 Chapter 6 of The Red Thumblark. The Red Thumblark by R. Austin Freeman. Chapter 6. Committed for trial. Thorneleg's hint as to the possible danger foreshadowed by my growing intimacy with Juliet Gibson had come upon me as a complete surprise, and had, indeed, been resented by me as somewhat of an impermanence. Nevertheless, it gave me considerable food for meditation, and I presently began to suspect that the watchful eyes of my observant friend might have detected something in my manner towards Ms. Gibson, suggestive of sentiments that had been unsuspected by myself. Of course, it would be absurd to suppose that any real feeling could have been engendered by so ridiculously brief an acquaintance. I had only met the girl three times, and even now, accepting for business relations, was hardly entitled to more than a vow of recognition. But yet, when I considered the matter impartially, and examined my own consciousness, I could not but recognize that she had aroused in me an interest which bore no relation to the part that she played in the drama that was so slowly unfolding. She was undeniably a very handsome girl, and her beauty was of a type that especially appealed to me, full of dignity and character that gave promise to a splendid middle age, and her personality was in other ways not less attractive, for she was frank and open, sprightly and intelligent, and though evidently quite self-reliant, was, in no wise, lacking in that womanly softness that so strongly engages a man's sympathy. In short, I realized that, had there been no such person as Ruben Hornby, I should have viewed Miss Gibson with uncommon interest. But unfortunately, Ruben Hornby was a most palpable reality, and, moreover, the extraordinary difficulties of his position entitled him to very special consideration by any man of honor. It was true that Miss Gibson had repudiated any feelings towards Ruben other than those of old-time friendship, but young ladies are not always impartial judges of their own feelings, and as a man of the world, I could not but have my own opinion on the matter, which opinion I believed to be shared by Thorndike. The conclusions to which my cogitations at length brought me were, first, that I was an egotistical donkey, and second, that my relations with Miss Gibson were of an exclusively business character, and must, in future, be conducted on that basis, with the added consideration that I was the confidential agent for the time being of Ruben Hornby, and in honor bound to regard his interests as paramount. I am hoping, said Thorndike, as he held out his hand for my teacup, that these profound reflections of yours are connected with the Hornby affair, in which case I should expect to hear that the riddle is solved, and the mystery made plain. Well, I should you expect that, I demanded, reddening somewhat, I suspect, as I met his twinkling eye. There was something rather disturbing in the dry, quizzical smile that I encountered, and the reflection that I had been under observation, and I felt as much embarrassed as I should suppose a self-conscious water flea might feel on finding himself on the illuminated stage of a binocular microscope. My dear fellow, said Thorndike, you have not spoken a word for the last quarter of an hour. You have devoured your food with the relentless regularity of a sausage machine, and you have, from time to time, made the most damnable faces of the coffee pot. Though there I'll wager the coffee pot was even with you, if I may judge by the presentment that it offers of my own countenance. I roused myself from my reverie with a laugh at Thorndike's coin conceit, and a glance at the grotesquely distorted reflection of my face in the polished silver. I am afraid I have been a rather dull companion this morning, I admitted apologetically. By no means, replied Thorndike with a grin, on the contrary, I have found you both amusing and instructive, and I only spoke when I had exhausted your potentialities as a silent entertainer. You're pleased to be facetious at my expense, said I. Well, the expense was not a very heavy one, he retorted. I have been merely consuming a byproduct of your mental activity. Hello? That's Ansty already. A peculiar knock, apparently delivered with the handle of a walking stick on the outer door, was the occasion of this exclamation, and as Thorndike sprang up and flung the door open, a clear musical voice was born in, then measured cadences of which proclaimed at once the trained orator. Hail, learned brother! He exclaimed. Do I disturb you untimely as your studies? Here our visitor entered the room and looked around critically. Tis even so, he declared. Physiological chemistry and its practical applications appears to be the subject. A physicochemical inquiry into the properties of streaky bacon and fried eggs. Do I see another learned brother? He peered keenly at me through his pincenets, and I gazed at him in some embarrassment. This is my friend Jervis, of whom you have heard me speak, said Thorndike. He is with us, in this case, you know. The echoes of your fame have reached me, sir, said Anstie, holding out his hand. I am proud to know you. I should have recognized you instantly from the portrait of your lamented uncle in Greenwich Hospital. Anstie is a wag, you understand, explained Thorndike, but he has lucid intervals. He'll have one presently if we are patient. Patient! snorted our eccentric visitor. It is I who need to be patient when I am dragged into police courts and other sinks of iniquity to plead for common thieves and robbers, like a Kennington Lane advocate. You've been talking to Lolly, I see, said Thorndike. Yes, and he tells me that we haven't a leg to stand upon. No, we've got to stand on our heads, as men of intellect should. But Lolly knows nothing about the case. He thinks he knows it all, said Anstie. Most fools do, retorted Thorndike. We arrive at their knowledge by intuition, induced easy road, and cheap traveling too. We reserve our defense. I suppose you agree to that? I suppose so. The magistrate is sure to commit unless you have an unquestionable alibi. We shall put in an alibi, but we are not depending on it. And we had better reserve our defense, said Anstie, and it is time that we winded on our pilgrimage, for we are due at Lollies at half-past ten. Is Jervis coming with us? Yes, he'd better come, said Thorndike. It's the adjourned hearing of poor Hornby's case, you know. There won't be anything done on our side, but we may be able to glean some hint from the prosecution. I should like to hear what takes place, at any rate, I said. And we accordingly sally forth together in the direction of Lincoln's in, on the north side of which Mr. Lollies' office was situated. Ah, said the solicitor as we entered. I am glad you've come. I was getting