The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1922-10-29

Piled dark. Young Benny Mitchell
was often In that dark. and some.
times ihlngs vaguely recognized AZ
God And Iion0r--now approaching
him. and now taking themselves In.
finitely far away from him. Hour
after hour he lay, trying 10 think
out something that wouldn't think.
by spells nc could think quite
comfortably In terms Of Uncle
Franks realism Uncle Frank WINS
the puhlie-tba government. So, II
Hnole Frank said " WAS all right.
II was all right-in a way. The
thing would be very easy, indeed
lilo had no personal acquaintance
with Handy Andy Hatch, but
merely knew him by sight lie had
confronted him only second or 40
In the office. Under such circum.
staneos a man might be mistaken.
Very easy and very safe II
no didn't do II. for one little detail,
his living would be gone and him.
self. his wife and child set out on
this sidewalk.
By spells he could think Of II In
that way quite comfortinEiy. Only
there WAS something inside that
wouldn't let him take any comfort,
save by brief spells; something
whose namo he didn't know. Al.
though II narrowed him What
shall II profit man n no gain the
whole world and lost his own soul?"
Donayan wasn't particularly
religious, that he knew Of; prob.
ably would have gone TO church
very seldom even II he had been
free 10 no His wife did the house.
work. and there was the baby, no
going 10 church was fairly out OF
the question in all HIS latter, sim.
pie. plodding life the idea OF pos
ably losing HIS own soul had never
occurred to him. Yet there was
somethoing inside that narrowed
him. Three times In the night he
very cautiously reached over and
very lightly touched his wife--thc
feel Of her warm relaxed body was
exceedingly comforting. Physically
AT any rate. she was near
The newspapers, In extras and
regular editions, had given front
page and hig headlines to the hold
mn and murder at the paymaster's
office Not that there was the least
novelty about holdups and murders,
but because the paymaster had no
positively declared that one Of the
robbers was Handy Andy Hatch.
who was local celebrity. The later
papers had said that the police
were searching for Andy.
While beamlng Gus Whelpley
was driving Eugene Donayan home
Cochran was telephoning. briefly
and crpticalIy, to an acquaintance
About The time Donavan was get.
ting into eleapIess Red Hatch
walked eoolly into police station
and gave himself up. ayerring he
had Just learned that the police
were looking for him. denying that
he had been concerned in the hold.
up, saying he had perfect abb.
Assistant states Attorney Mang
Ter attended the inquest upon young
Benny Mitchell In behalf Of the pub.
lie prosecutor. 1t was clear to
him. as TO everybody else. that the
charge against Hatch rested on
tirely upon the paymaster's posi-
tive Identification. and Manager en-.
tered the cor0ner's court In cyni
cal state Of mind. satiricaI little
smile lurking beneath his dark.
thick and curly mustache.
From long and melancholy ex-
pericnce he was aware that any
mere lay amateur might commit
murder with far better than an
even chance OF escaping the pen.
atty solemnly prescribed by law,
Even il the police caught him. there
was a long and dubious road. &c,
with pitfalls for the law. between
capture and conviction delays.
fearful appeals to sentimental pur-
ora and technical appeals to higher
courts.
But Handy Andy Hatch was no
mere Law amateur. He had never
before been charged with homicide:
but others. less formidably pro
tected than himself. had been-and
escaped. Politics was an intensely
practical. Unconditional game. The
ancient regime in France recog
nized privileged orders 20 whose
members the law took off it's hat
Practically, Hatch belonged TO a
new privileged order whose mem
b.rs were harder to hold than
creased pigs. II they didn't ascape
by the simple eXpedient OF straw
ball. tina states witnesses faded
away. or the accused net up an
alini and walked our tongue in
cheek. Recently an inpudent plot
hal .tnltvar,Ai ana az fhAsn out az