European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse F i or. Routier s office. In t it exciting Keith said come on took i Alan a in tie Wake of Cal Routier to through the crowd. Over the Heads of the excited guests Keith Alana spied Cal mid sheriff Mccann j headed toward Routier watched their approach. I. Here Are two More people he said who can Tell you sheriff that i was i unfortunately in Reno tonight Sherill Mccann pursed his lips briefly. He glanced toward the door where the crowd had parted had become suddenly m afraid i be another Surprise for you Cal the sheriff said Keith following his gaze saw the crowd part to allow two men to enter bearing Stretcher on which was a Blanket Cov ered inert Mccann spoke into the hush. Sorry to have to Tell you like this s gig Benson looks a hoarse chilling cry escaped fro Routier s Throat As he turned away. At the same moment Keith Felt Alan topple against his Arm begin to sink to the floor. He caught her. He lifted her the crowd moved to make a path for him while a woman shrill voice volunteered to get a doctor. Some time later Bill Keith lighted fresh cig Aret from the stub of his last one leaned a shoulder against tie Wall outside Alana s Mccann stood in the shadowy dusk beside him arms folded a Cigar clamped Between his Teeth. He cleared his Throat noisily. Gus did t find an prints on the Safe he said. I was afraid not murmured was another silence into which Keith spoke stiffly do you think the robbery was an outside Job sure looks like it said the like they got Benson into the office forced him to open the Safe an then took him Over into the picnic Grove let him have no one working in the Lodge could be involved could be admitted Mccann but everybody was accounted for at the Tim of the robbery sheriff Mccann put has Cigar Back in his Mouth said through his Teeth fifty thou Sand s missing. All Keith stood away from the Wall. Defeat was an ache within him. Heddin t care if a Hundred thousand was missing he cared Only that Benso was dead before he could Tell what he knew of surrounding Rick s death. Sheriff Mccann cleared his Throat again. The deputies said you were looking for me in Reno this afternoon. Iwas Over Here at the state line on a car theft. Keith s jaw tightened. Yes he said quietly i was looking for was trying to see. Keith s face in the dim Light. You still working on the idea your Friend what s his name might not have drowned accidentally Keith s head came up a Little. Haven t Given up. Maybe in wrong on a hopeless track. It s just it s your Best Friend. It takes a while to accept things like ," the sheriff agreed gently. The door behind them opened. Keith swung around blinded by the Light from the living room As the doctor came she All right Ray Mccann wanted to course she is the doctor paused As he put on his hat she s a Good healthy girl. Go on in if you want to talk to her goodnight Stevens sat in a Brown plaid chair. She was Pale but her eyes we Rebright. And searching the guarded look was in them As spoke apologetically. Cal has accounted for your time All evening miss Stevens so i won t bother you with any questions now unless you have reasons to suspect someone want to Tell me Alana Stevens gave him a level solemn gaze. Did you find ?". No. But the Bullet came from a .32automatic. Do you know someone who owns one the girl folded her hands in her Lap. Keith looking at her slim fingers Knuckles Whiten. There was a .32 automatic in the right band Side of Ca Routier s desk the Middle there in t now Mccann said slowly but if you mean Cal she gave it to me. He had it with s All i know the girl said appeared to brighten a Little. Weekend june it ims. Mccann put the Cigar Back in his Mouth rolled it to one Corner. Well be getting Back to the Lodge then. Jus wanted to Tell you to stay where we can get Iii touch with you. The Coroner s in quest will be next As Mccann turned to the door Bill Keith moved away from it asked mind if i talk with miss Stevens a few minutes with the door open the sheriff paused to look at him. Curiously then said no. Go ahead went leaned against the closed door again. Alana spoke feel rather foolish she said for doing what i did. I never Why did you Keith asked coolly. I d never seen a dead person be fore said frowned at the Long Ash on his cig Aret. At that moment he Felt the same Way he had Felt when he had pulled the wings off a Butterfly a longtime ago on a dare. He glanced up to find Alana offering him an Ash took it tapped the cig Aret on its Edge set it Down on a table beside the door. You can be very helpful when you want to be he said abruptly. If you mean about the automatic the girl said dryly i thought i d better Tell the sheriff before you looked at her averted face. Was it Routier s gun you were carry ing that Day on the Trail yes you put it Back in the drawer of his desk?""yes." what made you think i would Tell Alana avoided Keith s eyes. I Don t know. We always seem to be on opposite sides. I wish it was t that Way that the heat s on we should join forces is that it Keith looked up at him then. In her darkening Blue gaze there was a flare of spirit. Bill Keith. I be never known unfair i Ater in his own Cabin Keith sat Down decided it was tune to examine his own feelings Merci Lessly. It Cut deep into his Pride to admit that Alana Stevens was More than at Tractive to him. Now he realized that it was this that had blurred his thinking. And influenced his decisions from the Keith at last went to bed he slept soundly for the first time in Sev eral nights because he had a new course of action in mind one that depended upon himself alone. Bill phoned Mary Gerard Early the next morning hoping to reach her before she heard the news of gig Benson s murder from anyone else. She listened to his terse account then agreed to meet him that evening to learn the details. Most of the Day Keith spent with sheriff Mccann his men while they did routine searching around the Lodge questioned the employees. He had a bad moment when the sheriff his men finally got around to the stables to question