anxious. It doesn't do to be late on these occasions, you know. Let me see. Do you know Mr. Walter Hornby? I don't think you do. He presented Thorndike and me to our client's cousin. And as we shook hands, we viewed one another with a good deal of mutual interest. I have heard about you from my aunt, said he, addressing himself more particularly to me. She appears to regard you as a kind of legal masculine and cook. I hope, for my cousin's sake, that you will be able to work the wonders that she anticipates. Poor old fellow. He looks pretty bad, doesn't he? I glanced at Ruben, who was, at the moment, talking to Thorndike. And as he caught my eye, he held out his hand with the warmth that I found very pathetic. He seemed to have aged since I had last seen him, and was pale and rather thinner. But he was composed in his manner, and seemed to me to be taking his trouble very well on the whole. Cab's in the door, sir, a clerk announced. Cab, repeated Mr. Lollie, looking dubiously at me, we want an omnibus. Dr. Jervis and I can walk, Walter Hornby suggested. We shall probably get there as soon as you, and it doesn't matter if we don't. Yes, that will do, said Mr. Lollie. You two walk down together. Now let us go. We trooped out onto the pavement, beside which a four wheeler was drawn up. And as the others were entering the cab, Thorndike stood close beside me for a moment. Don't let him pump you, he said in a low voice, without looking at me. Then he sprang into the cab and slammed the door. What an extraordinary affair this is, Walter Hornby remarked, after we had been walking in silence for a minute or two, a most ghastly business. I must confess that I can make neither head nor tail of it. How is that? I asked. Why, do you see, there are apparently only two possible theories of the crime. And each of them seems to be unthinkable. On the one hand, there is Reuben, a man of most scrupulous honor. As far as my experience of him goes, committing a mean and sordid theft for which no motive can be discovered. For he is not poor nor pecuniarily embarrassed, nor in the smallest degree avaricious. On the other hand, there is this thumbprint, which, in the opinion of the experts, is tantamount to the evidence of an eyewitness that he did commit the theft. It is positively bewildering. Don't you think so? As you put it, I answered, the case is extraordinarily puzzling. But how else would you put it, he demanded, with ill-concealed eagerness? I mean that if Reuben is the man you believe him to be, the thing is incomprehensible. Quite so, he agreed, though he was evidently disappointed at my colorless answer. He walked on silently for a few minutes and then said, I suppose it would not be fair to ask if you see any way out of the difficulty? We are all naturally anxious about the upshot of the affair, seeing what poor old Reuben's position is. Naturally. But the fact is that I know no more than you do, and as to Thorndike, he might as well cross-examine a wistful native as put questions to him. Yes, so I gathered from Juliet. But I thought you might have gleaned some notion of the line of defense from your work in the laboratory, the microscopical and photographic work I need. I was never in the laboratory until last night, when Thorndike took me there with your aunt and Miss Gibson. The work there is done by a laboratory assistant, and his knowledge of the case, I should say, is about as great as a type-founder's knowledge of the books that he's helping to produce. No, Thorndike is a man who plays a single-handed game, and no one knows what cards he holds until he lays them on the table. My companion considered this statement in silence, while I congratulated myself on having parried with great detroitness, a rather inconvenient question. But the time was not far distant when I should have occasion to reproach myself bitterly for having been so explicit and emphatic. My uncle's condition, Walter resumed after a pause, is a pretty miserable one at present, with this horrible affair added to his own personal worries. Has he any special trouble besides this, then? I asked. Why, haven't you heard? I thought you knew about it, or I shouldn't have spoken. Not that it is in any way a secret, seeing that it is public property in the city. The fact is that his financial affairs are a little entangled just now. Indeed, I exclaimed, considerably startled by this new development. Yes, things have taken a rather awkward turn, though I think he will pull through all right. It is the usual thing, you know, investments, or perhaps one should say, speculations. He appears to have sunk a lot of capital in mines, though he was, in the know, not unnaturally. But it seems he wasn't, after all, and the things have gone wrong. Leaving him with a deal more money than he can afford, locked up, and the possibility of a dead loss, if they don't revive. Then there are these infernal diamonds. He is not morally responsible, we know, but it is a question if he is not legally responsible, though the lawyers think he is not. Anyhow, there is going to be a meeting of the creditors tomorrow. And what do you think they will do? Oh, they will most probably let him go on for the present. But of course, if he is made accountable for the diamonds, there will be nothing for it but to go through the hoop, as the sporting financier expresses it. The diamonds were of considerable value then? From 25 to 30,000 pounds worth vanished with that parcel. I whistled. This was a much bigger affair than I had imagined, and I was wondering if Thorndike had realized the magnitude of the robbery when we arrived at the police court. I suppose our friends have gone inside, said Walter. They must have got here before us. This supposition was confirmed by a constable of whom we made inquiry and who directed us to the entrance to the court. Passing down a passage and elbowing our way through the thong of eyedlers, we made for the solicitor's box, where we had barely taken our seats when the case was called. Unspeakably dreary and depressing were the brief proceedings that followed and dreadfully suggestive of the helplessness of even an innocent man on whom the law has laid its hand and in whose behalf its inexorable machinery has been set in motion. The presiding magistrate, emotionless and dry, dipped his pen while Rubin, who had surrendered to his bail, was placed in the dock and the charge read over him. The counsel representing the police gave an abstract of the case, with a matter of fact air of a house agent describing an eligible property. Then, when the plea of not guilty had been entered, the witnesses were called. There were only two, and when the name of the first, John Hornby, was called, I glanced towards the witness box with no little curiosity. I had not hitherto met