The Darrow Enigma Part 13

Maitland started a little as he read the t.i.tle, and then said lightly: "Do you suppose, Doc, that woman's mummy is in existence?

I should like to find it. I've an idea she left some hieroglyphic message for me on her mummy-case, and doesn't propose to let me rest easy until I find and translate it. Now, if I believed in transmigration of souls--do you see any mark of Antony about me?

Say, though, just imagine the spirit of Marcus Antonius in a rubber ap.r.o.n, making an a.n.a.lysis of oleomargarine! But here we are; good-bye," and he left me without awaiting any reply. He seemed to me to be in decidedly better spirits than formerly, and I was at the time at a loss to account for it. The cause of his levity, however, was soon explained, for that night, as Gwen, my sister, and I were sitting cosily in the study according to our usual custom, Maitland walked in, unannounced. He had come now to be a regular visitor, and I invented not a few subterfuges to get him to call even oftener than he otherwise would, for I perceived that his coming gave pleasure to Gwen. She exhibited less depression when in his presence than at any other time. I had learned that hers was one of those deep natures in which grief crystallises slowly, but with an unconquerable persistence. Instead of her forgetting her bereavement, or the sense thereof waxing weaker by time, she seemed to be drifting toward that ever-present consciousness of loss in which the soul feels itself gradually, but surely, sinking under an insupportable burden--a burden so long borne, so well known, that the mind no longer thinks of it. The heart beats stolidly under its load, and seems to forget the time when it was not so oppressed. No one knows better than we physicians the danger of this autocracy of grief, and I watched Gwen with a solicitude at times almost bordering on despair. But, as I said before, she always seemed to show more interest in affairs when Maitland was present, and, on the night in question, his abrupt and unexpected entrance surprised her into the betrayal of more pleasure than she would have wished us to note, and, indeed, so quickly did she conceal her confusion that I was the only one who noticed it. Maitland was too busy with the news he brought.

"Well, Miss Darrow," he began at once, "at last your detective has got a clue--not much of a one--but still a clue. I can pick the man for whom we are looking from among a million of his fellows--if I am ever fortunate enough to get the chance."

Somebody has already called attention to the fact that women are more or less curious, and there are well-authenticated cases on record where this inquisitiveness has even extended to things which did not immediately concern themselves; so I have little doubt I shall be believed when I say the women folk were in a fever of expectancy, and besought Maitland with an earnestness quite unnecessary--(it would have required a great deal to have prevented his telling it)--to begin at the beginning, and relate the whole thing. He readily acceded to this request, and began by telling them the experiences which I have just narrated. It was, he said, during the last act of Sardou's "Cleopatra" that the idea had suddenly come to him to change the plan of search from the a.n.a.lytical to the synthetical.

"You see," he continued, "I had from the first been trying to find the a.s.sa.s.sin without knowing the exact way in which the crime was committed. I now determined to ascertain how, under the same circ.u.mstances, I could commit such a crime, and leave behind no other evidences of the deed than those which are in our possession.

I began to read detective stories, with all the avidity of a Western Union Telegraph messenger, and, of course, read those by Conan Doyle.

The a.s.sertion of 'Sherlock Holmes' that there is no novelty in crime; that crimes, like history, repeat themselves; and that criminals read and copy each other's methods, deeply impressed me, and I at once said to myself: 'If our a.s.sa.s.sin was not original, whom did he copy?'

"It was while reading 'The Sign of the Four,' which I had procured at the Public Library, that I made the first discovery. The crime therein narrated had been committed in such a singular manner that it at once attracted my attention. The victim had apparently been murdered without anyone having either entered or left the room. In this respect it was like the problem we are trying to solve. Might not this book, I said to myself, have suggested to your father's a.s.sa.s.sin the course he pursued. I concluded to go to the library and ask for a list of the names of persons who had taken out this book for a few months prior to your father's death. I was fully aware that the chance of my learning anything in this way was very slight, In the first place; I reasoned that it was not especially likely your father's murderer had read 'The Sign of the Four,'

