THE ALAMANCE GLEANER*
VOL. LII.
Blind Man May
Convid: Killer
Hearing Voice Alone, He
Picks Accused From
Among suspects.
Montreal.— The "God-given gift that
the blind possess" may prove the un
doing of Heriri Bertrand, who now
awaits, In Bordeaux jail, trial on a
charge of murdering hlg employer,
associate and benefactor,
Joseph Beaudry, editor and publisher,
vho was found dead In his office chair
with two bullet wounds in his back.
The shooting took place late In the
afternoon In the business premises
where Beaudry conducted his pros
perous publishing enterprises and
where Bertrand was his trusted sec
retary-treasurer and manager. The
crime was not discovered until several
mornings later when the body of the
murdered publisher was found seated
In his chair before his desk, a pen still
clenched in the hand stiffened In
death.
The police were at sea. The assas
sin had left no clue behind him. There
was no trace of the manner In which
he had gained admission to the office.
The direction which the bullets had
takto lent color to the theory that the
murderer had fired through the tran
som over the door, but this theory
had to be discarded as untenable.
Beaudry had remained alone In the
building on the afternoon he was
murdered, telling his secretary that
he expected a visitor. He did not say
who this person was.
Police Are Btumped.
Every avenue of Inquiry followed
by the police led to a blank wall. Then
a blind man placed in their hands a
thread which, they believe, has led
them to the secret of the labyrinth.
Henri Bertrand, the dead man's mana
ger, had been closely questioned. He
denied having returned to the office
on the fateful afternoon. He denied
that he even possessed a revolver:
Was his denial, they ask, prompted
by the fact that the only revolver he
ever possessed had been bought but a
few days earlier from a blind man?
It seemed Impossible that the ven
dor of the revolver could ever Iden
tify the man who had entered his
store, with few words, had struck a
. bargain, paid the money and taken
away the weapon. But James Mul
hollln of 102 Anderson street remem
bered the transaction, and when the
news of the murder was read to hlir:
by a neighbor he got In touch w{th'the
police.
It was a .dramatic moment at police
headquarters when the blind man was
confronted with the few suspects
whom the police had retained for ques
tioning. Mulhollln and Bertrand both
Strayed little signs of emotion, but
when the latter spoke in answer to a
question put by a detective, the blind
Ban started.
"That is the man who bought the
revolver," he declared.
Bertrand was arrested, charged with
-he murder, and in court the men
again confronted each other.
"Do you know what size Mr, Ber
trand Is?" asked the crown prosecu
tor.
"Not exactly. I know he Is a big
®an. I think he is bigger than I am.
I have a pretty good Idea of him."
Bow do you size him up?"
"In the God-given way the blind
Chief
"Be good, love each other and live together," said John Owwl" to Chief
12 T o»n,y and Miss Edna John Osceola. The eoopto witt
Tv * Pfoclalmed married. The entire ceremony took less than .two
JJ did 2,000 whites witness the first Seminole Indian wedding ever
c - at Aius'an isle oh the east coast of Florida. The e y
in existence In the Florida everglades, and the majority were p
't the marriage of their college educated chief.
L /A ' r .
have," Mr. Mulhollln replied. "We
have a particular way of weighing
people, it Is a bind of secret among
the blind people. It Is a gift—our
way of knowing people."
Questioned about the Interview at
detej|Jve headquarters when he had
picked out Bertrand from among sev
eral others present, Mulhollln was
asked: >.
"Did you meet Mr. Bertrand yester
day?"
"Yes, In the presence of detectives."
"How many people were there T*
"I didn't count —four or five, I
think."
"Did anybody tell you he was Ber
trand?"
"I got up and shook hands with him
when he came In."
"Is that the same man who bought
the revolver?"
"Absolutely the same man."
Until Mulhollln came forward with
his assertion that Bertrand had pur
chased a revolver, although he denied
ever having owned one, the detectives
had hunted In vain for a clue that
might point to a motive for the mur
der of Beaudry.
The murdered man had many
strange things in his life. He had
made two trips to Russia and had been
In communication with the Soviet au
thorities in Moscow. The purposes
of these trips he confided to no one.
