Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-04-18

would indicate that he was bursting with the
desire TO boast about them. So we set that
literary trap for him. hoping that he had
imagination"
The case hung entirely on what that manu-
script revealed. 1t was the story of a soldier
unjustly suspected of the murder of Miss X
an Auxiliary Transport Service girl. The de-
Tense lawyer swept away the coincidence of
soldier suspect by the natural fact that the
author was making himself the hero That also
explained why mystery character known
as The Smiler," and presumably the real
murderer, had the same nickname by which
Buckfield was known in camp.
When the fiction hero was questioned, ne
had replied. do you think I would leave a
knife hanging around? Not on your life, boy"
If this connected the writer with this
particular knife murder, then gun or other
weapon would have done as much for other
murders
Right after both the real and fiction kill
ings the gunner and the hero had been ar
rested sleeping in a haystack What of it?
He was putting real life incidents into his
fiction. For the same reason he had men,
toned the ATS girl because he had gone
A w. o. L. in order to square a charge by
an A. T. S. girl that he was the father of her
expected child. This was also why he called
the hero lady killer" not because he ever
killed any but in the sense that he was irresis-
tible to the opposite sex, as the gunner ad-
mitted himself to be.
But Bluebeard had murdered his wives and
why had he called his hero "Bluebeard ?"
Oh, that was just to give an extra touch of
gruesome expectancy The hero had also said
to a chief constable:
II have been picked up for a murder at
Southport and two at London. have a
fancy that the police have a liking for me-"
Well" explained the gunner, this is be-
cause I had been picked up twice and ex-
onerated"
But how did you know you were going
to be picked up for a third murder ?" was
asked
II didn't" he answered 1T was mere
eXaggeraton and a coincidence that it came
true"
Similarity after similarity was called TO
the attention of the jury such as that the
fiction and tho real victim were dressed sur
prisngly much alike, that one was pushing
a bicycle, the other pram and that in both
cases someone was sent to guard them part Of
the way home.
One by one they could be explained as
condolences but the total weight grew to be
overwhelming. Finally came one so startling
that Mr.. Justice Hallett was moved to say:
II certainly seems strange that out Of all
the thousands of roads about London. YOU
should select the same name as the country
road where the murder was committed"
Buckfield was embarrassed by his previ
Gus statements that he had not been in the
vicinity and knew nothing of it. He now
could only reply
1T. does seem that way"
The jury took the manuscript into retire
ment with them, added up all the coinci-
dences, subtracted all that reasonable doubt
would permit and brought in verdict of
guilty.
But now a new set Of readers was invited
10 peruse the manuscript. These were men
tai specialists who came 10 the same opinion
that has been held of many another eminent
author, that he was mentally unbalanced and
not quite responsible. Therefore the execution
has been indefinitely postponed.