SRE NNR PEPE ERE NEAR SRN ee SMART’S GARAGE GASOLINE CYLINDER OILS . H. L. SMART, Proprietor TERRACE, B.C. BATTERIES CHARGED FREE AIR ACETYLENE WELDING — CYLINDER REBORING AND GRINDING “man in black” had passed her and, despite his beard, she’d recognized him as Kref- chenko by his eyes. Gevertz, under oath, changed his testi- mony completely. On the night prior to the murder he'd met Krefchenko. Jack had ordered him to have his car in readiness at noon on the following day to “take a dark man into the country.” Flashing a wicked- looking automatic, the prisoner had warned him he’d be watching and would “get him” if he failed to appear. One man only had boarded the car, a man with a false beard — and that man was Krefchenko. The story he'd told previously had been concocted by Krefchenko, and he'd repeated it for fear of being murdered. Out on the Morden road Krefchenko had hidden his black coat behind a clump of willows. Entering the witness box, Const. McKay displayed the black coat which he’d found in the vicinity of the spot already mentioned. Next he produced an itinerant actor who swore that the coat was one which he'd loaned Krefchenko on November 17th. The evidence had already taken a month to be reviewed. Convinced that J. D. Suffield’s masterly defense would save him from the gallows, Krefchenko entered the dock with a/smile as the jury returned after a two hours’ session. “Murder in the first degree,” came the grim words of the foreman, and a minute later Krefchenko, pale and visibly shaken, heard from the lips of Chief Justice Mathers TERRACE DRUG STORE R. W. RILEY, Phm.B., Proprietor Kodaks and Films, Confectionery, School Sup- plies, China, Dinner Sets, Jewellery, Toys and Dolls, Fancy Goods RCA VICTOR RADIOS Buy ‘’The Shoulder Strap’’ Here Terrace British Columbia the sentence that spelled his doom: death by hanging at seven on the morning of July 9th. To the very last the drama associated with the Krefchenko case continued to hold the attention of the public. As execution day approached rumours spread abroad that the underworld was planning a desperate armed attempt to snatch their hero from the gal- lows. Hard on the heels of this came a “black hand” note to the Chief Justice. Written in blood, it threatened death to all concerned in the execution of Krefchenko, and warned that a society of two thousand members had been organized to effect his release. A special armed cordon was thrown around the outer walls of the gaol, and the death watch increased within. Ny Se A GOOD TURN-OUT A familiar sight in the Smithers district is Prov. Constable W. A. A. West and his splendid police horse. Const. West has been stationed in Smithers for the past three years. On July 9th, in the grey light of early morning, Krefchenko commenced his last walk towards the gallows. Climbing the thirteen steps he shook his long hair from his eyes and smiled the sickly smile of one utterly dazed. A guard stepped forward and snubbed a strap about his legs. The hangman flipped the black cloth over the victim’s head. Then, leaping backward, he pulled the lever, and Western Canada’s bad man hurtled downward to pay the debt he owed society. : Note: The names of Lon Gevertz, Jacob Walsh and Tom Brace, used. in this story, are fictitious, for obvious reasons. —Copyright by Philip H. Godsell, F.R.G.S., 1944. : IN the reign of George II a Bill was intro- duced to the effect that: All women of whatever age, rank or profession, whether maid or widow, who shall after this Act impose upon and seduce into matrimony any of His Majesty’s subjects by means of scents, paints, cosmetics, artificial teeth, false hair, bolstered hips, high-heeled shoes, or iron stays, shall incur the penalties against witchcraft, and the marriage be declared null and void. MAGISTRATE: “It’s very unusual for a sober man to climb a lamp-post.”” Prisoner: “That's what I thought: a record, perhaps. —The Humorist. J. H. SMITH GENERAL MERCHANT Groceries — Dry Goods BOOTS AND SHOES FLOUR AND FEED HARDWARE BRITISH COLUMBIA TERRACE @ TERRACE CARL POHLE LUMBER MANUFACTURER Dressed Lumber — Cedar Poles and Piling Spruce, Cedar, Hemlock — Hemlock Ties BRITISH COLUMBIA Terrace Little, Haugland & Kerr Lumber Manufacturers Poles, Piling, Ties, Boomsticks, Shingles Western Hemlock, Red Cedar, Cottonwood, Sitka Spruce Our Specialty British Columbia, Canada Page Thirty-eight THE SHOULDER STRAP