ing for trade with her-a cat this Mrs
Augusta WaldrOn."
I left him with the familiar sount
Of the name ringing in my ears-th,
whole thing was travelling in a circle
and the circIe was growing continual
Iy more compact. Blindly, l was
stumbling up against 1t here and
there most Unexpectedly. Augusta
Waldron, beyond doubt, was Ivan Wal
dron's wife. No wonder her house
was designated the meeting place hOi
those people.
l returned 10 the hotel. Only as
stood before the dOsr did | realize
that the newsb0ys were calling out
Extra! All about the murder!"
felt that my faes was white, and that
by hand shook, get j hastily bought
copies of half a dozen sheets, showing
them into my pockets.
The reports were mostly alike, ex
ceedingly brief and unsatisfactory. ex
eept that they conveyed the impress
sion that thus far the police possessed
BO real clue as to the perPetrator OF
the crime. No one connected witt
the meeting the night before was men
TONED in any article, nor was ANY sus
piciOn Of such a meeting mentioned.
read the last line with a distinct feel
ing Sf relief, dropping the paper OF
the floor.
They had discovered no clue, moth
ing whatever to work upon. The in
terror OF the car had yielded 10 evi
dence Of its former occupant, the only
reference being to mud on the floor
Outside ala footprints had been OBJ
liberated by the falling rain. No one
In the neighborhood had heard
sound, or Witnessed any movement
The whole affair was shrouded In mys
terry.
What, under Chese conditions, wal
my duty? What could / either do, o.
say, to clarity this tragedy, and brinI
the guilty to justice; sat there 10
an hour thinking and smoking, en-
deavoring to answer these queries.
could study out no clear way to an.
confession, which would not direct!
involve myself in the tolls OF the 20
lice, or else implicate Marie Gessler
50 as to make any defense on her par
almost impossible. No doubt she va
guilty, yet could not drive myself t