and, in the second place, even if he had, what a.s.surance had I that he had read this particular copy of it? Notwithstanding this, however, I felt impelled to give my synthetical theory a fair experimental trial. I was informed by the Library attendants that the book had been much read, and given the list of some twenty names of persons who had borrowed the book during the time I had specified. With these twenty-odd names before me, I sat down to think what my next step should be. I went carefully over this chain of reasoning link by link. 'I wish to find a certain murderer, and have adopted this method in the hope that it may help me. If I derive any a.s.sistance at all from it, it will be because my man has read this particular copy of this work; therefore, I may as well a.s.sume at the start that among these twenty-odd names is that of the man I want. Is there any possibility of this crime having been committed by a woman?' was my next question, and my answer was, 'Yes, a possibility, but it is so decidedly improbable that I may count it out for the time being.' Accordingly, I set aside all the female names, which cut my list down to eighteen. Several of the applicants had only signed the initials of their given names, and the attendant, copying them from the slips, had done likewise; so I was obliged to go to the registration clerk to determine this question of s.e.x, and, while there, I also ascertained the age of each applicant--that is, of all but two. The registrar could give me no information regarding J. Z. Weltz, or B. W. Rizzi. When I told him that one of the clerks had copied the names for me from application slips, he informed me that if I would go back to her I would undoubtedly find she had taken the two last-mentioned names from the green slips used in applying for books for hall use, as neither J. Z. Weltz nor B. W. Rizzi was a card-holder.

"I decided to let these two names rest a while, and to give my attention to the others. After careful deliberation I felt reasonably sure your father's a.s.sa.s.sin could not fail to be a man of mature judgment and extraordinary cunning, probably a man past middle life--at all events, I could safely say he was over twenty-one years of age. Proceeding upon this a.s.sumption my list was reduced to ten names. But how should I further continue this process of exclusion? This was the question which now confronted me. I could think of but one way, apart from personally making the gentlemen's acquaintance, which I did not then wish to do, and that was to ascertain what other books they had borrowed immediately before and after they had read 'The Sign of the Four.' This was the course I determined to pursue.

"If you ask me why I so persistently followed an investigation, a successful outcome of which anyone must recognise would be little short of miraculous, I can only say that I felt impelled to do so.

Perhaps the impulse was due to my habit of testing patiently and thoroughly each new theory which impresses me as having any degree of probability, and perhaps it was due to something else--Cleopatra, perhaps, eh, Doctor?--I don't know. I determined, however, to thoroughly satisfy myself regarding these ten men. I made a careful list, with the a.s.sistance of an attendant, of ten books taken by each man, five taken just prior to 'The Sign of the Four,' and the other five just following it. I made no deductions until the list was completed, although I began to see certain things of interest as we worked upon it. At length the whole hundred t.i.tles were spread before me, and I sat down to see what I could make of them. I purposely reserved consideration of the books borrowed by Weltz and Rizzi until the last, because I had been able to learn nothing of them, and considered, therefore, that they were the most difficult persons in the list about whom to satisfy myself. I found the other eight exhibited no system in their reading. One had read --I think I can remember the books in the order in which they were borrowed--'Thelma,' 'Under Two Flags,' 'David Copperfield,' 'The Story of an African Farm,' 'A Study in Scarlet,' 'The Sign of the Four,' 'The Prisoner of Zenda,' 'The Dolly Dialogues,' 'The Yellow Aster,' 'The Superfluous Woman,' and 'Ideala.' This is a fair sample of the other seven. Not so, however, with Messrs. Weltz and Rizzi.

The reading of these men at once impressed me as having a purpose behind it.

"I will read you a list of the books taken by Weltz and Rizzi, just to see what you will make out of it:

WELTZ RIZZI

I."Lecons de Toxicologic," 1."Traite de Toxicologic,"

par M. Orifia. par C. P. Galtier.

2."The Poisons of Asps and 2."The Poisons of Asps and Other Stories," by Florence Other Stories," by Florence Marryat. Marryat.

3."A Practical Essay on 3."A Practical Essay on Cancer," by C. T. Johnson. Cancer," by C. T. Johnson.

4."The Sharper Detected 4."The Sharper Detected and Exposed," by R. Houdin. and Exposed," by R. Houdin.

5."The Sign of the Four," 5."The Sign of the Four,"

by A. Conan Doyle. by A. Conan Doyle.

6."Cancer, a New Method of 6."Legal Chemistry: A Treatment," by W. H. Guide to the Detection of Broadbent. Poisons, Examinations of Stains, etc., as Applied to Chemical Jurisprudence."

From the French of A. Naquet by J. P. Battershall, Nat.Sc.D.

7."Reports of Trials for 7."Traite Pratique des Murder by Poisoning," Maladies Cancerences,"

by G. L. Browne and C. par H. Lebert.

G. Stewart.

8."A Practical Treatise on 8."A Practical Treatise on Poisons," by O. H. Costill. Poisons," by O. H. Costill.

9."Poisons, Their Effects 9."A Treatise on Poisons in and Detection," by Alexander Relation to Medical Wynter Blyth. Jurisprudence, Physiology, and the Practice of Physic,"

by R. Christison,M.D., F.R.S.E.