After his return from the first one he
had engaged a firm of private detec-.
tlves to keep him protected from some
danger which he did not specify, but
he evidently was in fear of some at
tempt on his life.
The promising looking lead came to
nothing, nor could the police discover
any among Beaudry's business asso
ciates who would have gained by the
murder. True, Beaudry had made
many enemies. He drove hard bar
gains and was abrupt, even surly, in
his manner toward associates and
those with whom he had business
dealings. Hundreds of people were
questioned, dozens of seeming dues
followed up In vain.
No Woman Involved.
The suggestion that a woman had
something to do with the crime *had
to be discarded. Beaudry was hap
pily married, and no Intrigue with
other women had come to light.
' With the arrest of Bertrand, the
police set to work to establish a mo
tive, and, when the accused comes to
trial evidence will be presented by the
crown showing that the former mana
ger had resented the big profits which
the publisher was taking out of his
business. Bertrand had proposed to
certain capitalists that they should
help him get control of the business
which, as he himself stated, could be
made a very profitable affair.
"He told me that If there were no
Mr. Beaudry taking large amounts,
the business would be excellent'' tes
tified Noel E. Lanoix, one of the capi
talists who had been approached by
Bertrand.
A few days after the discovery of
Joseph Beaudry, and before the fu
neral of the murdered man, Bertrand
had again mooted the matter to Mr.
Lanoix, according to the witness who
appeared pt the preliminary hearing
of the accused.
"Did he make any suggestion to you
as to buying the business?" asked the
crown prosecutor.
"Since the murder, he asked me if
there was any possibility of my bs
Ing Qble to return and aid him."
"When was that?"
"Some days after the murder."
Rely on Blind Man.
At the apprtmchlng trial the crowi
will recall this witness arid others in
an attempt to prove that Bertrand, in
cold blood, assassinated his employei
In the hope that, with him out of the
way, there would be a posslbmty ol
the salaried employee becoming, with
the aid of friends, the controlling pro
prietor of the business. They will at
tempt to prove that Bertrand made
an appointment to meet Beaudry at
an hour when he knew all the staff
would have left the building.
When Beaudry was sitting at his
desk, having turned to work after dis
missing peremptorily his visitor, the
latter, the crown will allege, had
turned as he reached the door of the
offlqe and, pulling a revolver from his
pocket, had fired two bullets into the
body of the publisher from behind.
Then the crown will ask the Jury to
believe that Bertrand calmly closed
the office door, left the premises and
proceeded to his home to have lunch
with his wife and son.
To support their case the prosecu
tion will rely principally upon the
Identification of Bertrand by the blind
storekeeper. The revolver has disap
peared and probably Is resting at the
bottom of the St. Lawrence river.
But before the weapon was sold a
friend of Mr. Mulhollln tried It out by
firing into a fence post in the rear of
the blind man's store. From that
fence post a bullet has been recovered
and it bears certain scratches made by
the barrel ftf the revolver which, the
crown's experts will testify, are iden
tical with marks on the bullets re
covered from the body of the dead
publisher.
First Time In History. ,
Perhaps for the first time in the his
tory of crime, a case is being built up
on the evidence of a blind man.
Upon the decision of the jury rests
the life of a man and also the future
of a great business. Bertrand, ac
quitted, might confidently count on the
backing necessary to gain for him the
control of the publishing house which
Issues various periodicals and trade
papers widely circulated through
French Cnnada and the French Cana
dian populations in the New England
states. The crown will try to prove
that the motive behind the murder of
Beaudrjr was the ambition of Bertrand
to wrest control away from the man
whom he believed was drawing too
heavily on the business and thereby
endangering Its continued success.
Back of the fight are to be seen
the figures of two women. One, the
widow of Beaudry, childless and burn
ing with desire for revenge on the
man who snatched her husband from
her. The other is the wife of Ber
trand, fighting to defend her husband
against the charge.against him. She
has one son whose future is Involved
In the case. He Is on the verge of
manhood. He might embark on a busi
ness career as the son of a prosperous
man controlling a profitable business.
