Vaudevillian Goes West, part 2

 

cover artist unidentified

Read/Watch 'em In Order #144

"With the Help of Henry" is W.C.Tuttle's second yarn about Henry Harrison Conroy, a vaudeville comedian who moves to Arizona after buying a ranch. It was published in the March 23, 1935 issue of Argosy. 

The story begins with Henry and the Judge--Henry's legal advisor--getting drunk. This is a usual activity for the two, but Henry has a reason to do so this time. It's election night and Henry is running for sheriff. And he's worried he might win.

In the first story, Henry had proved to have Sherlockian deductive skills and solved a murder. This, combined with his inherant likeability, has led a friend to nominate him for sheriff. Henry is starting to get on in years, doesn't consider himself brave and can barely ride a horse. He doesn't want to be sheriff.

Sadly for Henry, he wins. But then a murder takes place and a friend of Henry looks guilty. So, while still trying to figure out what to do about the election results, he finds himself investigating another crime.

As with the first story, W.C. Tuttle perfectly balances often laugh-out-loud humor with a solid mystery plot. Adding to the humor is Henry's possibly unwise decision to move the body off his friend's ranch to stave off hasty murder accusations. But while he's doing this, his friend is dutifully reporting to the current sheriff that he found the body on his ranch. 

When the body is found, Henry and the Judge move it a second time before the coroner can be brought to the scene. This odd game of "Who's got the body" continues until it leads in a bizarre way to Henry geting thrown from a buckboard and having most of his clothes torn off in a cactus brush.

But Henry, though often more drunk that sober, is able to follow up a clue (a torn and only partially legible letter found on the corpse) until he figures out who the real killer is.

By the way, the exact year this story is set in doesn't really matter, but I can't help but try to figure it out. In the previous tale, Sherlock Holmes is mentioned, so he's a household name. In this story, Henry mentions Houdini (who began performing in 1891) and a stage show called "The Squaw Man" starring William Faversham, which was performed in 1905 and 1906. So, despite the absense of early automobiles and telephones (which might make sense in the remote Arizona location), the story must be set early in the 20th Century, perhaps around 1910. 

But the year doesn't matter. "With the Help of Henry" is yet another excellent blend of comedy, western and mystery.

Click HERE to read the story online.