Arkansas State press., 1943-10-29

with them. Elsa had not yet made
her appearance, and Reed Barton
came in a moment or two after
we entered. He was dressed pic.
turesquely as a charro, the Mexican
cowboy, and evidently was deter.
mined to have a part in the eve
ning's festivities. He wore a short
leather jacket. a soft red tie. long
leather pantaloons as tight as he
could sit down in, bespangled with
silver buttons and chains.
! detected a look of disappoint-
ment in his face as he glanced
around the room and did not find
Elsa. Berta. dressed in black vel
vet and heavily rouged. conquettish-
ly made a place for him beside
herself, and indicated her husband
with her fan, as if he were only
waiting for the attention of all be-
fore saying something.
q" he began h%esitantly, Il am
suggesting something for this partic.
ular time-it is still early-which
has nothing whatever to do with the
evenings festivities. They will fol-
low. 1t will come as a surprise, |
know; it will seem out of place,
perhaps, to some Of you. But it is
something that seems to be neces.
sary."
Sam Chatield was now well
launched upon his little speech;
there was earnestness upon his face,
in his manner. You all know, Of
course, Of the death of my sister,
Katherine, in California, now more
than a year ago. At odd times since
that occurrence there have been in
timatlons that the authorities are
not satisfied with the official find
ings. discover that among you
there are two who are actively pros
ecuting an inquiry into the circum.
stances surrounding Katherine's
death.
Since all Of us here"-he looked
around the room--"Elsa will be here
shortly-knew her or had some deal
ings. or association of some sort,
with her, ! shall ask Mr.. Rogers
to conduct an examination. l want
him, and through him the authori.
ties in California, to be satisfied.
Neither Berta nor l have been avail
able for questioning hitherto, and !
hope Mr.. Rogers will not feel con.
strained, because we are his hosts,
in questioning us. OF course, Mr..
Chesebro cannot be with us, and is
at present in no condition to undergo
questioning. but that, perhaps, can
be done later, if it has not already
been done" He looked inquiringly
at Huntoon Rogers,
Rogers was manifestly surprised
at this sudden development. Taken
unaware and without warning even
of what was expected of him, |
wondered what he could accomplish,
whether or not he could marshal
the details of the case sufficiently
to conduct a comprehensive exami-
nation. The expression of surprise
on his face melted into one of will
ingness to undertake it. He cleared
his throat lightly, glanced about the
circle of faces and began to speak.
Thank you, Mr.. Chatfeld. 1t is
indeed a surprise. | had been hop
ing soon to suggest that something
like this be arranged. I'm sure that
Mr.. Madison will be grateful for this
opportunity, now that the matter is,
SO to speak, out in the open. OF
course he hesitated, looking in
tently at Sam Chatfeld, there is
in the death of your sister-or, for
that matter, in the death of anyone
elsa set of facts, We are un.
certain just what those facts are.
The district attorneys Office doubts
the validity of what purports to be
facts in the Katherine Chatfeld case.
There was a stir in the doorway
and Elsa entered the room, pausing
on the threshold to survey us as we
sat listening, solemn-faced and stiff.
ly, as if to a schoolmaster, while
Rogers talked. She was always love-
ly; her hair Of an almost golden
sheen, the level gray eyes, the firm,
erect carriage which was empha-
sized tonight by the costume she
wore. She was dressed as a China
Poblana.
Am l interrupting?" she asked
from the threshold.
mo, dear; come in," said her
father. 1--WE were expecting you to
join u.s." He made a place for her
at his side.
A faint smile fitted across her
face at the sight of Reed Barton,
and she nodded to him, slightly
aloof now, this person. who so ar.
IDENTIFY had hoped that Reed would
come like a caballero and sing love
songs to her on the deck of the ORR.
zaba.
Il presume there is little need to
do so, but perhaps it is best to re-
mind you all that Katherine Chat
field died Of an overdose of NOR.
phine."
AT Rogers words Elsa, who had
just sat down, lifted her head high,
her nostrils opening wider as If
she shifted danger.
"The overdose probably was much