In the alternative, if she loses her
fight, her son enters on life branded as
the child of a criminal.
His wife believes In Bertrand and
so do many of his business associates
who have rallied to provide ball for
him did the law In Cananda permit
the enlargement of men charged with
capital offenses.
Children Prefer Poor
Mother to Rich Father
New York.—Ten day« with their
mother in a small apartment with no
servants and few luxuries convinced
Sally Miles, eleven years old, and her
brother, Edward, ten, that they would
prefer to live with her than with their
father In a big house with many serv
ants, costly toys and a private school.
Their decision was registered in
court here when they went on the wit
ness stand in the trial of a suit for In
creased alimony, brought by Mrs.
Eleanor Miles against William Roy
Miles. On their testimony the court
decided that they should live with
their mother in Orange N. J., and
visit their father in Babylon, N. Y.,
sir weeks each year.
In the fall, after they had spent
the summer with their father, the chil
dren told the court they preferred
their father to their mother. Ttoe
court gave them time to consider the
matter carefully and sent them home
with their mother.
Women Poisoners' Club
Revealed in Belgrade
Belgrade.—A club of women poison
ers, under the guise of a charitable
organization with the significant name
of "Lucretla," has been raided here.
Police assert that at secret meet
ings the club members were taught
the medieval art of mixing and ad
ministering poisons. Six women un
happily married were declared thus to
have found means of ridding them
selves of their husbands. The remains
of these were exhumed and lri two
cases toxlcologlsts have determined
the presence of poisons.
Fife women were arrested charged
with being the ringleaders of the or
ganlzqtloiL
GRAHAM, N, C., THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 1926.
About Itatan
■ V : - "-*- 1
WmmmUßm r °
A Monastery In Bhutan.
(Prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington. D. C.)
THE Maharajah of Bhutan, who
recently died, ruled over one of
the least known states of Asia,
a region about half the size of
Tennessee, set down among the jagged
spurs of the Himalayas on the north
ern edge of India. It can hardly be
considered a part of India. Great
Britain has with It, as with Its neigh
bor, Nepal, only the most tenuous re
lations. Rather, Bhutan la a transi
tion state between India and Tibet.
It haß many with the latter
country, especially In the fields or re
ligion and architecture.
Bhutan lies between 26 degrees 30
minutes and 28 degrees 30 minutes
north latitude and 88 degrees 45 min
utes and 92 degrees 15 minutes east
longitude, and Is bounded by British
India on the south, the native state
of Tawang, subject to Tibet, on the
east, Tibet on the north, and Slkklm
and the British district of Darjeellng
on the west
The mountain system May be most
easily described as a series of parallel
ranges running approximately In a
southerly direction from the main
ridge of the Himalayan range, where
the peaks attain altitudes up to 24,-
000 and 25,000 feet. The principal
rivers are the Am-mo-chu, Wang-chu,
Mo-chu, and Kuru, or Lobrak-chu.
In climate it varies enormously from
the Ice and snow of the higher alti
tudes to the damp, overpowering heat
in the deep valleys; and in vegetation
from the magnificent grazing grounds
in the* higher regions, covered with
alpine flowers, surrounded by snow
peaks, high pine forests, rhododen
drons, magnollus, chestnuts, and oaks,
to luxuriant tropical palms, ferns, and
bamboos.
Much Game; Fine People.
In eastern Bhutan the hills are
densely clothed with forests, but with
practically no population, as it is too
fever-stricken to allow of anyone liv
ing there. They are, however, the
haunt of almost every kind of wild
animals—elephant, rhino, tigerj leop
ard, bison, mythuh, sambur, cheetah,
hog-deer, barking deer, etc. The river
beds are full of runs leading to the
various salt-licks which occur In the
hills. It Is an ideal place for shoot
ing, but not easy to follow game, ow
ing to the extreme steepness of the
sandstone cliffs. The elephant in Its
wild state can go over or down nearly
anything.
One of the first places of interest
on the road after entering Bhutan Is
Dug-gye Jong, a fort built to protect
this route from a possible raid by
• Tibet. The fort is magnificently sltu
uted on a projecting spur in the middle
of a valley, with high snow peaks on
either side and lovely views, looking
down the valley.
