he should avail himself of the best pos-

» technical assistance, and called Mr.
ry Andison of the Dominion Entomo-
-al Laboratory. The latter was only
willing to assist the police, and placed
) himself and his equipment at the dis-
il of Corporal Potterton.

APPARENT LACK OF MOTIVE

Il the best prints were photographed
) great care, so that the detail of each

Telephone 31 :
FRONT STREET GROCERY
FRANK FARMER, Proprietor
GROCERIES, FRESH FRUITS
and VEGETABLES

Salmon Arm B.C.

COMPLIMENTS OF |

Salmon Arm Co-operative
Creamery Association
*

SALMON ARM, B.C.

G. S. Robertson

CENTRAL SERVICE DEPOT
SHELL PRODUCTS

"Service That Pleases”
Phone 129

*
SALMON ARM, B. C.

SALMON ARM FARMERS’
EXCHANGE

Dealers in Flour, Feed, Hay, Etc.
Packers and Shippers of Non-Irrigated
Fruit and Vegetables
COLD STORAGE

SALMON ARM, B. C.

R. TURNER & SONS
Fruit and Vegetable Shippers
P. O. Box 68

Telephones:
Orchard 38L3 - Warehouse 149

SALMON ARM. B. C.

WEST END SERVICE
Jack Milling, Proprietor
SERVICE WITH A SMILE

GENERAL SERVICE AND REPAIRS
SHELL PRODUCTS FIRESTONE TIRES
PREST-O-LITE BATTERIES

SALMON ARM, B. C.

—————— ——————0— eas:

JIRTEENTH EDITION

footprint could be examined under a magni-
fying glass. Other photographs were taken
of the scene of the fire and surroundings,
after which the corporal set out to find the
most important factor in all criminal cases,
motive. So far, there was nothing of a
tangible nature to indicate why anyone
should desire to set fire to the Women’s
Institute Building and so the corporal set
about interviewing persons in the immediate
neighbourhood. Such enquiries are usually
long and tedious; however, the corporal
attained his object soon after this avenue
of enquiry was approached. He called at
the residence of Mrs. Mabel Huselak, which
is situated next door to the Women’s Insti-
tute. During the course of the conversation
he discussed the fire and the possibilities of
persons who might wish to vent their spleen
in this malevolent manner. The lady was

Provincial Const. Alexander Krivenko

unable to furnish him with the slightest
lead, but she casually mentioned that an
old Chinese had called on her a number of
times to her annoyance. As soon’ as he
heard this, the corporal knew he was on
the right track. It appeared that the
Chinese was employed in a Vernon cafe,
and that Mrs. Huselak had been a fellow
employee until about two months ago. Dur-
ing the time of their association at the
cafe, Mrs. Huselak had cause to reprimand
the old man for the careless way in which
he had cleaned the dishes. On several
occasions, perhaps four or five, he had
called around to see her after business hours,
but she had tried to discourage him by not
admitting him to the house. On the last
such occasion, he had been very angry, and
had so resented her attitude, that she was
compelled to close the door in his face.
The old Chinese, whom you will have
guessed by now was none other than Won
Fat, sometimes acted a little queerly, and
true to his reputation, when Corporal Pot-
terton called on him he vigoriusly denied

having called at Mrs. Huselak’s house and,
in fact, had only seen her once on the street
since she left. Moreover, he told the cor-
poral that he had never worn the rubbers
outside of the bunkhouse, and then broke
into an incoherent babble of pidgin English
which even the corporal with his experience
could not follow.

TALKED HIMSELF INTO GAOL

The fire had occured at about 2 a.m.
Saturday, August 5th, 1944, and much of
the enquiry was made that day and Sun-
day. On Monday, August 7th, Corporal
Potterton was reporting his progress on
the case to his superior, Sergeant R. S. Nel-
son in charge of the Vernon Police Dis-
trict at District Headquarters, when who
should walk in but Won Fat. The ancient
Chinese quite gratuitously began making
enquiries on his own. When was he to
appear in court? How big a fine was he
to pay, or would he go to gaol? And if it
was gaol, how long would he have to stay
there? Both officers, to put it mildly were
indeed surprised. Was this to be a confes
sion? They at once sent for a Chinese in-
terpreter, and after the usual warning,
waited for the expected statement. But the
statement was certainly not what the offi-
cers had expected from the questions he had
put to them, in fact he categorically denied
setting the fire. He did say, however, that
he had left his bed about one o’clock in the
morning, and then decided to go down to

P.O. Box 537
ARMSTRONG FURNITURE
STORE

HOUSE FURNISHINGS and MEN’S WEAR
P. R. BAWTINHEIMER, Proprietor

Armstrong, B.C.

Phone 28

-
Armstrong Sawmill Ltd.

Manufacturers
Box Shook

Rough and Dressed Lumber
©
Armstrong,

*

B.C.

J. H. WILSON LTD.

Warehousemen and Shippers of

OKANAGAN FRUITS and

VEGETABLES
Specializing in the Famous
ARMSTRONG CELERY and HEAD LETTUCE
Armstrong, B.C.

Page Sixty-five