yeople in it. One, a young man,
ooked tired and haggard, the other,
. girl, was fresh and vivacious. Stop-
ying at a tiny roadside cafe a little
:fter noon, they ordered a meal...

At about 8:30 a.m. of August 16,
Deputy Sheriff C. A. Fosling called
round to see the County Prosecutor,
<enneth Fritzler. ‘‘There’s been a
hooting down to Bushnell, Ken,”’
Yeputy Fosling told the County At-
orney. Would you come along and
nterview the fella who's making the
omplaint.”’

Fritzler, a young and energetic at-
orney, lost no time in getting to
3ushnell. At a little roadside cafe
ye met a man and a girl. The name
of the man was Gustav Wiegner,
vho told a strange story.

A STRANGE STORY

On the afternoon of the previous
day, Sunday, August 15, he, Wieg-
ner, and his half sister, Louise Mc-
Comas, had arrived in Bushnell from
Alaska. Stopping at the Highway
Cafe to eat, they had entered into a
discussion with Clair Scott, the pro-
prietor. Ihe latter had sold them
the small business for $750 cash
which had been paid on the spot.
Wiegner went on to tell Fritzler that
his home was in Hatboro, Penn., but
that he had lived in Dayton, Ohio,
before he left for Alaska. He had
been looking for a homestead but
onditions were not very good, and
the mosquitoes were bothersome, so
he had decided to return to the Uni-
red States. After the transaction, a
man named Ralph Wells came into
the cafe for coffee several times dur-
ng the remainder of the afternoon
and evening. About 8 p.m. Wells
uppeared to be truculent, then began
(Oo argue that Wiegner and the girl
had no right in the cafe, as the lease
was invalid. It was a case of pay
Wells $50 per month, or be closed
up by Monday. Certain derrogatory
remarks were made about the girl,
ind Wiegner had asked Wells to
leave. Accompanied by a friend,
Wells stood outside for a while talk-

ing loudly. Wiegner had then se-
cured his rifle which he placed under
his arm. Leaving the rear door, he
joined Wells and his friend near the
front. There was a further argument,
but the rifle appeared to have some
effect, for Wells left in a huff.

Wells, however, had gone to his
car, where he secured a 12-gauge shot
gun, and fired a blast at the cafe close
to a window beside which Wiegner
was standing.

Wells’ friends struggled with him
and finally wrestled the weapon
away. The Sheriff's office was noti-
fied, and Deputy Fosling arrived
shortly afterwards. Enquiries were
made, and Wells, a well-known char-
acter, was taken home on the promise
that he would stay there.

About half an hour later, Wiegner
heard two pistol shots from a small
calibre gun. A bystander said, ‘‘It’s
Wells, and he’s coming back.’’ Secur-

aS Mme

Cafe at Bushnell, Nebraska. At right is Ken

Fritzler, prosecuting attorney of Kimball

County, and left is Roscoe Tatum, sheriff of
Kimball Courty.

fe

ing his rifle, Wiegner peered around
the side of the cafe, but could not see
anyone across the road in the direc-
tion from which the reports had
come. Ten minutes later, Wiegner,
or ‘“‘Dusty’’ as he was known to
Louise, the girl, and a bystander,
were talking in the road at one side
of the cafe, when another shotgun
blast was heard. This time, two pel-
lets struck Wiegner in the leg. Rais-
ing his own rifle, ‘“Dusty”’ fired once
across the road at the shadowy figure
and wounded Wells in the lower right

leg. ‘“‘Dusty” then ordered Wells to
lay his gun down, but the latter in-
stead crawled away across the railway
tracks towards town, still carrying
his gun. “Dusty” and the bystander
had then followed Wells, who even-
tually surrendered his gun. Later
the Deputy Sheriff returned to Bush-
nell and took Wells into custody,
and, after treatment, placed him in
the county gaol.

All this had happened on August
15, and subsequently Wells faced the
court on charges of shooting with
intent to kill, and several other
counts. However, the hearing had
been set down for a week, and in the
meantime, ‘‘Dusty”’ and the girl con-
tinued to operate the cafe. All seemed
well enough, but people considered it
strange that the young man seemed
so inordinately devoted to his half
sister, and the living accommodation
at the rear of the store was of the
crudest. There were no beds, only a
mattress on the floor.

Louise was happy, there was no
doubt about that. She had now ful-
filled a life ambition. She was a
“cow-girl,”’ wore fancy riding boots
and blue jean trousers. She spent a
great deal of time riding a horse which
they intended to buy, and amused
herself with childish pleasures. But
just around the corner, complications
were setting in.

On August 23, 1948, the case of
“The People vs. Wells’’ was called
for preliminary hearing at the county
seat, Kimball, Neb. While court was

in session, the Prosecuting Attorney
received a message that he was wanted
on the ‘phone on a very urgent mat-
ter. Excusing himself and asking for
a brief adjournment, Mr. Fritzler
hurried to his office. He had a pre-
monition it had to do with the case
now being heard. As he hurried
across the hall the peculiar relation-
ship between the young man and the
girl flashed through his mind, and
now a long distance call from Day-
ton, Ohio, the attendant had said.

NINETEENTH EDITION

P.O. BOX 850

Manufacturers of

Western White Spruce and Mountain Fir Lumber

W. Lamb’s Sons Ltd.

(Successors to: Alexander Sawmills)

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C.

Page Ninety-three