,the ,poisoned ,pen by1 ,arthur ,b4 ,reeve 7transcriber's note3 these stories were first published in #aiaa-ac7 ,,contents ,i ,,the ,,poisoned ,,pen ,,ii ,,the ,,yeggman ,,iii ,,the ,,germ ,,of ,,death ,,iv ,,the ,,firebug ,v ,,the ,,confidence ,,king ,,vi ,,the ,,sand-,,hog ,,vii ,,the ,,white ,,slave ,,viii ,,the ,,forger ,,ix ,,the ,,unofficial ,,spy ,x ,,the ,,smuggler ,,xi ,,the ,,invisible ,,ray ,,xii ,,the ,,campaign ,,grafter ,i ,,the ,,poisoned ,,pen ,kennedy's suit-case was lying open on the bed1 and he was literally throwing things into it from his chiffonier1 as ,i entered after a hurried trip up-town from the ,star office in response to an urgent message from him4 ,come1 ,walter1 he cried1 hastily stuffing in a package of clean laundry without taking off the wrapping-paper1 ,i've got your suit-case out4 ,pack up whatever you can in five minutes4 ,we must take the six o'clock train for ,danbridge4 ,i did not wait to hear any more4 ,the mere mention of the name of the quaint and quiet little ,connecticut town was sufficient4 ,for ,danbridge was on everybody's lips at that time4 ,it was the scene of the now famous ,danbridge poisoning case - a brutal case in which the pretty little actress1 ,vera ,lytton1 had been the victim4 ,i've been retained by ,senator ,adrian ,willard1 he called from his room1 as ,i was busy packing in mine4 ,the ,willard family believe that that young ,dr4 ,dixon is the victim of a conspiracy - or at least ,alma ,willard does1 which comes to the same thing1 and - well1 the senator called me up on long-distance and offered me anything ,i would name in reason to take the case4 ,are you ready8 ,come on1 then4 ,we've simply got to make that train4 ,as we settled ourselves in the smoking-compartment of the ,pullman1 which for some reason or other we had to ourselves1 ,kennedy spoke again for the first time since our frantic dash across the city to catch the train4 ,now let us see1 ,walter1 he began4 ,we've both read a good deal about this case in the papers4 ,let's try to get our knowledge in an orderly shape before we tackle the actual case itself4 ,ever been in ,danbridge8 ,i asked4 ,never1 he replied4 ,what sort of place is it8 ,mighty interesting1 ,i answered2 a combination of old ,new ,england and new1 of ancestors and factories1 of wealth and poverty1 and above all it is interesting for its colony of ,new-,yorkers - what shall ,i call it8 - a literary-artistic-musical combination1 ,i guess4 ,yes1 he resumed1 ,i thought as much4 ,vera ,lytton belonged to the colony4 ,a very talented girl1 too - you remember her in ',the ,taming of the ,new ,woman' last season8 ,well1 to get back to the facts as we know them at present4 ,here is a girl with a brilliant future on the stage discovered by her friend1 ,mrs4 ,boncour1 in convulsions - practically insensible - with a bottle of headache-powder and a jar of ammonia on her dressing-table4 ,mrs4 ,boncour sends the maid for the nearest doctor1 who happens to be a ,dr4 ,waterworth4 ,meanwhile she tries to restore ,miss ,lytton1 but with no result4 ,she smells the ammonia and then just tastes the headache-powder1 a very foolish thing to do1 for by the time ,dr4 ,waterworth arrives he has two patients4 ,no1 ,i corrected1 only one1 for ,miss ,lytton was dead when he arrived1 according to his latest statement4 ,very well1 then - one4 ,he arrives1 ,mrs4 ,boncour is ill1 the maid knows nothing at all about it1 and ,vera ,lytton is dead4 ,he1 too1 smells the ammonia1 tastes the headache-powder - just the merest trace - and then he has two patients1 one of them himself4 ,we must see him1 for his experience must have been appalling4 ,how he ever did it ,i can't imagine1 but he saved both himself and ,mrs4 ,boncour from poisoning - cyanide1 the papers say1 but of course we can't accept that until we see4 ,it seems to me1 ,walter1 that lately the papers have made the rule in murder cases3 ,when in doubt1 call it cyanide4 ,not relishing ,kennedy in the humour of expressing his real opinion of the newspapers1 ,i hastily turned the conversation back again by asking1 ,how about the note from ,dr4 ,dixon8 ,ah1 there is the crux of the whole case - that note from ,dixon4 ,let us see4 ,dr4 ,dixon is1 if ,i am informed correctly1 of a fine and aristocratic family1 though not wealthy4 ,i believe it has been established that while he was an interne in a city hospital he became acquainted with ,vera ,lytton1 after her divorce from that artist ,thurston4 ,then comes his removal to ,danbridge and his meeting and later his engagement with ,miss ,willard4 ,on the whole1 ,walter1 judging from the newspaper pictures1 ,alma ,willard is quite the equal of ,vera ,lytton for looks1 only of a different style of beauty4 ,oh1 well1 we shall see4 ,vera decided to spend the spring and summer at ,danbridge in the bungalow of her friend1 ,mrs4 ,boncour1 the novelist4 ,that's when things began to happen4 ,yes1 ,i put in1 when you come to know ,danbridge as ,i did after that summer when you were abroad1 you'll understand1 too4 ,everybody knows everybody else's business4 ,it is the main occupation of a certain set1 and the per-capita output of gossip is a record that would stagger the census bureau4 ,still1 you can't get away from the note1 ,craig4 ,there it is1 in ,dixon's own handwriting1 even if he does deny it3 ',this will cure your headache4 ,dr4 ,dixon4' ,that's a damning piece of evidence4 ,quite right1 he agreed hastily2 the note was queer1 though1 wasn't it8 ,they found it crumpled up in the jar of ammonia4 ,oh1 there are lots of problems the newspapers have failed to see the significance of1 let alone trying to follow up4 ,our first visit in ,danbridge was to the prosecuting attorney1 whose office was not far from the station on the main street4 ,craig had wired him1 and he had kindly waited to see us1 for it was evident that ,danbridge respected ,senator ,willard and every one connected with him4 ,would it be too much to ask just to see that note that was found in the ,boncour bungalow8 asked ,craig4 ,the prosecutor1 an energetic young man1 pulled out of a document-case a crumpled note which had been pressed flat again4 ,on it in clear1 deep black letters were the words1 just as reported3 ,this will cure your headache4 ,,dr4 ,dixon4 ,how about the handwriting8 asked ,kennedy4 ,the lawyer pulled out a number of letters4 ,i'm afraid they will have to admit it1 he said with reluctance1 as if down in his heart he hated to prosecute ,dixon4 ,we have lots of these1 and no handwriting expert could successfully deny the identity of the writing4 ,he stowed away the letters without letting ,kennedy get a hint as to their contents4 ,kennedy was examining the note carefully4 ,may ,i count on having this note for further examination1 of course always at such times and under such conditions as you agree to8 ,the attorney nodded4 ,i am perfectly willing to do anything not illegal to accommodate the senator1 he said4 ,but1 on the other hand1 ,i am here to do my duty for the state1 cost whom it may4 ,the ,willard house was in a virtual state of siege4 ,newspaper reporters from ,boston and ,new ,york were actually encamped at every gate1 terrible as an army1 with cameras4 ,it was with some difficulty that we got in1 even though we were expected1 for some of the more enterprising had already fooled the family by posing as officers of the law and messengers from ,dr4 ,dixon4 ,the house was a real1 old colonial mansion with tall white pillars1 a door with a glittering brass knocker1 which gleamed out severely at you as you approached through a hedge of faultlessly trimmed boxwoods4 ,senator1 or rather former ,senator1 ,willard met us in the library1 and a moment later his daughter ,alma joined him4 ,she was tall1 like her father1 a girl of poise and self-control4 ,yet even the schooling of twenty-two years in rigorous ,new ,england self-restraint could not hide the very human pallor of her face after the sleepless nights and nervous days since this trouble had broken on her placid existence4 ,yet there was a mark of strength and determination on her face that was fascinating4 ,the man who would trifle with this girl1 ,i felt1 was playing fast and loose with her very life4 ,i thought then1 and ,i said to ,kennedy afterward3 ,if this ,dr4 ,dixon is guilty1 you have no right to hide it from that girl4 ,anything less than the truth will only blacken the hideousness of the crime that has already been committed4 ,the senator greeted ,i us gravely1 and ,i could not but take it as a good omen when1 in his pride of wealth and family and tradition1 he laid bare everything to us1 for the sake of ,alma ,willard4 ,it was clear that in this family there was one word that stood above all others1 ,duty4 ,as we were about to leave after an interview barren of new facts1 a young man was announced1 ,mr4 ,halsey ,post4 ,he bowed politely to us1 but it was evident why he had called1 as his eye followed ,alma about the room4 ,the son of the late ,halsey ,post1 of ,post ,vance1 silversmiths1 who have the large factory in town1 which you perhaps noticed1 explained the senator4 ,my daughter has known him all her life4 ,a very fine young man4 ,later1 we learned that the senator had bent every effort toward securing ,halsey ,post as a son-in-law1 but his daughter had had views of her own on the subject4 ,post waited until ,alma had withdrawn before he disclosed the real object of his visit4 ,in almost a whisper1 lest she should still be listening1 he said1 ,there is a story about town that ,vera ,lytton's former husband - an artist named ,thurston - was here just before her death4 ,senator ,willard leaned forward as if expecting to hear ,dixon immediately acquitted4 ,none of us was prepared for the next remark4 ,and the story goes on to say that he threatened to make a scene over a wrong he says he has suffered from ,dixon4 ,i don't know anything more about it1 and ,i tell you only because ,i think you ought to know what ,danbridge is saying under its breath4 ,we shook off the last of the reporters who affixed themselves to us1 and for a moment ,kennedy dropped in at the little bungalow to see ,mrs4 ,boncour4 ,she was much better1 though she had suffered much4 ,she had taken only a pinhead of the poison1 but it had proved very nearly fatal4 ,had ,miss ,lytton any enemies whom you think of1 people who were jealous of her professionally or personally8 asked ,craig4 ,i should not even have said ,dr4 ,dixon was an enemy1 she replied evasively4 ,but this ,mr4 ,thurston1 put in ,kennedy quickly4 ,one is not usually visited in perfect friendship by a husband who has been divorced4 ,she regarded him keenly for a moment4 ,halsey ,post told you that1 she said4 ,no one else knew he was here4 ,but ,halsey ,post was an old friend of both ,vera and ,mr4 ,thurston before they separated4 ,by chance he happened to drop in the day ,mr4 ,thurston was here1 and later in the day ,i gave him a letter to forward to ,mr4 ,thurston1 which had come after the artist left4 ,i'm sure no one else knew the artist4 ,he was here the morning of the day she died1 and - and - that's every bit ,i'm going to tell you about him1 so there4 ,i don't know why he came or where he went4 ,that's a thing we must follow up later1 remarked ,kennedy as we made our adieus4 ,just now ,i want to get the facts in hand4 ,the next thing on my programme is to see this ,dr4 ,waterworth4 ,we found the doctor still in bed2 in fact1 a wreck as the result of his adventure4 ,he had little to correct in the facts of the story which had been published so far4 ,but there were many other details of the poisoning he was quite willing to discuss frankly4 ,it was true about the jar of ammonia8 asked ,kennedy4 ,yes1 he answered4 ,it was standing on her dressing-table with the note crumpled up in it1 just as the papers said4 ,and you have no idea why it was there8 ,i didn't say that4 ,i can guess4 ,fumes of ammonia are one of the antidotes for poisoning of this kind4 ,but ,vera ,lytton could hardly have known that1 objected ,kennedy4 ,no1 of course not4 ,but she probably did know that ammonia is good for just that sort of faintness which she must have experienced after taking the powder4 ,perhaps she thought of sal volatile1 ,i don't know4 ,but most people know that ammonia in some form is good for faintness of this sort1 even if they don't know anything about cyanides and - ,then it was cyanide8 interrupted ,craig4 ,yes1 he replied slowly4 ,it was evident that he was suffering great physical and nervous anguish as the result of his too intimate acquaintance with the poisons in question4 ,i will tell you precisely how it was1 ,professor ,kennedy4 ,when ,i was called in to see ,miss ,lytton ,i found her on the bed4 ,i pried open her jaws and smelled the sweetish odour of the cyanogen gas4 ,i knew then what she had taken1 and at the moment she was dead4 ,in the next room ,i heard some one moaning4 ,the maid said that it was ,mrs4 ,boncour1 and that she was deathly sick4 ,i ran into her room1 and though she was beside herself with pain ,i managed to control her1 though she struggled desperately against me4 ,i was rushing her to the bathroom1 passing through ,miss ,lytton's room4 ',what's wrong8' ,i asked as ,i carried her along4 ',i took some of that1' she replied1 pointing to the bottle on the dressing-table4 ,i put a small quantity of its crystal contents on my tongue4 ,then ,i realised the most tragic truth of my life4 ,i had taken one of the deadliest poisons in the world4 ,the odour of the released gas of cyanogen was strong4 ,but more than that1 the metallic taste and the horrible burning sensation told of the presence of some form of mercury1 too4 ,in that terrible moment my brain worked with the incredible swiftness of light4 ,in a flash ,i knew that if ,i added malic acid to the mercury - per chloride of mercury or corrosive sublimate - ,i would have calomel or subchloride of mercury1 the only thing that would switch the poison out of my system and ,mrs4 ,boncour's4 ,seizing her about the waist1 ,i hurried into the dining-room4 ,on a sideboard was a dish of fruit4 ,i took two apples4 ,i made her eat one1 core and all4 ,i ate the other4 ,the fruit contained the malic acid ,i needed to manufacture the calomel1 and ,i made it right there in nature's own laboratory4 ,but there was no time to stop4 ,i had to act just as quickly to neutralise that cyanide1 too4 ,remembering the ammonia1 ,i rushed back with ,mrs4 ,boncour1 and we inhaled the fumes4 ,then ,i found a bottle of peroxide of hydrogen4 ,i washed out her stomach with it1 and then my own4 ,then ,i injected some of the peroxide into various parts of her body4 ,the peroxide of hydrogen and hydrocyanic acid1 you know1 make oxamide1 which is a harmless compound4 ,the maid put ,mrs4 ,boncour to bed1 saved4 ,i went to my house1 a wreck4 ,since then ,i have not left this bed4 ,with my legs paralysed ,i lie here1 expecting each hour to be my last4 ,would you taste an unknown drug again to discover the nature of a probable poison8 asked ,craig4 ,i don't know1 he answered slowly1 but ,i suppose ,i would4 ,in such a case a conscientious doctor has no thought of self4 ,he is there to do things1 and he does them1 according to the best that is in him4 ,in spite of the fact that ,i haven't had one hour of unbroken sleep since that fatal day1 ,i suppose ,i would do it again4 ,when we were leaving1 ,i remarked3 ,that is a martyr to science4 ,could anything be more dramatic than his willing penalty for his devotion to medicine8 ,we walked along in silence4 ,walter1 did you notice he said not a word of condemnation of ,dixon1 though the note was before his eyes8 ,surely ,dixon has some strong supporters in ,danbridge1 as well as enemies4 ,the next morning we continued our investigation4 ,we found ,dixon's lawyer1 ,leland1 in consultation with his client in the bare cell of the county jail4 ,dixon proved to be a clear-eyed1 clean-cut young man4 ,the thing that impressed me most about him1 aside from the prepossession in his favour due to the faith of ,alma ,willard1 was the nerve he displayed1 whether guilty or innocent4 ,even an innocent man might well have been staggered by the circumstantial evidence against him and the high tide of public feeling1 in spite of the support that he was receiving4 ,leland1 we learned1 had been very active4 ,by prompt work at the time of the young doctor's arrest he had managed to secure the greater part of ,dr4 ,dixon's personal letters1 though the prosecutor secured some1 the contents of which had not been disclosed4 ,kennedy spent most of the day in tracing out the movements of ,thurston4 ,nothing that proved important was turned up1 and even visits to near-by towns failed to show any sales of cyanide or sublimate to any one not entitled to buy them4 ,meanwhile1 in turning over the gossip of the town1 one of the newspapermen ran across the fact that the ,boncour bungalow was owned by the ,posts1 and that ,halsey ,post1 as the executor of the estate1 was a more frequent visitor than the mere collection of the rent would warrant4 ,mrs4 ,boncour maintained a stolid silence that covered a seething internal fury when the newspaperman in question hinted that the landlord and tenant were on exceptionally good terms4 ,it was after a fruitless day of such search that we were sitting in the reading-room of the ,fairfield ,hotel4 ,leland entered4 ,his face was positively white4 ,without a word he took us by the arm and led us across ,main ,street and up a flight of stairs to his office4 ,then he locked the door4 ,what's the matter8 asked ,kennedy4 ,when ,i took this case1 he said1 ,i believed down in my heart that ,dixon was innocent4 ,i still believe it1 but my faith has been rudely shaken4 ,i feel that you should know about what ,i have just found4 ,as ,i told you1 we secured nearly all of ,dr4 ,dixon's letters4 ,i had not read them all then4 ,but ,i have been going through them to-night4 ,here is a letter from ,vera ,lytton herself4 ,you will notice it is dated the day of her death4 ,he laid the letter before us4 ,it was written in a curious greyish-black ink in a woman's hand1 and read3 ,,dear ,,harris3 ,since we agreed to disagree we have at least been good friends1 if no longer lovers4 ,i am not writing in anger to reproach you with your new love1 so soon after the old4 ,i suppose ,alma ,willard is far better suited to be your wife than is a poor little actress - rather looked down on in this ,puritan society here4 ,but there is something ,i wish to warn you about1 for it concerns us all intimately4 ,we are in danger of an awful mix-up if we don't look out4 ,mr4 ,thurston - ,i had almost said my husband1 though ,i don't know whether that is the truth or not - who has just come over from ,new ,york1 tells me that there is some doubt about the validity of our divorce4 ,you recall he was in the ,south at the time ,i sued him1 and the papers were served on him in ,georgia4 ,he now says the proof of service was fraudulent and that he can set aside the divorce4 ,in that case you might figure in a suit for alienating my affections4 ,i do not write this with ill will1 but simply to let you know how things stand4 ,if we had married1 ,i suppose ,i would be guilty of bigamy4 ,at any rate1 if he were disposed he could make a terrible scandal4 ,oh1 ,harris1 can't you settle with him if he asks anything8 ,don't forget so soon that we once thought we were going to be the happiest of mortals - at least ,i did4 ,don't desert me1 or the very earth will cry out against you4 ,i am frantic and hardly know what ,i am writing4 ,my head aches1 but it is my heart that is breaking4 ,harris1 ,i am yours still1 down in my heart1 but not to be cast off like an old suit for a new one4 ,you know the old saying about a woman scorned4 ,i beg you not to go back on ,your poor little deserted ,,vera4 ,as we finished reading1 ,leland exclaimed1 ,that never must come before the jury4 ,kennedy was examining the letter carefully4 ,strange1 he muttered4 ,see how it was folded4 ,it was written on the wrong side of the sheet1 or rather folded up with the writing outside4 ,where have these letters been8 ,part of the time in my safe1 part of the time this afternoon on my desk by the window4 ,the office was locked1 ,i suppose8 asked ,kennedy4 ,there was no way to slip this letter in among the others since you obtained them8 ,none4 ,the office has been locked1 and there is no evidence of any one having entered or disturbed a thing4 ,he was hastily running over the pile of letters as if looking to see whether they were all there4 ,suddenly he stopped4 ,yes1 he exclaimed excitedly1 one of them is gone4 ,nervously he fumbled through them again4 ,one is gone1 he repeated1 looking at us1 startled4 ,what was it about8 asked ,craig4 ,it was a note from an artist1 ,thurston1 who gave the address of ,mrs4 ,boncour's bungalow - ah1 ,i see you have heard of him4 ,he asked ,dixon's recommendation of a certain patent headache medicine4 ,i thought it possibly evidential1 and ,i asked ,dixon about it4 ,he explained it by saying that he did not have a copy of his reply1 but as near as he could recall1 he wrote that the compound would not cure a headache except at the expense of reducing heart action dangerously4 ,he says he sent no prescription4 ,indeed1 he thought it a scheme to extract advice without incurring the charge for an office call and answered it only because he thought ,vera had become reconciled to ,thurston again4 ,i can't find that letter of ,thurston's4 ,it is gone4 ,we looked at each other in amazement4 ,why1 if ,dixon contemplated anything against ,miss ,lytton1 should he preserve this letter from her8 mused ,kennedy4 ,why didn't he destroy it8 ,that's what puzzles me1 remarked ,leland4 ,do you suppose some one has broken in and substituted this ,lytton letter for the ,thurston letter8 ,kennedy was scrutinising the letter1 saying nothing4 ,i may keep it8 he asked at length4 ,leland was quite willing and even undertook to obtain some specimens of the writing of ,vera ,lytton4 ,with these and the letter ,kennedy was working far into the night and long after ,i had passed into a land troubled with many wild dreams of deadly poisons and secret intrigues of artists4 ,the next morning a message from our old friend ,first ,deputy ,o',connor in ,new ,york told briefly of locating the rooms of an artist named ,thurston in one of the co-operative studio apartments4 ,thurston himself had not been there for several days and was reported to have gone to ,maine to sketch4 ,he had had a number of debts1 but before he left they had all been paid - strange to say1 by a notorious firm of ,shyster lawyers1 ,kerr ,kimmel4 ,kennedy wired back to find out the facts from ,kerr ,kimmel and to locate ,thurston at any cost4 ,even the discovery of the new letter did not shake the wonderful self-possession of ,dr4 ,dixon4 ,he denied ever having received it and repeated his story of a letter from ,thurston to which he had replied by sending an answer1 care of ,mrs4 ,boncour1 as requested4 ,he insisted that the engagement between ,miss ,lytton and himself had been broken before the announcement of his engagement with ,miss ,willard4 ,as for ,thurston1 he said the man was little more than a name to him4 ,he had known perfectly all the circumstances of the divorce1 but had had no dealings with ,thurston and no fear of him4 ,again and again he denied ever receiving the letter from ,vera ,lytton4 ,kennedy did not tell the ,willards of the new letter4 ,the strain had begun to tell on ,alma1 and her father had had her quietly taken to a farm of his up in the country4 ,to escape the curious eyes of reporters1 ,halsey ,post had driven up one night in his closed car4 ,she had entered it quickly with her father1 and the journey had been made in the car1 while ,halsey ,post had quietly dropped off on the outskirts of the town1 where another car was waiting to take him back4 ,it was evident that the ,willard family relied implicitly on ,halsey1 and his assistance to them was most considerate4 ,while he never forced himself forward1 he kept in close touch with the progress of the case1 and now that ,alma was away his watchfulness increased proportionately1 and twice a day he wrote a long report which was sent to her4 ,kennedy was now bending every effort to locate the missing artist4 ,when he left ,danbridge1 he seemed to have dropped out of sight completely4 ,however1 with ,o',connor's aid1 the police of all ,new ,england were on the lookout4 ,the ,thurstons had been friends of ,halsey's before ,vera ,lytton had ever met ,dr4 ,dixon1 we discovered from the ,danbridge gossips1 and ,i1 at least1 jumped to the conclusion that ,halsey was shielding the artist1 perhaps through a sense of friendship when he found that ,kennedy was interested in ,thurston's movement4 ,i must say ,i rather liked ,halsey1 for he seemed very thoughtful of the ,willards1 and was never too busy to give an hour or so to any commission they wished carried out without publicity44 ,two days passed with not a word from ,thurston4 ,kennedy was obviously getting impatient4 ,one day a rumour was received that he was in ,bar ,harbour2 the next it was a report from ,nova ,scotia4 ,at last1 however1 came the welcome news that he had been located in ,new ,hampshire1 arrested1 and might be expected the next day4 ,at once ,kennedy became all energy4 ,he arranged for a secret conference in ,senator ,willard's house1 the moment the artist was to arrive4 ,the senator and his daughter made a flying trip back to town4 ,nothing was said to any one about ,thurston1 but ,kennedy quietly arranged with the district attorney to be present with the note and the jar of ammonia properly safeguarded4 ,leland of course came1 although his client could not4 ,halsey ,post seemed only too glad to be with ,miss ,willard1 though he seemed to have lost interest in the case as soon as the ,willards returned to look after it themselves4 ,mrs4 ,boncour was well enough to attend1 and even ,dr4 ,waterworth insisted on coming in a private ambulance which drove over from a near-by city especially for him4 ,the time was fixed just before the arrival of the train that was to bring ,thurston4 ,it was an anxious gathering of friends and foes of ,dr4 ,dixon who sat impatiently waiting for ,kennedy to begin this momentous exposition that was to establish the guilt or innocence of the calm young physician who sat impassively in the jail not half a mile from the room where his life and death were being debated4 ,in many respects this is the most remarkable case that it has ever been my lot to handle1 began ,kennedy4 ,never before have ,i felt so keenly my sense of responsibility4 ,therefore1 though this is a somewhat irregular proceeding1 let me begin by setting forth the facts as ,i see them4 ,first1 let us consider the dead woman4 ,the question that arises here is1 ,was she murdered or did she commit suicide8 ,i think you will discover the answer as ,i proceed4 ,miss ,lytton1 as you know1 was1 two years ago1 ,mrs4 ,burgess ,thurston4 ,the ,thurstons had temperament1 and temperament is quite often the highway to the divorce court4 ,it was so in this case4 ,mrs4 ,thurston discovered that her husband was paying much attention to other women4 ,she sued for divorce in ,new ,york1 and he accepted service in the ,south1 where he happened to be4 ,at least it was so testified by ,mrs4 ,thurston's lawyer4 ,now here comes the remarkable feature of the case4 ,the law firm of ,kerr ,kimmel1 ,i find1 not long ago began to investigate the#bj legality of this divorce4 ,before a notary ,thurston made an affidavit that he had never been served by the lawyer for ,miss ,lytton1 as she was now known4 ,her lawyer is dead1 but his representative in the ,south who served the papers is alive4 ,he was brought to ,new ,york and asserted squarely that he had served the papers properly4 ,here is where the shrewdness of ,mose ,kimmel1 the shyster lawyer1 came in4 ,he arranged to have the ,southern attorney identify the man he had served the papers on4 ,for this purpose he was engaged in conversation with one of his own clerks when the lawyer was due to appear4 ,kimmel appeared to act confused1 as if he had been caught napping4 ,the ,southern lawyer1 who had seen ,thurston only once1 fell squarely into the trap and identified the clerk as ,thurston4 ,there were plenty of witnesses to it1 and it was point number two for the great ,mose ,kimmel4 ,papers were drawn up to set aside the divorce decree4 ,in the meantime1 ,miss ,lytton1 or ,mrs4 ,thurston1 had become acquainted with a young doctor in a ,new ,york hospital1 and had become engaged to him4 ,it matters not that the engagement was later broken4 ,the fact remains that if the divorce were set aside an action would lie against ,dr4 ,dixon for alienating ,mrs4 ,thurston's affections1 and a grave scandal would result4 ,i need not add that in this quiet little town of ,danbridge the most could be made of such a suit4 ,kennedy was unfolding a piece#bjof paper4 ,as he laid it down1 ,leland1 who was sitting next to me1 exclaimed under his breath3 ,my ,god1 he's going to let the prosecutor know about that letter4 ,can't you stop him8 ,it was too late4 ,kennedy had already begun to read ,vera's letter4 ,it was damning to ,dixon1 added to the other note found in the ammonia-jar4 ,when he had finished reading1 you could almost hear the hearts throbbing in the room4 ,a scowl overspread ,senator ,willard's features4 ,alma ,willard was pale and staring wildly at ,kennedy4 ,halsey ,post1 ever solicitous for her1 handed her a glass of water from the table4 ,dr4 ,waterworth had forgotten his pain in his intense attention1 and ,mrs4 ,boncour seemed stunned with astonishment4 ,the prosecuting attorney was eagerly taking notes4 ,in some way1 pursued ,kennedy in an even voice1 this letter was either overlooked in the original correspondence of ,dr4 ,dixon or it was added to it later4 ,i shall come back to that presently4 ,my next point is that ,dr4 ,dixon says he received a letter from ,thurston on the day the artist visited the ,boncour bungalow4 ,it asked about a certain headache compound1 and his reply was brief and1 as nearly as ,i can find out1 read1 ',this compound will not cure your headache except at the expense of reducing heart action dangerously4' ,next comes the tragedy4 ,on the evening of the day that ,thurston#bj eft1 after presumably telling ,miss ,lytton about what ,kerr ,kimmel had discovered1 ,miss ,lytton is found dying with a bottle containing cyanide and sublimate beside her4 ,you are all familiar with the circumstances and with the note discovered in the jar of ammonia4 ,now1 if the prosecutor will be so kind as to let me see that note - thank you1 sir4 ,this is the identical note4 ,you have all heard the various theories of the jar and have read the note4 ,here it is in plain1 cold black and white - in ,dr4 ,dixon's own handwriting1 as you know1 and reads3 ',this will cure your headache4 ,dr4 ,dixon4' ,alma ,willard seemed as one paralysed4 ,was ,kennedy1 who had been engaged by her father to defend her fianc#hb1 about to convict him8 ,before we draw the final conclusion1 continued ,kennedy gravely1 there are one or two points ,i wish to elaborate4 ,walter1 will you open that door into the main hall8 ,i did so1 and two policemen stepped in with a prisoner4 ,it was ,thurston1 but changed almost beyond recognition4 ,his clothes were worn1 his beard shaved off1 and he had a generally hunted appearance4 ,thurston was visibly nervous4 ,apparently he had heard all that ,kennedy had said and intended he should hear1 for as he entered he almost broke away from the police officers in his eagerness to speak4 ,before ,god1 he cried dramatically1 ,i am as innocent as you are of this crime1 ,professor ,kennedy4 ,are you prepared to swear before me1 almost shouted ,kennedy1 his eyes blazing1 that you were never served properly by your wife's lawyers in that suit8 ,the man cringed back as if a stinging blow had been delivered between his eyes4 ,as he met ,craig's fixed glare he knew there was no hope4 ,slowly1 as if the words were being wrung from him syllable by syllable1 he said in a muffled voice3 ,no1 ,i perjured myself4 ,i was served in that suit4 ,but - ,and you swore falsely before ,kimmel that you were not8 persisted ,kennedy4 ,yes1 he murmured4 ,but - ,and you are prepared now to make another affidavit to that effect8 ,yes1 he replied4 ,if - ,no buts or ifs1 ,thurston1 cried ,kennedy sarcastically4 ,what did you make that affidavit for8 ,what is your story8 ,kimmel sent for me4 ,i did not go to him4 ,he offered to pay my debts if ,i would swear to such a statement4 ,i did not ask why or for whom4 ,i swore to it and gave him a list of my creditors4 ,i waited until they were paid4 ,then my conscience - ,i could not help revolting at the thought of conscience in such a wretch1 and the word itself seemed to stick in his throat as he went on and saw how feeble an impression he was making on us - my conscience began to trouble me4 ,i determined to see ,vera1 tell her all1 and find out whether it was she who wanted this statement4 ,i saw her4 ,when at last ,i told her1 she scorned me4 ,i can confirm that1 for as ,i left a man entered4 ,i now knew how grossly ,i had sinned1 in listening to ,mose ,kimmel4 ,i fled4 ,i disappeared in ,maine4 ,i travelled4 ,every day my money grew less4 ,at last ,i was overtaken1 captured1 and brought back here4 ,he stopped and sank wretchedly down in a chair and covered his face with his hands4 ,a likely story1 muttered ,leland in my ear4 ,kennedy was working quickly4 ,motioning the officers to be seated by ,thurston1 he uncovered a jar which he had placed on the table4 ,the colour had now appeared in ,alma's cheeks1 as if hope had again sprung in her heart1 and ,i fancied that ,halsey ,post saw his claim on her favour declining correspondingly4 ,i want you to examine the letters in this case with me1 continued ,kennedy4 ,take the letter which ,i read from ,miss ,lytton1 which was found following the strange disappearance of the note from ,thurston4 ,he dipped a pen into a little bottle1 and wrote on a piece of paper3 ,what is your opinion about ,cross's ,headache ,cure8 ,would you recommend it for a nervous headache8 ,,burgess ,,thurston1 c_/o ,mrs4 ,s4 ,,boncour4 ,craig held up the writing so that we could all see that he had written what ,dixon declared ,thurston wrote in the note that had disappeared4 ,then he dipped another pen into a second bottle1 and for some time he scrawled on another sheet of paper4 ,he held it up1 but it was still perfectly blank4 ,now1 he added1 ,i am going to give a little demonstration which ,i expect to be successful only in a measure4 ,here in the open sunshine by this window ,i am going to place these two sheets of paper side by side4 ,it will take longer than ,i care to wait to make my demonstration complete1 but ,i can do enough to convince you4 ,for a quarter of an hour we sat in silence1 wondering what he would do next4 ,at last he beckoned us over to the window4 ,as we approached he said1 ,on sheet number one ,i have written with quinoline2 on sheet number two ,i wrote with a solution of nitrate of silver4 ,we bent over4 ,the writing signed ,thurston on sheet number one was faint1 almost imperceptible1 but on paper number two1 in black letters1 appeared what ,kennedy had written3 ,dear ,harris3 ,since we agreed to disagree we have at least been good friends4 ,it is like the start of the substituted letter1 and the other is like the missing note1 gasped ,leland in a daze4 ,yes1 said ,kennedy quickly4 ,leland1 no one entered your office4 ,no one stole the ,thurston note4 ,no one substituted the ,lytton letter4 ,according to your own story1 you took them out of the safe and left them in the sunlight all day4 ,the process that had been started earlier in ordinary light1 slowly1 was now quickly completed4 ,in other words1 there was writing which would soon fade away on one side of the paper and writing which was invisible but would soon appear on the other4 ,for instance1 quinoline rapidly disappears in sunlight4 ,starch with a slight trace of iodine writes a light blue1 which disappears in air4 ,it was something like that used in the ,thurston letter4 ,then1 too1 silver nitrate dissolved in ammonia gradually turns black as it is acted on by light and air4 ,or magenta treated with a bleaching-agent in just sufficient quantity to decolourise it is invisible when used for writing4 ,but the original colour reappears as the oxygen of the air acts upon the pigment4 ,i haven't a doubt but that my analyses of the inks are correct and on one side quinoline was used and on the other nitrate of silver4 ,this explains the inexplicable disappearance of evidence incriminating one person1 ,thurston1 and the sudden appearance of evidence incriminating another1 ,dr4 ,dixon4 ,sympathetic ink also accounts for the curious circumstance that the ,lytton letter was folded up with the writing apparently outside4 ,it was outside and unseen until the sunlight brought it out and destroyed the other1 inside1 writing - a change1 ,i suspect1 that was intended for the police to see after it was completed1 not for the defence to witness as it was taking place4 ,we looked at each other aghast4 ,thurston was nervously opening and shutting his lips and moistening them as if he wanted to say something but could not find the words4 ,lastly1 went on ,craig1 utterly regardless of ,thurston's frantic efforts to speak1 we come to the note that was discovered so queerly crumpled up in the jar of ammonia on ,vera ,lytton's dressing-table4 ,i have here a cylindrical glass jar in which ,i place some sal-ammoniac and quicklime4 ,i will wet it and heat it a little4 ,that produces the pungent gas of ammonia4 ,on one side of this third piece of paper ,i myself write with this mercurous nitrate solution4 ,you see1 ,i leave no mark on the paper as ,i write4 ,i fold it up and drop it into the jar - and in a few seconds withdraw it4 ,here is a very quick way of producing something like the slow result of sunlight with silver nitrate4 ,the fumes of ammonia have formed the precipitate of black mercurous nitrate1 a very distinct black writing which is almost indelible4 ,that is what is technically called invisible rather than sympathetic ink4 ,we leaned over to read what he had written4 ,it was the same as the note incriminating ,dixon3 ,this will cure your headache4 ,dr4 ,,dixon4 ,a servant entered with a telegram from ,new ,york4 ,scarcely stopping in his exposure1 ,kennedy tore it open1 read it hastily1 stuffed it into his pocket1 and went on4 ,here in this fourth bottle ,i have an acid solution of iron chloride1 diluted until the writing is invisible when dry1 he hurried on4 ,i will just make a few scratches on this fourth sheet of paper - so4 ,it leaves no mark4 ,but it has the remarkable property of becoming red in vapour of sulpho-cyanide4 ,here is a long-necked flask of the gas1 made by sulphuric acid acting on potassium sulphocyanide4 ,keep back1 ,dr4 ,waterworth1 for it would be very dangerous for you to get even a whiff of this in your condition4 ,ah6 ,see - the scratches ,i made on the paper are red4 ,then hardly giving us more than a moment to let the fact impress itself on our minds1 he seized the piece of paper and dashed it into the jar of ammonia4 ,when he withdrew it1 it was just a plain sheet of white paper again4 ,the red marks which the gas in the flask had brought out of nothingness had been effaced by the ammonia4 ,they had gone and left no trace4 ,in this way ,i can alternately make the marks appear and disappear by using the sulpho-cyanide and the ammonia4 ,whoever wrote this note with ,dr4 ,dixon's name on it must have had the doctor's reply to the ,thurston letter containing the words1 ',this will not cure your headache4' ,he carefully traced the words1 holding the genuine note up to the light with a piece of paper over it1 leaving out the word 'not' and using only such words as he needed4 ,this note was then destroyed4 ,but he forgot that after he had brought out the red writing by the use of the sulpho-cyanide1 and though he could count on ,vera ,lytton's placing the note in the jar of ammonia and hence obliterating the writing1 while at the same time the invisible writing in the mercurous nitrate involving ,dr4 ,dixon's name would be brought out by the ammonia indelibly on the other side of the note - he forgot - ,kennedy was now speaking eagerly and loudly - that the sulpho-cyanide vapours could always be made to bring back to accuse him the words that the ammonia had blotted out4 ,before the prosecutor could interfere1 ,kennedy had picked up the note found in the ammonia-jar beside the dying girl and had jammed the state's evidence into the long-necked flask of sulpho-cyanide vapour4 ,don't fear1 he said1 trying to pacify the now furious prosecutor1 it will do nothing to the ,dixon writing4 ,that is permanent now1 even if it is only a tracing4 ,when he withdrew the note1 there was writing on both sides1 the black of the original note and something in red on the other side4 ,we crowded around1 and ,craig read it with as much interest as any of us3 ,before taking the headache-powder1 be sure to place the contents of this paper in a jar with a little warm water4 ,hum1 commented ,craig1 this was apparently on the outside wrapper of a paper folded about some sal-ammoniac and quicklime4 ,it goes on3 ',just drop the whole thing in1 paper and all4 ,then if you feel a faintness from the medicine the ammonia will quickly restore you4 ,one spoonful of the headache-powder swallowed quickly is enough4' ,no name was signed to the directions1 but they were plainly written1 and paper and all was underscored heavily4 ,craig pulled out some letters4 ,i have here specimens of writing of many persons connected with this case1 but ,i can see at a glance which one corresponds to the writing on this red death-warrant by an almost inhuman fiend4 ,i shall1 however1 leave that part of it to the handwriting experts to determine at the trial4 ,thurston1 who was the man whom you saw enter the ,boncour bungalow as you left - the constant visitor8 ,thurston had not yet regained his self-control1 but with trembling forefinger he turned and pointed to ,halsey ,post4 ,yes1 ladies and gentlemen1 cried ,kennedy as he slapped the telegram that had just come from ,new ,york down on the table decisively1 yes1 the real client of ,kerr ,kimmel1 who bent ,thurston to his purposes1 was ,halsey ,post1 once secret lover of ,vera ,lytton till threatened by scandal in ,danbridge - ,halsey ,post1 graduate in technology1 student of sympathetic inks1 forger of the ,vera ,lytton letter and the other notes1 and dealer in cyanides in the silver-smithing business1 fortune-hunter for the ,willard millions with which to recoup the ,post ,vance losses1 and hence rival of ,dr4 ,dixon for the love of ,alma ,willard4 ,that is the man who wielded the poisoned pen4 ,dr4 ,dixon is innocent4 ,,ii ,,the ,,yeggman ,hello6 ,yes1 this is ,professor ,kennedy4 ,i didn't catch the name - oh1 yes - ,president ,blake of the ,standard ,burglary ,insurance ,company4 ,what - really8 ,the ,branford pearls - stolen8 ,maid chloroformed8 ,yes1 ,i'll take the case4 ,you'll be up in half an hour8 ,all right1 ,i'll be here4 ,goodbye4 ,it was through this brief and businesslike conversation over the telephone that ,kennedy became involved in what proved to be one of the most dangerous cases he had ever handled4 ,at the mention of the ,branford pearls ,i involuntarily stopped reading1 and listened1 not because ,i wanted to pry into ,craig's affairs1 but because ,i simply couldn't help it4 ,this was news that had not yet been given out to the papers1 and my instinct told me that there must be something more to it than the bare statement of the robbery4 ,some one has made a rich haul1 ,i commented4 ,it was reported1 ,i remember1 when the ,branford pearls were bought in ,paris last year that ,mrs4 ,branford paid upward of a million francs for the collection4 ,blake is bringing up his shrewdest detective to co-operate with me in the case1 added ,kennedy4 ,blake1 ,i understand1 is the head of the ,burglary ,insurance ,underwriters' ,association1 too4 ,this will be a big thing1 ,walter1 if we can carry it through4 ,it was the longest half-hour that ,i ever put in1 waiting for ,blake to arrive4 ,when he did come1 it was quite evident that my surmise had been correct4 ,blake was one of those young old men who are increasingly common in business to-day4 ,there was an air of dignity and keenness about his manner that showed clearly how important he regarded the case4 ,so anxious was he to get down to business that he barely introduced himself and his companion1 ,special ,officer ,maloney1 a typical private detective4 ,of course you haven't heard anything except what ,i have told you over the wire1 he began1 going right to the point4 ,we were notified of it only this noon ourselves1 and we haven't given it out to the papers yet1 though the local police in ,jersey are now on the scene4 ,the ,new ,york police must be notified to-night1 so that whatever we do must be done before they muss things up4 ,we've got a clue that we want to follow up secretly4 ,these are the facts4 ,in the terse1 straightforward language of the up-to-date man of efficiency1 he sketched the situation for us4 ,the ,branford estate1 you know1 consists of several acres on the mountain back of ,montclair1 overlooking the valley1 and surrounded by even larger estates4 ,branford1 ,i understand1 is in the ,west with a party of capitalists1 inspecting a reported find of potash salts4 ,mrs4 ,branford closed up the house a few days ago and left for a short stay at ,palm ,beach4 ,of course they ought to have put their valuables in a safe deposit vault4 ,but they didn't4 ,they relied on a safe that was really one of the best in the market - a splendid safe1 ,i may say4 ,well1 it seems that while the master and mistress were both away the servants decided on having a good time in ,new ,york4 ,they locked up the house securely - there's no doubt of that - and just went4 ,that is1 they all went except ,mrs4 ,branford's maid1 who refused to go for some reason or other4 ,we've got all the servants1 but there's not a clue to be had from any of them4 ,they just went off on a bust1 that's clear4 ,they admit it4 ,now1 when they got back early this morning they found the maid in bed - dead4 ,there was still a strong odour of chloroform about the room4 ,the bed was disarranged as if there had been a struggle4 ,a towel had been wrapped up in a sort3 of cone1 saturated with chloroform1 and forcibly held over the girl's nose4 ,the next thing they discovered was the safe - blown open in a most peculiar manner4 ,i won't dwell on that4 ,we're going to take you out there and show it to you after ,i've told you the whole story4 ,here's the real point4 ,it looks all right1 so far4 ,the local police say that the thief or thieves1 whoever they were1 apparently gained access by breaking a back window4 ,that's mistake number one4 ,tell ,mr4 ,kennedy about the window1 ,maloney4 ,it's just simply this1 responded the detective4 ,when ,i came to look at the broken window ,i found that the glass had fallen outside in such a way as it could not have fallen if the window had been broken from the outside4 ,the thing was a blind4 ,whoever did it got into the house in some other way and then broke the glass later to give a false clue4 ,and1 concluded ,blake1 taking his cigar between his thumb and forefinger and shaking it to give all possible emphasis to his words1 we have had our agent at ,palm ,beach on long-distance 'phone twice this afternoon4 ,mrs4 ,branford did no3 go to ,palm ,beach4 ,she did not engage rooms in any hotel there4 ,and furthermore she never had any intention of going there4 ,by a fortunate circumstance ,maloney picked up a hint from one of the servants1 and he has located her at the ,grattan ,inn in this city4 ,in other words1 ,mrs4 ,branford has stolen her own jewels from herself in order to collect the burglary insurance - a common-enough thing in itself1 but never to my knowledge done on such a large scale before4 ,the insurance man sank back in his chair and surveyed us sharply4 ,but1 interrupted ,kennedy slowly1 how about - ,i know - the maid1 continued ,blake4 ,i do not mean that ,mrs4 ,branford did the actual stealing4 ,oh1 no4 ,that was done by a yeggman of experience4 ,he must have been above the average1 but everything points to the work of a yeggman4 ,she hired him4 ,but he overstepped the mark when he chloroformed the maid4 ,for a moment ,kennedy said nothing4 ,then he remarked3 ,let us go out and see the safe4 ,there must be some clue4 ,after that ,i want to have a talk with ,mrs4 ,branford4 ,by the way1 he added1 as we all rose to go down to ,blake's car1 ,i once handled a life insurance case for the ,great ,eastern4 ,i made the condition that ,i was to handle it in my own way1 whether it went for or against the company4 ,that's understood1 is it1 before ,i undertake the case8 ,yes1 yes1 agreed ,blake4 ,get at the truth4 ,we're not seeking to squirm out of meeting an honest liability4 ,only we want to make a signal example if it is as we have every reason to believe4 ,there has been altogether too much of this sort of fake burglary to collect insurance1 and as president of the underwriters it is my duty and intention to put a stop to it4 ,come on4 ,maloney nodded his head vigorously in assent with his chief4 ,never fear1 he murmured4 ,the truth is what will benefit the company1 all right4 ,she did it4 ,the ,branford estate lay some distance back from the railroad station1 so that1 although it took longer to go by automobile than by train1 the car made us independent of the rather fitful night train service and the local cabmen4 ,we found the house not deserted by the servants1 but subdued4 ,the body of the maid had been removed to a local morgue1 and a police officer was patrolling the grounds1 though of what use that could be ,i was at a loss to understand4 ,kennedy was chiefly interested in the safe4 ,it was of the so-called burglar-proof variety1 spherical in shape1 and looking for all the world like a miniature piece of electrical machinery4 ,i doubt if anything could have withstood such savage treatment as has been given to this safe1 remarked ,craig as he concluded a cursory examination of it4 ,it shows great resistance to high explosives1 chiefly1 ,i believe1 as a result of its rounded shape4 ,but nothing could stand up against such continued assaults4 ,he continued to examine the safe while we stood idly by4 ,i like to reconstruct my cases in my own mind1 explained ,kennedy1 as he took his time in the examination4 ,now1 this fellow must have stripped the safe of all the outer trimmings4 ,his next move was to make a dent in the manganese surface across the joint where the door fits the body4 ,that must have taken a good many minutes of husky work4 ,in fact1 ,i don't see how he could have done it without a sledge-hammer and a hot chisel4 ,still1 he did it and then - ,but the maid1 interposed ,maloney4 ,she was in the house4 ,she would have heard and given an alarm4 ,for answer1 ,craig simply went to a bay-window and raised the curtain4 ,pointing to the lights of the next house1 far down the road1 he said1 ,i'll buy the best cigars in the state if you can make them hear you on a blustery night like last night4 ,no1 she probably did scream4 ,either at this point1 or at the very start1 the burglar must have chloroformed her4 ,i don't see any other way to explain it4 ,i doubt if he expected such a tough proposition as he found in this safe1 but he was evidently prepared to carry it through1 now that he was here and had such an unexpectedly clear field1 except for the maid4 ,he simply got her out of the way1 or his confederates did - in the easiest possible way1 poor girl4 ,returning to the safe1 he continued3 ,well1 anyhow1 he made a furrow perhaps an inch and a half long and a quarter of an inch wide and1 ,i should say1 not over an eighth of an inch deep4 ,then he commenced to burgle in earnest4 ,under the dent he made a sort of little cup of red clay and poured in the 'soup' - the nitroglycerin - so that it would run into the depression4 ,then he exploded it in the regular way with a battery and a fulminate cap4 ,i doubt if it did much more than discolour the metal at first4 ,still1 with the true persistency of his kind1 he probably repeated the dose1 using more and more of the 'soup' until the joint was stretched a little1 and more of an opening made so that the 'soup' could run in4 ,again and again he must have repeated and increased the charges4 ,perhaps he used two or three cups at a time4 ,by this time the outer door must have been stretched so as to make it easy to introduce the explosive4 ,no doubt he was able to use ten or twelve ounces of the stuff at a charge4 ,it must have been more like target-practice than safe-blowing4 ,but the chance doesn't often come - an empty house and plenty of time4 ,finally the door must have bulged a fraction of an inch or so1 and then a good big charge and the outer portion was ripped off and the safe turned over4 ,there was still two or three inches of manganese steel protecting the contents1 wedged in so tight that it must have seemed that nothing could budge it4 ,but he must have kept at it until we have the wreck that we see here1 and ,kennedy kicked the safe with his foot as he finished4 ,blake was all attention by this time1 while ,maloney gasped1 ,if ,i was in the safe-cracking business1 ,i'd make you the head of the firm4 ,and now1 said ,craig1 let us go back to ,new ,york and see if we can find ,mrs4 ,branford4 ,of course you understand1 explained ,blake as we were speeding back1 that most of these cases of fake robberies are among small people1 many of them on the ,east ,side among little jewellers or other tradesmen4 ,still1 they are not limited to any one class4 ,indeed1 it is easier to foil the insurance companies when you sit in the midst of finery and wealth1 protected by a self-assuring halo of moral rectitude1 than under less fortunate circumstances4 ,too often1 ,i'm afraid1 we have good-naturedly admitted the unsolved burglary and paid the insurance claim4 ,that has got to stop4 ,here's a case where we considered the moral hazard a safe one1 and we are mistaken4 ,it's the last straw4 ,our interview with ,mrs4 ,branford was about as awkward an undertaking as ,i have ever been concerned with4 ,imagine yourself forced to question a perfectly stunning woman1 who was suspected of plotting so daring a deed and knew that you suspected her4 ,resentment was no name for her feelings4 ,she scorned us1 loathed us4 ,it was only by what must have been the utmost exercise of her remarkable will-power that she restrained herself from calling the hotel porters and having us thrown out bodily4 ,that would have put a bad face on it1 so she tolerated our presence4 ,then1 of course1 the insurance company had reserved the right to examine everybody in the household1 under oath if necessary1 before passing on the claim4 ,this is an outrage1 she exclaimed1 her eyes flashing and her breast rising and falling with suppressed emotion1 an outrage4 ,when my husband returns ,i intend to have him place the whole matter in the hands of the best attorney in the city4 ,not only will ,i have the full amount of the insurance1 but ,i will have damages and costs and everything the law allows4 ,spying on my every movement in this way - it is an outrage6 ,one would think we were in ,st4 ,petersburg instead of ,new ,york4 ,one moment1 ,mrs4 ,branford1 put in ,kennedy1 as politely as he could4 ,suppose - ,suppose nothing1 she cried angrily4 ,i shall explain nothing1 say nothing4 ,what if ,i do choose to close up that lonely big house in the suburbs and come to the city to live for a few days - is it anybody's business except mine8 ,and your husband's8 added ,kennedy1 nettled at her treatment of him4 ,she shot him a scornful glance4 ,i suppose ,mr4 ,branford went out to ,arizona for the express purpose of collecting insurance on my jewels1 she added sarcastically with eyes that snapped fire4 ,i was about to say1 remarked ,kennedy as imperturbably as if he were an automaton1 that supposing some one took advantage of your absence to rob your safe1 don't you think the wisest course would be to be perfectly frank about it8 ,and give just one plausible reason why you wished so much to have it known that you were going to ,palm ,beach when in reality you were in ,new ,york8 pursued ,maloney1 while ,kennedy frowned at his tactless attempt at a third degree4 ,if she had resented ,kennedy1 she positively flew up in the air and commenced to aviate at ,maloney's questioning4 ,tossing her head1 she said icily3 ,i do not know that you have been appointed my guardian1 sir4 ,let us consider this interview at an end4 ,good-night1 and with that she swept out of the room1 ignoring ,maloney and bestowing one biting glance on ,blake1 who actually winced1 so little relish did he have for this ticklish part of the proceedings4 ,i think we all felt like schoolboys who had been detected robbing a melon-patch or in some other heinous offence1 as we slowly filed down the hall to the elevator4 ,a woman of ,mrs4 ,branford's stamp so readily and successfully puts one in the wrong that ,i could easily comprehend why ,blake wanted to call on ,kennedy for help in what otherwise seemed a plain case4 ,blake and ,maloney were some distance ahead of us1 as ,craig leaned over to me and whispered3 ,that ,maloney is impossible4 ,i'll have to shake him loose in some way4 ,either we handle this case alone or we quit4 ,right-o1 ,i agreed emphatically4 ,he's put his foot in it badly at the very start4 ,only1 be decent about it1 ,craig4 ,the case is too big for you to let it slip by4 ,trust me1 ,walter4 ,i'll do it tactfully1 he whispered1 then to ,blake he added as we overtook them3 ,maloney is right4 ,the case is simple enough1 after all4 ,but we must find out some way to fasten the thing more closely on ,mrs4 ,branford4 ,let me think out a scheme to-night4 ,i'll see you to-morrow4 ,as ,blake and ,maloney disappeared down the street in the car1 ,kennedy wheeled about and walked deliberately back into the ,grattan ,inn again4 ,it was quite late4 ,people were coming in from the theatres1 laughing and chatting gaily4 ,kennedy selected a table that commanded a view of the parlour as well as of the dining-room itself4 ,she was dressed to receive some one - did you notice8 he remarked as we sat down and cast our eyes over the dizzy array of inedibles on the card before us4 ,i think it is worth waiting a while to see who it is4 ,having ordered what ,i did not want1 ,i glanced about until my eye rested on a large pier-glass at the other end of the dining-room4 ,craig1 ,i whispered excitedly1 ,mrs4 ,b4 is in the writing-room - ,i can see her in that glass at the end of the room1 behind you4 ,get up and change places with me as quietly as you can1 ,walter1 he said quickly4 ,i want to see her when she can't see me4 ,kennedy was staring in rapt attention at the mirror4 ,there's a man with her1 ,walter1 he said under his breath4 ,he came in while we were changing places - a fine-looking chap4 ,by ,jove1 ,i've seen him before somewhere4 ,his face and his manner are familiar to me4 ,but ,i simply can't place him4 ,did you see her wraps in the chair8 ,no8 ,well1 he's helping her on with them4 ,they're going out4 ,garcon1 l'addition - vite4 ,we were too late1 however1 for just as we reached the door we caught a fleeting glimpse of a huge new limousine4 ,who was that man who just went out with the lady8 asked ,craig of the negro who turned the revolving-door at the carriage entrance4 ,jack ,delarue1 sah - in ',the ,grass ,widower1' sah1 replied the doorman4 ,yes1 sah1 he stays here once in a while4 ,thank you1 sah1 as ,kennedy dropped a quarter into the man's hand4 ,that complicates things considerably1 he mused as we walked slowly down to the subway station4 ,jack ,delarue - ,i wonder if he is mixed up in this thing also4 ,i've heard that ',the ,grass ,widower' isn't such a howling success as a money-maker1 ,i volunteered4 ,delarue has a host of creditors1 no doubt4 ,by the way1 ,craig1 ,i exclaimed1 don't you think it would be a good plan to drop down and see ,o',connor8 ,the police will have to be informed in a few hours now1 anyhow4 ,maybe ,delarue has a criminal record4 ,a good idea1 ,walter1 agreed ,craig1 turning into a drug-store which had a telephone booth4 ,i'll just call ,o',connor up1 and we'll see if he does know anything about it4 ,o',connor was not at headquarters1 but we finally found him at his home1 and it was well into the small hours when we arrived there4 ,trusting to the first deputy's honour1 which had stood many a test1 ,craig began to unfold the story4 ,he had scarcely got as far as describing the work of the suspected hired yeggman1 when ,o',connor raised both hands and brought them down hard on the arms of his chair4 ,say1 he ejaculated1 that explains it6 ,what8 we asked in chorus4 ,why1 one of my best stool-pigeons told me to-day that there was something doing at a house in the ,chatham ,square district that we have been watching for a long time4 ,it's full of crooks1 and to-day they've all been as drunk as lords1 a sure sign some one has made a haul and been generous with the rest4 ,and one or two of the professional 'fences' have been acting suspiciously1 too4 ,oh1 that explains it all right4 ,i looked at ,craig as much as to say1 ,i told you so1 but he was engrossed in what ,o',connor was saying4 ,you know1 continued the police officer1 there is one particular 'fence' who runs his business under the guise of a loan-shark's office4 ,he probably has a wider acquaintance among the big criminals than any other man in the city4 ,from him crooks can obtain anything from a jimmy to a safe-cracking outfit4 ,i know that this man has been trying to dispose of some unmounted pearls to-day among jewellers in ,maiden ,lane4 ,i'll bet he has been disposing of some of the ,branford pearls1 one by one4 ,i'll follow that up4 ,i'll arrest this 'fence' and hold him till he tells me what yeggman came to him with the pearls4 ,and if you find out1 will you go with me to that house near ,chatham ,square1 providing it was some one in that gang8 asked ,craig eagerly4 ,o',connor shook his head4 ,i'd better keep out of it4 ,they know me too well4 ,go alone4 ,i'll get that stool-pigeon - the ,gay ,cat is his name - to go with you4 ,i'll help you in any way4 ,i'll have any number of plain-clothes men you want ready to raid the place the moment you get the evidence4 ,but you'll never get any evidence if they know ,i'm in the neighbourhood4 ,the next morning ,craig scarcely ate any breakfast himself and made me bolt my food most unceremoniously4 ,we were out in ,montclair again before the commuters had started to go to ,new ,york1 and that in spite of the fact that we had stopped at his laboratory on the way and had got a package which he carried carefully4 ,kennedy instituted a most thorough search of the house from cellar to attic in daylight4 ,what he expected to find1 ,i did not know1 but ,i am quite sure nothing escaped him4 ,now1 ,walter1 he said after he had ransacked the house1 there remains just one place4 ,here is this little wall safe in ,mrs4 ,branford's room4 ,we must open it4 ,for an hour if not longer he worked over the combination1 listening to the fall of the tumblers in the lock4 ,it was a simple little thing and one of the old-timers in the industry would no doubt have opened it in short order4 ,the perspiration stood out on his forehead1 so intent was he in working the thing4 ,at last it yielded4 ,except for some of the family silver1 the safe was empty4 ,carefully noting how the light shone on the wall safe1 ,craig unwrapped the package he had brought and disclosed a camera4 ,he placed it on a writing-desk opposite the safe1 in such a way that it was not at all conspicuous1 and focused it on the safe4 ,this is a camera with a newly-invented between-lens shutter of great illumination and efficiency1 he explained4 ,it has always been practically impossible to get such pictures1 but this new shutter has so much greater speed than anything ever invented before that it is possible to use it in detective work4 ,i'll just run these fine wires like a burglar alarm1 only instead of having an alarm ,i'll attach them to the camera so that we can get a picture4 ,i've proved its speed up to one two-thousandth of a second4 ,it may or it may not work4 ,if it does we'll catch somebody1 right in the act4 ,about noon we went down to ,liberty ,street1 home of burglary insurance4 ,i don't think ,blake liked it very much because ,kennedy insisted on playing the lone hand1 but he said nothing1 for it was part of the agreement4 ,maloney seemed rather glad than otherwise4 ,he had been combing out some tangled clues of his own about ,mrs4 ,branford4 ,still1 ,kennedy smoothed things over by complimenting the detective on his activity1 and indeed he had shown remarkable ability in the first place in locating ,mrs4 ,branford4 ,i started out with the assumption that the ,branfords must have needed money for some reason or other1 said ,maloney4 ,so ,i went to the commercial agencies to-day and looked up ,branford4 ,i can't say he has been prosperous2 nobody has been in ,wall ,street these days1 and that's just the thing that causes an increase in fake burglaries4 ,then there is another possibility1 he continued triumphantly4 ,i had a man up at the ,grattan ,inn1 and he reports to me that ,mrs4 ,branford was seen with the actor ,jack ,delarue last night4 ,i imagine they quarrelled1 for she returned alone1 much agitated1 in a taxi-cab4 ,any way you look at it1 the clues are promising - whether she needed money for ,branford's speculations or for the financing of that rake ,delarue4 ,maloney regarded ,craig with the air of an expert who could afford to patronise a good amateur - but after all an amateur4 ,kennedy said nothing1 and of course ,i took the cue4 ,yes1 agreed ,blake1 you see1 our original hypothesis was a pretty good one4 ,meanwhile1 of course1 the police are floundering around in a bog of false scents4 ,it would make our case a good deal stronger1 remarked ,kennedy quietly1 if we could discover some of the stolen jewellery hidden somewhere by ,mrs4 ,branford herself4 ,he said nothing of his own unsuccessful search through the house1 but continued3 ,what do you suppose she has done with the jewels8 ,she must have put them somewhere before she got the yeggman to break the safe4 ,she'd hardly trust them in his hands4 ,but she might have been foolish enough for that4 ,of course it's another possibility that he really got away with them4 ,i doubt if she has them at ,grattan ,inn1 or even if she would personally put them in a safe deposit vault4 ,perhaps ,delarue figures in that end of it4 ,we must let no stone go unturned4 ,that's right1 meditated ,maloney1 apparently turning something over in his mind as if it were a new idea4 ,if we only had some evidence1 even part of the jewels that she had hidden1 it would clinch the case4 ,that's a good idea1 ,kennedy4 ,craig said nothing1 but ,i could see1 or fancied ,i saw1 that he was gratified at the thought that he had started ,maloney off on another trail1 leaving us to follow ours unhampered4 ,the interview with ,blake was soon over1 and as we left ,i looked inquiringly at ,craig4 ,i want to see ,mrs4 ,branford again1 he said4 ,i think we can do better alone to-day than we did last night4 ,i must say ,i half expected that she would refuse to see us and was quite surprised when the page returned with the request that we go up to her suite4 ,it was evident that her attitude toward us was very different from that of the first interview4 ,whether she was ruffled by the official presence of ,blake or the officious presence of ,maloney1 she was at least politely tolerant of us4 ,or was it that she at last began to realise that the toils were closing about her and that things began to look unmistakably black8 ,kennedy was quick to see his advantage4 ,mrs4 ,branford1 he began1 since last night ,i have come into the possession of some facts that are very important4 ,i have heard that several loose pearls which may or may not be yours have been offered for sale by a man on the ,bowery who is what the yeggmen call a 'fence4' ,yeggmen - 'fence'8 she repeated4 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 really ,i do not care to discuss the pearls any longer4 ,it is immaterial to me what becomes of them4 ,my first desire is to collect the insurance4 ,if anything is recovered ,i am quite willing to deduct that amount from the total4 ,but ,i must insist on the full insurance or the return of the pearls4 ,as soon as ,mr4 ,branford arrives ,i shall take other steps to secure redress4 ,a boy rapped at the door and brought in a telegram which she tore open nervously4 ,he will be here in four days1 she said1 tearing the telegram petulantly1 and not at all as if she were glad to receive it4 ,is there anything else that you wish to say8 ,she was tapping her foot on the rug as if anxious to conclude the interview4 ,kennedy leaned forward earnestly and played his trump card boldly4 ,do you remember that scene in ',the ,grass ,widower1' he said slowly1 where ,jack ,delarue meets his runaway wife at the masquerade ball8 ,she coloured slightly1 but instantly regained her composure4 ,vaguely1 she murmured1 toying with the flowers in her dress4 ,in real life1 said ,kennedy1 his voice purposely betraying that he meant it to have a personal application1 husbands do not forgive even rumours of - ah - shall we say affinities8 - much less the fact4 ,in real life1 she replied1 wives do not have affinities as often as some newspapers and plays would have us believe4 ,i saw ,delarue after the performance last night1 went on ,kennedy inexorably4 ,i was not seen1 but ,i saw1 and he was with - ,she was pacing the room now in unsuppressed excitement4 ,will you never stop spying on me8 she cried4 ,must my every act be watched and misrepresented8 ,i suppose a distorted version of the facts will be given to my husband4 ,have you no chivalry1 or justice1 or - or mercy8 she pleaded1 stopping in front of ,kennedy4 ,mrs4 ,branford1 he replied coldly1 ,i cannot promise what ,i shall do4 ,my duty is simply to get at the truth about the pearls4 ,if it involves some other person1 it is still my duty to get at the truth4 ,why not tell me all that you really know about the pearls and trust me to bring it out all right8 ,she faced him1 pale and haggard4 ,i have told1 she repeated steadily4 ,i cannot tell any more - ,i know nothing more4 ,was she lying8 ,i was not expert enough in feminine psychology to judge1 but down in my heart ,i knew that the woman was hiding something behind that forced steadiness4 ,what was it she was battling for8 ,we had reached an impasse4 ,it was after dinner when ,i met ,craig at the laboratory4 ,he had made a trip to ,montclair again1 where his stay had been protracted because ,maloney was there and he wished to avoid him4 ,he had brought back the camera1 and had had another talk with ,o',connor1 at which he had mapped out a plan of battle4 ,we are to meet the ,gay ,cat at the ,city ,hall at nine o'clock1 explained ,craig laconically4 ,we are going to visit a haunt of yeggmen1 ,walter1 that few outsiders have ever seen4 ,are you game8 ,o',connor and his men will be close by - hiding1 of course4 ,i suppose so1 ,i replied slowly4 ,but what excuse are you going to have for getting into this yegg-resort8 ,simply that we are two newspaper men looking for an article1 without names1 dates1 or places - just a good story of yeggmen and tramps4 ,i've got a little - well1 we'll call it a little camera outfit that ,i'm going to sling over my shoulder4 ,you are the reporter1 remember1 and ,i'm the newspaper photographer4 ,they won't pose for us1 of course1 but that will be all right4 ,speaking about photographs1 ,i got one out at ,montclair that is interesting4 ,i'll show it to you later in the evening - and in case anything should happen to me1 ,walter1 you'll find the original plate locked here in the top drawer of my desk4 ,i guess we'd better be getting downtown4 ,the house to which we were guided by the ,gay ,cat was on a cross street