10."Poisons, Their Effects 10."Poisons, Their Effects and Detection," by Alexander and Detection," by Alexander Wynter Blyth. Wynter Blyth.

"There, do you wonder that the perusal of that list excited me?

Come, now, before I go any further, tell me what you make of it, Doc," and he pa.s.sed it to me.

"There seems to me to be a singular unanimity of purpose existing between these two men," I said; "not only as regards the subject-matter of their reading, but in no less than six cases they have both perused the same volume. This never happened by chance.

Clearly, they are acquaintances, and are working together toward some common end. I should think it very likely, judging from their interest in cancers and toxicology, that they were medical students.

Numbers four and five don't exactly seem to strengthen my medical hypothesis, but they are only two out of the ten. That's about all I can make out of it;" and I returned the list to him.

"Your views in the matter," replied Maitland, "are precisely those which first occurred to me, and I am not sure but I should still hold them, had I been obliged to decide solely from the evidence I have submitted to you. It was clear to my mind from the first that some common purpose actuated both Weltz and Rizzi. With a view to ascertaining where they lived as a preparatory step toward learning more of them, I consulted a Boston directory, only to learn that it contained no such names. I was about to examine some of the directories of neighbouring towns when it occurred to me that the easiest way to find their places of residence would be to consult the green slips upon which they had procured their books, and I accordingly asked the attendant to kindly let me look at them.

While she was collecting the slips I re-examined the list of books taken by Weltz and Rizzi, especially those which had been taken by both men. One thing at once struck my attention, and that was that most of these latter were large books which would take a long time to peruse and would require to be borrowed several times for hall use, were they to be examined with any care. I put this fact down for future reference and gave my attention to the green slips, the whole twenty of which the attendant now placed before me. The residence of Weltz was given as No. 15 Staniford Place, Boston, while that of Rizzi was No. 5 Oak Street, Boston. I was about to walk over to Oak Street to see if Rizzi were still there when, in returning the slips to the attendant, I noticed a peculiarity in Weltz's 'z' which I had thought I had seen in Rizzi's signature.

I immediately compared the slips. There was the same oddly shaped 'z' in both. It was made like this"--and he handed us a slip of paper with this z* upon it.

"You see," he continued, "it is so unusual a way of making the letter that it at once attracted my attention, notwithstanding the fact that Rizzi wrote with his left hand. Closer examination revealed other peculiarities, as in the r*'s, common to both hands.

Well, to make a long story short, I satisfied myself that the same person wrote the whole twenty slips and was, moreover, ambidextrous.

This I considered as a very promising discovery, so much so, indeed, that I gave up an engagement I had for the evening and decided to camp right there until the Library closed. Happily the books I had been consulting were still on the table. I picked out those borrowed under the names of Weltz and Rizzi, and began a most careful examination of them. I had been working about two hours when I discovered something that fairly took my breath away. I was not sure that I was right, but I knew that, if my microscope bore me out, I would be able to stake my life that the murderer of John Darrow had read that book. I was aware, however, that even then I should not be able to name the man who had put his mark upon the book, but I could take oath that the record was made by the same hand that committed the murder.

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transcriber's note: the symbols designated z* and r* are shown as script which is not reproducible here.

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"I was too excited to do more till this had been settled, so I besought the official in charge to let me take all the books home with me, if only for a day, explaining to him the vital importance of my request. He readily consented and I hastened home with the whole lot. You may imagine with what interest I put the page I wished to examine under my microscope and laid beside it the piece of gla.s.s which, you will perhaps remember, I cut from a window of the room in which the murder was committed. I believe I have never yet explained to Miss Darrow why I preserved that bit of gla.s.s.

There were two reasons for it. The house had been primed that day and there were two s.m.u.tches of paint upon the gla.s.s and two almost identical s.m.u.tches upon the sill. One was a sinuous line, as if the gla.s.s had been struck with a short bit of rope,--or possibly rubber tubing since no rope-like texture was visible,--which had previously been soiled with the paint from the sill. The other mark was that of a human thumb. I had seen at the World's Fair an exhibit of these thumbmarks collected by a Frenchman who has made an exhaustive study of the subject, and had learned there for the first time that no two thumbs in the world can make the same mark. I knew, therefore, that this slip of gla.s.s would at any time tell me whether or not a suspected man were guilty. I had not failed to get the thumb-marks of the men who painted the house on that day, as well as those of every other person known to be about the place. The marks upon the gla.s.s could not, by any possibility, have been made by any of them. The deduction was inevitable. They were made by the man who stood by the window when the murder was committed.

