Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
Image provided by: University of North Texas; Denton, TX
Newspaper Page Text
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPERPEVOTED TO STOCK-FARMING. Vol. 5. Canyon City, Texas, Thursday, December 18, 1901. No. 37 SMITH, WALKER S GO'S. mYfimDSATCaST. WE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THESE CES. OTHERS MAY TRY TO MEET THEM. Positively we, will sell ANY ARTICLE in our entire DRY GOODS DEPARTMENT at ACTUAL COST. Smith, Walker & Company have a Plains wide reputation for handling only first class, obds and we are now offering in every particular as desirable tock as is shown by any firm in the Panhandle. or dates onsaie and a lew specimen Drices see our ad on BBS THE STURCIS WAGER. went to the accountant's assistance. He passed into this office, which he probably reached in time to see Chat ham ruBh in from the secretary's room, closely followed by Arbogast. 'X' seized that chair over there in the corner and sprang between the hunt ed man and his pursuer as the latter raised his arm to fire. Our anony mous friend is probably a man of great strength; for with one blow of the chair he broke the bookkeeper's wrist. The hammer fell, but the weapon was deflected and the bullet, instead of reaching its intended vic tim, passed through the upper lobe of Arbogast's left lung and out at the back at an angle of about 60 de grees. The bookkeeper wob standing not far from Ihe mantelpiece yonder. Do you see that broad black line on the hearth? That was made by the bullet. Its direction and the angle enabled me at once to see that it must have ricochetted into the fireplace; and there, sure enough, 1 found it in the soot in the bend of the chimney. Here it is." Dunlap had listened to this narnv tive with evident interest. But now: recovering from the upell of Sturgis' persuasive conviction,, his skepticism regained the ascendancy for a mo ment. "Mr. Sturgis, you have missed your vocation," he said, laughing good naturedly; "you ought to have been a playwright. You have a most con vincing way of presenting both your facts and your theories. While you are speaking, one is ready to admit the plausibility of every statement you make. But now that you have fin ished, I have become a hard-headed banker once more, and I beg to sub mit one or two facta since we arc seeking facts which it seems to mo are enough to demolish all your elabo rate structure." "Go on," said Sturgis; "it goes with out caying that any theory is worth less unless it takes into account and explains every existing fact. If there are any in this case which, hnve es caped me a contingency which is quite possible, for I have no preten sion to infallibilty I shall be glad to hear about them; and, naturally, if my conclusions do not tally with the facts, the conclusions must bo altered, eince facts are absolute." "Well, then," said Dunlap, "assum ing, for th. sake of the argument, W j-Q W . - M g&? i 0 iaaESP Unaaa l hzsst zsssm Uss o WE ARE NOT running a so called clearing sale AT COST BUT WILL MEET ANY PRICES we "ffo Nor is b zsssa made by any so called sale and better on many goods. 'em a 'leetle' urhouse the I vs. tw v accumulated by other houses to run off at 20 to 25 per cent, below cost. If you want Good, Clean, Seasonable gooes at prices that will satisfy you give us a chance to show you our goods and prices, and if they are not right don't buy. 1 FOR CASH We will soil you: All Dress Prints per 'ard A Good yard wide Brown Domestic Chainbry Feather Tick : Fancy Outings Knight's Cambric Lonsdale yard wide Bleached domestic Men's Suits Former price 12.00 to 12.50 Men's Suits '.. " 10.00 Now .0-1 Men's Shoes Foimer price 1.50 Now 1.13 ' .U4.J- Men's Shoes j " 3.50 " L'.!)0 .08k Hamilton Brown's Shop Boots. .. " 0.00 " 4A) .11 Men's Hats " 1.50 " .() .08 Men's Hats . ...j " L.50 " 1.70 .08 Men's Hats " 3.00 " 2.20 .08 Stetson Hats 5.00 " 4.25 8.50 Stetson Hats " 4.50 " 3.33 7.50 Stetson Hats ! 