within a block or two of ,chatham ,square4 ,if we had passed it casually in the daytime there would have been nothing to distinguish it above the other ramshackle buildings on the street1 except that the other houses were cluttered with children and baby-carriages1 while this one was vacant1 the front door closed1 and the blinds tightly drawn4 ,as we approached1 a furtive figure shambled from the basement areaway and slunk off into the crowd for the night's business of pocket-picking or second-story work4 ,i had had misgivings as to whether we would be admitted at all - ,i might almost say hopes - but the ,gay ,cat succeeded in getting a ready response at the basement door4 ,the house itself was the dilapidated ruin of what had once been a fashionable residence in the days when society lived in the then suburban ,bowery4 ,the iron handrail on the steps was still graceful1 though rusted and insecure4 ,the stones of the steps were decayed and eaten away by time1 and the front door was never opened4 ,as we entered the low basement door1 ,i felt that those who entered here did indeed abandon hope4 ,inside1 the evidences of the past grandeur were still more striking4 ,what had once been a drawing-room was now the general assembly room of the resort4 ,broken-down chairs lined the walls1 and the floor was generously sprinkled with sawdust4 ,a huge pot-bellied stove occupied the centre of the room1 and by it stood a box of sawdust plentifully discoloured with tobacco-juice4 ,three or four of the guests - there was no register in this yeggman's hotel - were seated about the stove discussing something in a language that was ,english1 to be sure1 but of a variation that only a yegg could understand4 ,i noted the once handsome white marble mantel1 now stained by age1 standing above the unused grate4 ,double folding-doors led to what1 ,i imagine1 was once a library4 ,dirt and grime indescribable were everywhere4 ,there was the smell of old clothes and old cooking1 the race odours of every nationality known to the metropolis4 ,i recalled a night ,i once spent in a ,bowery lodging-house for local colour4 ,only this was infinitely worse4 ,no law regulated this house4 ,there was an atmosphere of cheerlessness that a half-thickened ,welsbach mantle turned into positive ghastliness4 ,our guide introduced us4 ,there was a dead silence as eight eyes were craftily fixed on us1 sizing us up4 ,what should ,i say8 ,craig came to the rescue4 ,to him the adventure was a lark4 ,it was novel1 and that was merit enough4 ,ask about the slang1 he suggested4 ,that makes a picturesque story4 ,it seemed to me innocuous enough1 so ,i engaged in conversation with a man whom the ,gay ,cat had introduced as the proprietor4 ,much of the slang ,i already knew by hearsay1 such as bulls for policemen1 a mouthpiece for a lawyer to defend one when he is ditched or arrested2 in fact1 as ,i busily scribbled away ,i must have collected a lexicon of a hundred words or so for future reference4 ,and names8 ,i queried4 ,you have some queer nicknames4 ,oh1 yes1 replied the man4 ,now here's the ,gay ,cat - that's what we call a fellow who is the finder1 who enters a town ahead of the gang4 ,then there's ,chi ,fat - that means he's from ,chicago and fat4 ,and ,pitts ,slim - he's from ,pittsburgh and - ,aw1 cut it1 broke in one of the others4 ,pitts ,slim'll be here to-night4 ,he'll give you the devil if he hears you talking to reporters about him4 ,the proprietor began to talk of less dangerous subjects4 ,craig succeeded in drawing out from him the yegg recipe for making soup4 ,it's here in this cipher1 said the man1 drawing out a dirty piece of paper4 ,it's well known1 and you can have this4 ,here's the key4 ,it was written by ',deafy' ,smith1 and the police pinched it4 ,craig busily translated the curious document3 ,take ten or a dozen sticks of dynamite1 crumble it up fine1 and put it in a pan or washbowl1 then pour over it enough alcohol1 wood or pure1 to cover it well4 ,stir it up well with your hands1 being careful to break all the lumps4 ,leave it set for a few minutes4 ,then get a few yards of cheesecloth and tear it up in pieces and strain the mixture through the cloth into another ,vessel4 ,wring the sawdust dry and throw it away4 ,the remains will be the soup and alcohol mixed4 ,next take the same amount of water as you used of alcohol and pour it in4 ,leave the whole set for a few minutes4 ,very interesting1 commented ,craig4 ,safe-blowing in one lesson by correspondence school4 ,the rest of this tells how to attack various makes1 doesn't it8 ,just then a thin man in a huge1 worn ulster came stamping upstairs from the basement1 his collar up and his hat down over his eyes4 ,there was something indefinably familiar about him1 but as his face and figure were so well concealed1 ,i could not tell just why ,i thought so4 ,catching a glimpse of us1 he beat a retreat across the opposite end of the room1 beckoning to the proprietor1 who joined him outside the door4 ,i thought ,i heard him ask3 ,who are those men8 ,who let them in8 but ,i could not catch the reply4 ,one by one the other occupants of the room rose and sidled out1 leaving us alone with the ,gay ,cat4 ,kennedy reached over to get a cigarette from my case and light it from one that ,i was smoking4 ,that's#bjour man1 ,i think1 he whispered - ,pitts ,slim4 ,i said nothing1 but ,i would have been willing to part with a large section of my bank-account to be up on the ,chatham ,square station of the ,elevated just then4 ,there was a rush from the half-open door behind us4 ,suddenly everything turned black before me2 my eyes swam2 ,i felt a stinging sensation on my head and a weak feeling about the stomach2 ,i sank half-conscious to the floor4 ,all was blank1 but1 dimly1 ,i seemed to be dragged and dropped down hard4 ,how long ,i lay there ,i don't know4 ,kennedy says it was not over five minutes4 ,it may have been so1 but to me it seemed an age4 ,when ,i opened my eyes ,i was lying on my back on a very dirty sofa in another room4 ,kennedy was bending over me with blood streaming from a long deep gash on his head4 ,another figure was groaning in the semi-darkness opposite2 it was the ,gay ,cat4 ,they blackjacked us1 whispered ,kennedy to me as ,i staggered to my feet4 ,then they dragged us through a secret passage into another house4 ,how do you feel8 ,all right1 ,i answered1 bracing myself against a chair1 for ,i was weak from the loss of blood1 and dizzy4 ,i was sore in every joint and muscle4 ,i looked about1 only half comprehending4 ,then my recollection flooded back with a rush4 ,we had been locked in another room after the attack1 and left to be dealt with later4 ,i felt in my pocket4 ,i had left my watch at the laboratory1 but even the dollar watch ,i had taken and the small sum of money in my pocketbook were gone4 ,kennedy still had his camera slung over his shoulder1 where he had fastened it securely4 ,here we were1 imprisoned1 while ,pitts ,slim1 the man we had come after1 whoever he was1 was making his escape4 ,somewhere across the street was ,o',connor1 waiting in a room as we had agreed4 ,there was only one window in our room1 and it opened on a miserable little dumbwaiter air-shaft4 ,it would be hours yet before his suspicions would be aroused and he would discover which of the houses we were held in4 ,meanwhile what might not happen to us8 ,kennedy calmly set up his tripod4 ,one leg had been broken in the rough-house1 but he tied it together with his handkerchief1 now wet with blood4 ,i wondered how he could think of taking a picture4 ,his very deliberation set me fretting and fuming1 and ,i swore at him under my breath4 ,still1 he worked calmly ahead4 ,i saw him take the black box and set it on the tripod4 ,it was indistinct in the darkness4 ,it looked like a camera1 and yet it had some attachment at the side that was queer1 including a little lamp4 ,craig bent and attached some wires about the box4 ,at last he seemed ready4 ,walter1 he whispered1 roll that sofa quietly over against the door4 ,there1 now the table and that bureau1 and wedge the chairs in4 ,keep that door shut at any cost4 ,it's now or never - here goes4 ,he stopped a moment and tinkered with the box on the tripod4 ,hello6 ,hello6 ,hello6 ,is that you1 ,o',connor8 he shouted4 ,i watched him in amazement4 ,was the man crazy8 ,had the blow affected his brain8 ,here he was1 trying to talk into a camera4 ,a little signalling-bell in the box commenced to ring1 as if by spirit hands4 ,shut up in that room1 growled a voice from outside the door4 ,by ,god1 they've barricaded the door4 ,come on1 pals1 we'll kill the spies4 ,a smile of triumph lighted up ,kennedy's pale face4 ,it works1 it works1 he cried as the little bell continued to buzz4 ,this is a wireless telephone you perhaps have seen announced recently -#bj good for several hundred feet - through walls and everything4 ,the inventor placed it in a box easily carried by a man1 including a battery1 and mounted on an ordinary camera tripod so that the user might well be taken for a travelling photographer4 ,it is good in one direction only1 but ,i have a signalling-bell here that can be rung from the other end by ,hertzian waves4 ,thank ,heaven1 it's compact and simple4 ,o',connor1 he went on1 it is as ,i told you4 ,it was ,pitts ,slim4 ,he left here ten or fifteen minutes ago - ,i don't know by what exit1 but ,i heard them say they would meet at the ,central freightyards at midnight4 ,start your plain-clothes men out and send some one here1 quick1 to release us4 ,we are locked in a room in the fourth or fifth house from the corner4 ,there's a secret passage to the yegg-house4 ,the ,gay ,cat is still unconscious1 ,jameson is groggy1 and ,i have a bad scalp wound4 ,they are trying to beat in our barricade4 ,hurry4 ,i think ,i shall never get straight in my mind the fearful five minutes that followed1 the battering at the door1 the oaths1 the scuffle outside1 the crash as the sofa1 bureau1 table1 and chairs all yielded at once - and my relief when ,i saw the square-set1 honest face of ,o',connor and half a dozen plain-clothes men holding the yeggs who would certainly have murdered us this time to protect their pal in his getaway4 ,the fact is ,i didn't think straight until we were halfway uptown1 speeding toward the railroad freight-yards in ,o',connor's car4 ,the fresh air at last revived me1 and ,i began to forget my cuts and bruises in the renewed excitement4 ,we entered the yards carefully1 accompanied by several of the railroad's detectives1 who met us with a couple of police dogs4 ,skulking in the shadow under the high embankment that separated the yards with their interminable lines of full and empty cars on one side and the ,san ,juan ,hill district of ,new ,york up on the bluff on the other side1 we came upon a party of three men who were waiting to catch the midnight side-door ,pullman - the fast freight out of ,new ,york4 ,the fight was brief1 for we outnumbered them more than three to one4 ,o',connor himself snapped a pair of steel bracelets on the thin man1 who seemed to be leader of the party4 ,it's all up1 ,pitts ,slim1 he ground out from his set teeth4 ,one of our men flashed his bull's-eye on the three prisoners4 ,i caught myself as in a dream4 ,pitts ,slim was ,maloney1 the detective4 ,an hour later1 at headquarters1 after the pedigrees had been taken1 the mugging done1 and the jewels found on the three yeggs checked off from the list of the ,branford pearls1 leaving a few thousand dollars' worth unaccounted for1 ,o',connor led the way into his private office4 ,there were ,mrs4 ,branford and ,blake1 waiting4 ,maloney sullenly refused to look at his former employer1 as ,blake rushed over and grasped ,kennedy's hand1 asking eagerly3 ,how did you do it1 ,kennedy8 ,this is the last thing ,i expected4 ,craig said nothing1 but slowly opened a now crumpled envelope1 which contained an untoned print of a photograph4 ,he laid it on the desk4 ,there is your yeggman - at work1 he said4 ,we bent over to look4 ,it was a photograph of ,maloney in the act of putting something in the little wall safe in ,mrs4 ,branford's room4 ,in a flash it dawned on me - the quick-shutter camera1 the wire connected with the wall safe1 ,craig's hint to ,maloney that if some of the jewels were found hidden in a likely place in the house1 it would furnish the last link in the chain against her1 ,maloney's eager acceptance of the suggestion1 and his visit to ,montclair during which ,craig had had hard work to avoid him4 ,pitts ,slim1 alias ,maloney1 added ,kennedy1 turning to ,blake1 your shrewdest private detective1 was posing in two characters at once very successfully4 ,he was your trusted agent in possession of the most valuable secrets of your clients1 at the same time engineering all the robberies that you thought were fakes1 and then working up the evidence incriminating the victims themselves4 ,he got into the ,branford house with a skeleton key1 and killed the maid4 ,the picture shows him putting this shield-shaped brooch in the safe this afternoon - here's the brooch4 ,and all this time he was the leader of the most dangerous band of yeggmen in the country4 ,mrs4 ,branford1 exclaimed ,blake1 advancing and bowing most profoundly1 ,i trust that you understand my awkward position8 ,my apologies cannot be too humble4 ,it will give me great pleasure to hand you a certified check for the missing gems the first thing in the morning4 ,mrs4 ,branford bit her lip nervously4 ,the return of the pearls did not seem to interest her in the least4 ,and ,i1 too1 must apologise for the false suspicion ,i had of you and - and - depend on me1 it is already forgotten1 said ,kennedy1 emphasising the false and looking her straight in the eyes4 ,she read his meaning and a look of relief crossed her face4 ,thank you1 she murmured simply1 then dropping her eyes she added in a lower tone which no one heard except ,craig3 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 how can ,i ever thank you8 ,another night1 and it would have been too late to save me from myself4 ,,iii ,,the ,,germ ,,of ,,death ,by this time ,i was becoming used to ,kennedy's strange visitors and1 in fact1 had begun to enjoy keenly the uncertainty of not knowing just what to expect from them next4 ,still1 ,i was hardly prepared one evening to see a tall1 nervous foreigner stalk noiselessly and unannounced into our apartment and hand his card to ,kennedy without saying a word4 ,dr4 ,nicholas ,kharkoff - hum - er1 ,jameson1 you must have forgotten to latch the door4 ,well1 ,dr4 ,kharkoff1 what can ,i do for you8 ,it is evident something has upset you4 ,the tall ,russian put his forefinger to his lips and1 taking one of our good chairs1 placed it by the door4 ,then he stood on it and peered cautiously through the transom into the hallway4 ,i think ,i eluded him this time1 he exclaimed1 as he nervously took a seat4 ,professor ,kennedy1 ,i am being followed4 ,every step that ,i take somebody shadows me1 from the moment ,i leave my office until ,i return4 ,it is enough to drive me mad4 ,but that is only one reason why ,i have come here to-night4 ,i believe that ,i can trust you as a friend of justice - a friend of ,russian freedom8 ,he had included me in his earnest but somewhat vague query1 so that ,i did not withdraw4 ,somehow1 apparently1 he had heard of ,kennedy's rather liberal political views4 ,it is about ,vassili ,saratovsky1 the father of the ,russian revolution1 as we call him1 that ,i have come to consult you1 he continued quickly4 ,just two weeks ago he was taken ill4 ,it came on suddenly1 a violent fever which continued for a week4 ,then he seemed to grow better1 after the crisis had passed1 and even attended a meeting of our central committee the other night4 ,but in the meantime ,olga ,samarova1 the little ,russian dancer1 whom you have perhaps seen1 fell ill in the same way4 ,samarova is an ardent revolutionist1 you know4 ,this morning the servant at my own home on ,east ,broadway was also stricken1 and - who knows8 - perhaps it will be my turn next4 ,for to-night ,saratovsky had an even more violent return of the fever1 with intense shivering1 excruciating pains in the limbs1 and delirious headache4 ,it is not like anything ,i ever saw before4 ,can you look into the case before it grows any worse1 ,professor8 ,again the ,russian got on the chair and looked over the transom to be sure that he was not being overheard4 ,i shall be only too glad to help you in any way ,i can1 returned ,kennedy1 his manner expressing the genuine interest that he never feigned over a particularly knotty problem in science and crime4 ,i had the pleasure of meeting ,saratovsky once in ,london4 ,i shall try to see him the first thing in the morning4 ,dr4 ,kharkoff's face fell4 ,i had hoped you would see him to-night4 ,if anything should happen - ,is it as urgent as that8 ,i believe it is1 whispered ,kharkoff1 leaning forward earnestly4 ,we can call a taxicab - it will not take long1 sir4 ,consider1 there are many lives possibly at stake1 he pleaded4 ,very well1 ,i will go1 consented ,kennedy4 ,at the street door ,kharkoff stopped short and drew ,kennedy back4 ,look - across the street in the shadow4 ,there is the man4 ,if ,i start toward him he will disappear2 he is very clever4 ,he followed me from ,saratovsky's here1 and has been waiting for me to come out4 ,there are two taxicabs waiting at the stand1 suggested ,kennedy4 ,doctor1 you jump in the first1 and ,jameson and ,i will take the second4 ,then he can't follow us4 ,it was done in a moment1 and we were whisked away1 to the chagrin of the figure1 which glided impotently out of the shadow in vain pursuit1 too late even to catch the number of the cab4 ,a promising adventure1 commented ,kennedy1 as we bumped along over ,new ,york's uneven asphalt4 ,have you ever met ,saratovsky8 ,no1 ,i replied dubiously4 ,will you guarantee that he will not blow us up with a bomb8 ,grandmother6 replied ,craig4 ,why1 ,walter1 he is the most gentle1 engaging old philosopher - ,that ever cut a throat or scuttled a ship8 ,i interrupted4 ,on the contrary1 insisted ,kennedy1 somewhat nettled1 he is a patriarch1 respected by every faction of the revolutionists1 from the fighting organisation to the believers in non-resistance and ,tolstoy4 ,i tell you1 ,walter1 the nation that can produce a man such as ,saratovsky deserves and some day will win political freedom4 ,i have heard of this ,dr4 ,kharkoff before1 too4 ,his life would be a short one if he were in ,russia4 ,a remarkable man1 who fled after those unfortunate uprisings in #aije4 ,ah1 we are on ,fifth ,avenue4 ,i suspect that he is taking us to a club on the lower part of the avenue1 where a number of the ,russian reformers live1 patiently waiting and planning for the great 'awakening' in their native land4 ,kharkoff's cab had stopped4 ,our quest had indeed brought us almost to ,washington ,square4 ,here we entered an old house of the past generation4 ,as we passed through the wide hall1 ,i noted the high ceilings1 the old-fashioned marble mantels stained by time1 the long1 narrow rooms and dirty-white woodwork1 and the threadbare furniture of black walnut and horsehair4 ,upstairs in a small back room we found the venerable ,saratovsky1 tossing1 half-delirious with the fever1 on a disordered bed4 ,his was a striking figure in this sordid setting1 with a high intellectual forehead and deep-set1 glowing coals of eyes which gave a hint at the things which had made his life one of the strangest among all the revolutionists of ,russia and the works he had done among the most daring4 ,the brown dye was scarcely yet out of his flowing white beard - a relic of his last trip back to his fatherland1 where he had eluded the secret police in the disguise of a ,german gymnasium professor4 ,saratovsky extended a thin1 hot1 emaciated hand to us1 and we remained standing4 ,kennedy said nothing for the moment4 ,the sick man motioned feebly to us to come closer4 ,professor ,kennedy1 he whispered1 there is some deviltry afoot4 ,the ,russian autocracy would stop at nothing4 ,kharkoff has probably told you of it4 ,i am so weak - ,he groaned and sank back1 overcome by a chill that seemed to rack his poor gaunt form4 ,kazanovitch can tell ,professor ,kennedy something1 ,doctor4 ,i am too weak to talk1 even at this critical time4 ,take him to see ,boris and ,ekaterina4 ,almost reverently we withdrew1 and ,kharkoff led us down the hall to another room4 ,the door was ajar1 and a light disclosed a man in a ,russian peasant's blouse1 bending laboriously over a writing-desk4 ,so absorbed was he that not until ,kharkoff spoke did he look up4 ,his figure was somewhat slight and his face pointed and of an ascetic mould4 ,ah6 he exclaimed4 ,you have recalled me from a dream4 ,i fancied ,i was on the old mir with ,ivan1 one of my characters4 ,welcome1 comrades4 ,it flashed over me at once that this was the famous ,russian novelist1 ,boris ,kazanovitch4 ,i had not at first connected the name with that of the author of those gloomy tales of peasant life4 ,kazanovitch stood with his hands tucked under his blouse4 ,night is my favourite time for writing1 he explained4 ,it is then that the imagination works at its best4 ,i gazed curiously about the room4 ,there seemed to be a marked touch of a woman's hand here and there2 it was unmistakable4 ,at last my eye rested on a careless heap of dainty wearing apparel on a chair in the corner4 ,where is ,nevsky8 asked ,dr4 ,kharkoff1 apparently missing the person who owned the garments4 ,ekaterina has gone to a rehearsal of the little play of ,gershuni's escape from ,siberia and betrayal by ,rosenberg4 ,she will stay with friends on ,east ,broadway to-night4 ,she has deserted me1 and here ,i am all alone1 finishing a story for one of the ,american magazines4 ,ah1 ,professor ,kennedy1 that is unfortunate1 commented ,kharkoff4 ,a brilliant woman is ,mademoiselle ,nevsky - devoted to the cause4 ,i know only one who equals her1 and that is my patient downstairs1 the little dancer1 ,samarova4 ,samarova is faithful - ,nevsky is a genius1 put in ,kazanovitch4 ,kharkoff said nothing for a time1 though it was easy to see he regarded the actress highly4 ,samarova1 he said at length to us1 was arrested for her part in the assassination of ,grand ,duke ,sergius and thrown into solitary confinement in the fortress of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul4 ,they tortured her1 the beasts - burned her body with their cigarettes4 ,it was unspeakable4 ,but she would not confess1 and finally they had to let her go4 ,nevsky1 who was a student of biology at the ,university of ,st4 ,petersburg when ,von ,plehve was assassinated1 was arrested1 but her relatives had sufficient influence to secure her release4 ,they met in ,paris1 and ,nevsky persuaded ,olga to go on the stage and come to ,new ,york4 ,next to ,ekaterina's devotion to the cause is her devotion to science1 said ,kazanovitch1 opening a door to a little room4 ,then he added3 ,if she were not a woman1 or if your universities were less prejudiced1 she would be welcome anywhere as a professor4 ,see1 here is her laboratory4 ,it is the best we - she can afford4 ,organic chemistry1 as you call it in ,english1 interests me too1 but of course ,i am not a trained scientist - ,i am a novelist4 ,the laboratory was simple1 almost bare4 ,photographs of ,koch1 ,ehrlich1 ,metchnikoff1 and a number of other scientists adorned the walls4 ,the deeply stained deal table was littered with beakers and test-tubes4 ,how is ,saratovsky8 asked the writer of the doctor1 aside1 as we gazed curiously about4 ,kharkoff shook his head gravely4 ,we have just come from his room4 ,he was too weak to talk1 but he asked that you tell ,mr4 ,kennedy anything that it is necessary he should know about our suspicions4 ,it is that we are living with the sword of ,damocles constantly dangling over our heads1 gentlemen1 cried ,kazanovitch passionately1 turning toward us4 ,you will excuse me if ,i get some cigarettes downstairs8 ,over them ,i will tell you what we fear4 ,a call from ,saratovsky took the doctor away also at the same moment1 and we were left alone4 ,a queer situation1 ,craig1 ,i remarked1 glancing involuntarily at the heap of feminine finery on the chair1 as ,i sat down before ,kazanovitch's desk4 ,queer for ,new ,york2 not for ,st4 ,petersburg1 was his laconic reply1 as he looked around for another chair4 ,everything was littered with books and papers1 and at last he leaned over and lifted the dress from the chair to place it on the bed1 as the easiest way of securing a seat in the scantily furnished room4 ,a pocketbook and a letter fell to the floor from the folds of the dress4 ,he stooped to pick them up1 and ,i saw a strange look of surprise on his face4 ,without a moment's hesitation he shoved the letter into his pocket and replaced the other things as he had found them4 ,a moment later ,kazanovitch returned with a large box of ,russian cigarettes4 ,be seated1 sir1 he said to ,kennedy1 sweeping a mass of books and papers off a large divan4 ,when ,nevsky is not here the room gets sadly disarranged4 ,i have no genius for order4 ,amid the clouds of fragrant light smoke we waited for ,kazanovitch to break the silence4 ,perhaps you think that the iron hand of the ,russian prime minister has broken the backbone of revolution in ,russia1 he began at length4 ,but because the ,duma is subservient1 it does not mean that all is over4 ,not at all4 ,we are not asleep4 ,revolution is smouldering1 ready to break forth at any moment4 ,the agents of the government know it4 ,they are desperate4 ,there is no means they would not use to crush us4 ,their long arm reaches even to ,new ,york1 in this land of freedom4 ,he rose and excitedly paced the room4 ,somehow or other1 this man did not prepossess me4 ,was it that ,i was prejudiced by a puritanical disapproval of the things that pass current in ,old ,world morality8 ,or was it merely that ,i found the great writer of fiction seeking the dramatic effect always at the cost of sincerity8 ,just what is it that you suspect8 asked ,craig1 anxious to dispense with the rhetoric and to get down to facts4 ,surely1 when three persons are stricken1 you must suspect something4 ,poison1 replied ,kazanovitch quickly4 ,poison1 and of a kind that even the poison doctors of ,st4 ,petersburg have never employed4 ,dr4 ,kharkoff is completely baffled4 ,your ,american doctors - two were called in to see ,saratovsky - say it is the typhus fever4 ,but ,kharkoff knows better4 ,there is no typhus rash4 ,besides - and he leaned forward to emphasise his words - one does not get over typhus in a week and have it again as ,saratovsky has4 ,i could see that ,kennedy was growing impatient4 ,an idea had occurred to him1 and only politeness kept him listening to ,kazanovitch longer4 ,doctor1 he said1 as ,kharkoff entered the room again1 do you suppose you could get some perfectly clean test-tubes and sterile bouillon from ,miss ,nevsky's laboratory8 ,i think ,i saw a rack of tubes on the table4 ,surely1 answered ,kharkoff4 ,you will excuse us1 ,mr4 ,kazanovitch1 apologised ,kennedy briskly1 but ,i feel that ,i am going to have a hard day to-morrow and - by the way1 would you be so kind as to come up to my laboratory some time during the day1 and continue your story4 ,on the way out ,craig took the doctor aside for a moment1 and they talked earnestly4 ,at last ,craig motioned to me4 ,walter1 he explained1 ,dr4 ,kharkoff is going to prepare some cultures in the test-tubes to-night so that ,i can make a microscopic examination of the blood of ,saratovsky1 ,samarova1 and later of his servant4 ,the tubes will be ready early in the morning1 and ,i have arranged with the doctor for you to call and get them if you have no objection4 ,i assented1 and we started downstairs4 ,as we passed a door on the second floor1 a woman's voice called out1 ,is that you1 ,boris8 ,no1 ,olga1 this is ,nicholas1 replied the doctor4 ,it is ,samarova1 he said to us as he entered4 ,in a few moments he rejoined us4 ,she is no better1 he continued1 as we again started away4 ,i may as well tell you1 ,professor ,kennedy1 just how matters stand here4 ,samarova is head over heels in love with ,kazanovitch - you heard her call for him just now8 ,before they left ,paris1 ,kazanovitch showed some partiality for ,olga1 but now ,nevsky has captured him4 ,she is indeed a fascinating woman1 but as for me1 if ,olga would consent to become ,madame ,kharkoff1 it should be done to-morrow1 and she need worry no longer over her broken contract with the ,american theatre managers4 ,but women are not that way4 ,she prefers the hopeless love4 ,ah1 well1 ,i shall let you know if anything new happens4 ,good-night1 and a thousand thanks for your help1 gentlemen4 ,nothing was said by either of us on our journey uptown1 for it was late and ,i1 at least1 was tired4 ,but ,kennedy had no intention of going to bed1 ,i found4 ,instead1 he sat down in his easy chair and shaded his eyes1 apparently in deep thought4 ,as ,i stood by the table to fill my pipe for a last smoke1 ,i saw that he was carefully regarding the letter he had picked up1 turning it over and over1 and apparently debating with himself what to do with it4 ,some kinds of paper can be steamed open without leaving any trace1 he remarked in answer to my unspoken question1 laying the letter down before me4 ,i read the address3 ,m4 ,alexander ,alexandrovitch ,orloff1 - ,rue de - 1 ,paris1 ,france4 ,letter-opening has been raised to a fine art by the secret service agents of foreign countries1 he continued4 ,why not take a chance8 ,the simple operation of steaming a letter open is followed by reburnishing the flap with a bone instrument1 and no trace is left4 ,i can't do that1 for this letter is sealed with wax4 ,one way would be to take a matrix of the seal before breaking the wax and then replace a duplicate of it4 ,no1 ,i won't risk it4 ,i'll try a scientific way4 ,between two pieces of smooth wood1 ,craig laid the letter flat1 so that the edges projected about a thirty-second of an inch4 ,he flattened the projecting edge of the envelope1 then roughened it1 and finally slit it open4 ,you see1 ,walter1 later ,i will place the letter back1 apply a hair line of strong white gum1 and unite the edges of the envelope under pressure4 ,let us see what we have here4 ,he drew out what seemed to be a manuscript on very thin paper1 and spread it out flat on the table before us4 ,apparently it was a scientific paper on a rather unusual subject1 ,spontaneous ,generation of ,life4 ,it was in longhand and read3 99,many thanks for the copy of the paper by ,prof4 ,betallion of ,dijon on the artificial fertilization of the eggs of frogs4 ,i consider it a most important advance in the artificial generation of life4 99,in the printed book this is shown as handwritten #bj ,i will not attempt to reproduce in facsimile the entire manuscript1 for it is unnecessary1 and1 in fact1 ,i merely set down part of its contents here because it seemed so utterly valueless to me at the time4 ,it went on to say3 ,while ,betallion punctured the eggs with a platinum needle and developed them by means of electric discharges1 ,loeb in ,america placed eggs of the sea-urchin in a strong solution of sea water1 then in a bath where they were subjected to the action of butyric acid4 ,finally they were placed in ordinary sea water again1 where they developed in the natural manner4 ,delage at ,roscorf used a liquid containing salts of magnesia and tannate of ammonia to produce the same result4 ,in his latest book on the ,origin of ,life ,dr4 ,charlton ,bastian tells of using two solutions4 ,one consisted of two or three drops of dilute sodium silicate with eight drops of liquor fern pernitratis to one ounce of distilled water4 ,the other was composed of the same amount of the silicate with six drops of dilute phosphoric acid and six grains of ammonium phosphate4 ,he filled sterilised tubes1 sealed them hermetically1 and heated them to #abe or #ade degrees1 ,centigrade1 although #fj or #gj degrees would have killed any bacteria remaining in them4 ,next he exposed them to sunlight in a south window for from two to four months4 ,when the tubes were opened ,dr4 ,bastian found organisms in them which differed in no way from real bacteria4 ,they grew and multiplied4 ,he contends that he has proved the possibility of spontaneous generation of life4 ,then there were the experiments of ,john ,butler ,burke of ,cambridge1 who claimed that he had developed radiobes in tubes of sterilised bouillon by means of radium emanations4 ,daniel ,berthelot in ,france last year announced that he had used the ultra-violet rays to duplicate nature's own process of chlorophyll assimilation4 ,he has broken up carbon dioxide and water-vapour in the air in precisely the same way that the green cells of plants do it4 ,leduc at ,nantes has made crystals grow from an artificial egg composed of certain chemicals4 ,these crystals show all the apparent vital phenomena without being actually alive4 ,his work is interesting1 for it shows the physical forces that probably control minute life cells1 once they are created4 ,what do you make of it8 asked ,kennedy1 noting the puzzled look on my face as ,i finished reading4 ,well1 recent research in the problem of the origin of life may be very interesting1 ,i replied4 ,there are a good many chemicals mentioned here - ,i wonder if any of them is poisonous8 ,but ,i am of the opinion that there is something more to this manuscript than a mere scientific paper4 ,exactly1 ,walter1 said ,kennedy in half raillery4 ,what ,i wanted to know was how you would suggest getting at that something4 ,study as ,i might1 ,i could make nothing out of it4 ,meanwhile ,craig was busily figuring with a piece of paper and a pencil4 ,i give it up1 ,craig1 ,i said at last4 ,it is late4 ,perhaps we had better both turn in1 and we may have some ideas on it in the morning4 ,for answer he merely shook his head and continued to scribble and figure on the paper4 ,with a reluctant good-night ,i shut my door1 determined to be up early in the morning and go for the tubes that ,kharkoff was to prepare4 ,but in the morning ,kennedy was gone4 ,i dressed hastily1 and was just about to go out when he hurried in1 showing plainly the effects of having spent a sleepless night4 ,he flung an early edition of a newspaper on the table4 ,too late1 he exclaimed4 ,i tried to reach ,kharkoff1 but it was too late4 ,another ,east ,side ,bomb ,outrage1 ,i read4 ,while returning at a late hour last night from a patient1 ,dr4 ,nicholas ,kharkoff1 of - ,east ,broadway1 was severely injured by a bomb which had been placed in his hallway earlier in the evening4 ,dr4 ,kharkoff1 who is a well-known physician on the ,east ,side1 states that he has been constantly shadowed by some one unknown for the past week or two4 ,he attributes his escape with his life to the fact that since he was shadowed he has observed extreme caution4 ,yesterday his cook was poisoned and is now dangerously ill4 ,dr4 ,kharkoff stands high in the ,russian community1 and it is thought by the police that the bomb was placed by a ,russian political agent1 as ,kharkoff has been active in the ranks of the revolutionists4 ,but what made you anticipate it8 ,i asked of ,kennedy1 considerably mystified4 ,the manuscript1 he replied4 ,the manuscript8 ,how8 ,where is it8 ,after ,i found that it was too late to save ,kharkoff and that he was well cared for at the hospital1 ,i hurried to ,saratovsky's4 ,kharkoff had fortunately left the tubes there1 and ,i got them4 ,here they are4 ,as for the manuscript in the letter1 ,i was going to ask you to slip upstairs by some strategy and return it where ,i found it1 when you went for the tubes this morning4 ,kazanovitch was out1 and ,i have returned it myself1 so you need not go1 now4 ,he's coming to see you to-day1 isn't he8 ,i hope so4 ,i left a note asking him to bring ,miss ,nevsky1 if possible1 too4 ,come1 let us breakfast and go over to the laboratory4 ,they may arrive at any moment4 ,besides1 ,i'm interested to see what the tubes disclose4 ,instead of ,kazanovitch awaiting us at the laboratory1 however1 we found ,miss ,nevsky1 haggard and worn4 ,she was a tall1 striking girl with more of the ,gaul than the ,slav in her appearance4 ,there was a slightly sensuous curve to her mouth1 but on the whole her face was striking and intellectual4 ,i felt that if she chose she could fascinate a man so that he would dare anything4 ,i never before understood why the ,russian police feared the women revolutionists so much4 ,it was because they were themselves1 plus every man they could influence4 ,nevsky appeared very excited4 ,she talked rapidly1 and fire flashed from her grey eyes4 ,they tell me at the club1 she began1 that you are investigating the terrible things that are happening to us4 ,oh1 ,professor ,kennedy1 it is awful6 ,last night ,i was staying with some friends on ,east ,broadway4 ,suddenly we heard a terrific explosion up the street4 ,it was in front of ,dr4 ,kharkoff's house4 ,thank ,heaven1 he is still alive6 ,but ,i was so unnerved ,i could not sleep4 ,i fancied ,i might be the next to go4 ,early this morning ,i hastened to return to ,fifth ,avenue4 ,as ,i entered the door of my room ,i could not help thinking of the horrible fate of ,dr4 ,kharkoff4 ,for some unknown reason1 just as ,i was about to push the door farther open1 ,i hesitated and looked - ,i almost fainted4 ,there stood another bomb just inside4 ,if ,i had moved the door a fraction of an inch it would have exploded4 ,i screamed1 and ,olga1 sick as she was1 ran to my assistance - or perhaps she thought something had happened to ,boris4 ,it is standing there yet4 ,none of us dares touch it4 ,oh1 ,professor ,kennedy1 it is dreadful1 dreadful4 ,and ,i cannot find ,boris - ,mr4 ,kazanovitch1 ,i mean4 ,saratovsky1 who is like a father to us all1 is scarcely able to speak4 ,dr4 ,kharkoff is helpless in the hospital4 ,oh1 what are we to do1 what are we to do8 ,she stood trembling before us1 imploring4 ,calm yourself1 ,miss ,nevsky1 said ,kennedy in a reassuring tone4 ,sit down and let us plan4 ,i take it that it was a chemical bomb and not one with a fuse1 or you would have a different story to tell4 ,first of all1 we must remove it4 ,that is easily done4 ,he called up a near-by garage and ordered an automobile4 ,i will drive it myself1 he ordered1 only send a man around with it immediately4 ,no1 no1 no1 she cried1 running toward him1 you must not risk it4 ,it is bad enough that we should risk our lives4 ,but strangers must not4 ,think1 ,professor ,kennedy4 ,suppose the bomb should explode at a touch6 ,had we not better call the police and let them take the risk1 even if it does get into the papers8 ,no1 replied ,kennedy firmly4 ,miss ,nevsky1 ,i am quite willing to take the risk4 ,besides1 here comes the automobile4 ,you are too kind1 she exclaimed4 ,kazanovitch himself could do no more4 ,how am ,i ever to thank you8 ,on the back of the automobile ,kennedy placed a peculiar oblong box1 swung on two concentric rings balanced on pivots1 like a most delicate compass4 ,we rode quickly downtown1 and ,kennedy hurried into the house1 bidding us stand back4 ,with a long pair of tongs he seized the bomb firmly4 ,it was a tense moment4 ,suppose his hand should unnecessarily tremble1 or he should tip it just a bit - it might explode and blow him to atoms4 ,keeping it perfectly horizontal he carried it carefully out to the waiting automobile and placed it gingerly in the box4 ,wouldn't it be a good thing to fill the box with water8 ,i suggested1 having read somewhere that that was the usual way of opening a bomb1 under water4 ,no1 he replied1 as he closed the lid1 that wouldn't do any good with a bomb of this sort4 ,it would explode under water just as well as in air4 ,this is a safety bomb-carrier4 ,it is known as the ,cardon suspension4 ,it was invented by ,professor ,cardono1 an ,italian4 ,you see1 it is always held in a perfectly horizontal position1 no matter how you jar it4 ,i am now going to take the bomb to some safe and convenient place where ,i can examine it at my leisure4 ,meanwhile1 ,miss ,nevsky1 ,i will leave you in charge of ,mr4 ,jameson4 ,thank you so much1 she said4 ,i feel better now4 ,i didn't dare go into my own room with that bomb at the door4 ,if ,mr4 ,jameson can only find out what has become of ,mr4 ,kazanovitch1 that is all ,i want4 ,what do you suppose has happened to him8 ,is he1 too1 hurt or ill8 ,very well1 then1 ,craig replied4 ,i will commission you1 ,walter1 to find ,kazanovitch4 ,i shall be back again shortly before noon to examine the wreck of ,kharkoff's office4 ,meet me there4 ,goodbye1 ,miss ,nevsky4 ,it was not the first time that ,i had had a roving commission to find some one who had disappeared in ,new ,york4 ,i started by inquiring for every possible place that he might be found4 ,no one at the ,fifth ,avenue house could tell me anything definite1 though they were able to give me a number of places where he was known4 ,i consumed practically the whole morning going from one place to another on the ,east ,side4 ,some of the picturesque haunts of the revolutionists would have furnished material for a story in themselves4 ,but nowhere had they any word of ,kazanovitch1 until ,i visited a ,polish artist who was illustrating his stories4 ,he had been there1 looking very worn and tired1 and had talked vacantly about the sketches which the artist had showed him4 ,after that ,i lost all trace of him again4 ,it was nearly noon as ,i hurried to meet ,craig at ,kharkoff's4 ,imagine my surprise to see ,kazanovitch already there1 seated in the wrecked office1 furiously smoking cigarettes and showing evident signs of having something very disturbing on his mind4 ,the moment he caught sight of me1 he hurried forward4 ,is ,professor ,kennedy coming soon8 he inquired eagerly4 ,i was going up to his laboratory1 but ,i called up ,nevsky1 and she said he would be here at noon4 ,then he put his hand up to my ear and whispered1 ,i have found out who it was who shadowed ,kharkoff4 ,who8 ,i asked1 saying nothing of my long search of the morning4 ,his name is ,revalenko - ,feodor ,revalenko4 ,i saw him standing across the street in front of the house last night after you had gone4 ,when ,kharkoff left1 he followed him4 ,i hurried out quietly and followed both of them4 ,then the explosion came4 ,this man slipped down a narrow street as soon as he saw ,kharkoff fall4 ,as people were running to ,kharkoff's assistance1 ,i did the same4 ,he saw me following him and ran1 and ,i ran1 too1 and overtook him4 ,mr4 ,jameson1 when ,i looked into his face ,i could not believe it4 ,revalenko - he is one of the most ardent members of our organisation4 ,he would not tell me why he had followed ,kharkoff4 ,i could make him confess nothing4 ,but ,i am sure he is an agent provocateur of the ,russian government1 that he is secretly giving away the plans that we are making1 everything4 ,we have a plot on now - perhaps he has informed them of that4 ,of course he denied setting the bomb or trying to poison any of us1 but he was very frightened4 ,i shall denounce him at the first opportunity4 ,i said nothing4 ,kazanovitch regarded me keenly to see what impression the story made on me1 but ,i did not let my looks betray anything1 except proper surprise1 and he seemed satisfied4 ,it might be true1 after all1 ,i reasoned1 the more ,i thought of it4 ,i had heard that the ,russian consul-general had a very extensive spy system in the city4 ,in fact1 even that morning ,i had had pointed out to me some spies at work in the public libraries1 watching what young ,russians were reading4 ,i did not doubt that there were spies in the very inner circle of the revolutionists themselves4 ,at last ,kennedy appeared4 ,while ,kazanovitch poured forth his story1 with here and there1 ,i fancied1 an elaboration of a particularly dramatic point1 ,kennedy quickly examined the walls and floor of the wrecked office with his magnifying-glass4 ,when he had concluded his search1 he turned to ,kazanovitch4 ,would it be possible1 he asked1 to let this ,revalenko believe that he could trust you1 that it would be safe for him to visit you to-night at ,saratovsky's8 ,surely you can find some way of reassuring him4 ,yes1 ,i think that can be arranged1 said ,kazanovitch4 ,i will go to him1 will make him think ,i have misunderstood him1 that ,i have not lost faith in him1 provided he can explain all4 ,he will come4 ,trust me4 ,very well1 then4 ,to-night at eight ,i shall be there1 promised ,kennedy1 as the novelist and he shook hands4 ,what do you think of the ,revalenko story8 ,i asked of ,craig1 as we started uptown again4 ,anything is possible in this case1 he answered sententiously4 ,well1 ,i exclaimed1 this all is truly ,russian4 ,for intrigue they are certainly the leaders of the world to-day4 ,there is only one person that ,i have any real confidence in1 and that is old ,saratovsky himself4 ,somebody is playing traitor1 ,craig4 ,who is it8 ,that is what science will tell us to-night1 was his brief reply4 ,there was no getting anything out of ,craig until he was absolutely sure that his proofs had piled up irresistibly4 ,promptly at eight we met at the old house on ,fifth ,avenue4 ,kharkoff's wounds had proved less severe than had at first been suspected1 and1 having recovered from the shock1 he insisted on being transferred from the hospital in a private ambulance so that he could be near his friends4 ,saratovsky1 in spite of his high fever1 ordered that the door to his room be left open and his bed moved so that he could hear and see what passed in the room down the hall4 ,nevsky was there and ,kazanovitch1 and even brave ,olga ,samarova1 her pretty face burning with the fever1 would not be content until she was carried upstairs1 although ,dr4 ,kharkoff protested vigorously that it might have fatal consequences4 ,revalenko1 an enigma of a man1 sat stolidly4 ,the only thing ,i noticed about him was an occasional look of malignity at ,nevsky and ,kazanovitch when he thought he was unobserved4 ,it was indeed a strange gathering1 the like of which the old house had never before harboured in all its varied history4 ,every one was on the qui vive1 as ,kennedy placed on the table a small wire basket containing some test-tubes1 each tube corked with a small wadding of cotton4 ,there was also a receptacle holding a dozen glass-handled platinum wires1 a microscope1 and a number of slides4 ,the bomb1 now rendered innocuous by having been crushed in a huge hydraulic press1 lay in fragments in the box4 ,first1 ,i want you to consider the evidence of the bomb1 began ,kennedy4 ,no crime1 ,i firmly believe1 is ever perpetrated without leaving some clue4 ,the slightest trace1 even a drop of blood no larger than a pin-head1 may suffice to convict a murderer4 ,the impression made on a cartridge by the hammer of a pistol1 or a single hair found on the clothing of a suspected person1 may serve as valid proof of crime4 ,until lately1 however1 science was powerless against the bomb-thrower4 ,a bomb explodes into a thousand parts1 and its contents suddenly become gaseous4 ,you can't collect and investigate the gases4 ,still1 the bomb-thrower is sadly deceived if he believes the bomb leaves no trace for the scientific detective4 ,it is difficult for the chemist to find out the secrets of a shattered bomb4 ,but it can be done4 ,i examined the walls of ,dr4 ,kharkoff's house1 and fortunately was able to pick out a few small fragments of the contents of the bomb which had been thrown out before the flame ignited them4 ,i have analysed them1 and find them to be a peculiar species of blasting-gelatine4 ,it is made at only one factory in this country1 and ,i have a list of purchasers for some time back4 ,one name1 or rather the description of an assumed name1 in the list agrees with other evidence ,i have been able to collect4 ,moreover1 the explosive was placed in a lead tube4 ,lead tubes are common enough4 ,however1 there is no need of further evidence4 ,he paused1 and the revolutionists stared fixedly at the fragments of the now harmless bomb before them4 ,the exploded bomb1 concluded ,craig1 was composed of the same materials as this1 which ,i found unexploded at the door of ,miss ,nevsky's room - the same sort of lead tube1 the same blasting-gelatine4 ,the fuse1 a long cord saturated in sulphur1 was merely a blind4 ,the real method of explosion was by means of a chemical contained in a glass tube which was inserted after the bomb was put in place4 ,the least jar1 such as opening a door1 which would tip the bomb ever so little out of the horizontal1 was all that was necessary to explode it4 ,the exploded bomb and the unexploded were in all respects identical - the same hand set both4 ,a gasp of astonishment ran through the circle4 ,could it be that one of their own number was playing false8 ,in at least this instance in the warfare of the chemist and the dynamiter the chemist had come out ahead4 ,but1 ,kennedy hurried along1 the thing that interests me most about this case is not the evidence of the bombs4 ,bombs are common enough weapons1 after all4 ,it is the evidence of almost diabolical cunning that has been shown in the effort to get rid of the father of the revolution1 as you like to call him4 ,craig cleared his throat and played with our feelings as a cat does with a mouse4 ,strange to say1 the most deadly1 the most insidious1 the most elusive agency for committing murder is one that can be obtained and distributed with practically no legal restrictions4 ,any doctor can purchase disease germs in quantities sufficient to cause thousands and thousands of deaths without giving any adequate explanation for what purpose he requires them4 ,more than that1 any person claiming to be a scientist or having some acquaintance with science and scientists can usually obtain germs without difficulty4 ,every pathological laboratory contains stores of disease germs1 neatly sealed up in test-tubes1 sufficient to depopulate whole cities and even nations4 ,with almost no effort1 ,i myself have actually cultivated enough germs to kill every person within a radius of a mile of the ,washington ,arch down the street4 ,they are here in these test-tubes4 ,we scarcely breathed4 ,suppose ,kennedy should let loose this deadly foe1 these germs of death1 whatever they were8 ,yet that was precisely what some fiend incarnate had done1 and that fiend was sitting in the room with us4 ,here ,i have one of the most modern dark-field microscopes1 he resumed4 ,on this slide ,i have placed a little pin-point of a culture made from the blood of ,saratovsky4 ,i will stain the culture4 ,now - er - ,walter1 look through the microscope under this powerful light and tell us what you see on the slide4 ,i bent over4 ,in the darkened field ,i see a number of germs like dancing points of coloured light1 ,i said4 ,they are wriggling about with a peculiar twisting motion4 ,like a corkscrew1 interrupted ,kennedy1 impatient to go on4 ,they are of the species known as ,spirilla4 ,here is another slide1 a culture from the blood of ,samarova4 ,i see them there1 too1 ,i exclaimed4 ,every one was now crowding about for a glimpse1 as ,i raised my head4 ,what is this germ8 asked a hollow voice from the doorway4 ,we looked1 startled4 ,there stood ,saratovsky1 more like a ghost than a living being4 ,kennedy sprang forward and caught him as he swayed1 and ,i moved up an armchair for him4 ,it is the spirillum ,obermeieri1 said ,kennedy1 the germ of the relapsing fever1 but of the most virulent ,asiatic strain4 ,obermeyer1 who discovered it1 caught the disease and died of it1 a martyr to science4 ,a shriek of consternation rang forth from ,samarova4 ,the rest of us paled1 but repressed our feelings4 ,one moment1 added ,kennedy hastily4 ,don't be unnecessarily alarmed4 ,i have something more to say4 ,be calm for a moment longer4 ,he unrolled a blue-print and placed it on the table4 ,this1 he continued1 is the photographic copy of a message which1 ,i suppose1 is now on its way to the ,russian minister to ,france in ,paris4 ,some one in this room besides ,mr4 ,jameson and myself has seen this letter before4 ,i will hold it up as ,i pass around and let each one see it4 ,in intense silence ,kennedy passed before each of us1 holding up the blue-print and searchingly scanning the faces4 ,no one betrayed by any sign that he recognised it4 ,at last it came to ,revalenko himself4 ,the checkerboard1 the checkerboard6 he cried1 his eyes half starting from their sockets as he gazed at it4 ,yes1 said ,kennedy in a low tone1 the checkerboard4 ,it took me some time to figure it out4 ,it is a cipher that would have baffled ,poe4 ,in fact1 there is no means of deciphering it unless you chance to know its secret4 ,i happened to have heard of it a long time ago abroad1 yet my recollection was vague1 and ,i had to reconstruct it with much difficulty4 ,it took me all night to do it4 ,it is a cipher1 however1 that is well known among the official classes of ,russia4 ,fortunately ,i remember the crucial point1 without which ,i should still be puzzling over it4 ,it is that a perfectly innocent message1 on its face1 may be used to carry a secret1 hidden message4 ,the letters which compose the words1 instead of being written continuously along1 as we ordinarily write1 have1 as you will observe if you look twice1 breaks1 here and there4 ,these breaks in the letters stand for numbers4 ,thus the first words are ',many thanks4' ,the first break is at the end of the letter 'n1' between it and the 'y4' ,there are three letters before this break4 ,that stands for the number #c4 ,when you come to the end of a word1 if the stroke is down at the end of the last letter1 that means no break2 if it is up1 it means a break4 ,the stroke at the end of the 'y' is plainly down4 ,therefore there is no break until after the 't4' ,that gives us the number #b4 ,so we get #a next1 and again #a1 and still again #a2 then #e2 then #e2 then #a2 and so on4 ,now1 take these numbers in pairs1 thus #c - #b2 #a - #a2 #a - #e2 #e - #a4 ,by consulting this table you can arrive at the hidden message4 ,he held up a cardboard bearing the following arrangement of the letters of the alphabet3 #abcde #a;,a,b,c,d,e #b;,f,g,h,,ij,k #c,l,m,n,o,p #d,q,r,s,t,u #e,v,w,x,y,z ,thus1 he continued1 #c - #b means the third column and second line4 ,that is ',h4' ,then #a - #a is ',a'2 #a - #e is ',v'2 #e - #a is ',e' - and we get the word ',have4' ,not a soul stirred as ,kennedy unfolded the cipher4 ,what was the terrible secret in that scientific essay ,i had puzzled so unsuccessfully over1 the night before8 ,even this can be complicated by choosing a series of fixed numbers to be added to the real numbers over and over again1 ,or the order of the alphabet can be changed4 ,however1 we have the straight cipher only to deal with here4 ,and what for ,heaven's sake does it reveal8 asked ,saratovsky1 leaning forward1 forgetful of the fever that was consuming him4 ,kennedy pulled out a piece of paper on which he had written the hidden message and read3 ,have successfully inoculated ,s4 with fever4 ,public opinion ,america would condemn violence4 ,think best death should appear natural4 ,samarova infected also4 ,cook unfortunately took dose in food intended ,kharkoff4 ,now have three cases4 ,shall stop there at present4 ,dangerous excite further suspicion health authorities4 ,rapidly ,i eliminated in my mind the persons mentioned1 as ,craig read4 ,saratovsky of course was not guilty1 for the plot had centred about him4 ,nor was little ,samarova1 nor ,dr4 ,kharkoff4 ,i noted ,revalenko and ,kazanovitch glaring at each other and hastily tried to decide which ,i more strongly suspected4 ,will get ,k41 continued ,kennedy4 ,think bomb perhaps all right4 ,k4 case different from ,s4 ,no public sentiment4 ,so ,kharkoff had been marked for slaughter1 ,i thought4 ,or was ,k4 ,kazanovitch8 ,i regarded ,revalenko more closely4 ,he was suspiciously sullen4 ,must have more money4 ,cable ten thousand rubles at once ,russian consul-general4 ,will advise you plot against ,czar as details perfected here4 ,expect break up ,new ,york band with death of ,s4 ,if ,kennedy himself had thrown a bomb or scattered broadcast the contents of the test-tubes1 the effect could not have been more startling than his last quiet sentence - and sentence it was in two senses4 ,signed1 he said1 folding the paper up deliberately1 ,ekaterina ,nevsky4 ,it was as if a cable had snapped and a weight had fallen4 ,revalenko sprang up and grasped ,kazanovitch by the hand4 ,forgive me1 comrade1 for ever suspecting you1 he cried4 ,and forgive me for suspecting you1 replied ,kazanovitch1 but how did you come to shadow ,kharkoff8 ,i ordered him to follow ,kharkoff secretly and protect him1 explained ,saratovsky4 ,olga and ,ekaterina faced each other fiercely4 ,olga was trembling with emotion4 ,nevsky stood coldly1 defiantly4 ,if ever there was a consummate actress it was she1 who had put the bomb at her own door and had rushed off to start ,kennedy on a blind trail4 ,you traitress1 cried ,olga passionately1 forgetting all in her outraged love4 ,you won his affections from me by your false beauty - yet all the time you would have killed him like a dog for the ,czar's gold4 ,at last you are unmasked - you ,azeff in skirts4 ,false friend - you would have killed us all - ,saratovsky1 ,kharkoff ,be still1 little fool1 exclaimed ,nevsky contemptuously4 ,the spirilla fever has affected your brains4 ,bah6 ,i will not stay with those who are so ready to suspect an old comrade on the mere word of a charlatan4 ,boris ,kazanovitch1 do you stand there silent and let this insult be heaped upon me8 ,for answer1 ,kazanovitch deliberately turned his back on his lover of a moment ago and crossed the room4 ,olga1 he pleaded1 ,i have been a fool4 ,some day ,i may be worthy of your love4 ,fever or not1 ,i must beg your forgiveness4 ,with a cry of delight the actress flung her arms about ,boris1 as he imprinted a penitent kiss on her warm lips4 ,simpleton1 hissed ,nevsky with curling lips4 ,now you1 too1 will die4 ,one moment1 ,ekaterina ,nevsky1 interposed ,kennedy1 as he picked up some vacuum tubes full of a golden-yellow powder1 that lay on the table4 ,the spirilla1 as scientists now know1 belong to the same family as those which cause what we call1 euphemistically1 the 'black plague4' ,it is the same species as that of the ,african sleeping sickness and the ,philippine yaws4 ,last year a famous doctor whose photograph ,i see in the next room1 ,dr4 ,ehrlich of ,frankfort1 discovered a cure for all these diseases4 ,it will rid the blood of your victims of the ,asiatic relapsing fever germs in forty-eight hours4 ,in these tubes ,i have the now famous salvarsan4 ,with a piercing shriek of rage at seeing her deadly work so quickly and completely undone1 ,nevsky flung herself into the little laboratory behind her and bolted the door4 ,her face still wore the same cold1 contemptuous smile1 as ,kennedy gently withdrew a sharp scalpel from her breast4 ,perhaps it is best this way1 after all1 he said simply4 ,,iv ,,the ,,firebug ,a big1 powerful1 red touring-car1 with a shining brass bell on the front of it1 was standing at the curb before our apartment late one afternoon as ,i entered4 ,it was such a machine as one frequently sees threading its reckless course in and out among the trucks and street-cars1 breaking all rules and regulations1 stopping at nothing1 the bell clanging with excitement1 policemen holding back traffic instead of trying to arrest the driver - in other words1 a ,fire ,department automobile4 ,i regarded it curiously for a moment1 for everything connected with modern fire-fighting is interesting4 ,then ,i forgot about it as ,i was whisked up in the elevator1 only to have it recalled sharply by the sight of a strongly built1 grizzled man in a blue uniform with red lining4 ,he was leaning forward1 earnestly pouring forth a story into ,kennedy's ear4 ,and back of the whole thing1 sir1 ,i heard him say as he brought his large fist down on the table1 is a firebug - mark my words4 ,before ,i could close the door1 ,craig caught my eye1 and ,i read in his look that he had a new case - one that interested him greatly4 ,walter1 he cried1 this is ,fire ,marshal ,mc,cormick4 ,it's all right1 ,mc,cormick4 ,mr4 ,jameson is an accessory both before and after the fact in my detective cases4 ,a firebug6 - one of the most dangerous of criminals4 ,the word excited my imagination at once1 for the newspapers had lately been making much of the strange and appalling succession of apparently incendiary fires that had terrorised the business section of the city4 ,just what makes you think that there is a firebug - one firebug1 ,i mean - back of this curious epidemic of fires8 asked ,kennedy1 leaning back in his morris-chair with his finger-tips together and his eyes half closed as if expecting a revelation from some subconscious train of thought while the fire marshal presented his case4 ,well1 usually there is no rhyme or reason about the firebug1 replied ,mc,cormick1 measuring his words1 but this time ,i think there is some method in his madness4 ,you know the ,stacey department-stores and their allied dry-goods and garment-trade interests8 ,craig nodded4 ,of course we knew of the gigantic dry-goods combination4 ,it had been the talk of the press at the time of its formation1 a few months ago1 especially as it included among its organisers one very clever business woman1 ,miss ,rebecca ,wend4 ,there had been considerable opposition to the combination in the trade1 but ,stacey had shattered it by the sheer force of his personality4 ,mc,cormick leaned forward and1 shaking his forefinger to emphasise his point1 replied slowly1 ,practically every one of these fires has been directed against a ,stacey subsidiary or a corporation controlled by them4 ,but if it has gone as far as that1 put in ,kennedy1 surely the regular police ought to be of more assistance to you than ,i4 ,i have called in the police1 answered ,mc,cormick wearily1 but they haven't even made up their minds whether it is a single firebug or a gang4 ,and in the meantime1 my ,god1 ,kennedy1 the firebug may start a fire that will get beyond control6 ,you say the police haven't a single clue to any one who might be responsible for the fires8 ,i asked1 hoping that perhaps the marshal might talk more freely of his suspicions to us than he had already expressed himself in the newspaper interviews ,i had read4 ,absolutely not a clue - except such as are ridiculous1 replied ,mc,cormick1 twisting his cap viciously4 ,no one spoke4 ,we were waiting for ,mc,cormick to go on4 ,the first fire1 he began1 repeating his story for my benefit1 although ,craig listened quite as attentively as if he had not heard it already1 was at the big store of ,jones1 ,green ,co41 the clothiers4 ,the place was heavily insured4 ,warren1 the manager and real head of the firm1 was out of town at the time4 ,the marshal paused as if to check off the strange facts in his mind as he went along4 ,the next day another puzzling fire occurred4 ,it was at the ,quadrangle ,cloak and ,suit ,co41 on ,fifth ,avenue4 ,there had been some trouble1 ,i believe1 with the employees1 and the company had discharged a number of them4 ,several of the leaders have been arrested1 but ,i can't say we have anything against any of them4 ,still1 ,max ,bloom1 the manager of this company1 insists that the fire was set for revenge1 and indeed it looks as much like a fire for revenge as the ,jones-,green fire does - here he lowered his voice confidentially - for the purpose of collecting insurance4 ,then came the fire in the ,slawson ,building1 a new loft-building that had been erected just off ,fourth ,avenue4 ,other than the fact that the ,stacey interests put up the money for financing this building there seemed to be no reason for that fire at all4 ,the building was reputed to be earning a good return on the investment1 and ,i was at a loss to account for the fire4 ,i have made no arrests for it - just set it down as the work of a pure pyromaniac1 a man who burns buildings for fun1 a man with an inordinate desire to hear the fire-engines screech through the streets and perhaps get a chance to show a little heroism in 'rescuing' tenants4 ,however1 the adjuster for the insurance company1 ,lazard1 and the adjuster for the insured1 ,hartstein1 have reached an agreement1 and ,i believe the insurance is to be paid4 ,but1 interposed ,kennedy1 ,i see no evidence of organised arson so far4 ,wait1 replied the fire marshal4 ,that was only the beginning1 you understand4 ,a little later came a fire that looked quite like an attempt to mask a robbery by burning the building afterward4 ,that was in a silk-house near ,spring ,street4 ,but after a controversy the adjusters have reached an agreement on that case4 ,i mention these fires because they show practically all the types of work of the various kinds of firebug - insurance1 revenge1 robbery1 and plain insanity4 ,but since the ,spring ,street fire1 the character of the fires has been more uniform4 ,they have all been in business places1 or nearly all4 ,here the fire marshal launched forth into a catalogue of fires of suspected incendiary origin1 at least eight in all4 ,i took them down hastily1 intending to use the list some time in a box head with an article in the ,star4 ,when he had finished his list ,i hastily counted up the number of killed4 ,there were six1 two of them firemen1 and four employees4 ,the money loss ranged into the millions4 ,mc,cormick passed his hand over his forehead to brush off the perspiration4 ,i guess this thing has got on my nerves1 he muttered hoarsely4 ,everywhere ,i go they talk about nothing else4 ,if ,i drop into the restaurant for lunch1 my waiter talks of it4 ,if ,i meet a newspaper man1 he talks of it4 ,my barber talks of it - everybody4 ,sometimes ,i dream of it2 other times ,i lie awake thinking about it4 ,i tell you1 gentlemen1 ,i've sweated blood over this problem4 ,but1 insisted ,kennedy1 ,i still can't see why you link all these fires as due to one firebug4 ,i admit there is an epidemic of fires4 ,but what makes you so positive that it is all the work of one man8 ,i was coming to that4 ,for one thing1 he isn't like the usual firebug at all4 ,ordinarily they start their fires with excelsior and petroleum1 or they smear the wood with paraffin or they use gasoline1 benzine1 or something of that sort4 ,this fellow apparently scorns such crude methods4 ,i can't say how he starts his fires1 but in every case ,i have mentioned we have found the remains of a wire4 ,it has something to do with electricity - but what1 ,i don't know4 ,that's one reason why ,i think these fires are all connected4 ,here's another4 ,mc,cormick pulled a dirty note out of his pocket and laid it on the table4 ,we read it eagerly3 ,hello1 ,chief6 ,haven't found the firebug yet1 have you8 ,you will know who he is only when ,i am dead and the fires stop4 ,i don't suppose you even realise that the firebug talks with you almost every day about catching the firebug4 ,that's me4 ,i am the real firebug1 that is writing this letter4 ,i am going to tell you why ,i am starting these fires4 ,there's money in it - an easy living4 ,they never caught me in or anywhere1 so you might as well quit looking for me and take your medicine4 ,a4 ,,spark4 ,humph6 ejaculated ,kennedy1 he has a sense of humour1 anyhow - ,a4 ,spark6 ,queer sense of humour1 growled ,mc,cormick1 gritting his teeth4 ,here's another ,i got to-day3 ,say1 ,chief3 ,we are going to get busy again and fire a big department-store next4 ,how does that suit ,your ,majesty8 till the fun begins when the firebug gets to work again4 ,a4 ,,spark4 ,well1 sir1 when ,i got that letter1 cried ,mc,cormick1 ,i was almost ready to ring in a double-nine alarm at once - they have me that bluffed out4 ,but ,i said to myself1 ',there's only one thing to do - see this man ,kennedy4' ,so here ,i am4 ,you see what ,i am driving at8 ,i believe that firebug is an artist at the thing1 does it for the mere fun of it and the ready money in it4 ,but more than that1 there must be some one back of him4 ,who is the man higher up - we must catch him4 ,see8 ,a big department-store1 mused ,kennedy4 ,that's definite - there are only a score or so of them1 and the ,stacey interests control several4 ,mac1 ,i'll tell you what ,i'll do4 ,let me sit up with you to-night at headquarters until we get an alarm4 ,by ,george1 ,i'll see this case through to a finish6 ,the fire marshal leaped to his feet and bounded over to where ,kennedy was seated4 ,with one hand on ,craig's shoulder and the other grasping ,craig's hand1 he started to speak1 but his voice choked4 ,thanks1 he blurted out huskily at last4 ,my reputation in the department is at stake1 my promotion1 my position itself1 my - my family - er - er - ,not a word1 sir1 said ,kennedy1 his features working sympathetically4 ,to-night at eight ,i will go on watch with you4 ,by the way1 leave me those ,a4 ,spark notes4 ,mc,cormick had so far regained his composure as to say a hearty farewell4 ,he left the room as if ten years had been lifted off his shoulders4 ,a moment later he stuck his head in the door again4 ,i'll have one of the ,department machines call for you1 gentlemen1 he said4 ,after the marshal had gone1 we sat for several minutes in silence4 ,kennedy was reading and rereading the notes1 scowling to himself as if they presented a particularly perplexing problem4 ,i said nothing1 though my mind was teeming with speculations4 ,at length he placed the notes very decisively on the table and snapped out the remark1 ,yes1 it must be so4 ,what8 ,i queried1 still drumming away at my typewriter1 copying the list of incendiary fires against the moment when the case should be complete and the story released for publication1 as it were4 ,this note1 he explained1 picking up the first one and speaking slowly1 was written by a woman4 ,i swung around in my chair quickly4 ,get out6 ,i exclaimed sceptically4 ,no woman ever used such phrases4 ,i didn't say composed by a woman - ,i said written by a woman1 he replied4 ,oh1 ,i said1 rather chagrined4 ,it is possible to determine sex from handwriting in perhaps eighty cases out of a hundred1 ,kennedy went on1 enjoying my discomfiture4 ,once ,i examined several hundred specimens of writing to decide that point to my satisfaction4 ,just to test my conclusions ,i submitted the specimens to two professional graphologists4 ,i found that our results were slightly different1 but ,i averaged the thing up to four cases out of five correct4 ,the so-called sex signs are found to be largely influenced by the amount of writing done1 by age1 and to a certain extent by practice and professional requirements1 as in the conventional writing of teachers and the rapid hand of bookkeepers4 ,now in this case the person who wrote the first note was only an indifferent writer4 ,therefore the sex signs are pretty likely to be accurate4 ,yes1 ,i'm ready to go on the stand and swear that this note was written by a woman and the second by a man4 ,then there's a woman in the case1 and she wrote the first note for the firebug - is that what you mean8 ,i asked4 ,exactly4 ,there nearly always is a woman in the case1 somehow or other4 ,this woman is closely connected with the firebug4 ,as for the firebug1 whoever it may be1 he performs his crimes with cold premeditation and1 as ,de ,quincey said1 in a spirit of pure artistry4 ,the lust of fire propels him1 and he uses his art to secure wealth4 ,the man may be a tool in the hands of others1 however4 ,it's unsafe to generalise on the meagre facts we now have4 ,oh1 well1 there is nothing we can do just yet4 ,let's take a walk1 get an early dinner1 and be back here before the automobile arrives4 ,not a word more did ,kennedy say about the case during our stroll or even on the way downtown to fire headquarters4 ,we found ,mc,cormick anxiously waiting for us4 ,high up in the sandstone tower at headquarters1 we sat with him in the maze of delicate machinery with which the fire game is played in ,new ,york4 ,in great glass cases were glistening brass and nickel machines with discs and levers and bells1 tickers1 sheets of paper1 and annunciators without number4 ,this was the fire-alarm telegraph1 the roulette-wheel of the fire demon1 as some one has aptly called