The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1923-07-11
CHAPTER xII-Continued.

Evening Times, paper to which
Slyke did not subscribe, had beer
handed to him by mistake. He ha(
before, filled with murders and the
like" and he remembered the account
Of q robbery In 1t and how the evil
dence was manufactured. On his way
home he stopped at the police station
for information, and offered to drive
men who had been arrested. 1t seems
that the state police had taken them
to their own homes and allowed one
Of the men to change his coat be-
fore taking him to Jail. The local
police wanted to search the coat
here that the chauffeur had his first
idea Of planting the evidence. He
tore the corner off the paper, and at
the mans house managed to slip the
newspaper into the pocket Of the coat
before the police examined 1t. Later,
at Sykes, he threw the little torn
piece Of paper on the floor so that
they could find that, too.
When he had finished, I wondered
II the boy had not been right when
he thought that the man had been
simply fooling him. But If 1t were
true, his story, taken with the dying
words Of the chauffeur, would be
enough to free the Inen in prison. I
decided to take him with me to the
police station and let him tell his
story to Roche.
On our arrival in Saratoga we were
lucky enough to find both Roche and
Black together. Without any COM
ment on my part, had the boy repeat
his story to the two officers. They
listened with a good deal Of interest
Roche, Of course, had handled the rob-
berry, and knew more about 1t than
Black; but Black, 1 knew, believed
that Rriffeur was the murderer of
Slyke, and the boys story confirmed
his belief.
We debated the story for an hour,
feur might have been fooling the boy,
and Black that the chauffeur had told
the truth and was too drunk to real
ize what he had said.
Roche clinched his argument by de-
manding, "Why, under heaven, should
money!
That was, we all agreed, the weak
point in the story.
"My Lord" Roche exclaimed as a
thought occurred to him, do you
realize that it was Briffeur that found
the torn pieces Of cloth on the rose
bush, the piece that fitted into the
man't pants?"
In establishment 1 asked, ut was"
1T sure was. He came into the
police station few days later with 1t
and told us where he had discovered
1t, and asked if we knew what it was.
We found later that 1t fitted into a
hole in the pants one Of the fellows
was wearing"
'Was he ever in the cell with those
menu Black asked, with a glance at
me.
that we let him go In and talk to
them"
Black threw out his hands in dis
gust. my G., Roche, one would
think you kept a hotel. You let any
one go in and out that wanted to-"
Roche flushed, and replied angrily,
swell, Slyke had lots Of pull here,
and 1 don't think 1t did any harm to
Yet his chauffeur see those men,"
None" said Black dryly. ut only |
gave him a chance to snip a piece |
from one of the mems trousers"
THAT'S foolish" Roche laughed.
"Oh, I don't know" was Blacks
answer you can't prove he did not.
You never saw the piece of cloth I'M
Ill he brought 1t In to you. He was
In the cell alone with them, and had
the chance to cut out the piece Of
cloth. You can't prove that the chauf-
,eur's story Is not true. 1t fits in
better with facts than the evidence
hat sent those men to Jail. But, oh
10Y, the easy way you run this Jail"
hOcne SCOWleu at us, anu WIS dDOul
o retort when he was called from the
DOM. Black and lighted cigars and
mOked in silence.
Mr.. Pelt," he asked at last, what
10 you think of my theory that Brit
eur murdered SlykeY
/ had given little thought to the
natter, and said as much. Black sur
'rised me by adding, "You know that
DOCTOR King and the district attorney
hink that the only verdict that can
% brought in in the Slyke case is
Blacks remarks astonished me.
rue, realized that 1t was almost i'm
ossible to present convincing legal
roof that Slyke had been murdered.
ut there was still the chauffeur's
cath to be explained. If he hao
cen killed, as BARLEY thought, be
ause he knew too much about Sykes
cath, then 1t seemed to me that t.
ring in a verdict Of suicide would b.
npossible. 1 told Black Of this OBJ
sction, and he agreed with me.