The Bhutanese are fine, tall, well
developed men, with an open, honest
cast of face, and the women are come
ly, clean, and well dressed and ex
cellent housekeepers and managers.
Their religion Is Buddhism and their
language a dialect of Tibetan. The
population of Bhutan Is about 400,000.
The people are universally polite,
civil, and clean. Both houses and
temples are cltan and tidy. In many
of the houses the floors are washed
and polished, and the refreshments
they hospitably press on visitors are
served in spotlessly clean dishes.
The clothes of the higher officials
are always Immaculate, their brocades
and silks fre|h and unstained In any
way, and even the coolies are a great
contrast to the usual Tibetan or Dar
jeellng coolie.
The amount of labor expended on
their Irrigation channels shows that
they are an industrious and ingenious
people. Their houses are air large and
substantially built
ID the courtyards one finds retain
ers busily occupied la various trades.
while the women of the household spin
and weave and make clothes for the
menfolk In addition to their ordinary
duties. A great part of the country is
undet cultivation, and they raise suf
ficient crops to support the whole pop
ulation, Including the lamas, who are
a great Burden to the state.
Eggs Fed to Mules.
A typical Bhutanese luncheon con
sists of scrambled eggs and sweet
rice, colored with saffron; murwah
(beer) and chang (spirit), also col
ored with saffron; fresh milk, and a
dessert of walnuts and dried fruits.
There Is a curious custom in Bhutan
of feeding mules with eggs, for each*
pack animal on the trail two or three
raw eggs are broken into a horn. The
mule's head is held up, and the con
tents of the horn poured down its
throat; and, strange to say, they seem
to like the unnatural food. The Bhu
tanese always give this to their ani
mals when they have any extra hard
work to do, and say it keeps them in
excellent condition.
The religion of Bhutan is an offshdot
of Buddhism, and wus introduced into
these countries from Tibet by lamas
from different monasteries who trav
eled south and converted the people.
Most of the tenets of Buddha have
been set aside, and those retained are
lost In a muss of ritual; so nothing
remains of the original religion but the
name. . '
The Bhutanese excel in casting
bells. The composition used for the
best bells contains a good deal of
silver, but they never make them of
any great size, the largest •. being
probably 24 Inches In diameter and of
about an equal height.
In Iron work they are also good
artificers, and many of their sword
blades are of excellent manufacture
and finish, and are still made from the
charcoal iron. The polish they put on
them is wonderful, and the bludes al
most look as though they had been
silvered.
Every house of any Importance has
large workrooms attached In which
Weaving Is carried on, and the stuffs
produced, consisting of silks for the
chiefs' dress, woolen and cotton goods,
are excellent; and a good deal of em
broidery Is also done.
Basket Work and Matting.
Another Industry in which the Bhu
tanese excel Is basket work and fine
matting, made from split cane. The
baskets are beautifully woven of very
finely split cane and some of the
lengths are colored to form a paP"
tern. They are made In two circular
pieces, rounded top and bottom,'and
the two pieces fit so closely and well
that they can be used to carry water.
Tbey are from 6 to 15 Inches In diam
eter, and the Bhutanese use them
principally to carry cooked rice and |
food. They also make much larger |
and stronger baskets, very much in •
the shape of a mulepannler, and these
are used In a similar way for pack
animals.
The mats are also very finely woven
of the same materiul, with a certain
amount of the split cane dyed to form
patterns. They are delightfully fine
and soft, so flexible they can be rolled
up into quite a small space and very
durable, and can 6e got in almost any
size up to about 10 feet square, and
even larger If they are required.
The suspension bridges in Bhutan
are very interesting and merit descrip
tion. Tbey consist of four or five
chains of wrought iron made of welded
links, each 15 to 18 Inches in length.
The three lower chains are tightened
up-to one level, and on them a bam
boo or plank roadway Is placed. The
remaining chains, hanging higher up .
and further apart, act as side sup
port#, and between them and the road
way there ia generally a latticework
of bamboo, or sometimes grass, In
order that animals crossing may not
put their legs over the side. •
J NIGHT
AND THE
DAWNING
By H. M. EGBERT
(Copyright by W. a. Chapman.)
