Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / April 10, 1936, edition 1 / Page 2
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gSSe -WOMAN_ FIRST INSTALMENT | For two days now an almost con tinuous stream of traffic flowed^ back and forth along the road. The; weather was dry, and dust thrown' up by passing vehicles and settled upon grass and shrubbery. It. penetrated Mrs. Holmes’s house and covered its scanty furnishings with a thin, gray coating; it hung in the air and choked her. Dust was nothing new to her—in fact, dust, grime, disorder were nearly always present in her house—but now its taste was irritating and it caused her to revile the sightseers who had turned this back road into a busy thoroughfare. All were morbid curiosity-seek ers; they were bound to or from the scene of the Ethridge murder. Mary Holmes had heard the news of the crime while she was feeding her geese two mornings before, and had hurried up the road as fast as she could go. She had been one of the first to reach the scene of the tragedy, arriving nearly an hour ahead of the policemen and the newspaper reporters. Inasmuch as she had known Amos Etheridge quite well and was his nearest neighbor,naturally she had come in for a good deal of questioning. She had little to tell, nevertheless it had been an exciting experience; it had reminded her of old times to answer and to parry quick, searching ques tions, while reportorial pencils flew to keep pace with her words. The reporters had stared at her curiously md had wanted to know who she vas—all about her, in fact—but she had been sly enough to give them no satisfaction. She had remained there all day, mingling with the ever-growing crowd, discussing the case with townspepole whom she knew only by sight, rubbing shoulders and talking with utter strangers; she had walked home at dusk with a new feeling of consequence, with her head higher than usual, and with her heart pounding. As she prepared her supper she had even ventured cautiously to sing a few notes—the first in more than a year. Anticipation oi seeing ner name in print once again had affected her so queerly that she slept little during the night and was up and waiting agitatedly for the rural de liveryman. But when she had read the morning papers, when she had seen herself through the eyes of those reporters, she had been stun ned, stupefied. "The person living nearest to the scene of the tragedy is Mary Holmes, a middle-aged, slatternly creature who occupies a wretched hovel and runs a small chicken ranch at the rear of the Ethridge estate,” the first account ran. Mrs. Holmes had read on dizzily. "She is reputed to be a drunken, irre sponsible character of violent tem per and eccentric habits, neverthe less she shows surprising intelli gence and unmistakable signs of education. She was positive in her statement-” etc. The other paper had been equally uncomplimentary. It referred to her as "the goosewoman” and it de scribed her as "a queer, bedraggled, old hag with the stride of an Ama zon and the airs of a queen.” Mary Holmes had torn the papers to bits, and later, wben representa tives of the afternoon papers came to interview her, she had refused to talk to them. But the Ethridge case had grown in importance; the Chicago papers had rushed men to Westland by the first train and these newcomers were even more inquisitive than the local news gatherers. This morning, in self defense, Mary Holmes had wired up her gate and nailed a sign to it which read, Keep off. Reporters tres passing on this place will be shot. She sat now inside the open win dow in her front room where she :ould watch the automobiles com-i ng and going and hear what thej occupants said when they stopped to stare at her premises or to read her sign. Evidently the term 'goose woman” had stuck, for she heard it over and over again. The manner in which it was used, the laughter and the comment evoked by her warning sign, were so offen sive that shg burned for comfort to her gin bottle. As to the crime itself, it had created a genuine sensation. The murder of a man as promient as Amos Ethridge was bound to prove front-page news, for he was more than a figure of local importance. To begin with, he was, or had been, a man of immense wealth—the richest man in the whole state—a politcal power, and in all probabil ity the next Governor. Moreover, the manner of his slaying, the cir cumstances surrounding it and the evident ferocity of his assassin, had rendered the crime peculiarly shocking. He had been shot to death, riddled with seven bullets, while returning to his home late Thursday night. His body had not been discovered until the following morning; then it was lying in a lane which connected a back road with the rear of his handsome es tate and upon its breast was laid a cross made of two dead twigs which had been hurriedly tied together. Neither the body nor its immediate surroundings revealed any clue to their identity of the slayer; nothing indicated any reason whatever for the crime unless a letter found in one of Ethridge’s pockets was an indication. This letter, which, by the way, was delicately scented, had come through the mail and bore the local Westland postmark; the writing upon the envelope was in a woman’s hand, and inside was a sheet of plain note paper containing the one word, "Thursday.” There was no signature. Why, in the first place, a bache lor who could come and go at his will should make use of a narrow, unlighted back road instead of the broad, macadam thoroughfare which passed his massive front gates was puzzling; why that cross had been laid upon the body; why in fact, anyone should wish to kill Amos Ethridge all were matters of pure conjecture. Questions