it4 ,all the alarms for fire from all the boroughs1 both from the regular alarm-boxes and the auxiliary systems1 come here first over the network of three thousand miles or more of wire nerves that stretch out through the city1 ,mc,cormick was explaining to us4 ,a buzzer hissed4 ,here's an alarm now1 he exclaimed1 all attention4 ,three1 six1 seven1 the numbers appeared on the annunciator4 ,the clerks in the office moved as if they were part of the mechanism4 ,twice the alarm was repeated1 being sent out all over the city4 ,mc,cormick relapsed from his air of attention4 ,that alarm was not in the shopping district1 he explained1 much relieved4 ,now the fire-houses in the particular district where that fire is#bj;have received the alarm instantly4 ,four engines1 two hook-and-ladders1 a water-tower1 the battalion chief1 and a deputy are hurrying to that fire4 ,hello1 here comes another4 ,again the buzzer sounded4 ,one1 four1 five showed in the annunciator4 ,even before the clerks could respond1 ,mc,cormick had dragged us to the door4 ,in another instant we were wildly speeding uptown1 the bell on the front of the automobile clanging like a fire-engine1 the siren horn going continuously1 the engine of the machine throbbing with energy until the water boiled in the radiator4 ,let her out1 ,frank1 called ,mc,cormick to his chauffeur1 as we rounded into a broad and now almost deserted thoroughfare4 ,like a red streak in the night we flew up that avenue1 turned into ,fourteenth ,street on two wheels1 and at last were on ,sixth ,avenue4 ,with a jerk and a skid we stopped4 ,there were the engines1 the hose-carts1 the hook-and-ladders1 the salvage corps1 the police establishing fire lines-everything4 ,but where was the fire8 ,the crowd indicated where it ought to be - it was ,stacey's4 ,firemen and policemen were entering the huge building4 ,mc,cormick shouldered in after them1 and we followed4 ,who turned in the alarm8 he asked as we mounted the stairs with the others4 ,i did1 replied a night watchman on the third landing4 ,saw a light in the office on the third floor back - something blazing4 ,but it seems to be out now4 ,we had at last come to the office4 ,it was dark and deserted1 yet with the lanterns we could see the floor of the largest room littered with torn books and ledgers4 ,kennedy caught his foot in something4 ,it was a loose wire on the floor4 ,he followed it4 ,it led to an electric-light socket1 where it was attached4 ,can't you turn on the lights8 shouted ,mc,cormick to the watchman4 ,not here4 ,they're turned on from downstairs1 and they're off for the night4 ,i'll go down if you want me to and - ,no1 roared ,kennedy4 ,stay where you are until ,i follow the wire to the other end4 ,at last we came to a little office partitioned off from the main room4 ,kennedy carefully opened the door4 ,one whiff of the air from it was sufficient4 ,he banged the door shut again4 ,stand back with those lanterns1 boys1 he ordered4 ,i sniffed1 expecting to smell illuminating-gas4 ,instead1 a peculiar1 sweetish odour pervaded the air4 ,for a moment it made me think of a hospital operating-room4 ,ether1 exclaimed ,kennedy4 ,stand back farther with those lights and hold them up from the floor4 ,for a moment he seemed to hesitate as if at loss what to do next4 ,should he open the door and let this highly inflammable gas out or should he wait patiently until the natural ventilation of the little office had dispelled it8 ,while he was debating he happened to glance out of the window and catch sight of a drug-store across the street4 ,walter1 he said to me1 hurry across there and get all the saltpeter and sulphur the man has in the shop4 ,i lost no time in doing so4 ,kennedy dumped the two chemicals into a pan in the middle of the main office1 about three-fifths saltpeter and two-fifths sulphur1 ,i should say4 ,then he lighted it4 ,the mass burned with a bright flame but without explosion4 ,we could smell the suffocating fumes from it1 and we retreated4 ,for a moment or two we watched it curiously at a distance4 ,that's very good extinguishing-powder1 explained ,craig as we sniffed at the odour4 ,it yields a large amount of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide4 ,now - before it gets any worse - ,i guess it's safe to open the door and let the ether out4 ,you see this is as good a way as any to render safe a room full of inflammable vapour4 ,come1 we'll wait outside the main office for a few minutes until the gases mix4 ,it seemed hours before ,kennedy deemed it safe to enter the office again with a light4 ,when we did so1 we made a rush for the little cubby-hole of an office at the other end4 ,on the floor was a little can of ether1 evaporated of course1 and beside it a small apparatus apparently used for producing electric sparks4 ,so1 that's how he does it1 mused ,kennedy1 fingering the can contemplatively4 ,he lets the ether evaporate in a room for a while and then causes an explosion from a safe distance with this little electric spark4 ,there's where your wire comes in1 ,mc,cormick4 ,say1 my man1 you can switch on the lights from downstairs1 now4 ,as we waited for the watchman to turn on the lights ,i exclaimed1 ,he failed this time because the electricity was shut off4 ,precisely1 ,walter1 assented ,kennedy4 ,but the flames which the night watchman saw1 what of them8 put in ,mc,cormick1 considerably mystified4 ,he must have seen something4 ,just then the lights winked up4 ,oh1 that was before the fellow tried to touch off the ether vapour1 explained ,kennedy4 ,he had to make sure of his work of destruction first - and1 judging by the charred papers about1 he did it well4 ,see1 he tore leaves from the ledgers and lighted them on the floor4 ,there was an object in all that4 ,what was it8 ,hello6 ,look at this mass of charred paper in the corner4 ,he bent down and examined it carefully4 ,memoranda of some kind1 ,i guess4 ,i'll save this burnt paper and look it over later4 ,don't disturb it4 ,i'll take it away myself4 ,search as we might1 we could find no other trace of the firebug1 and at last we left4 ,kennedy carried the charred paper carefully in a large hat-box4 ,there'll be no more fires to-night1 ,mc,cormick1 he said4 ,but ,i'll watch with you every night until we get this incendiary4 ,meanwhile ,i'll see what ,i can decipher1 if anything1 in this burnt paper4 ,next day ,mc,cormick dropped in to see us again4 ,this time he had another note1 a disguised scrawl which read3 ,chief ,i'm not through4 ,watch me get another store yet4 ,i won't fall down this time4 ,craig scowled as he read the note and handed it to me4 ,the man's ,a4 ,,spark4 writing this time - like the second note1 was all he said4 ,mc,cormick1 since we know where the lightning is going to strike1 don't you think it would be wiser to make our headquarters in one of the engine-houses in that district8 ,the fire marshal agreed1 and that night saw us watching at the fire-house nearest the department-store region4 ,kennedy and ,i were assigned to places on the hose-cart and engine1 respectively1 ,kennedy being in the hose-cart so that he could be with ,mc,cormick4 ,we were taught to descend one of the four brass poles hand under elbow1 from the dormitory on the second floor4 ,they showed us how to jump into the turn-outs - a pair of trousers opened out over the high top boots4 ,we were given helmets which we placed in regulation fashion on our rubber coats1 turned inside out with the right armhole up4 ,thus it came about that ,craig and ,i joined the ,fire ,department temporarily4 ,it was a novel experience for us both4 ,now1 ,walter1 said ,kennedy1 as long as we have gone so far1 we'll 'roll' to every fire1 just like the regulars4 ,we won't take any chances of missing the firebug at any time of night or day4 ,it proved to be a remarkably quiet evening with only one little blaze in a candy-shop on ,seventh ,avenue4 ,most of the time we sat around trying to draw the men out about their thrilling experiences at fires4 ,but if there is one thing the fireman doesn't know it is the ,english language when talking about himself4 ,it was quite late when we turned into the neat white cots upstairs4 ,we had scarcely fallen into a half doze in our strange surroundings when the gong downstairs sounded4 ,it was our signal4 ,we could hear the rapid clatter of the horses' hoofs as they were automatically released from their stalls and the collars and harness mechanically locked about them4 ,all was stir1 and motion1 and shouts4 ,craig and ,i had bounded awkwardly into our paraphernalia at the first sound4 ,we slid ungracefully down the pole and were pushed and shoved into our places1 for scientific management in a ,new ,york fire-house has reached one hundred per cent efficiency1 and we were not to be allowed to delay the game4 ,the oil-torch had been applied to the engine1 and it rolled forth1 belching flames4 ,i was hanging on for dear life1 now and then catching sight of the driver urging his plunging horses onward like a charioteer in a modern ,ben ,hur race4 ,the tender with ,craig and ,mc,cormick was lost in the clouds of smoke and sparks that trailed behind us4 ,on we dashed until we turned into ,sixth ,avenue4 ,the glare of the sky told us that this time the firebug had made good4 ,i'll be hanged if it isn't the ,stacey store again1 shouted the man next me on the engine as the horses lunged up the avenue and stopped at the allotted hydrant4 ,it was like a war game4 ,every move had been planned out by the fire-strategists1 even down to the hydrants that the engines should take at a given fire4 ,already several floors were aflame1 the windows glowing like open-hearth furnaces1 the glass bulging and cracking and the flames licking upward and shooting out in long streamers4 ,the hose was coupled up in an instant1 the water turned on1 and the limp rubber and canvas became as rigid as a post with the high pressure of the water being forced through it4 ,company after company dashed into the blazing fireproof building1 urged by the hoarse profanity of the chief4 ,twenty or thirty men must have disappeared into the stifle from which the police retreated4 ,there was no haste1 no hesitation4 ,everything moved as smoothly as if by clockwork4 ,yet we could not see one of the men who had disappeared into the burning building4 ,they had been swallowed up1 as it were4 ,for that is the way with the ,new ,york firemen4 ,they go straight to the heart of the fire4 ,now and then a stream of a hose spat out of a window1 showing that the men were still alive and working4 ,about the ground floors the red-helmeted salvage corps were busy covering up what they could of the goods with rubber sheets to protect them from water4 ,doctors with black bags and white trousers were working over the injured4 ,kennedy and ,i were busy about the engine1 and there was plenty for us to do4 ,above the shrill whistle for more coal ,i heard a voice shout1 ,began with an explosion - it's the fire- bug1 all right4 ,i looked up4 ,it was ,mc,cormick1 dripping and grimy1 in a high state of excitement1 talking to ,kennedy4 ,i had been so busy trying to make myself believe that ,i was really of some assistance about the engine that ,i had not taken time to watch the fire itself4 ,it was now under control4 ,the sharp and scientific attack had nipped what might have been one of ,new ,york's historic conflagrations4 ,are you game to go inside8 ,i heard ,mc,cormick ask4 ,for answer ,kennedy simply nodded4 ,as for me1 where ,craig went ,i went4 ,the three of us drove through the scorching door1 past twisted masses of iron still glowing dull red in the smoke and steam1 while the water hissed and spattered and slopped4 ,the smoke was still suffocating1 and every once in a while we were forced to find air close to the floor and near the wall4 ,my hands and arms and legs felt like lead1 yet on we drove4 ,coughing and choking1 we followed ,mc,cormick to what had been the heart of the fire1 the office4 ,men with picks and axes and all manner of cunningly devised instruments were hacking and tearing at the walls and woodwork1 putting out the last smouldering sparks while a thousand gallons of water were pouring in at various parts of the building where the fire still showed spirit4 ,there on the floor of the office lay a charred1 shapeless1 unrecognisable mass4 ,what was that gruesome odour in the room8 ,burned human flesh8 ,i recoiled from what had once been the form of a woman4 ,mc,cormick uttered a cry1 and as ,i turned my eyes away1 ,i saw him holding a wire with the insulation burned off4 ,he had picked it up from the wreckage of the floor4 ,it led to a bent and blackened can - that had once been a can of ether4 ,my mind worked rapidly1 but ,mc,cormick blurted out the words before ,i could form them1 ,caught in her own trap at last6 ,kennedy said nothing1 but as one of the firemen roughly but reverently covered the remains with a rubber sheet1 he stooped down and withdrew from the breast of the woman a long letter-file4 ,come1 let us go1 he said4 ,back in our apartment again we bathed our racking heads1 gargled our parched throats1 and washed out our bloodshot eyes1 in silence4 ,the whole adventure1 though still fresh and vivid in my mind1 seemed unreal1 like a dream4 ,the choking air1 the hissing steam1 the ghastly object under the tarpaulin - what did it all mean8 ,who was she8 ,i strove to reason it out1 but could find no answer4 ,it was nearly dawn when the door opened and ,mc,cormick came in and dropped wearily into a chair4 ,do you know who that woman was8 he gasped4 ,it was ,miss ,wend herself4 ,who identified her8 asked ,kennedy calmly4 ,oh1 several people4 ,stacey recognised her at once4 ,then ,hartstein1 the adjuster for the insured1 and ,lazard1 the adjuster for the company1 both of whom had had more or less to do with her in connection with settling up for other fires1 recognised her4 ,she was a very clever woman1 was ,miss ,wend1 and a very important cog in the ,stacey enterprises4 ,and to think she was the firebug1 after all4 ,i can hardly believe it4 ,why believe it8 asked ,kennedy quietly4 ,why believe it8 echoed ,mc,cormick4 ,stacey has found shortages in his books due to the operation of her departments4 ,the bookkeeper who had charge of the accounts in her department1 a man named ,douglas1 is missing4 ,she must have tried to cover up her operations by fires and juggling the accounts4 ,failing in that she tried to destroy ,stacey's store itself1 twice4 ,she was one of the few that could get into the office unobserved4 ,oh1 it's a clear case now4 ,to my mind1 the heavy vapours of ether - they are heavier than air1 you know - must have escaped along the surface of the floor last night and become ignited at a considerable distance from where she expected4 ,she was caught in a back-draught1 or something of the sort4 ,well1 thank ,god1 we've seen the last of this firebug business4 ,what's that8 ,kennedy had laid the letter-file on the table4 ,nothing4 ,only ,i found this embedded in ,miss ,wend's breast right over her heart4 ,then she was murdered8 exclaimed ,mc,cormick4 ,we haven't come to the end of this case yet1 replied ,craig evasively4 ,on the contrary1 we have just got our first good clue4 ,no1 ,mc,cormick1 your theory will not hold water4 ,the real point is to find this missing bookkeeper at any cost4 ,you must persuade him to confess what he knows4 ,offer him immunity - he was only a pawn in the hands of those higher up4 ,mc,cormick was not hard to convince4 ,tired as he was1 he grabbed up his hat and started off to put the final machinery in motion to wind up the long chase for the firebug4 ,i must get a couple of hours' sleep1 he yawned as he left us1 but first ,i want to start something toward finding ,douglas4 ,i shall try to see you about noon4 ,i was too exhausted to go to the office4 ,in fact1 ,i doubt if ,i could have written a line4 ,but ,i telephoned in a story of personal experiences at the ,stacey fire and told them they could fix it up as they chose and even sign my name to it4 ,about noon ,mc,cormick came in again1 looking as fresh as if nothing had happened4 ,he was used to it4 ,i know where ,douglas is1 he announced breathlessly4 ,fine1 said ,kennedy1 and can you produce him at any time when it is necessary8 ,let me tell you what ,i have done4 ,i went down to the district attorney from here - routed him out of bed4 ,he has promised to turn loose his accountants to audit the reports of the adjusters1 ,hartstein and ,lazard1 as well as to make a cursory examination of what ,stacey books there are left4 ,he says he will have a preliminary report ready to-night1 but the detailed report will take days1 of course4 ,it's the ,douglas problem that is difficult1 though4 ,i haven't seen him1 but one of the central-office men1 by shadowing his wife1 has found that he is in hiding down on the ,east ,side4 ,he's safe there2 he can't make a move to get away without being arrested4 ,the trouble is that if ,i arrest him1 the people higher up will know it and will escape before ,i can get his confession and the warrants4 ,i'd much rather have the whole thing done at once4 ,isn't there some way we can get the whole ,stacey crowd together1 make the arrest of ,douglas and nab the guilty ones in the case1 all together without giving them a chance to escape or to shield the real firebug8 ,kennedy thought a moment4 ,yes1 he answered slowly4 ,there is4 ,if you can get them all together at my laboratory to-night at1 say1 eight o'clock1 ,i'll give you two clear hours to make the arrest of ,douglas1 get the confession1 and swear out the warrants4 ,all that you'll need to do is to let me talk a few minutes this afternoon with the judge who will sit in the night court to-night4 ,i shall install a little machine on his desk in the court1 and we'll catch the real criminal - he'll never get a chance to cross the state line or disappear in any way4 ,you see1 my laboratory will be neutral ground4 ,i think you can get them to come1 inasmuch as they know the bookkeeper is safe and that dead women tell no tales4 ,when next ,i saw ,kennedy it was late in the afternoon1 in the laboratory4 ,he was arranging something in the top drawer of a flat-top desk4 ,it seemed to be two instruments composed of many levers and discs and magnets1 each instrument with a roll of paper about five inches wide4 ,on one was a sort of stylus with two silk cords attached at right angles to each other near the point4 ,on the other was a capillary glass tube at the junction of two aluminum arms1 also at right angles to each other4 ,it was quite like old times to see ,kennedy at work in his laboratory preparing for a seance4 ,he said nothing as ,i watched him curiously1 and ,i asked nothing4 ,two sets of wires were attached to each of the instruments1 and these he carefully concealed and led out the window4 ,then he arranged the chairs on the opposite side of the desk from his own4 ,walter1 he said1 when our guests begin to arrive ,i want you to be master of ceremonies4 ,simply keep them on the opposite side of the desk from me4 ,don't let them move their chairs around to the right or left4 ,and1 above all1 leave the doors open4 ,i don't want any one to be suspicious or to feel that he is shut in in any way4 ,create the impression that they are free to go and come when they please4 ,stacey arrived first in a limousine which he left standing at the door of the ,chemistry ,building4 ,bloom and ,warren came together in the latter's car4 ,lazard came in a taxicab which he dismissed1 and ,hartstein came up by the subway1 being the last to arrive4 ,every one seemed to be in good humour4 ,i seated them as ,kennedy had directed4 ,kennedy pulled out the extension on the left of his desk and leaned his elbow on it as he began to apologise for taking up their time at such a critical moment4 ,as near as ,i could make out1 he had quietly pulled out the top drawer of his desk on the right1 the drawer in which ,i had seen him place the complicated apparatus4 ,but as nothing further happened ,i almost forgot about it in listening to him4 ,he began by referring to the burned papers he had found in the office4 ,it is sometimes possible1 he continued1 to decipher writing on burned papers if one is careful4 ,the processes of colour photography have recently been applied to obtain a legible photograph of the writing on burned manuscripts which are unreadable by any other known means4 ,as long as the sheet has not been entirely disintegrated positive results can be obtained every time4 ,the charred manuscript is carefully arranged in as near its original shape as possible1 on a sheet of glass and covered with a drying varnish1 after which it is backed by another sheet of glass4 ,by using carefully selected colour screens and orthochromatic plates a perfectly legible photograph of the writing may be taken1 although there may be no marks on the charred remains that are visible to the eye4 ,this is the only known method in many cases4 ,i have here some burned fragments of paper which ,i gathered up after the first attempt to fire your store1 ,mr4 ,stacey4 ,stacey coughed in acknowledgment4 ,as for ,craig1 he did not mince matters in telling what he had found4 ,some were notes given in favour of ,rebecca ,wend and signed by ,joseph ,stacey1 he said quietly4 ,they represent a large sum of money in the aggregate4 ,others were memoranda of ,miss ,wend's1 and still others were autograph letters to ,miss ,wend of a very incriminating nature in connection with the fires by another person4 ,here he laid the ,a4 ,spark letters on the desk before him4 ,now1 he added some one1 in a spirit of bravado1 sent these notes to the fire marshal at various times4 ,curiously enough1 ,i find that the handwriting of the first one bears a peculiar resemblance to that of ,miss ,wend1 while the second and third1 though disguised also1 greatly suggest the handwriting of ,miss ,wend's correspondent4 ,no one moved4 ,but ,i sat aghast4 ,she had been a part of the conspiracy1 after all1 not a pawn4 ,had they played fair8 ,taking up next the remarkable succession of fires1 resumed ,kennedy1 this case presents some unique features4 ,in short1 it is a clear case of what is known as a 'firebug trust4' ,now just what is a firebug trust8 ,well1 it is1 as near as ,i can make out1 a combination of dishonest merchants and insurance adjusters engaged in the business of deliberately setting fires for profit4 ,these arson trusts are not the ordinary kind of firebugs whom the firemen plentifully damn in the fixed belief that one-fourth of all fires are kindled by incendiaries4 ,such 'trusts' exist all over the country4 ,they have operated in ,chicago1 where they are said to have made seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in one year4 ,another group is said to have its headquarters in ,kansas ,city4 ,others have worked in ,st4 ,louis1 ,pittsburgh1 ,cleveland1 and ,buffalo4 ,the fire marshals of ,illinois1 ,kentucky1 ,tennessee1 and ,ohio have investigated their work4 ,but until recently ,new ,york has been singularly free from the organised work of this sort4 ,of course we have plenty of firebugs and pyromaniacs in a small way1 but the big conspiracy has never come to my personal attention before4 ,now1 the ,jones-,green fire1 the ,quadrangle fire1 the ,slawson ,building fire1 and the rest1 have all been set for one purpose - to collect insurance4 ,i may as well say right here that some people are in bad in this case1 but that others are in worse4 ,miss ,wend was originally a party to the scheme4 ,only the trouble with ,miss ,wend was that she was too shrewd to be fooled4 ,she insisted that she have her full share of the pickings4 ,in that case it seems to have been the whole field against ,miss ,wend1 not a very gallant thing1 nor yet according to the adage about honour among thieves4 ,a certain person whose name ,i am frank to say ,i do not know - yet - conceived the idea of destroying the obligations of the ,stacey companies to ,miss ,wend as well as the incriminating evidence which she held of the 'firebug trust1' of which she was a member up to this time4 ,the plan only partly succeeded4 ,the chief coup1 which was to destroy he ,stacey store into the bargain1 miscarried4 ,what was the result8 ,miss ,wend1 who had been hand in glove with the 'trust1' was now a bitter enemy1 perhaps would turn state's evidence4 ,what more natural than to complete the conspiracy by carrying out the coup and at the same time get rid of the dangerous enemy of the conspirators8 ,i believe that ,miss ,wend was lured under some pretext or other to the ,stacey store on the night of the big fire4 ,the person who wrote the second and third ',a4 ,spark' letters did it4 ,she was murdered with this deadly instrument - ,craig laid the letter-file on the table - and it was planned to throw the entire burden of suspicion on her by asserting that there was a shortage in the books of her department4 ,pooh6 exclaimed ,stacey1 smoking complacently at his cigar4 ,we have been victimised in those fires by people who have grudges against us1 labour unions and others4 ,this talk of an arson trust is bosh - yellow journalism4 ,more than that1 we have been systematically robbed by a trusted head of a department1 and the fire at ,stacey's was the way the thief took to cover - er - her stealings4 ,at the proper time we shall produce the bookkeeper ,douglas and prove it4 ,kennedy fumbled in the drawer of the desk1 then drew forth a long strip of paper covered with figures4 ,all the ,stacey companies1 he said1 have been suffering from the depression that exists in the trade at present4 ,they are insolvent4 ,glance over that1 ,stacey4 ,it is a summary of the preliminary report of the accountants of the district attorney who have been going over your books to-day4 ,stacey gasped4 ,how did you get it8 ,the report was not to be ready until nine o'clock1 and it is scarcely a quarter past now4 ,never mind how ,i got it4 ,go over it with the adjusters1 anybody4 ,i think you will find that there was no shortage in ,miss ,wend's department1 that you were losing money1 that you were in debt to ,miss ,wend1 and that she would have received the lion's share of the proceeds of the insurance if the firebug scheme had turned out as planned4 ,we absolutely repudiate these figures as fiction1 said ,stacey1 angrily turning toward ,kennedy after a hurried consultation4 ,perhaps1 then1 you'll appreciate this1 replied ,craig1 pulling another piece of paper from the desk4 ,i'll read it4 ',henry ,douglas1 being duly sworn1 deposes and says that one' - we'll call him ',blank' for the present - 'with force and arms did feloniously1 wilfully1 and intentionally kill ,rebecca ,wend whilst said ,blank was wilfully burning and setting on fire - ,one moment1 interrupted ,stacey4 ,let me see that paper4 ,kennedy laid it down so that only the signature showed4 ,the name was signed in a full round hand1 ,henry ,douglas4 ,it's a forgery1 cried ,stacey in rage4 ,not an hour before ,i came into this place ,i saw ,henry ,douglas4 ,he had signed no such paper then4 ,he could not have signed it since1 and you could not have received it4 ,i brand that document as a forgery4 ,kennedy stood up and reached down into the open drawer on the right of his desk4 ,from it he lifted the two machines ,i had seen him place there early in the evening4 ,gentlemen1 he said1 this is the last scene of the play you are enacting4 ,you see here on the desk an instrument that was invented many years ago1 but has only recently become really practical4 ,it is the telautograph - the long-distance writer4 ,in this new form it can be introduced into the drawer of a desk for the use of any one who may wish to make inquiries1 say1 of clerks without the knowledge of a caller4 ,it makes it possible to write a message under these conditions and receive an answer concerning the personality or business of the individual seated at one's elbow without leaving the desk or seeming to make inquiries4 ,with an ordinary pencil ,i have written on the paper of the transmitter4 ,the silk cord attached to the pencil regulates the current which controls a pencil at the other end of the line4 ,the receiving pencil moves simultaneously with my pencil4 ,it is the principle of the pantograph cut in half1 one half here1 the other half at the end of the line1 two telephone wires in this case connecting the halves4 ,while we have been sitting here ,i have had my right hand in the half-open drawer of my desk writing with this pencil notes of what has transpired in this room4 ,these notes1 with other evidence1 have been simultaneously placed before ,magistrate ,brenner in the night court4 ,at the same time1 on this other1 the receiving1 instrument the figures of the accountants written in court have been reproduced here4 ,you have seen them4 ,meanwhile4 ,douglas was arrested1 taken before the magistrate1 and the information for a charge of murder in the first degree perpetrated in committing arson has been obtained4 ,you have seen it4 ,it came in while you were reading the figures4 ,the conspirators seemed dazed4 ,and now1 continued ,kennedy1 ,i see that the pencil of the receiving instrument is writing again4 ,let us see what it is4 ,we bent over4 ,the writing started3 ,county of ,new ,york4 ,in the name of the ,people of the ,state of ,new ,york - ,kennedy did not wait for us to finish reading4 ,he tore the writing from the telautograph and waved it over his head4 ,it is a warrant4 ,you are all under arrest for arson4 ,but you1 ,samuel ,lazard1 are also under arrest for the murder of ,rebecca ,wend and six other persons in fires which you have set4 ,you are the real firebug1 the tool of ,joseph ,stacey1 perhaps1 but that will all come out in the trial4 ,mc,cormick1 ,mc,cormick1 called ,craig1 it's all right4 ,i have the warrant4 ,are the police there8 ,there was no answer4 ,lazard and ,stacey made a sudden dash for the door1 and in an instant they were in ,stacey's waiting car4 ,the chauffeur took off the brake and pulled the lever4 ,suddenly ,craig's pistol flashed1 and the chauffeur's arms hung limp and useless on the steering-wheel4 ,as ,mc,cormick with the police loomed up1 a moment late1 out of the darkness and after a short struggle clapped the irons on ,stacey and ,lazard in ,stacey's own magnificently upholstered car1 ,i remarked reproachfully to ,kennedy3 ,but1 ,craig1 you have shot the innocent chauffeur4 ,aren't you going to attend to him8 ,oh1 replied ,kennedy nonchalantly1 don't worry about that4 ,they were only rock-salt bullets4 ,they didn't penetrate far4 ,they'll sting for some time1 but they're antiseptic1 and they'll dissolve and absorb quickly4 ,v ,,the ,,confidence ,,king ,shake hands with ,mr4 ,burke of the secret service1 ,professor ,kennedy4 ,it was our old friend ,first ,deputy ,o',connor who thus in his bluff way introduced a well-groomed and prosperous-looking man whom he brought up to our apartment one evening4 ,the formalities were quickly over4 ,mr4 ,burke and ,i are old friends1 explained ,o',connor4 ,we try to work together when we can1 and very often the city department can give the government service a lift1 and then again it's the other way - as it was in the trunk-murder mystery4 ,show ,professor ,kennedy the 'queer1' ,tom4 ,burke drew a wallet out of his pocket1 and from it slowly and deliberately selected a crisp1 yellow-backed hundred-dollar bill4 ,he laid it flat on the table before us4 ,diagonally across its face from the upper left- to the lower right-hand corner extended two parallel scorings in indelible ink4 ,not being initiated into the secrets of the gentle art of shoving the queer1 otherwise known as passing counterfeit money1 ,i suppose my questioning look betrayed me4 ,a counterfeit1 ,walter1 explained ,kennedy4 ,that's what they do with bills when they wish to preserve them as records in the secret service and yet render them valueless4 ,without a word ,burke handed ,kennedy a pocket magnifying-glass1 and ,kennedy carefully studied the bill4 ,he was about to say something when ,burke opened his capacious wallet again and laid down a ,bank of ,england five-pound note which had been similarly treated4 ,again ,kennedy looked through the glass with growing amazement written on his face1 but before he could say anything1 ,burke laid down an express money-order on the ,international ,express ,company4 ,i say1 exclaimed ,kennedy1 putting down the glass1 stop6 ,how many more of these are there8 ,burke smiled4 ,that's all1 he replied1 but it's not the worst4 ,not the worst8 ,good heavens1 man1 next you'll tell me that the government is counterfeiting its own notes6 ,how much of this stuff do you suppose has been put into circulation8 ,burke chewed a pencil thoughtfully1 jotted down some figures on a piece of paper1 and thought some more4 ,of course ,i can't say exactly1 but from hints ,i have received here and there ,i should think that a safe bet would be that some one has cashed in upward of half a million dollars already4 ,whew1 whistled ,kennedy1 that's going some4 ,and ,i suppose it is all salted away in some portable form4 ,what an inventory if must be - good bills1 gold1 diamonds1 and jewellery4 ,this is a stake worth playing for4 ,yes1 broke in ,o',connor1 but from my standpoint1 professionally1 ,i mean1 the case is even worse than that4 ,it's not the counterfeits that bother us4 ,we understand that1 all right4 ,but1 and he leaned forward earnestly and brought his fist down hard on the table with a resounding ,irish oath1 the finger-print system1 the infallible finger-print system1 has gone to pieces4 ,we've just imported this new 'portrait parle' fresh from ,paris and ,london1 invented by ,bertillon and all that sort of thing - it has gone to pieces1 too4 ,it's a fine case1 this is1 with nothing left of either scientific or unscientific criminal-catching to rely on4 ,there - what do you know about that8 ,you'll have to tell me the facts first1 said ,kennedy4 ,i can't diagnose your disease until ,i know the symptoms4 ,it's like this1 explained ,burke1 the detective in him showing now with no effort at concealment4 ,a man1 an ,englishman1 apparently1 went into a downtown banker's office about three months ago and asked to have some ,english bank-notes exchanged for ,american money4 ,after he had gone away1 the cashier began to get suspicious4 ,he thought there was something phoney in the feel of the notes4 ,under the glass he noticed that the little curl on the 'e' of the ',five' was missing4 ,it's the protective mark4 ,the water-mark was quite equal to that of the genuine - maybe better4 ,hold that note up to the light and see for yourself4 ,well1 the next day1 down to the ,custom ,house1 where my office is1 a man came who runs a swell gambling-house uptown4 ,he laid ten brand-new bills on my desk4 ,an ,englishman had been betting on the wheel4 ,he didn't seem to care about winning1 and he cashed in each time with a new one-hundred-dollar bill4 ,of course he didn't care about winning4 ,he cared about the change - that was his winning4 ,the bill on the table is one of the original ten1 though since then scores have been put into circulation4 ,i made up my mind that it was the same ,englishman in both cases4 ,then within a week1 in walked the manager of the ,mozambique ,hotel - he had been stung with the fake ,international ,express money-order - same ,englishman1 too1 ,i believe4 ,and you have no trace of him8 asked ,kennedy eagerly4 ,we had him under arrest once - we thought4 ,a general alarm was sent out1 of course1 to all the banks and banking-houses4 ,but the man was too clever to turn up in that way again4 ,in one gambling-joint which women frequent a good deal1 a classy dame who might have been a duchess or a - well1 she was a pretty good loser and always paid with hundred-dollar bills4 ,now1 you know women are not good losers4 ,besides1 the hundred-dollar-bill story had got around among the gambling-houses4 ,this joint thought it worth taking a chance1 so they called me up on the 'phone1 extracted a promise that ,i'd play fair and keep ,o',connor from raiding them1 but wouldn't ,i please come up and look over the dame of the yellow bills8 ,of course ,i made a jump at it4 ,sure enough1 they were the same counterfeits4 ,i could tell because the silk threads were drawn in with coloured ink4 ,but instead of making an arrest ,i decided to trail the lady4 ,now1 here comes the strange part of it4 ,let me see1 this must have been over two months ago4 ,i followed her out to a suburban town1 ,riverwood along the ,hudson1 and to a swell country house overlooking the river1 private drive1 stone gate1 hedges1 old trees1 and all that sort of thing4 ,a sporty-looking ,englishman met her at the gate with one of those big imported touring-cars1 and they took a spin4 ,i waited a day or so1 but nothing more happened1 and ,i began to get anxious4 ,perhaps ,i was a bit hasty4 ,anyhow ,i watched my chance and made an arrest of both of them when they came to ,new ,york on a shopping expedition4 ,you should have heard that ,englishman swear4 ,i didn't know such language was possible4 ,but in his pocket we found twenty more of those hundred-dollar bills - that was all4 ,do you think he owned up8 ,not a bit of it4 ,he swore he had picked the notes up in a pocketbook on the pier as he left the steamer4 ,i laughed4 ,but when he was arraigned in court he told the magistrate the same story and that he had advertised his find at the time4 ,sure enough1 in the files of the papers we discovered in the lost-and-found column the ad1 just as he claimed4 ,we couldn't even prove that he had passed the bills4 ,so the magistrate refused to hold them1 and they were both released4 ,but we had had them in our power long enough to take their finger-prints and get descriptions and measurements of them1 particularly by this new 'portrait parle ' system4 ,we felt we could send out a strange detective and have him pick them out of a crowd - you know the system1 ,i presume8 ,kennedy nodded1 and ,i made a mental note of finding out more about the portrait parle later4 ,burke paused1 and ,o',connor prompted1 ,tell them about ,scotland ,yard1 ,tom4 ,oh1 yes1 resumed ,burke4 ,of course ,i sent copies of the finger-prints to ,scotland ,yard4 ,within two weeks they replied that one set belonged to ,william ,forbes1 a noted counterfeiter1 who1 they understood1 had sailed for ,south ,africa but had never arrived there4 ,they were glad to learn that he was in ,america1 and advised me to look after him sharply4 ,the woman was also a noted character - ,harriet ,wollstone1 an adventuress4 ,i suppose you have shadowed them ever since8 ,kennedy asked4 ,yes1 a few days after they were arrested the man had an accident with his car4 ,it was said he was cranking the engine and that it kicked back and splintered the bone in his forearm4 ,anyhow1 he went about with his hand and arm in a sling4 ,and then8 ,they gave my man the slip that night in their fast touring-car4 ,you know automobiles have about made shadowing impossible in these days4 ,the house was closed up1 and it was said by the neighbours that ,williams and ,mrs4 ,williams - as they called themselves - had gone to visit a specialist in ,philadelphia4 ,still1 as they had a year's lease on the house1 ,i detailed a man to watch it more or less all the time4 ,they went to ,philadelphia all right2 some of the bills turned up there4 ,but we saw nothing of them4 ,a short time ago1 word came to me that the house was open again4 ,it wasn't two hours later that the telephone rang like mad4 ,a ,fifth ,avenue jeweller had just sold a rope of pearls to an ,englishwoman who paid for it herself in crisp new one-hundred-dollar bills4 ,the bank had returned them to him that very afternoon - counterfeits4 ,i didn't lose any time making a second arrest up at the house of mystery at ,riverwood4 ,i had the county authorities hold them - and1 now1 ,o',connor1 tell the rest of it4 ,you took the finger-prints up there4 ,o',connor cleared his throat as if something stuck in it1 in the telling4 ,the ,riverwood authorities refused to hold them1 he said with evident chagrin4 ,as soon as ,i heard of the arrest ,i started up myself with the finger-print records to help ,burke4 ,it was the same man1 all right - ,i'll swear to that on a stack of ,bibles4 ,so will ,burke4 ,i'll never forget that snub nose - the concave nose1 the nose being the first point of identification in the 'portrait park4' ,and the ears1 too - oh1 it was the same man1 all right4 ,but when we produced the ,london finger-prints which tallied with the ,new ,york finger-prints which we had made - believe it or not1 but it is a fact1 the ,riverwood finger-prints did not tally at all4 ,he laid the prints on the table4 ,kennedy examined them closely4 ,his face clouded4 ,it was quite evident that he was stumped1 and he said so4 ,there are some points of agreement1 he remarked1 but more points of difference4 ,any points of difference are usually considered fatal to the finger-print theory4 ,we had to let the man go1 concluded ,burke4 ,we could have held the woman1 but we let her go1 too1 because she was not the principal in the case4 ,my men are shadowing the house now and have been ever since then4 ,but the next day after the last arrest1 a man from ,new ,york1 who looked like a doctor1 made a visit4 ,the secret-service man on the job didn't dare leave the house to follow him1 but as he never came again perhaps it doesn't matter4 ,since then the house has been closed4 ,the telephone rang4 ,it was ,burke's office calling him4 ,as he talked we could gather that something tragic must have happened at ,riverwood1 and we could hardly wait until he had finished4 ,there has been an accident up there1 he remarked as he hung up the receiver rather petulantly4 ,they returned in the car this afternoon with a large package in the back of the tonneau4 ,but they didn't stay long4 ,after dark they started out again in the car4 ,the accident was at the bad railroad crossing just above ,riverwood4 ,it seems ,williams's car got stalled on the track just as the ,buffalo express was due4 ,no one saw it1 but a man in a buggy around the bend in the road heard a woman scream4 ,he hurried down4 ,the train had smashed the car to bits4 ,how the woman escaped was a miracle1 but they found the man's body up the tracks1 horribly mangled4 ,it was ,williams1 they say4 ,they identified him by the clothes and by letters in his pockets4 ,but my man tells me he found a watch on him with ',w4 ,f4' engraved on it4 ,his hands and arms and head must have been right under the locomotive when it struck him1 ,i judge4 ,i guess that winds the case up1 eh8 exclaimed ,o',connor with evident chagrin4 ,where's the woman8 ,they said she was in the little local hospital1 but not much hurt4 ,just the shock and a few bruises4 ,o',connor's question seemed to suggest an idea to ,burke1 and he reached for the telephone again4 ,riverwood #big1 he ordered2 then to us as he waited he said3 ,we must hold the woman4 ,hello1 #big8 ,the hospital8 ,this is ,burke of the secret service4 ,will you tell my man1 who must be somewhere about1 that ,i would like to have him hold that woman who was in the auto smash until ,i can - what8 ,gone8 ,the deuce6 ,he hung up the receiver angrily4 ,she left with a man who called for her about half an hour ago1 he said4 ,there must be a gang of them4 ,forbes is dead1 but we must get the rest4 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,i'm sorry to have bothered you1 but ,i guess we can handle this alone1 after all4 ,it was the finger-prints that fooled us1 but now that ,forbes is out of the way it's just a straight case of detective work of the old style which won't interest you4 ,on the contrary1 answered ,kennedy1 ,i'm just beginning to be interested4 ,does it occur to you that1 after all1 ,forbes may not be dead8 ,not dead8 echoed ,burke and ,o',connor together4 ,exactly2 that's just what ,i said - not dead4 ,now stop and think a moment4 ,would the great ,forbes be so foolish as to go about with a watch marked ',w4 ,f4' if he knew1 as he must have known1 that you would communicate with ,london and by means of the prints find out all about him8 ,yes1 agreed ,burke1 all we have to go by is his watch found on ,williams4 ,i suppose there is some possibility that ,forbes may still be alive4 ,who is this third man who comes in and with whom ,harriet ,wollstone goes away so willingly8 put in ,o',connor4 ,you said the house had been closed - absolutely closed8 ,burke nodded4 ,been closed ever since the last arrest4 ,there's a servant who goes in now and then1 but the car hasn't been there before to-night1 wherever it has been4 ,i should like to watch that house myself for a while1 mused ,kennedy4 ,i suppose you have no objections to my doing so8 ,of course not4 ,go ahead1 said ,burke4 ,i will go along with you if you wish1 or my man can go with you4 ,no1 said ,kennedy1 too many of us might spoil the broth4 ,i'll watch alone to-night and will see you in the morning4 ,you needn't even say anything to your man there about us4 ,walter1 what's on for to-night8he asked when they had gone4 ,how are you fixed for a little trip out to ,riverwood8 ,to tell the truth1 ,i had an engagement at the ,college ,club with some of the fellows4 ,oh1 cut it4 ,that's what ,i intend to do1 ,i replied4 ,it was a raw night1 and we bundled ourselves up in old football sweaters under our overcoats4 ,half an hour later we were on our way up to ,riverwood4 ,by the way1 ,craig1 ,i asked1 ,i didn't like to say anything before those fellows4 ,they'd think ,i was a dub4 ,but ,i don't mind asking you4 ,what is this 'portrait parle' they talk about1 anyway8 ,why1 it's a word-picture - a 'spoken picture1' to be literal4 ,i took some lessons in it at ,bertillon's school when ,i was in ,paris4 ,it's a method of scientific apprehension of criminals1 a sort of necessary addition and completion to the methods of scientific identification of them after they are arrested4 ,for instance1 in trying to pick out a given criminal from his mere description you begin with the nose4 ,now1 noses are all concave1 straight1 or convex4 ,this ,forbes had a nose that was concave1 ,burke says4 ,suppose you were sent out to find him4 ,of all the people you met1 we'll say1 roughly1 two-thirds wouldn't interest you4 ,you'd pass up all with straight or convex noses4 ,now the next point to observe is the ear4 ,there are four general kinds of ears-triangular1 square1 oval1 and round1 besides a number of other differences which are clear enough after you study ears4 ,this fellow is a pale man with square ears and a peculiar lobe to his ear4 ,so you wouldn't give a second glance to1 say1 three-fourths of the square-eared people4 ,so by a process of elimination of various features1 the eyes1 the mouth1 the hair1 wrinkles1 and so forth1 you would be able to pick your man out of a thousand - that is1 if you were trained4 ,and it works8 ,i asked rather doubtfully4 ,oh1 yes4 ,that's why ,i'm taking up this case4 ,i believe science can really be used to detect crime1 any crime1 and in the present instance ,i've just pride enough to stick to this thing until - until they begin to cut ice on the ,styx4 ,whew1 but it will be cold out in the country to-night1 ,walter - speaking about ice4 ,it was quite late when we reached ,riverwood1 and ,kennedy hurried along the dimly lighted streets1 avoiding the main street lest some one might be watching or following us4 ,he pushed on1 following the directions ,burke had given him4 ,the house in question was a large1 newly built affair of concrete1 surrounded by trees and a hedge1 directly overlooking the river4 ,a bitter wind swept in from the west1 but in the shadow of an evergreen tree and of the hedge ,kennedy established our watch4 ,of all fruitless errands this seemed to me to be the acme4 ,the house was deserted2 that was apparent1 ,i thought1 and ,i said so4 ,hardly had ,i said it when ,i heard the baying of a dog4 ,it did not come from the house1 however1 and ,i concluded that it must have come from the next estate4 ,it's in the garage1 whispered ,kennedy4 ,i can hardly think they would go away and leave a dog locked up in it4 ,they would at least turn him loose4 ,hour after hour we waited4 ,midnight passed1 and still nothing happened4 ,at last when the moon had disappeared under the clouds1 ,kennedy pulled me along4 ,we had seen not a sign of life in the house1 yet he observed all the caution he would have if it had been well guarded4 ,quickly we advanced over the open space to the house1 approaching in the shadow as much as possible1 on the side farthest from the river4 ,tiptoeing over the porch1 ,kennedy tried a window4 ,it was fastened4 ,without hesitation he pulled out some instruments4 ,one of them was a rubber suction-cup1 which he fastened to the windowpane4 ,then with a very fine diamond-cutter he proceeded to cut out a large section4 ,it soon fell and was prevented from smashing on the floor by the string and the suction-cup4 ,kennedy put his hand in and unlatched the window1 and we stepped in4 ,all was silent4 ,apparently the house was deserted4 ,cautiously ,kennedy pressed the button of his pocket storage-battery lamp and flashed it slowly about the room4 ,it was a sort of library1 handsomely furnished4 ,at last the beam of light rested on a huge desk at the opposite end4 ,it seemed to interest ,kennedy1 and we tiptoed over to it4 ,one after another he opened the drawers4 ,one was locked1 and he saved that until the last4 ,quietly as he could1 he jimmied it open1 muffling the jimmy in a felt cloth that was on a table4 ,most people do not realise the disruptive force that there is in a simple jimmy4 ,i didn't until ,i saw the solid drawer with its heavy lock yield with just the trace of a noise4 ,kennedy waited an instant and listened4 ,nothing happened4 ,inside the drawer was a most nondescript collection of useless articles4 ,there were a number of pieces of fine sponge1 some of them very thin and cut in a flat oval shape1 smelling of lysol strongly2 several bottles1 a set of sharp little knives1 some paraffin1 bandages1 antiseptic gauze1 cotton - in fact1 it looked like a first-aid kit4 ,as soon as he saw it ,kennedy seemed astonished but not at a loss to account for it4 ,i thought he left that sort of thing to the doctors1 but ,i guess he took a hand in it himself1 he muttered1 continuing to fumble with the knives in the drawer4 ,it was no time to ask questions1 and ,i did not4 ,kennedy rapidly stowed away the things in his pockets4 ,one bottle he opened and held to his nose4 ,i could distinguish immediately the volatile smell of ether4 ,he closed it quickly1 and it1 too1 went into his pocket with the remark1 ,somebody must have known how to administer an anaesthetic - probably the ,wollstone woman4 ,a suppressed exclamation from ,kennedy caused me to look4 ,the drawer had a false back4 ,safely tucked away in it reposed a tin box1 one of those so-called strong-boxes which are so handy in that they save a burglar much time and trouble in hunting all over for the valuables he has come after4 ,kennedy drew it forth and laid it on the desk4 ,it was locked4 ,even that did not seem to satisfy ,kennedy1 who continued to scrutinise the walls and corners of the room as if looking for a safe or something of that sort4 ,let's look in the room across the hall1 he whispered4 ,suddenly a piercing scream of a woman rang out upstairs4 ,help6 ,help6 ,there's some one in the house6 ,billy1 help6 ,i felt an arm grasp me tightly1 and for a moment a chill ran over me at being caught in the nefarious work of breaking and entering a dwelling-house at night4 ,but it was only ,kennedy1 who had already tucked the precious little tin box under his arm4 ,with a leap he dragged me to the open window1 cleared it1 vaulted over the porch1 and we were running for the clump of woods that adjoined the estate on one side4 ,lights flashed in all the windows of the house at once4 ,there must have been some sort of electric-light system that could be lighted instantly as a burglar-expeller4 ,anyhow1 we had made good our escape4 ,as we lost ourselves in the woods ,i gave a last glance back and saw a lantern carried from the house to the garage4 ,as the door was unlocked ,i could see1 in the moonlight1 a huge dog leap out and lick the hands and face of a man4 ,quickly we now crashed through the frozen underbrush4 ,evidently ,kennedy was making for the station by a direct route across country instead of the circuitous way by the road and town4 ,behind us we could hear a deep baying4 ,by the ,lord1 ,walter1 cried ,kennedy1 for once in his life thoroughly alarmed1 it's a bloodhound1 and our trail is fresh4 ,closer it came4 ,press forward as we might1 we could never expect to beat that dog4 ,oh1 for a stream1 groaned ,kennedy1 but they are all frozen - even the river4 ,he stopped short1 fumbled in his pocket1 and drew out the bottle of ether4 ,raise your foot1 ,walter1 he ordered4 ,i did so and he smeared first mine and then his with the ether4 ,then we doubled on our trail once or twice and ran again4 ,the dog will never be able to pick up the ether as our trail1 panted ,kennedy2 that is1 if he is any good and trained not to go off on wild-goose chases4 ,on we hurried from the woods to the now dark and silent town4 ,it was indeed fortunate that the dog had been thrown off our scent1 for the station was closed1 and1 indeed1 if it had been open ,i am sure the station agent would have felt more like locking the door against two such tramps as we were1 carrying a tin box and pursued by a dog1 than opening it for us4 ,the best we could do was to huddle into a corner until we succeeded in jumping a milk-train that luckily slowed down as it passed ,riverwood station4 ,neither of us could wait to open the tin box in our apartment1 and instead of going uptown ,kennedy decided it would be best to go to a hotel near the station4 ,somehow we succeeded in getting a room without exciting suspicion4 ,hardly had the bellboy's footsteps ceased echoing in the corridor than ,kennedy was at work wrenching off the lid of the box with such leverage as the scanty furnishings of the room afforded4 ,at last it yielded1 and we looked in curiously1 expecting to find fabulous wealth in some form4 ,a few hundred dollars and a rope of pearls lay in it4 ,it was a good haul1 but where was the vast spoil the counterfeiters had accumulated8 ,we had missed it4 ,so far we were completely baffled4 ,perhaps we had better snatch a couple of hours' sleep1 was all that ,craig said1 stifling his chagrin4 ,over and over in my mind ,i was turning the problem of where they had hidden the spoil4 ,i dozed off1 still thinking about it and thinking that1 even should they be captured1 they might have stowed away perhaps a million dollars to which they could go back after their sentences were served4 ,it was still early for ,new ,york when ,kennedy roused me by talking over the telephone in the room4 ,in fact1 ,i doubt if he had slept at all4 ,burke was at the other end of the wire4 ,his man had just reported that something had happened during the night at ,riverwood1 but he couldn't give a very clear account4 ,craig seemed to enjoy the joke immensely as he told his story to ,burke4 ,the last words ,i heard were3 ,all right4 ,send a man up here to the station - one who knows all the descriptions of these people4 ,i'm sure they will have to come into town to-day1 and they will have to come by train1 for their car is wrecked4 ,better watch at the uptown stations1 also4 ,after a hasty breakfast we met ,burke's man and took our places at the exit from the train platforms4 ,evidently ,kennedy had figured out that the counterfeiters would have to come into town for some reason or other4 ,the incoming passengers were passing us in a steady stream1 for a new station was then being built1 and there was only a temporary structure with one large exit4 ,here is where the 'portrait parle' ought to come in1 if ever1 commented ,kennedy as he watched eagerly4 ,and yet neither man nor woman passed us who fitted the description4 ,train after train emptied its human freight1 yet the pale man with the concave nose and the peculiar ear1 accompanied perhaps by a lady1 did not pass us4 ,at last the incoming stream began to dwindle down4 ,it was long past the time when the counterfeiters should have arrived if they had started on any reasonable train4 ,perhaps they have gone up to ,montreal1 instead1 ,i ventured4 ,kennedy shook his head4 ,no1 he answered4 ,i have an idea that ,i was mistaken about the money being kept at ,riverwood4 ,it would have been too risky4 ,i thought it out on the way back this morning4 ,they probably kept it in a safe deposit vault here4 ,i had figured that they would come down and get it and leave ,new ,york after last night's events4 ,we have failed - they have got by us4 ,neither the 'portrait parle' nor the ordinary photography nor any other system will suffice alone against the arch-criminal back of this1 ,i'm afraid4 ,walter1 ,i am sore and disgusted4 ,what ,i should have done was to accept ,burke's offer - surround the house with a posse if necessary1 last night1 and catch the counterfeiters by sheer force4 ,i was too confident4 ,i thought ,i could do it with finesse1 and ,i have failed4 ,i'd give anything to know what safe deposit vault they kept the fake money in4 ,i said nothing as we strolled away1 leaving ,burke's man still to watch1 hoping against hope4 ,kennedy walked disconsolately through the station1 and ,i followed4 ,in a secluded part of the waiting-room he sat down1 his face drawn up in a scowl such as ,i had never seen4 ,plainly he was disgusted with himself - with only himself4 ,this was no bungling of ,burke or any one else4 ,again the counterfeiters had escaped from the hand of the law4 ,as he moved his fingers restlessly in the pockets of his coat1 he absently pulled out the little pieces of sponge and the ether bottle4 ,he regarded them without much interest4 ,i know what they were for1 he said1 diving back into his pocket for the other things and bringing out the sharp little knives in their case4 ,i said nothing1 for ,kennedy was in a deep study4 ,at last he put the things back into his pocket4 ,as he did so his hand encountered something which he drew forth with a puzzled air4 ,it was the piece of paraffin4 ,now1 what do you suppose that was for8 he asked1 half to himself4 ,i had forgotten that4 ,what was the use of a piece of paraffin8 ,phew1 smell the antiseptic worked into it4 ,i don't know1 ,i replied1 rather testily4 ,if you would tell me what the other things were for ,i might enlighten you1 but - ,by ,george1 ,walter1 what a chump ,i am6 cried ,kennedy1 leaping to his feet1 all energy again4 ,why did ,i forget that lump of paraffin8 ,why1 of course - ,i think ,i can guess what they have been doing - of course4 ,why1 man alive1 he walked right past us1 and we never knew it4 ,boy1 boy1 he shouted to a newsboy who passed1 what's the latest sporting edition you have8 ,eagerly he almost tore a paper open and scanned the sporting pages4 ,racing at ,lexington begins to-morrow1 he read4 ,yes1 ,i'll bet that's it4 ,we don't have to know the safe deposit vault1 after all4 ,it would be too late1 anyhow4 ,quick1 let us look up the train to ,lexington4 ,as we hurried over to the information booth1 ,i gasped1 in a whirl3 ,now1 look here1 ,kennedy1 what's all this lightning calculation8 ,what possible connection is there between a lump of paraffin and one of the few places in the country where they still race horses8 ,none1 he replied1 not stopping an instant4 ,none4 ,the paraffin suggested to me the possible way in which our man managed to elude us under our very eyes4 ,that set my mind at work again4 ,like a flash it occurred to me3 ,where would they be most likely to go next to work off some of the bills8 ,the banks are on1 the jewellery-houses are on1 the gambling-joints are on4 ,why1 to the racetracks1 of course4 ,that's it4 ,counterfeiters all use the bookmakers1 only since racing has been killed in ,new ,york they have had to resort to other means here4 ,if ,new ,york has suddenly become too hot1 what more natural than to leave it8 ,here1 let me see - there's a train that gets there early to-morrow1 the best train1 too4 ,say1 is ,no4 #add made up yet8 he inquired at the desk4 ,no4 #add will be ready in fifteen minutes4 ,track #h4 ,kennedy thanked the man1 turned abruptly1 and started for the still closed gate at ,track #h4 ,beg pardon - why1 hulloa - it's ,burke1 he exclaimed as we ran plump into a man staring vacantly about4 ,it was not the gentleman farmer of the night before1 nor yet the supposed college graduate4 ,this man was a ,western rancher2 his broad-brimmed hat1 long moustache1 frock coat1 and flowing tie proclaimed it4 ,yet there was something indefinably familiar about him1 too4 ,it was ,burke in another disguise4 ,pretty good work1 ,kennedy1 nodded ,burke1 shifting his tobacco from one side of his jaws to the other4 ,now1 tell me how your man escaped you this morning1 when you can recognise me instantly in this rig4 ,you haven't altered your features1 explained ,kennedy simply4 ,our pale-faced1 snub-nosed1 peculiar-eared friend has4 ,what do you think of the possibility of his going to the ,lexington track1 now that he finds it too dangerous to remain in ,new ,york8 ,burke looked at ,kennedy rather sharply4 ,say1 do you add telepathy to your other accomplishments8 ,no1 laughed ,craig1 but ,i'm glad to see that two of us working independently have arrived at the same conclusion4 ,come1 let us saunter over to ,track #h - ,i guess the train is made up4 ,the gate was just opened1 and the crowd filed through4 ,no one who seemed to satisfy either ,burke or ,kennedy appeared4 ,the train announcer made his last call4 ,just then a taxicab pulled up at the street-end of the platform1 not far from ,track #h4 ,a man jumped out and assisted a heavily veiled lady1 paid the driver1 picked up the grips1 and turned toward us4 ,we waited expectantly4 ,as he turned ,i saw a dark-skinned1 hook-nosed man1 and ,i exclaimed disgustedly to ,burke3 ,well1 if they are going to ,lexington they can't make this train4 ,those are the last people who have a chance4 ,kennedy1 however1 continued to regard the couple steadily4 ,the man saw that he was being watched and faced us defiantly1 ,such impertinence6 ,then to his wife1 ,come1 my dear1 we'll just make it4 ,i'm afraid ,i'll have to trouble you to show us what's in that grip1 said ,kennedy1 calmly laying his hand on the man's arm4 ,well1 now1 did you ever hear of such blasted impudence8 ,get out of my way1 sir1 this instant1 or ,i'll have you arrested4 ,come1 come1 ,kennedy1 interrupted ,burke4 ,surely you are getting in wrong here4 ,this can't be the man4 ,craig shook his head decidedly4 ,you can make the arrest or not1 ,burke1 as you choose4 ,if not1 ,i am through4 ,if so - ,i'll take all the responsibility4 ,reluctantly ,burke yielded4 ,the man protested2 the woman cried2 a crowd collected4 ,the train-gate shut with a bang4 ,as it did so the man's demeanour changed instantly4 ,there1 he shouted angrily1 'you have made us miss our train4 ,i'll have you in jail for this4 ,come on now to the nearest magistrate's court4 ,i'll have my rights as an ,american citizen4 ,you have carried your little joke too far4 ,knight is my name - ,john ,knight1 of ,omaha1 pork-packer4 ,come on now4 ,i'll see that somebody suffers for this if ,i have to stay in ,new ,york a year4 ,it's an outrage - an outrage4 ,burke was now apparently alarmed - more at the possibility of the humorous publicity that would follow such a mistake by the secret service than at anything else4 ,however1 ,kennedy did not weaken1 and on general principles ,i stuck to ,kennedy4 ,now1 said the man surlily while he placed ,mrs4 ,knight in as easy a chair as he could find in the judge's chambers1 what is the occasion of all this row8 ,tell the judge what a bad man from ,bloody ,gulch ,i am4 ,o',connor had arrived1 having broken all speed laws and perhaps some records on the way up from headquarters4 ,kennedy laid the ,scotland ,yard finger-prints on the table4 ,beside them he placed those taken by ,o',connor and ,burke in ,new ,york4 ,here1 he began1 we have the finger-prints of a man who was one of the most noted counterfeiters in ,great ,britain4 ,beside them are those of a man who succeeded in passing counterfeits of several kinds recently in ,new ,york4 ,some weeks later this third set of prints was taken from a man who was believed to be the same person4 ,the magistrate was examining the three sets of prints4 ,as he came to the third1 he raised his head as if about to make a remark1 when ,kennedy quickly interrupted4 ,one moment1 sir4 ,you were about to say that finger-prints never change1 never show such variations as these4 ,that is true4 ,there are fingerprints of people taken fifty years ago that are exactly the same as their finger-prints of to-day4 ,they don't change - they are permanent4 ,the fingerprints of mummies can be deciphered even after thousands of years4 ,but1 he added slowly1 you can change fingers4 ,the idea was so startling that ,i could scarcely realise what he meant at first4 ,i had read of the wonderful work of the surgeons of the ,rockefeller ,institute in transplanting tissues and even whole organs1 in grafting skin and in keeping muscles artificially alive for days under proper conditions4 ,could it be that a man had deliberately amputated his fingers and grafted on new ones8 ,was the stake sufficient for such a game8 ,surely there must be some scars left after such grafting4 ,i picked up the various sets of prints4 ,it was true that the third set was not very clear1 but there certainly were no scars there4 ,though there is no natural changeability of finger-prints1 pursued ,kennedy1 such changes can be induced1 as ,dr4 ,paul ,prager of ,vienna has shown1 by acids and other reagents1 by grafting and by injuries4 ,now1 is there any method by which lost finger-tips can be restored8 ,i know of one case where the end of a finger was taken off and only one-sixteenth inch of the nail was left4 ,the doctor incised the edges of the granulating surface and then led the granulations on by what is known in the medical profession as the 'sponge graft4' ,he grew a new finger-tip4 ,the sponge graft consists in using portions of a fine ,turkish surgical sponge1 such ,i have here4 ,i found these pieces in a desk at ,riverwood4 ,the patient is anaesthetised4 ,an incision is made from side to side in the stump of the finger and flaps of skin are sliced off and turned up for the new end of the finger to develop in - a sort of shell of living skin4 ,inside this1 the sponge is placed1 not a large piece1 but a very thin piece sliced off and cut to the shape of the finger-stump4 ,it is perfectly sterilised in water and washed in green soap after all the stony particles are removed by hydrochloric acid4 ,then the finger is bound up and kept moist with normal salt solution4 ,the result is that the end of the finger1 instead of healing over1 grows into the fine meshes of the pieces of sponge1 by capillary attraction4 ,of course even this would heal in a few days1 but the doctor does not let it heal4 ,in three days he pulls the sponge off gently4 ,the end of the finger has grown up just a fraction of an inch4 ,then a new thin layer of sponge is added4 ,day after day this process is repeated1 each time the finger growing a little more4 ,a new nail develops if any of the matrix is left1 and ,i suppose a clever surgeon by grafting up pieces of epidermis could produce on such a stump very passable finger-prints4 ,no one of us said anything1 but ,kennedy seemed to realise the thought in our minds and proceeded to elaborate the method4 ,it is known as the 'education sponge method1' and was first described by ,dr4 ,d4 ,j4 ,hamilton1 of ,edinburgh1 in #ahha4 ,it has frequently been used in ,america since then4 ,the sponge really acts in a mechanical manner to support the new finger-tissue that is developed4 ,the meshes are filled in by growing tissue1 and as it grows the tissue absorbs part of the sponge1 which is itself an animal tissue and acts like catgut4 ,part of it is also thrown off4 ,in fact1 the sponge imitates what happens naturally in the porous network of a regular blood-clot4 ,it educates the tissue to grow1 stimulates it - new blood-vessels and nerves as well as flesh4 ,in another case ,i know of1 almost the whole of the first joint of a finger was crushed off1 and the doctor was asked to amputate the stump of bone that protruded4 ,instead1 he decided to educate the tissue to grow out to cover it and appear like a normal finger4 ,in these cases the doctors succeeded admirably in giving the patients entire new fingertips1 without scars1 and1 except for the initial injury and operation1 with comparatively little inconvenience except that absolute rest of the hands was required44 ,that is what happened1 gentlemen1 concluded ,kennedy4 ,that is why ,mr4 ,forbes1 alias ,williams1 made a trip to ,philadelphia to be treated-for crushed finger-tips1 not for the kick of an automobile engine4 ,he may have paid the doctors in counterfeits4 ,in reality this man was playing a game in which there was indeed a heavy stake at issue4 ,he was a counterfeiter sought by two governments with the net closing about him4 ,what are the tips of a few fingers compared with life1 liberty1 wealth1 and a beautiful woman8 ,the first two sets of prints are different from the third because they are made by different finger-tips-on the same man4 ,the very core of the prints was changed4 ,but the finger-print system is vindicated by the very ingenuity of the man who so cleverly has contrivred to beat it4 ,very interesting - to one who is interested1 remarked the stranger1 but what has that to do with detaining my wife and myself1 making us miss our train1 and insulting us8 ,just this1 replied ,craig4 ,if you will kindly oblige us by laying your fingers on this inking-pad and then lightly on this sheet of paper1 ,i think ,i can show you an answer4 ,knight demurred1 and his wife grew hysterical at the idea1 but there was nothing to do but comply4 ,kennedy glanced at the fourth set of prints1 then at the third set taken a week ago1 and smiled4 ,no one said a word4 ,knight or ,williams1 which was it8 ,he nonchalantly lit a cigarette4 ,so you say ,i am this ,williams1 the counterfeiter8 he asked superciliously4 ,i do1 reiterated ,kennedy4 ,you are also ,forbes4 ,i don't suppose ,scotland ,yard has neglected to furnish you with photographs and a description of this ,forbes8 ,burke reluctantly pulled out a ,bertillon card from his pocket and laid it on the table4 ,it bore the front face and profile of the famous counterfeiter1 as well as his measurements4 ,the man picked it up as if indeed it was a curious thing4 ,his coolness nearly convinced me4 ,surely he should have hesitated in actually demanding this last piece of evidence4 ,i had heard1 however1 that the ,bertillon system of measurements often depended on the personal equation of the measurer as well as on the measured4 ,was he relying on that1 or on his difference in features8 ,i looked over ,kennedy's shoulder at the card on the table4 ,there was the concave nose of the portrait parle of ,forbes1 as it had first been described to us4 ,without looking further ,i involuntarily glanced at the man1 although ,i had no need to do so4 ,i knew that his nose was the exact opposite of that of ,forbes4 ,ingenious at argument as you are1 he remarked quietly1 you will hardly deny that ,knight1 of ,omaha1 is the exact opposite of ,forbes1 of ,london4 ,my nose is almost ,jewish - my complexion is dark as an ,arab's4 ,still1 ,i suppose ,i am the sallow1 snub-nosed ,forbes described here1 inasmuch as ,i have stolen ,forbes's fingers and lost them again by a most preposterous method4 ,the colour of the face is easily altered1 said ,kennedy4 ,a little picric acid will do that4 ,the ingenious rogue ,sarcey in ,paris eluded the police very successfully until ,dr4 ,charcot exposed him and showed how he changed the arch of his eyebrows and the wrinkles of his face4 ,much is possible to-day that would make ,frankenstein and ,dr4 ,moreau look clumsy and antiquated4 ,a sharp feminine voice interrupted4 ,it was the woman1 who had kept silent up to this time4 ,but ,i have read in one of the papers this