((T DON'T know what to do with
I myself evenings," sighed Ron
1. aid Cray, leaning out of the
back window of his bachelor
apartment an/1 nurvoyitjg the gloomy
flats around him.
Two months before he had been sum
moned home from New Mexico, where
his power dan) had made him famous,
to take charge of the engineering de
partment of his company at head
quarters. His salary was ample, he
had wealth, he was only twenty-flve;
yet he had managed to make no ac
quaintances in the big city.
A free life in the West had made
him different from the average city
bred young man; he thought the me
tropolis stiff and its people devoid of
Interest.
Suddenly, as he leaned out, survey
ing the huge buildings and speculating
how many thousand lives ran on in
them, a light sprang into being in the
building opposite, on the fifth floor,
on a level with his. Behind a drawn
shade he saw the silhouette of a man.
He was stooping over a.table and,
as Cray watched, he saw the shadow
of a woman behind him. Suddenly her
hand plunged downward. The elon
gated object in it looked like a
poniard. It struck the man in the side
of the neck and he rolled over.-
The woman stood looking at him for
a moment; then, with a gesture of
triumph, she flung the poniard out of
the window, raising the shade a lit
tle. Cray heard • a metallic tinkle In
the. court below. Then followed dark
ness.
He leaned out, astounded at what
he had seen and hardly believing It
real. How long he waited he did not
know. Suddenly his bell rang.
He went out into the passage and
saw, standing outside tjie door, one of
the most beautiful women whom he
had ever met. She was twenty-three or
four. Her eyes gleamed with feverish
intensity, her hair was disheveled and
her hunds were red.
"Save me! Hide me! Help me!" she
pleaded.
Cray did not hesitate an Instant He
pulled her through the doorway and
led her to the bathroom. He filled the
basin and washed her hands, drying
them on a towel afterward. Then he
took her Into his spare room.
"You're quite safe here," he said In
a low voice. "Nobody saw you come
in. You can stay as long as you want
to."
She crouched in a corner, glaring at
him like a hunted beast. He hesi
tated, then he closed and bolted the
window and withdrew, leaving the
door open.
For Half nn hour he waited, fear
ing that he would hear the bolt snap,
that she would try to plunge down In
to the court below. But hardly a sound
came from the .room. When at last he
returned she was lying on the floor
asleep.
He placed her on the couch and she
did not awaken. Her sleep was of
profound exhaustion. AH night Cray
sat up, waiting. Sometimes he stole
In to look at her, but she never
stirred. It was not till the sun was
well up that he heard her moving.
She caine forward unsteadily and
looked in at him aa he sat by the
window.
"Where am 17" she cried. "Who
are you?"
Cray rose and took her by the
hands. "I am a friend," he answered.
"You are safe here—safe to come or
to go."
She burst into hysterical sobbing.
When at last he' had quieted her the
girl told Cray her story. *
She had met a man in her home in
Virginia, three months before. He
had asked her to be his wife. Her
parents mistrusted him; she followed
h|m stealthily, to learn too late that
all that had been said about him was
true. He was a gambler, a swindler.
She remembered those three months
with loathing. Her horror of him had
grown. He had deceived her with a
mock ceremony, lied to her—at last
she had learned that he had a wife
already.
She had written home, but her let
ters were' returned unanswered. She
had nowhere to she was Ignorant
of any trade, and the man held her
by his lying promises. He had almost
got his divorce, he said; he loved her;
for her sake he would reform, if only
she would trust him.
She bad waited for him the evening
before; th'fen there was a dreadful
blfcnk in- her mind, and she had re
covered to find herself standing over
. the body. And she had fled wildly for
shelter.' ! ' \\ . . '
Crdy patted her hands. "You stay
with me until the trouble blows over*"
he said! "I want a housekeeper. Yon
will be quite safe here. I shall let it
toe known that you answered an ad
•• .• •■£( *
NO. 33.
vertlsement When all la ready I will
help you to a new Ufa. You trust
me?"