sunday Jones but by tacit agreement both Keith sunday kept the Rifle shots the death of the Black Mare a secret As he watched sunday s mild honest Counte Nance Keith discarded the notion that sunday might have killed that the dead Man s room offered toward solving the mystery was a full loaded Rifle with a Telescope sight but sheriff Mccann placed no importance on it Mary Gerard heard Keith s grim Story that night in the quiet restaurant to which Keith had taken her for he had finished his tale she said seriously maybe you be been inter Fering All of the time with that plan to Rob the Safe Bill. Haven t you considered that maybe that explains the strange things that have happened. The manager his Secretary might have been in on the robbery with then something might have gone wrong last night Keith was quiet a moment the idea had occurred to him but he had put i aside remembering Bis feeling for Alana he asked himself Why. Then he answered Mary truthfully. That could explain several things that have Hap a ened. But that night in the dining room i d swear it was the Good that sent Benson after me. I had it out on the bar he could have recognized it if he d Ever played poker with Rick or watched his game he would have.". Continued on Page 19 reporter in route Brooklyn on the Tigris Baghdad the City of the arabian nights is slipping out of its exotic past into a fortuitous future. It might. Even be said that Baghdad is going Brooklyn. At the doddering age of 1186years, it has More growing pains than a is heavy with travellers from the new world rubbing their custom Sand culture Wilh the old world popu lace. The contrast is startling. Sleek shiny Detroit made cars bumper to bumper honk their impatient Way Dow the narrow winding humanity infested streets. The turbaned tunic ked pedestrians have Learned to fend for themselves calmly saunter through the streets As though they had excessive life insurance. A six foot tribal chiefs talks by in a Valentino Type Getup. His eyes Are piercing As a Hawks his bearing is nothing Short of kingly. But like any other Joe from Flatbush he s chewing Blue tiled movie House where children Are chanting impatiently forthe matinee to Start offers the same b picture As Brooklyn including cartoons rid the latest Hollywood killer thriller. Forever Amber 1 is playing on the Tigris this week. Black gowned moslem women who once hid shrouds As they followed the family Camel to place now throng the local dry goods store. In typical modern Day style they pore Over recent issues of Vogue Harper s Bazaar choosing the newest of the new looks to make into exciting dresses from fabulous iraqi Silks or imported Cottons. Iraqi airline transport planes Roar overhead with passengers from every part of the Earth. Even his highness Regent Abdul hah bows to the West As he gathers his flowing Robes to enter his own sports Model air plane to make the rounds of his traveler who in the year 1583, described Baghdad As a ver Greate but very populous of Greate trafficked of strangers for this is the Way to turkic Persia Arabia from thence Doe Goe caravans for these other would be describing Baghdad 1948, except that came caravans have disappeared in favor of 12-Cylinder Cadillac airborne magic carpets. Baghdad is an architectural night Mare As even native born citizens will admit the City stretches out on Bot sides of the Muddy murky Tigris in a crazy Jumble of narrow winding alleys rickety bazaars occasional startling splashes of Green parkways impressive colourful tiled Villas next to mud walled hovels. The worst housing Short age since Caliph Al Mansur Laid out the City in 762 . Is packing people it miserable dwellings sardine style even though houses can be built with the most plentiful materials in the world Earth Straw is As polyglot As the Bow Ery. Among its 450,000 citizens nearly10 per cent of the entire population of Iraq Are jews christians moslem arabs kurd chaldean assyrians indians As Well As mullahs priests pagans a smattering of american City has 26 newspapers varying in politics Point of View but More than half of the population can t read a single the two modern steel Bridges across the Tigris there is a Host of Guffaw crude circular boats invented before the time of Babylon. Crossing the River you can take your Choice. There s a night club in Baghdad wit height Blond dancers from Gay Paree displaying More White space than their skin Sisters on Rue Pialle. On the other Side of the Street a. City betterment society is dedicated among other things to removing All pictures of bathing beauties from imported magazines. Drink eries Here Are named for scheherazade sinbad the Sailor. Jesus a famous bartender with a exotic imagination mixes a mysterious desert dream which has become the tourists Delight most of the moslem however dislike any form of liquor prefer to open a can of Tomato juice. Baghdad seems Friendly. There s smile for the stranger at no extra Cost. But Baghdad has seen More riots an grim bloody Battles than Chicago s Haymarket or he Steppes of a mob gathers the Best thing to do is run ask questions ancient City is gripped by the Cross currents of intense ideologies. The average Man has a Tough time steering Clear of politics. Baghdad is the Only City in Iraq where political parties Are legally functioning. In the deluge of mass movements political weight throwing the people Are pushed an shoved the same As they Are in their jammed Market places. Iraqi have staged Many violent protests in the last few months. Political demonstration against everything from the Price of turban material to the partitioning of Palestine occur daily on Baghdad s Haroun Al Rasli id Street named for the famous Caliph of the arabian nights. So Baghdad the Bright Light of the dark Ages has had its Day of glory. It has lost its Way in the new Era. Unlike the Doe Doe Bird Baghdad is not flying backwards to see where it has is flying Forward but does t know where it is going Daniel Deluce Baghdad s main Stem. Haroun Al Rashid Street is frequently crowded by political demonstrators. 17