4.00 " 3.10 The above prices are only indicators of the prices that apply all the way through our stock of DRY GOOD S,' NOTIONS. CLOTHING Our j 3El v " ' -i HE BROKE THE BOOKKEEPER'S WRIST WITH ONE BLOW. that these various marks which you have called trails were made by the feet, of three different people; admit ting even that nnn nt t line a viduals was Arbogast, who often stays here after banking hours, I do not see that you have established by any satisfactory 'evidence your as sumption . that the other so-called trails are those of Chatham and a 6tranger. " For aught I know to tho contrary, they may have been made by some of the bank employes in tho discharge of their regular duties. Chatham's 'coat may have caught on a nail In the telephone . closet last week, while he was here in his legiti mate capacity of expert accountant. The change of the combination of the safe may be the result of an error; Is full and Complete at right prices. No Goods will be Charged at cut prices. ; No trading Stamps allowed This Sale holds Good until Dec. 25th, ' - I Yours, for Trade CANYON MERCANfTI LE COM PAN Y s Canyon City. Texas,, NoviSth, 1901. for wo have no direct proof whatever1 that Arbogast is a defaulter. And, then, when it conies to jour interest , ing description of the alleged shoot ing of Arbogast, it striken me that you are entirely carried nwtiy by your enthusiasm; for, in your minute de scription of the pnth of the bullet, at. a certain, angle, of which you seem to know the measure nlntost to the fraction of n second, you overlook sev eral important things. Two shots were fired yesterday in or near the Knickerbocker bank. In, .say you,: because hern is a revolver with two empty cartridge shells; here is a black mark, which m:iy have been produced by tha ricochet of a bullet, and here Is n shapeless piece of lend, which may be that bullet. As, how ever, line ltiillnl. pntinnt nopmitif. fi, two shots, you are forced at once to Assume Hint Chatham' has carried away tho second one in the palm of his hand. Thin Is ingenious, very in gcnioiiH, but " "Ilia blood is on the telephone re ceivcr," observed Sturgis, quietly. "Wood!" exelnimcd Dunlap; "why, with tho carnage that you have im agined here, there should be oceans of blood. Here is a man, running around with a wounded hand, who leaves a few drops of blood on the telephone receiver, and nowhere elnu. And here is another man, shot through the lungs excuse me, through the Tipper - long or tnr, icil lung1 WHO OOCS nOT, bleed at all. And whero is he now? Such u wound as you hiive given him must, I take it, be fatal, or, at any rate, serious. Yet here is a dead or, at least, a dying man, calmly walking off as if as if the curtain had fallen at the end of j'oiir drama, and the corpse had hurried off to hits dressing-room." "You have forgotten something else," suggested the reporter, smiling. Dunlap looked nt him cjucstionlngly. "Yes; you have forgotten the pi.st.ol replaced in the drawer after Arbogast was shot, and the doors of the bank carefully locked." "True. No, my dear sir; yourtlab-' orate theory will not bear an instant's calm examination." "And yet," rejoined Sturgis, "my con clusions, as far as they go, are abso lutely correct. Every objection which rAti fttiim fa .l.i i iofl.1 .. ...1. ...I considered by itself; but we have not to deal with a lot of isolated facts, but with a series of connected events, each of which depends upon and sup ports all the others. Let me finish my ' story, and I think you will then be prepared to admit that what seems to you now a flight, of fancy on my part, is nothing but a sober exposition of plain, unvarnished facts." Dunlnp, with a deprecating gest ure, tet tied back into his chair once more. "We left Arbogast shot through thn left lung fatully wounded, as you have just remarked. He probably fell like a log; while Chatham, weak from shock, leaned against the door jamb yonder, lie had probably stanched his wound with, his free hand as he ran; I have been unable to find any trace of blood between the telephone and this spot. On the door jamb, however, the blood left a stain which has not. . been completely wiped out and which 'enabled me to judge of Chatham's 4, height. 'X' was the ouly ODe of the 5 trio who knew what h was about at this time. 1 have a genuine admira tion for 'X;' he must be a man of mar- " velous nerve. Instead ot flying panic- stricken Irom the scene, as any or dinary criminal would have done, he calmly proceeded to protect his retreat and to systematically cover his trail. His first step was to lock the Wall street gnte and the inside door. Quin tan had doubtless pulled the outer door to as he ran away, so that 'X' probably thought this also locked. He then, with Chatham's assistance, helped Arbogast, who was not yet (tend, and who perhaps by this time, , nacl rcgalnea consciousness, into tne cab whith ft as waiting near by in Ex change place, where 1 fTiund the blood stains on the curb, as you will remem- ber. After starting off his two ac complices in the cub, he returned to the bank, put away the pistol in its proper place, which, by the way, he serins to have known, and washed up all or nearly all the blood stains. There it a H'Oir;e and bucket under the siuk Continued on lrst pa,re.