Mr. Hornby, and as he now entered the box, I saw an elderly man, tall, floored, and well-preserved, but strained and wild in expression and displaying his uncontrollable agitation by continual nervous movements which contrasted curiously with the composed demeanor of the accused man. Nevertheless, he gave his evidence in a perfectly connected manner, recounting the events connected with the discovery of the crime in much the same words as I had heard Mr. Lolley use, though, indeed, he was a good deal more emphatic than that gentleman had been in regards to the excellent character born by the prisoner. After him came Mr. Singleton of the fingerprint department at Scotland Yard, to whose evidence I listened with close attention. He produced the paper which bore the thumbprint in blood, which had previously been identified by Mr. Hornby, and the paper bearing the print, taken by himself, of the prisoner's left thumb. These two thumbprints, he stated, were identical in every respect. And you are of opinion that the mark on the paper that was found in Mr. Hornby's safe was made by the prisoner's left thumb, the magistrate asked in dry and business-like tones. I am certain of it. You are of opinion that no mistake is possible? No mistake is possible, Your Worship. It is a certainty. The magistrate looked at Ansty inquiringly, whereupon the barrister rose. We reserve our defense, Your Worship. The magistrate then, in the same placid, business-like manner, committed the prisoner for trial at the central criminal court, refusing to accept bail for his appearance, and, as Reuben was led forth from the dock, the next case was called. By special favor of the authorities, Reuben was to be allowed to make his journey to Holloway in a cab, thus escaping the horrors of the filthy and verminous prison van. And while this was being procured, his friends were permitted to wish him farewell. This is a hard experience, Hornby, said Thornyke, when we three were, for a few moments, left apart from the others. And as he spoke, the warmth of a really sympathetic nature broke through his habitual impassivity. But be of good cheer, I have convinced myself of your innocence, and have good hopes of convincing the world, though this is for your private ear, you understand, to be mentioned to no one. Reuben wrung the hand of this friend in need, but was unable for the moment to speak. And, as his self-control was evidently strained to the breaking point, Thornyke, with a man's natural instinct, wished him a hasty goodbye, and, passing his hand through my arm, turned away. I wish it had been possible to save the poor fellow from this delay, and especially from the degradation of being locked up in a jail, he exclaimed regretfully as we walked down the street. There is surely no degradation of being merely accused of a crime, I answered, without much conviction, however. It may happen to the best of us, and he is still an innocent man in the eyes of the law. That, my dear Jervis, you know as well as I do, to be mere causuistry, he rejoined. The law professes to regard the unconvicted man as innocent, but how does it treat him? You heard how the magistrate addressed our friend. Outside the court, he would have called him Mr. Hortonby. You know what will happen to Reuben at Holloway. He will be ordered about by warders. He will have a number of label fastened onto his coat. He will be locked in the cell with a spy hole in the door, through which any passing stranger may watch him. His food will be hinted to him in a tin pan with a tin knife and spoon. He will be periodically called out of his cell, and driven round the exercise yard with a mob composed, for the most part, of the sweepings of the London slums. If he is acquitted, he will be turned loose without a suggestion of compensation or apology for these indignities or the losses he may have sustained through his detention. Still, I suppose these evils are unavoidable, I said. That may or may not be, he retorted. My point is that the presumption of innocence is a pure fiction that the treatment of an accused man from the moment of his arrest is that of a criminal. However, he concluded, feeling a passing handsome. This discussion must be adjourned, or I shall be late at the hospital. What are you going to do? I shall get some lunch and then call on Miss Gibson to let her know the real position. Yes, that will be kind, I think. Baldwin stated, the news may seem rather alarming. I was tempted to thrash the case out in the police court, but it would not have been safe. He would almost certainly have been committed for trial after all, and then we should have shown our hand the prosecution. He sprang into the handsome and was feebly swallowed up in the traffic while I turned back towards the police court to make certain inquiries concerning the regulations as to visitors at Holloway prison. At the door I met the friendly inspector from Scotland Yard who gave me the necessary information whereupon with a certain homely little French restaurant in my mind I bent my steps in the direction of Soho. End of Chapter 6 Recording by John L. Clark Chapter 7 of The Red Thumb Mark This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 7 Shoals and Quick Sands When I arrived at Ensland Gardens Miss Gibson was at home and to my unspeakable relief Mrs. Hornby was not. My veneration for that lady's moral qualities was excessive, but her conversation drove me to the verge of insanity. An insanity not entirely free from homicidal tendencies. It is good of you to come though I thought you would, Miss Gibson said impulsively as we shook hands. You've been so sympathetic and human both you and Dr. Thorndike so free from professional stiffness my aunt went off to see Mr. Lolly directly we got Walter's telegram. I am sorry for her I said and was on the point of adding and him but fortunately a glimmer of sense restrained me. She will find him dry enough. Yes I dislike him extremely. Do you know that he had the impudence to advise Ruben to plead guilty? He told us he had done so and got a well-deserved snubbing from Thorndike for his pains. I am so glad exclaimed Miss Gibson viciously but tell me what has happened. Walter simply said transfer to higher court which we agreed was to mean committed for trial. Has the defense failed and where is Ruben? The defense is reserved. Dr. Thorndike considered it almost certain that the case would be sent for trial and that being so decided that it was essential to keep the prosecution in the dark as to the line of defense. You see if the police knew what the defense was to be they could revise their own plans accordingly. I see that she said dejectedly but I am dreadfully disappointed I had hoped that Dr. Thorndike would get the case dismissed. What has happened to Ruben? This was the question