en Blakely

ondscience

5 Guilty

By
W. WESTWOOD

*

Lonely Trapper, in Fight with Jealous Husband, Commits Murder and Flees—

Indian Wife Witnesses Tragedy—Warrant Issued for Fugitive—Case Almost

Forgotten But Re-opened When Police Notified of Whereabouts of Murderer—
Arrested in U.S.A. and Brought to Trial in Canada—Acquitted.

IT WAS May 30th, 1909, and Ben Blakely,
an American, trapping up Gun Creek near
Lillooet, decided it was time to leave his
district. He’d had about all he could stand
of the loneliness in his cabin at the head-
waters of Bridge River.

It wouldn’t have been so bad, Blakely
told himself, if he had been lucky like
Archie Thiverge. Archie, a Frenchman,
had a cabin about eight mlies down the
river and what was more important, he had
a wife; well, she wasn’t really his wife but
she'd lived with him eight years and had
borne him three children.

Thiverge was settled too. He had a fair
home and did a good business in packing.
That fact didn’t interest Ben very much.
But he was interested in Agnes even though
she was an Indian.

Agnes wasn’t a raving beauty, but, Ben
reflected, beauty was only skin deep. She
was a good woman. She always made him
welcome when he called there. She never
failed to ask him to have a cup of tea.
And often, when Thiverge wasn’t around,
she told him what kind of a life she led.

Blakely’s blood boiled when he heard
Agnes talk about Thiverge drinking. She
said that when he was drunk he used to
beat her until she was unconscious. Even
an Indian was entitled to better treatment
chan that, Blakely said. Some day he’d take
her away from there and let Thiverge dis-
cover just what he’d lost.

Whether Thiverge ever suspected these
meetings was never known. If he did he
said nothing about them. But he did not
like Blakely. Well, Blakely, reflected, that
made it even. He didn’t like Thiverge.

AN UNWELCOME GUEST

That was the state of affairs on Sunday,
May 30th, when Blakely arrived at the
Thiverge ranch. Agnes saw him coming
and met him at the door.

“Come in. You're just in time to have
dinner with us,” she said, and gave him
a warm smile.

“No thanks,” he returned politely.

“But you'll have a cup of tea, won't
you?” she pressed.

“No thanks, Agnes, I just had dinner
before I came down. I’m going over to
Tyaxon Creek to see Bert Williams. He

was to bring me a pair of shoes from Lil-
looet.”

WINTER EDITION

Thiverge scowled. His dark eyes snapped
and his voice was edged when he flashed:

“When are you coming back?”

“Tomorrow.”

Thiverge grunted.

“Did you bring any letters for me from
Lillooet, Archie?”

“No, there wasn’t any.”

Thiverge went to the door and inspected
Blakely’s pack. He saw that it contained a
gold pan, and a 30-30 rifle, in addition to
the regular trapper’s pack. There was a
bundle of sox too. Thiverge went back in-
side. Blakely was making ready to leave.

“Tl have to hurry along. It’s about ten
miles to Tryaxon from here and the trail’s
rough,” he offered.

After making his farewell, Blakely went
outside. Thiverge’s dark eyes gleamed. His
lips thinned.

“This is the first time he’s been down
here since fall, he said to Agnes. I don’t
think he’s coming back. He’s. running
away.”

Thiverge leaped to his feet and ran to
the door. He jerked it open. Blakely was
about fifty yards away.

“Hey you, come here,” Thiverge roared.

Blakely stopped. He didn’t like the tone
of that command. He turned slowly. He
saw that Thiverge meant trouble.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“T want you to come back here and pay
me what you owe me.”

This blatant insult fired Blakely’s blood.
Still he did not want trouble.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Twenty-five dollars. Since you have
been stopping here you have never paid me
for meals or horses.”

“T haven't any money now, but I have
paid you more than half of that already,”
Blakely fired back.

The air seemed to thicken about the two
men. Agnes began to tremble.

“You have paid me nothing,” Thiverge
shouted, “I think you're a damned fool and
you're trying to cheat me. You're going
away and you aren't coming back again.
You're a thief.”

Blakely was approaching him slowly, his
rifle ready, anger in his eyes. Thiverge
watched him come, rage getting the better
of his judgment.

“Who said I wasn’t coming back,”
Blakely demanded, ominously quiet.

“I know damned well you’re not. If I
want to fix you I can fix you,” Thiverge
screamed.

“Don’t swear at me,” Blakely warned.
“You can swear at your woman, and beat
her too, but don’t try it on me.”

Thiverge swore fearful oaths. Blakely
reciprocated. Agnes, terrified at what was
sure to happen, pleaded with her man to
calm down.

“Come away from that house you
damned wife-beating polecat, Blakely
flamed. “Ill fix you. I'll shoot your head
off.”

Thiverge danced in fury.

“Oh, you'll shoot, eh? I have a rifle too.”

He ran inside and seized his rifle and
rushed out again.

“Don’t, Archie, don’t!” Agnes pleaded,
“you have children. Don’t shoot that man.
We have too many children for you to
get into trouble. Please, Archie, oh, please.”

She seized his arm, sobbing, begging be-
seeching him to cool off. He stood there,
fingering cartridges into his rifle, furious,
determined to end this affair at once. He
flung her aside and strode out.

FIGHTING MADMEN

Blakely was at the door when Thiverge
charged out. The enraged squaw man
smashed at Blakely’s head with his rifle.
Blakely hit back and the two mixed it furi-
ously. Thiverge used his rifle like a club.
He landed a heavy blow on Blakely’s head.
Blakely staggered. Thiverge hit him again.
He went down, Thiverge on top of him.
The two men fought like tigers. They got
to their feet. Blakely was set for a charge
when Thiverge smashed home another blow
which sent him staggering. He followed
this up with still another and then stepped
back, working the lever of his rifle. Blakely
swung up to a sitting position just as Thi-
verge stopped.

Blakely’s rifle came up like a flash. Flame
came from its muzzle. Another soft-nose
bullet tore out and Thiverge crashed, also
in a sitting position. Blakely fired again and
again. Thiverge flopped over like a rag
doll. Agnes, screaming in terror, seized
her children and fled into the bush.

From her cover, Agnes saw Blakely pick

Page One Hundred and Five