She looked at blm helplessly. "I
am so ignorant," she wept "I must
trust you. I have nobody 6186."
"You will not regret it" said Cray.
And he knew the girl was safe there.
Nobody came to call at his little apart
ment
The murder occupied two columns
of hla morning paper, but the only
clew was that afforded by a negro jan
itor, who had seen a woman ascend
ing the steps a few minutes before the
tragedy. And he stated that her hair
was fair. The unknown woman's waa
ebony dark. Cray felt safe.
The poniard was found, bnt gave
no clew. And gradually the Interest
waned. Nobody knew the murdered
man, who had very good reasons for
disguising his Identity.
As the days passed Helen Ware
came to trust Cray absolutely. She
cooked for him, mended hla clothes,
resolutely refused to take the money
that be pressed upon her. "I can'
never forget what I owe yon," she
would say. But sometimes there
would be spells of weeping. "I did
not mean to kill him," the girl would
moan. "I do not remember anything,
except sitting at home waiting for him
with bitterness of heart; then I heard
him come in and went to him—and I
was standing over him with the dag
ger in my hands."
"You dont recall the dagger?"
"Yes. It was a curio of his; some
friend from a savage country had
given It to him. I must have snatched
it from the wall and stabbed blm."
As the weeks turned into months,
Cray found himself torn between two
Impulses. He wanted to let the girl
go to some scene where she would be
able to take up her life anew. And
yet—he knew that he loved her. Her
helplessness, her charm, the bond be
tween them had created an Intimacy"
that was Infinitely sweet He had
been offered a new position In the
West One night be took his courage
in hla hands and asked her to be hla
wife and go with him where all mem
ory of the past could be forgotten.
He knew by her looks that she loved
him. But she would not
"It is your pity for me, Ronald, not
love," she said, sighing. "I love you,
but 1 can never be your wife so long
as this curse of blood lies on me."
"You acted rightly," he cried hotly.
"No Jury would have convicted yon.
Helen, dearest forgot It and come
with me."
"I cannot" «he answered sadly. *1
must leave you, and you must forget"
But on the next day something hap
pened which drove all thoughts of
parting from their heads. The wife of
the murdered man waa arrested
charged with the crime.
It was known that she had been In
the city that day. She had threat
ened him; the negro Janitor Identified j
her as the woman he had seen near
the apartment house. And Ronald
and Helen watered the unfolding of
the grim trial with dismay.
On the evening before the last day
Helen spoke to Ronald about what
lay uppermost in her mind.
"I cannot let that woman be con
victed," she said. "1 must go down
to the court and offer my confession."
Ronald could not dissuade her. He
knew that It was the only possible
thing.
And all day they sat In the dreary
courtroom listening to the Intolerably
long summing up. The Jury had at
last retired. Ronald bad persuaded
Helen not to speak unless the verdict
was "guilty."
It was hours before the Jury re
turned. A murmur spread through the
courtroom. The face of the foreman
was deadly white. He trembled and
looked away from the prisoner's
straining eyes. There could be no
doubt what the verdict was.
Suddenly Helen sprang to her feet
Ronald rose and -kept his arm about
her. She faced the prisoner and
stretched out her hand.
But before a word could leave her
lips the woman In the dock uttered a
shriek and recoiled, clutching at the
air.
"Yes, I am guilty," she cried. "He
lied to me, deceived me. I learned
that he was supporting another wom
an, who was passing as his wife. I
dogged him to his home. I entered
after him. I saw him in the hallway,
and over his head a dagger hung. It
seemed placed there for me. I struck
him —and then the other woman came
out—and she stands there I"
And she collapsed unconscious upon
the floor.
Helen fell Into Ronald's arms.
"It is true! It Is true!" she cried.
"I remember everything!"
The verdict oi "manslaughter" waa
further eased by a mercifully light
sentence, and, With the obstacle to
their marriage removed, Ronald and
Helen went West, where they started
upon their new life together.
More Berrie*
In parts ofi Hungary, farm laborer*
are paid in vegetables. Occasionally,
Ve suppose, a workman will ask for
an increase In hla week's celery.^