like these lent mystery to the affair, and that laconic, perfumed note which might have been either a warning or ,an assignation spiced it with a suggestion of scandal just sufficient to intensify general inter est. Mary Holmes dozed in her rock ing chair. She was aroused by the blare of an automobile horn and by the sound of voices. A car in which were several men had stop ped before her house; one member of the party had stepped down and was trying to disengage the wire fastenings of the gate; another, with a press camera over his shoul der, was getting out. The man at the gate started to climb the fence, but he was halted by a chal lenge from the house, and looked up to discover that a tall woman in a faded gingham dress had emerged upon the porch and was facing him threateningly. She was a vigorous woman; long-limbed and erect, and she carried her chin high. In spite of her ill-fitting garments, her flat, shapeless shoes, and her untidy hair, there was an air of command about her and an appearance of some consequence. That which caused the fence climber to freeze into immobility, however, was the sight of a shotgun in her hands. 'IHello! You’re Miss Holmes, I take it,” he began, cheerily. "Get off that fence!” "Tell her who you are,” one of the fellows in the car directed. The photographer hurriedly opened the clasps of his camera case. "We’re newspaper men from Chicago. We’ve been sent down here on the Ethridge case and we—” "If you are reporters you can probably read,” Mrs. Holmes told him. "What does that sign say?” "Now see here, this is a big story and it’s getting bigger every hour. You can’t shoot us for trying to get the facts and—” "Can’t I?” "You knew Amos Ethridge, didn’t, you?” remaps. "You heard the shots, Thursday night?” "Did I?” "That’s what you told the local j reporters. Come on, talk to us.1 We want to get your picture. too.”| "I’ve been talking to you and( you heard what. T said ’ "But, Mrs. Holmes—” "You want a picture, do you?; Bah! You’re all alike. Vultures'j Jackals!” The woman’s voice rose| in sudden anger. "You read what these Westland papers said about me, didn’t you? Well, get out!” "Mr. Ethridge used this road a good deal, I understand. At night, 1 mean? You probably saw or heard his car that night? All we want is a brief statement from you.” Unobtrusively, the speaker shifted his weight, lifted himself further over the fence. "We city men have an altogether different theory from these—” The woman on the porch cocked her shotgun and raised it, saying, grimly: "I shall count three.” "Oh, come now! Don’t be fool ish.” "Keep off. Reporters will be shot.” "One! Two!” "Go ahead, Jim.” urged the cam era man. "She can’t pull anything like that. If she shoots you, it’ll make a corking picture.” The trespasser now had one leg over the top stand of barbed wirt and he steadied himself upon a post —neither a graceful position not one of a great stability. He wa: about to let himself down inside the yard when Mrs. Holmes cried: "Three.” Simultaneously she fired. The dry grass and weeds beneath the teetering figure exploded into a dusty cloud as the charge of birc shot mowed a path through it With a yell, the man flung him self backward, leaving a fragment of his trousers leg upon the fence He picked himself up and shook ; fist at the woman, shouting: "You damned old harpy! l’l have you arrested for that! What d’you mean, anyhow,-?’* He paused as he heard the omi nous click of the second barrel, anc hurriedly backed closer to the car The photographer made haste tc follow him. Don t let me catch you climbing my fence again. I keep this gur for hawks, but it will do as well foj buzzards!”-Mrs. Holmes’ voice wa: harsh and strident; she appeared tc tower higher as her rage mounted "Poke fun at me, will you? Well, you’ve got something nasty to write now, so be as nasty as you can, You want to know who killed Amo: Ethridge, do you? Rats! You don’t care who killed him. All you want is to choke your filthy papers with scandal and lies and dirt. It is all you can write, all you can think about. Lies! Dirt!” She had quite lost control of her self now and broke into an inco herent torrent of invective. She checked it only when the objects of her wrath had slammed the door and the machine had rolled away. When she was alone she strode back into her house and stood the fowling-piece in its corner, then tramped about the living room, her head high, her back straight, hei deep bosom heaving. So! They’d get a story out of her, would they? Publish her picture! Use her for a bit of local color, ridicule her. abuse her! Well, she could give them back as good as they could send in the line of personal abuse. The scum! The blackguards! She was sorry they had fled so swiftly —while her mouth was still so full and her tongue so bitter. For once in their lives they had heard some thing which they could remember. They knew now that she was no common country lout, no mere "goose woman.” -fvs sne renectea more cairmy upon the encounter she felt some pride in the way she had carried it off. It had been her scene: she had held the center of the stage and she had played it well—as well as anybody could play such a scene, upon short notice. After all, only an artist can rise to dramatic heights; none but the finished actor can portray sincere emotion. She, "a bedragged old hag!” Old, at forty-five! "A drunken, irresponsi ble character of violent temper!” She wished now that she had shot that reporter in the legs. The next day, not only the local Westland papers, but also the big Chicago-dailies, carried amusing and highly colored accounts of that shotgun encounter, and Mrs. Holmes derived a grim enjoyment from reading them. Again she flared