morning that a ,mr4 ,williams was found dead in an automobile accident up the ,hudson yesterday4 ,i remember reading it1 because ,i am afraid of accidents myself4 ,all eyes were now fixed on ,kennedy4 ,that body1 he answered quickly1 was a body purchased by you at a medical school1 brought in your car to ,riverwood1 dressed in ,williams's clothes with a watch that would show he was ,forbes1 placed on the track in front of the auto1 while you two watched the ,buffalo express run it down1 and screamed4 ,it was a clever scheme that you concocted1 but these facts do not agree4 ,he laid the measurements of the corpse obtained by ,burke and those from the ,london police card side by side4 ,only in the roughest way did they approximate each other4 ,your honour1 ,i appeal to your sense of justice1 cried our prisoner impatiently4 ,hasn't this farce been allowed to go far enough8 ,is there any reason why this fake detective should make fools out of us all and keep my wife longer in this court8 ,i'm not disposed to let the matter drop4 ,i wish to enter a charge against him of false arrest and malicious prosecution4 ,i shall turn the whole thing over to my attorney this afternoon4 ,the deuce with the races - ,i'll have justice4 ,the man had by this time raised himself to a high pitch of apparently righteous wrath4 ,he advanced menacingly toward ,kennedy1 who stood with his shoulders thrown back1 and his hands deep in his pockets1 and a half amused look on his face4 ,as for you1 ,mr4 ,detective1 added the man1 for eleven cents ,i'd lick you to within an inch of your life4 ',portrait parle1' indeed6 ,it's a fine scientific system that has to deny its own main principles in order to vindicate itself4 ,bah6 ,take that1 you scoundrel6 ,harriet ,wollstone threw her arms about him1 but he broke away4 ,his fist shot out straight4 ,kennedy was too quick for him1 however4 ,i had seen ,craig do it dozens of times with the best boxers in the gym4 ,he simply jerked his head to one side1 and the blow passed just a fraction of an inch from his jaw1 but passed it as cleanly as if it had been a yard away4 ,the man lost his balance1 and as he fell forward and caught himself1 ,kennedy calmly and deliberately slapped him on the nose4 ,it was an intensely serious instant1 yet ,i actually laughed4 ,the man's nose was quite out of joint1 even from such a slight blow4 ,it was twisted over on his face in the most ludicrous position imaginable4 ,the next time you try that1 ,forbes1 remarked ,kennedy1 as he pulled the piece of paraffin from his pocket and laid it on the table with the other exhibits1 don't forget that a concave nose built out to hook-nose convexity by injections of paraffin1 such as the beauty-doctors everywhere advertise1 is a poor thing for a ,white ,hope4 ,both ,burke and ,o',connor had seized ,forbes1 but ,kennedy had turned his attention to the larger of ,forbes's grips1 which the ,wollstone woman vociferously claimed as her own4 ,quickly he wrenched it open4 ,as he turned it up on the table my eyes fairly bulged at the sight4 ,forbes' suit-case might have been that of a travelling salesman for the ,kimberley1 the ,klondike1 and the ,bureau of ,engraving1 all in one4 ,craig dumped the wealth out on the table - stacks of genuine bills1 gold coins of two realms1 diamonds1 pearls1 everything portable and tangible all heaped up and topped off with piles of counterfeits awaiting the magic touch of this ,midas to turn them into real gold4 ,forbes1 you have failed in your get-away1 said ,craig triumphantly4 ,gentlemen1 you have here a master counterfeiter1 surely - a master counterfeiter of features and fingers as well as of currency4 ,,vi ,,the ,,sand-,,hog ,interesting story1 this fight between the ,five-,borough and the ,inter-,river ,transit1 ,i remarked to ,kennedy as ,i sketched out the draft of an expose of high finance for the ,sunday ,star4 ,then that will interest you1 also1 said he1 throwing a letter down on my desk4 ,he had just come in and was looking over his mail4 ,the letterhead bore the name of the ,five-,borough ,company4 ,it was from ,jack ,orton1 one of our intimates at college1 who was in charge of the construction of a new tunnel under the river4 ,it was brief1 as ,jack's letters always were4 ,i have a case here at the tunnel that ,i am sure will appeal to you1 my own case1 too1 it read4 ,you can go as far as you like with it1 but get to the bottom of the thing1 no matter whom it hits4 ,there is some deviltry afoot1 and apparently no one is safe4 ,don't say a word to anybody about it1 but drop over to see me as soon as you possibly can4 ,yes1 ,i agreed1 that does interest me4 ,when are you going over8 ,now1 replied ,kennedy1 who had not taken off his hat4 ,can you come along8 ,as we sped across the city in a taxicab1 ,craig remarked3 ,i wonder what is the trouble8 ,did you see in the society news this morning the announcement of ,jack's engagement to ,vivian ,taylor1 the daughter of the president of the ,five-,borough8 ,i had seen it1 but could not connect it with the trouble1 whatever it was1 at the tunnel1 though ,i did try to connect the tunnel mystery with my expose4 ,we pulled up at the construction works1 and a strapping ,irishman met us4 ,is this ,professor ,kennedy8 he asked of ,craig4 ,it is4 ,where is ,mr4 ,orton's office8 ,i'm afraid1 sir1 it will be a long time before ,mr4 ,orton is in his office again1 sir4 ,the doctor have just took him out of the medical lock1 an' he said if you was to come before they took him to the 'orspital ,i was to bring you right up to the lock4 ,good heavens1 man1 what has happened8 exclaimed ,kennedy4 ,take us up to him quick4 ,without waiting to answer1 the ,irishman led the way up and across a rough board platform until at last we came to what looked like a huge steel cylinder1 lying horizontally1 in which was a floor with a cot and some strange paraphernalia4 ,on the cot lay ,jack ,orton1 drawn and contorted1 so changed that even his own mother would scarcely have recognised him4 ,a doctor was bending over him1 massaging the joints of his legs and his side4 ,thank you1 ,doctor1 ,i feel a little better1 he groaned4 ,no1 ,i don't want to go back into the lock again1 not unless the pain gets worse4 ,his eyes were closed1 but hearing us he opened them and nodded4 ,yes1 ,craig1 he murmured with difficulty1 this is ,jack ,orton4 ,what do you think of me8 ,i'm a pretty sight4 ,how are you8 ,and how are you1 ,walter8 ,not too vigorous with the hand-shakes1 fellows4 ,sorry you couldn't get over before this happened4 ,what's the matter8 we asked1 glancing blankly from ,orton to the doctor4 ,orton forced a half smile4 ,just a touch of the 'bends' from working in compressed air1 he explained4 ,we looked at him1 but could say nothing4 ,i1 at least1 was thinking of his engagement4 ,yes1 he added bitterly1 ,i know what you are thinking about1 fellows4 ,look at me6 ,do you think such a wreck as ,i am now has any right to be engaged to the dearest girl in the world8 ,mr4 ,orton1 interposed the doctor1 ,i think you'll feel better if you'll keep quiet4 ,you can see your friends in the hospital to-night1 but for a few hours ,i think you had better rest4 ,gentlemen1 if you will be so good as to postpone your conversation with ,mr4 ,orton until later it would be much better4 ,then ,i'll see you to-night1 said ,orton to us feebly4 ,turning to a tall1 spare1 wiry chap1 of just the build for tunnel work1 where fat is fatal1 he added3 ,this is ,mr4 ,capps1 my first assistant4 ,he will show you the way down to the street again4 ,confound it6 exclaimed ,craig1 after we had left ,capps4 ,what do you think of this8 ,even before we can get to him something has happened4 ,the plot thickens before we are well into it4 ,i think ,i'll not take a cab1 or a car either4 ,how are you for a walk until we can see ,orton again8 ,i could see that ,craig was very much affected by the sudden accident that had happened to our friend1 so ,i fell into his mood1 and we walked block after block scarcely exchanging a word4 ,his only remark1 ,i recall1 was1 ,walter1 ,i can't think it was an accident1 coming so close after that letter4 ,as for me1 ,i scarcely knew what to think4 ,at last our walk brought us around to the private hospital where ,orton was4 ,as we were about to enter1 a very handsome girl was leaving4 ,evidently she had been visiting some one of whom she thought a great deal4 ,her long fur coat was flying carelessly1 unfastened in the cold night air2 her features were pale1 and her eyes had the fixed look of one who saw nothing but grief4 ,it's terrible1 ,miss ,taylor1 ,i heard the man with her say soothingly1 and you must know that ,i sympathise with you a great deal4 ,looking up quickly1 ,i caught sight of ,capps and bowed4 ,he returned our bows and handed her gently into an automobile that was waiting4 ,he might at least have introduced us1 muttered ,kennedy1 as we went on into the hospital4 ,orton was lying in bed1 white and worn1 propped up by pillows which the nurse kept arranging and rearranging to ease his pain4 ,the ,irishman whom we had seen at the tunnel was standing deferentially near the foot of the bed4 ,quite a number of visitors1 nurse1 for a new patient1 said ,orton1 as he welcomed us4 ,first ,capps and ,paddy from the tunnel1 then ,vivian - he was fingering some beautiful roses in a vase on a table near him - and now1 you fellows4 ,i sent her home with ,capps4 ,she oughtn't to be out alone at this hour1 and ,capps is a good fellow4 ,she's known him a long time4 ,no1 ,paddy1 put down your hat4 ,i want you to stay4 ,paddy1 by the way1 fellows1 is my right-hand man in managing the 'sandhogs' as we call the tunnel-workers4 ,he has been a sand-hog on every tunnel job about the city since the first successful tunnel was completed4 ,his real name is ,flanagan1 but we all know him best as ,paddy4 ,paddy nodded4 ,if ,i ever get over this and back to the tunnel1 ,orton went on1 ,paddy will stick to me1 and we will show ,taylor1 my prospective father-in-law and the president of the railroad company from which ,i took this contract1 that ,i am not to blame for all the troubles we are having on the tunnel4 ,heaven knows that - ,oh1 ,mr4 ,orton1 you ain't so bad1 put in ,paddy without the faintest touch of undue familiarity4 ,look what ,i was when ye come to see me when ,i had the bends1 sir4 ,you old rascal1 returned ,orton1 brightening up4 ,craig1 do you know how ,i found him8 ,crawling over the floor to the sink to pour the doctor's medicine down4 ,think ,i'd take that medicine1 explained ,paddy1 hastily4 ,not much4 ,don't ,i know that the only cure for the bends is bein' put back in the 'air' in the medical lock1 same as they did with you1 and bein' brought out slowly8 ,that's the cure1 that1 an' grit1 an' patience1 an' time4 ,mark me wurds1 gintlemen1 he'll finish that tunnel an' beggin' yer pardon1 ,mr4 ,orton1 marry that gurl1 too4 ,didn't ,i see her with tears in her eyes right in this room when he wasn't lookin'1 and a smile when he was8 ,sure1 ye'll be all right1 continued ,paddy1 slapping his side and thigh4 ,we all get the bends more or less - all us sand-hogs4 ,i was that doubled up meself that ,i felt like a big jack-knife4 ,had it in the arm1 the side1 and the leg all at once1 that time he was just speakin' of4 ,he'll be all right in a couple more weeks1 sure1 an' down in the air again1 too1 with the rest of his men4 ,it's somethin' else he has on his moind4 ,then the case has nothing to do with your trouble1 nothing to do with the bends8 asked ,kennedy1 keenly showing his anxiety to help our old friend4 ,well1 it may and it may not1 replied ,orton thoughtfully4 ,i begin to think it has4 ,we have had a great many cases of the bends among the men1 and lots of the poor fellows have died1 too4 ,you know1 of course1 how the newspapers are roasting us4 ,we are being called inhuman2 they are going to investigate us2 perhaps indict me4 ,oh1 it's an awful mess2 and now some one is trying to make ,taylor believe it is my fault4 ,of course1 he continued1 we are working under a high air-pressure just now1 some days as high as forty pounds4 ,you see1 we have struck the very worst part of the job1 a stretch of quicksand in the river-bed1 and if we can get through this we'll strike pebbles and rock pretty soon1 and then we'll be all right again4 ,he paused4 ,paddy quietly put in3 ,beggin' yer pardon again1 ,mr4 ,orton1 but we had entirely too many cases of the bends even when we were wurkin' at low pressure1 in the rock1 before we sthruck this sand4 ,there's somethin' wrong1 sir1 or ye wouldn't be here yerself like this4 ,the bends don't sthrike the ingineers1 them as don't do the hard work1 sir1 and is careful1 as ye know - not often4 ,it's this way1 ,craig1 resumed ,orton4 ,when ,i took this contract for the ,five-,borough ,transit ,company1 they agreed to pay me liberally for it1 with a big bonus if ,i finished ahead of time1 and a big penalty if ,i exceeded the time4 ,you may or may not know it1 but there is some doubt about the validity of their franchise after a certain date1 provided the tunnel is not ready for operation4 ,well1 to make a long story short1 you know there are rival companies that would like to see the work fail and the franchise revert to the city1 or at least get tied up in the courts4 ,i took it with the understanding that it was every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost4 ,have you yourself seen any evidences of rival influences hindering the work8 asked ,kennedy4 ,orton carefully weighed his reply4 ,to begin with1 he answered at length1 while ,i was pushing the construction end1 the ,five-,borough was working with the state legislature to get a bill extending the time-limit of the franchise another year4 ,of course1 if it had gone through it would have been fine for us4 ,but some unseen influence blocked the company at every turn4 ,it was subtle2 it never came into the open4 ,they played on public opinion as only demagogues of high finance can1 very plausibly of course1 but from the most selfish and ulterior motives4 ,the bill was defeated4 ,i nodded4 ,i knew all about that part of it1 for it was in the article which ,i had been writing for the ,star4 ,but ,i had not counted on the extra year1 anyhow1 continued ,orton1 so ,i wasn't disappointed4 ,my plans were laid for the shorter time from the start4 ,i built an island in the river so that we could work from each shore to it1 as well as from the island to each shore1 really from four points at once4 ,and then1 when everything was going ahead fine1 and we were actually doubling the speed in this way1 these confounded accidents - he was leaning excitedly forward - and lawsuits and delays and deaths began to happen4 ,orton sank back as a paroxysm of the bends seized him1 following his excitement4 ,i should like very much to go down into the tunnel1 said ,kennedy simply4 ,no sooner said than done1 replied ,orton1 almost cheerfully1 at seeing ,kennedy so interested4 ,we can arrange that easily4 ,paddy will be glad to do the honours of the place in my absence4 ,indade ,i will do that same1 sor1 responded the faithful ,paddy1 an' it's a shmall return for all ye've done for me4 ,very well1 then1 agreed ,kennedy4 ,to-morrow morning we shall be on hand4 ,jack1 depend on us4 ,we will do our level best to get you out of this scrape4 ,i knew you would1 ,craig1 he replied4 ,i've read of some of your and ,walter's exploits4 ,you're a pair of bricks1 you are4 ,good-bye1 fellows1 and his hands mechanically sought the vase of flowers which reminded him of their giver4 ,at home we sat for a long time in silence4 ,by ,george1 ,craig1 ,i exclaimed at length1 my mind reverting through the whirl of events to the glimpse of pain ,i had caught on the delicate face of the girl having the hospital1 ,vivian ,taylor is a beauty1 though1 isn't she8 ,and ,capps thinks so1 too1 he returned1 sinking again into his shell of silence4 ,then he suddenly rose and put on his hat and coat4 ,i could see the old restless fever for work which came into his eyes whenever he had a case which interested him more than usual4 ,i knew there would be no rest for ,kennedy until he had finished it4 ,moreover1 ,i knew it was useless for me to remonstrate with him1 so ,i kept silent4 ,don't wait up for me1 he said4 ,i don't know when ,i'll be back4 ,i'm going to the laboratory and the university library4 ,be ready early in the morning to help me delve into this tunnel mystery4 ,i awoke to find ,kennedy dozing in a chair1 partly dressed1 but just as fresh as ,i was after my sleep4 ,i think he had been dreaming out his course of action4 ,at any rate1 breakfast was a mere incident in his scheme1 and we were over at the tunnel works when the night shift were going off4 ,kennedy carried with him a moderate-sized box of the contents of which he seemed very careful4 ,paddy was waiting for us1 and after a hasty whispered conversation1 ,craig stowed the box away behind the switchboard of the telephone central1 after attaching it to the various wires4 ,paddy stood guard while this was going on so that no one would know about it1 not even the telephone girl1 whom he sent off on an errand4 ,our first inspection was of that part of the works which was above ground4 ,paddy1 who conducted us1 introduced us first to the engineer in charge of this part of the work1 a man named ,shelton1 who had knocked about the world a great deal1 but had acquired a taciturnity that was ,sphinxlike4 ,if it had not been for ,paddy1 ,i fear we should have seen very little1 for ,shelton was not only secretive1 but his explanations were such that even the editor of a technical journal would have had to blue pencil them considerably4 ,however1 we gained a pretty good idea of the tunnel works above ground - at least ,kennedy did4 ,he seemed very much interested in how the air was conveyed below ground1 the tank for storing compressed air for emergencies1 and other features4 ,it quite won ,paddy1 although ,shelton seemed to resent his interest even more than he despised my ignorance4 ,next ,paddy conducted us to the dressing-rooms4 ,there we put on old clothes and oilskins1 and the tunnel doctor examined us and extracted a written statement that we went down at our own risk and released the company from all liability - much to the disgust of ,paddy4 ,we're ready now1 ,mr4 ,capps1 called ,paddy1 opening an office door on the way out4 ,very well1 ,flanagan1 answered ,capps1 barely nodding to us4 ,we heard him telephone some one1 but could not catch the message1 and in a minute he joined us4 ,by this time ,i had formed the opinion1 which ,i have since found to be correct1 that tunnel men are not as a rule loquacious4 ,it was a new kind of thrill to me to go under the air1 as the men called it4 ,with an instinctive last look at the skyline of ,new ,york and the waves playing in the glad sunlight1 we entered a rude construction elevator and dropped from the surface to the bottom of a deep shaft4 ,it was like going down into a mine4 ,there was the air-lock1 studded with bolts1 and looking just like a huge boiler1 turned horizontally4 ,the heavy iron door swung shut with a bang as ,paddy and ,capps1 followed by ,kennedy and myself1 crept into the air-lock4 ,paddy turned on a valve1 and compressed air from the tunnel began to rush in with a hiss as of escaping steam4 ,pound after pound to the square inch the pressure slowly rose until ,i felt sure the drums of my ears would burst4 ,then the hissing noise began to dwindle down to a wheeze1 and then it stopped all of a sudden4 ,that meant that the air-pressure in the lock was the same as that in the tunnel4 ,paddy pushed open the door in the other end of the lock from that by which we had entered4 ,along the bottom of the completed tube we followed ,paddy and ,capps4 ,on we trudged1 fanned by the moist breath of the tunnel4 ,every few feet an incandescent light gleamed in the misty darkness4 ,after perhaps a hundred paces we had to duck down under a semicircular partition covering the upper half of the tube4 ,what is that8 ,i shouted at ,paddy1 the nasal ring of my own voice startling me4 ,emergency curtain1 he shouted back4 ,words were economised4 ,later1 ,i learned that should the tunnel start to flood1 the other half of the emergency curtain could be dropped so as to cut off the inrushing water4 ,men passed1 pushing little cars full of muck or sand taken out from before the shield - which is the head by which this mechanical mole advances under the river-bed4 ,these men and others who do the shovelling are the muckers4 ,pipes laid along the side of the tunnel conducted compressed air and fresh water1 while electric light and telephone wires were strung all about4 ,these and the tools and other things strewn along the tunnel obstructed the narrow passage to such an extent that we had to be careful in picking our way4 ,at last we reached the shield1 and on hands and knees we crawled out into one of its compartments4 ,here we experienced for the first time the weird realisation that only the air stood between us and destruction from the tons and tons of sand and water overhead4 ,at some points in the sand we could feel the air escaping1 which appeared at the surface of the river overhead in bubbles1 indicating to those passing in the river boats just how far each tunnel heading below had proceeded4 ,when the loss of air became too great1 ,i learned1 scows would dump hundreds of tons of clay overhead to make an artificial river bed for the shield to stick its nose safely through1 for if the river bed became too thin overhead the air would blow a hole in it4 ,capps1 it seemed to me1 was unusually anxious to have the visit over4 ,at any rate1 while ,kennedy and ,paddy were still crawling about the shield1 he stood aside1 now and then giving the men an order and apparently forgetful of us4 ,my own curiosity was quickly satisfied1 and ,i sat down on a pile of the segments out of which the successive rings of the tunnel were made4 ,as ,i sat there waiting for ,kennedy1 ,i absently reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighted it4 ,it burned amazingly fast1 as if it were made of tinder1 the reason being the excess of oxygen in the compressed air4 ,i was looking at it in astonishment1 when suddenly ,i felt a blow on my hand4 ,it was ,capps4 ,you chump6 he shouted as he ground the cigarette under his boot4 ,don't you know it is dangerous to smoke in compressed air8 ,why1 no1 ,i replied1 smothering my anger at his manner4 ,no one said anything about it4 ,well1 it is dangerous1 and ,orton's a fool to let greenhorns come in here4 ,and to whom may it be dangerous8 ,i heard a voice inquire over my shoulder4 ,it was ,kennedy4 ,to ,mr4 ,jameson or the rest of us8 ,well1 answered ,capps1 ,i supposed everybody knew it was reckless1 and that he would hurt himself more by one smoke in the air than by a hundred up above4 ,that's all4 ,he turned on ,kennedy sullenly1 and started to walk back up the tunnel4 ,but ,i could not help thinking that his manner was anything but solicitude for my own health4 ,i could just barely catch his words over the tunnel telephone some feet away4 ,i thought he said that everything was going along all right and that he was about to start back again4 ,then he disappeared in the mist of the tube without even nodding a farewell4 ,kennedy and ,i remained standing1 not far from the outlet of the pipe by which the compressed air was being supplied in the tunnel from the compressors above1 in order to keep the pressure up to the constant level necessary4 ,i saw ,kennedy give a hurried glance about1 as if to note whether any one were looking at us4 ,no one was4 ,with a quick motion he reached down4 ,in his hand was a stout little glass flask with a tight-fitting metal top4 ,for a second he held it near the outlet of the pipe2 then he snapped the top shut and slipped it back into his pocket as quickly as he had produced it4 ,slowly we commenced to retrace our steps to the air-lock1 our curiosity satisfied by this glimpse of one of the most remarkable developments of modern engineering4 ,where's ,paddy8 asked ,kennedy1 stopping suddenly4 ,we've forgotten him4 ,back there at the shield1 ,i suppose1 said ,i4 ,let's whistle and attract his attention4 ,i pursed up my lips1 but if ,i had been whistling for a million dollars ,i couldn't have done it4 ,craig laughed4 ,walter1 you are indeed learning many strange things4 ,you can't whistle in compressed air4 ,i was too chagrined to answer4 ,first it was ,capps2 now it was my own friend ,kennedy chaffing me for my ignorance4 ,i was glad to see ,paddy's huge form looming in the semi-darkness4 ,he had seen that we were gone and hurried after us4 ,won't ye stay down an' see some more1 gintlemen8 he asked4 ,or have ye had enough of the air8 ,it seems very smelly to me this mornin' - ,i don't blame ye4 ,i guess them as doesn't have to stay here is satisfied with a few minutes of it4 ,no1 thanks1 ,i guess we needn't stay down any longer1 replied ,craig4 ,i think ,i have seen all that is necessary - at least for the present4 ,capps has gone out ahead of us4 ,i think you can take us out now1 ,paddy4 ,i would much rather have you do it than to go with anybody else4 ,coming out1 ,i found1 was really more dangerous than going in1 for it is while coming out of the that men are liable to get the bends4 ,roughly1 half a minute should be consumed in coming out from each pound of pressure1 though for such high pressures as we had been under1 considerably more time was required in order to do it safely4 ,we spent about half an hour in the air-lock1 ,i should judge4 ,paddy let the air out of the lock by turning on a valve leading to the outside1 normal atmosphere4 ,thus he let the air out rapidly at first until we had got down to half the pressure of the tunnel4 ,the second half he did slowly1 and it was indeed tedious1 but it was safe4 ,there was at#bj;first a hissing sound when he opened the valve1 and it grew colder in the lock1 since air absorbs heat from surrounding objects when it expands4 ,we were glad to draw sweaters on over our heads4 ,it also grew as misty as a ,london fog as the water-vapour in the air was condensed4 ,at last the hiss of escaping air ceased4 ,the door to the modern dungeon of science grated open4 ,we walked out of the lock to the elevator shaft and were hoisted up to ,god's air again4 ,we gazed out across the river with its waves dancing in the sunlight4 ,there1 out in the middle1 was a wreath of bubbles on the water4 ,that marked the end of the tunnel1 over the shield4 ,down beneath those bubbles the sand-hogs were rooting4 ,but what was the mystery that the tunnel held in its dark1 dank bosom8 ,had ,kennedy a clue8 ,i think we had better wait around a bit1 remarked ,kennedy1 as we sipped our hot coffee in the dressing-room and warmed ourselves from the chill of coming out of the lock4 ,in case anything should happen to us and we should get the bends this is the place for us1 near the medical lock1 as it is called - that big steel cylinder over there1 where we found ,orton4 ,the best cure for the bends is to go back under the air-recompression they call it4 ,the renewed pressure causes the gas in the blood to contract again1 and thus it is eliminated - sometimes4 ,at any rate1 it is the best-known cure and considerably reduces the pain in the worst cases4 ,when you have a bad case like ,orton's it means that the damage is done2 the gas has ruptured some veins4 ,paddy was right4 ,only time will cure that4 ,nothing happened to us1 however1 and in a couple of hours we dropped in on ,orton at the hospital where he was slowly convalescing4 ,what do you think of the case8 he asked anxiously4 ,nothing as yet1 replied ,craig1 but ,i have set certain things in motion which will give us a pretty good line on what is taking place in a day or so4 ,orton's face fell1 but he said nothing4 ,he bit his lip nervously and looked out of the sun-parlour at the roofs of ,new ,york around him4 ,what has happened since last night to increase your anxiety1 ,jack8 asked ,craig sympathetically4 ,orton wheeled his chair about slowly1 faced us1 and drew a letter from his pocket4 ,laying it flat on the table he covered the lower part with the envelope4 ,read that1 he said4 ,dear ,jack1 it began4 ,i saw at once that it was from ,miss ,taylor4 ,just a line1 she wrote1 to let you know that ,i am thinking about you always and hoping that you are better than when ,i saw you this evening4 ,papa had the chairman of the board of directors of the ,five-,borough here late to-night1 and they were in the library for over an hour4 ,for your sake1 ,jack1 ,i played the eavesdropper1 but they talked so low that ,i could hear nothing1 though ,i know they were talking about you and the tunnel4 ,when they came out1 ,i had no time to escape1 so ,i slipped behind a portiere4 ,i heard father say3 ',yes1 ,i guess you are right1 ,morris4 ,the thing has gone on long enough4 ,if there is one more big accident we shall have to compromise with the ,inter-,river and carry on the work jointly4 ,we have given ,orton his chance1 and if they demand that this other fellow shall be put in1 ,i suppose we shall have to concede it4' ,mr4 ,morris seemed pleased that father agreed with him and said so4 ,oh1 ,jack1 can't you do something to show them they are wrong1 and do it quickly8 ,i never miss an opportunity of telling papa it is not your fault that all these delays take place4 ,the rest of the letter was covered by the envelope1 and ,orton would not have shown it for worlds4 ,orton1 said ,kennedy1 after a few moments' reflection1 ,i will take a chance for your sake - a long chance1 but ,i think a good one4 ,if you can pull yourself together by this afternoon1 be over at your office at four4 ,be sure to have ,shelton and ,capps there1 and you can tell ,mr4 ,taylor that you have something very important to set before him4 ,now1 ,i must hurry if ,i am to fulfil my part of the contract4 ,good-bye1 ,jack4 ,keep a stiff upper lip1 old man4 ,i'll have something that will surprise you this afternoon4 ,outside1 as he hurried uptown1 ,craig was silent1 but ,i could see his features working nervously1 and as we parted he merely said3 ,of course1 you'll be there1 ,walter4 ,i'll put the finishing touches on your story of high finance4 ,slowly enough the few hours passed before ,i found myself again in ,orton's office4 ,he was there already1 despite the orders of his physician1 who was disgusted at this excursion from the hospital4 ,kennedy was there1 too1 grim and silent4 ,we sat watching the two indicators beside ,orton's desk1 which showed the air pressure in the two tubes4 ,the needles were vibrating ever so little and tracing a red-ink line on the ruled paper that unwound from the drum4 ,from the moment the tunnels were started1 here was preserved a faithful record of every slightest variation of air pressure4 ,telephone down into the tube and have ,capps come up1 said ,craig at length1 glancing at ,orton's desk clock4 ,taylor will be here pretty soon1 and ,i want ,capps to be out of the tunnel by the time he comes4 ,then get ,shelton1 too4 ,in response to ,orton's summons ,capps and ,shelton came into the office1 just as a large town car pulled up outside the tunnel works4 ,a tall1 distinguished-looking man stepped out and turned again toward the door of the car4 ,there's ,taylor1 ,i remarked1 for ,i had seen him often at investigations before the ,public ,service ,commission4 ,and ,vivian1 too1 exclaimed ,orton excitedly4 ,say1 fellows1 clear off these desks4 ,quick1 before she gets up here4 ,in the closet with these blueprints1 ,walter4 ,there1 that's a little better4 ,if ,i had known she was coming ,i would at least have had the place swept out4 ,puff6 look at the dust on this desk of mine4 ,well1 there's no help for it4 ,there they are at the door now4 ,why1 ,vivian1 what a surprise4 ,jack6 she exclaimed1 almost ignoring the rest of us and quickly crossing to his chair to lay a restraining hand on his shoulder as he vainly tried to stand up to welcome her4 ,why didn't you tell me you were coming8 he asked eagerly4 ,i would have had the place fixed up a bit4 ,i prefer it this way1 she said1 looking curiously around at the samples of tunnel paraphernalia and the charts and diagrams on the walls4 ,yes1 ,orton1 said ,president ,taylor1 she would come - dropped in at the office and when ,i tried to excuse myself for a business appointment1 demanded which way ,i was going4 ,when ,i said ,i was coming here1 she insisted on coming1 too4 ,orton smiled4 ,he knew that she had taken this simple and direct means of being there1 but he said nothing1 and merely introduced us to the president and ,miss ,taylor4 ,an awkward silence followed4 ,orton cleared his throat4 ,i think you all know why we are here1 he began4 ,we have been and are having altogether too many accidents in the tunnel1 too many cases of the bends1 too many deaths1 too many delays to the work4 ,well - er - ,i - er - ,mr4 ,kennedy has something to say about them1 ,i believe4 ,no sound was heard save the vibration of the air-compressors and an occasional shout of a workman at the shaft leading down to the air-locks4 ,there is no need for me to say anything about caisson disease to you1 gentlemen1 or to you1 ,miss ,taylor1 began ,kennedy4 ,i think you all know how it is caused and a good deal about it already4 ,but1 to be perfectly clear1 ,i will say that there are live things that must1 above all others1 be looked after in tunnel work3 the air pressure1 the amount of carbon dioxide in the air1 the length of the shifts which the men work1 the state of health of the men as near as physical examination can determine it1 and the rapidity with which the men come out of the air1 so as to prevent carelessness which may cause the bends4 ,i find1 he continued1 that the air pressure is not too high for safety4 ,proper examinations for carbon dioxide are made1 and the amount in the air is not excessive4 ,the shifts are not even as long as those prescribed by the law4 ,the medical inspection is quite adequate and as for the time taken in coming out through the locks the rules are stringent4 ,a look of relief crossed the face of ,orton at this commendation of his work1 followed by a puzzled expression that plainly indicated that he would like to know what was the matter1 if all the crucial things were all right4 ,but1 resumed ,kennedy1 the bends are still hitting the men1 and there is no telling when a fire or a blow-out may occur in any of the eight headings that are now being pushed under the river4 ,quite often the work has been delayed and the tunnel partly or wholly flooded4 ,now1 you know the theory of the bends4 ,it is that air - mostly the nitrogen in the air - is absorbed by the blood under the pressure4 ,in coming out of the 'air' if the nitrogen is not all eliminated1 it stays in the blood and1 as the pressure is reduced1 it expands4 ,it is just as if you take a bottle of charged water and pull the cork suddenly4 ,the gas rises in big bubbles4 ,cork it again and the gas bubbles cease to rise and finally disappear4 ,if you make a pin-hole in the cork the gas will escape slowly1 without a bubble4 ,you must decompress the human body slowly1 by stages1 to let the super-saturated blood give up its nitrogen to the lungs1 which can eliminate it4 ,otherwise these bubbles catch in the veins1 and the result is severe pains1 paralysis1 and even death4 ,gentlemen1 ,i see that ,i am just wasting time telling you this1 for you know it all well4 ,but consider4 ,kennedy placed an empty corked flask on the table4 ,the others regarded it curiously1 but ,i recalled having seen it in the tunnel4 ,in this bottle1 explained ,kennedy1 ,i collected some of the air from the tunnel when ,i was down there this morning4 ,i have since analysed it4 ,the quantity of carbon dioxide is approximately what it should be - not high enough of itself to cause trouble4 ,but1 he spoke slowly to emphasise his words1 ,i found something else in that air beside carbon dioxide4 ,nitrogen8 broke in ,orton quickly1 leaning forward4 ,of course2 it is a constituent of air4 ,but that is not what ,i mean4 ,then1 for ,heaven's sake1 what did you find8 asked ,orton4 ,i found in this air1 replied ,kennedy1 a very peculiar mixture - an explosive mixture4 ,an explosive mixture8 echoed ,orton4 ,yes1 ,jack1 the blow-outs that you have had at the end of the tunnel were not blow-outs at all1 properly speaking4 ,they were explosions4 ,we sat aghast at this revelation4 ,and1 furthermore1 added ,kennedy1 ,i should1 if ,i were you1 call back all the men from the tunnel until the cause for the presence of this explosive mixture is discovered and remedied4 ,orton reached mechanically for the telephone to give the order1 but ,taylor laid his hand on his arm4 ,one moment1 ,orton1 he said4 ,let's hear ,professor ,kennedy out4 ,he may be mistaken1 and there is no use frightening the men1 until we are certain4 ,shelton1 asked ,kennedy1 what sort of flash oil is used to lubricate the machinery8 ,it is three-hundred-and-sixty-degree ,fahrenheit flash test1 he answered tersely4 ,and are the pipes leading air down into the tunnel perfectly straight8 ,straight8 ,yes1 straight - no joints1 no pockets where oil1 moisture1 and gases can collect4 ,straight as lines1 ,kennedy1 he said with a sort of contemptuous defiance4 ,they were facing each other coldly1 sizing each other up4 ,like a skilful lawyer1 ,kennedy dropped that point for a moment1 to take up a new line of attack4 ,capps1 he demanded1 turning suddenly1 why do you always call up on the telephone and let some one know when you are going down in the tunnel and when you are coming out8 ,i don't1 replied ,capps1 quickly recovering his composure4 ,walter1 said ,craig to me quietly1 go out in the outer office4 ,behind the telephone switchboard you will find a small box which you saw me carry in there this morning and connect with the switchboard4 ,detach the wires1 as you saw me attach them1 and bring it here4 ,no one moved1 as ,i placed the box on a drafting-table before them4 ,craig opened it4 ,inside he disclosed a large disc of thin steel1 like those used by some mechanical music-boxes1 only without any perforations4 ,he connected the wires from the box to a sort of megaphone4 ,then he started the disc revolving4 ,out of the little megaphone horn1 sticking up like a miniature talking-machine1 came a voice3 ,number please4 ,four four three o1 ,yorkville4 ,busy1 ,i'll call you4 ,try them again1 ,central4 ,hello1 hello1 ,central - ,kennedy stopped the machine4 ,it must be further along on the disc1 he remarked4 ,this1 by the way1 is an instrument known as the telegraphone1 invented by a ,dane named ,poulsen4 ,it records conversations over a telephone on this plain metal disc by means of localised1 minute electric charges4 ,having adjusted the needle to another place on the disc he tried again4 ,we have here a record of the entire day's conversations over the telephone1 preserved on this disc4 ,i could wipe out the whole thing by pulling a magnet across it1 but1 needless to say1 ,i wouldn't do that - yet4 ,listen4 ,this time it was ,capps speaking4 ,give me ,mr4 ,shelton4 ,oh1 ,shelton1 ,i'm going down in the south tube with those men ,orton has sent nosing around here4 ,i'll let you know when ,i start up again4 ,meanwhile - you know - don't let anything happen while ,i am there4 ,good-bye4 ,capps sat looking defiantly at ,kennedy1 as he stopped the telegraphone4 ,now1 continued ,kennedy suavely1 what could happen8 ,i'll answer my own question by telling what actually did happen4 ,oil that was smoky at a lower point than its flash was being used in the machinery - not really three-hundred-and-sixty-degree oil4 ,the water-jacket had been tampered with1 too4 ,more than that1 there is a joint in the pipe leading down into the tunnel1 where explosive gases can collect4 ,it is a well-known fact in the use of compressed air that such a condition is the best possible way to secure an explosion4 ,it would all seem so natural1 even if discovered1 explained ,kennedy rapidly4 ,the smoking oil - smoking just as an automobile often does - is passed into the compressed-air pipe4 ,condensed oil1 moisture1 and gases collect in the joint1 and perhaps they line the whole distance of the pipe4 ,a spark from the low-grade oil-and they are ignited4 ,what takes place is the same thing that occurs in the cylinder of an automobile where the air is compressed with gasoline vapour4 ,only here we have compressed air charged with vapour of oil4 ,the flame proceeds down the pipe - exploding through the pipe1 if it happens to be not strong enough4 ,this pipe1 however1 is strong4 ,therefore1 the flame in this case shoots out at the open end of the pipe1 down near the shield1 and if the air in the tunnel happens also to be surcharged with oil-vapour1 an explosion takes place in the tunnel - the river bottom is blown out - then ,god help the sand-hogs6 ,that's how your accidents took place1 ,orton1 concluded ,kennedy in triumph1 and that impure air - not impure from carbon dioxide1 but from this oil-vapour mixture - increased the liability of the men for the bends4 ,capps knew about it4 ,he was careful while he was there to see that the air was made as pure as possible under the circumstances4 ,he was so careful that he wouldn't even let ,mr4 ,jameson smoke in the tunnel4 ,but as soon as he went to the surface1 the same deadly mixture was pumped down again - ,i caught some of it in this flask1 and - ,my ,god1 ,paddy's down there now1 cried ,orton1 suddenly seizing his telephone4 ,operator1 give me the south tube - quick - what - they don't answer8 ,out in the river above the end of the heading1 where a short time before there had been only a few bubbles on the surface of the water1 ,i could see what looked like a huge geyser of water spouting up4 ,i pulled ,craig over to me and pointed4 ,a blow-out1 cried ,kennedy1 as he rushed to the door1 only to be met by a group of blanched-faced workers who had come breathless to the office to deliver the news4 ,craig acted quickly4 ,hold these men1 he ordered1 pointing to ,capps and ,shelton1 until we come back4 ,orton1 while we are gone1 go over the entire day's record on the telegraphone4 ,i suspect you and ,miss ,taylor will find something there that will interest you4 ,he sprang down the ladder to the tunnel air-lock1 not waiting for the elevator4 ,in front of the closed door of the lock1 an excited group of men was gathered4 ,one of them was peering through the dim1 thick1 glass porthole in the door4 ,there he is1 standin' by the door with a club1 an' the men's crowdin' so fast that they're all wedged so's none can get in at all4 ,he's beatin' 'em back with the stick4 ,now1 he's got the door clear and has dragged one poor fellow in4 ,it's ,jimmy ,rourke1 him with the eight childer4 ,now he's dragged in a ,polack4 ,now he's fightin' back a big ,jamaica nigger who's tryin' to shove ahead of a little ,italian4 ,it's ,paddy1 cried ,craig4 ,if he can bring them all out safely without the loss of a life he'll save the day yet for ,orton4 ,and he'll do it1 too1 ,walter4 ,instantly ,i reconstructed in my mind the scene in the tunnel - the explosion of the oil-vapour1 the mad race up the tube1 perhaps the failure of the emergency curtain to work1 the frantic efforts of the men1 in panic1 all to crowd through the narrow little door at once2 the rapidly rising water - and above all the heroic ,paddy1 cool to the last1 standing at the door and single-handed beating the men back with a club1 so that they could go through one at a time4 ,only when the water had reached the level of the door of the lock1 did ,paddy bang it shut as he dragged the last man in4 ,then followed an interminable wait for the air in the lock to be exhausted4 ,when1 at last1 the door at our end of the lock swung open1 the men with a cheer seized ,paddy and1 in spite of his struggles1 hoisted him on to their shoulders1 and carried him off1 still struggling1 in triumph up the construction elevator to the open air above4 ,the scene in ,orton's office was dramatic as the men entered with ,paddy4 ,vivian ,taylor was standing defiantly1 with burning eyes1 facing ,capps1 who stared sullenly at the floor before him4 ,shelton was plainly abashed4 ,kennedy1 cried ,orton1 vainly trying to rise1 listen4 ,have you still that place on the telegraphone record1 ,vivian8 ,miss ,taylor started the telegraphone1 while we all crowded around leaning forward eagerly4 ,hello4 ,inter-,river8 ,is this the president's office8 ,oh1 hello4 ,this is ,capps talking4 ,how are you8 ,oh1 you've heard about ,orton1 have you8 ,not so bad1 eh8 ,well1 ,i'm arranging with my man ,shelton here for the final act this afternoon4 ,after that you can compromise with the ,five-,borough on your own terms4 ,i think ,i have argued ,taylor and ,morris into the right frame of mind for it1 if we have one more big accident4 ,what's that8 ,how is my love affair8 ,well1 ,orton's in the way yet1 but you know why ,i went into this deal4 ,when you put me into his place after the compromise1 ,i think ,i will pull strong with her4 ,saw her last night4 ,she feels pretty bad about ,orton1 but she'll get over it4 ,besides1 the pater will never let her marry a man who's down and out4 ,by the way1 you've got to do something handsome for ,shelton4 ,all right4 ,i'll see you to-night and tell you some more4 ,watch the papers in the meantime for the grand finale4 ,good-bye4 ,an angry growl rose from one or two of the more quick-witted men4 ,kennedy reached over and pulled me with him quickly through the crowd4 ,hurry1 ,walter1 he whispered hoarsely1 hustle ,shelton and ,capps out quick before the rest of the men wake up to what it's all about1 or we shall have a lynching instead of an arrest4 ,as we shoved and pushed them out1 ,i saw the rough and grimy sand-hogs in the rear move quickly aside1 and off came their muddy1 frayed hats4 ,a dainty figure flitted among them toward ,orton4 ,it was ,vivian ,taylor4 ,papa1 she cried1 grasping ,jack by both hands and turning to ,taylor1 who followed her closely1 ,papa1 ,i told you not to be too hasty with ,jack4 ,,vii ,,the ,,white ,,slave ,kennedy and ,i had just tossed a coin to decide whether it should be a comic opera or a good walk in the mellow spring night air and the opera had won1 but we had scarcely begun to argue the vital point as to where to go1 when the door buzzer sounded - a sure sign that some box-office had lost four dollars4 ,it was a much agitated middle-aged couple who entered as ,craig threw open the door4 ,of our two visitors1 the woman attracted my attention first1 for on her pale face the lines of sorrow were almost visibly deepening4 ,her nervous manner interested me greatly1 though ,i took pains to conceal the fact that ,i noticed it4 ,it was quickly accounted for1 however1 by the card which the man presented1 bearing the name ,mr4 ,george ,gilbert and a short scribble from ,first ,deputy ,o',connor3 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,gilbert desire to consult you with regard to the mysterious disappearance of their daughter1 ,georgette4 ,i am sure ,i need say nothing further to interest you than that the ,m4,p4 ,squad is completely baffled4 ,o',,connor4 ,h-m1 remarked ,kennedy2 not strange for the ,missing ,persons ,squad to be baffled - at least1 at this case4 ,then you know of our daughter's strange - er - departure8 asked ,mr4 ,gilbert1 eagerly scanning ,kennedy's face and using a euphemism that would fall less harshly on his wife's ears than the truth4 ,indeed1 yes1 nodded ,craig with marked sympathy3 that is1 ,i have read most of what the papers have said4 ,let me introduce my friend1 ,mr4 ,jameson4 ,you recall we were discussing the ,georgette ,gilbert case this morning1 ,walter8 ,i did1 and perhaps before ,i proceed further with the story ,i should quote at least the important parts of the article in the morning ,star which had occasioned the discussion4 ,the article had been headed1 ,when ,personalities ,are ,lost1 and with the ,gilbert case as a text many instances had been cited which had later been solved by the return of the memory of the sufferer4 ,in part the article had said3 ,mysterious disappearances1 such as that of ,georgette ,gilbert1 have alarmed the public and baffled the police before this1 disappearances that in their suddenness1 apparent lack of purpose1 and inexplicability1 have had much in common with the case of ,miss ,gilbert4 ,leaving out of account the class of disappearances such as embezzlers1 blackmailers1 and other criminals1 there is still a large number of recorded cases where the subjects have dropped out of sight without apparent cause or reason and have left behind them untarnished reputations4 ,of these a small percentage are found to have met with violence2 others have been victims of a suicidal mania 2 and sooner or later a clue has come to light1 for the dead are often easier to find than the living1 ,of the remaining small proportion there are on record a number of carefully authenticated cases where the subjects have been the victims of a sudden and complete loss of memory4 ,this dislocation of memory is a variety of aphasia known as amnesia1 and when the memory is recurrently lost and restored it is an alternating personality4 ,the psychical researchers and psychologists have reported many cases of alternating personality4 ,studious efforts are being made to understand and to explain the strange type of mental phenomena exhibited in these cases1 but no one has as yet given a final1 clear1 and comprehensive explanation of them4 ,such cases are by no means always connected with disappearances1 but the variety known as the ambulatory type1 where the patient suddenly loses all knowledge of his own identity and of his past and takes himself off1 leaving no trace or clue1 is the variety which the present case calls to popular attention4 ,then followed a list of a dozen or so interesting cases of persons who had vanished completely and had1 some several days and some even years later1 suddenly awakened to their first personality1 returned1 and taken up the thread of that personality where it had been broken4 ,to ,kennedy's inquiry ,i was about to reply that ,i recalled the conversation distinctly1 when ,mr4 ,gilbert shot an inquiring glance from beneath his bushy eyebrows1 quickly shifting from my face to ,kennedy's1 and asked1 ,and what was your conclusion - what do you think of the case8 ,is it aphasia or amnesia1 or whatever the doctors call it1 and do you think she is wandering about somewhere unable to recover her real personality8 ,i should like to have all the facts at first hand before venturing an opinion1 ,craig replied with precisely that shade of hesitancy that might reassure the anxious father and mother1 without raising a false hope4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,gilbert exchanged glances1 the purport of which was that she desired him to tell the story4 ,it was day before yesterday1 began ,mr4 ,gilbert1 gently touching his wife's trembling hand that sought his arm as he began rehearsing the tragedy that had cast its shadow across their lives1 ,thursday1 that ,georgette - er - since we have heard of ,georgette4 ,his voice faltered a bit1 but he proceeded3 ,as you know1 she was last seen walking on ,fifth ,avenue4 ,the police have traced her since she left home that morning4 ,it is known that she went first to the public library1 then that she stopped at a department store on the avenue1 where she made a small purchase which she had charged to our family account1 and finally that she went to a large book-store4 ,then - that is the last4 ,mrs4 ,gilbert sighed1 and buried her face in a lace handkerchief as her shoulders shook convulsively4 ,yes1 ,i have read that1 repeated ,kennedy gently1 though with manifest eagerness to get down to facts that might prove more illuminating4 ,i think ,i need hardly impress upon you the advantage of complete frankness1 the fact that anything you may tell me is of a much more confidential nature than if it were told to the police4 ,er-r1 had ,miss ,gilbert any - love affair1 any trouble of such a nature that it might have preyed on her mind8 ,kennedy's tactful manner seemed to reassure both the father and the mother1 who exchanged another glance4 ,although we have said no to the reporters1 ,mrs4 ,gilbert replied bravely in answer to the nod of approval from her husband1 and much as if she herself were making a confession for them both1 ,i fear that ,georgette had had a love affair4 ,no doubt you have heard hints of ,dudley ,lawton's name in connection with the case8 ,i can't imagine how they could have leaked out1 for ,i should have said that that old affair had long since been forgotten even by the society gossips4 ,the fact is that shortly after ,georgette 'came out1' ,dudley ,lawton1 who is quite on the road to becoming one of the rather notorious members of the younger set1 began to pay her marked attentions4 ,he is a fascinating1 romantic sort of fellow1 one that1 ,i imagine1 possesses much attraction for a girl who has been brought up as simply as ,georgette was1 and who has absorbed a surreptitious diet of modern literature such as we now know ,georgette did4 ,i suppose you have seen portraits of ,georgette in the newspapers and know what a dreamy and artistic nature her face indicates8 ,kennedy nodded4 ,it is1 of course1 one of the cardinal tenets of journalism that all women are beautiful1 but even the coarse screen of the ordinary newspaper half-tone had not been able to conceal the rather exceptional beauty of ,miss ,georgette ,gilbert4 ,if it had1 all the shortcomings of the newspaper photographic art would have been quickly glossed over by the almost ardent descriptions by those ladies of the press who come along about the second day after an event of this kind with signed articles analysing the character and motives1 the life and gowns of the latest actors in the front-page stories4 ,naturally both my husband and myself opposed his attentions from the first4 ,it was a hard struggle1 for ,georgette1 of course1 assumed the much-injured air of some of the heroines of her favourite novels4 ,but ,i1 at least1 believed that we had won and that ,georgette finally was brought to respect and1 ,i hoped1 understand our wishes in the matter4 ,i believe so yet4 ,mr4 ,gilbert in a roundabout way came to an understanding with old ,mr4 ,dudley ,lawton1 who possesses a great influence over his son1 and - well1 ,dudley ,lawton seemed to have passed out of ,georgette's life4 ,i believed so then1 at least1 and ,i see no reason for not believing so yet4 ,i feel that you ought to know this1 but really ,i don't think it is right to say that ,georgette had a love affair4 ,i should rather say that she had had a love affair1 but that it had been forgotten1 perhaps a year ago4 ,mrs4 ,gilbert paused again1 and it was evident that though she was concealing nothing she was measuring her words carefully in order not to give a false impression4 ,what does ,dudley ,lawton say about the newspapers bringing his name into the case8 asked ,kennedy1 addressing ,mr4 ,gilbert4 ,nothing1 replied he4 ,he denies that he has even spoken to her for nearly a year4 ,apparently he has no interest in the case4 ,and yet ,i cannot quite believe that ,lawton is as uninterested as he seems4 ,i know that he has often spoken about her to members of the ,cosmos ,club where he lives1 and that he reads practically everything that the newspapers print about the case4 ,but you have no reason to think that there has ever been any secret communication between them8 ,miss ,georgette left no letters or anything that would indicate that her former infatuation survived8 ,none whatever1 repeated ,mr4 ,gilbert emphatically4 ,we have gone over her personal effects very carefully1 and ,i can't say they furnish a clue4 ,in fact1 there were very few letters4 ,she rarely kept a letter4 ,whether it was merely from habit or for some purpose1 ,i can't say4 ,besides her liking for ,dudley ,lawton and her rather romantic nature1 there are no other things in her life that would cause a desire for freedom8 asked ,kennedy1 much as a doctor might test the nerves of a patient4 ,she had no hobbies8 ,beyond the reading of some books which her mother and ,i did not altogether approve of1 ,i should say no - no hobbies4 ,so far1 ,i suppose1 it is true that neither you nor the police have received even a hint as to where she went after leaving the book-store8 ,not a hint4 ,she dropped out as completely as if the earth had swallowed her4 ,mrs4 ,gilbert1 said ,kennedy1 as our visitors rose to go1 you may rest assured that if it is humanly possible to find your daughter ,i shall leave no stone unturned until ,i have probed to the bottom of this mystery4 ,i have seldom had a case that hung on more slender threads1 yet if ,i can weave other threads to support it ,i feel that we shall soon find that the mystery is not so baffling as the ,missing ,persons ,squad has found it so far4 ,scarcely had the ,gilberts left when ,kennedy put on his hat1 remarking3 ,we'll at least get our walk1 if not the show4 ,let's stroll around to the ,cosmos ,club4 ,perhaps we may catch ,lawton in4 ,luckily we chanced to find him there in the reading-room4 ,lawton was1 as ,mrs4 ,gilbert had said1 a type that is common enough in ,new ,york and is very fascinating to many girls4 ,in fact1 he was one of those fellows whose sins are readily forgiven because they are always interesting4 ,not a few men secretly admire though publicly execrate the ,lawton type4 ,i say we chanced to find him in4 ,that was about all we found4 ,our interview was most unsatisfactory4 ,for my part1 ,i could not determine whether he was merely anxious to avoid any notoriety in connection with the case or whether he was concealing something that might compromise himself4 ,really1 gentlemen1 he drawled1 puffing languidly on a cigarette and turning slowly toward the window to watch the passing throng under the lights of the avenue1 really ,i don't see how ,i can be of any assistance4 ,you see1 except for a mere passing acquaintance ,miss ,gilbert and ,i had drifted entirely apart - entirely apart - owing to circumstances over which ,i1 at least1 had no control4 ,i thought perhaps you might have heard from her or about her1 through some mutual friend1 remarked ,kennedy1 carefully concealing under his nonchalance what ,i knew was working in his mind - a belief that1 after all1 the old attachment had not been so dead as the ,gilberts had fancied4 ,no1 not a breath1 either before this sad occurrence or1 of course1 after4 ,believe me1 if ,i could add one fact that would simplify the search for ,georgette - ah1 ,miss ,gilbert - ah - ,i would do so in a moment1 replied ,lawton quickly1 as if desirous of getting rid of us as soon as possible4 ,then perhaps as if regretting the brusqueness with which he had tried to end the interview1 he added1 ,don't misunderstand me4 ,the moment you have discovered anything that points to her whereabouts1 let me know immediately4 ,you can count on me - provided you don't get me into the papers4 ,good-night1 gentlemen4 ,i wish you the best of success4 ,do you think he could have kept up the acquaintance secretly8 ,i asked ,craig as we walked up the avenue after this baffling interview4 ,could he have cast her off when he found that in spite of her parents' protests she was still in his power8 ,it's impossible to say what a man of ,dudley ,lawton's type could do1 mused ,kennedy1 for the simple reason that he himself doesn't know until he has to do it4 ,until we have more facts1 anything is both possible and probable4 ,there was nothing more that could be done that night1 though after our walk we sat up for an hour or two discussing probabilities4 ,it did not take me long to reach the end of my imagination and give up the case1 but ,kennedy continued to revolve the matter in his mind1 looking at it from every angle and calling upon all the vast store of information that he had treasured up in that marvellous brain of his1 ready to be called on almost as if his mind were card-indexed4 ,murders1 suicides1 robberies1 and burglaries are1 after all1 pretty easily explained1 he remarked1 after a long period of silence on my part1 but the sudden disappearance of people out of the crowded city into nowhere is something that is much harder to explain4 ,and it isn't so difficult to disappear as some people imagine1 either4 ,you remember the case of the celebrated ,arctic explorer whose picture had been published scores of times in every illustrated paper4 ,he had no trouble in disappearing and then reappearing later1 when he got ready4 ,yet experience has taught me that there is always a reason for disappearances4 ,it is our next duty to discover that reason4 ,still1 it won't do to say that disappearances are not mysterious4 ,disappearances except for money troubles are all mysterious4 ,the first thing in such a case is to discover whether the person has any hobbies or habits or fads4 ,that is what ,i tried to find out from the ,gilberts4 ,i can't tell yet whether ,i succeeded4 ,kennedy took a pencil and hastily jotted down something on a piece of paper which he tossed over to me4 ,it read3 #a4,love1 family trouble4 #b4;,a romantic disposition4 #c4,temporary insanity1 self-destruction4 #d4;,criminal assault4 #e4;,aphasia4 #f4,kidnapping4 ,those are the reasons why people disappear1 eliminating criminals and those who have financial difficulties4 ,dream on that and see if you can work out the answer in your subliminal consciousness4 ,good-night4 ,needless to say1 ,i was no further advanced in the morning than at midnight1 but ,kennedy seemed to have evolved at least a tentative programme4 ,it started with a visit to the public library1 where he carefully went over the ground already gone over by the police4 ,finding nothing1 he concluded that ,miss ,gilbert had not found what she wanted at the library and had continued the quest1 even as he was continuing the quest of herself4 ,his next step was to visit the department-store4 ,the purchase had been an inconsequential affair of half a dozen handkerchiefs1 to be sent home4 ,this certainly did not look like a premeditated disappearance2 but ,craig was proceeding on the assumption that this purchase indicated nothing except that there had been a sale of handkerchiefs which had caught her eye4 ,having stopped at the library first and a book-shop afterward1 he assumed that she had also visited the book-department of the store4 ,but here again nobody seemed to recall her or that she had asked for anything in particular4 ,our last hope was the book-shop4 ,we paused for a moment to look at the display in the window1 but only for a moment1 for ,craig quickly pulled me along inside4 ,in the window was a display of books bearing the sign3 ,,books ,,on ,,new ,,thought1 ,,occultism1 ,,clairvoyance1 ,,mesmerism ,instead of attempting to go over the ground already traversed by the police1 who had interrogated the numerous clerks without discovering which one1 if any1 had waited on ,miss ,gilbert1 ,kennedy asked at once to see the record of sales of the morning on which she had disappeared4 ,running his eye quickly down the record1 he picked out a work on clairvoyance and asked to see the young woman who had made the sale4 ,the clerk was1 however1 unable to recall to whom she had sold the book1 though she finally admitted that she thought it might have been a young woman who had some difficulty in making up her mind just which one of the numerous volumes she wanted4 ,she could not say whether the picture ,kennedy showed her of ,miss ,gilbert was that of her customer1 nor was she sure that the customer was not escorted by some one4 ,altogether it was nearly as hazy as our interview with ,lawton4 ,still1 remarked ,kennedy cheerfully1 it may furnish a clue1 after all4 ,the clerk at least was not positive that it was not ,miss ,gilbert to whom she sold the book4 ,since we are down in this neighbourhood1 let us drop in and see ,mr4 ,gilbert again4 ,perhaps something may have happened since last night4 ,mr4 ,gilbert was in the dry-goods business in a loft building in the new dry-goods section on ,fourth ,avenue4 ,one could almost feel that a tragedy had invaded even his place of business4 ,as we entered1 we could see groups of clerks1 evidently discussing the case4 ,it was no wonder1 ,i felt1 for the head of the firm was almost frantic1 and beside the loss of his only daughter the loss of his business would count as nothing1 at least until the keen edge of his grief was worn off4 ,mr4 ,gilbert is out1 replied his secretary1 in answer to our inquiry4 ,haven't you heard8 ,they have just discovered the body of his daughter in a lonely spot in the ,croton ,aqueduct4 ,the report came in from the police just a few minutes ago4 ,it is thought that she was murdered in the city and carried there in an automobile4 ,the news came with a stinging shock4 ,i felt that1 after all1 we were too late4 ,in another hour the extras would be out1 and the news would be spread broadcast4 ,the affair would be in the hands of the amateur detectives1 and there was no telling how many promising clues might be lost4 ,dead6 exclaimed ,kennedy1 as he jammed his hat on his head and bolted for the door4 ,hurry1 ,walter4 ,we must get there before the coroner makes his examination4 ,i don't know how we managed to do it1 but by dint of subway1 elevated1 and taxicab we arrived on the scene of the tragedy not very long after the coroner4 ,mr4 ,gilbert was there1 silent1 and looking as if he had aged many years since the night before2 his hand shook and he could merely nod recognition to us4 ,already the body had been carried to a rough shanty in the neighbourhood1 and the coroner was questioning those who had made the discovery1 a party of ,italian labourers on the water improvement near by4 ,they were a vicious looking crew1 but they could tell nothing beyond the fact that one of them had discovered the body in a thicket where it could not possibly have lain longer than overnight4 ,there was no reason1 as yet1 to suspect any of them1 and indeed1 as a much travelled automobile road ran within a few feet of the thicket1 there was every reason to believe that the murder1 if murder it was1 had been committed elsewhere and that the perpetrator had taken this means of getting rid of his unfortunate victim4 ,drawn and contorted were the features of the poor girl1 as if she had died in great physical agony or after a terrific struggle4 ,indeed1 marks of violence on her delicate throat and neck showed only too plainly that she had been choked4 ,as ,kennedy bent over the form of the once lovely ,georgette1 he noted the clenched hands4 ,then he looked at them more closely4 ,i was standing a little behind him1 for though ,craig and ,i had been through many thrilling adventures1 the death of a human being1 especially of a girl like ,miss ,gilbert1 filled me with horror and revulsion4 ,i could see1 however1 that he had noted something unusual4 ,he pulled out a little pocket magnifying glass and made an even more minute examination of the hands4 ,at last he rose and faced us1 almost as if in triumph4 ,i could not see what he had discovered - at least it did not seem to be anything tangible1 like a weapon4 ,quickly he opened the pocketbook which she had carried4 ,it seemed to be empty1 and he was about to shut it when something white1 sticking in one corner1 caught his eye4 ,craig pulled out a clipping from a newspaper1 and we crowded about him to look at it4 ,it was a large clipping from the section of one of the metropolitan journals which carries a host of such advertisements as spirit medium1 psychic palmist1 yogi mediator1 magnetic influences1 crystal gazer1 astrologer1 trance medium1 and the like4 ,at once ,i thought of the sallow1 somewhat mystic countenance of ,dudley1 and the idea flashed1 half-formed1 in my mind that somehow this clue1 together with the purchase of the book on clairvoyance1 might prove the final link necessary4 ,but the first problem in ,kennedy's mind was to keep in touch with what the authorities were doing4 ,that kept us busy for several hours1 during which ,craig was in close consultation with the coroner's physician4 ,the physician was of the opinion that ,miss ,gilbert had been drugged as well as strangled1 and for many hours1 down in his laboratory1 his chemists were engaged in trying to discover from tests of her blood whether the theory was true4 ,one after another the ordinary poisons were eliminated1 until it began to look hopeless4 ,so far ,kennedy had been only an interested spectator1 but as the different tests failed1 he had become more and more keenly alive4 ,at last it seemed as if he could wait no longer4 ,might ,i try one or two reactions with that sample8 he asked of the physician who handed him the test tube in silence4 ,for a moment or two ,craig thoughtfully regarded it1 while with one hand he fingered the bottles of ether1 alcohol1 distilled water1 and the many reagents standing before him4 ,he picked up one and poured a little liquid into the test tube4 ,then1 removing the precipitate that was formed1 he tried to dissolve it in water4 ,not succeeding1 he tried the ether and then the alcohol4 ,both were successful4 ,what is it8 we asked as he held the tube up critically to the light4 ,i can't be sure yet1 he answered slowly4 ,i thought at first that it was some alkaloid4 ,i'll have to make further tests before ,i can be positive just what it is4 ,if ,i may retain this sample ,i think that with other clues that ,i have discovered ,i may be able to tell you something definite soon4 ,the coroner's physician willingly assented1 and ,craig quickly dispatched the tube1 carefully sealed1 to his laboratory4 ,that part of our investigation will keep1 he remarked as we left the coroner's office4 ,to-night ,i think we had better resume the search which was so unexpectedly interrupted this morning4 ,i suppose you have concluded1 ,walter1 that we can be reasonably sure that the trail leads back through the fortune-tellers and soothsayers of ,new ,york1 - which one1 it would be difficult to say4 ,the obvious thing1 therefore1 is to consult them all4 ,i think you will enjoy that part of it1 with your newspaperman's liking for the bizarre4 ,the fact was that it did appeal to me1 though at the moment ,i was endeavouring to formulate a theory in which ,dudley ,lawton and an accomplice would account for the facts4 ,it was early in the evening as we started out on our tour of the clairvoyants of ,new ,york4 ,the first whom ,kennedy selected from the advertisements in the clipping described himself as ,hata1 the ,veiled ,prophet1 born with a double veil1 educated in occult mysteries and ,hindu philosophy in ,egypt and ,india4 ,like all of them his advertisement dwelt much on love and money3 ,the great questions of life are quickly solved1 failure turned to success1 sorrow to joy1 the separated are brought together1 foes made friends4 ,truths are laid bare to his mysterious mind4 ,he gives you power to attract and control those whom you may desire1 tells you of living or dead1 your secret troubles1 the cause and remedy4 ,advice on all affairs of life1 love1 courtship1 marriage1 business1 speculations1 investments4 ,overcomes rivals1 enemies1 and all evil influences4 ,will tell you how to attract1 control1 and change the thought1 intentions1 actions1 or character of any one you desire4 ,hata was a modest adept who professed to be able to explain the whole ten stages of ,yoga4 ,he had established himself on a street near ,times ,square1 just off ,broadway1 and there we found several automobiles and taxicabs standing at the curb1 a mute testimony to the wealth of at least some of his clientele4 ,a solemn-faced coloured man ushered us into a front parlour and asked if we had come to see the professor4 ,kennedy answered that we had4 ,will you please write your names and addresses on the outside sheet of this pad1 then tear it off and keep it8 asked the attendant4 ,we ask all visitors to do that simply as a guarantee of good faith4 ,then if you will write under it what you wish to find out from the professor ,i think it will help you concentrate4 ,but don't write while ,i am in the room1 and don't let me see the writing4 ,a pretty cheap trick1 exclaimed ,craig when the attendant had gone4 ,that's how he tells