MYSTERY OF MIDNIGHT VOICES

NZ Truth, Issue 1052, 21 January 1926, Page 7

MYSTERY OF MIDNIGHT VOICES

■■.■•■.-■♦' ■ ■ ■ . . ■ ■ ■ Was Christchurch Byrglary Plot Hatched In . Boardinghouse Bedroom ? ' STORY OF MAN WHO COULD NOT SLEEP f ■ ■ . ; ■•-■ .' -^ •-: . i ■•■'■..■■■.■ .'.-.■'_ . (From "Truth's" ,Special Christchuroh Representative.) - ' In his bedroom m a Christchurch boardinghouse, Ernest Barter, tired after the day's toil, tried hard to win sleep. But it was a hopeless task. Through the thin partition which shut him off X from the next room came the steady hum of voices.

'■■' -. ' _, HOSE were they, j I >S^2gS»S^\ hatching a plot? ; ' jj^^i leflslfiß cide the q uestion > s&nSsfkSoSfi- & uilt or innocence ' wßmw^C on a theft charge '^y^lD r\\S' °^ three young 1 / '» *■ \\ ■• xnen whose voices [3^l T"^^^^'] .sleep from the , ,'■-■'■. house. Dennis McGonagle Blake, Fred Logic, and Charles Stanley James t Dell will, stand their trial. It was 2.15 m the morning of December 18 when Constable Dob- > son, patrolling his beat m Cashel Street, .Christchurch, saw something '-which '■■■galvanized him into , a man ;pf swift action. Whathe saw was the open door of Mr. Edwin Prothero's. tobacconist shop. i- The lock of the door, had been comiHetely smashed, and peering into the l^dark interior the constable perceived ■ that a daring burglary . had taken y^ place. DRAMATIC DISCOVERY. V With a bound he was inside, ihis I bull's-eye revealing m the pale gleam \ of its ray a tumbled heap of goods ' scattered I about the floor. He made his way .to the station, and - next morning the news of an extensive theft was made known to the city. At 7.30 the same morning, Mr. Frofc. thero arrived to open his shop for the r day. f H« received a shock when h« v noted that thiovsa had; broken In

I .during the night and relieved him of goods to the value of £60. Almost at the same hour that Prothero was bewailing his loss, Mrs. Mary Ellen Hardie, who keeps a boardinghouse, m Fitzgerald Avenue, was vainly endeavoring to arouse a young man who lodged with her, telling him that it was time he got up and went to work. She noticed casually while m the room that there was a box of ' cigarettes lying on the table, and other objects, and the room seemed, to be rather untidy. Previous to this — m fact, at 3 a.m. the same morning — Ernest Barter,, another lodger, complained about the noise that was going on m the room next door. AWAKE ALL NIGHT. He had been unable to sleep all night owing to the talking on the other side of the partition. It began about 11 o'clock the previous night, and continued without a break until a-quarter past one. At that hour the voices and the men, it is stated, went out , into the night. ' But at two o'clock they returned, and, hearing voices at the gate, Bar l ler looked out of his window and saw the shadowy forms of three men, who appeared to be carrying something between them. . .". Back they went into the room, and .the conference was resumed. At three o'clock Barter complained to. the landlady, but he was not des-

tined to enjoy any rest until another hcur had elapsed. At .four. a.m. .Barter, -heard . sounds of departure emanating- from the next room. ■ : It was then broad daylight, and, moving across to his window, he saw the figures of throe men leaving the house, carrying a pillowslip which appeared to contain something. Meanwhile the police were hot on the scent, and a day or two later Detectives Allen and Studholme, m the course of their. -investigations, Interviewed three young men, who were later arrested and charged with the theft from Mr. Prothero's shop. The men arrested are Blake (20), Logic (23), and Dell (23). STATEMENT TO POLICE. They were charged with/ the theft of goods, the property of Edwin Prothero, valued at £ 34, although < the owner has since estimated his loss at £60. The story related above was told to the Christchurch Magistrate last week. According to the police, the three accused had made statements as to their movements on the night of the theft. ,;-.■;.■ . . . ; , They had disclaimed all know- ' ledge of the theft, but admitted that they had all had a good deal of drink that night and .did not remember what they had done. They pleaded not guilty, ; reserved their defence, and were committed to the .Supreme Court for trial. ' They ; were allowed bail,