into fury at the uncompli mentary things they said about her; but indignation is a fire that quick ly burns itself out and it gave herj some satisfaction to read of her vie- j tory. This satisfaction increased, as she reread the stories. After aj while she experienced an actual | thrill at realizing that she had be-| come a figure of importance in the^ biggest news sensation of the day and the people from Maine to Cali fornia were reading about her. They saw the name "Mary Holmes.” And after twenty years! She wondered if any of them would re member having seen it before. (CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE) 1 Cotton Lace Frock J CHICAGO . . . The girl with a budgeted wardrobe could easily be inspired at the Spring Cotton Carnival in the Merchandise Mart here. Shown is a navy blue cotton lace frock with pique collar and cuffs that will retail this season at about S3.95. I__ me cnameieon is tne omy mem j ber of the reptile family that can focus both eyes upon the same j point. Juniors lo rn Mammoth J The Greater Junior Minstrels,! scheduled to be held on the night; of April 7, have been postponed un til Friday night, April 17, in the Catawba college auditorium at 8:00 o’clock. The junior class has been preparing for these minstrels for some time, and members of the stu dent body are looking forward to the time when they will be present ed for the first time on the Col lege boards. A large variety pro gram has been arranged by the ar rangments committee, composed of Albert Shenberger, Eddie Gehring, Harry Carolus and Herbert Stool man, among which are many of the leading entertainers of both the col lege and Salisbury. The first part of the show will consist of a real, old-fashioned minstrel show, all characters appearing in Diaciwace, and will feature jokes and gags cen tered around leading campus per sonalities. There will be a chorus made up of men’s voices, singing the beautiful ballads of a short per iod back, old Southern melodies. Albert Shenberger, last year’s sophomore-seniors’s genial master of ceremonies will preside on the stage as interlocutor, and will introduce the end-men and the featured en tertainers of the evening. Four outstanding end-men have been se cured, Ham, Sam, Snowball and Whitewash, and they will endeavor to keep the audience anywhere but in their seats through-out the per formance. Their repertoire will in clude jokes, songs and stunts, guar anteed to bring joy to the gloomi est of individuals. The parts are taken by Albert Carpenter, Paul Caldwell, Eddie Gehring and Harry Carolus, all of whom are at present perfecting their negro dialect. The many featured acts will con sist of the little German Band, not ed campus entertainers who will perform for the first time this year = — ■ ;sent Minstrel Show on that night, Paul Caldwell, king of rhythm, Walter Ritter, Cataw ba’s Elmo Tanner, Boots Fish t tapper extraordinary and many others. It will be one of the big gest variety shows in the history of the college. The second part of the entertain ment will consist of a hilarious one act comedy, played by the faculty of Catawba Boyden High School. This play has been pronounced one of the funniest ever produced, and made a great hit when introduced in Salisbury some time ago. Various members of the class and other classes are working toward the success of the minstrels among whom are Red Strauch, ticket manager, Everett Lynch, electri tion, Carl Fink, house manager Dorothea Hupper, costume and pro-' perty mistress, and Bill Gerhardt stage manager. "SONG OF SOLOMON” First of a new series of exotic, interpretive Biblical paintings bv the distinguished artist, Edmund Dulac, reproduced in FULL COL OR in the April 12 issue of the American Weekly, the magazine which comes regularly with the BALTIMORE SUNDAY AMERI CAN. Your local newsdealer will supply you. For Bad Feeling Due to Constipation Get rid of constipation by taking Black-Draught as soon as you notice that bowel activity has slowed up or you begin to feel sluggish. Thou sands prefer Black-Draught for the refreshing relief it has brought them, i Mrs. Ray Mullins, of Lafe, Ark., i writes: "My husband and I both take i Thedford’s Black-Draught and find It splendid for constipation, bilious ness, and the disagreeable, aching, tired feeling that comes from this condition.” With reference to Syrup of Black-Draught, which this mother gives her children, she says: “They j like the taste and it gave such good results.” BLACK-DRAUGHT DR. N. C. LITTLE Optometrist F.yes examined and glasses fitted Telephone 1J71-W. 107J4 S. Main Street Next to Ketchie Barber Shop FRUITS and VEGETABLES —FRESH EVERY DAY— D. C. 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UL^^EN you present your merchandise to the trade j I through the medium of good newspaper ads you have tireless salesmen working for you 24 hours a day. They j j reach prospective buyers in the most remote spots. , .and t j they expose your merchandise to sales ... .A famous mer- j chant prince once stated, “expose your merchandise to enough customers and you’re bound to make a sale.”. . . 1 ! The CAROLINA WATCHMAN’S advertising columns, consistently used, are bound to help business. We are | j equipped to give first-class service in modern displays, with type faces, illustrations, copy suggestions and lay out. Let us demonstrate that newspaper advertising is the most direct route to buyers . . and the most inexpeneive. 1 ! 11 Phone 133-We Will Call j I THE CAROLINA WATCHMAN IL_______ii ■ - - ——-—-——■ ■ ■ ■ .. —»
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
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April 10, 1936, edition 1
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