the gullible their names before they tell him4 ,i've a good notion to tear off two sheets4 ,the second is chemically prepared1 with paraffin1 ,i think4 ,by dusting it over with powdered charcoal you can bring out what was written on the first sheet over it4 ,oh1 well1 let's let him get something across1 anyway4 ,here goes1 our names and addresses1 and underneath ,i'll write1 ',what has become of ,georgette ,gilbert8' ,perhaps five minutes later the negro took the pad1 the top sheet having been torn off and placed in ,kennedy's pocket4 ,he also took a small fee of two dollars4 ,a few minutes later we were ushered into the awful presence of the ,veiled ,prophet1 a tall1 ferret-eyed man in a robe that looked suspiciously like a brocaded dressing-gown much too large for him4 ,sure enough1 he addressed us solemnly by name and proceeded directly to tell us why we had come4 ,let us look into the crystal of the past1 present1 and future and read what it has to reveal1 he added solemnly1 darkening the room1 which was already only dimly lighted4 ,then ,hata1 the crystal-gazer1 solemnly seated himself in a chair4 ,before him1 in his hands1 reposing on a bag of satin1 lay a huge oval piece of glass4 ,he threw forward his head and riveted his eyes on the milky depths of the crystal4 ,in a moment he began to talk1 first ramblingly1 then coherently4 ,i see a man1 a dark man1 he began4 ,he is talking earnestly to a young girl4 ,she is trying to avoid him4 ,ah - he seizes her by both arms4 ,they struggle4 ,he has his hand at her throat4 ,he is choking her4 ,i was thinking of the newspaper descriptions of ,lawton1 which the fakir had undoubtedly read1 but ,kennedy was leaning forward over the crystal-gazer1 not watching the crystal at all1 nor with his eyes on the clairvoyant's face4 ,her tongue is protruding from her mouth1 her eyes are bulging - ,yes1 yes1 urged ,kennedy4 ,go on4 ,she falls4 ,he strikes her4 ,he flees4 ,he goes to - ,kennedy laid his hand ever so lightly on the arm of the clairvoyant1 then quickly withdrew it4 ,i cannot see where he goes4 ,it is dark1 dark4 ,you will have to come back to-morrow when the vision is stronger4 ,the thing stung me by its crudity4 ,kennedy1 however1 seemed elated by our experience as we gained the street4 ,craig1 ,i remonstrated1 you don't mean to say you attach any importance to vapourings like that8 ,why1 there wasn't a thing the fellow couldn't have imagined from the newspapers1 even the clumsy description of ,dudley ,lawton4 ,we'll see1 he replied cheerfully1 as we stopped under a light to read the address of the next seer1 who happened to be in the same block4 ,it proved to be the psychic palmist who called himself the ,pandit4 ,he also was born with a strange and remarkable power - not meant to gratify the idle curious1 but to direct1 advise1 and help men and women - at the usual low fee4 ,he said in print that he gave instant relief to those who had trouble in love1 and also positively guaranteed to tell your name and the object of your visit4 ,he added3 ,love1 courtship1 marriage4 ,what is more beautiful than the true unblemished love of one person for another8 ,what is sweeter1 better1 or more to be desired than perfect harmony and happiness8 ,if you want to win the esteem1 love1 and everlasting affection of another1 see the ,pandit1 the greatest living master of the occult science4 ,inasmuch as this seer fell into a passion at the other incompetent soothsayers in the next column 7and almost next door7 it seemed as if we must surely get something for our money from the ,pandit4 ,like ,hata1 the ,pandit lived in a large brownstone house4 ,the man who admitted us led us into a parlour where several people were seated about as if waiting for some one4 ,the pad and writing process was repeated with little variation4 ,since we were the latest comers we had to wait some time before we were ushered into the presence of the ,pandit1 who was clad in a green silk robe4 ,the room was large and had very small windows of stained glass4 ,at one end of the room was an altar on which burned several candles which gave out an incense4 ,the atmosphere of the room was heavy with a fragrance that seemed to combine cologne with chloroform4 ,the ,pandit waved a wand1 muttering strange sounds as he did so1 for in addition to his palmistry1 which he seemed not disposed to exhibit that night1 he dealt in mysteries beyond human ken4 ,a voice1 quite evidently from a phonograph buried in the depths of the altar1 answered in an unknown language which sounded much like ,al-ya wa-aa haal-ya waa-ha4 ,across the dim room flashed a pale blue light with a crackling noise1 the visible rays from a ,crookes tube1 ,i verily believe4 ,the ,pandit1 however1 said it was the soul of a saint passing through4 ,then he produced two silken robes1 one red1 which he placed on ,kennedy's shoulders1 and one violet1 which he threw over me4 ,from the air proceeded strange sounds of weird music and words4 ,the ,pandit seemed to fall asleep1 muttering4 ,apparently1 however1 ,kennedy and ,i were bad subjects1 for after some minutes of this he gave it up1 saying that the spirits had no revelation to make to-night in the matter in which we had called4 ,inasmuch as we had not written on the pad just what that matter was1 ,i was not surprised4 ,nor was ,i surprised when the ,pandit laid off his robe and said unctuously1 ,but if you will call to-morrow and concentrate1 ,i am sure that ,i can secure a message that will be helpful about your little matter4 ,kennedy promised to call1 but still he lingered4 ,the ,pandit1 anxious to get rid of us1 moved toward the door4 ,kennedy sidled over toward the green robe which the ,pandit had laid on a chair4 ,might ,i have some of your writings to look over in the meantime8 asked ,craig as if to gain time4 ,yes1 but they will cost you three dollars a copy - the price ,i charge all my students1 answered the ,pandit with just a trace of a gleam of satisfaction at having at last made an impression4 ,he turned and entered a cabinet to secure the mystic literature4 ,the moment he had disappeared ,kennedy seized the opportunity he had been waiting for4 ,he picked up the green robe and examined the collar and neck very carefully under the least dim of the lights in the room4 ,he seemed to find what he wished1 yet he continued to examine the robe until the sound of returning footsteps warned him to lay it down again4 ,he had not been quite quick enough4 ,the ,pandit eyed us suspiciously1 then he rang a bell4 ,the attendant appeared instantly1 noiselessly4 ,show these men into the library1 he commanded with just the faintest shade of trepidation4 ,my servant will give you the book1 he said to ,craig4 ,pay him4 ,it seemed that we had suddenly been looked upon with disfavour1 and ,i half suspected he thought we were spies of the police1 who had recently received numerous complaints of the financial activities of the fortune tellers1 who worked in close harmony with certain bucket-shop operators in fleecing the credulous of their money by inspired investment advice4 ,at any rate1 the attendant quickly opened a door into the darkness4 ,treading cautiously ,i followed ,craig4 ,the door closed behind us4 ,i clenched my fists1 not knowing what to expect4 ,the deuce6 exclaimed ,kennedy4 ,he passed us out into an alley4 ,there is the street not twenty feet away4 ,the ,pandit is a clever one1 all right4 ,it was now too late to see any of the other clairvoyants on our list1 so that with this unceremonious dismissal we decided to conclude our investigations for the night4 ,the next morning we wended our way up into the ,bronx1 where one of the mystics had ensconced himself rather out of the beaten track of police protection1 or persecution1 one could not say which4 ,i was wondering what sort of vagary would come next4 ,it proved to be ,swami1 the greatest clairvoyant1 psychic palmist1 and ,yogi mediator of them all4 ,he also stood alone in his power1 for he asserted3 ,names friends1 enemies1 rivals1 tells whom and when you will marry1 advises you upon love1 courtship1 marriage1 business1 speculation1 transactions of every nature4 ,if you are worried1 perplexed1 or in trouble come to this wonderful man4 ,he reads your life like an open book2 he overcomes evil influences1 reunites the separated1 causes speedy and happy marriage with the one of your choice1 tells how to influence any one you desire1 tells whether wife or sweetheart is true or false4 ,love1 friendship1 and influence of others obtained and a greater share of happiness in life secured4 ,the key to success is that marvellous1 subtle1 unseen power that opens to your vision the greatest secrets of life4 ,it gives you power which enables you to control the minds of men and women4 ,the ,swami engaged to explain the wonderful ,karmic law1 and by his method one could develop a wonderful magnetic personality by which he could win anything the human heart desired4 ,it was therefore with great anticipation that we sought out the wonderful ,swami and1 falling into the spirit of his advertisement1 posed as come-ons and pleaded to obtain this wonderful magnetism and a knowledge of the ,karmic law - at a ridiculously low figure1 considering its inestimable advantages to one engaged in the pursuit of criminal science4 ,naturally the ,swami was pleased at two such early callers1 and his narrow1 half-bald head1 long slim nose1 sharp grey eyes1 and sallow1 unwholesome complexion showed his pleasure in every line and feature4 ,rubbing his hands together as he motioned us into the next room1 the ,swami seated us on a circular divan with piles of cushions upon it4 ,there were clusters of flowers in vases about the room1 which gave it the odour of the renewed vitality of the year4 ,a lackey entered with a silver tray of cups of coffee and a silver jar in the centre4 ,talking slowly and earnestly about the great ,karmic law1 the ,swami bade us drink the coffee1 which was of a vile1 muddy1 ,turkish variety4 ,then from the jar he took a box of rock crystal containing a sort of greenish compound which he kneaded into a little gum - gum tragacanth1 ,i afterward learned1 - and bade us taste4 ,it was not at all unpleasant to the taste1 and as nothing happened1 except the suave droning of the mystic before us1 we ate several of the gum pellets4 ,i am at a loss to describe adequately just the sensations that ,i soon experienced4 ,it was as if puffs of hot and cold air were alternately blown on my spine1 and ,i felt a twitching of my neck1 legs1 and arms4 ,then came a subtle warmth4 ,the whole thing seemed droll2 the noise of the ,swami's voice was most harmonious4 ,his and ,kennedy's faces seemed transformed4 ,they were human faces1 but each had a sort of animal likeness back of it1 as ,lavater has said4 ,the ,swami seemed to me to be the fox1 ,kennedy the owl4 ,i looked in the glass1 and ,i was the eagle4 ,i laughed outright4 ,it was sensuous in the extreme4 ,the beautiful paintings on the walls at once became clothed in flesh and blood4 ,a picture of a lady hanging near me caught my eye4 ,the countenance really smiled and laughed and varied from moment to moment4 ,her figure became rounded and living and seemed to stir in the frame4 ,the face was beautiful but ghastly4 ,i seemed to be borne along on a sea of pleasure by currents of voluptuous happiness4 ,the ,swami was affected by a profound politeness4 ,as he rose and walked about the room1 still talking1 he salaamed and bowed4 ,when#bj ,i spoke it sounded like a gun1 with an echo long afterward rumbling in my brain4 ,thoughts came to me like fury1 bewildering1 sometimes as points of light in the most exquisite fireworks4 ,objects were clothed in most fantastic garbs4 ,i looked at my two animal companions4 ,i seemed to read their thoughts4 ,i felt strange affinities with them1 even with the ,swami4 ,yet it was all by the psychological law of the association of ideas1 though ,i was no longer master but the servant of those ideas4 ,as for ,kennedy1 the stuff seemed to affect him much differently than it did myself4 ,indeed1 it seemed to rouse in him something vicious4 ,the more ,i smiled and the more the ,swami salaamed1 the more violent ,i could see ,craig getting1 whereas ,i was lost in a maze of dreams that ,i would not have stopped if ,i could4 ,seconds seemed to be years2 minutes ages4 ,things at only a short distance looked much as they do when looked at through the inverted end of a telescope4 ,yet it all carried with it an agreeable exhilaration which ,i can only describe as the heightened sense one feels on the first spring day of the year4 ,at last the continued plying of the drug seemed to be too much for ,kennedy4 ,the ,swami had made a profound salaam4 ,in an instant ,kennedy had seized with both hands the long flowing hair at the back of the ,swami's bald forehead1 and he tugged until the mystic yelled with pain and the tears stood in his eyes4 ,with a leap ,i roused myself from the train of dreams and flung myself between them4 ,at the sound of my voice and the pressure of my grasp1 ,craig sullenly and slowly relaxed his grip4 ,a vacant look seemed to steal into his face1 and seizing his hat1 which lay on a near-by stool1 he stalked out in silence1 and ,i followed4 ,neither of us spoke for a moment after we had reached the street1 but out of the corner of my eye ,i could see that ,kennedy's body was convulsed as if with suppressed emotion4 ,do you feel better in the air8 ,i asked anxiously1 yet somewhat vexed and feeling a sort of lassitude and half regret at the reality of life and not of the dreams4 ,it seemed as if he could restrain himself no longer4 ,he burst out into a hearty laugh4 ,i was just watching the look of disgust on your face1 he said as he opened his hand and showed me three or four of the gum lozenges that he had palmed instead of swallowing4 ,ha1 ha6 ,i wonder what the ,swami thinks of his earnest effort to expound the ,karmic law4 ,it was beyond me4 ,with the ,swami's concoction still shooting thoughts like sky rockets through my brain ,i gave it up and allowed ,kennedy to engineer our next excursion into the occult4 ,one more seer remained to be visited4 ,this one professed to hold your life mirror and by his magnetic monochrome1 whatever that might be1 he would impart to you an attractive personality1 mastery of being1 for creation and control of life conditions4 ,he described himself as the ,guru1 and1 among other things1 he professed to be a sun-worshipper4 ,at any rate1 the room into which we were admitted was decorated with the four-spoked wheel1 or wheel and cross1 the winged circle1 and the winged orb4 ,the ,guru himself was a swarthy individual with a purple turban wound around his head4 ,in his inner room were many statuettes1 photographs of other ,gurus of the faith1 and on each of the four walls were mysterious symbols in plaster representing a snake curved in a circle1 swallowing his tail1 a five-pointed star1 and in the centre another winged sphere4 ,craig asked the ,guru to explain the symbols1 to which he replied with a smile3 ,the snake represents eternity1 the star involution and evolution of the soul1 while the winged sphere - eh1 well1 that represents something else4 ,do you come to learn of the faith8 ,at this gentle hint ,craig replied that he did1 and the utmost amicability was restored by the purchase of the ,green ,book of the ,guru1 which seemed to deal with everything under the sun1 and particularly the revival of ancient ,asiatic fire-worship with many forms and ceremonies1 together with posturing and breathing that rivalled the turkey trot1 the bunny hug1 and the grizzly bear4 ,the book1 as we turned1 over its pages1 gave directions for preparing everything from food to love-philtres and the elixir of life4 ,one very interesting chapter was devoted to electric marriage1 which seemed to come to those only who1 after searching patiently1 at last found perfect mates4 ,another of the ,guru's tenets seemed to be purification by eliminating all false modesty1 bathing in the sun1 and while bathing engaging in any occupation which kept the mind agreeably occupied4 ,on the first page was the satisfying legend1 ,there is nothing in the world that a disciple can give to pay the debt to the ,guru who has taught him one truth4 ,as we talked1 it seemed quite possible to me that the ,guru might exert a very powerful hypnotic influence over his disciples or those who came to seek his advice4 ,besides this indefinable hypnotic influence1 ,i also noted the more material lock on the door to the inner sanctuary4 ,yes1 the ,guru was saying to ,kennedy1 ,i can secure you one of the love-pills from ,india1 but it will cost you - er - ten dollars4 ,i think he hesitated1 to see how much the traffic would bear1 from one to one hundred1 and compromised with only one zero after the unit4 ,kennedy appeared satisfied1 and the ,guru departed with alacrity to secure the specially imported pellet4 ,in a corner was a sort of dressing-table on which lay a comb and brush4 ,kennedy seemed much interested in the table and was examining it when the ,guru returned4 ,just as the door opened he managed to slip the brush into his pocket and appear interested in the mystic symbols on the wall opposite4 ,if that doesn't work1 remarked the ,guru in remarkably good ,english1 let me know1 and you must try one of my charm bottles4 ,but the love-pills are fine4 ,good-day4 ,outside ,craig looked at me quizzically ,you wouldn't believe it1 ,walter1 would you8 he said4 ,here in this twentieth century in ,new ,york1 and in fact in every large city of the world - love-philtres1 love-pills1 and all the rest of it4 ,and it is not among the ignorant that these things are found1 either4 ,you remember we saw automobiles waiting before some of the places4 ,i suspect that all who visit the fakirs are not so gullible1 after all1 ,i replied sententiously4 ,perhaps not4 ,i think ,i shall have something interesting to say to-night as a result of our visits1 at least4 ,during the remainder of the day ,kennedy was closely confined in his laboratory with his microscopes1 slides1 chemicals1 test-tubes1 and other apparatus4 ,as for myself1 ,i put in the time speculating which of the fakirs had been in some mysterious way connected with the case and in what manner4 ,many were the theories which ,i had formed and the situations ,i conjured up1 and in nearly all ,i had one central figure1 the young man whose escapades had been the talk of even the fast set of a fast society4 ,that night ,kennedy1 with the assistance of ,first ,deputy ,o',connor1 who was not averse to taking any action within the law toward the soothsayers1 assembled a curiously cosmopolitan crowd in his laboratory4 ,besides the ,gilberts were ,dudley ,lawton and his father1 ,hata1 the ,pandit1 the ,swami1 and the ,guru - the latter four persons in high dudgeon at being deprived of the lucrative profits of a ,sunday night4 ,kennedy began slowly7 leading gradually up to his point3 ,a new means of bringing criminals to justice has been lately studied by one of the greatest scientific detectives of crime in the world1 the man to whom we are indebted for our most complete systems of identification and apprehension4 ,craig paused and fingered the microscope before him thoughtfully4 ,human hair1 he resumed1 has recently been the study of that untiring criminal scientist1 ,m4 ,bertillon4 ,he has drawn up a full1 classified1 and graduated table of all the known colours of the human hair1 a complete palette1 so to speak1 of samples gathered in every quarter of the globe4 ,henceforth burglars1 who already wear gloves or paint their fingers with a rubber composition for fear of leaving finger-prints1 will have to wear close-fitting caps or keep their heads shaved4 ,thus he has hit upon a new method of identification of those sought by the police4 ,for instance1 from time to time the question arises whether hair is human or animal4 ,in such cases the microscope tells the answer truthfully4 ,for a long time ,i have been studying hair1 taking advantage of those excellent researches by ,m4 ,bertillon4 ,human hair is fairly uniform1 tapering gradually4 ,under the microscope it is practically always possible to distinguish human hair from animal4 ,i shall not go into the distinctions1 but ,i may add that it is also possible to determine very quickly the difference between all hair1 human or animal1 and cotton with its corkscrew-like twists1 linen with its jointed structure1 and silk1 which is long1 smooth1 and cylindrical4 ,again ,kennedy paused as if to emphasise this preface4 ,i have here1 he continued1 a sample of hair4 ,he had picked up a microscope slide that was lying on the table4 ,it certainly did not look very thrilling - a mere piece of glass1 that was all4 ,but on the glass was what appeared to be merely a faint line4 ,this slide1 he said1 holding it up1 has what must prove an unescapable clue to the identity of the man responsible for the disappearance of ,miss ,gilbert4 ,i shall not tell you yet who he is1 for the simple reason that1 though ,i could make a shrewd guess1 ,i do not yet know what the verdict of science is1 and in science we do not guess where we can prove4 ,you will undoubtedly remember that when ,miss ,gilbert's body was discovered1 it bore no evidence of suicide1 but on the contrary the marks of violence4 ,her fists were clenched1 as if she had struggled with all her power against a force that had been too much for her4 ,i examined her hands1 expecting to find some evidence of a weapon she had used to defend herself4 ,instead1 ,i found what was more valuable4 ,here on this slide are several hairs that ,i found tightly grasped in her rigid hands4 ,i could not help recalling ,kennedy's remark earlier in the case - that#bj;it hung on slender threads4 ,yet how strong might not those threads prove6 ,there was also in her pocketbook a newspaper clipping bearing the advertisements of several clairvoyants1 he went on4 ,mr4 ,jameson and myself had already discovered what the police had failed to find1 that on the morning of the day on which she disappeared ,miss ,gilbert had made three distinct efforts1 probably1 to secure books on clairvoyance4 ,accordingly1 ,mr4 ,jameson and myself have visited several of the fortune-tellers and practitioners of the occult sciences in which we had reason to believe ,miss ,gilbert was interested4 ,they all1 by the way1 make a specialty of giving advice in money matters and solving the problems of lovers4 ,i suspect that at times ,mr4 ,jameson has thought that ,i was demented1 but ,i had to resort to many and various expedients to collect the specimens of hair which ,i wanted4 ,from the police1 who used ,mr4 ,lawton's valet1 ,i received some hair from his head4 ,here is another specimen from each of the advertisers1 ,hata1 the ,swami1 the ,pandit1 and the ,guru4 ,there is just one of these specimens which corresponds in every particular of colour1 thickness1 and texture with the hair found so tightly grasped in ,miss ,gilbert's hand4 ,as ,craig said this ,i could feel a sort of gasp of astonishment from our little audience4 ,still he was not quite ready to make his disclosure4 ,lest ,i should be prejudiced1 he pursued evenly1 by my own rather strong convictions1 and in order that ,i might examine the samples without fear or favour1 ,i had one of my students at the laboratory take the marked hairs1 mount them1 number them1 and put in numbered envelopes the names of the persons who furnished them4 ,but before ,i open the envelope numbered the same as the slide which contains the hair which corresponds precisely with that hair found in ,miss ,gilbert's hand - and it is slide ,no4 #b - said ,kennedy1 picking out the slide with his finger and moving it on the table with as much coolness as if he were moving a chessman on a board instead of playing in the terrible game of human life1 before ,i read the name ,i have still one more damning fact to disclose4 ,craig now had us on edge with excitement1 a situation which ,i sometimes thought he enjoyed more keenly than any other in his relentless tracing down of a criminal4 ,what was it that caused ,miss ,gilbert's death8 asked ,kennedy4 ,the coroner's physician did not seem to be thoroughly satisfied with the theory of physical violence alone4 ,nor did ,i4 ,some one1 ,i believe1 exerted a peculiar force in order to get her into his power4 ,what was that force8 ,at first ,i thought it might have been the hackneyed knock-out drops1 but tests by the coroner's physician eliminated that4 ,then ,i thought it might be one of the alkaloids1 such as morphine1 cocaine1 and others4 ,but it was not any of the usual things that was used to entice her away from her family and friends4 ,from tests that ,i have1 made ,i have discovered the one fact necessary to complete my case1 the drug used to lure her and against which she fought in deadly struggle4 ,he placed a test tube in a rack before us4 ,this tube1 he continued1 contains one of the most singular and1 among us1 least known of the five common narcotics of the world - tobacco1 opium1 coca1 betel nut1 and hemp4 ,it can be smoked1 chewed1 used as a drink1 or taken as a confection4 ,in the form of a powder it is used by the narghile smoker4 ,as a liquid it can be taken as an oily fluid or in alcohol4 ,taken in any of these forms1 it literally makes the nerves walk1 dance1 and run4 ,it heightens the feelings and sensibilities to distraction1 producing what is really hysteria4 ,if the weather is clear1 this drug will make life gorgeous2 if it rains1 tragic4 ,slight vexation becomes deadly revenge2 courage becomes rashness2 fear1 abject terror2 and gentle affection or even a passing liking is transformed into passionate love4 ,it is the drug derived from the ,indian hemp1 scientifically named ,cannabis ,indica1 better known as hashish1 or bhang1 or a dozen other names in the ,east4 ,its chief characteristic is that it has a profound effect on the passions4 ,thus1 under its influence1 natives of the ,east become greatly exhilarated1 then debased1 and finally violent1 rushing forth on the streets with the cry1 ',amok1 amok1' - ' ,kill1 kill ' - as we say1 'running amuck4' ,an overdose of this drug often causes insanity1 while in small quantities our doctors use it as a medicine4 ,any one who has read the brilliant ,theophile ,gautier's ',club des ,hachichens' or ,bayard ,taylor's experience at ,damascus knows something of the effect of hashish1 however4 ,in reconstructing the story of ,georgette ,gilbert1 as best ,i can1 ,i believe that she was lured to the den of one of the numerous cults practised in ,new ,york1 lured by advertisements offering advice in hidden love affairs4 ,led on by her love for a man whom she could not and would not put out of her life1 and by her affection for her parents1 she was frantic4 ,this place offered hope1 and to it she went in all innocence1 not knowing that it was only the open door to a life such as the most lurid disorderly resorts of the metropolis could scarcely match4 ,there her credulity was preyed upon1 and she was tricked into taking this drug1 which itself has such marked and perverting effect4 ,but1 though she must have been given a great deal of the drug1 she did not yield1 as many of the sophisticated do4 ,she struggled frantically1 futilely4 ,will and reason were not conquered1 though they sat unsteadily on their thrones4 ,the wisp of hair so tightly clasped in her dead hand shows that she fought bitterly to the end4 ,kennedy was leaning forward earnestly1 glaring at each of us in turn4 ,lawton was twisting uneasily in his chair1 and ,i could see that his fists were doubled up and that he was holding himself in leash as if waiting for something1 eyeing us all keenly4 ,the ,swami was seized with a violent fit of trembling1 and the other fakirs were staring in amazement4 ,quickly ,i stepped between ,dudley ,lawton and ,kennedy1 but as ,i did so1 he leaped behind me1 and before ,i could turn he was grappling wildly with some one on the floor4 ,it's all right1 ,walter1 cried ,kennedy1 tearing open the envelope on the table4 ,lawton has guessed right4 ,the hair was the ,swami's4 ,georgette ,gilbert was one victim who fought and rescued herself from a slavery worse than death4 ,and there is one mystic who could not foresee arrest and the death house at ,sing ,sing in his horoscope4 ,,viii ,,the ,,forger ,we were lunching with ,stevenson ,williams1 a friend of ,kennedy's1 at the ,insurance ,club1 one of the many new downtown luncheon clubs1 where the noon hour is so conveniently combined with business4 ,there isn't much that you can't insure against nowadays1 remarked ,williams when the luncheon had progressed far enough to warrant a tentative reference to the obvious fact that he had had a purpose in inviting us to the club4 ,take my own company1 for example1 the ,continental ,surety4 ,we have lately undertaken to write forgery insurance4 ,forgery insurance8 repeated ,kennedy4 ,well1 ,i should think you'd be doing a ripping business - putting up the premium rate about every day in this epidemic of forgery that seems to be sweeping over the country4 ,williams1 who was one of the officers of the company1 smiled somewhat wearily1 ,i thought4 ,we are1 he replied drily4 ,that was precisely what ,i wanted to see you about4 ,what8 ,the premiums or the epidemic8 ,well - er - both1 perhaps4 ,i needn't say much about the epidemic1 as you call it4 ,to you ,i can admit it2 to the newspapers1 never4 ,still1 ,i suppose you know that it is variously estimated that the forgers of the country are getting away with from ten to fifteen million dollars a year4 ,it is just one case that ,i was thinking about - one on which the regular detective agencies we employ seem to have failed utterly so far4 ,it involves pretty nearly one of those fifteen millions4 ,what8 ,one case8 ,a million dollars8 gasped ,kennedy1 gazing fixedly at ,williams as if he found it difficult to believe4 ,exactly1 replied ,williams imperturbably1 though it was not done all at one fell swoop1 of course1 but gradually1 covering a period of some months4 ,you have doubtless heard of the ,by-,products ,company of ,chicago8 ,craig nodded4 ,well1 it is their case1 pursued ,williams1 losing his quiet manner and now hurrying ahead almost breathlessly4 ,you know they own a bank out there also1 called the ,by-,products ,bank4 ,that's how we come to figure in the case1 by having insured their bank against forgery4 ,of course our liability runs up only to #ej1jjj4 ,but the loss to the company as well as to its bank through this affair will reach the figure ,i have named4 ,they will have to stand the balance beyond our liability and1 well1 fifty thousand is not a small sum for us to lose1 either4 ,we can't afford to lose it without a fight4 ,of course not4 ,but you must have some suspicions1 some clues4 ,you must have taken some action in tracing the thing out1 whatever is back of it4 ,surely4 ,for instance1 only the other day we had the cashier of the bank1 ,bolton ,brown1 arrested1 though he is out on bail now4 ,we haven't anything directly against him1 but he is suspected of complicity on the inside1 and ,i may say that the thing is so gigantic that there must have been some one on the inside concerned with it4 ,among other things we have found that ,bolton ,brown has been leading a rather fast life1 quite unknown to his fellow-officials4 ,we know that he has been speculating secretly in the wheat corner that went to pieces1 but the most significant thing is that he has been altogether too intimate with an adventuress1 ,adele ,de,mott1 who has had some success as a woman of high finance in various cities here and in ,europe and even in ,south ,america4 ,it looks bad for him from the commonsense standpoint1 though of course ,i'm not competent to speak of the legal side of the matter4 ,but1 at any rate1 we know that the insider must have been some one pretty close to the head of the ,by-,products ,company or the ,by-,products ,bank4 ,what was the character of the forgeries8 asked ,kennedy4 ,they seem to have been of two kinds4 ,as far as we are concerned it is the check forgeries only that interest the ,surety ,company4 ,for some time1 apparently1 checks have been coming into the bank for sums all the way from a hundred dollars to five thousand4 ,they have been so well executed that some of them have been certified by the bank1 all of them have been accepted when they came back from other banks1 and even the officers of the company don't seem to be able to pick any flaws in them except as to the payee and the amounts for which they were drawn4 ,they have the correct safety tint on the paper and are stamped with rubber stamps that are almost precisely like those used by the ,by-,products ,company4 ,you know that banking customs often make some kinds of fraud comparatively easy4 ,for instance no bank will pay out a hundred dollars or often even a dollar without identification1 but they will certify a check for almost any office boy who comes in with it4 ,the common method of forgers lately has been to take such a certified forged check1 deposit it in another bank1 then gradually withdraw it in a few days before there is time to discover the forgery4 ,in this case they must have had the additional advantage that the insider in the company or bank could give information and tip the forger off if the forgery happened to be discovered4 ,who is the treasurer of the company8 asked ,craig quickly4 ,john ,carroll - merely a figurehead1 ,i understand4 ,he's in ,new ,york now1 working with us1 as ,i shall tell you presently4 ,if there is any one else besides ,brown in it1 it might be ,michael ,dawson1 the nominal assistant but really the active treasurer4 ,there you have another man whom we suspect1 and1 strangely enough1 can't find4 ,dawson was the assistant treasurer of the company1 you understand1 not of the bank4 ,you can't find him8 ,why8 asked ,kennedy1 considerably puzzled4 ,no1 we can't find him4 ,he was married a few days ago1 married a pretty prominent society girl in the city1 ,miss ,sibyl ,sanderson4 ,it seems they kept the itinerary of their honeymoon secret1 more as a joke on their friends than anything else1 they said1 for ,miss ,sanderson was a well-known beauty and the newspapers bothered the couple a good deal with publicity that was distasteful4 ,at least that was his story4 ,no one knows where they are or whether they'll ever turn up again4 ,you see1 this getting married had something to do with the exposure in the first place4 ,for the major part of the forgeries consists not so much in the checks1 which interest my company1 but in fraudulently issued stock certificates of the ,by-,products ,company4 ,about a million of the common stock was held as treasury stock - was never issued4 ,some one has issued a large amount of it1 all properly signed and sealed4 ,whoever it was had a little office in ,chicago from which the stock was sold quietly by a confederate1 probably a woman1 for women seem to rope in the suckers best in these get-rich-quick schemes4 ,and1 well1 if it was ,dawson the honeymoon has given him a splendid chance to make his get-away1 though it also resulted in the exposure of the forgeries4 ,carroll had to take up more or less active duty1 with the result that a new man unearthed the - but1 say1 are you really interested in this case8 ,williams was leaning forward1 looking anxiously at ,kennedy and it would not have taken a clairvoyant to guess what answer he wanted to his abrupt question4 ,indeed ,i am1 replied ,craig1 especially as there seems to be a doubt about the guilty person on the inside4 ,there is doubt enough1 all right1 rejoined ,williams1 at least ,i think so1 though our detectives in ,chicago who have gone over the thing pretty thoroughly have been sure of fixing something on ,bolton ,brown1 the cashier4 ,you see the blank stock certificates were kept in the company's vault in the bank to which1 of course1 ,brown had access4 ,but then1 as ,carroll argues1 ,dawson had access to them1 too1 which is very true - more so for ,dawson than for ,brown1 who was in the bank and not in the company4 ,i'm all at sea4 ,perhaps if you're interested you'd better see ,carroll4 ,he's here in the city and ,i'm sure ,i could get you a good fee out of the case if you cared to take it up4 ,shall ,i see if ,i can get him on the wire8 ,we had finished luncheon and1 as ,craig nodded1 ,williams dived into a telephone booth outside the dining-room and in a few moments emerged1 perspiring from the closeness4 ,he announced that ,carroll requested that we call on him at an office in ,wall ,street1 a few blocks away1 where he made his headquarters when he was in ,new ,york4 ,the whole thing was done with such despatch that ,i could not help feeling that ,carroll had been waiting to hear from his friend in the insurance company4 ,the look of relief on ,williams's face when ,kennedy said he would go immediately showed plainly that the insurance man considered the cost of the luncheon1 which had been no slight affair1 in the light of a good investment in the interest of his company1 which was in bad for the largest forgery insurance loss since they had begun to write that sort of business4 ,as we hurried down to ,wall ,street1 ,kennedy took occasion to remark1 ,science seems to have safe-guarded banks and other institutions pretty well against outside robbery4 ,but protection against employees who can manipulate books and records does not seem to have advanced as rapidly4 ,sometimes ,i think it may have lessened4 ,greater temptations assail the cashier or clerk with greater opportunity for speculation1 and the banks1 as many authorities will agree1 have not made enough use of the machinery available to put a stop to embezzlement4 ,this case is evidently one of the results4 ,the careless fellows at the top1 like this man ,carroll whom we are going to see1 generally put forward as excuse the statement that the science of banking and of business is so complex that a rascal with ingenuity enough to falsify the books is almost impossible of detection4 ,yet when the cat is out of the bag as in several recent cases the methods used are often of the baldest and most transparent sort1 fictitious names1 dummies1 and all sorts of juggling and kiting of checks4 ,but ,i hardly think this is going to prove one of those simple cases4 ,john ,carroll ,was a haggard and unkempt sort of man4 ,he looked to me as if the defalcations had preyed on his mind until they had become a veritable obsession4 ,it was literally true that they were all that he could talk about1 all that he was thinking about4 ,he was paying now a heavy penalty for having been a dummy and honorary officer4 ,this thing has become a matter of life and death with me1 he began eagerly1 scarcely waiting for us to introduce ourselves1 as he fixed his unnaturally bright eyes on us anxiously4 ,i've simply got to find the man who has so nearly wrecked the ,by-,products ,bank and ,company4 ,find him or not1 ,i suppose ,i am a ruined man1 myself1 but ,i hope ,i may still prove myself honest4 ,he sighed and his eyes wandered vacantly out of the window as if he were seeking rest and could not find it4 ,i understand that the cashier1 ,bolton ,brown1 has been arrested1 prompted ,kennedy4 ,yes1 ,bolton ,brown1 arrested1 he repeated slowly1 and since he has been out on bail he1 too1 seems to have disappeared4 ,now let me tell you about what ,i think of that1 ,kennedy4 ,i know it looks bad for ,brown4 ,perhaps he's the man4 ,the ,surety ,company says so1 anyway4 ,but we must look at this thing calmly4 ,he was himself quite excited1 as he went on1 ,you understand1 ,i suppose1 just how much ,brown must have been reasonably responsible for passing the checks through the bank8 ,he saw personally about as many of them as - as ,i did1 which was none until the exposure came4 ,they were deposited in other banks by people whom we can't identify but who must have opened accounts for the purpose of finally putting through a few bad checks4 ,then they came back to our bank in the regular channels and were accepted4 ,by various kinds of juggling they were covered up4 ,why1 some of them looked so good that they were even certified by our bank before they were deposited in the other banks4 ,now1 as ,brown claims1 he never saw checks unless there was something special about them and there seemed at the time to be nothing wrong about these4 ,but in the public mind ,i know there is prejudice against any bank official who speculates or leads a fast life1 and of course it is warranted4 ,still1 if ,brown should clear himself finally the thing will come back to ,dawson and even if he is guilty1 it will make me the - er - the ultimate goat4 ,the upshot of it all will be that ,i shall have to stand the blame1 if not the guilt1 and the only way ,i can atone for my laxity in the past is by activity in catching the real offender and perhaps by restoring to the company and the bank whatever can yet be recovered4 ,but1 asked ,kennedy sympathetically1 what makes you think that you will find your man1 whoever he proves to be1 in ,new ,york8 ,i admit that it is only a very slight clue that ,i have1 he replied confidentially4 ,it is just a hint ,dawson dropped once to one of the men with whom he was confidential in the company4 ,this clerk told me that a long#bjtime ago ,dawson said he had always wanted to go to ,south ,america and that perhaps on his honeymoon he might get a chance4 ,this is the way ,i figured it out4 ,you see1 he is clever and some of these ,south ,american countries have no extradition treaties with us by which we could reach him1 once he got there4 ,perhaps he has already arrived in one of them with his wife4 ,what makes you think he hasn't sailed yet8 ,no1 ,i don't think he has4 ,you see1 she wanted to spend a part of the honeymoon at ,atlantic ,city4 ,i learned that indirectly from her folks1 who profess to know no better than we do where the couple are4 ,that was an additional reason why ,i wanted to see if by coming to ,new ,york ,i might not pick up some trace of them1 either here or in ,atlantic ,city4 ,and have you8 ,yes1 ,i think ,i have4 ,he handed us a lettergram which he had just received from ,chicago4 ,it read3 ,two more checks have come in to-day from ,atlantic ,city and ,new ,york4 ,they seem to be in payment of bills1 as they are for odd amounts4 ,one is from the ,lorraine at ,atlantic ,city and the other from the ,hotel ,amsterdam of ,new ,york4 ,they were dated the #aith and #bjth4 ,you see1 he resumed as we finished reading1 it is now the #bcrd1 so that there is a difference of three days4 ,he was here on the #bjth4 ,now the next ship that he could take after the #bjth sails from ,brooklyn on the #beth4 ,if he's clever he won't board that ship except in a disguise1 for he will know that by that time some one must be watching4 ,now ,i want you to help me penetrate that disguise4 ,of course we can't arrest the whole shipload of passengers1 but if you1 with your scientific knowledge1 could pick him out1 then we could hold him and have breathing space to find out whether he is guilty alone or has been working with ,bolton ,brown4 ,carroll was now pacing the office with excitement as he unfolded his scheme which meant so much for himself4 ,h-m1 mused ,kennedy4 ,i suppose ,dawson was a man of exemplary habits8 ,they almost always are4 ,no speculating or fast living with him as with ,brown8 ,carroll paused in his nervous tread4 ,that's another thing ,i've discovered4 ,on the contrary1 ,i think ,dawson was a secret drug fiend4 ,i found that out after he left4 ,in his desk at the ,by-,products office we discovered hypodermic needles and a whole outfit - morphine1 ,i think it was4 ,you know how cunningly a real morphine fiend can cover up his tracks4 ,kennedy was now all attention4 ,as the case unrolled it was assuming one new and surprising aspect after another4 ,the lettergram would indicate that he had been stopping at the ,lorraine in ,atlantic ,city1 remarked ,kennedy4 ,so ,i would infer1 and at the ,amsterdam in ,new ,york4 ,but you can depend on it that he has not been going under his own name nor1 ,i believe as far as ,i can find out1 even under his own face4 ,i think the fellow has already assumed a disguise1 for nowhere can ,i find any description that even ,i could recognise4 ,strange1 murmured ,kennedy4 ,i'll have to look into it4 ,and only two days in which to do it1 too4 ,you will pardon me if ,i excuse myself now8 ,there are certain aspects of the case that ,i hope ,i shall be able to shed some light on by going at them at once4 ,you'll find ,dawson clever1 clever as he can be1 said ,carroll1 not anxious to have ,kennedy go as long as he would listen to the story which was bursting from his overwrought mind4 ,he was able to cover up the checks by juggling the accounts4 ,but that didn't satisfy him4 ,he was after something big4 ,so he started in to issue the treasury stock1 forging the signatures of the president and the treasurer1 that is1 my signature4 ,of course that sort of game couldn't last forever4 ,some one was going to demand dividends on his stock1 or transfer it1 or ask to have it recorded on the books1 or something that would give the whole scheme away4 ,from each person to whom he sold stock ,i believe he demanded some kind of promise not to sell it within a certain period1 and in that way we figure that he gave himself plenty of time to realise several hundred thousand dollars quietly4 ,it may be that some of the forged checks represented fake interest payments4 ,anyhow1 he's at the end of his rope now4 ,we've had an exciting chase4 ,i had followed down several false clues before the real significance of the hint about ,south ,america dawned on me4 ,now ,i have gone as far as ,i dare with it without calling in outside assistance4 ,i think now we are up with him at last - with your help4 ,kennedy was anxious to go1 but he paused long enough to ask another question4 ,and the girl8 he broke in4 ,she must be in the game or her letters to some of her friends would have betrayed their whereabouts4 ,what was she like8 ,miss ,sanderson was very popular in a certain rather flashy set in ,chicago4 ,but her folks were bounders4 ,they lived right up to the limit1 just as ,dawson did1 in my opinion4 ,oh1 you can be sure that if a proposition like this were put up to her she'd take a chance to get away with it4 ,she runs no risks4 ,she didn't do it anyhow1 and as for her part1 after the fact1 why1 a woman is always pretty safe - more sinned against than sinning1 and all that4 ,it's a queer sort of honeymoon1 hey8 ,have you any copies of the forged certificates8 asked ,craig4 ,yes1 plenty of them4 ,since the story has been told in print they have been pouring in4 ,here are several4 ,he pulled several finely engraved certificates from his pocket and ,kennedy scrutinised them minutely4 ,i may keep these to study at my leisure8 he asked4 ,certainly1 replied ,carroll1 and if you want any more ,i can wire to ,chicago for them4 ,no1 these will be sufficient for the present1 thank you1 said ,craig4 ,i shall keep in touch with you and let you know the moment anything develops4 ,our ride uptown to the laboratory was completed in silence which ,i did not interrupt1 for ,i could see that ,kennedy was thinking out a course of action4 ,the quick pace at which he crossed the campus to the ,chemistry ,building told me that he had decided on something4 ,in the laboratory ,craig hastily wrote a note1 opened a drawer of his desk1 and selected one from a bunch of special envelopes which he seemed to be saving for some purpose4 ,he sealed it with some care1 and gave it to me to post immediately4 ,it was addressed to ,dawson at the ,hotel ,amsterdam4 ,on my return ,i found him deeply engrossed in the examination of the forged shares of stock4 ,having talked with him more or less in the past about handwriting ,i did not have to be told that he was using a microscope to discover any erasures and that photography both direct and by transmitted light might show something4 ,i can't see anything wrong with these documents1 he remarked at length4 ,they show no erasures or alterations4 ,on their face they look as good as the real article4 ,even if they are tracings they are remarkably line work4 ,it certainly is a fact1 however1 that they superimpose4 ,they might all have been made from the same pair of signatures of the president and treasurer4 ,i need hardly to say to you1 ,walter1 that the microscope in its various forms and with its various attachments is of great assistance to the document examiner4 ,even a low magnification frequently reveals a drawing1 hesitating method of production1 or patched and reinforced strokes as well as erasures by chemicals or by abrasion4 ,the stereoscopic microscope1 which is of value in studying abrasions and alterations since it gives depth1 in this case tells me that there has been nothing of that sort practised4 ,my colour comparison microscope1 which permits the comparison of the ink on two different documents or two places on one document at the same time1 tells me something4 ,this instrument with new and accurately coloured glasses enables me to measure the tints of the ink of these signatures with the greatest accuracy and ,i can do what was hitherto impossible -#bj determine how long the writing has been on the paper4 ,i should say it was all very recent1 approximately within the last two months or six weeks1 and ,i believe that whenever the stock may have been issued it at least was all forged at the same time4 ,there isn't time now to go into the thing more deeply1 but if it becomes necessary ,i can go back to it with the aid of the camera lucida and the microscopic enlarger1 as well as this specially constructed document camera with lenses certified by the government4 ,if it comes to a show-down ,i suppose ,i shall have to prove my point with the micrometer measurements down to the fifty-thousandth part of an inch4 ,there is certainly something very curious about these signatures1 he concluded4 ,i don't know what measurements would show1 but they are really too good4 ,you know a forged signature may be of two kinds - too bad or too good4 ,these are1 ,i believe1 tracings4 ,if they were your signature and mine1 ,walter1 ,i shouldn't hesitate to pronounce them tracings4 ,but there is always some slight room for doubt in these special cases where a man sits down and is in the habit of writing his signature over and over again on one stock or bond after another4 ,he may get so used to it that he does it automatically and his signatures may come pretty close to superimposing4 ,if ,i had time1 though1 ,i think ,i could demonstrate that there are altogether too many points of similarity for these to be genuine signatures4 ,but we've got to act quickly in this case or not at all1 and ,i see that if ,i am to get to ,atlantic ,city to-night ,i can't waste much more time here4 ,i wish you would keep an eye on the ,hotel ,amsterdam while ,i am gone1 ,walter1 and meet me here1 to-morrow4 ,i'll wire when ,i'll be back4 ,good-bye4 ,it was well along in the afternoon when ,kennedy took a train for the famous seaside resort1 leaving me in ,new ,york with a roving commission to do nothing4 ,all that ,i was able to learn at the ,hotel ,amsterdam was that a man with a ,van ,dyke beard had stung the office with a bogus check1 although he had seemed to come well recommended4 ,the description of the woman with him who seemed to be his wife might have fitted either ,mrs4 ,dawson or ,adele ,de,mott4 ,the only person who had called had been a man who said he represented the ,by-,products ,company and was the treasurer4 ,he had questioned the hotel people rather closely about the whereabouts of the couple who had paid their expenses with the worthless slip of paper4 ,it was not difficult to infer that this man was ,carroll who had been hot on the trail1 especially as he said that he personally would see the check paid if the hotel people would keep a sharp watch for the return of the man who had swindled them4 ,kennedy wired as he promised and returned by an early train the next day4 ,he seemed bursting with news4 ,i think ,i'm on the trail1 he cried1 throwing his grip into a corner and not waiting for me to ask him what success he had had4 ,i went directly to the ,lorraine and began frankly by telling them that ,i represented the ,by-,products ,company in ,new ,york and was authorised to investigate the bad check which they had received4 ,they couldn't describe ,dawson very well - at least their description would have fitted almost any one4 ,one thing ,i think ,i did learn and that was that his disguise must include a ,van ,dyke beard4 ,he would scarcely have had time to grow one of his own and ,i believe when he was last seen in ,chicago he was clean-shaven4 ,but1 ,i objected1 men with ,van ,dyke beards are common enough4 ,then ,i related my experience at the ,amsterdam4 ,the same fellow1 ejaculated ,kennedy4 ,the beard seems to have covered a multitude of sins1 for while every one could recall that1 no one had a word to say about his features4 ,however1 ,walter1 there's just one chance of making his identification sure1 and a peculiar coincidence it is1 too4 ,it seems that one night this man and a lady who may have been the former ,miss ,sanderson1 though the description of her like most amateur descriptions wasn't very accurate1 were dining at the ,lorraine4 ,the ,lorraine is getting up a new booklet about its accommodations and a photographer had been engaged to take a flashlight of the dining-room for the booklet4 ,no sooner had the flash been lighted and the picture taken than a man with a ,van ,dyke beard - your friend of the ,amsterdam1 no doubt1 ,walter1 - rushed up to the photographer and offered him fifty dollars for the plate4 ,the photographer thought at first it was some sport who had reasons for not wishing to appear in print in ,atlantic ,city1 as many have4 ,the man seemed to notice that the photographer was a little suspicious and he hastened to make some kind of excuse about wanting the home folks to see how swell he and his wife were dining in evening dress4 ,it was a rather lame excuse1 but the fifty dollars looked good to the photographer and he agreed to develop the plate and turn it over with some prints all ready for mailing the next day4 ,the man seemed satisfied and the photographer took another flashlight1 this time with one of the tables vacant4 ,sure enough1 the next day the man with a beard turned up for the plate4 ,the photographer tells me that he had it all wrapped up ready to mail1 just to call the fellow's bluff4 ,the man was equal to the occasion1 paid the money1 wrote an address on the package which the photographer did not see1 and as there was a box for mailing packages right at the door on the boardwalk there was no excuse for not mailing it directly4 ,now if ,i could get hold of that plate or a print from it ,i could identify ,dawson in his disguise in a moment4 ,i've started the post-office trying to trace that package both at ,atlantic ,city and in ,chicago1 where ,i think it must have been mailed4 ,i may hear from them at any moment - at least1 ,i hope4 ,the rest of the afternoon we spent in canvassing the drug stores in the vicinity of the ,amsterdam1 ,kennedy's idea being that if ,dawson was a habitual morphine fiend he must have replenished his supply of the drug in ,new ,york1 particularly if he was contemplating a long journey where it might be difficult to obtain4 ,after many disappointments we finally succeeded in finding a shop where a man posing as a doctor had made a rather large purchase4 ,the name he gave was of course of no importance4 ,what did interest us was that again we crossed the trail of a man with a ,van ,dyke beard4 ,he had been accompanied by a woman whom the druggist described as rather flashily dressed1 though her face was hidden under a huge hat and a veil4 ,looked very attractive1 as the druggist put it1 but she might have been a negress for all ,i could tell you of her face4 ,humph1 grunted ,kennedy1 as we were leaving the store4 ,you wouldn't believe it1 but it is the hardest thing in the world to get an accurate description of any one4 ,the psychologists have said enough about it1 but you don't realise it until you are up against it4 ,why1 that might have been the ,de,mott woman just as well as the former ,miss ,sanderson1 and the man might have been ,bolton ,brown as well as ,dawson1 for all we know4 ,they've both disappeared now4 ,i wish we could get some word about that photograph4 ,that would settle it4 ,in the last mail that night ,kennedy received back the letter which he had addressed to ,michael ,dawson4 ,on it was stamped ,returned to sender4 ,owner not found4 ,kennedy turned the letter over slowly and looked at the back of it carefully4 ,on the contrary1 he remarked1 half to himself1 the owner was found4 ,only he returned the letter back to the postman after he had opened it and found that it was just a note of no importance which ,i scribbled just to see if he was keeping in touch with things from his hiding-place1 wherever it is4 ,how do you know he opened it8 ,i asked4 ,do you see those blots on the back8 ,i had several of these envelopes prepared ready for use when ,i needed them4 ,i had some tannin placed on the flap and then covered thickly with gum4 ,on the envelope itself was some iron sulphate under more gum4 ,i carefully sealed the letter1 using very little moisture4 ,the gum then separated the two prepared parts4 ,now if that letter were steamed open the tannin and the sulphate would come together1 run1 and leave a smudge4 ,you see the blots8 ,the inference is obvious4 ,clearly1 then1 our chase was getting warmer4 ,dawson had been in ,atlantic ,city at least within a few days4 ,the fruit company steamer to ,south ,america on which ,carroll believed he was booked to sail under an assumed name and with an assumed face was to sail the following noon4 ,and still we had no word from ,chicago as to the destination of the photograph1 or the identity of the man in the ,van ,dyke beard who had been so particular to disarm suspicion in the purchase of the plate from the photographer a few days before4 ,the mail also contained a message from ,williams of the ,surety ,company with the interesting information that ,bolton ,brown's attorney had refused to say where his client had gone since he had been released on bail1 but that he would be produced when wanted4 ,adele ,de,mott had not been seen for several days in ,chicago and the police there were of the opinion that she had gone to ,new ,york1 where it would be pretty easy for her to pass unnoticed4 ,these facts further complicated the case and made the finding of the photograph even more imperative4 ,if we were going to do anything it must be done quickly4 ,there was no time to lose4 ,the last of the fast trains for the day had left and the photograph1 even though it were found1 could not possibly reach us in time to be of use before the steamer sailed from ,brooklyn4 ,it was an emergency such as ,kennedy had never yet faced1 apparently physically insuperable4 ,but1 as usual1 ,craig was not without some resource1 though it looked impossible to me to do anything but make a hit or miss arrest at the boat4 ,it was late in the evening when he returned from a conference with an officer of the ,telegraph and ,telephone ,company to whom ,williams had given him a card of introduction4 ,the upshot had been that he had called up ,chicago and talked for a long time with ,professor ,clark1 a former classmate of ours who was now in the technology school of the university out there4 ,kennedy and ,clark had been in correspondence for some time1 ,i knew1 about some technical matters1 though ,i had no idea what it was they concerned4 ,there's one thing we can always do1 ,i remarked as we walked slowly over to the laboratory from our apartment4 ,what's that8 he asked absent-mindedly1 more from politeness than anything else4 ,arrest every one with a ,van ,dyke beard who goes on the boat to-morrow1 ,i replied4 ,kennedy smiled4 ,i don't feel prepared to stand a suit for false arrest1 he said simply1 especially as the victim would feel pretty hot if we caused him to miss his boat4 ,men with beards are not so uncommon1 after all4 ,we had reached the laboratory4 ,linemen were stringing wires under the electric lights of the campus from the street to the ,chemistry ,building and into ,kennedy's sanctum4 ,that night and far into the morning ,kennedy was working in the laboratory on a peculiarly complicated piece of mechanism consisting of electro-magnets1 rolls1 and a stylus and numerous other contrivances which did not suggest to my mind anything he had ever used before in our adventures4 ,i killed time as best ,i could watching him adjust the thing with the most minute care and precision4 ,finally ,i came to the conclusion that as ,i was not likely to be of the least assistance1 even if ,i had been initiated into what was afoot1 ,i had as well retire4 ,there is one thing you can do for me in the morning1 ,walter1 said ,kennedy1 continuing to work over a delicate piece of clockwork which formed a part of the apparatus4 ,in case ,i do not see you then1 get in touch with ,williams and ,carroll and have them come here about ten o'clock with an automobile4 ,if ,i am not ready for them then ,i'm afraid ,i never shall be1 and we shall have to finish the job with the lack of finesse you suggested by arresting all the bearded men4 ,kennedy could not have slept much during the night1 for though his bed had been slept in he was up and away before ,i could see him again4 ,i made a hurried trip downtown to catch ,carroll and ,williams and then returned to the laboratory1 where ,craig had evidently just finished a satisfactory preliminary test of his machine4 ,still no message1 he began in reply to my unspoken question4 ,he was plainly growing restless with the inaction1 though frequent talks over long-distance with ,chicago seemed to reassure him4 ,thanks to the influence of ,williams he had at least a direct wire from his laboratory to the city which was now the scene of action4 ,as nearly as ,i could gather from the one-sided conversations ,i heard and the remarks which ,kennedy dropped1 the ,chicago post-office inspectors were still searching for a trace of the package from ,atlantic ,city which was to reveal the identity of the man who had passed the bogus checks and sold the forged certificates of stock4 ,somewhere in that great city was a photograph of the promoter and of the woman who was aiding him to escape1 taken in ,atlantic ,city and sent by mail to ,chicago4 ,who had received it8 ,would it be found in time to be of use8 ,what would it reveal8 ,it was like hunting for a needle in a haystack1 and yet the latest reports seemed to encourage ,kennedy with the hope that the authorities were at last on the trail of the secret office from which the stock had been sold4 ,he was fuming and wishing that he could be at both ends of the line at once4 ,any word from ,chicago yet8 appealed an anxious voice from the doorway4 ,we turned4 ,there were ,carroll and ,williams who had come for us with an automobile to go over to watch at the wharf in ,brooklyn for our man4 ,it was ,carroll who spoke4 ,the strain of the suspense was telling on him and ,i could readily imagine that he1 like so many others who had never seen ,kennedy in action1 had not the faith in ,craig's ability which ,i had seen tested so many times4 ,not yet1 replied ,kennedy1 still busy about his apparatus on the table4 ,i suppose you have heard nothing8 ,nothing since my note of last night1 returned ,williams impatiently4 ,our detectives still insist that ,bolton ,brown is the man to watch1 and the disappearance of ,adele ,de,mott at this time certainly looks bad for him4 ,it does1 ,i admit1 said ,carroll reluctantly4 ,what's all this stuff on the table8 he asked1 indicating the magnets1 rolls1 and clockwork4 ,kennedy did not have time to reply1 for the telephone bell was tinkling insistently4 ,i've got ,chicago on the wire1 ,craig informed us1 placing his hand over the transmitter as he waited for long-distance to make the final connection4 ,i'll try to repeat as much of the conversation as ,i can so that you can follow it4 ,hello - yes - this is ,kennedy4 ,is that you1 ,clark8 ,it's all arranged at this end4 ,how's your end of the line8 ,have you a good connection8 ,yes8 ,my synchroniser is working fine here1 too4 ,all right4 ,suppose we try it4 ,go ahead4 ,as ,kennedy gave a few final touches to the peculiar apparatus on the table1 the cylindrical drum before us began slowly to revolve and the stylus or needle pressed down on the sensitised paper with which the drum was covered1 apparently with varying intensity as it turned4 ,round and round the cylinder revolved like a graphophone4 ,this1 exclaimed ,kennedy proudly1 is the 'electric eye1' the telelectrograph invented by ,thorne ,baker in ,england4 ,clark and ,i have been intending to try it out for a long time4 ,it at last makes possible the electric transmission of photographs1 using the telephone wires because they are much better for such a purpose than the telegraph wires4 ,slowly the needle was tracing out a picture on the paper4 ,it was only a thin band yet1 but gradually it was widening1 though we could not guess what it was about to reveal as the ceaseless revolutions widened the photographic print4 ,i may say1 explained ,kennedy as we waited breathlessly1 that another system known as the ,korn system of telegraphing pictures has also been in use in ,london1 ,paris1 ,berlin1 and other cities at various times for some years4 ,korn's apparatus depends on the ability of the element selenium to vary the strength of an electric current passing through it in proportion to the brightness with which the selenium is illuminated4 ,a new field has been opened by these inventions which are now becoming more and more numerous1 since the ,korn system did the pioneering4 ,the various steps in sending a photograph by the ,baker telelectrograph are not so difficult to understand1 after all4 ,first an ordinary photograph is taken and a negative made4 ,then a print is made and a wet plate negative is printed on a sheet of sensitised tinfoil which has been treated with a single-line screen4 ,you know a halftone consists of a photograph through a screen composed of lines running perpendicular to each other - a coarse screen for newspaper work1 and a fine screen for better work1 such as in magazines4 ,well1 in this case the screen is composed of lines running parallel in one direction only1 not crossing at right angles4 ,a halftone is composed of minute points1 some light1 some dark4 ,this print is composed of long shaded lines1 some parts light1 others dark1 giving the effect of a picture1 you understand8 ,yes1 yes1 ,i exclaimed1 thoroughly excited4 ,well1 he resumed as the print widened visibly1 this tinfoil negative is wrapped around a cylinder at the other end of the line and a stylus with a very delicate1 sensitive point begins passing over it1 crossing the parallel lines at right angles1 like the other lines of a regular halftone4 ,whenever the point of the stylus passes over one of the lighter spots on the photographic print it sends on a longer electrical vibration1 over the darker spots a shorter vibration4 ,the ever changing electrical current passes up through the stylus1 vibrates with ever varying degrees of intensity over the thousand miles of telephone wire between ,chicago and this instrument here at the other end of the line4 ,in this receiving apparatus the current causes another stylus to pass over a sheet of sensitised chemical paper such as we have here4 ,the receiving stylus passes over the paper here synchronously with the transmitting stylus in ,chicago4 ,the impression which each stroke of the receiving stylus makes on the paper is black or light1 according to the length of the very quickly changing vibrations of the electric current4 ,white spots on the photographic print come out as black spots here on the sensitised paper over which this stylus is passing1 and vice versa4 ,in that way you can see the positive print growing here before your very eyes as the picture is transmitted from the negative which ,clark has prepared and is sending from ,chicago4 ,as we bent over eagerly we could indeed now see what the thing was doing4 ,it was reproducing faithfully in ,new ,york what could be seen by the mortal eye only in ,chicago4 ,what is it8 asked ,williams1 still half incredulous in spite of the testimony of his eyes4 ,it is a photograph which ,i think may aid us in deciding whether it is ,dawson or ,brown who is responsible for the forgeries1 answered ,kennedy1 and it may help us to penetrate the man's disguise yet1 before he escapes to ,south ,america or wherever he plans to go4 ,you'll have to hurry1 interposed ,carroll1 nervously looking at his watch4 ,she sails in an hour and a half and it is a long ride over to the pier even with a fast car4 ,the print is almost ready1 repeated ,kennedy calmly4 ,by the way1 it is a photograph which was taken at ,atlantic ,city a few days ago for a booklet which the ,lorraine was getting out4 ,the ,by-,products forger happened to get in it and he bribed the photographer to give him the plate and take another picture for the booklet which would leave him out4 ,the plate was sent to a little office in ,chicago1 discovered by the post-office inspectors1 where the forged stock certificates were sold4 ,i understood from what ,clark told me over the telephone before he started to transmit the picture that the woman in it looked very much like ,adel ,de,mott4 ,let us see4#bj ,the machine had ceased to revolve4 ,craig stripped a still wet photograph off the telelectrograph instrument and stood regarding it with intense satisfaction4 ,outside1 the car which had been engaged to hurry us over to ,brooklyn waited4 ,morphine fiends1 said ,kennedy as he fanned the print to dry it1 are the most unreliable sort of people4 ,they cover their tracks with almost diabolical cunning4 ,in fact they seem to enjoy it4 ,for instance1 the crimes committed by morphinists are usually against property and character and based upon selfishness1 not brutal crimes such as alcohol and other drugs induce4 ,kleptomania1 forgery1 swindling1 are among the most common4 ,then1 too1 one of the most marked phases of morphinism is the pleasure its victims take in concealing their motives and conduct4 ,they have a mania for leading a double life1 and enjoy the deception and mask which they draw about themselves4 ,persons under the influence of the drug have less power to resist physical and mental impressions and they easily succumb to temptations and suggestions from others4 ,morphine stands unequalled as a perverter of the moral sense4 ,it creates a person whom the father of lies must recognise as kindred to himself4 ,i know of a case where a judge charged a jury that the prisoner1 a morphine addict1 was mentally irresponsible for that reason4 ,the judge knew what he was talking about4 ,it subsequently developed that he had been a secret morphine fiend himself for years4 ,come1 come1 broke in ,carroll impatiently1 we're wasting time4 ,the ship sails in an hour and unless you want to go down the bay on a tug you've got to catch ,dawson now or never4 ,the morphine business explains1 but it does not excuse4 ,come on1 the car is waiting4 ,how long do you think it will take us to get over to - ,police headquarters8 interrupted ,craig4 ,about fifteen minutes4 ,this photograph shows1 as ,i had hoped1 the real forger4 ,john ,carroll1 this is a peculiar case4 ,you have forged the name of the president of your company1 but you have also traced your own name very cleverly to look like a forgery4 ,it is what is technically known as auto-forgery1 forging one's own handwriting4 ,at your convenience we'll ride down to ,centre ,street directly4 ,carroll was sputtering and almost frothing at the mouth with rage which he made no effort to suppress4 ,williams was hesitating1 nonplussed1 until ,kennedy reached over unexpectedly and grasped ,carroll by the arm4 ,as he shoved up ,carroll's sleeve he disclosed the forearm literally covered with little punctures made by the hypodermic needle4 ,it may interest you1 remarked ,kennedy1 still holding ,carroll in his vise-like grip1 while the drug fiend's shattered