that I had dreaded and now that I had to answer it I cleared my throat and bent my gaze nervously on the floor. The magistrate refused bail I said after an uncomfortable pause. Well consequently Ruben has been detained in custody. You don't mean to say that they have sent him to prison? She exclaimed breathlessly. Not as a convicted prisoner you know he is merely detained pending his trial But in prison? Yes I was forced to admit in Holloway prison She looked me stonely in the face for some seconds pale and wide-eyed but silent. Then with a sudden catch in her breath she turned away and grasping the edge of the mantel shelf laid her head upon her arm and burst into a passion of sobbing. Now I am not in general an emotional man or even especially impulsive am I a stock or a stone or an effigy of wood which I most surely must have been if I could have looked without being deeply moved on the grief so natural and unselfish of this strong, brave, loyal hearted woman In effect I moved to her side and gently taking in mind the hand that hung down murmured some incoherent words of consolation in a particularly husky voice presently she recovered herself somewhat and softly with her hand as she turned towards me drying her eyes He must forgive me for distressing you as I fear I have, she said for you are so kind and I feel that you are really my friend and Rubens I am indeed, dear Miss Gibson I replied and so I assured you is my colleague I am sure of it she rejoined but I was so unprepared for this I cannot say why accepting that I trusted so entirely horrible and above all so dreadfully suggestive of what may happen Up to now the whole thing has seemed like a nightmare, terrifying but yet unreal but now that he is actually in prison it has suddenly become a dreadful reality and I am overwhelmed with terror Oh poor boy, what will become of him for pity's sake Dr. Jervis tell me what is going to happen What could I do I had heard Thorndike's words of encouragement to Ruben and his colleague well enough to feel sure that he meant all he had said doubtless my proper course would have been to keep my own counsel and put Miss Gibson off with cautious ambiguities but I could not, she was worthy of more confidence than that He must not be unduly alarmed about the future, I said I have it from Dr. Thorndike that he is convinced of Rubens innocence and is hopeful of being able to make it clear to the world but I did not have this to repeat a slight qualm of conscience I know, she said softly and I thank you from my heart and as to this present misfortune I continued, he must not let it distress you too much try to think of it as a surgical operation which is a dreadful thing in itself but is accepted in lieu of something which is immeasurably more dreadful I will try to do as you tell me she answered meekly but it is so shocking to think of a cultivated gentleman like Ruben hurting with common thieves and murderers and locked in a cage like some wild animal think of the ignominy and degradation there is no ignominy in being wrongfully accused I said, a little guiltily I must own for Thorndike's words came back to me with all their force but regardless of this I went on an acquittal will restore him to his position with an unstained character and nothing but the recollection of a passing inconvenience to look back upon she gave her eyes a final wipe and resolutely put away her handkerchief you have given me back my courage she said and chased away my terror I cannot tell you how I feel your goodness nor have I any thank offering to make except the promise to be brave and patient henceforth and trust in you entirely she said this with such a grateful smile and looked with all so sweet and womanly that I was seized with an overpowering impulse to take her in my arms instead of this I said with conscious feebleness I am more than thankful to have been able to give you any encouragement which you must remember comes from me second hand after all it is to Dr. Thorndike that we all look for ultimate deliverance I know but it is you who came to come for me in my trouble so you see the honors are divided and not divided quite equally I fear for women are unreasoning creatures as no doubt your experience has informed you I think I hear my aunt's voice so you'd better escape before your retreat is cut off but before you go you must tell me how and when I can see Reuben I want to see him at the earliest possible moment poor fellow he must not be allowed to feel that his friends have forgotten him even for a single instant you can see him tomorrow if you like I said and casting my good resolutions to the winds I added I shall be going to see him myself would you let me call the temple and go with you? should I be much in the way? it is rather an alarming thing to go to a prison alone it is not to be thought of I answered if you will call the temple it is on the way we can drive to Holloway together I suppose you are resolved to go it will be rather implicit as you are probably aware I am quite resolved what time shall I come to the temple? about two o'clock if that will suit you I will be punctual and now you must go or you will be caught she pushed me gently towards the door and holding out her hand said I haven't thanked you half enough and I never can goodbye she was gone and I stood alone in the street up which yellowish wreaths of fog were beginning to roll it had been quite clear and bright when I entered the house but now the sky was settling down into a colorless gray the light was failing and the houses dwindling into dim, unreal shapes managed to halve their height nevertheless I stepped out briskly and strode along at a good pace as a young man is apt to do when his mind is in somewhat of a ferment in truth I had a good deal to occupy my thoughts and as will often happen both to young man and old those matters that bore most directly upon my own life and prospects were the first to receive attention what sort of relations were growing up between Julia Gibson and me and what was my position as to hers it seemed plain enough she was wrapped up in Ruben Hornby and I was her very good friend because I was his but for myself there was no disguising the fact that I was beginning to take an interest in her that boated ill from my peace of mind never had I met a woman who so entirely realized my conception of what a woman should be nor one who exercised so great a charm over me her strength and dignity her softness and dependency everything of her beauty fitted her with the necessary weapons for my complete and utter subjugation and utterly subjugated I was there was no use in denying that fact even though I realized already that the time would presently come when she would want me no more and there would remain no remedy for me but to go