"You will be surprised when I tell you it was some moments before I could summon up courage to look through my microscope upon the page beneath it. You see, I had been seized by an unaccountable conviction that I had at last found a real clue to the murderer, and I dreaded lest the first glance should show this to have been an idle delusion. At length I looked. The thumb that had pressed the paper was the thumb that had pressed the gla.s.s! There was not a doubt of it. My suspicions were confirmed. Everything now regarding this book was of immense importance. The page upon which the mark was found--well, I think you would open your eyes if I were to read it to you. I will defer this pleasure, however, till I see if my suspicions are correct. The thumb-mark is upon page 469 of 'Poisons, Their Effects and Detection,' by Alexander Wynter Blyth.

"No sooner had I made sure of my discovery than I set out for No. 5 Oak Street, the address given by Rizzi. There was no such person there, nor had there been anyone of that name in the house during the three years of the present tenant's occupancy. I went to 15 Staniford Place with the same result. A young woman about twenty-five years of age came to the door. She informed me that she had been born in the house and had always lived there. She had never known anyone by the name of Weltz. This was just what I had expected. The man for whom we are searching is shrewd almost beyond belief, and if we succeed in finding him it will not, we may be a.s.sured, be the result of any bungling on his part.

"I have now told you all I have learned, or rather all that is sufficiently definite to communicate--it is not much, yet it is a clue and may serve to give our hope a new lease of life. What do you think of it, Miss Darrow?"

"I think what you have learned," Gwen replied, "will be of the utmost importance. You have now something definite to guide you.

I am most fortunate in having the services of such a detective, --indeed, I am at a loss to know how to thank you for all you have done,--for all you are doing, I--"

"My dear Miss Darrow," Maitland interrupted, "I need no thanks. Be a.s.sured I am selfish in all I do. It is a pleasure to me, therefore I do it. You see I deserve no credit. If I am able to free you from the danger of sacrificing yourself, I shall be more than repaid."

Gwen made no reply, but I, sitting as I did close beside her, saw the moisture gather between her drooping lids. Maitland took his leave almost immediately, having, he said, a long evening's work before him; while Gwen, Alice, and I discussed the news he had brought us, until far into the night. I did not see him the next day, which was Tuesday, and I believe not on Wednesday. It was Thursday afternoon, if I do not mistake, that he sent me a note asking me to call on him at his office. I went at once, thinking it might be something very important. I found him alone and waiting for me.

"I wanted," he began as soon as I was seated, "to talk this matter over with you. You see the great difficulty which besets me in this case is that nearly all our evidence, while it is of a nature to enable us to convict our man once we have him, is yet of almost no a.s.sistance to us in finding him. What do we know of him up to date; or at least of what do we feel reasonably a.s.sured? Let us see.

John Darrow was poisoned in some mysterious way by a man who was stationed just outside the partly opened window. The weapon, or whatever was used as such, was taken away by the murderer. Nothing in the nature of a projectile could have been employed, since the wound was upon a part of the victim's throat known to have been turned away from the window and to have been completely s.h.i.+elded upon that side by the high and ma.s.sive back of the chair in which the victim sat.

"He was fully eight feet from the cas.e.m.e.nt, so that the a.s.sa.s.sin could not have reached in and struck him. There were no footprints by the window, as the a.s.sa.s.sin had strapped small boards upon his feet. It is most likely, therefore, that he has some peculiarity about his feet which he thought best to conceal. He is about five feet five inches tall, weighs about one hundred and thirty-five pounds, and steps three or four inches longer when the right foot is thrown forward than he does when the left foot leads. We have a cast of the a.s.sa.s.sin's hand showing unmistakable evidence of the habit of biting the nails, with the exception of that of the little finger, which nail, by the way, is abnormally long, and could only have been spared for some special reason. The murderer is most likely a foreigner. His handwriting would indicate this even if we did not know, from the books he read, how conversant he is with at least one foreign tongue. Again, he has some decided interest in the subject of cancers and, perhaps, some interest in legerdemain, if we may judge from his perusal of Robert Houdin's book.

"There are one or two other things I have learned, but this, so far as any present effect is concerned, is about all we know, and it doesn't seem to make the conduct of our search a very easy matter.

We have clearly to deal with a man who is possessed not merely of low criminal cunning, but, I have reason to believe, with one who has education and culture, and, if anything can be judged from handwriting, rare strength of character as well. If we could only find some motive! No one but a maniac would do such a deed without a motive, yet we can't find one. A maniac! By Jove! I hadn't thought of that. What do you think of the idea? 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in't,' eh?"