nerves caused him to cower and tremble1 to know that a special detective working for me has located ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,dawson at ,bar ,harbor1 where they are enjoying a quiet honeymoon4 ,brown is safely in the custody of his counsel1 ready to appear and clear himself as soon as the public opinion which has been falsely inflamed against him subsides4 ,your plan to give us the slip at the last moment at the wharf and board the steamer for ,south ,america has miscarried4 ,it is now too late to catch it1 but ,i shall send a wireless that will cause the arrest of ,miss ,de,mott the moment the ship touches an ,american port at ,colon1 even if she succeeds in eluding the ,british authorities at ,kingston4 ,the fact is1 ,i don't much care about her1 anyway4 ,thanks to the telelectrograph here we have the real criminal4 ,kennedy slapped down the now dry print that had come in over his seeing over a wire machine4 ,barring the false ,van ,dyke beard1 it was the face of ,john ,carroll1 forger and morphine fiend4 ,next to him in the picture in the brilliant and fashionable dining-room of the ,lorraine was sitting ,adele ,de,mott who had used her victim1 ,bolton ,brown1 to shield her employer1 ,carroll4 ,,ix ,,the ,,unofficial ,,spy ,craig1 do you see that fellow over by the desk1 talking to the night clerk8 ,i asked ,kennedy as we lounged into the lobby of the new ,hotel ,vanderveer one evening after reclaiming our hats from the plutocrat who had acquired the checking privilege4 ,we had dined on the roof garden of the ,vanderveer apropos of nothing at all except our desire to become acquainted with a new hotel4 ,yes1 replied ,kennedy1 what of him8 ,he's the house detective1 ,mc,bride4 ,would you like to meet him8 ,he's full of good stories1 an interesting chap4 ,i met him at a dinner given to the ,president not long ago and he told me a great yarn about how the secret service1 the police1 and the hotel combined to guard the ,president during the dinner4 ,you know1 a big hotel is the stamping ground for all sorts of cranks and crooks4 ,the house detective had turned and had caught my eye4 ,much to my surprise1 he advanced to meet me4 ,say1 - er - er - ,jameson1 he began1 at last recalling my name1 though he had seen me only once and then for only a short time4 ,you're on the ,star1 ,i believe8 ,yes1 ,i replied1 wondering what he could want4 ,well - er - do you suppose you could do the house a little - er -#bj favour8 he asked1 hesitating and dropping his voice4 ,what is it8 ,i queried1 not feeling certain but that it was a veiled attempt to secure a little free advertising for the ,vanderveer4 ,by the way1 let me introduce you to my friend ,kennedy1 ,mc,bride4 ,craig ,kennedy8 he whispered aside1 turning quickly to me4 ,i nodded4 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 exclaimed the house man deferentially1 are you very busy just now8 ,not especially so1 replied ,craig4 ,my friend ,jameson was telling me that you knew some interesting yarns about hotel detective life4 ,i should like to hear you tell some of them1 if you are not yourself too - ,perhaps you'd rather see one instead8 interrupted the house detective1 eagerly scanning ,craig's face4 ,indeed1 nothing could please me more4 ,what is it - a 'con' man or a hotel 'beat'8 ,mc,bride looked about to make sure that no one was listening4 ,neither1 he whispered4 ,it's either a suicide or a murder4 ,come upstairs with me4 ,there isn't a man in the world ,i would rather have met at this very instant1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 than yourself4 ,we followed ,mc,bride into an elevator which he stopped at the fifteenth floor4 ,with a nod to the young woman who was the floor clerk1 the house detective led the way down the thickly carpeted hall1 stopping at a room which1 we could see through the transom1 was lighted4 ,he drew a bunch of keys from his pocket and inserted a pass key into the lock4 ,the door swung open into a sumptuously fitted sitting-room4 ,i looked in1 half fearfully1 but1 although all the lights were turned on1 the room was empty4 ,mc,bride crossed the room quickly1 opened a door to a bedroom1 and jerked his head back with a quick motion1 signifying his desire for us to follow4 ,stretched lifeless on the white linen of the immaculate bed lay the form of a woman1 a beautiful woman she had been1 too1 though not with the freshness which makes ,american women so attractive4 ,there was something artificial about her beauty1 the artificiality which hinted at a hidden story of a woman with a past4 ,she was a foreigner1 apparently of one of the ,latin races1 although at the moment in the horror of the tragedy before us ,i could not guess her nationality4 ,it was enough for me that here lay this cold1 stony1 rigid beauty1 robed in the latest creations of ,paris1 alone in an elegantly furnished room of an exclusive hotel where hundreds of gay guests were dining and chatting and laughing without a suspicion of the terrible secret only a few feet distant from them4 ,we stood awestruck for the moment4 ,the coroner ought to be here any moment1 remarked ,mc,bride and even the callousness of the regular detective was not sufficient to hide the real feelings of the man4 ,his practical sense soon returned1 however1 and he continued1 ,now1 ,jameson1 don't you think you could use a little influence with the newspaper men to keep this thing off the front pages8 ,of course something has to be printed about it4 ,but we don't want to hoodoo the hotel right at the start4 ,we had a suicide the other day who left an apologetic note that was played up by some of the papers4 ,now comes this affair4 ,the management are just as anxious to have the crime cleared up as any one - if it is a crime4 ,but can't it be done with the soft pedal8 ,we will stop at nothing in the way of expense - just so long as the name of the ,vanderveer is kept in the background4 ,only1 ,i'm afraid the coroner will try to rub it in and make the thing sensational4 ,what was her name8 asked ,kennedy4 ,at least1 under what name was she registered8 ,she was registered as ,madame de ,nevers4 ,it is not quite a week now since she came here1 came directly from the steamer ,tripolitania4 ,see1 there are her trunks and things1 all pasted over with foreign labels1 not an ,american label among them4 ,i haven't the slightest doubt that her name was fictitious1 for as far as ,i can see all the ordinary marks of identification have been obliterated4 ,it will take time to identify her at the best1 and in the meantime1 if a crime has been committed1 the guilty person may escape4 ,what ,i want now1 right away1 is action4 ,has nothing in her actions about the hotel offered any clue1 no matter how slight8 asked ,kennedy4 ,plenty of things1 replied ,mc,bride quickly4 ,for one thing1 she didn't speak very much ,english and her maid seemed to do all the talking for her1 even to ordering her meals1 which were always served here4 ,i did notice ,madame a few times about the hotel1 though she spent most of her time in her rooms4 ,she was attractive as the deuce1 and the men all looked at her whenever she stirred out4 ,she never even noticed them4 ,but she was evidently expecting some one1 for her maid had left word at the desk that if a ,mr4 ,gonzales called1 she was at home2 if any one else1 she was out4 ,for the first day or two she kept herself closely confined1 except that at the end of the second day she took a short spin through the park in a taxicab - closed1 even in this hot weather4 ,where she went ,i cannot say1 but when they returned the maid seemed rather agitated4 ,at least she was a few minutes later when she came all the way downstairs to telephone from a booth1 instead of using the room telephone4 ,at various times the maid was sent out to execute certain errands1 but always returned promptly4 ,madame de ,nevers was a genuine woman of mystery1 but as long as she was a quiet mystery1 ,i thought it no business of ours to pry into the affairs of ,madame4 ,did she have any visitors8 ,did this ,mr4 ,gonzales call8 asked ,kennedy at length4 ,she had one visitor1 a woman who called and asked if a ,madame de ,nevers was stopping at the#bj;hotel1 answered ,mc,bride4 ,that was what the clerk was telling me when ,i happened to catch sight of you4 ,he says that1 obedient to the orders from the maid1 he told the visitor that ,madame was not at home4 ,who was this visitor1 do you suppose8 asked ,craig4 ,did she leave any card or message8 ,is there any clue to her8 ,the detective looked at him earnestly for a time as if he hesitated to retail what might be merely pure gossip4 ,the clerk does not know this absolutely1 but from his acquaintance with society news and the illustrated papers he is sure that he recognised her4 ,he says that he feels positive that it was ,miss ,catharine ,lovelace4 ,the ,southern heiress1 exclaimed ,kennedy4 ,why1 the papers say that she is engaged ,exactly1 cut in ,mc,bride1 the heiress who is rumoured to be engaged to the ,duc de ,chateaurouge4 ,kennedy and ,i exchanged1 glances4 ,yes1 ,i added1 recollecting a remark ,i had heard a few days before from our society reporter on the ,star1 ,i believe it has been said that ,chateaurouge is in this country1 incognito4 ,a pretty slender thread on which to hang an identification1 ,mc,bride hastened to remark4 ,newspaper photographs are not the best means of recognising anybody4 ,whatever there may be in it1 the fact remains that ,madame de ,nevers1 supposing that to be her real name1 has been dead for at least a day or two4 ,the first thing to be determined is whether this is a death from natural causes1 a suicide1 or a murder4 ,after we have determined that we shall be in a position to run down this ,lovelace clue4 ,kennedy said nothing and ,i could not gather whether he placed greater or less value on the suspicion of the hotel clerk4 ,he had been making a casual examination of the body on the bed1 and finding nothing he looked intently about the room as if seeking some evidence of how the crime had been committed4 ,to me the thing seemed incomprehensible1 that without an outcry being overheard by any of the guests a murder could have been done in a crowded hotel in which the rooms on every side had been occupied and people had been passing through the halls at all hours4 ,had it indeed been a suicide1 in spite of ,mc,bride's evident conviction to the contrary8 ,a low exclamation from ,kennedy attracted our attention4 ,caught in the filmy lace folds of the woman's dress he had found a few small and thin pieces of glass4 ,he was regarding them with an interest that was oblivious to everything else4 ,as he turned them over and over and tried to fit them together they seemed to form at least a part of what had once been a hollow globe of very thin glass1 perhaps a quarter of an inch or so in diameter4 ,how was the body discovered8 asked ,craig at length1 looking up at ,mc,bride quickly4 ,day before yesterday ,madame's maid went to the cashier1 repeated the detective slowly as if rehearsing the case as much for his own information as ours1 and said that ,madame had asked her to say to him that she was going away for a few days and that under no circumstances was her room to be disturbed in her absence4 ,the maid was commissioned to pay the bill1 not only for the time they had been here1 but also for the remainder of the week1 when ,madame would most likely return1 if not earlier4 ,the bill was made out and paid4 ,since then only the chambermaid has entered this suite4 ,the key to that closet over in the corner was gone1 and it might have hidden its secret until the end of the week or perhaps a day or two longer1 if the chambermaid hadn't been a bit curious4 ,she hunted till she found another key that fitted1 and opened the closet door1 apparently to see what ,madame had been so particular to lock up in her absence4 ,there lay the body of ,madame1 fully dressed1 wedged into the narrow space and huddled up in a corner4 ,the chambermaid screamed and the secret was out4 ,and ,madame de ,nevers's maid8 ,what has become of her8 asked ,kennedy eagerly4 ,she has disappeared1 replied ,mc,bride4 ,from the moment when the bill was paid no one about the hotel has seen her4 ,but you have a pretty good description of her1 one that you could send out in order to find her if necessary8 ,yes1 ,i think ,i could give a pretty good description4 ,kennedy's eye encountered the curious gaze of ,mc,bride4 ,this may prove to be a most unusual case1 he remarked in answer to the implied inquiry of the detective4 ,i suppose you have heard of the 'endormeurs' of ,paris8 ,mc,bride shook his head in the negative4 ,it is a ,french word signifying a person who puts another to sleep1 the sleep makers1 explained ,kennedy4 ,they are the latest scientific school of criminals who use the most potent1 quickest-acting stupefying drugs4 ,some of their exploits surpass anything hitherto even imagined by the ,european police4 ,the ,american police have been officially warned of the existence of the endormeurs and full descriptions of their methods and photographs of their paraphernalia have been sent over here4 ,there is nothing in their repertoire so crude as chloral or knock-out drops4 ,all the derivatives of opium such as morphine1 codeine1 heroine1 dionine1 narceine1 and narcotine1 to say nothing of bromure d'etyle1 bromoform1 nitrite d'amyle1 and amyline are known to be utilised by the endormeurs to put their victims to sleep1 and the skill which they have acquired in the use of these powerful drugs establishes them as one of the most dangerous groups of criminals in existence4 ,the men are all of superior intelligence and daring2 the chief requisite of the women is extreme beauty as well as unscrupulousness4 ,they will take a little thin glass ball of one of these liquids1 for instance1 hold it in a pocket handkerchief1 crush it1 shove it under the nose of their victim1 and - whiff 6 - the victim is unconscious4 ,but ordinarily the endormeur does not kill4 ,he is usually satisfied to stupefy1 rob1 and then leave his victim4 ,there is something more to this case than a mere suicide or murder1 ,mc,bride4 ,of course she may have committed suicide with the drugs of the endormeurs2 then again she may merely have been rendered unconscious by those drugs and some other poison may have been administered4 ,depend on it1 there is something more back of this affair than appears on the surface4 ,even as far as ,i have gone ,i do not hesitate to say that we have run across the work of one or perhaps a band of the most up-to-date and scientific criminals4 ,kennedy had scarcely finished when ,mc,bride brought his right fist down with a resounding smack into the palm of his left hand4 ,say1 he cried in great excitement1 here's another thing which may or may not have some connection with the case4 ,the evening after ,madame arrived1 ,i happened to be walking through the caf#hb1 where ,i saw a face that looked familiar to me4 ,it was that of a dark-haired1 olive-skinned man1 a fascinating face1 but a face to be afraid of4 ,i remembered him1 ,i thought1 from my police experience1 as a notorious crook who had not been seen in ,new ,york for years1 a man who in the old days used to gamble with death in ,south ,american revolutions1 a soldier of fortune4 ,well1 ,i gave the waiter1 ,charley1 the wink and he met me in the rear of the caf#hb1 around a corner4 ,you know we have a regular system in the hotel by which ,i can turn all the help into amateur sleuths4 ,i told him to be very careful about the dark-faced man and the younger man who was with him1 to be particular to wait on them well1 and to pick up any scraps of conversation he could4 ,charley knows his business1 and the barest perceptible sign from me makes him an obsequious waiter4 ,of course the dark man didn't notice it at the time1 but if he had been more observant he would have seen that three times during his chat with his companion ,charley had wiped off his table with lingering hand4 ,twice he had put fresh seltzer in his drink4 ,like a good waiter always working for a big tip he had hovered near1 his face blank and his eyes unobservant4 ,but that waiter was an important link in my chain of protection of the hotel against crooks4 ,he was there to listen and to tip me off1 which he did between orders4 ,there wasn't much that he overheard1 but what there was of it was so suspicious that ,i did not hesitate to conclude that the fellow was an undesirable guest4 ,it was something about the ,panama ,canal1 and a coaling station of a steamship and fruit concern on the shore of one of the ,latin ,american countries4 ,it was1 he said1 in reality to be the coaling station of a certain ,european power which he did not name but which the younger man seemed to understand4 ,they talked of wharves and tracts of land1 of sovereignty and blue prints1 the ,monroe ,doctrine1 value in case of war1 and a lot of other things4 ,then they talked of money1 and though ,charley was most assiduous at the time all he overheard was something about 'ten thousand francs' and 'buying her off1' and finally a whispered confidence of which he caught the words1 'just a blind to get her over here1 away from ,paris4' ,finally the dark man in an apparent burst of confidence said something about 'the other plans being the real thing after all1' and that the whole affair would bring him in fifty thousand francs1 with which he could afford to be liberal4 ,charley could get no inkling about what that other thing was4 ,but ,i felt sure that he had heard enough to warrant the belief that some kind of confidence game was being discussed4 ,to tell the truth ,i didn't care much what it was1 at the time4 ,it might have been an attempt of the dark-visaged fellow to sell the ,canal to a come-on4 ,what ,i wanted was to have it known that the ,vanderveer was not to be a resort of such gentry as this4 ,but ,i'm afraid it was much more serious than ,i thought at the time4 ,well1 the dark man finally excused himself and sauntered into the lobby and up to the desk1 with me after him around the opposite way4 ,he was looking over the day's arrivals on the register when ,i concluded that it was about time to do something4 ,i was standing directly beside him lighting a cigar4 ,i turned quickly on him and deliberately trod on the man's patent leather shoe4 ,he faced me furiously at not getting any apology4 ',sacre1' he exclaimed1 'what the - ' ,but before he could finish ,i moved still closer and pinched his elbow4 ,a dull red glow of suppressed anger spread over his face1 but he cut his words short4 ,he knew and ,i knew he knew4 ,that is the sign in the continental hotels when they find a crook and quietly ask him to move on4 ,the man turned on his heel and stalked out of the hotel4 ,by and by the young man in the caf#hb1 considerably annoyed at the sudden inattention of the waiter who acted as if he wasn't satisfied with his tip1 strolled through the lobby and not seeing his dark-skinned friend1 also disappeared4 ,i wish to heaven ,i had had them shadowed4 ,the young fellow wasn't a come-on at all4 ,there was something afoot between these two1 mark my words4 ,but why do you connect that incident with this case of ,madame de ,nevers8 asked ,kennedy1 a little puzzled4 ,because the next day1 and the day that ,madame's maid disappeared1 ,i happened to see a man bidding good-bye to a woman at the rear carriage entrance of the hotel4 ,the woman was ,madame's maid and the man was the dark man who had been seated in the caf#hb4 ,you said a moment ago that you had a good description of the maid or could write one4 ,do you think you could locate her8 ,the hotel detective thought a minute or two4 ,if she has gone to any of the other hotels in this city1 ,i could1 he answered slowly4 ,you know we have recently formed a sort of clearing house1 we hotel detectives1 and we are working together now very well1 though secretly4 ,it is barely possible that she has gone to another hotel4 ,the very brazenness of that would be its safeguard1 she might think4 ,then ,i can leave that part of it to you1 ,mc,bride8 asked ,kennedy thoughtfully as if laying out a programme of action in his mind4 ,you will set the hotel detectives on the trail as well as the police of the city1 and of other cities1 will make the inquiries at the steamships and railroads1 and all that sort of thing8 ,try to find some trace of the two men whom you saw in the caf#hb at the same time4 ,but for the present ,i should say spare no effort to locate that girl4 ,trust it to me1 agreed ,mc,bride confidently4 ,a heavy tap sounded at the door and ,mc,bride opened it4 ,it was the coroner4 ,i shall not go into the lengthy investigation which the coroner conducted1 questioning one servant and employee after another without eliciting any more real information than we had already obtained so concisely from the house man4 ,the coroner was1 of course1 angry at the removal of the body from the closet to the bed because he wanted to view it in the position in which it had been found1 but as that had been done by the servants before ,mc,bride could stop them1 there was nothing to do about it but accept the facts4 ,a very peculiar case1 remarked the coroner at the conclusion of his examination1 with the air of a man who could shed much light on it from his wide experience if he chose4 ,there is just one point that we shall have to clear up1 however4 ,what was the cause of the death of the deceased8 ,there is no gas in the room4 ,it couldn't have been illuminating gas1 then4 ,no1 it must have been a poison of some kind4 ,then as to the motive1 he added1 trying to look confident but really shooting a tentative remark at ,craig and the house detective1 who said nothing4 ,it looks a good deal like that other suicide - at least a suicide which some one has endeavoured to conceal1 he added1 hastily recollecting the manner in which the body had been found and his criticisms of the removal from the closet4 ,didn't ,i tell you8 rejoined ,mc,bride dolefully after we had left the coroner downstairs a few minutes later4 ,i knew he would think the hotel was hiding something from him4 ,we can't help what he thinks - yet1 remarked ,craig4 ,all we can do is to run down the clues which we have4 ,i will leave the maid to be found by your organisation1 ,mc,bride4 ,let me see1 the theatres and roof gardens must be letting out by this time4 ,i will see if ,i can get any information from ,miss ,lovelace4 ,find her address1 ,walter1 and call a cab4 ,the ,southern heiress1 who had attracted more attention by her beauty than by her fortune which was only moderate as ,american fortunes go nowadays1 lived in an apartment facing the park1 with her mother1 a woman whose social ambitions it was commonly known had no bounds and were often sadly imposed upon4 ,fortunately we arrived at the apartment not very many minutes after the mother and daughter1 and although it was late1 ,kennedy sent up his card with an urgent message to see them4 ,they received us in a large drawing-room and were plainly annoyed by our visit1 though that of course was susceptible of a natural interpretation4 ,what is it that you wished to see me about8 began ,mrs4 ,lovelace in a tone which was intended to close the interview almost before it was begun4 ,kennedy had not wished to see her about anything1 but of course he did not even hint as much in his reply which was made to her but directed at ,miss ,lovelace4 ,could you tell me anything about a ,madame de ,nevers who was staying at the ,vanderveer8 asked ,craig1 turning quickly to the daughter so as to catch the full effect of his question1 and then waiting as if expecting the answer from her4 ,the young lady's face blanched slightly and she seemed to catch her breath for an instant1 but she kept her composure admirably in spite of the evident shock of ,craig's purposely abrupt question4 ,i have heard of her1 ,miss ,lovelace replied with forced calmness as he continued to look to her for an answer4 ,why do you ask8 ,because a woman who is supposed to be ,madame de ,nevers has committed suicide at the ,vanderveer and it was thought that perhaps you could identify her4 ,by this time she had become perfect mistress of herself again1 from which ,i argued that whatever knowledge she had of ,madame was limited to the time before the tragedy4 ,i1 identify her8 ,why1 ,i never saw her4 ,i simply know that such a creature exists4 ,she said it defiantly and with an iciness which showed more plainly than in mere words that she scorned even an acquaintance with a demi-mondaine4 ,do you suppose the ,duc de ,chateaurouge would be able to identify her8 asked ,kennedy mercilessly4 ,one moment1 please1 he added1 anticipating the blank look of amazement on her face4 ,i have reason to believe that the duke is in this country incognito - is he not8 ,instead of speaking she merely raised her shoulders a fraction of an inch4 ,either in ,new ,york or in ,washington1 pursued ,kennedy4 ,why do you ask me8 she said at length4 ,isn't it enough that some of the newspapers have said so8 ,if you see it in the newspapers1 it's so - perhaps - isn't it8 ,we were getting nowhere in this interview1 at least so ,i thought4 ,kennedy cut it short1 especially as he noted the evident restlessness of ,mrs4 ,lovelace4 ,however1 he had gained his point4 ,whether or not the duke was in ,new ,york or ,washington or ,spitzbergen1 he now felt sure that ,miss ,lovelace knew of1 and perhaps something about1 ,madame de ,nevers4 ,in some way the dead woman had communicated with her and ,miss ,lovelace had been the woman whom the hotel clerk had seen at the ,vanderveer4 ,we withdrew as gracefully as our awkward position permitted4 ,as there was nothing else to be done at that late hour1 ,craig decided to sleep soundly over the case1 his infallible method of taking a fresh start after he had run up a cul-de-sac4 ,imagine our surprise in the morning at being waited on by the coroner himself1 who in a few words explained that he was far from satisfied with the progress his own office was making with the case4 ,you understand1 he concluded after a lengthy statement of confession and avoidance1 we have no very good laboratory facilities of our own to carry out the necessary chemical1 pathological1 and bacteriological investigations in cases of homicide and suicide4 ,we are often forced to resort to private laboratories1 as you know in the past when ,i have had to appeal to you4 ,now1 ,professor ,kennedy1 if we might turn over that research part of the case to you1 sir1 ,i will engage to see that a reasonable bill for your professional services goes through the office of my friend the city comptroller promptly4 ,craig snapped at the opportunity1 though he did not allow the coroner to gain that impression4 ,very well1 agreed that official1 ,i shall see that all the necessary organs for a thorough test as to the cause of the death of this woman are sent up to the ,chemistry ,building right away4 ,the coroner was as good as his word1 and we had scarcely breakfasted and arrived at ,craig's scientific workshop before that official appeared1 accompanied by a man who carried in uncanny jars the necessary materials for an investigation following an autopsy4 ,kennedy was now in his element4 ,the case had taken an unexpected turn which made him a leading factor in its solution4 ,whatever suspicions he may have entertained unofficially the night before he could now openly and quickly verify4 ,he took a little piece of lung tissue and with sharp sterilised knife cut it up4 ,then he made it slightly alkaline with a little sodium carbonate1 talking half to us and half to himself as he worked4 ,the next step was to place the matter in a glass flask in a water bath where it was heated4 ,from the flask a ,bohemian glass tube led into a cool jar and on a part of the tube a flame was playing which heated it to redness for two or three inches4 ,several minutes we waited in silence4 ,finally when the process had gone far enough1 ,kennedy took a piece of paper which had been treated with iodised starch1 as he later explained4 ,he plunged the paper into the cool jar4 ,slowly it turned a strong blue tint4 ,craig said nothing1 but it was evident that he was more than gratified by what had happened4 ,he quickly reached for a bottle on the shelves before him1 and ,i could see from the label on the brown glass that it was nitrate of silver4 ,as he plunged a little in a test-tube into the jar a strong precipitate was gradually formed4 ,it is the decided reaction for chloroform1 he exclaimed simply in reply to our unspoken questions4 ,chloroform1 repeated the coroner1 rather doubtfully1 and it was evident that he had expected a poison and had not anticipated any result whatever from an examination of the lungs instead of the stomach to which he had confined his own work so far4 ,could chloroform be discovered in the lungs or viscera after so many days8 ,there was one famous chloroform case for which a man is now serving a life term in ,sing ,sing which ,i have understood there was grave doubt in the minds of the experts4 ,mind1 ,i am not trying to question the results of your work except as they might naturally be questioned in court4 ,it seems to me that the volatility of chloroform might very possibly preclude its discovery after a short time4 ,then again1 might not other substances be generated in a dead body which would give a reaction very much like chloroform8 ,we must consider all these questions before we abandon the poison theory1 sir4 ,remember1 this is the summer time too1 and chloroform would evaporate very much more rapidly now than in winter4 ,kennedy smiled1 but his confidence remained unshaken4 ,i am in a position to meet all of your objections1 he explained simply4 ,i think ,i could lay it down as a rule that by proper methods chloroform may be discovered in the viscera much longer after death than is commonly supposed - in summer from six days to three weeks1 with a practical working range of say twelve days1 while in winter it may be found even after several months - by the right method4 ,certainly this case comes within the average length of time4 ,more than that1 no substance is generated by the process of decomposition which will vitiate the test for chloroform which ,i have just made4 ,chloroform has an affinity for water and is also a preservative1 and hence from all these facts ,i think it safe to conclude that sometimes traces of it may be found for two weeks after its administration1 certainly for a few days4 ,and ,madame de ,nevers8 queried the coroner1 as if the turn of events was necessitating a complete reconstruction of his theory of the case4 ,was murdered1 completed ,kennedy in a tone that left nothing more to be said on the subject4 ,but1 persisted the coroner1 if she was murdered by the use of chloroform1 how do you account for the fact that it was done without a struggle8 ,there were no marks of violence and ,i1 for one1 do not believe that under ordinary circumstances any one will passively submit to such an administration without a hard fight4 ,from his pocket ,kennedy drew a small pasteboard box filled with tiny globes1 some bonbons and lozenges1 a small hypodermic syringe1 and a few cigars and cigarettes4 ,he held it out in the palm of his hand so that we could see it4 ,this1 he remarked1 is the standard equipment of the endormeur4 ,whoever obtained admittance to ,madame's rooms1 either as a matter of course or secretly1 must have engaged her in conversation1 disarmed suspicion1 and then suddenly she must have found a pocket handkerchief under her nose4 ,the criminal crushed a globe of liquid in the handkerchief1 the victim lost consciousness1 the chloroform was administered without a struggle1 all marks of identification were obliterated1 the body was placed in the closet1 and the maid - either as principal or accessory - took the most likely means of postponing discovery by paying the bill in advance at the office1 and then disappeared4 ,kennedy slipped the box back into his pocket4 ,the coroner had1 ,i think1 been expecting ,craig's verdict1 although he was loath to abandon his own suicide theory and had held it to the last possible moment4 ,at any rate1 so far he had said little1 apparently preferring to keep his own counsel as to his course of action and to set his own machinery in motion4 ,he drew a note from his pocket1 however4 ,i suppose1 he began tentatively1 shaking the note as he glanced doubtfully from it to us1 that you have heard that among the callers on this unfortunate woman was a lady of high social position in this city8 ,i have heard a rumour to that effect1 replied ,kennedy as he busied himself cleaning up the apparatus he had just used4 ,there was nothing in his manner even to hint at the fact that we had gone further and interviewed the young lady in question4 ,well1 resumed the coroner1 in view of what you have just discovered ,i don't mind telling you that ,i believe it was more than a rumour4 ,i have had a man watching the woman and this is a report ,i received just before ,i came up here4 ,we read the note which he now handed to us4 ,it was just a hasty line3 ,miss ,lovelace left hurriedly for ,washington this morning4 ,what was the meaning of it8 ,clearly1 as we probed deeper into the case1 its ramifications grew wider than anything we had yet expected4 ,why had ,miss ,lovelace gone to ,washington1 of all places1 at this torrid season of the year8 ,the coroner had scarcely left us1 more mystified than ever1 when a telephone message came from ,mc,bride saying that he had some important news for us if we would meet him at the ,st4 ,cenis ,hotel within an hour4 ,he would say nothing about it over the wire4 ,as ,kennedy hung up the receiver he quietly took a pistol from a drawer of his desk1 broke it quickly1 and looked thoughtfully at the cartridges in the cylinder4 ,then he snapped it shut and stuck it into his pocket4 ,there's no telling what we may run up against before we get back to the laboratory1 he remarked and we rode down to meet ,mc,bride4 ,the description which the house man had sent out to the other hotel detectives the night before had already produced a result4 ,within the past two days a man answering the description of the younger man whom ,mc,bride had seen in the caf#hb and a woman who might very possibly have been ,madame's maid had come to the ,st4 ,cenis as ,m4 and ,mme4 ,duval4 ,their baggage was light1 but they had been at pains to impress upon the hotel that they were persons of some position and that it was going direct from the railroad to the steamer1 after their tour of ,america4 ,they had1 as a matter of fact1 done nothing to excite suspicion until the general request for information had been received4 ,the house man of the ,st4 ,cenis welcomed us cordially upon ,mc,bride's introduction and agreed to take us up to the rooms of the strange couple if they were not in4 ,as it happened it was the lunch hour and they were not in the room4 ,still1 ,kennedy dared not be too particular in his search of their effects1 for he did not wish to arouse suspicion upon their return1 at least not yet4 ,it seems to me1 ,craig1 ,i suggested after we had nosed about for a few minutes1 finding nothing1 that this is pre-eminently a case in which to use the dictograph as you did in that ,black ,hand case4 ,he shook his head doubtfully1 although ,i could see that the idea appealed to him4 ,the dictograph has been getting too much publicity lately1 he said4 ,i'm afraid they would discover it1 that is1 if they are at all the clever people ,i think them4 ,besides1 ,i would have to send up to the laboratory to get one and by the time the messenger returned they might be back from lunch4 ,no1 we've got to do something else1 and do it quickly4 ,he was looking about the room in an apparently aimless manner4 ,on the side wall hung a cheap etching of a woodland scene4 ,kennedy seemed engrossed in it while the rest of us fidgeted at the delay4 ,can you get me a couple of old telephone instruments8 he asked at length1 turning to us and addressing the ,st4 ,cenis detective4 ,the detective nodded and disappeared down the hall4 ,a few minutes later he deposited the instruments on a table4 ,where he got them ,i do not know1 but ,i suspect he simply lifted them from vacant rooms4 ,now some ,number #cj copper wire and a couple of dry cells1 ordered ,kennedy1 falling to work immediately on the telephones4 ,the detective despatched a bellboy down to the basement to get the wire from the house electrician4 ,kennedy removed the transmitters of the telephones1 and taking the carbon capsules from them placed the capsules on the table carefully4 ,then he lifted down the etching from the wall and laid it flat on its face before us4 ,quickly he removed the back of the picture4 ,pressing the transmitter fronts with the carbon capsules against the paper and the glass on the picture he mounted them so that the paper and glass acted as a large diaphragm to collect all the sounds in the room4 ,the size of this glass diaphragm1 he explained as we gathered around in intense interest at what he was doing1 will produce a strikingly sensitive microphone action and the merest whisper will be reproduced with startling distinctness4 ,the boy brought the wire up and also the news that the couple in whose room we were had very nearly finished luncheon and might be expected back in a few minutes4 ,kennedy took the tiny wires1 and after connecting them hung up the picture again and ran them up alongside the picture wires leading from the huge transmitter up to the picture moulding4 ,along the top of the moulding and out through the transom it was easy enough to run the wires and so down the hall to a vacant room1 where ,craig attached them quickly to one of the old telephone receivers4 ,then we sat down in this room to await developments from our hastily improvised picture frame microphone detective4 ,at last we could hear the elevator door close on our floor4 ,a moment later it was evident from the expression of ,kennedy's face that some one had entered the room which we had just left4 ,he had finished not a moment too soon4 ,it's a good thing that ,i didn't wait to put a dictograph there1 he remarked to us4 ,i thought ,i wasn't reckoning without reason4 ,the couple1 whoever they are1 are talking in undertones and looking about the room to see if anything has been disturbed in their absence4 ,kennedy alone1 of course1 could follow over his end of the telephone what they said4 ,the rest of us could do nothing but wait1 but from notes which ,craig jotted down as he listened to the conversation ,i shall reproduce it as if we had all heard it4 ,there were some anxious moments until at last they had satisfied themselves that no one was listening and that no dictograph or other mechanical eavesdropper1 such as they had heard of1 was concealed in the furniture or back of it4 ,why are you so particular1 ,henri8 a woman's voice was saying4 ,louise1 ,i've been thinking for a long time that we are surrounded by spies in these hotels4 ,you remember ,i told you what happened at the ,vanderveer the night you and ,madame arrived8 ,i'm sure that waiter overheard what ,gonzales and ,i were talking about4 ,well1 we are safe now anyhow4 ,what was it that you would not tell me just now at luncheon8 asked the woman1 whom ,kennedy recognised as ,madame de ,nevers's maid4 ,i have a cipher from ,washington4 ,wait until ,i translate it4 ,there was a pause4 ,what does it say8 asked the woman impatiently4 ,it says1 repeated the man slowly1 that ,miss ,lovelace has gone to ,washington4 ,she insists on knowing whether the death of ,marie was a suicide or not4 ,worse than that the ,secret ,service must have wind of some part of our scheme1 for they are acting suspiciously4 ,i must go down there or the whole affair may be exposed and fall through4 ,things could hardly be worse1 especially this sudden move on her part4 ,who was that detective who forced his way to see her the night they discovered ,marie's body8 asked the woman4 ,i hope that that wasn't the ,secret ,service also4 ,do you think they could have suspected anything8 ,i hardly think so1 the man replied4 ,beyond the death of ,madame they suspect nothing here in ,new ,york1 ,i am convinced4 ,you are sure that all her letters were secured1 that all clues to connect her with the business in hand were destroyed1 and particularly that the package she was to deliver is safe8 ,the package8 ,you mean the plans for the coaling station on the ,pacific near the ,canal8 ,you see1 ,henri1 ,i know4 ,ha1 ha1 - yes1 replied the man4 ,louise1 shall ,i tell you a secret8 ,can you keep it8 ,you know ,i can1 ,henri4 ,well1 ,louise1 the scheme is deeper than even you think4 ,we are playing one country against another1 ,america against - you know the government our friend ,schmidt works for in ,paris4 ,now1 listen4 ,those plans of the coaling station are a fake - a fake4 ,it is just a commercial venture4 ,no nation would be foolish enough to attempt such a thing1 yet4 ,we know that they are a fake4 ,but we are going to sell them through that friend of ours in the ,united ,states ,war ,department4 ,but that is only part of the coup1 the part that will give us the money to turn the much larger coups we have in the future4 ,you can understand why it has all to be done so secretly and how vexatious it is that as soon as one obstacle is overcome a dozen new ones appear4 ,louise1 here is the big secret4 ,by using those fake plans as a bait we are going to obtain something which when we all return to ,paris we can convert into thousands of francs4 ,there1 ,i can say no more4 ,but ,i have told you so much to impress upon you the extreme need of caution4 ,and how much does ,miss ,lovelace know8 ,very little - ,i hope4 ,that is why ,i must go to ,washington myself4 ,she must know nothing of this coup nor of the real de ,nevers1 or the whole scheme may fall through4 ,it would have fallen through before1 ,louise1 if you had failed us and had let any of de ,nevers's letters slip through to ,miss ,lovelace4 ,she richly deserved her fate for that act of treachery4 ,the affair would have been so simple1 otherwise4 ,luck was with us until her insane jealousy led her to visit ,miss ,lovelace4 ,it was fortunate the young lady was out when ,madame called on her or all would have been lost4 ,ah1 we owe you a great deal1 ,louise1 and we shall not forget it1 never4 ,you will be very careful while ,i am gone8 ,absolutely4 ,when will you return to me1 ,henri8 ,to-morrow morning at the latest4 ,this afternoon the false coaling station plans are to be turned over to our accomplice in the ,war ,department and in exchange he is to give us something else - the secret of which ,i spoke4 ,you see the trail leads up into high circles4 ,it is very much more important than you suppose and discovery might lead to a dangerous international complication just now4 ,then you are to meet your friend in ,washington to-night8 ,when do you start1 ,henri8 ,don't let the time slip by4 ,there must be no mistake this time as there was when we were working for ,japan and almost had the blue prints of ,corregidor at ,manila only to lose them on the streets of ,calcutta4 ,trust me4 ,we are to meet about nine o'clock and therefore ,i leave on the limited at three-thirty1 in about an hour4 ,from the station ,i am going straight to the house on ,z ,street - let me see1 the cipher says the number is #aja - and ask for a man named ,gonzales4 ,i shall use the name ,montez4 ,he is to appear1 hand over the package - that thing ,i have told you about - then ,i am to return here by one of the midnight trains4 ,at any cost we must allow nothing to happen which will reach the ears of ,miss ,lovelace4 ,i'll see you early to-morrow morning1 ma cherie1 and remember1 be ready1 for the ,aquitania sails at ten4 ,the division of the money is to be made in ,paris4 ,then we shall all go our separate ways4 ,kennedy was telephoning frantically through the regular hotel service to find out how the trains ran for ,washington4 ,the only one that would get there before nine was the three-thirty2 the next1 leaving an hour later1 did not arrive until nearly eleven4 ,he had evidently had some idea of causing some delay that would result in our friend down the hall missing the limited1 but abandoned it4 ,any such scheme would simply result in a message to the gang in ,washington putting them on their guard and defeating his purpose4 ,at all costs we must beat this fellow to it1 exclaimed ,craig1 waiting to hear no more over his improvised dictograph4 ,come1 ,walter1 we must catch the limited for ,washington immediately4 ,mc,bride1 ,i leave you and the regular house man to shadow this woman4 ,don't let her get out of your sight for a moment4 ,as we rode across the city to the new railroad terminus ,craig hastily informed me of what he had overheard4 ,we took up our post so that we could see the outgoing travellers1 and a few minutes later ,craig spotted our man from ,mc,bride's description1 and succeeded in securing chairs in the same car in which he was to ride4 ,taken altogether it was an uneventful journey4 ,for five mortal hours we sat in the ,pullman or toyed with food in the dining-car1 never letting the man escape our sight1 yet never letting him know that we were watching him4 ,nevertheless ,i could not help asking myself what good it did4 ,why did not ,kennedy hire a special if the affair was so important as it appeared8 ,how were we to get ahead of him in ,washington better than in ,new ,york8 ,i knew that some plan lurked behind the calm and inscrutable face of ,kennedy as ,i tried to read and could not4 ,the train had come to a stop in the ,union ,station4 ,our man was walking rapidly up the platform in the direction of the cab stand4 ,suddenly ,kennedy darted ahead and for a moment we were walking abreast of him4 ,i beg your pardon1 began ,craig as we came to a turn in the shadow of the arc lights1 but have you a match8 ,the man halted and fumbled for his match-box4 ,instantly ,kennedy's pocket handkerchief was at his nose4 ,some of the medicine of your own gang of endormeurs1 ground out ,kennedy1 crushing several of the little glass globes under his handkerchief to make doubly sure of their effect4 ,the man reeled and would have fallen if we had not caught him between us4 ,up the platform we led him in a daze4 ,here1 shouted ,craig to a cabman1 my friend is ill4 ,drive us around a bit4 ,it will sober him up4 ,come on1 ,walter1 jump in1 the air will do us all good4 ,those who were in ,washington during that summer will remember the suppressed activity in the ,state1 ,war1 and ,navy ,departments on a certain very humid night4 ,nothing leaked out at the time as to the cause1 but it was understood later that a crisis was narrowly averted at a very inopportune season1 for the heads of the departments were all away1 the ,president was at his summer home in the ,north1 and even some of the under-secretaries were out of town4 ,hasty messages had been sizzling over the wires in cipher and code for hours4 ,i recall that as we rode a little out of our way past the ,army ,building1 merely to see if there was any excitement1 we found it a blaze of lights4 ,something was plainly afoot even at this usually dull period of the year4 ,there#bjwas treachery of some kind and some trusted employee was involved1 ,i felt instinctively4 ,as for ,craig he merely glanced at the insensible figure between us and remarked sententiously that to his knowledge there was only one nation that made a practice of carrying out its diplomatic and other coups in the hot weather1 a remark which ,i understood to mean that our mission was more than commonly important4 ,the man had not recovered when we arrived within several blocks of our destination1 nor did he show signs of recovery from his profound stupor4 ,kennedy stopped the cab in a side street1 pressed a bill into the cabman's hand1 and bade him wait until we returned4 ,we had turned the corner of ,z ,street and were approaching the house when a man walking in the opposite direction eyed us suspiciously1 turned1 and followed us a step or two4 ,kennedy6 he exclaimed4 ,if a fourteen-inch gun had exploded behind us ,i could not have been more startled4 ,here1 in spite of all our haste and secrecy we were followed1 watched1 and beaten4 ,craig wheeled about suddenly4 ,then he took the man by the arm4 ,come1 he said quickly1 and we three dove into the shadow of an alley4 ,as we paused1 ,kennedy was the first to speak4 ,by ,jove1 ,walter1 it's ,burke of the ,secret ,service1 he exclaimed4 ,good1 repeated the man with some satisfaction4 ,i see that you still have that memory for faces4 ,he was evidently referring to our experiences together some months before with the portrait parle and identification in the counterfeiting case which ,craig cleared up for him4 ,for a moment or two ,burke and ,kennedy spoke in whispers4 ,under the dim light from the street ,i could see ,kennedy's face intent and working with excitement4 ,no wonder the ,war ,department is a blaze of lights1 he exclaimed as we moved out of the shadow again1 leaving the ,secret ,service man4 ,burke1 ,i had no idea when ,i took up this case that ,i should be doing my country a service also4 ,we must succeed at any hazard4 ,the moment you hear a pistol shot1 ,burke1 we shall need you4 ,force the door if it is not already open4 ,you were right as to the street but not the number4 ,it is that house over there4 ,come on1 ,walter4 ,we mounted the low steps of the house and a negress answered the bell4 ,is ,mr4 ,gonzales in8 asked ,kennedy4 ,the hallway into which we were admitted was dark but it opened into a sitting-room1 where a dim light was burning behind the thick portieres4 ,without a word the negress ushered us into this room1 which was otherwise empty4 ,tell him ,mr4 ,montez is here1 added ,craig as we sat down4 ,the negress disappeared upstairs1 and in a few minutes returned with the message that he would be down directly4 ,no sooner had the shuffle of her footsteps died away than ,kennedy was on his feet1 listening intently at the door4 ,there was no sound4 ,he took a chair and tiptoed out into the dark hall with it4 ,turning it upside down he placed it at the foot of the stairs with the four legs pointing obliquely up4 ,then he drew me into a corner with him4 ,how long we waited ,i cannot say4 ,the next ,i knew was a muffled step on the landing above1 then the tread on the stairs4 ,a crash and a deep volley of oaths in ,french followed as the man pitched headlong over the chair on the dark steps4 ,kennedy whipped out his revolver and fired point-blank at the prostrate figure4 ,i do not know what the ethics are of firing on a man when he is down1 nor did ,i have time to stop to think4 ,craig grasped my arm and pulled me toward the door4 ,a sickening odour seemed to pervade the air4 ,upstairs there was shouting and banging of doors4 ,closer1 ,walter1 he muttered1 closer to the door1 and open it a little1 or we shall both be suffocated4 ,it was the ,secret ,service gun ,i shot off - the pistol that shoots stupefying gas from its vapour-filled cartridges and enables you to put a criminal out of commission without killing him4 ,a pull of the trigger1 the cap explodes1 the gunpowder and the force of the explosion unite some capsicum and lycopodium1 producing the blinding1 suffocating vapour whose terrible effect you see4 ,here1 you upstairs1 he shouted1 advance an inch or so much as show your heads over the rail and ,i pump a shot at you1 too4 ,walter1 take the gun yourself4 ,fire at a move from them4 ,i think the gases have cleared away enough now4 ,i must get him before he recovers consciousness4 ,a tap at the door came1 and without taking my eyes off the stairs ,i opened it4 ,burke slid in and gulped at the nauseous atmosphere4 ,what's up8 he gasped4 ,i heard a shot4 ,where's ,kennedy8 ,i motioned in the darkness4 ,kennedy's electric bull's-eye flashed up at that instant and we saw him deftly slip a bright pair of manacles on the wrists of the man on the floor1 who was breathing heavily1 while blood flowed from a few slight cuts due to his fall4 ,dexterously as a pickpocket ,craig reached into the man's coat1 pulled out a packet of papers1 and gazed eagerly at one after another4 ,from among them he unfolded one written in ,french to ,madame ,marie de ,nevers some weeks before4 ,i translate3 ,,dear ,,marie3 ,herr ,schmidt informs me that his agent in the ,war ,department at ,washington1 ,u4,s4,a41 has secured some important information which will interest the ,government for which ,herr ,schmidt is the agent - of course you know who that is4 ,it is necessary that you should carry the packet which will be handed to you 7if you agree to my proposal7 to ,new ,york by the steamer ,tripolitania4 ,go to the ,vandeveer ,hotel and in a few days1 as soon as a certain exchange can be made1 either our friend in ,washington or myself will call on you1 using the name ,gonzales4 ,in return for the package which you carry he will hand you another4 ,lose no time in bringing the second package back to ,paris4 ,i have arranged that you will receive ten thousand francs and your expenses for your services in this matter4 ,under no conditions betray your connection with ,herr ,schmidt4 ,i was to have carried the packet to ,america myself and make the exchange but knowing your need of money ,i have secured the work for you4 ,you had better take your maid1 as it is much better to travel with distinction in this case4 ,if1 however1 you accept this commission ,i shall consider you in honour bound to surrender your claim upon my name for which ,i agree to pay you fifty thousand francs upon my marriage with the ,american heiress of whom you know4 ,please let me know immediately through our mutual friend ,henri ,duval whether this proposal is satisfactory4 ,henri will tell you that fifty thousand is my ultimatum4 ,the scoundrel1 ground out ,kennedy4 ,he lured his wife from ,paris to ,new ,york1 thinking the ,paris police too acute for him1 ,i suppose4 ,then by means of the treachery of the maid ,louise and his friend ,duval1 a crook who would even descend to play the part of valet for him and fall in love with the maid1 he has succeeded in removing the woman who stood between him and an ,american fortune4 ,marie1 rambled ,chateaurouge as he came blinking1 sneezing1 and choking out of his stupor1 ,marie1 you are clever1 but not too clever for me4 ,this blackmailing must stop4 ,miss ,lovelace knows something1 thanks to you1 but she shall never know all - never -#bj never4 ,you - you - ugh6 - ,stop4 ,do you think you can hold me back now with those little white hands on my wrists8 ,i wrench them loose - so - and - ugh6 - ,what's this8 ,where am ,i8 ,the man gazed dazedly at the manacles that held his wrists instead of the delicate hands he had been dreaming of as he lived over the terrible scene of his struggle with the woman who was his wife in the ,vanderveer4 ,chateaurouge1 almost hissed ,kennedy in his righteous wrath1 fake nobleman1 real swindler of five continents4 ,marie de ,nevers alive stood in the way of your marriage to the heiress ,miss ,lovelace4 ,dead1 she prevents it absolutely4 ,craig continued to turn over the papers in his hand1 as he spoke4 ,at last he came to a smaller packet in oiled silk4 ,as he broke the seal he glanced at it in surprise1 then hurriedly exclaimed1 ,there1 ,burke4 ,take these to the ,war ,department and tell them they can turn out their lights and stop their telegrams4 ,this seems to be a copy of our government's plans for the fortification of the ,panama ,canal1 heights of guns1 location of searchlights1 fire control stations1 everything from painstaking search of official and confidential records4 ,that is what this fellow obtained in exchange for his false blue prints of the supposed coaling station on the ,pacific4 ,i leave the ,secret ,service to find the leak in the ,war ,department4 ,what ,i am interested in is not the man who played spy for two nations and betrayed one of them4 ,to me this adventurer who calls himself ,chateaurouge is merely the murderer of ,madame de ,nevers4 ,x ,the ,,smuggler ,it was a rather sultry afternoon in the late summer when people who had calculated by the calendar rather than by the weather were returning to the city from the seashore1 the mountains1 and abroad4 ,except for the week-ends1 ,kennedy and ,i had been pretty busy1 though on this particular day there was a lull in the succession of cases which had demanded our urgent attention during the summer4 ,we had met at the ,public ,library1 where ,craig was doing some special research at odd moments in criminology4 ,fifth ,avenue was still half deserted1 though the few pedestrians who had returned or remained in town like ourselves were1 as usual1 to be found mostly on the west side of the street4 ,nearly everybody1 ,i have noticed1 walks on the one side of ,fifth ,avenue1 winter or summer4 ,as we stood on the corner waiting for the traffic man's whistle to halt the crush of automobiles1 a man on the top of a 'bus waved to ,kennedy4 ,i looked up and caught a glimpse of ,jack ,herndon1 an old college mate1 who had had some political aspirations and had recently been appointed to a position in the customs house of ,new ,york4 ,herndon1 ,i may add1 represented the younger and clean-cut generation which is entering official life with great advantage to both themselves and politics4 ,the 'bus pulled up to the curb1 and ,jack tore down the breakneck steps hurriedly4 ,i was just thinking of you1 ,craig1 he beamed as we all shook hands1 and wondering whether you and ,walter were in town4 ,i think ,i should have come up to see you to-night1 anyhow4 ,why1 what's the matter - more1 sugar frauds8 laughed ,kennedy4 ,or perhaps you have caught another art dealer red-handed8 ,no1 not exactly1 replied ,herndon1 growing graver for the moment4 ,we're having a big shake-up down at the office1 none of your 'new broom' business1 either4 ,real reform it is1 this time4 ,and you - are you going or coming8 inquired ,craig with an interested twinkle4 ,coming1 ,craig1 coming1 answered ,jack enthusiastically4 ,they've put me in charge of a sort of detective force as a special deputy surveyor to rout out some smuggling that we know is going on4 ,if ,i make good it will go a long way for me - with all this talk of efficiency and economy down in ,washington these days4 ,what's on your mind now8 asked ,kennedy observantly4 ,can ,i help you in any way8 ,herndon had taken each of us by an arm and walked us over to a stone bench in the shade of the library building4 ,you have read the accounts in the afternoon papers of the peculiar death of ,mademoiselle ,violette1 the little ,french modiste1 up here on ,forty-sixth ,street8 he inquired4 ,yes1 answered ,kennedy4 ,what has that to do with customs reform8 ,a good deal1 ,i fear1 ,herndon continued4 ,it's part of a case that has been bothering us all summer4 ,it's the first really big thing ,i've been up against and it's as ticklish a bit of business as even a veteran treasury agent could wish4 ,herndon looked thoughtfully at the passing crowd on the other side of the balustrade and continued4 ,it started1 like many of our cases1 with the anonymous letter writer4 ,early in the summer the letters began to come in to the deputy surveyor's office1 all unsigned1 though quite evidently written in a woman's hand1 disguised of course1 and on rather dainty notepaper4 ,they warned us of a big plot to smuggle gowns and jewellery from ,paris4 ,smuggling jewellery is pretty common because jewels take up little space and are very valuable4 ,perhaps it doesn't sound to you like a big thing to smuggle dresses1 but when you realise that one of those filmy lacy creations may often be worth several hundred1 if not thousand1 dollars1 and that it needs only a few of them on each ship that comes in to run up into the thousands1 perhaps hundreds of thousands in a season1 you will see how essential it is to break up that sort of thing4 ,we've been getting after the individual private smugglers pretty sharply this summer and we've had lots of criticism4 ,if we could land a big fellow and make an object-lesson of the extent of the thing ,i believe it would leave our critics of the press without a leg to stand on4 ,at least that was why ,i was interested in the letters4 ,but it was not until a few days ago that we got a tip that gave us a real working clue1 for the anonymous letters had been very vague as to names1 dates1 and places1 though bold enough as to general charges1 as if the writer were fearful of incriminating herself - or himself4 ,strange to say1 this new clue came from the wife of one of the customs men4 ,she happened to be in a ,broadway manicure shop one day when she heard a woman talking with the manicurist about fall styles1 and she was all attention when she heard the customer say1 ',you remember ,mademoiselle ,violette's - that place that had the exquisite things straight from ,paris1 and so cheaply1 too8 ,well1 ,violette says she'll have to raise her prices so that they will be nearly as high as the regular stores4 ,she says the tariff has gone up1 or something1 but it hasn't1 has it8 ,the manicurist laughed knowingly1 and the next remark caught the woman's attention4 ',no1 indeed4 ,but then1 ,i guess she meant that she had to pay the duty now4 ,you know they are getting much stricter4 ,to tell the truth1 ,i imagine most of ,violette's goods were - well - ' ',smuggled8' supplied the customer in an undertone4 ,the manicurist gave a slight shrug of the shoulders and a bright little yes of a laugh4 ,that was all4 ,but it was enough4 ,i set a special customs officer to watch ,mademoiselle1 a clever fellow4 ,he didn't have time to find out much1 but on the other hand ,i am sure he didn't do anything to alarm ,mademoiselle4 ,that would have been a bad game4 ,his case was progressing favourably and he had become acquainted with one of the girls who worked in the shop4 ,we might have got some evidence1 but suddenly this morning he walked up to my desk and handed me an early edition of an afternoon paper4 ,mademoiselle ,violette had been discovered dead in her shop by the girls when they came to work this morning4 ,apparently she had been there all night1 but the report was quite indefinite and ,i am on my way up there now to meet the coroner1 who has agreed to wait for me4 ,you think there is some connection between her death and the letters8 put in ,craig4 ,of course ,i can't say1 yet1 answered ,herndon dubiously4 ,the papers seem to think it was a suicide4 ,but then why should she commit suicide8 ,my man found out that among the girls it was common gossip that she was to marry ,jean ,pierre1 the ,fifth ,avenue jeweller1 of the firm of ,lang ,pierre down on the next block4 ,pierre is due in ,new ,york on ,la ,montaigne to-night or to-morrow morning4 ,why1 if my suspicions are correct1 it is this ,pierre who is the brains of the whole affair4 ,and here's another thing4 ,you know we have a sort of secret service in ,paris and other ,european cities which is constantly keeping an eye on purchases of goods by ,americans abroad4 ,well1 the chief of our men in ,paris cables me that ,pierre is known to have made extraordinarily heavy purchases of made-up jewellery this season4 ,for one thing1 we believe he has acquired from a syndicate a rather famous diamond necklace which it has taken years to assemble and match up1 worth about three hundred thousand4 ,you know the duty on made-up jewellery is sixty per cent41 and even if he brought the stones in loose it would be ten per cent41 which on a valuation of1 say1 two hundred thousand1 means twenty thousand dollars duty alone4 ,then he has a splendid 'dog collar' of pearls1 and1 oh1 a lot of other stuff4 ,i know because we get our tips from all sorts of sources and they are usually pretty straight4 ,some come from dealers who are sore about not making sales themselves4 ,so you see there is a good deal at stake in this case and it may be that in following it out we shall kill more than one bird4 ,i wish you'd come along with me up to ,mademoiselle ,violette's and give me an opinion4 ,craig had already risen from the bench and we were walking up the ,avenue4 ,the establishment of ,mademoiselle ,violette consisted of a three-story and basement brownstone house in which the basement and first floor had been remodelled for business purposes4 ,mademoiselle's place1 which was on the first floor1 was announced to the world by a neat little oval gilt sign on the hand railing of the steps4 ,we ascended and rang the bell4 ,as we waited ,i noticed that there were several other modistes on the same street1 while almost directly across was a sign which proclaimed that on ,september #ae ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle would open with a high class exhibition of imported gowns from ,paris4 ,we entered4 ,the coroner and an undertaker were already there1 and the former was expecting ,herndon4 ,kennedy and ,i had already met him and he shook hands cordially4 ,mademoiselle ,violette1 it seemed1 had rented the entire house and then had sublet the basement to a milliner1 using the first floor herself1 the second as a workroom for the girls whom she employed1 while she lived on the top floor1 which had been fitted for light housekeeping with a kitchenette4 ,it was in the back room of the shop itself on the first floor that her body had been discovered1 lying on a davenport4 ,the newspaper reports were very indefinite1 began ,herndon1 endeavouring to take in the situation4 ,i suppose they told nearly all the story1 but what caused her death8 ,have you found that out yet8 ,was it poison or violence8 ,the coroner said nothing1 but with a significant glance at ,kennedy he drew a peculiar contrivance from his pocket4 ,it had four round holes in it and through each hole he slipped a finger1 then closed his hand1 and exhibited his clenched fist4 ,it looked as if he wore a series of four metal rings on his fingers4 ,brass knuckles8 suggested ,herndon1 looking hastily at the body1 which showed not a sign of violence on the stony face4 ,the coroner shook his head knowingly4 ,suddenly he raised his fist4 ,i saw him press hard with his thumb on the upper end of the metal contrivance4 ,from the other end1 just concealed under his little linger1 there shot out as if released by a magic spring a thin keen little blade of the brightest and toughest steel4 ,he was holding1 instead of a meaningless contrivance of four rings1 a most dangerous kind of stiletto or dagger upraised4 ,he lifted his thumb and the blade sprang back into its sheath like an extinguished spark of light4 ,an ,apache dagger1 such as is used in the underworld of ,paris1 broke out ,kennedy1 his eyes gleaming with interest4 ,the coroner nodded4 ,we found it1 he said1 clasped loosely in her hand4 ,but it is only by expert medical testimony that we can determine whether it was placed on her fingers before or after this happened4 ,we have photographed it1 and the prints are being developed4 ,he had now uncovered the slight figure of the little ,french modiste4 ,on the dress1 instead of the profuse flow of blood which we had expected to see1 there was a single round spot4 ,and in the white marble skin of her breast was a little1 nearly microscopic puncture1 directly over the heart4 ,she must have died almost instantly1 commented ,kennedy1 glancing from the ,apache weapon to the dead woman and back again4 ,internal hemorrhage4 ,i suppose you have searched her effects4 ,have you found anything that gives a hint among them8 ,no1 replied the coroner doubtfully1 ,i can't say we have - unless it is the bundle of letters from ,pierre1 the jeweller4 ,they seem to have been engaged1 and yet the letters stopped abruptly1 and1 well1 from the tone of the last one from him ,i should say there was a quarrel brewing4 ,an exclamation from ,herndon followed4 ,the same notepaper and the same handwriting as the anonymous letters1 he cried4 ,but that was all4 ,go over the ground as ,kennedy might he could find nothing further than the coroner and ,herndon had already revealed4 ,about these people1 ,lang ,pierre1 asked ,craig thoughtfully when we had left ,mademoiselle's and were riding downtown to the customs house with ,herndon4 ,what do you know about them8 ,i presume that ,lang is in ,america1 if his partner is abroad4 ,yes1 he is here in ,new ,york4 ,i believe the firm has a rather unsavoury reputation2 they have to be watched1 ,i am told4 ,then1 too1 one or the other of the partners makes frequent trips abroad1 mostly ,pierre4 ,pierre1 as you see1 was very intimate with ,mademoiselle1 and the letters simply confirm what the girls told my detective4 ,he was believed to be engaged to her and ,i see no reason now to doubt that4 ,the fact is1 ,kennedy1 it wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that it was he who engineered the smuggling for her as well as himself4 ,what about the partner8 ,what role does he play in your suspicions8 ,that's another curious feature4 ,lang doesn't seem to bother much with the business4 ,he is a sort of silent partner1 although nominally the head of the firm4 ,still1 they both seem always to be plentifully supplied with money and to have a good trade4 ,lang lives most of the time up on the west shore of the ,hudson1 and seems to be more interested in his position as commodore of the ,riverledge ,yacht ,club than in his business down here4 ,he is quite a sport1 a great motor-boat enthusiast1 and has lately taken to hydroplanes4 ,i meant1 repeated ,kennedy1 what about ,lang and ,mademoiselle ,violette4 ,were they - ah - friendly8 ,oh1 replied ,herndon1 seeming to catch the idea4 ,i see4 ,of course - ,pierre abroad and ,lang here4 ,i see what you mean4 ,why1 the girl told my man that ,mademoiselle ,violette used to go motor-boating with ,lang1 but only when her fianc#hb1 ,pierre1 was along4 ,no1 ,i don't think she ever had anything to do with ,lang1 if that's what you are driving at4 ,he may have paid attentions to her1 but ,pierre was her lover1 and ,i haven't a doubt but that if ,lang made any advances she repelled them4 ,she seems to have thought everything of ,pierre4 ,we had reached ,herndon's office by this time4 ,leaving word with his stenographer to get the very latest reports from ,la ,montaigne1 he continued talking to us about his work4 ,dressmakers1 milliners1 and jewellers are our worst offenders now1 he remarked as we stood gazing out of the window at the panorama of the bay off the sea-wall of the ,battery4 ,why1 time and again we unearth what looks for all the world like a 'dressmakers' syndicate1' though this case is the first ,i've had that involved a death4 ,really1 ,i've come to look on smuggling as one of the fine arts among crimes4 ,once the smuggler1 like the pirate and the highwayman1 was a sort of gentleman-rogue4 ,but now it has become a very ladylike art4 ,the extent of it is almost beyond belief1 too4 ,it begins with the steerage and runs right up to the absolute unblushing cynicism of the first cabin4 ,i suppose you know that women1 particularly a certain brand of society women1 are the worst and most persistent offenders4 ,why1 they even boast of it4 ,smuggling isn't merely popular1 it's aristocratic4 ,but we're going to take some of the flavour out of it before we finish4 ,he tore open a cable message which a boy had brought in4 ,now1 take this1 for instance1 he continued4 ,you remember the sign across the street from ,mademoiselle ,violette's1 announcing that a ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle was going to open a salon or whatever they call it8 ,well1 here's another cable from our ,paris ,secret ,service with a belated tip4 ,they tell us to look out for a ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle on ,la ,montaigne1 too4 ,that's another interesting thing4 ,you know the various lines are all ranked1 at least in our estimation1 according to the likelihood of such offences being perpetrated by their passengers4 ,we watch ships from ,london1 ,liverpool1 and ,paris most carefully4 ,scandinavian ships are the least likely to need watching4 ,well1 ,miss ,roberts8 ,we have just had a wireless about ,la ,montaigne1 reported his stenographer1 who had entered while he was speaking1 and she is three hundred miles east of ,sandy ,hook4 ,she won't dock until tomorrow4 ,thank you4 ,well1 fellows1 it is getting late and that means nothing more doing to-night4 ,can you be here early in the morning8 ,we'll go down the bay and 'bring in the ship1' as our men call it when the deputy surveyor and his acting deputies go down to meet it at ,quarantine4 ,i can't tell you how much ,i appreciate your kindness in helping me4 ,if my men get anything connecting ,lang with ,mademoiselle ,violette's case ,i'll let you know immediately4 ,it was a bright clear snappy morning1 in contrast with the heat of the day before1 when we boarded the revenue tug at the ,barge ,office4 ,the waters of the harbour never looked more blue as they danced in the early sunlight1 flecked here and there by a foaming whitecap as the conflicting tides eddied about4 ,the shores of ,staten ,island were almost as green as in the spring1 and even the haze over the ,brooklyn factories had lifted4 ,it looked almost like a stage scene1 clear and sharp1 new and brightly coloured4 ,perhaps the least known and certainly one of the least recognised of the government services is that which includes the vigilant ships of the revenue service4 ,it was not a revenue cutter1 however1 on which we were ploughing down the bay4 ,the cutter lay1 white and gleaming in the morning sun1 at anchor off ,stapleton1 like a miniature warship1 saluting as we passed4 ,the revenue boats which steam down to ,quarantine and make fast to the incoming ocean greyhounds are revenue tugs4 ,down the bay we puffed and buffeted for about forty minutes before we arrived at the little speck of an island that is ,quarantine4 ,long before we were there we sighted the great ,la ,montaigne near the group of buildings on the island1 where she had been waiting since early morning for the tide and the customs officials4 ,the tug steamed alongside1 and quickly up the high ladders swarmed the boarding officer and the deputy collectors4 ,we followed ,herndon straight to the main saloon1 where the collectors began to receive the declarations which had been made out on blanks furnished to the passengers on the voyage over4 ,they had had several days to write them out - the less excuse for omissions4 ,glancing at each hastily the collector detached from it the slip with the number at the bottom and handed the number back1 to be presented at the inspector's desk at the pier1 where customs inspectors were assigned in turn4 ,number #adj is the one we want to watch1 ,i heard ,herndon whisper to ,kennedy4 ,that tall dark fellow over there4 ,i followed his direction cautiously and saw a sparely built1 striking looking man who had just filed his declaration and was chatting vivaciously with a lady who was just about to file hers4 ,she was a clinging looking little thing with that sort of doll-like innocence that deceives nobody4 ,no1 you don't have to swear to it1 he said4 ,you used to do that1 but now you simply sign your name and take a chance1 he added1 smiling and showing a row of perfect teeth4 ,number #aef1 ,herndon noted as the collector detached the stub and handed it to her4 ,that was ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle4 ,the couple passed out to the deck1 still chatting gaily4 ,in the old days1 before they got to be so beastly particular1 ,i heard him say1 ,i always used to get the courtesy of the port1 an official expedite4 ,but that is over now4 ,the ship was now under way1 her flags snapping in the brisk coolish breeze that told of approaching autumn4 ,we had passed up the lower bay and the ,narrows1 and the passengers were crowded forward to catch the first glimpse of the skyscrapers of ,new ,york4 ,on up the bay we ploughed1 throwing the spray proudly as we went4 ,herndon employed the time in keeping a sharp watch on the tall1 thin man4 ,incidentally he sought out the wireless operator and from him learned that a code wireless message had been received for ,pierre1 apparently from his partner1 ,lang4 ,there is no mention of anything dutiable in this declaration by #adj which corresponds with any of the goods mentioned in the first cable from ,paris1 a collector remarked unobtrusively to ,herndon1 nor in #aef corresponding to the second cable4 ,i didn't suppose there would be1 was his laconic reply4 ,that's our job - to#bj;find the stuff4 ,at last ,la ,montaigne was warped into the dock4 ,the piles of first-class baggage on the ship were raucously deposited on the wharf and slowly the passengers filed down the plank to meet the line of white-capped uniformed inspectors and plain-clothes appraisers4 ,the comedy and tragedy of the customs inspection had begun4 ,we were among the first to land4 ,herndon took up a position from which he could see without being seen4 ,in the semi-light of the little windows in the enclosed sides of the pier1 under the steel girders of the arched roof like a vast hall1 there was a panorama of a huge mass of open luggage4 ,at last ,number #adj came down1 alone1 to the roped-off dock4 ,he walked nonchalantly over to the little deputy surveyor's desk1 and an inspector was quickly assigned to him4 ,it was all done neatly in the regular course of business apparently4 ,he did not know that in the orderly rush the sharpest of ,herndon's men had been picked out1 much as a trick card player will force a card on his victim4 ,already the customs inspection was well along4 ,one inspector had been assigned to about each five passengers1 and big piles of finery were being remorselessly tumbled out in shapeless heaps and exposed to the gaze of that part of the public which was not too much concerned over the same thing as to its own goods and chattels4 ,reticules and purses were being inspected4 ,every trunk was presumed to have a false bottom1 and things wrapped up in paper were viewed suspiciously and unrolled4 ,clothes were being shaken and pawed4 ,there did not seem to be much opportunity for concealment4 ,herndon now had donned the regulation straw hat of the appraiser1 and accompanied by us1 posing as visitors1 was sauntering about4 ,at last we came within earshot of the spot where the inspector was going through the effects of #adj4 ,out of the corner of my eyes ,i could see that a dispute was in progress over some trifling matter4 ,the man was cool and calm4 ,call the appraiser1 he said at last1 with the air of a man standing on his rights4 ,i object to this frisking of passengers4 ,uncle ,sam is little better than a pickpocket4 ,besides1 ,i cans ,i wait here all day4 ,my partner is waiting for me uptown4 ,herndon immediately took notice4 ,but it was quite evidently1 after all1 only an altercation for the benefit of those who were watching4 ,i am sure he knew he was being watched1 but as the dispute proceeded he assumed the look of a man keenly amused4 ,the matter1 involving only a few dollars1 was finally adjusted by his yielding gracefully and with an air of resignation4 ,still ,herndon did not go and ,i am sure it annoyed him4 ,suddenly he turned and faced ,herndon4 ,i could not help thinking1 in spite of all that he must be so expert1 that1 if he really were a smuggler1 he had all the poise and skill at evasion that would entitle him to be called a past master of the art4 ,you see that woman over there8 he whispered4 ,she says she is just coming home after studying music in ,paris4 ,we looked4 ,it was the guileless ingenue1 ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle4 ,she has dutiable goods1 all right4 ,i saw her declaration4 ,she is trying to bring in as personal effects of a foreign resident gowns which1 ,i believe1 she intends to wear on the stage4 ,she's an actress4 ,there was nothing for ,herndon to do but to act on the tip4 ,the man had got rid of us temporarily1 but we knew the inspector would be1 if anything1 more vigilant4 ,i think he took even longer than usual4 ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle and her maid pouted and fussed over the renewed examination which ,herndon ordered4 ,according to the inspector everything was new and expensive2 according to her1 old1 shabby1 and cheap4 ,she denied everything1 raged and threatened4 ,but when1 instead of ordering the stamp ,passed to be placed on her half dozen trunks and bags which contained in reality only a few dutiable articles1 ,herndon threatened to order them to the appraiser's stores and herself to go to the ,law ,division if she did not admit the points in dispute1 there was a real scene4 ,generally1 madame1 he remonstrated1 though ,i could see he was baffled at finding nothing of the goods he had really expected to find1 generally even for a first offence the goods are confiscated and the court or district attorney is content to let the person off with a fine4 ,if this happens again we'll be more severe4 ,so you had better pay the duty on these few little matters1 without that4 ,if he had been expecting to throw a scare into her1 it did not succeed4 ,well1 ,i suppose if ,i must1 ,i must1 she said1 and the only result of the diversion was that she paid a few dollars more than had been expected and went off in a high state of mind4 ,herndon had disappeared for a moment1 after a whisper from ,kennedy1 to instruct two of his men to shadow ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle and1 later1 ,pierre4 ,he soon rejoined us and we casually returned to the vicinity of our tall friend1 ,number #adj1 for whom ,i felt even less respect than ever after his apparently ungallant action toward the lady he had been talking with4 ,he seemed to notice my attitude and he remarked defensively for my benefit1 ,only a patriotic act4 ,his inspector by this time had finished a most minute examination4 ,there was nothing that could be discovered1 not a false book with a secret spring that might disclose instead of reading matter a heap of almost priceless jewels1 not a suspicious bulging of any garment or of the lining of a trunk or grip4 ,some of the goods might have been on his person1 but not much1 and certainly there was no excuse for ordering a personal examination1 for he could not have hidden a tenth part of what we knew he had1 even under the proverbial porous plaster4 ,he was impeccable4 ,accordingly there was nothing for the inspector to do but to declare a polite armistice4 ,so you didn't find ',mona ,lisa' in a false bottom1 and my trunks were not lined with smuggled cigars after all1 he rasped savagely as the stamp ,passed was at last affixed and he paid in cash at the little window with its sign1 ,pay ,duty ,here3 ,u4,s4 ,custom ,house1 some hundred dollars instead of the thousands ,herndon had been hoping to collect1 if not to seize4 ,all through the inspection1 an extra close scrutiny had been kept on the other passengers as well1 to prevent any of them from being in league with the smugglers1 though there was no direct or indirect evidence to show that any of the others were4 ,we were about to leave the wharf1 also1 when ,craig's attention was called to a stack of trunks still remaining4 ,whose are those8 he asked as he lifted one4 ,it felt suspiciously light4 ,some of them belong to a ,mr4 ,pierre and the rest to a ,miss ,gabrielle1 answered an inspector4 ,bonded for ,troy and waiting to be transferred by the express company4 ,here1 perhaps1 at last was an explanation1 and ,craig took advantage of it4 ,could it be that the real seat of trouble was not here but at some other place1 that some exchange was to be made en route or perhaps an attempt at bribery8 ,herndon1 too1 was willing to run a risk4 ,he ordered the trunks opened immediately4 ,but to our disappointment they were almost empty4 ,there was scarcely a thing of value in them4 ,most of the contents consisted of clothes that had plainly been made in ,america and were being brought back here4 ,it was another false scent4 ,we had been played with and baffled at every turn4 ,perhaps this had been the method originally agreed on4 ,at any rate it had been changed4 ,could they have left the goods in ,paris1 after all8 ,i queried4 ,with the fall and winter trade just coming on8 ,kennedy replied1 with an air of finality that set at rest any doubts about his opinion on that score4 ,i thought perhaps we had a case of what do you call it1 ,herndon1 when they leave trunks that are to be secretly removed by dishonest expressmen from the wharf at night8 ,sleepers4 ,oh1 we've broken that up1 too4 ,no expressman would dare try it now4 ,i must confess this thing is beyond me1 ,craig4 ,kennedy made no answer4 ,evidently there was nothing to do but to await developments and see what ,herndon's men reported4 ,we had been beaten at every turn in the game4 ,herndon seemed to feel that there was a bitter sting in the defeat1 particularly because the smuggler or smugglers had actually been in our grasp so long to do with as we pleased1 and had so cleverly slipped out again1 leaving us holding the bag4 ,kennedy was especially thoughtful as he told over the facts of the case in his mind4 ,of course1 he remarked1 ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle wasn't an actress4 ,but we can't deny that she had very little that would justify ,herndon in holding her1 unless he simply wants a newspaper row4 ,but ,i thought ,pierre was quite intimate with her at first1 ,i ventured4 ,that was a dirty trick of his4 ,craig laughed4 ,you mean an old one4 ,that was simply a blind1 to divert attention from himself4 ,i suspect they talked that over between themselves for days before4 ,it was plainly more perplexing than ever4 ,what had happened8 ,had ,pierre been a prestidigitator and had he merely said presto when our backs were turned and whisked the goods invisibly into the country8 ,i could find no explanation for the little drama on the pier4 ,if ,herndon's men had any genius in detecting smuggling1 their professional opponent certainly had greater genius in perpetrating it4 ,we did not see ,herndon again until after a hasty luncheon4 ,he was in his office and inclined to take a pessimistic view of the whole affair4 ,he brightened up when a telephone message came in from one of his shadows4 ,the men trailing ,pierre and ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle had crossed trails and run together at a little ,french restaurant on the lower ,west ,side1 where ,pierre1 ,lang1 and ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle had met and were dining in a most friendly spirit4 ,kennedy was right4 ,she had been merely a cog in the machinery of the plot4 ,the man reported that even when a newsboy had been sent in by him with the afternoon papers displaying in big headlines the mystery of the death of ,mademoiselle ,violette1 they had paid no attention4 ,it seemed evident that whatever the fate of the little modiste1 ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle had quite replaced her in the affections of ,pierre4 ,there was nothing for us to do but to separate and await developments4 ,it was late in the afternoon when ,craig and ,i received a hurried message from ,herndon4 ,one of his men had just called him up over long distance from ,riverledge4 ,the party had left the restaurant hurriedly1 and though they had taken the only taxicab in sight he had been able to follow them in time to find out that they were going up to ,riverledge4 ,they were now preparing to go out for a sail in one of ,lang's motor-boats and he would be unable1 of course1 to follow them further4 ,for the remainder of the afternoon ,kennedy remained pondering the case4 ,at last an idea seemed to dawn on him4 ,he found ,herndon still at his office and made an appointment to meet on the waterfront near ,la ,montaigne's pier1 after dinner4 ,the change in ,kennedy's spirits was obvious1 though it did not in the least enlighten my curiosity4 ,even after a dinner which was lengthened out considerably1 ,i thought1 ,i did not get appreciably nearer a solution1 for we strolled over to the laboratory1 where ,craig loaded me down with a huge package which was wrapped up in heavy paper4 ,we arrived on the corner opposite the wharf just as it was growing dusk4 ,the neighbourhood did not appeal to me at night1 and even though there were two of us ,i was rather glad when we met ,herndon1 who was waiting in the shadow of a fruit stall4 ,but instead of proceeding across to the pier by the side of which ,la ,montaigne was moored1 we cut across the wide street and turned down the next pier1 where a couple of freighters were lying4 ,the odour of salt water1 sewage1 rotting wood1 and the night air was not inspiring4 ,nevertheless ,i was now carried away with the strangeness of our adventure4 ,halfway down the pier ,kennedy paused before one of the gangways that was shrouded in darkness4 ,the door was opened and we followed gingerly across the dirty deck of the freight ship4 ,below we could hear the water lapping the piles of the pier4 ,across a dark abyss lay the grim monster ,la ,montaigne with here and there a light gleaming on one of her decks4 ,the sounds of the city seemed miles away4 ,what a fine place for a murder1 laughed ,kennedy coolly4 ,he was unwrapping the package which he had taken from me4 ,it proved to be a huge reflector in front of which was placed a little arrangement which1 under the light of a shaded lantern carried by ,herndon1 looked like a coil of wire of some kind4 ,to the back of the reflector ,craig attached two other flexible wires which led to a couple of dry cells and a cylinder with a broadened end1 made of vulcanised rubber4 ,it might have been a telephone receiver1 for all ,i could tell in the darkness4 ,while ,i was still speculating on the possible use of the enormous parabolic reflector1 a slight commotion on the opposite side of the pier distracted my attention4 ,a ship was coming in and was being carefully and quietly berthed alongside the other big iron freighter on that side4 ,herndon had left us4 ,the ,mohican is here1 he remarked as he rejoined us4 ,to my look of inquiry he added1 ,the revenue cutter4 ,kennedy had now finished and had pointed the reflector full at ,la ,montaigne4 ,with a whispered hasty word of caution and advice to ,herndon1 he drew me along with him down the wharf again4 ,at the little door which was cut in the barrier guarding the shore end of ,la ,montaigne's wharf ,kennedy stopped4 ,the customs service night watchman - there is always a watchman of some kind aboard every ship1 passenger or freighter1 all the time she is in port - seemed to understand1 for he admitted us after a word with ,kennedy4 ,threading our way carefully among the boxes1 and bales1 and crates which were piled high1 we proceeded down the wharf4 ,under the electric lights the longshoremen were working feverishly1 for the unloading and loading of a giant trans,atlantic vessel in the rush season is a long and tedious process at best1 requiring night work and overtime1 for every moment1 like every cubic foot of space1 counts4 ,once within the door1 however1 no one paid much attention to us4 ,they seemed to take it for granted that we had some right there4 ,we boarded the ship by one of the many entrances and then proceeded down to a deck where apparently no one was working4 ,it was more like a great house than a ship1 ,i felt1 and ,i wondered whether ,kennedy's search was not more of a hunt for a needle in a haystack than anything else4 ,yet he seemed to know what he was after4 ,we had descended to what ,i imagined must be the quarters of the steward4 ,about us were many large cases and chests1 stacked up and marked as belonging to the ship4 ,kennedy's attention was attracted to them immediately4 ,all at once it flashed on me what his purpose was4 ,in some of those cases were the smuggled goods6 ,before ,i could say a word and before ,kennedy had a chance even to try to verify his suspicions1 a sudden approach of footsteps startled us4 ,he drew me into a cabin or room full of shelves with ship's stores4 ,why didn't you bring ,herndon over and break into the boxes1 if you think the stuff is hidden in one of them8 ,i whispered4 ,and let those higher up escape while their tools take all the blame8 he answered4 ,sh-h4 ,the men who had come into the compartment looked about as if expecting to see some one4 ,two of them came down1 a gruff voice said4 ,where are they8 ,from the noise ,i inferred that there must be four or five men1 and from the ease with which they shifted the cases about some of them must have been pretty husky stevedores4 ,i don't know1 a more polished but unfamiliar voice answered4 ,the door to our hiding-place was opened roughly and then banged shut before we realised it4 ,with a taunting laugh1 some one turned a key in the lock and before we could move a quick shift of packing cases against the door made escape impossible4 ,here we were marooned1 shanghaied1 as it were1 within sight if not call of ,herndon and our friends4 ,we had run up against professional smugglers1 of whom ,i had vaguely read1 disguised as stewards1 deckhands1 stokers1 and other workers4 ,the only other opening to the cabin was a sort of porthole1 more for ventilation than anything else4 ,kennedy stuck his head through it1 but it was impossible for a man to squeeze out4 ,there was one of the lower decks directly before us while a bright arc light gleamed tantalisingly over it1 throwing a round circle of light into our prison4 ,i reflected bitterly on our shipwreck within sight of port4 ,kennedy remained silent1 and ,i did not know what was working in his mind4 ,together we made out the outline of the freighter at the next wharf and speculated as to the location where we had left ,herndon with the huge reflector4 ,there was no moon and it was as black as ink in that direction1 but if we could have got out ,i would have trusted to luck to reach it by swimming4 ,below us1 from the restless water lapping on the sides of the hulk of ,la ,montaigne1 we could now hear muffled sounds4 ,it was a motor-boat which had come crawling up the river front1 with lights extinguished1 and had pushed a cautious nose into the slip where our ship lay at the quay4 ,none of your romantic low-lying1 rakish craft of the old smuggling yarns was this1 ready for deeds of desperation in the dark hours of midnight4 ,it was just a modern little motor-boat1 up-to-date1 and swift4 ,perhaps we'll get out of this finally1 ,i grumbled as ,i understood now what was afoot1 but not in time to be of any use4 ,a smothered sound as of something going over the vessel's side followed4 ,it was one of the boxes which we had seen outside in the storeroom4 ,another followed1 and a third and a fourth4 ,then came a subdued parley4 ,we have two customs detectives locked in a cabin here4 ,we can't stay now4 ,you'll have to take us and our things off1 too4 ,can't do it1 called up another muffled voice4 ,make your things into a little bundle4 ,we'll take that1 but you'll have to get past the night-watchman yourselves and meet us at ,riverledge4 ,a moment later something else went over the side1 and from the sound we could infer that the engine of the motor-boat was being started4 ,a ,voice sounded mockingly outside our door4 ,bon soir1 you fellows in there4 ,we're going up the dock4 ,sorry to leave you here till morning1 but they'll let you out then4 ,au revoir4 ,below ,i could hear just the faintest well-muffled chug-chug4 ,kennedy in the meantime had been coolly craning his neck out of our porthole under the rays of the arc light overhead4 ,he was holding something in his hand4 ,it seemed like a little silver-backed piece of thin glass with a flaring funnel-like thing back of it1 which he held most particularly4 ,though he heard the parting taunt outside he paid no attention4 ,you go to the deuce1 whoever you are1 ,i cried1 beating on the door1 to which only a coarse laugh echoed back down the passageway4 ,be quiet1 ,walter1 ordered ,kennedy4 ,we have located the smuggled goods in the storeroom of the steward1 four wooden cases of them4 ,i think the stuff must have been brought on the ship in the trunks and then transferred to the cases1 perhaps after the code wireless message was received4 ,but we have been overpowered and locked in a cabin with a port too small to crawl through4 ,the cases have been lowered over the side of the ship to a motor-boat that was waiting below4 ,the lights on the boat are out1 but if you hurry you can get it4 ,the accomplices who locked us in are going to disappear up the wharf4 ,if you could only get the night watchman quickly enough you could catch them1 too1 before they reach the street4 ,i had turned1 half expecting to see ,kennedy talking to a ship's officer who might have chanced on the deck outside4 ,there was no one4 ,the only thing of life was the still sputtering arc light4 ,had the man gone crazy8 ,what of it8 ,i growled4 ,don't you suppose ,i know all that8 ,what's the use of repeating it now8 ,the thing to do is to get out of this hole4 ,come1 help me at this door4 ,maybe we can batter it down4 ,kennedy paid no attention to me1 however1 but kept his eyes glued on the ,cimmerian blackness outside the porthole4 ,he had done nothing apparently1 yet a long finger of light seemed to shoot out into the sky from the pier across from us and begin waving back and forth as it was lowered to the dark waters of the river4 ,it was a searchlight4 ,at once ,i thought of the huge reflector which ,i had seen set up4 ,but that had been on our side of the next pier and this light came from the far side where the ,mohican lay4 ,what is it8 ,i asked eagerly4 ,what has happened8 ,it was as if a prayer had been answered from our dungeon on ,la ,montaigne4 ,i knew we should need some means to communicate with ,herndon1 he explained simply1 and the wireless telephone wasn't practicable4 ,so ,i have used ,dr4 ,alexander ,graham ,bell's photophone4 ,any of the lights on this side of ,la ,montaigne1 ,i knew1 would serve4 ,what ,i did1 ,walter1 was merely to talk into the mouthpiece back of this little silvered mirror which reflects light4 ,the vibrations of the voice caused a diaphragm in it to vibrate and thus the beam of reflected light was made to pulsate4 ,in other words1 this little thing is just a simple apparatus to transform the air vibrations of the voice into light vibrations4 ,the parabolic reflector over there catches these light vibrations and focuses them on the cell of selenium which you perhaps noticed in the centre of the reflector4 ,you remember doubtless that the element selenium varies its electrical resistance under light8 ,thus there are reproduced similar variations in the cell to those vibrations here in this transmitter4 ,the cell is connected with a telephone receiver and batteries over there and there you are4 ,it is very simple4 ,in the ordinary carbon telephone transmitter a variable electrical resistance is produced by pressure1 since carbon is not so good a conductor under pressure4 ,then these variations are transmitted along two wires4 ,this photophone is wireless4 ,selenium even emits notes under a vibratory beam of light1 the pitch depending on the frequency4 ,changes in the intensity of the light focused by the reflector on the cell alter its electrical resistance and vary the current from the dry batteries4 ,hence the telephone receiver over there is affected4 ,bell used the photophone or radiophone over several hundred feet1 ,ruhmer over several miles4 ,when you thought ,i was talking to myself ,i was really telling ,herndon what had happened and what to do - talking to him literally over a beam of light4 ,i could scarcely believe it1 but an exclamation from ,kennedy as he drew his head in quickly recalled my attention4 ,look out on the river1 ,walter1 he cried4 ,the ,mohican has her searchlight sweeping up and down4 ,what do you see8 ,the long finger of light had now come to rest4 ,in its pathway ,i saw a lightless motor-boat bobbing up and down1 crowding on all speed1 yet followed relentlessly by the accusing finger4 ,the river front was now alive with shouting4 ,suddenly the ,mohican shot out from behind the pier where she had been hidden4 ,in spite of ,lang's expertness it was an unequal race4 ,nor would it have made much difference if it had been otherwise1 for a shot rang out from the ,mohican which commanded instant respect4 ,the powerful revenue cutter rapidly overhauled the little craft4 ,a hurried tread down the passageway followed4 ,cases were being shoved aside and a key in the door of our compartment turned quickly4 ,i waited with clenched fists1 prepared for an attack4 ,you're all right8 ,herndon's voice inquired anxiously4 ,we've got that steward and the other fellows all right4 ,yes1 come on1 shouted ,craig4 ,the cutter has made a capture4 ,we had reached the stern of the ship1 and far out in the river the ,mohican was now headed toward us4 ,she came alongside1 and ,herndon quickly seized a rope1 fastened it to the rail1 and let himself down to the deck of the cutter4 ,kennedy and ,i followed4 ,this is a high-handed proceeding1 ,i heard a voice that must have been ,lang's protesting4 ,by what right do you stop me8 ,you shall suffer for this4 ,the ,mohican1 broke in ,herndon1 has the right to appear anywhere from ,southshoal ,lightship off ,nantucket to the capes of the ,delaware1 demand an inspection of any vessel's manifest and papers1 board anything from ,la ,montaigne to your little motor-boat1 inspect it1 seize it1 if necessary put a crew on it4 ,he slapped the little cannon4 ,that commands respect4 ,besides1 you were violating the regulations - no lights4 ,on the deck of the cutter now lay four cases4 ,a man broke one of them open1 then another4 ,inside he disclosed thousands of dollars' worth of finery1 while from a tray he drew several large chamois bags of glittering diamonds and pearls4 ,pierre looked on1 crushed1 all his jauntiness gone4 ,so1 exclaimed ,kennedy1 facing him1 you have your jilted fiancee1 ,mademoiselle ,violette1 to thank for this - her letters and her suicide4 ,it wasn't as easy as you thought to throw her over for a new soul mate1 this ,mademoiselle ,gabrielle whom you were going to set up as a rival in business to ,violette4 ,violette has her revenge for making a plaything of her heart1 and if the dead can take any satisfaction she ,with a quick movement ,kennedy anticipated a motion of ,pierre's4 ,the ruined smuggler had contemplated either an attack on himself or his captor1 but ,craig had seized him by the wrist and ground his knuckles into the back of ,pierre's clenched fist until he winced with pain4 ,an ,apache dagger similar to that which the little modiste had used to end her life tragedy clattered to the deck of the ship1 a mute testimonial to the high class of society ,pierre and his associates must have cultivated4 ,none of that1 ,pierre1 ,craig muttered1 releasing him4 ,you can't cheat the government out of its just dues even in the matter of punishment4 ,,xi ,,the ,,invisible ,,ray ,i won't deny that ,i had some expectations from the old man myself4 ,kennedy's client was speaking in a low1 full chested1 vibrating voice1 with some emotion1 so low that ,i had entered the room without being aware that any one was there until it was too late to retreat4 ,as his physician for over twelve years1 the man pursued1 ,i certainly had been led to hope to be remembered in his will4 ,but1 ,professor ,kennedy1 ,i can't put it too strongly when ,i say that there is no selfish motive in my coming to you about the case4 ,there is something wrong - depend on that4 ,craig had glanced up at me and1 as ,i hesitated1 ,i could see in an instant that the speaker was a practitioner of a type that is rapidly passing away1 the old-fashioned family doctor4 ,dr4 ,burnham1 ,i should like to have you know ,mr4 ,jameson1 introduced ,craig4 ,you can talk as freely before him as you have to me alone4 ,we always work together4 ,i shook hands with the visitor4 ,the doctor has succeeded in interesting me greatly in a case which has some unique features1 ,kennedy explained4 ,it has to do with ,stephen ,haswell1 the eccentric old millionaire of ,brooklyn4 ,have you ever heard of him8 ,yes1 indeed1 ,i replied1 recalling an occasional article which had appeared in the newspapers regarding a dusty and dirty old house in that part of the ,heights in ,brooklyn whence all that is fashionable had not yet taken flight1 a house of mystery1 yet not more mysterious than its owner in his secretive comings and goings in the affairs of men of a generation beyond his time4 ,further than the facts that he was reputed to be very wealthy and led1 in the heart of a great city1 what was as nearly like the life of a hermit as possible1 ,i knew little or nothing4 ,what has he been doing now8 ,i asked4 ,about a week ago1 repeated the doctor1 in answer to a nod of encouragement from ,kennedy1 ,i was summoned in the middle of the night to attend ,mr4 ,haswell1 who1 as ,i have been telling ,professor ,kennedy1 had been a patient of mine for over twelve years4 ,he had been suddenly stricken with total blindness4 ,since then he appears to be failing fast1 that is1 he appeared so the last time ,i saw him1 a few days ago1 after ,i had been superseded by a younger man4 ,it is a curious case and ,i have thought about it a great deal4 ,but ,i didn't like to speak to the authorities2 there wasn't enough to warrant that1 and ,i should have been laughed out of court for my pains4 ,the more ,i have thought about it1 however1 the more ,i have felt it my duty to say something to somebody1 and so1 having heard of ,professor ,kennedy1 ,i decided to consult him4 ,the fact of the matter is1 ,i very much fear that there are circumstances which will bear sharp looking into1 perhaps a scheme to get control of the old man's fortune4 ,the doctor paused1 and ,craig inclined his head1 as much as to signify his appreciation of the delicate position in which ,burnham stood in the case4 ,before the doctor could proceed further1 ,kennedy handed me a letter which had been lying before him on the table4 ,it had evidently been torn into small pieces and then carefully pasted together4 ,the superscription gave a small town in ,ohio and a date about a fortnight previous4 ,dear ,father it read3 ,i hope you will pardon me for writing1#bj but ,i cannot let the occasion of your seventy-fifth birthday#bj pass without a word of affection and congratulation4 ,i am alive#bj and well4 ,time has dealt leniently with me in that respect1 if#bj not in money matters4 ,i do not say this in the hope of reconciling you to me4 ,i know that is impossible after all these cruel years4 ,but ,i do wish that ,i could see you again4 ,remember1 ,i am your only child and even if you still think ,i have been a foolish one1 please let me come to see you once before it is too late4 ,we are constantly travelling from place to place1 but shall be here for a few days4 ,your loving daughter1 ,,grace ,,haswell ,,martin4 ,some fourteen or fifteen years ago1 explained the doctor as ,i looked up from reading the note1 ,mr4 ,haswell's only daughter eloped with an artist named ,martin4 ,he had been engaged to paint a portrait of the late ,mrs4 ,haswell from a photograph4 ,it was the first time that ,grace ,haswell had ever been able to find expression for the artistic yearning which had always been repressed by the cold1 practical sense of her father4 ,she remembered her mother perfectly since the sad bereavement of her girlhood and naturally she watched and helped the artist eagerly4 ,the result was a portrait which might well have been painted from the subject herself rather than from a cold photograph4 ,haswell saw the growing intimacy of his daughter and the artist4 ,his bent of mind was solely toward money and material things1 and he at once conceived a bitter and unreasoning hatred for ,martin1 who1 he believed1 had 'schemed' to capture his daughter and an easy living4 ,art was as foreign to his nature as possible4#bj ,nevertheless they went ahead and married1 and1 well1 it resulted in the old man disinheriting the girl4 ,the young couple disappeared bravely to make their way by their chosen profession and1 as far as ,i know1 have never been heard from since until now4 ,haswell made a new will1 and ,i have always understood that practically all of his fortune is to be devoted to founding the technology department in a projected university of ,brooklyn4 ,you have never seen this ,mrs4 ,martin or her husband8 asked ,kennedy4 ,no1 never4 ,but in some way she must have learned that ,i had some influence with her father1 for she wrote to me not long ago1 enclosing a note for him and asking me to intercede for her4 ,i did so4 ,i took the letter to him as diplomatically as ,i could4 ,the old man flew into a towering rage1 refused even to look at the letter1 tore it up into bits1 and ordered me never to mention the subject to him again4 ,that is her note1 which ,i saved4 ,however1 it is the sequel about which ,i wish your help4 ,the physician folded up the patched letter carefully before he continued4 ,mr4 ,haswell1 as you perhaps know1 has for many years been a prominent figure in various curious speculations1 or rather in loaning money to many curious speculators4 ,it is not necessary to go into the different schemes which he has helped to finance4 ,even though most of them have been unknown to the public they have certainly given him such a reputation that he is much sought after by inventors4 ,not long ago ,haswell became interested in the work of an obscure chemist over in ,brooklyn1 ,morgan ,prescott4 ,prescott claims1 as ,i understand1 to be able to transmute copper into gold4 ,whatever you think of it offhand1 you should visit his laboratory yourselves1 gentlemen4 ,i am told it is wonderful1 though ,i have never seen it and can't explain it4 ,i have met ,prescott several times while he was trying to persuade ,mr4 ,haswell to back him in his scheme1 but he was never disposed to talk to me1 for ,i had no money to invest4 ,so far as ,i know about it the thing sounds scientific and plausible enough4 ,i leave you to judge of that4 ,it is only an incident in my story and ,i will pass over it quickly4 ,prescott1 then1 believes that the elements are merely progressive variations of an original substance or base called 'protyle1' from which everything is derived4 ,but this fellow ,prescott goes much further than any of the former theorists4 ,he does not stop with matter4 ,he believes that he has the secret of life also1 that he can make the transition from the inorganic to the organic1 from inert matter to living protoplasm1 and thence from living protoplasm to mind and what we call soul1 whatever that may be4 ,and here is where the weird and uncanny part of it comes in1 commented ,craig1 turning from the doctor to me to call my attention particularly to what was about to follow4 ,having arrived at the point where he asserts that he can create and destroy matter1 life1 and mind1 continued the doctor1 as if himself fascinated by the idea1 ,prescott very naturally does not have to go far before he also claims a control over telepathy and even a communication with the dead4 ,he even calls the messages which he receives by a word which he has coined himself1 'telepagrams4' ,thus he says he has unified the physical1 the physiological1 and the psychical - a system of absolute scientific monism4 ,the doctor paused again1 then resumed4 ,one afternoon1 about a week ago1 apparently1 as far as ,i am able to piece together the story1 ,prescott was demonstrating his marvellous discovery of the unity of nature4 ,suddenly he faced ,mr4 ,haswell4 ',shall ,i tell you a fact1 sir1 about yourself8' he asked quickly4 ',the truth as ,i see it by means of my wonderful invention8 ,if it is the truth1 will you believe in me8 ,will you put money into my invention8 ,will you share in becoming fabulously rich8' ,haswell made some noncommittal answer4 ,but ,prescott seemed to look into the machine through a very thick plate-glass window1 with ,haswell placed directly before it4 ,he gave a cry4 ',mr4 ,haswell1' he exclaimed1 ',i regret to tell you what ,i see4 ,you have disinherited your daughter2 she has passed out of your life and at the present moment you do not know where she is4' ',that's true1' replied the old man bitterly1 'and more than that ,i don't care4 ,is that all you see8 ,that's nothing new4' ',no1 unfortunately1 that is not all ,i see4 ,can you bear something further8 ,i think you ought to know it4 ,i have here a most mysterious telepagram4' ',yes4 ,what is it8 ,is she dead8' ',no1 it is not about her4 ,it is about yourself4 ,to-night at midnight or perhaps a little later1' repeated ,prescott solemnly1 'you will lose your sight as a punishment for your action4' ',pouf6' exclaimed the old man in a dudgeon1 'if that is all your invention can tell me1 good-bye4 ,you told me you were able to make gold4 ,instead1 you make foolish prophecies4 ,i'll put no money into such tomfoolery4 ,i'm a practical man1' and with that he stamped out of the laboratory4 ,well1 that night1 about one o'clock1 in the silence of the lonely old house1 the aged caretaker1 ,jane1 whom he had hired after he banished his daughter from his life1 heard a wild shout of ',help6 ,help6' ,haswell1 alone in his room on the second floor1 was groping about in the dark4 ',jane1' he ordered1 'a light - a light4' ',i have lighted the gas1 ,mr4 ,haswell1' she cried4 ,a groan followed4 ,he had himself found a match1 had struck it1 had even burnt his fingers with it1 yet he saw nothing4 ,the blow had fallen4 ,at almost the very hour which ,prescott1 by means of his weird telepagram had predicted1 old ,haswell was stricken4 ,i'm blind1' he gasped4 ',send for ,dr4 ,burnham4' ,i went to him immediately when the maid roused me1 but there was nothing ,i could do except prescribe perfect rest for his eyes and keeping in a dark room in the hope that his sight might be restored as suddenly and miraculously as it had been taken away4 ,the next morning1 with his own hand1 trembling and scrawling in his blindness1 he wrote the following on a piece of paper3 ',mrs4 ,,grace ,,martin4 - ,information wanted about the present whereabouts of ,mrs4 ,grace ,martin1 formerly ,grace ,haswell of ,brooklyn4 ,,stephen ,,haswell1 ,pierrepont ,st41 ,brooklyn4 ,this advertisement he caused to be placed in all the ,new ,york papers and to be wired to the leading ,western papers4 ,haswell himself was a changed man after his experience4 ,he spoke bitterly of ,prescott1 yet his attitude toward his daughter was completely reversed4 ,whether he admitted to himself a belief in the prediction of the inventor1 ,i do not know4 ,certainly he scouted such an idea in telling me about it4 ,a day or two after the advertisements appeared a telegram came to the old man from a little town in ,indiana4 ,it read simply3 ',dear ,father3 ,am starting for ,brooklyn to-day4 ,grace4' ,the upshot was that ,grace ,haswell1 or rather ,grace ,martin1 appeared the next day1 forgave and was forgiven with much weeping1 although the old man still refused resolutely to be reconciled with and receive her husband4 ,mrs4 ,martin started in to clean up the old house4 ,a vacuum cleaner sucked a ton or two of dust from it4 ,everything was changed4 ,jane grumbled a great deal1 but there was no doubt a great improvement4 ,meals were served regularly4 ,the old man was taken care of as never before4 ,nothing was too good for him4 ,everywhere the touch of a woman was evident in the house4 ,the change was complete4 ,it even extended to me4 ,some friend had told her of an eye and ear specialist1 a ,dr4 ,scott1 who was engaged4 ,since then1 ,i understand1 a new will has been made1 much to the chagrin of the trustees of the projected school4 ,of course ,i am cut out of the new will1 and that with the knowledge at least of the woman who once appealed to me1 but it does not influence me in coming to you4 ,but what has happened since to arouse suspicion8 asked ,kennedy1 watching the doctor furtively4 ,why1 the fact is that1 in spite of all this added care1 the old man is failing more rapidly than ever4 ,he never goes out except attended and not much even then4 ,the other day ,i happened to meet ,jane on the street4 ,the faithful old soul poured forth a long story about his growing dependence on others and ended by mentioning a curious red discoloration that seems to have broken out over his face and hands4 ,more from the way she said it than from what she said ,i gained the impression that something was going on which should be looked into4 ,then you perhaps think that ,prescott and ,mrs4 ,martin are in some way connected in this case8 ,i hazarded4 ,i had scarcely framed the question before he replied in an emphatic negative4 ,on the contrary1 it seems to me that if they know each other at all it is with hostility4 ,with the exception of the first stroke of blindness here he lowered his voice earnestly practically every misfortune that has overtaken ,mr4 ,haswell has been since the advent of this new ,dr4 ,scott4 ,mind1 ,i do not wish even to breathe that ,mrs4 ,martin has done anything except what a daughter should do4 ,i think she has shown herself a model of forgiveness and devotion4 ,nevertheless the turn of events under the new treatment has been so strange that almost it makes one believe that there might be something occult about it - or wrong with the new doctor4 ,would it be possible1 do you think1 for us to see ,mr4 ,haswell8 asked ,kennedy1 when ,dr4 ,burnham had come to a full stop after pouring forth his suspicions4 ,i should like to see this ,dr4 ,scott4 ,but first ,i should like to get into the old house without exciting hostility4 ,the doctor was thoughtful4 ,you'll have to arrange that yourself1 he answered4 ,can't you think up a scheme8 ,for instance1 go to him with a proposal like the old schemes he used to finance4 ,he is very much interested in electrical inventions4 ,he made his money by speculation in telegraphs and telephones in the early days when they were more or less dreams4 ,i should think a wireless system of television might at least interest him and furnish an excuse for getting in1 although ,i am told his daughter discourages all tangible investment in the schemes that used to interest his active mind4 ,an excellent idea1 exclaimed ,kennedy4 ,it is worth trying anyway4 ,it is still early4 ,suppose we ride over to ,brooklyn with you4 ,you can direct us to the house and we'll try to see him4 ,it was still light when we mounted the high steps of the house of mystery across the bridge4 ,mrs4 ,martin1 who met us in the parlour1 proved to be a stunning looking woman with brown hair and beautiful dark eyes4 ,as far as we could see the old house plainly showed the change4 ,the furniture and ornaments were of a period long past1 but everything was scrupulously neat4 ,hanging over the old marble mantel was a painting which quite evidently was that of the long since deceased ,mrs4 ,haswell1 the mother of ,grace4 ,in spite of the hideous style of dress of the period after the war1 she had evidently been a very beautiful woman with large masses of light chestnut hair and blue eyes which the painter had succeeded in catching with almost life-likeness for a portrait4 ,it took only a few minutes for ,kennedy1 in his most engaging and plausible manner1 to state the hypothetical reason of our call4 ,though it was perfectly self-evident from the start that ,mrs4 ,martin would throw cold water on anything requiring an outlay of money ,craig accomplished his full purpose of securing an interview with ,mr4 ,haswell4 ,the invalid lay propped up in bed1 and as we entered he heard us and turned his sightless eyes in our direction almost as if he saw4 ,kennedy had hardly begun to repeat and elaborate the story which he had already told regarding his mythical friend who had at last a commercial wireless televue1 as he called it on the spur of the moment1 when ,jane1 the aged caretaker1 announced ,dr4 ,scott4 ,the new doctor was a youthfully dressed man1 clean-shaven1 but with an undefinable air of being much older than his smooth face led one to suppose4 ,as he had a large practice1 he said1 he would beg our pardon for interrupting but would not take long4 ,it needed no great powers of observation to see that the old man placed great reliance on his new doctor and that the visit partook of a social as well as a professional nature4 ,although they talked low we could catch now and then a word or phrase4 ,dr4 ,scott bent down and examined the eyes of his patient casually4 ,it was difficult to believe that they saw nothing1 so bright was the blue of the iris4 ,perfect rest for the present1 the doctor directed1 talking more to ,mrs4 ,martin than to the old man4 ,perfect rest1 and then when his health is good1 we shall see what can be done with that cataract4 ,he was about to leave1 when the old man reached up and restrained him1 taking hold of the doctor's wrist tightly1 as if to pull him nearer in order to whisper to him without being overheard4 ,kennedy was sitting in a chair near the head of the bed1 some feet away1 as the doctor leaned down4 ,haswell1 still holding his wrist1 pulled him closer4 ,i could not hear what was said1 though somehow ,i had an impression that they were talking about ,prescott1 for it would not have been at all strange if the old man had been greatly impressed by the alchemist4 ,kennedy1 ,i noticed1 had pulled an old envelope from his pocket and was apparently engaged in jotting down some notes1 glancing now and then from his writing to the doctor and then to ,mr4 ,haswell4 ,the doctor stood erect in a few moments and rubbed his wrist thoughtfully with the other hand1 as if it hurt4 ,at the same time he smiled on ,mrs4 ,martin4 ,your father has a good deal of strength yet1 ,mrs4 ,martin1 he remarked4 ,he has a wonderful constitution4 ,i feel sure that we can pull him out of this and that he has many1 many years to live4 ,mr4 ,haswell1 who caught the words eagerly1 brightened visibly1 and the doctor passed out4 ,kennedy resumed his description of the supposed wireless picture apparatus which was to revolutionise the newspaper1 the theatre1 and daily life in general4 ,the old man did not seem enthusiastic and turned to his daughter with some remark4 ,just at present1 commented the daughter1 with an air of finality1 the only thing my father is much interested in is a way in which to recover his sight without an operation4 ,he has just had a rather unpleasant experience with one inventor4 ,i think it will be some time before he cares to embark in any other such schemes4 ,kennedy and ,i excused ourselves with appropriate remarks of disappointment4 ,from his preoccupied manner it was impossible for me to guess whether ,craig had accomplished his purpose or not4 ,let us drop in on ,dr4 ,burnham since we are over here1 he said when we had reached the street4 ,i have some questions to ask him4 ,the former physician of ,mr4 ,haswell lived not very far from the house we had just left4 ,he appeared a little surprised to see us so soon1 but very interested in what had taken place4 ,who is this ,dr4 ,scott8 asked ,craig when we were seated in the comfortable leather chairs of the old-fashioned consulting-room4 ,really1 ,i know no more about him than you do1 replied ,burnham4 ,i thought ,i detected a little of professional jealousy in his tone1 though he went on frankly enough1 ,i have made inquiries and ,i can find out nothing except that he is supposed to be a graduate of some ,western medical school and came to this city only a short time ago4 ,he has hired a small office in a new building devoted entirely to doctors and they tell me that he is an eye and ear specialist1 though ,i cannot see that he has any practice4 ,beyond that ,i know nothing about him4 ,your friend ,prescott interests me1 too1 remarked ,kennedy1 changing the subject quickly4 ,oh1 he is no friend of mine1 returned the doctor1 fumbling in a drawer of his desk4 ,but ,i think ,i have one of his cards here which he gave me when we were introduced some time ago at ,mr4 ,haswell's4 ,i should think it would be worth while to see him4 ,although he has no use for me because ,i have neither money nor influence1 still you might take this card4 ,tell him you are from the university1 that ,i have interested you in him1 that you know a trustee with money to invest - anything you like that is plausible4 ,when are you going to see him8 ,the first thing in the morning1 replied ,kennedy4 ,after ,i have seen him ,i shall drop in for another chat with you4 ,will you be here8 ,the doctor promised1 and we took our departure4 ,prescott's laboratory1 which we found the next day from the address on the card1 proved to be situated in one of the streets near the waterfront under the bridge approach1 where the factories and warehouses clustered thickly4 ,it was with a great deal of anticipation of seeing something happen that we threaded our way through the maze of streets with the cobweb structure of the bridge carrying its endless succession of cars arching high over our heads4 ,we had nearly reached the place when ,kennedy paused and pulled out two pairs of glasses1 those huge round tortoiseshell affairs4 ,you needn't mind these1 ,walter1 he explained4 ,they are only plain glass1 that is1 not ground4 ,you can see through them as well as through air4 ,we must be careful not to excite suspicion4 ,perhaps a disguise might have been better1 but ,i think this will#bj;do4 ,there they add at least a decade to your age4 ,if you could see yourself you wouldn't speak to your reflection4 ,you look as scholarly as a ,chinese mandarin4 ,remember1 let me do the talking and do just as ,i do4 ,we had now entered the shop1 stumbled up the dark stairs1 and presented ,dr4 ,burnham's card with a word of explanation along the lines which he had suggested4 ,prescott1 surrounded by his retorts1 crucibles1 burettes1 and condensers1 received us much more graciously than ,i had had any reason to anticipate4 ,he was a man in the late forties1 his face covered with a thick beard1 and his eyes1 which seemed a little weak1 were helped out with glasses almost as scholarly as ours4 ,i could not help thinking that we three bespectacled figures lacked only the flowing robes to be taken for a group of medieval alchemists set down a few centuries out of our time in the murky light of ,prescott's sanctum4 ,yet1 though he accepted us at our face value1 and began to talk of his strange discoveries there was none of the old familiar prating about matrix and flux1 elixir1 magisterium1 magnum opus1 the mastery and the quintessence1 those alternate names for the philosopher's stone which ,paracelsus1 ,simon ,forman1 ,jerome ,cardan1 and the other medieval worthies indulged in4 ,this experience at least was as up-to-date as the ,curies1 ,becquerel1 ,ramsay1 and the rest4 ,transmutation1 remarked ,prescott1 was1 as you know1 finally declared to be a scientific absurdity in the eighteenth century4 ,but ,i may say that it is no longer so regarded4 ,i do not ask you to believe anything until you have seen2 all ,i ask is that you maintain the same open mind which the most progressive scientists of to-day exhibit in regard to the subject4 ,kennedy had seated himself some distance from a curious piece or rather collection of apparatus over which ,prescott was working4 ,it consisted of numerous coils and tubes4 ,it may seem strange to you1 gentlemen1 ,prescott proceeded1 that a man who is able to produce gold from1 say1 copper should be seeking capital from other people4 ,my best answer to that old objection is that ,i am not seeking capital1 as such4 ,the situation with me is simply this4 ,twice ,i have applied to the patent office for a patent on my invention4 ,they not only refuse to grant it1 but they refuse to consider the application or even to give me a chance to demonstrate my process to them4 ,on the other hand1 suppose ,i try this thing secretly4 ,how can ,i prevent any one from learning my trade secret1 leaving me1 and making gold on his own account8 ,men will desert as fast as ,i educate them4 ,think of the economic result of that2 it would turn the world topsy-turvy4 ,i am looking for some one who can be trusted to the last limit to join with me1 furnish the influence and standing while ,i furnish the brains and the invention4 ,either we must get the government interested and sell the invention to it1 or we must get government protection and special legislation4 ,i am not seeking capital2 ,i am seeking protection4 ,first let me show you something4 ,he turned a switch1 and a part of the collection of apparatus began to vibrate4 ,you are undoubtedly acquainted with the modern theories of matter1 he began1 plunging into the explanation of his process4 ,starting with the atom1 we believe no longer that it is indivisible4 ,atoms are composed of thousands of ions1 as they are called1 - really little electric charges4 ,again1 you know that we have found that all the elements fall into groups4 ,each group has certain related atomic weights and properties which can be and have been predicted in advance of the discovery of missing elements in the group4 ,i started with the reasonable assumption that the atom of one element in a group could be modified so as to become the atom of another element in the group1 that one group could perhaps be transformed into another1 and so on1 if only ,i knew the force that would change the number or modify the vibrations of these ions composing the various atoms4 ,now for years ,i have been seeking that force or combination of forces that would enable me to produce this change in the elements - raising or lowering them in the scale1 so to speak4 ,i have found it4 ,i am not going to tell you or any other man whom you may interest the secret of how it is done until ,i find some one ,i can trust as ,i trust myself4 ,but ,i am none the less willing that you should see the results4 ,if they are not convincing1 then nothing can be4 ,he appeared to be debating whether to explain further1 and finally resumed3 ,matter thus being in reality a manifestation of force or ether in motion1 it is necessary to change and control that force and motion4 ,this assemblage of machines here is for that purpose4 ,now a few words as to my theory4 ,he took a pencil and struck a sharp blow on the table4 ,there you have a single blow1 he said1 just one isolated noise4 ,now if ,i strike this tuning fork you have a vibrating note4 ,in other words1 a succession of blows or wave vibrations of a certain kind affects the ear and we call it sound1 just as a succession of other wave vibrations affects the retina and we have sight4 ,if a moving picture moves slower than a certain number of pictures a minute you see the separate pictures2 faster it is one moving picture4 ,now as we increase the rapidity of wave vibration and decrease the wave length we pass from sound waves to heat waves or what are known as the infra-red waves1 those which lie below the red in the spectrum of light4 ,next we come to light1 which is composed of the seven colours as you know from seeing them resolved in a prism4 ,after that are what are known as the ultra-violet rays1 which lie beyond the violet of white light4 ,we also have electric waves1 the waves of the alternating current1 and shorter still we find the ,hertzian waves1 which are used in wireless4 ,we have only begun to know of ,x-rays and the alpha1 beta1 and gamma rays from them1 of radium1 radioactivity1 and finally of this new force which ,i have discovered and call 'protodyne1' the original force4 ,in short1 we find in the universe ,matter1 ,force1 and ,ether4 ,matter is simply ether in motion1 is composed of corpuscles1 electrically charged ions1 or electrons1 moving units of negative electricity about one one-thousandth part of the hydrogen atom4 ,matter is made up of electricity and nothing but electricity4 ,let us see what that leads to4 ,you are acquainted with ,mendeleeff's periodic table8 ,he drew forth a huge chart on which all the eighty or so elements were arranged in eight groups or octaves and twelve series4 ,selecting one1 he placed his finger on the letters ,au1 under which was written the number1 #aig4b4 ,i wondered what the mystic letters and figures meant4 ,that1 he explained1 is the scientific name for the element gold and the figure is its atomic weight4 ,you will see1 he added1 pointing down the second vertical column on the chart1 that gold belongs to the hydrogen group - hydrogen1 lithium1 sodium1 potassium1 copper1 rubidium1 silver1 caesium1 then two blank spaces for elements yet to be discovered to science1 then gold1 and finally another unknown element4 ,running his finger along the eleventh1 horizontal series1 he continued3 ,the gold series - not the group - reads gold1 mercury1 thallium1 lead1 bismuth1 and other elements known only to myself4 ,for the known elements1 however1 these groups and series are now perfectly recognised by all scientists2 they are determined by the fixed weight of the atom1 and there is a close approximation to regularity4 ,this twelfth series is interesting4 ,so far only radium1 thorium1 and uranium are generally known4 ,we know that the radioactive elements are constantly breaking down1 and one often hears uranium1 for instance1 called the 'parent' of radium4 ,radium also gives off an emanation1 and among its products is helium1 quite another element4 ,thus the transmutation of matter is well known within certain bounds to all scientists to-day like yourself1 ,professor ,kennedy4 ,it has even been rumoured but never proved that copper has been transformed into lithium - both members of the hydrogen-gold group1 you will observe4 ,copper to lithium is going backward1 so to speak4 ,it has remained for me to devise this protodyne apparatus by which ,i can reverse that process of decay and go forward in the table1 so to put it - can change lithium into copper and copper into gold4 ,i can create and destroy matter by protodyne4 ,he had been fingering a switch as he spoke4 ,now he turned it on triumphantly4 ,a curious snapping and crackling noise followed1 becoming more rapid1 and as it mounted in intensity ,i could smell a pungent odour of ozone which told of an electric discharge4 ,on went the machine until we could feel heat radiating from it4 ,then came a piercing burst of greenish-blue light from a long tube which looked like a curious mercury vapour lamp4 ,after a few minutes of this ,prescott took a small crucible of black lead4 ,now we are ready to try it1 he cried in great excitement4 ,here ,i have a crucible containing some copper4 ,any substance in the group would do1 even hydrogen if there was any way ,i could handle the gas4 ,i place it in the machine - so4 ,now if you could watch inside you would see it change2 it is now rubidium1 now silver1 now caesium4 ,now it is a hitherto unknown element which ,i have named after myself1 presium1 now a second unknown element1 cottium - ah6 - there we have gold4 ,he drew forth the crucible1 and there glowed in it a little bead or globule of molten gold4 ,i could have taken lead or mercury and by varying the process done the same thing with the gold series as well as the gold group1 he said1 regarding the globule with obvious pride4 ,and ,i can put this gold back and bring it out copper or hydrogen1 or better yet1 can advance it instead of cause it to decay1 and can get a radioactive element which ,i have named morganium - after my first name1 ,morgan ,prescott4 ,morganium is a radioactive element next in the series to radium and much more active4 ,come closer and examine the gold4 ,kennedy shook his head as if perfectly satisfied to accept the result4 ,as for me ,i knew not what to think4 ,it was all so plausible and there was the bead of gold1 too1 that ,i turned to ,craig for enlightenment4 ,was he convinced8 ,his face was inscrutable4 ,but as ,i looked ,i could see that ,kennedy had been holding concealed in the palm of his hand a bit of what might be a mineral4 ,from my position ,i could see the bit of mineral glowing1 but ,prescott could not4 ,might ,i ask1 interrupted ,kennedy1 what that curious greenish or bluish light from the tube is composed of8 ,prescott eyed him keenly for an instant through his thick glasses4 ,craig had shifted his gaze from the bit of mineral in his own hand1 but was not looking at the light4 ,he seemed to be indifferently contemplating ,prescott's hand as it rested on the switch4 ,that1 sir1 replied ,prescott slowly1 is an emanation due to this new force1 protodyne1 which ,i use4 ,it is a manifestation of energy1 sir1 that may run changes not only through the whole gamut of the elements1 but is capable of transforming the ether itself into matter1 matter into life1 and life into mind4 ,it is the outward sign of the unity of nature1 the - ,the means by which you secure the curious telepagrams ,i have heard of8 inquired ,kennedy eagerly4 ,prescott looked at him sharply1 and for a moment ,i thought his face seemed to change from a livid white to an apoplectic red1 although it may have been only the play of the weird light4 ,when he spoke it was with no show of even suppressed surprise4 ,yes1 he answered calmly4 ,i see that you have heard something of them4 ,i had a curious case a few days ago4 ,i had hoped to interest a certain capitalist of high standing in this city4 ,i had showed him just what ,i have showed you1 and ,i think he was impressed by it4 ,then ,i thought to clinch the matter by a telepagram1 but for some reason or other ,i failed to consult the forces ,i control as to the wisdom of doing so4 ,had ,i1 ,i should have known better4 ,but ,i went ahead in self-confidence and enthusiasm4 ,i told him of a long banished daughter with whom1 in his heart1 he was really wishing to become reconciled but was too proud to say the word4 ,he resented it4 ,he started to stamp out of this room1 but not before ,i had another telepagram which told of - a misfortune that was soon to overtake the old man himself4 ,if he had given me a chance ,i might have saved him1 at least have flashed a telepagram to that daughter myself1 but he gave me no chance4 ,he was gone4 ,i do not know precisely what happened after that1 but in some way this man found his daughter1 and to-day she is living with him4 ,as for my hopes of getting assistance from him1 ,i lost them from the moment when ,i made my initial mistake of telling him something distasteful4 ,the daughter hates me and ,i hate her4 ,i have learned that she never ceases advising the old man against all schemes for investment except those bearing moderate interest and readily realised on4 ,dr4 ,burnham - ,i see you know him - has been superseded by another doctor1 ,i believe4 ,well1 well1 ,i am through with that incident4 ,i must get assistance from other sources4 ,the old man1 ,i think1 would have tricked me out of the fruits of my discovery anyhow4 ,perhaps ,i am fortunate4 ,who knows8 ,a knock at the door cut him short4 ,prescott opened it1 and a messenger boy stood there4 ,is ,professor ,kennedy here8 he inquired4 ,craig motioned to the boy1 signed for the message1 and tore it open4 ,it is from ,dr4 ,burnham1 he exclaimed1 handing the message to me4 ,mr4 ,haswell is dead1 ,i read4 ,looks to me like asphyxiation by gas or some other poison4 ,come immediately to his house4 ,burnham4 ,you will pardon me1 broke in ,craig to ,prescott1 who was regarding us without the slightest trace of emotion1 but ,mr4 ,haswell1 the old man to whom ,i know you referred1 is dead1 and ,dr4 ,burnham wishes to see me immediately4 ,it was only yesterday that ,i saw ,mr4 ,haswell and he seemed in pretty good health and spirits4 ,prescott1 though there was no love lost between you and the old man1 ,i would esteem it a great favour if you would accompany me to the house4 ,you need not take any responsibility unless you desire4 ,his words were courteous enough1 but ,craig spoke in a tone of quiet authority which ,prescott found it impossible to deny4 ,kennedy had already started to telephone to his own laboratory1 describing a certain suitcase to one of his students and giving his directions4 ,it was only a moment later that we were panting up the sloping street that led from the river front4 ,in the excitement ,i scarcely noticed where we were going until we hurried up the steps to the ,haswell house4 ,the aged caretaker met us at the door4 ,she was in tears4 ,upstairs in the front room where we had first met the old man we found ,dr4 ,burnham working frantically over him4 ,it took only a minute to learn what had happened4 ,the faithful ,jane had noticed an odour of gas in the hall1 had traced it to ,mr4 ,haswell's room1 had found him unconscious1 and instinctively1 forgetting the new ,dr4 ,scott1 had rushed forth for ,dr4 ,burnham4 ,near the bed stood ,grace ,martin1 pale but anxiously watching the efforts of the doctor to resuscitate the blue-faced man who was stretched cold and motionless on the bed4 ,dr4 ,burnham paused in his efforts as we entered4 ,he is dead1 all right1 he whispered1 aside4 ,i have tried everything ,i know to bring him back1 but he is beyond help4 ,there was still a sickening odour of illuminating gas in the room1 although the windows were now all open4 ,kennedy1 with provoking calmness in the excitement1 turned from and ignored ,dr4 ,burnham4 ,have you summoned ,dr4 ,scott8 he asked ,mrs4 ,martin4 ,no1 she replied1 surprised4 ,should ,i have done so8 ,yes4 ,send ,james immediately4 ,mr4 ,prescott1 will you kindly be seated for a few moments4 ,taking off his coat1 ,kennedy advanced to the bed where the emaciated figure lay1 cold and motionless4 ,craig knelt down at ,mr4 ,haswell's head and took the inert arms1 raising them up until they were extended straight4 ,then he brought them down1 folded upward at the elbow at the side4 ,again and again he tried this ,sylvester method of inducing respiration1 but with no more result than ,dr4 ,burnham had secured4 ,he turned the body over on its face and tried the new ,schaefer method4 ,there seemed to be not a spark of life left4 ,dr4 ,scott is out1 reported the maid breathlessly1 but they are trying to locate him from his office1 and if they do they will send him around immediately4 ,a ring at the doorbell caused us to think that he had been found1 but it proved to be the student to whom ,kennedy had telephoned at his own laboratory4 ,he was carrying a heavy suitcase and a small tank4 ,kennedy opened the suitcase hastily and disclosed a little motor1 some long tubes of rubber fitting into a small rubber cap1 forceps1 and other paraphernalia4 ,the student quickly attached one tube to the little tank1 while ,kennedy grasped the tongue of the dead man with the forceps1 pulled it up off the soft palate1 and fitted the rubber cap snugly over his mouth and nose4 ,this is the ,draeger pulmotor1 he explained as he worked1 devised to resuscitate persons who have died of electric shock1 but actually found to be of more value in cases of asphyxiation4 ,start the motor4 ,the pulmotor began to pump4 ,one could see the dead man's chest rise as it was inflated with oxygen forced by the accordion bellows from the tank through one of the tubes into the lungs4 ,then it fell as the oxygen and the poisonous gas were slowly sucked out through the other tube4 ,again and again the process was repeated1 about ten times a minute4 ,dr4 ,burnham looked on in undisguised amazement4 ,he had long since given up all hope4 ,the man was dead1 medically dead1 as dead as ever was any gas victim at this stage on whom all the usual methods of resuscitation had been tried and had failed4 ,still1 minute after minute1 ,kennedy worked faithfully on1 trying to discover some spark of life and to fan it into flame4 ,at last1 after what seemed to be a half-hour of unremitting effort1 when the oxygen had long since been exhausted and only fresh air was being pumped into the lungs and out of them1 there was a first faint glimmer of life in the heart and a touch of colour in the cheeks4 ,haswell was coming to4 ,another half-hour found him muttering and rambling weakly4 ,the letter - the letter1 he moaned1 rolling his glazed eyes about4 ,where is the letter8 ,send for ,grace4 ,the moan was so audible that it was startling4 ,it was like a voice from the grave4 ,what did it all mean8 ,mrs4 ,martin was at his side in a moment4 ,father1 father1 - here ,i am - ,grace4 ,what do you want8 ,the old man moved restlessly1 feverishly1 and pressed his trembling hand to his forehead as if trying to collect his thoughts4 ,he was weak1 but it was evident that he had been saved4 ,the pulmotor had been stopped4 ,craig threw the cap to his student to be packed up1 and as he did