away and try to forget her but was I acting as a man of honor to this I felt I could fairly answer yes for I was but doing my duty and could hardly act differently if I wished to besides I was jeopardizing no one's happiness but my own and a man may do as he pleases with his own happiness no even Thorndike could not accuse me of dishonorable conduct presently my thoughts took a fresh turn and I began to reflect upon what I had heard concerning Mr. Hornby here was a startling development indeed and I wondered what difference it would make in Thorndike's hypothesis of the crime what his theory was I had never been able to guess but as I walked along through the thickening fog I tried to fit this new fact into our collection of data and determine its bearings and significance in this for a time I failed utterly the red thumb mark filled my field of vision to the exclusion of all else to me as to everyone else but Thorndike this fact was final and pointed to a conclusion that was unanswerable but as I turned the story of the crime over and over there came to me presently an idea that said in motion a new and very startling train of thought could Mr. Hornby himself be the thief his failure appeared son to the outside world but he must have seen difficulties coming there indeed was the thumb mark on the leaf which he had torn from his pocket block yes but who had seen him tear it off no one the fact rested on his bare statement but the thumb mark possible though unlikely still possible that the mark might have been made accidentally on some previous occasion and forgotten by Reuben or even unnoticed Mr. Hornby had seen the thumb in fact his own mark was in it and so would have had his attention directed to the importance of fingerprints in identification he might have kept the marked paper for future use and on the occasion of the robbery penciled a dated inscription on it and slipped it into the safe as a sure means of diverting suspicion all this was improbable in the highest degree but then so was every other explanation of the crime and as to the unspeakable baseness of the deed one action is too base for a gambler in difficulties I was so much excited and elated by my own ingenuity and having formed an intelligible and practicable theory of the crime that I was now impatient to reach home that I might impart my news to Thorndike and see how they affected him but as I approached the center of the town the fog grew so dense that all my attention was needed to enable me to thread my way safely through the traffic while the strange deceptive aspect that it lent to familiar objects and the obliteration of landmarks made my progress so slow that it was already past six o'clock when I felt my way down middle Temple Lane and crept through Crown Office Row towards my colleagues chambers on the doorstep I found Poulton peering with anxious face into the blank expanse of yellow vapor the doctor's late sir said he, detained by the fog I expect, it must be pretty thick in the burrow I may mention that to Poulton Thorndike was the doctor other inferior creatures there were indeed to whom the title of doctor in a way appertained but they were of no account in Poulton's eyes surnames were good enough for them yes it must be the condition of the strand I entered and ascended the stairs flat enough with the prospect of a warm and well-lighted broom after my comfortless groping in the murky streets and Poulton with a final glance up and down the walk reluctantly followed you would like some tea sir I expect said he as he let me in though I had a key of my own now I thought I should and he accordingly said about the preparations in his deft methodical way but with an air of abstraction that was unusual with him the doctor said he should be home by five he remarked as he laid the teapot on the tray then he is a defaulter I answered we shall have to water his tea a wonderful punctual man sir is the doctor pursued Poulton keeps his time to the minute as a rule he does you can't keep your time to a minute in a London particular I said a little impatiently for I wish to be alone that matters and Poulton's nervous flutterings irritated me somewhat he was almost as bad as a female housekeeper the little man evidently perceived my state of mind for he stole away silently leaving me rather penitent and ashamed and as I presently discovered on looking out of the window resumed his vigil on the doorstep from this coin advantage he returned after a time to take away the tea things and thereafter as well as foggy I could hear him softly flitting up and down the stairs with a gloomy stealthiness that at length reduced me to a condition as nervously apprehensive as his own End of Chapter 7 Recording by John L. Clark Chapter 8 of The Red Thumb Mark This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Rosie The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 8 A Suspicious Accident The Temple Clock had announced in soft and confidential tones that it was a quarter to seven in which statement it was stoutly supported by its colleague in our mental piece and still there was no sign of thorn-dike it was really a little strange for he was the soul of punctuality and moreover his engagements were of such a kind as rendered punctuality possible as burning with impatience to impart my news to him and this fact, together with the ghostly proceedings of Poulton worked me up to a state of nervous tension that rendered either rest or thought equally impossible I looked out of the window at the lamp below glaring redly through the fog and then opening the door went out on the landing to listen At this moment Poulton made a silent appearance on the stairs leading from the laboratory giving me quite a start and I was about to retire into the room when my ear caught the tinkle of a handsome looking from paper buildings the vehicle drew nearer and at length stopped opposite the house on which Poulton slid down the stairs with the agility of a harlequin a few moments later I heard his voice ascending from the hall I do hope sir, you're not much hurt I ran down the stairs and met thorn-dike coming up slowly with his right hand on Poulton's shoulder his clothes were muddy his left arm was in a sling and a black handkerchief under his hat evidently concealed a bandage I heard at all thorn-dike replied cheerily though very disreputable to look at just came a cropper in the mud, jervis he added as he noted my dismayed expression dinner and a clothesbrush are what I chiefly need nevertheless he looked very pale and shaken when he came into the light on the landing and he sank into his easy chair in the limp manner of a man either very weak or very fatigued how did it happen I asked when Poulton had crept away on tiptoe to make ready for dinner thorn-dike looked round to