The Coolidge examiner., 1937-02-11
Murder
Masquerade
BY
Inez Haynes Irwin
Copyright Inez Haynes Irwin
WNU Service.
FRIDAY-Continued


hands came together again -
clasped. I tottercd through the
door. They SAW at once that some
thing cataclysmic had happened.
They leaped to their feet, hurried
toward me.
What is it. Aunt Mary?" Hope
still asked Dear Mrs. Avery!"
Caro- quavered, what has hap
pened?"
Some water, Sarah!"
Sarah appeared with a glass of
water. l drank it to the last drop.
Listen, both of you-and listen,
Sarahi" Even I myself caught the
strange hollow resonance of my
voice. "And don't tell anybody yet!
! have just come from Bruce Hex
sons camp. He shot himself just
as 1 got there. He's dead. He
killed Ace Blaikie. He's left con-
fession.''
For an instant Hopestill said
nothing. Then Great God!" he
muttered.
Caro- burst into tears. "Oh how
horrible!" she exclaimed. How
horrible!" Her voice rounded and
deepened with her emotion. But
as she went on repeating, "Horri-
BILE! Horrible! Horrible!" that emo
tion went out of her voice and an
other came in its place-relief. "Oh
as long as it had to come out, dear
Mrs. Avery, I'm glad that it has
come out now. For how I suffered
all night long! I have been so
afraid that they would arrest my
grandfather. Grandfather told me
the whole story last night. I know
now that my real name is Caroline
Blaikie and that I'm Ace Blaikie's
yet. l have scarcely thought about
it. for last nigh; grandfather told
me that l must be prepared at
any moment for his arrest. He
was so exhausted that he went
straight to bed. I asked him if
l could tell Hopestill and he said
that l could. We've been talking it
over this whole morning long. We
could see no way out-but what
comfort Hopestill's been to me.
And now in an instant everything
is changed. Grandfather is out of
danger. But this is horribly self
ish- Why did Bruce Hexson kill
my father?"
Il know no more about it than
you do, my dear child" / an
swered. I'VE shall all know soon,
however"
II can wait" Caro- commented
in kind of dreamy apathy. Il
want to feel for awhile this re-
lease from that awful strain"
Take her for a drive, Hopestill."
/ begged.
For myself. 1 went upstairs to
my room. / have a vague recol-
lection that Sarah Darbe helped
me to undress. When 1 sank into
the cool sheets, the midday sun
was fiaring in the blue sky. And
then nature, reinforced by this Sec
ond horrifying shock, proceeded to
take her toll. l sank Immediately
into a coma so thick-it was as
though l had been knocked on the
head, chloroformed At any
rate did not open my eyes until
the morning sun was streaming in.
to the room.
Bruce Hexson's confession lies
before me as l write But not his
confession as l shall set it forth
here It is on first sight curious.
insane document. He had poured
it out in one night, writing against
time. had read it-and cried over
it-again and again before l saw
in it two entities. One is the insane
Bruce Hexson. trying illogically to
justify from the Old Testament
what the sane Bruce Hexson would
never have notwithstanding an un-
repentant man into the presence of
his Maker, sending himself to his
Maker with blood on his hands
Here, l am quoting phrases in the
confession itself. All these pas.
Sages have what my husband used
to call the rhythm of insanity.
Some are nearly unintelligible,
some grotesquely incoherent. Once,
he has covered a page with strange
diagrams or drawings, with the
Ark of Covenant and Solomon's
Temple in the center.
But when he is dealing with
events, and especially When he is
trying to produce that effect which
is the purpose of this document,
he becomes Bruce HeXson the log,
ical, observing lawyer. In my pity
for the poor, tortured soul, I can.
. not bring myself to make public
even a single example of the in
sane mood. But here are those per
fectly sane or relatively sane pas
sageS which | consider significant
Some 1 give word for word as he
wrote them. Some l have eLited a
trife, or even rewritten.
Il killed Ace Blaikie. He was
my friend-and l killed him.
loved him as ] have never loved
another man-and l killed him. We
were tied together by a thousand