so he remarked quietly1 ,i could wish that ,dr4 ,scott had been found4 ,there are some matters here that might interest him4 ,he paused and looked slowly from the rescued man lying dazed on the bed toward ,mrs4 ,martin4 ,it was quite apparent even to me that she did not share the desire to see ,dr4 ,scott1 at least not just then4 ,she was flushed and trembling with emotion4 ,crossing the room hurriedly she flung open the door into the hall4 ,i am sure1 she cried1 controlling herself with difficulty and catching at a straw1 as it were1 that you gentlemen1 even if you have saved my father1 are no friends of either his or mine4 ,you have merely come here in response to ,dr4 ,burnham1 and he came because ,jane lost her head in the excitement and forgot that ,dr4 ,scott is now our physician4 ,but ,dr4 ,scott could not have been found in time1 madame1 interposed ,dr4 ,burnham with evident triumph4 ,she ignored the remark and continued to hold the door open4 ,now leave us1 she implored1 you1 ,dr4 ,burnham1 you1 ,mr4 ,prescott1 you1 ,professor ,kennedy1 and your friend ,mr4 ,jameson1 whoever you may be4 ,she was now cold and calm4 ,in the bewildering change of events we had forgotten the wan figure on the bed still gasping for the breath of life4 ,i could not help wondering at the woman's apparent lack of gratitude1 and a thought flashed over my mind4 ,had the affair come to a contest between various parties fighting by fair means or foul for the old man's money - ,scott and ,mrs4 ,martin perhaps -#bj against ,prescott and ,dr4 ,burnham8 ,no one moved4 ,we seemed to be waiting on ,kennedy4 ,prescott and ,mrs4 ,martin were now glaring at each other implacably4 ,the old man moved restlessly on the bed1 and over my shoulder ,i could hear him gasp faintly1 ,where's ,grace8 ,send for ,grace4 ,mrs4 ,martin paid no attention1 seemed not to hear1 but stood facing us imperiously as if waiting for us to obey her orders and leave the house4 ,burnham moved toward the door1 but ,prescott stood his ground with a peculiar air of defiance4 ,then he took my arm and started rather precipitately1 ,i thought1 to leave4 ,come1 come1 said somebody behind us1 enough of the dramatics4 ,it was ,kennedy1 who had been bending down1 listening to the muttering of the old man4 ,look at those eyes of ,mr4 ,haswell1 he said4 ,what colour are they8 ,we looked4 ,they were blue4 ,down in the parlour1 continued ,kennedy leisurely1 you will find a portrait of the long deceased ,mrs4 ,haswell4 ,if you will examine that painting you will see that her eyes are also a peculiarly limpid blue4 o couple with blue eyes ever had a black-eyed child4 ,at least1 if this is such a case1 the ,carnegie ,institution investigators would be glad to hear of it1 for it is contrary to all that they have discovered on the subject after years of study of eugenics4 ,dark-eyed couples may have light-eyed children1 but the reverse1 never4 ,what do you say to that1 madame8 ,you lie1 screamed the woman1 rushing frantically past us4 ,i am his daughter4 ,no interlopers shall separate us4 ,father6 ,the old man moved feebly away from her4 ,send for ,dr4 ,scott again1 she demanded4 ,see if he cannot be found4 ,he must be found4 ,you are all enemies1 villains4 ,she addressed ,kennedy1 but included the whole room in her denunciation4 ,not all1 broke in ,kennedy remorselessly4 ,yes1 madame1 send for ,dr4 ,scott4 ,why is he not here8 ,prescott1 with one hand on my arm and the other on ,dr4 ,burnham's1 was moving toward the door4 ,one moment1 ,prescott1 interrupted ,kennedy1 detaining him with a look4 ,there was something ,i was about to say when ,dr4 ,burnham's urgent message prevented it4 ,i did not take the trouble even to find out how you obtained that little globule of molten gold from the crucible of alleged copper4 ,there are so many tricks by which the gold could have been 'salted' and brought forth at the right moment that it was hardly worth while4 ,besides1 ,i had satisfied myself that my first suspicions were correct4 ,see that8 ,he held out the little piece of mineral ,i had already seen in his hand in the alchemist's laboratory4 ,that is a piece of willemite4 ,it has the property of glowing or fluorescing under a certain kind of rays which are themselves invisible to the human eye4 ,prescott1 your story of the transmutation of elements is very clever1 but not more clever than your real story4 ,let us piece it together4 ,i had already heard from ,dr4 ,burnham how ,mr4 ,haswell was induced by his desire for gain to visit you and how you had most mysteriously predicted his blindness4 ,now1 there is no such thing as telepathy1 at least in this case4 ,how then was ,i to explain it8 ,what could cause such a catastrophe naturally8 ,why1 only those rays invisible to the human eye1 but which make this piece of willemite glow - the ultra-violet rays4 ,kennedy was speaking rapidly and was careful not to pause long enough to give ,prescott an opportunity to interrupt him4 ,these ultra-violet rays1 he continued1 are always present in an electric arc light though not to a great degree unless the carbons have metal cores4 ,they extend for two octaves above the violet of the spectrum and are too short to affect the eye as light1 although they affect photographic plates4 ,they are the friend of man when he uses them in moderation as ,finsen did in the famous blue light treatment4 ,but they tolerate no familiarity4 ,to let them -#bj particularly the shorter of the rays - enter the eye is to invite trouble4 ,there is no warning sense of discomfort1 but from six to eighteen hours after exposure to them the victim experiences violent pains in the eyes and headache4 ,sight may be seriously impaired1 and it may take years to recover4 ,often prolonged exposure results in blindness1 though a moderate exposure acts like a tonic4 ,the rays may be compared in this double effect to drugs1 such as strychnine4 ,too much of them may be destructive even to life itself4 ,prescott had now paused and was regarding ,kennedy contemptuously4 ,kennedy paid no attention1 but continued3 ,perhaps these mysterious rays may shed some light on our minds1 however4 ,now1 for one thing1 ultra-violet light passes readily through quartz1 but is cut off by ordinary glass1 especially if it is coated with chromium4 ,old ,mr4 ,haswell did not wear glasses4 ,therefore he was subject to the rays - the more so as he is a blond1 and ,i think it has been demonstrated by investigators that blonds are more affected by them than are brunettes4 ,you have1 as a part of your machine1 a peculiarly shaped quartz mercury vapour lamp1 and the mercury vapour lamp of a design such as that ,i saw has been invented for the especial purpose of producing ultra-violet rays in large quantity4 ,there are also in your machine induction coils for the purpose of making an impressive noise1 and a small electric furnace to heat the salted gold4 ,i don't know what other ingenious fakes you have added4 ,the visible bluish light from the tube is designed1 ,i suppose1 to hoodwink the credulous1 but the dangerous thing about it is the invisible ray that accompanies that light4 ,mr4 ,haswell sat under those invisible rays1 ,prescott1 never knowing how deadly they might be to him1 an old man4 ,you knew that they would not take effect for hours1 and hence you ventured the prediction that he would be stricken at about midnight4 ,even if it was partial or temporary1 still you would be safe in your prophecy4 ,you succeeded better than you hoped in that part of your scheme4 ,you had already prepared the way by means of a letter sent to ,mr4 ,haswell through ,dr4 ,burnham4 ,but ,mr4 ,haswell's credulity and fear worked the wrong way4 ,instead of appealing to you he hated you4 ,in his predicament he thought only of his banished daughter and turned instinctively to her for help4 ,that made necessary a quick change of plans4 ,prescott1 far from losing his nerve1 turned on us bitterly4 ,i knew you two were spies the moment ,i saw you1 he shouted4 ,it seemed as if in some way ,i knew you for what you were1 as if ,i knew you had seen ,mr4 ,haswell before you came to me4 ,you1 too1 would have robbed an inventor as ,i am sure he would4 ,but have a care1 both of you4 ,you may be punished also by blindness for your duplicity4 ,who knows8 ,a shudder passed over me at the horrible thought contained in his mocking laugh4 ,were we doomed to blindness1 too8 ,i looked at the sightless man on the bed in alarm4 ,i knew that you would know us1 retorted ,kennedy calmly4 ,therefore we came provided with spectacles of ,euphos glass1 precisely like those you wear4 ,no1 ,prescott1 we are safe1 though perhaps we may have some burns like those red blotches on ,mr4 ,haswell1 light burns4 ,prescott had fallen back a step and ,mrs4 ,martin was making an effort to appear stately and end the interview4 ,no1 continued ,craig1 suddenly wheeling1 and startling us by the abruptness of his next exposure1 it is you and your wife here - ,mrs4 ,prescott1 not ,mrs4 ,martin - who must have a care4 ,stop glaring at each other4 ,it is no use playing at enemies longer and trying to get rid of us4 ,you overdo it4 ,the game is up4 ,prescott made a rush at ,kennedy1 who seized him by the wrist and held him tightly in a grasp of steel that caused the veins on the back of his hands to stand out like whipcords4 ,this is a deep-laid plot1 he went on calmly1 still holding ,prescott1 while ,i backed up against the door and cut off his wife2 but it is not so difficult to see it after all4 ,your part was to destroy the eyesight of the old man1 to make it necessary for him to call on his daughter4 ,your wife's part was to play the role of ,mrs4 ,martin1 whom he had not seen for years and could not see now4 ,she was to persuade him1 with her filial affection1 to make her the beneficiary of his will1 to see that his money was kept readily convertible into cash4 ,then1 when the old man was at last out of the way1 you two could decamp with what you could realise before the real daughter1 cut off somewhere across the continent1 could hear of the death of her father4 ,it was an excellent scheme4 ,but ,haswell's plain1 material newspaper advertisement was not so effective for your purposes1 ,prescott1 as the more artistic 'telepagram1' as you call it4 ,although you two got in first in answering the advertisement1 it finally reached the right person after all4 ,you didn't get away quickly enough4 ,you were not expecting that the real daughter would see it and turn up so soon4 ,but she has4 ,she lives in ,california4 ,mr4 ,haswell in his delirium has just told of receiving a telegram which ,i suppose you1 ,mrs4 ,prescott1 read1 destroyed1 and acted upon4 ,it hurried your plans1 but you were equal to the emergency4 ,besides1 possession is nine points in the law4 ,you tried the gas1 making it look like a suicide4 ,jane1 in her excitement1 spoiled that1 and ,dr4 ,burnham1 knowing where ,i was1 as it happened1 was able to summon me immediately4 ,circumstances have been against you from the first1 ,prescott4 ,craig was slowly twisting up the hand of the inventor1 which he still held4 ,with his other hand he pulled a paper from his pocket4 ,it was the old envelope on which he had written upon the occasion of our first visit to ,mr4 ,haswell when we had been so unceremoniously interrupted by the visit of ,dr4 ,scott4 ,i sat here yesterday by this bed1 continued ,craig1 motioning toward the chair he had occupied1 as ,i remembered4 ,mr4 ,haswell was telling ,dr4 ,scott something in an undertone4 ,i could not hear it4 ,but the old man grasped the doctor by the wrist to pull him closer to whisper to him4 ,the doctor's hand was toward me and ,i noticed the peculiar markings of the veins4 ,you perhaps are not acquainted with the fact1 but the markings of the veins in the back of the hand are peculiar to each individual - as infallible1 indestructible1 and ineffaceable as finger prints or the shape of the ear4 ,it is a system invented and developed by ,professor ,tamassia of the ,university of ,padua1 ,italy4 ,a superficial observer would say that all vein patterns were essentially similar1 and many have said so1 but ,tamassia has found each to be characteristic and all subject to almost incredible diversities4 ,there are six general classes in this case before us1 two large veins crossed by a few secondary veins forming a ,v with its base near the wrist4 ,already my suspicions had been aroused4 ,i sketched the arrangement of the veins standing out on that hand4 ,i noted the same thing just now on the hand that manipulated the fake apparatus in the laboratory4 ,despite the difference in make-up ,scott and ,prescott are the same4 ,the invisible rays of the ultra-violet light may have blinded ,mr4 ,haswell1 even to the recognition of his own daughter1 but you can rest assured1 ,prescott1 that the very cleverness of your scheme will penetrate the eyes of the blindfolded goddess of justice4 ,burnham1 if you will have the kindness to summon the police1 ,i will take all the responsibility for the arrest of these people4 ,,xii ,,the ,,campaign ,,grafter ,what a relief it will be when this election is over and the newspapers print news again1 ,i growled as ,i turned the first page of the ,star with a mere glance at the headlines4 ,yes1 observed ,kennedy1 who was puzzling over a note which he had received in the morning mail4 ,this is the bitterest campaign in years4 ,now1 do you suppose that they are after me in a professional way or are they trying to round me up as an independent voter8 ,the letter which had called forth this remark was headed1 ,the ,travis ,campaign ,committee of the ,reform ,league1 and1 as ,kennedy evidently intended me to pass an opinion on it1 ,i picked it up4 ,it was only a few lines1 requesting him to call during the morning1 if convenient1 on ,wesley ,travis1 the candidate for governor and the treasurer of his campaign committee1 ,dean ,bennett4 ,it had evidently been written in great haste in longhand the night before4 ,professional1 ,i hazarded4 ,there must be some scandal in the campaign for which they require your services4 ,i suppose so1 agreed ,craig4 ,well1 if it is business instead of politics it has at least this merit it is current business4 ,i suppose you have no objection to going with me8 ,thus it came about that not very much later in the morning we found ourselves at the campaign headquarters1 in the presence of two nervous and high-keyed gentlemen in frock coats and silk hats4 ,it would have taken no great astuteness1 even without seeing the surroundings1 to deduce instantly that they were engaged in the annual struggle of seeking the votes of their fellow-citizens for something or other1 and were nearly worn out by the arduous nature of that process4 ,their headquarters were in a tower of a skyscraper1 whence poured forth a torrent of appeal to the moral sense of the electorate1 both in printed and oral form4 ,yet there was a different tone to the place from that which ,i had ordinarily associated with political headquarters in previous campaigns4 ,there was an absence of the old-fashioned politicians and of the air of intrigue laden with tobacco4 ,rather1 there was an air of earnestness and efficiency which was decidedly prepossessing4 ,maps of the state were hanging on the walls1 some stuck full of various coloured pins denoting the condition of the canvass4 ,a map of the city in colours1 divided into all sorts of districts1 told how fared the battle in the stronghold of the boss1 ,billy ,mc,loughlin4 ,huge systems of card indexes1 loose leaf devices1 labour-saving appliances for getting out a vast mass of campaign literature in a hurry1 in short a perfect system1 such as a great1 well-managed business might have been proud of1 were in evidence everywhere4 ,wesley ,travis was a comparatively young man a lawyer who had early made a mark in politics and had been astute enough to shake off the thraldom of the bosses before the popular uprising against them4 ,now he was the candidate of the ,reform ,league for governor and a good stiff campaign he was putting up4 ,his campaign manager1 ,dean ,bennett1 was a business man whose financial interests were opposed to those usually understood to be behind ,billy ,mc,loughlin1 of the regular party to which both ,travis and ,bennett might naturally have been supposed to belong in the old days4 ,indeed the ,reform ,league owed its existence to a fortunate conjunction of both moral and economic conditions demanding progress4 ,things have been going our way up to the present1 began ,travis confidentially1 when we were seated democratically with our campaign cigars lighted4 ,of course we haven't such a big 'barrel' as our opponents1 for we are not frying the fat out of the corporations4 ,but the people have supported us nobly1 and ,i think the opposition of the vested interests has been a great help4 ,we seem to be winning1 and ,i say 'seem' only because one can never be certain how anything is going in this political game nowadays4 ,you recall1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 reading in the papers that my country house out on ,long ,island was robbed the other day8 ,some of the reporters made much of it4 ,to tell the truth1 ,i think they had become so satiated with sensations that they were sure that the thing was put up by some muckrakers and that there would be an expose of some kind4 ,for the thief1 whoever he was1 seems to have taken nothing from my library but a sort of scrap-book or album of photographs4 ,it was a peculiar robbery1 but as ,i had nothing to conceal it didn't worry me4 ,well1 ,i had all but forgotten it when a fellow came into ,bennett's office here yesterday and demanded - tell us what it was1 ,bennett4 ,you saw him4 ,bennett cleared his throat4 ,you see1 it was this way4 ,he gave his name as ,harris ,hanford and described himself as a photographer4 ,i think he has done work for ,billy ,mc,loughlin4 ,at any rate1 his offer was to sell us several photographs1 and his story about them was very circumstantial4 ,he hinted that they had been evidently among those stolen from ,mr4 ,travis and that in a roundabout way they had come into the possession of a friend of his without his knowing who the thief was4 ,he said that he had not made the photographs himself1 but had an idea by whom they were made1 that the original plates had been destroyed1 but that the person who made them was ready to swear that the pictures were taken after the nominating convention this fall which had named ,travis4 ,at any rate the photographs were out and the price for them was #be1jjj4 ,what are they that he should set such a price on them8 asked ,kennedy1 keenly looking from ,bennett quickly to ,travis4 ,travis met his look without flinching4 ,they are supposed to be photographs of myself1 he replied slowly4 ,one purports to represent me in a group on ,mc,loughlin's porch at his farm on the south shore of the island1 about twenty miles from my place4 ,as ,hanford described it1 ,i am standing between ,mc,loughlin and ,j4 ,cadwalader ,brown1 the trust promoter who is backing ,mc,loughlin to save his investments4 ,brown's hand is on my shoulder and we are talking familiarly4 ,another is a picture of ,brown1 ,mc,loughlin1 and myself riding in ,brown's car1 and in it ,brown and ,i are evidently on the best of terms4 ,oh1 there are several of them1 all in the same vein4 ,now1 he added1 and his voice rose with emotion as if he were addressing a cart-tail meeting which must be convinced that there was nothing criminal in riding in a motor-car1 ,i don't hesitate to admit that a year or so ago ,i was not on terms of intimacy with these men1 but at least acquainted with them4 ,at various times1 even as late as last spring1 ,i was present at conferences over the presidential outlook in this state1 and once ,i think ,i did ride back to the city with them4 ,but ,i know that there were no pictures taken1 and even if there had been ,i would not care if they told the truth about them4 ,i have frankly admitted in#bjmy speeches that ,i knew these men1 that my knowledge of them and breaking from them is my chief qualification for waging an effective war on them if ,i am elected4 ,they hate me cordially4 ,you know that4 ,what ,i do care about is the sworn allegation that now accompanies these - these fakes4 ,they were not1 could not have been taken after the independent convention that nominated me4 ,if the photographs were true ,i would be a fine traitor4 ,but ,i haven't even seen ,mc,loughlin or ,brown since last spring4 ,the whole thing is a - ,lie from start to finish1 put in ,bennett emphatically4 ,yes1 ,travis1 we all know that4 ,i'd quit right now if ,i didn't believe in you4 ,but let us face the facts4 ,here is this story1 sworn to as ,hanford says and apparently acquiesced in by ,billy ,mc,loughlin and ,cad4 ,brown4 ,what do they care anyhow as long as it is against you8 ,and there1 too1 are the pictures themselves - at least they will be in print or suppressed1 according as we act4 ,now1 you know that nothing could hurt the reform ticket worse than to have an issue like this raised at this time4 ,we were supposed at least to be on the level1 with nothing to explain away4 ,there may be just enough people to believe that there is some basis for this suspicion to turn the tide against us4 ,if it were earlier in the campaign ,i'd say accept the issue1 fight it out to a finish1 and in the turn of events we should really have the best campaign material4 ,but it is too late now to expose such a knavish trick of theirs on the ,friday before election4 ,frankly1 ,i believe discretion is the better part of valour in this case and without abating a jot of my faith in you1 ,travis1 well1 ,i'd pay first and expose the fraud afterward1 after the election1 at leisure4 ,no1 ,i won't1 persisted ,travis1 shutting his square jaw doggedly4 ,i won't be held up4 ,the door had opened and a young lady in a very stunning street dress1 with a huge hat and a tantalising veil1 stood in it for a moment1 hesitated1 and then was about to shut it with an apology for intruding on a conference4 ,i'll fight it if it takes my last dollar1 declared ,travis1 but ,i won't be blackmailed out of a cent4 ,good-morning1 ,miss ,ashton4 ,i'll be free in a moment4 ,i'll see you in your office directly4 ,the girl1 with a portfolio of papers in her hand1 smiled1 and ,travis quickly crossed the room and held the door deferentially open as he whispered a word or two4 ,when she had disappeared he returned and remarked1 ,i suppose you have heard of ,miss ,margaret ,ashton1 the suffragette leader1 ,mr4 ,kennedy8 ,she is the head of our press bureau4 ,then a heightened look of determination set his fine face in hard lines1 and he brought his fist down on the desk4 ,no1 not a cent1 he thundered4 ,bennett shrugged his shoulders hopelessly and looked at ,kennedy in mock resignation as if to say1 ,what can you do with such a fellow8 ,travis was excitedly pacing the floor and waving his arms as if he were addressing a meeting in the enemy's country4 ,hanford comes at us in this way1 he continued1 growing more excited as he paced up and down4 ,he says plainly that the pictures will of course be accepted as among those stolen from me1 and in that1 ,i suppose1 he is right4 ,the public will swallow it4 ,when ,bennett told him ,i would prosecute he laughed and said1 ',go ahead4 ,i didn't steal the pictures4 ,that would be a great joke for ,travis to seek redress from the courts he is criticising4 ,i guess he'd want to recall the decision if it went against him hey8' ,hanford says that a hundred copies have been made of each of the photographs and that this person1 whom we do not know1 has them ready to drop into the mail to the one hundred leading papers of the state in time for them to appear in the ,monday editions just before ,election ,day4 ,he says no amount of denying on our part can destroy the effect - or at least he went further and said 'shake their validity4' ,but ,i repeat4 ,they are false4 ,for all ,i know1 it is a plot of ,mc,loughlin's1 the last fight of a boss for his life1 driven into a corner4 ,and it is meaner than if he had attempted to forge a letter4 ,pictures appeal to the eye and mind much more than letters4 ,that's what makes the thing so dangerous4 ,billy ,mc,loughlin knows how to make the best use of such a roorback on the eve of an election1 and even if ,i not only deny but prove that they are a fake1 ,i'm afraid the harm will be done4 ,i can't reach all the voters in time4 ,ten see such a charge to one who sees the denial4 ,just so1 persisted ,bennett coolly4 ,you admit that we are practically helpless4 ,that's what ,i have been saying all along4 ,get control of the prints first1 ,travis1 for ,god's sake4 ,then raise any kind of a howl you want - before election or after4 ,as ,i say1 if we had a week or two it might be all right to fight4 ,but we can make no move without making fools of ourselves until they are published ,monday as the last big thing of the campaign4 ,the rest of ,monday and the ,tuesday morning papers do not give us time to reply4 ,even if they were published to-day we should hardly have time to expose the plot1 hammer it in1 and make the issue an asset instead of a liability4 ,no1 you must admit it yourself4 ,there isn't time4 ,we must carry out the work we have so carefully planned to cap the campaign1 and if we are diverted by this it means a let-up in our final efforts1 and that is as good as ,mc,loughlin wants anyhow4 ,now1 ,kennedy1 don't you agree with me8 ,squelch the pictures now at any cost1 then follow the thing up and1 if we can1 prosecute after election8 ,kennedy and ,i1 who had been so far little more than interested spectators1 had not presumed to interrupt4 ,finally ,craig asked1 ,you have copies of the pictures8 ,no1 replied ,bennett4 ,this ,hanford is a brazen fellow1 but he was too astute to leave them4 ,i saw them for an instant4 ,they look bad4 ,and the affidavits with them look worse4 ,h'm1 considered ,kennedy1 turning the crisis over in his mind4 ,we've had alleged stolen and forged letters before1 but alleged stolen and forged photographs are new4 ,i'm not surprised that you are alarmed1 ,bennett1 nor that you want to fight1 ,travis4 ,then you will take up the case8 urged the latter eagerly1 forgetting both his campaign manager and his campaign manners1 and leaning forward almost like a prisoner in the dock to catch the words of the foreman of the jury4 ,you will trace down the forger of those pictures before it is too late8 ,i haven't said ,i'll do that yet1 answered ,craig measuredly4 ,i haven't even said ,i'd take up the case4 ,politics is a new game to me1 ,mr4 ,travis4 ,if ,i go into this thing ,i want to go into it and stay in it - well1 you know how you lawyers put it1 with clean hands4 ,on one condition ,i'll take the matter up1 and on only one4 ,name it1 cried ,travis anxiously4 ,of course1 having been retained by you1 continued ,craig with provoking slowness1 it is not reasonable to suppose that if ,i find - how shall ,i put it - bluntly1 yes8 - if ,i find that the story of ,hanford has some - er - foundation1 it is not reasonable to suppose that ,i should desert you and go over to the other side4 ,neither is it to be supposed that ,i will continue and carry such a thing through for you regardless of truth4 ,what ,i ask is to have a free hand1 to be able to drop the case the moment ,i cannot proceed further in justice to myself1 drop it1 and keep my mouth shut4 ,you understand8 ,these are my conditions and no less4 ,and you think you can make good8 questioned ,bennett rather sceptically4 ,you are willing to risk it8 ,you don't think it would be better to wait until after the election is won8 ,you have heard my conditions1 reiterated ,craig4 ,done1 broke in ,travis4 ,i'm going to fight it out1 ,bennett4 ,if we get in wrong by dickering with them at the start it may be worse for us in the end4 ,paying amounts to confession4 ,bennett shook his head dubiously4 ,i'm afraid this will suit ,mc,loughlin's purpose just as well4 ,photographs are like statistics4 ,they don't lie unless the people who make them do4 ,but it's hard to tell what a liar can accomplish with either in an election4 ,say' ,dean1 you're not going to desert me8 reproached ,travis4 ,you're not offended at my kicking over the traces1 are you8 ,bennett rose1 placed a hand on ,travis's shoulder1 and grasped his other4 ,wesley1 he said earnestly1 ,i wouldn't desert you even if the pictures were true4 ,i knew it1 responded ,travis heartily4 ,then let ,mr4 ,kennedy have one day to see what he can do4 ,then if we make no progress we'll take your advice1 ,dean4 ,we'll pay1 ,i suppose1 and ask ,mr4 ,kennedy to continue the case after next ,tuesday4 ,with the proviso1 put in ,craig4 ,with the proviso1 ,kennedy1 repeated ,travis4 ,your hand on that4 ,say1 ,i think ,i've shaken hands with half the male population of this state since ,i was nominated1 but this means more to me than any of them4 ,call on us1 either ,bennett or myself1 the moment you need aid4 ,spare no reasonable expense1 and - and get the goods1 no matter whom it hits higher up1 even if it is ,cadwalader ,brown himself4 ,good-bye and a thousand thanks oh1 by the way1 wait4 ,let me take you around and introduce you to ,miss ,ashton4 ,she may be able to help you4 ,the office of ,bennett and ,travis was in the centre of the suite4 ,on one side were the cashier and clerical force as well as the speakers' bureau1 where spellbinders of all degrees were getting#bj instruction1 tours were being laid out1 and reports received from meetings already held4 ,on the other side was the press bureau with a large and active force in charge of ,miss ,ashton1 who was supporting ,travis because he had most emphatically declared for ,votes for ,women and had insisted that his party put this plank in its platform4 ,miss ,ashton was a clever girl1 a graduate of a famous woman's college1 and had had several years of newspaper experience before she became a leader in the suffrage cause4 ,i recalled having read and heard a great deal about her1 though ,i had never met her4 ,the ,ashtons were well known in ,new ,york society1 and it was a sore trial to some of her conservative friends that she should reject what they considered the proper sphere for women4 ,among those friends1 ,i understood1 was ,cadwalader ,brown himself4 ,travis had scarcely more than introduced us1 yet already ,i scented a romance behind the ordinarily prosaic conduct of a campaign press bureau4 ,it is far from my intention to minimise the work or the ability of the head of the press bureau1 but it struck me1 both then and later1 that the candidate had an extraordinary interest in the newspaper campaign1 much more than in the speakers' bureau1 and ,i am sure that it was not solely accounted for by the fact that publicity is playing a more and more important part in political campaigning4 ,nevertheless such innovations as her card index system by election districts all over the state1 showing the attitude of the various newspaper editors1 of local political leaders1 and changes of sentiment1 were very full and valuable4 ,kennedy1 who had a regular pigeon-hole mind for facts1 was visibly impressed by this huge mechanical memory built up by ,miss ,ashton4 ,though he said nothing to me ,i knew he had also observed the state of affairs between the reform candidate and the suffrage leader4 ,it was at a moment when ,travis had been called back to his office that ,kennedy1 who had been eyeing ,miss ,ashton with marked approval1 leaned over and said in a low voice1 ,miss ,ashton1 ,i think ,i can trust you4 ,do you want to do a great favour for ,mr4 ,travis8 ,she did not betray even by a fleeting look on her face what the true state of her feelings was1 although ,i fancied that the readiness of her assent had perhaps more meaning than she would have placed in a simple ,yes otherwise4 ,i suppose you know that an attempt is being made to blackmail ,mr4 ,travis8 added ,kennedy quickly4 ,i know something about it1 she replied in a tone which left it for granted that ,travis had told her before even we were called in4 ,i felt that not unlikely ,travis's set determination to fight might be traceable to her advice or at least to her opinion of him4 ,i suppose in a large force like this it is not impossible that your political enemies may have a spy or two1 observed ,kennedy1 glancing about at the score or more clerks busily engaged in getting out literature4 ,i have sometimes thought that myself1 she agreed4 ,but of course ,i don't know4 ,still1 ,i have to be pretty careful4 ,some one is always over here by my desk or looking over here4 ,there isn't much secrecy in a big room like this4 ,i never leave important stuff lying about where any of them could see it4 ,yes1 mused ,kennedy4 ,what time does the office close8 ,we shall finish to-night about nine1 ,i think4 ,to-morrow it may be later4 ,well1 then1 if ,i should call here to-night at1 say1 half-past nine1 could you be here8 ,i need hardly say that your doing so may be of inestimable value to - to the campaign4 ,i shall be here1 she promised1 giving her hand with a peculiar straight arm shake and looking him frankly in the face with those eyes which even the old guard in the legislature admitted were vote-winners4 ,kennedy was not quite ready to leave yet1 but sought out ,travis and obtained permission to glance over the financial end of the campaign4 ,there were few large contributors to ,travis's fund1 but a host of small sums ranging from ten and twenty-five dollars down to dimes and nickels4 ,truly it showed the depth of the popular uprising4 ,kennedy also glanced hastily over the items of expense - rent1 salaries1 stenographer and office force1 advertising1 printing and stationery1 postage1 telephone1 telegraph1 automobile and travelling expenses1 and miscellaneous matters4 ,as ,kennedy expressed it afterwards1 as against the small driblets of money coming in1 large sums were going out for expenses in lumps4 ,campaigning in these days costs money even when done honestly4 ,the miscellaneous account showed some large indefinite items1 and after a hasty calculation ,kennedy made out that if all the obligations had to be met immediately the committee would be in the hole for several thousand dollars4 ,in short1 ,i argued as we were leaving1 this will either break ,travis privately or put his fund in hopeless shape4 ,or does it mean that he foresees defeat and is taking this way to recoup himself under cover of being held up8 ,kennedy said nothing in response to my suspicions1 though ,i could see that in his mind he was leaving no possible clue unnoted4 ,it was only a few blocks to the studio of ,harris ,hanford1 whom ,kennedy was now bent on seeing4 ,we found him in an old building on one of the side streets in the thirties which business had captured4 ,his was a little place on the top floor1 up three flights of stairs1 and ,i noticed as we climbed up that the room next to his was vacant4 ,our interview with ,hanford was short and unsatisfactory4 ,he either was or at least posed as representing a third party in the affair1 and absolutely refused to permit us to have even a glance at the photographs4 ,my dealings1 he asserted airily1 must all be with ,mr4 ,bennett1 or with ,mr4 ,travis1 direct1 not with emissaries4 ,i don't make any secret about it4 ,the prints are not here4 ,they are safe and ready to be produced at the right time1 either to be handed over for the money or to be published in the newspapers4 ,we have found out all about them2 we are satisfied1 although the negatives have been destroyed4 ,as for their having been stolen from ,travis1 you can put two and two together4 ,they are out and copies have been made of them1 good copies4 ,if ,mr4 ,travis wishes to repudiate them1 let him start proceedings4 ,i told ,bennett all about that4 ,to-morrow is the last day1 and ,i must have ,bennett's answer then1 without any interlopers coming into it4 ,if it is yes1 well and good2 if not1 then they know what to expect4 ,good-bye4 ,it was still early in the forenoon1 and ,kennedy's next move was to go out on ,long ,island to examine the library at ,travis's from which the pictures were said to have been stolen4 ,at the laboratory ,kennedy and ,i loaded ourselves with a large oblong black case containing a camera and a tripod4 ,his examination of the looted library was minute1 taking in the window through which the thief had apparently entered1 the cabinet he had forced1 and the situation in general4 ,finally ,craig set up his camera with most particular care and took several photographs of the window1 the cabinet1 the doors1 including the room from every angle4 ,outside he snapped the two sides of the corner of the house in which the library was situated4 ,partly by trolley and partly by carriage we crossed the island to the south shore1 and finally found ,mc,loughlin's farm1 where we had no trouble in getting half a dozen photographs of the porch and house4 ,altogether the proceedings seemed tame to me1 yet ,i knew from previous experience that ,kennedy had a deep laid purpose4 ,we parted in the city1 to meet just before it was time to visit ,miss ,ashton4 ,kennedy had evidently employed the interval in developing his plates1 for he now had ten or a dozen prints1 all of exactly the same size1 mounted on stiff cardboard in a space with scales and figures on all four sides4 ,he saw me puzzling over them4 ,those are metric photographs such as ,bertillon of ,paris takes1 he explained4 ,by means of the scales and tables and other methods that have been worked out we can determine from those pictures distances and many other things almost as well as if we were on the spot itself4 ,bertillon has cleared up many crimes with this help1 such as the mystery of the shooting in the ,hotel ,quai d',orsay and other cases4 ,the metric photograph1 ,i believe1 will in time rank with the portrait parle1 finger prints1 and the rest4 ,for instance1 in order to solve the riddle of a crime the detective's first task is to study the scene topographically4 ,plans and elevations of a room or house are made4 ,the position of each object is painstakingly noted4 ,in addition1 the all-seeing eye of the camera is called into requisition4 ,the plundered room is photographed1 as in this case4 ,i might have done it by placing a foot rule on a table and taking that in the picture1 but a more scientific and accurate method has been devised by ,bertillon4 ,his camera lens is always used at a fixed height from the ground and forms its image on the plate at an exact focus4 ,the print made from the negative is mounted on a card in a space of definite size1 along the edges of which a metric scale is printed4 ,in the way he has worked it out the distance between any two points in the picture can be determined4 ,with a topographical plan and a metric photograph one can study a crime as a general studies the map of a strange country4 ,there were several peculiar things that ,i observed to-day1 and ,i have here an indelible record of the scene of the crime4 ,preserved in this way it cannot be questioned4 ,now the photographs were in this cabinet4 ,there are other cabinets1 but none of them has been disturbed4 ,therefore the thief must have known just what he was after4 ,the marks made in breaking the lock were not those of a jimmy but of a screwdriver4 ,no amazing command of the resources of science is needed so far4 ,all that is necessary is a little scientific common sense1 ,walter4 ,now1 how did the robber get in8 ,all the windows and doors were supposedly locked4 ,it is alleged that a pane was cut from this window at the side4 ,it was1 and the pieces were there to show it4 ,but take a glance at this outside photograph4 ,to reach that window even a tall man must have stood on a ladder or something4 ,there are no marks of a ladder or of any person in the soft soil under the window4 ,what is more1 that window was cut from the inside4 ,the marks of the diamond which cut it plainly show that4 ,scientific common sense again4 ,then it must have been some one in the house or at least some one familiar with it8,i exclaimed4 ,kennedy nodded4 ,one thing we have which the police greatly neglect1 he pursued1 a record4 ,we have made some progress in reconstructing the crime1 as ,bertillon calls it4 ,if we only had those ,hanford pictures we should be all right4 ,we were now on our way to see ,miss ,ashton at headquarters1 and as we rode downtown ,i tried to reason out the case4 ,had it really been a put-up job8 ,was ,travis himself faking1 and was the robbery a plant by which he might forestall exposure of what had become public property in the hands of another1 no longer disposed to conceal it8 ,or was it after all the last desperate blow of the ,boss8 ,the whole thing began to assume a suspicious look in my mind4 ,although ,kennedy seemed to have made little real progress1 ,i felt that1 far from aiding ,travis1 it made things darker4 ,there was nothing but his unsupported word that he had not visited the ,boss subsequent to the nominating convention4 ,he admitted having done so before the ,reform ,league came into existence4 ,besides it seemed tacitly understood that both the ,boss and ,cadwalader ,brown acquiesced in the sworn statement of the man who said he had made the pictures4 ,added to that the mere existence of the actual pictures themselves was a graphic clincher to the story4 ,personally1 if ,i had been in ,kennedy's place ,i think ,i should have taken advantage of the proviso in the compact with ,travis to back out gracefully4 ,kennedy1 however1 now started on the case1 hung to it tenaciously4 ,miss ,ashton was waiting for us at the press bureau4 ,her desk was at the middle of one end of the room in which1 if she could keep an eye on her office force1 the office force also could keep an eye on her4 ,kennedy had apparently taken in the arrangement during our morning visit1 for he set to work immediately4 ,the side of the room toward the office of ,travis and ,bennett presented an expanse of blank wall4 ,with a mallet he quickly knocked a hole in the rough plaster1 just above the baseboard about the room4 ,the hole did not penetrate quite through to the other side4 ,in it he placed a round disc of vulcanised rubber1 with insulated wires leading down back of the baseboard1 then out underneath it1 and under the carpet4 ,some plaster quickly closed up the cavity in the wall1 and he left it to dry4 ,next he led the wires under the carpet to ,miss ,ashton's desk4 ,there they ended1 under the carpet and a rug1 eighteen or twenty huge coils several feet in diameter disposed in such a way as to attract no attention by a curious foot on the carpet which covered them4 ,that is all1 ,miss ,ashton1 he said as we watched for his next move4 ,i shall want to see you early to-morrow1 and1 might ,i ask you to be sure to wear that hat which you have on8 ,it was a very becoming hat1 but ,kennedy's tone clearly indicated that it was not his taste in inverted basket millinery that prompted the request4 ,she promised1 smiling1 for even a suffragette may like pretty hats4 ,craig had still to see ,travis and report on his work4 ,the candidate was waiting anxiously at his hotel after a big political mass meeting on the ,east ,side1 at which capitalism and the bosses had been hissed to the echo1 if that is possible4 ',what success8 inquired ,travis eagerly4 ,i'm afraid1 replied ,kennedy1 and the candidate's face fell at the tone1 ,i'm afraid you will have to meet them1 for the present4 ,the time limit will expire to-morrow1 and ,i understand ,hanford is coming up for a final answer4 ,we must have copies of those photographs1 even if we have to pay for them4 ,there seems to be no other way4 ,travis sank back in his chair and regarded ,kennedy hopelessly4 ,he was actually pale4 you - you don't mean to say that there is no other way1 that ,i'll have to admit even before ,bennett - and others that ,i'm in bad8 ,i wouldn't put it that way1 said ,kennedy mercilessly1 ,i thought4 ,it is that way1 ,travis asserted almost fiercely4 ,why1 we could have done that anyhow4 ,no1 no1 - ,i don't mean that4 ,pardon me4 ,i'm upset by this4 ,go ahead1 he sighed4 ,you will direct ,bennett to make the best terms he can with ,hanford when he comes up to-morrow4 ,have him arrange the details of payment and then rush the best copies of the photographs to me4 ,travis seemed crushed4 ,we met ,miss ,ashton the following morning entering her office4 ,kennedy handed her a package1 and in a few words1 which ,i did not hear1 explained what he wanted1 promising to call again later4 ,when we called1 the girls and other clerks had arrived1 and the office was a hive of industry in the rush of winding up the campaign4 ,typewriters were clicking1 clippings were being snipped out of a huge stack of newspapers and pasted into large scrap-books1 circulars were being folded and made ready to mail for the final appeal4 ,the room was indeed crowded1 and ,i felt that there was no doubt1 as ,kennedy had said1 that nothing much could go on there unobserved by any one to whose interest it was to see it4 ,miss ,ashton was sitting at her desk with her hat on directing the work4 ,it works1 she remarked enigmatically to ,kennedy4 ,good1 he replied4 ,i merely dropped in to be sure4 ,now if anything of interest happens1 ,miss ,ashton1 ,i wish you would let me know immediately4 ,i must not be seen up here1 but ,i shall be waiting downstairs in the corridor of the building4 ,my next move depends entirely on what you have to report4 ,downstairs ,craig waited with growing impatience4 ,we stood in an angle in which we could see without being readily seen1 and our impatience was not diminished by seeing ,hanford enter the elevator4 ,i think that ,miss ,ashton would have made an excellent woman detective1 that is1 on a case in which her personal feelings were not involved as they were here4 ,she was pale and agitated as she appeared in the corridor1 and ,kennedy hurried toward her4 ,i can't believe it4 ,i won't believe it1 she managed to say4 ,tell me1 what happened8 urged ,kennedy soothingly4 ,oh1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 why did you ask me to do this8 she reproached4 ,i would almost rather not have known it at all4 ,believe me1 ,miss ,ashton1 said ,kennedy1 you ought to know4 ,it is on you that ,i depend most4 ,we saw ,hanford go up4 ,what occurred8 ,she was still pale1 and replied nervously1 ,mr4 ,bennett came in about quarter to ten4 ,he stopped to talk to me and looked about the room curiously4 ,do you know1 ,i felt very uncomfortable for a time4 ,then he locked the door leading from the press bureau to his office1 and left word that he was not to be disturbed4 ,a few minutes later a man called4 ,yes1 yes1 prompted ,kennedy4 ,hanford1 no doubt4 ,she was racing on breathlessly1 scarcely giving one a chance to inquire how she had learned so much4 ,why1 she cried with a sort of defiant ring in her tone1 ,mr4 ,travis is going to buy those pictures after all4 ,and the worst of it is that ,i met him in the hall coming in as ,i was coming down here1 and he tried to act toward me in the same old way and that after all ,i know now about him4 ,they have fixed it all up1 ,mr4 ,bennett acting for ,mr4 ,travis1 and this ,mr4 ,hanford4 ,they are even going to ask me to carry the money in a sealed envelope to the studio of this fellow ,hanford1 to be given to a third person who will be there at two o'clock this afternoon4 ,you1 ,miss ,ashton8 inquired ,kennedy1 a light breaking on his face as if at last he saw something4 ,yes1 ,i1 she repeated4 ,hanford insisted that it was part of the compact4 ,they - they haven't asked me openly yet to be the means of carrying out their dirty deals1 but when they do1 ,i won't - ,miss ,ashton1 remonstrated ,kennedy1 ,i beg you to be calm4 ,i had no idea you would take it like this1 no idea4 ,please1 please4 ,walter1 you will excuse us if we take a turn down the corridor and out in the air4 ,this is most extraordinary4 ,for five or ten minutes ,kennedy and ,miss ,ashton appeared to be discussing the new turn of events earnestly1 while ,i waited impatiently4 ,as they approached again she seemed calmer1 but ,i heard her say1 ,i hope you're right4 ,i'm all broken up by it4 ,i'm ready to resign4 ,my faith in human nature is shaken4 ,no1 ,i won't expose ,wesley ,travis for his sake4 ,it cuts me to have to admit it1 but ,cadwalader used always to say that every man has his price4 ,i am afraid this will do great harm to the cause of reform and through it to the woman suffrage cause which cast its lot with this party4 ,i - ,i can hardly believe ,kennedy was still looking earnestly at her4 ,miss ,ashton1 he implored1 believe nothing4 ,remember one of the first rules of politics is loyalty4 ,wait until ,wait8 she echoed4 ,how can ,i8 ,i hate ,wesley ,travis for giving in - more than ,i hate ,cadwalader ,brown for his cynical disregard of honesty in others4 ,she bit her lip at thus betraying her feelings1 but what she had heard had evidently affected her deeply4 ,it was as though the feet of her idol had turned to clay4 ,nevertheless it was evident that she was coming to look on it more as she would if she were an outsider4 ,just think it over1 urged ,kennedy4 ,they won't ask you right away4 ,don't do anything rash4 ,suspend judgment4 ,you won't regret it4 ,craig's next problem seemed to be to transfer the scene of his operations to ,hanford's studio4 ,he was apparently doing some rapid thinking as we walked uptown after leaving ,miss ,ashton1 and ,i did not venture to question him on what had occurred when it was so evident that everything depended on being prepared for what was still to occur4 ,hanford was out4 ,that seemed to please ,kennedy1 for with a brightening face1 which told more surely than words that he saw his way more and more clearly1 he asked me to visit the agent and hire the vacant office next to the studio while he went uptown to complete his arrangements for the final step4 ,i had completed my part and was waiting in the empty room when he returned4 ,he lost no time in getting to work1 and it seemed to me as ,i watched him curiously in silence that he was repeating what he had already done at the ,travis headquarters4 ,he was boring into the wall1 only this time he did it much more carefully1 and it was evident that if he intended putting anything into this cavity it must be pretty large4 ,the hole was square1 and as ,i bent over ,i could see that he had cut through the plaster and laths all the way to the wallpaper on the other side1 though he was careful to leave that intact4 ,then he set up a square black box in the cavity1 carefully poising it and making measurements that told of the exact location of its centre with reference to the partitions and walls4 ,a skeleton key took us into ,hanford's well-lighted but now empty studio4 ,for ,miss ,ashton's sake ,i wished that the photographs had been there4 ,i am sure ,kennedy would have found slight compunction in a larceny of them1 if they had been4 ,it was something entirely different that he had in mind now1 however1 and he was working quickly for fear of discovery4 ,by his measurements ,i guessed that he was calculating as nearly as possible the centre of the box which he had placed in the hole in the wall on the other side of the dark wallpaper4 ,when he had quite satisfied himself he took a fine pencil from his pocket and made a light cross on the paper to indicate it4 ,the dot fell to the left of a large calendar hanging on the wall4 ,kennedy's appeal to ,margaret ,ashton had evidently had its effect1 for when we saw her a few moments after these mysterious preparations she had overcome her emotion4 ,they have asked me to carry a note to ,mr4 ,hanford's studio1 she said quietly1 and without letting them know that ,i know anything about it ,i have agreed to do so4 ,miss ,ashton1 said ,kennedy1 greatly relieved1 you're a trump4 ,no1 she replied1 smiling faintly1 ,i'm just feminine enough to be curious4 ,craig shook his head1 but did not dispute the point4 ,after you have handed the envelope to the person1 whoever it may be1 in ,hanford's studio1 wait until he does something - er - suspicious4 ,meanwhile look at the wall on the side toward the next vacant office4 ,to the left of the big calendar you will see a light pencil mark1 a cross4 ,somehow you must contrive to get near it1 but don't stand in front of it4 ,then if anything happens stick this little number #aj needle in the wall right at the intersection of the cross4 ,withdraw it quickly1 count fifteen1 then put this little sticker over the cross1 and get out as best you can1 though we shan't be far away if you should need us4 ,that's all4 ,we did not accompany her to the studio for fear of being observed1 but waited impatiently in the next office4 ,we could hear nothing of what was said1 but when a door shut and it was evident that she had gone1 ,kennedy quickly removed something from the box in the wall covered with a black cloth4 ,as soon as it was safe ,kennedy had sent me posting after her to secure copies of the incriminating photographs which were to be carried by her from the studio1 while he remained to see who came out4 ,i thought a change had come over her as she handed me the package with the request that ,i carry it to ,mr4 ,bennett and get them from him4 ,the first inkling ,i had that ,kennedy had at last been able to trace back something in the mysterious doings of the past two days came the following evening1 when ,craig remarked casually that he would like to have me call on ,billy ,mc,loughlin if ,i had no engagement4 ,i replied that ,i had none and managed to squirm out of the one ,i really had4 ,the ,boss's office was full of politicians1 for it was the eve of dough day1 when the purse strings were loosed and a flood of potent argument poured forth to turn the tide of election4 ,hanford was there with the other ward heelers4 ,mr4 ,mc,loughlin1 began ,kennedy quietly1 when we were seated alone with ,hanford in the little sanctum of the ,boss1 you will pardon me if ,i seem a little slow in coming to the business that has brought me here to-night4 ,first of all1 ,i may say1 and you1 ,hanford1 being a photographer will appreciate it1 that ever since the days of ,daguerre photography has been regarded as the one infallible means of portraying faithfully any object1 scene1 or action4 ,indeed a photograph is admitted in court as irrefutable evidence4 ,for when everything else fails1 a picture made through the photographic lens almost invariably turns the tide4 ,however1 such a picture upon which the fate of an important case may rest should be subjected to critical examination for it is an established fact that a photograph may be made as untruthful as it may be reliable4 ,combination photographs change entirely the character of the initial negative and have been made for the past fifty years4 ,the earliest1 simplest1 and most harmless photographic deception is the printing of clouds into a bare sky4 ,but the retoucher with his pencil and etching tool to-day is very skilful4 ,a workman of ordinary skill can introduce a person taken in a studio into an open-air scene well blended and in complete harmony without a visible trace of falsity4 ,i need say nothing of how one head can be put on another body in a picture1 nor need ,i say what a double exposure will do4 ,there is almost no limit to the changes that may be wrought in form and feature4 ,it is possible to represent a person crossing ,broadway or walking on ,riverside ,drive1 places he may never have visited4 ,thus a person charged with an offence may be able to prove an alibi by the aid of a skilfully prepared combination photograph4 ,where1 then1 can photography be considered as irrefutable evidence8 ,the realism may convince all1 will convince all1 except the expert and the initiated after careful study4 ,a shrewd judge will insist that in every case the negative be submitted and examined for possible alterations by a clever manipulator4 ,kennedy bent his gaze on ,mc,loughlin4 ,now1 ,i do not accuse you1 sir1 of anything4 ,but a photograph has come into the possession of ,mr4 ,travis in which he is represented as standing on the steps of your house with yourself and ,mr4 ,cadwalader ,brown4 ,he and ,mr4 ,brown are in poses that show the utmost friendliness4 ,i do not hesitate to say that that was originally a photograph of yourself1 ,mr4 ,brown1 and your own candidate4 ,it is a pretty raw deal1 a fake in which ,travis has been substituted by very excellent photographic forgery4 ,mc,loughlin motioned to ,hanford to reply4 ,a fake8 repeated the latter contemptuously4 ,how about the affidavits8 ,there's no negative4 ,you've got to prove that the original print stolen from ,travis1 we'll say1 is a fake4 ,you can't do it4 ,september #aith was the date alleged1 ,i believe8 asked ,kennedy quietly1 laying down the bundle of metric photographs and the alleged photographs of ,travis4 ,he was pointing to a shadow of a gable on the house as it showed in the metric photographs and the others4 ,you see that shadow of the gable8 ,perhaps you never heard of it1 ,hanford1 but it is possible to tell the exact time at which a photograph was taken from a study of the shadows4 ,it is possible in principle and practice and can be trusted4 ,almost any scientist may be called on to bear testimony in court nowadays1 but you would say the astronomer is one of the least likely4 ,well1 the shadow in this picture will prove an alibi for some one4 ,notice4 ,it is seen very prominently to the right1 and its exact location on the house is an easy matter4 ,you could almost use the metric photograph for that4 ,the identification of the gable casting the shadow is easy4 ,to be exact it is #ai4fb feet high4 ,the shadow is #ad4bc feet down1 #ac4aj feet east1 and #c4dc feet north4 ,you see ,i am exact4 ,i have to be4 ,in one minute it moved #j4jhj feet upward1 #j4jec feet to the right1 and #j4jif feet in its apparent path4 ,it passes the width of a weatherboard1 #j4cg foot1 in four minutes and thirty-seven seconds4 ,kennedy was talking rapidly of data which he had derived from his metric photograph1 from plumb line1 level1 compass1 and tape1 astronomical triangle1 vertices1 zenith1 pole and sun1 declination1 azimuth1 solar time1 parallactic angles1 refraction1 and a dozen bewildering terms4 ,in spherical trigonometry1 he concluded1 to solve the problem three elements must be known4 ,i knew four4 ,therefore ,i could take each of the known1 treat it as unknown1 and have four ways to check my result4 ,i find that the time might have been either three o'clock1 twenty-one minutes and twelve seconds1 in the afternoon1 or #c3ba 3#ca1 or #c 3#ba 3#bi1 or #c3ba 3#cc4 ,the average is #c 3#ba 3#bf1 and there can therefore be no appreciable error except for a few seconds4 ,for that date must have been one of two days1 either ,may #bb or ,july #bb4 ,between these two dates we must decide on evidence other than the shadow4 ,it must have been in ,may1 as the immature condition of the foliage shows4 ,but even if it had been in ,july1 that is far from being ,september4 ,the matter of the year ,i have also settled4 ,weather conditions1 ,i find1 were favourable on all#bjthese dates except that in ,september4 ,i can really answer1 with an assurance and accuracy superior to that of the photographer himself - even if he were honest - as to the real date4 ,the real picture1 aside from being doctored1 was actually taken last ,may4 ,science is not fallible1 but exact in this matter4 ,kennedy had scored a palpable hit4 ,mc,laughlin and ,hanford were speechless4 ,still ,craig hurried on4 ,but1 you may ask1 how about the automobile picture8 ,that also is an unblushing fake4 ,of course ,i must prove that4 ,in the first place1 you know that the general public has come to recognise the distortion of a photograph as denoting speed4 ,a picture of a car in a race that doesn't lean is rejected - people demand to see speed1 speed1 more speed even in pictures4 ,distortion does indeed show speed1 but that1 too1 can be faked4 ,hanford knows that the image is projected upside down by the lens on the plate1 and that the bottom of the picture is taken before the top4 ,the camera mechanism admits light1 which makes the picture1 in the manner of a roller blind curtain4 ,the slit travels from the top to the bottom and the image on the plate being projected upside down1 the bottom of the object appears on the top of the plate4 ,for instance1 the wheels are taken before the head of the driver4 ,if the car is moving quickly the image moves on the plate and each successive part is taken a little in advance of the last4 ,the whole leans forward4 ,by widening the slit and slowing the speed of the shutter1 there is more distortion4 ,now1 this is what happened4 ,a picture was taken of ,cadwalader ,brown's automobile1 probably at rest1 with ,brown in it4 ,the matter of faking ,travis or any one else by his side is simple4 ,if with an enlarging lantern the image of this faked picture is thrown on the paper like a lantern slide1 and if the right hand side is a little further away than the left1 the top further away than the bottom1 you can print a fraudulent high speed ahead picture4 ,true1 everything else in the picture1 even if motionless1 is distorted1 and the difference between this faking and the distortion of the shutter can be seen by an expert4 ,but it will pass4 ,in this case1 however1 the faker was so sure of that that he was careless4 ,instead of getting the plate further from the paper on the right he did so on the left4 ,it was further away on the bottom than on the top4 ,he got distortion all right1 enough still to satisfy the uninitiated4 ,but it was distortion in the wrong way6 ,the top of the wheel1 which goes fastest and ought to be most indistinct1 is1 in the fake1 as sharp as any other part4 ,it is a small mistake1 but fatal4 ,that picture is really at high speed - backwards6 ,it is too raw1 too raw4 ,you don't think people are going to swallow all that stuff1 do you8 asked ,hanford coolly1 in spite of the exposures4 ,kennedy paid no attention4 ,he was looking at ,mc,loughlin4 ,the ,boss was regarding him surlily4 ,well1 he said at length1 what of all this8 ,i had nothing to do with it4 ,why do you come to me8 ,take it to the proper parties4 ,shall ,i8 asked ,kennedy quietly4 ,he had uncovered another picture carefully4 ,we could not see it1 but as he looked at it ,mc,loughlin fairly staggered4 ,wh - where did you get that8 he gasped4 ,i got it where ,i got it1 and it is no fake1 replied ,kennedy enigmatically4 ,then he appeared to think better of it4 ,this1 he explained1 is what is known as a pinhole photograph4 ,three hundred years ago della ,porta knew the camera obscura1 and but for the lack of a sensitive plate would have made photographs4 ,a box1 thoroughly light-tight1 slotted inside to receive plates1 covered with black1 and glued tight1 a needle hole made by a number #aj needle in a thin sheet of paper and you have the apparatus for lensless photography4 ,it has a correctness such as no image-forming means by lenses can have4 ,it is literally rectigraphic1 rectilinear1 it needs no focussing1 and it takes a wide angle with equal effect4 ,even pinhole snapshots are possible where the light is abundant1 with a ten to fifteen second exposure4 ,that picture1 ,mc,loughlin1 was taken yesterday at ,hanford's4 ,after ,miss ,ashton left ,i saw who came out1 but this picture shows what happened before4 ,at a critical moment ,miss ,ashton stuck a needle in the wall of the studio1 counted fifteen closed the needle-hole1 and there is the record ,walter1 ,hanford1 - leave us alone an instant4 ,when ,kennedy passed out of the ,boss's office there was a look of quiet satisfaction on his face which ,i could not fathom4 ,not a word could ,i extract from him either that night or on the following day1 which was the last before the election4 ,i must say that ,i was keenly disappointed by the lack of developments1 however4 ,the whole thing seemed to me to be a mess4 ,everybody was involved4 ,what had ,miss ,ashton overheard and what had ,kennedy said to ,mc,loughlin8 ,above all1 what was his game8 ,was he playing to spare the girl's feelings by allowing the election to go on without a scandal for ,travis8 ,at last election night arrived4 ,we were all at the ,travis headquarters1 ,kennedy1 ,travis1 ,bennett1 and myself4 ,miss ,ashton was not present1 but the first returns had scarcely begun to trickle in when ,craig whispered to me to go out and find her1 either at her home or club4 ,i found her at home4 ,she had apparently lost interest in the election1 and it was with difficulty that ,i persuaded her to accompany me4 ,the excitement of any other night in the year paled to insignificance before this4 ,distracted crowds everywhere were cheering and blowing horns4 ,now a series of wild shouts broke forth from the dense mass of people before a newspaper bulletin board4 ,now came sullen groans1 hisses1 and catcalls1 or all together with cheers as the returns swung in another direction4 ,not even baseball could call out such a crowd as this4 ,lights blazed everywhere4 ,automobiles honked and ground their gears4 ,the lobster palaces were thronged4 ,police were everywhere4 ,people with horns and bells and all manner of noise-making devices pushed up one side of the thoroughfares and down the other4 ,hungrily1 ravenously they were feeding or the meagre bulletins of news4 ,yet back of all the noise and human energy ,i could only think of the silent1 systematic gathering and editing of the news4 ,high up in the ,league headquarters1 when we returned1 a corps of clerks was tabulating returns1 comparing official and semi-official reports4 ,as first the state swung one way1 then another1 our hopes rose and fell4 ,miss ,ashton seemed cold and ill at ease1 while ,travis looked more worried and paid less attention to the returns than would have seemed natural4 ,she avoided him and he seemed to hesitate to seek her out4 ,would the up-state returns1 ,i had wondered at first1 be large enough to overcome the hostile city vote8 ,i was amazed now to see how strongly the city was turning to ,travis4 ,mc,loughlin has kept his word1 ejaculated ,kennedy as district after district showed that the ,boss's pluralities were being seriously cut into4 ,his word8 ,what do you mean8 we asked almost together4 ,i mean that he has kept his word given to me at a conference which ,mr4 ,jameson saw but did not hear4 ,i told him ,i would publish the whole thing1 not caring whom or where or when it hit if he did not let up on ,travis4 ,i advised him to read his ,revised ,statutes again about money in elections1 and ,i ended up with the threat1 ',there will be no dough day1 ,mc,loughlin1 or this will be prosecuted to the limit4' ,there was no dough day4 ,you see the effect in the returns4 ,but how did you do it8 ,i asked1 not comprehending4 ,the faked photographs did not move him1 that ,i could see4 ,the words1 faked photographs1 caused ,miss ,ashton to glance up quickly4 ,i saw that ,kennedy had not told her or any one yet1 until the ,boss had made good4 ,he had simply arranged one of his little dramas4 ,shall ,i tell1 ,miss ,ashton8 he asked1 adding1 ,before ,i complete my part of the compact and blot out the whole affair8 ,i have no right to say no1 she answered tremulously1 but with a look of happiness that ,i had not seen since our first introduction4 ,kennedy laid down a print on a table4 ,it was the pinhole photograph1 a little blurry1 but quite convincing4 ,on a desk in the picture was a pile of bills4 ,mc,loughlin was shoving them away from him toward ,bennett4 ,a man who was facing forward in the picture was talking earnestly to some one who did not appear4 ,i felt intuitively1 even before ,kennedy said so1 that the person was ,miss ,ashton herself as she stuck the needle into the wall4 ,the man was ,cadwalader ,brown4 ,travis1 demanded ,kennedy1 bring the account books of your campaign4 ,i want the miscellaneous account particularly4 ,the books were brought1 and he continued1 turning the leaves1 ,it seemed to me to show a shortage of nearly twenty thousand dollars the other day4 ,why1 it has been made up4 ,how was that1 ,bennett8 ,bennett was speechless4 ,i will tell you1 ,craig proceeded inexorably4 ,bennett1 you embezzled that money for your business4 ,rather than be found out1 you went to ,billy ,mc,loughlin and offered to sell out the ,reform campaign for money to replace it4 ,with the aid of the crook1 ,hanford1 ,mc,loughlin's tool1 you worked out the scheme to extort money from ,travis by forged photographs4 ,you knew enough about ,travis's house and library to frame up a robbery one night when you were staying there with him4 ,it was inside work1 ,i found1 at a glance4 ,travis1 ,i am sorry to have to tell you that your confidence was misplaced4 ,it was ,bennett who robbed you and worse4 ,but ,cadwalader ,brown1 always close to his creature1 ,billy ,mc,loughlin1 heard of it4 ,to him it presented another idea4#bj ,to him it offered a chance to overthrow a political enemy and a hated rival for ,miss ,ashton's hand4 ,perhaps into the bargain it would disgust her with politics1 disillusion her1 and shake her faith in what he believed to be some of her 'radical' notions4 ,all could be gained at one blow4 ,they say that a check-book knows no politics1 but ,bennett has learned some1 ,i venture to say1 and to save his reputation he will pay back what he has tried to graft4 ,travis could scarcely believe it yet4 ,how did you get your first hint8 he gasped4 ,kennedy was digging into the wall with a bill file at the place where he had buried the little vulcanised disc4 ,i had already guessed that it was a dictograph1 though ,i could not tell how it was used or who used it4 ,there it was1 set squarely in the plaster4 ,there also were the wires running under the carpet4 ,as he lifted the rug under ,miss ,ashton's desk there also lay the huge circles of wire4 ,that was all4 ,at this moment ,miss ,ashton stepped forward4 ,last ,friday1 she said in a low tone1 ,i wore a belt which concealed a coil of wire about my waist4 ,from it a wire ran under my coat1 connecting with a small dry battery in a pocket4 ,over my head ,i had an arrangement such as the telephone girls wear with a receiver at one ear connected with the battery4 ,no one saw it1 for ,i wore a large hat which completely hid it4 ,if any one had known1 and there were plenty of eyes watching1 the whole thing would have fallen through4 ,i could walk around2 no one could suspect anything2 but when ,i stood or sat at my desk ,i could hear everything that was said in ,mr4 ,bennett's office4 ,by induction1 explained ,kennedy4 ,the impulses set up in the concealed dictograph set up currents in these coils of wire concealed under the carpet4 ,they were wirelessly duplicated by induction in the coil about ,miss ,ashton's waist and so affected the receiver under her very becoming hat4 ,tell the rest1 ,miss ,ashton4 ,i heard the deal arranged with this ,hanford1 she added1 almost as if she were confessing something1 but not understanding it as ,mr4 ,kennedy did1 ,i very hastily condemned ,mr4 ,travis4 ,i heard talk of putting back twenty thousand into the campaign accounts1 of five thousand given to ,hanford for his photographic work1 and of the way ,mr4 ,travis was to be defeated whether he paid or not4 ,i heard them say that one condition was that ,i should carry the purchase money4 ,i heard much that must have confirmed ,mr4 ,kennedy's suspicion in one way1 and my own in an opposite way1 which ,i know now was wrong4 ,and then ,cadwalader ,brown in the studio taunted me cynically and - and it cut me1 for he seemed right4 ,i hope that ,mr4 ,travis will forgive me for thinking that ,mr4 ,bennett's treachery was his ,a terrific cheer broke out among the clerks in the outer office4 ,a boy rushed in with a still unblotted report4 ,kennedy seized it and read3 ,mc,loughlin concedes the city by a small majority to ,travis1 fifteen election districts estimated4 ,this clinches the ,reform ,league victory in the state4 ,i turned to ,travis4 ,he was paying no attention except to the pretty apology of ,margaret ,ashton4 ,kennedy drew me to the door4 ,we might as well concede ,miss ,ashton to ,travis1 he said1 adding gaily1 by induction of an arm about the waist4 ,let's go out and watch the crowd4