make sure that his henchmen had departed and said a queer affair, jervis a very odd affair indeed I was coming up from the burrow picking my way mighty carefully across the road on account of the greasy slippery mud and had just reached the foot of London bridge when I heard a heavy lorry coming down the slope a good deal too fast considering that it was impossible to see more than a dozen yards ahead and I stopped on the curb to see it safely past just as the horses emerged from the fog a man came up behind and lurched violently against me and strangely enough at the same moment passed his foot in front of mine of course I went sprawling into the road right in front of the lorry the horses came stamping and sliding straight on to me and before I could wriggle out of the way the hoof of one of them smashed in my hat that was a new one that I came home in and half stunned me then the near wheel struck my head making a dirty little scalp wound and pinned down my sleeve so that I couldn't pull away my arm which is consequently barked all the way down there was a mighty near thing Jervis another inch or two and I should have been rolled out as flat as a starfish what became of the man I asked wishing I could have had a brief interview with him lost to sight though to a memory deer he was off like a lamp lighter an alcoholic apple woman picked me up and escorted me back to the hospital it must have been a touching spectacle he added with a dry smile at the recollection and I suppose they kept you there for a time to recover yes I went to dry dock in the OP room and Langdale insisted on my lying down for an hour or so in case any symptoms of concussion should appear but I was only a trifle shaken and confused still it was a queer affair you mean the man pushing you down in that way yes I can't make out how his foot got in front of mine you don't think it was intentional surely I said no of course not he replied but without much conviction as it seemed to me and I was about to pursue the matter when Poulton reappeared and my friend abruptly changed the subject after dinner I recounted my conversation with Walter Hornby watching my colleagues face with some eagerness to see what effect this new information would produce on him the result was on the whole disappointing he was interested keenly interested but showed no symptoms of excitement so John Hornby has been plunging in mindset he said when I had finished he ought to know better at his age did you learn how long he had been in difficulties no but it can hardly have been quite sudden and unforeseen I should think not Thorndike agreed a sudden slump often proves disastrous to the regular stock exchange gambler who is paying differences on large quantities of unpaid for stock but it looks as if Hornby had actually bought and paid for these mines treating them as investments rather than speculations in which case the depreciation would not have affected him in the same way it would be interesting to know for certain it might have a considerable bearing on the present case might it not undoubtedly said Thorndike it might bear on the case in more ways than one but you have some special point in your mind I think yes I was thinking that if these embarrassments had been growing up gradually for some time they might have already assumed an acute form at the time of the robbery that is well considered said my colleague but what is the special bearing on the case supposing it was so on the supposition I replied that Mr. Hornby was in actual pecuniary difficulties at the date of the robbery it seems to be possible hypothesis as to the identity of the robber I should like to hear that hypothesis stated said Thorndike rousing himself and regarding me with lively interest it is a highly improbable one I began with some natural shyness at the idea of airing my wits before this master of inductive method in fact it is almost fantastic never mind that said he a sound thinker gives equal consideration to the probable and the improbable thus encouraged I proceeded to set forth the theory of the crimes it had occurred to me on my way home in the fog and I was gratified to observe the close attention with which Thorndike listened and his little nods of approval at each point that I made when I had finished he remained silent for some time looking thoughtfully into the fire and evidently considering how my theory and the new facts on which it was based would fit in with the rest of the data at length he spoke without however removing his eyes from the red embers this theory of yours Jervis does great credit to your ingenuity we may disregard the improbability seeing that the alternative theories are almost equally improbable and the fact that emerges and that gratifies me more than I can tell you is that you are gifted with enough scientific imagination to construct a possible train of events indeed the improbability combined of course with possibility really adds to the achievement for the dullest mind can perceive the obvious as for instance the importance of a fingerprint you have really done a great thing and I congratulate you for you have emancipated yourself at least to some extent from the great fingerprint obsession which has possessed the legal mind ever since Galton published his epic-making monograph and that work I remember he states that a fingerprint affords evidence requiring no corroboration a most dangerous and misleading statement which has been fastened upon eagerly by the police who have naturally been delighted at obtaining a sort of magic touchstone by which they are saved by the nature of investigation but there is no such thing as a single fact that affords evidence requiring no corroboration as well might one expect to make a syllogism with a single premise I suppose they would hardly go so far as that I said laughing no he admitted but the kind of syllogism that they do make is this the crime was committed by the person who made this fingerprint but John Smith is the person who made the fingerprint therefore the crime was committed by John Smith well that is a perfectly good syllogism isn't it I asked perfectly he replied but you see it begs the whole question which is was the crime committed by the person who made this fingerprint that is where the corroboration is required that practically leaves the case to be investigated without reference to the fingerprint which thus becomes of no importance not at all rejoin Thorndike the fingerprint is a most valuable clue as long as its evidential value is not exaggerated take our present case for instance without the thumbprint the robbery might have been committed by anybody there is no clue whatever but the existence of the thumbprint narrows the inquiry down to Rubin or some person having access to his fingerprints yes I see then you consider my theory of John Hornby as the perpetrator of the robbery as quite a tenable one quite replied Thorndike I have entertained it from the first and the new facts that you have gathered increase its probability you remember I said that four hypotheses were possible that the robbery was committed either by Rubin by Walter by John Hornby or by some other person now putting aside the some other person for consideration only if the first three hypotheses fail we have left Rubin Walter and John but if we leave the thumbprint out of the question the probabilities evidently point to John Hornby since he admittedly had access to the diamonds whereas there is nothing to show that the others had the thumbprint however transfers the suspicion to Rubin but yet as your theory makes evident it does not completely clear John Hornby as the case stands the balance of probabilities may be stated thus John Hornby undoubtedly had access to the diamonds and therefore might have stolen them but if the thumbmark was made after he closed the safe and before he opened it again some other person might have had access to them and was probably the thief the thumbmark is that of Rubin Hornby a fact that establishes a prima facie probability that he stole the diamonds but there is no evidence that he had access to them and if he had not he could not have made the thumbmark in the manner and at the time stated but John Hornby may have had access to the previously made thumbmark of Rubin and may possibly have obtained it in which case he is almost certainly the thief as to Walter Hornby he may have had the means of obtaining Rubin's thumbmark but there is no evidence that he had access either to the diamonds or to Mr. Hornby's memorandum block the prima facie probabilities in his case therefore are very slight the actual points at issue then I said are whether Rubin had any means of opening the safe and whether Mr. Hornby ever did actually have the opportunity of obtaining Rubin's thumbmark in blood on his memorandum block yes replied Thorndike those are the points with some others and they are likely to remain unsettled Rubin's rooms have been searched by the police who failed to find any skeleton or duplicate keys but this proves nothing as he would probably have made away with them when he heard of the thumbmark being found as to the other matter I have asked Rubin and he has no recollection of ever having made a thumbmark in blood so there the matter rests and what about Mr. Hornby's liability for the diamonds I think we may dismiss that answered Thorndike he had undertaken no liability and there was no negligence he would not be liable at law after my colleague retired which he did quite early I sat for a long time pondering upon this singular case in which I found myself involved and the more I thought about it the more puzzled I became if Thorndike had no more satisfactory explanation to offer than that which he had given me this evening the defense was hopeless for the court was not likely to accept his estimate of the evidential value of fingerprints yet he had given Rubin something like a positive assurance that there would be an adequate defense and had expressed his own positive conviction of the accused man's innocence Thorndike was not a man to reach such a conviction through merely sentimental considerations the inevitable conclusion was that he had something up his sleeve that he had gained possession of some facts that had escaped my observation and when I had reached this point I knocked out my pipe and betook myself to bed End of Chapter 8 Recording by Rosie Chapter 9 of The Red Thumbmark This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Red Thumbmark by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 9 The Prisoner On the following morning as I emerged from my room I met Poulton coming up with a tray our bedrooms were on the attic floor above the laboratory and workshop and I accordingly followed him into my friend's chamber I shan't go out today, said Thorndike though I shall come down presently it is very inconvenient but one must accept the inevitable I have had a knock on the head and although I feel none the worse I must take the proper precautions rest and a low diet until I see that no results are going to follow you can attend to the scalp wound and send round the necessary letters can't you? I expressed my willingness to do all that was required and applauded my friend's self-control and good sense indeed I could not help contrasting the conduct of this busy indefatigable man cheerfully resigning himself to the most distasteful in action with the fussy behavior of the ordinary patient who with nothing of importance to do can hardly be prevailed upon to rest no matter how urgent the necessity accordingly I breakfasted alone and spent the morning in writing and dispatching letters to the various persons who were expecting visits from my colleague shortly after lunch a very spare one, by the way for Poulton appeared to include me in the scheme of reduced diet my expectant ear caught the tinkle of a handsome approaching down-crown office row here comes your fair companion said Thorndike whom I had acquainted with my arrangements tell Hornby from me to keep up his courage and for yourself bear my warning in mind I should be sorry indeed if you ever had cause to regret that you had rendered me the very valuable services for which I am now indebted to you good-bye don't keep her waiting I ran down the stairs and came out of the entry just as the cab man had pulled up and flung open the doors Holloway prison main entrance I said as I stepped up on to the footboard there ain't no back door there, sir the man responded with a grin and I was glad that neither the answer nor the grin was conveyed to my fellow passenger you are very punctual, Miss Gibson I said it is not half past one yet yes, I thought I should like to get there by two so as to have as long a time with him as is possible without shortening your interview I looked at my companion critically she was dressed with rather more than her usual care and looked in fact a very fine lady indeed this circumstance which I noted at first with surprise and then with decided approbation caused me some inward discomfort for I had in my mind a very distinct and highly disagreeable picture of the visiting arrangements at a local prison in one of the provinces at which I had acted temporarily as medical officer I suppose I said at length it is of no use for me to reopen the question of the advisability of this visit on your part not the least, she replied resolutely though I understand and appreciate your motive in wishing to do so then said I if you are really decided it will be as well for me to prepare you for the ordeal I am afraid it will give you a terrible shock indeed, said she is it so bad, tell me what it will be like in the first place I replied you must keep in your mind the purpose of a prison like Holloway we are going to see an innocent man a cultivated and honourable gentleman but the ordinary inmates of Holloway are not innocent men for the most part the remand cases on the male side are professional criminals while the women are either petty offenders or chronic inebriates most of them are regular customers at the prison such as the idiotic state of the law who come into the reception room like travellers entering a familiar hostelry address the prison officers by name and demand the usual privileges and extra comforts the drunks, for instance generally ask for a dose of bromide to steady their nerves and a light in their cell to keep away the horrors and such being the character of the inmates their friends who visit them are naturally of the same type the lowest outpourings of the slums and it is not surprising to find that the arrangements of the prison are made to fit its ordinary inmates the innocent man is a negligible quantity and no arrangements are made for him or his visitors but shall we not be taken to Ruben's cell asked Miss Gibson bless you know I answered and determined to give her every inducement to change her mind I continued I will describe the procedure as I have seen it and a very dreadful and shocking sight I found it I can tell you it was while I was acting as a prison doctor in the Midlands that I had this experience I was going my round one morning when passing along a passage I became aware of a strange muffled roar from the other side of the wall what is that noise I asked the warder who was with me prisoners seeing their friends he answered like to have a look at them sir he unlocked a small door and as he threw it open the distant muffled sound swelled into a deafening roar I passed through the door and found myself in a narrow alley at one end of which a warder was sitting the sides of the alley were formed by two immense cages with stout wire bars one for the prisoners and the other for the visitors and each cage was lined with faces and hands all in incessant movement the faces mouthing and grimacing and the hands clawing restlessly at the bars the uproar was so terrific that no single voice could be distinguished though every one present was shouting his loudest to make himself heard above the universal din the result was a very strange and horrid illusion for it seemed as if no one was speaking at all but that the noise came from outside and that each one of the faces low vicious faces mostly was silently grimacing and gibbering snapping its jaws and glaring furiously at the occupants of the opposite cage it was a frightful spectacle I could think of nothing but the monkey-house at the zoo it seemed as if one ought to walk up the alley and offer nuts and pieces of paper to be torn to pieces horrible exclaimed Miss Gibson and do you mean to say that we shall be turned loose into one of these cages with a herd of other visitors no, you are not turned loose anywhere in a prison the arrangement is this each cage is divided by partitions into a number of small boxes or apartments which are numbered the prisoner is locked in one box and his visitor in the corresponding box opposite they are thus confronted with the width of the alley between them they can see one another and talk but cannot pass any forbidden articles across a very necessary precaution I need hardly say yes, I suppose it is necessary but it is horrible for decent people surely they ought to be able to discriminate why not give it up and let me take a message to Reuben he would understand and be thankful to me for dissuading you no, no, she said quickly the more repulsive it is the more necessary for me to go he must not be allowed to think that a trifling inconvenience or indignity is enough to scare his friends away what building is that ahead? we had just swung round from Caledonian Road into a quiet and prosperous looking suburban street at the end of which rose the tower of a castellated building that is the prison, I replied we are looking at it from the most advantageous point of view in the back and especially from the inside it is a good deal less attractive nothing more was said until the cab drove into the courtyard and set us down outside the great front gates having directed the cab man to wait for us, I rang the bell and we were speedily admitted through a wicket which was immediately closed and locked into a covered court closed in by a second gate through the bars of which we could see from the courtyard to the actual entrance of the prison here, while the necessary formalities were gone through we found ourselves part of a numerous and very motley company for a considerable assemblage of the prisoner's friends was awaiting the moment of admission I noticed that my companion was observing our fellow visitors with a kind of horrified curiosity which she strove, however and not unsuccessfully to conceal the adherence of the majority furnished eloquent testimony to the failure of crime as a means of worldly advancement their present position was productive of very varied emotions some were silent and evidently stricken with grief a larger number were voluble and excited while a considerable proportion were quite cheerful and even inclined to be facetious at length the great iron gate was unlocked and our party was taken in charge by a warder who conducted us to that part of the building known as the Wing and in the course of our progress I could not help observing the profound impression made upon my companion by the circumstance that every door had to be unlocked to admit us and was locked again as soon as we had passed through it seems to me, I said as we neared our destination that you had better let me see Ruben first I have not much to say to him and shall not keep you waiting long why do you think so? she asked with a shade of suspicion well, I answered I think you may be a little upset by the interview and I should like to see you into your cab as soon as possible afterwards yes, she said perhaps you are right and it is kind of you to be so thoughtful on my account a minute later, accordingly I myself shot into a narrow box like one of those which consider it pawnbrokers provide for their more diffident clients and in a similar but more intense degree pervaded by a subtle odor of uncleanness the woodwork was polished to an unctuous smoothness by the friction of numberless dirty hands and soiled garments and the general appearance taken in at a glance as I entered was such as to cause me to thrust hands into my pockets and studiously avoid contact with any part of the structure but the floor the end of the box opposite the door was closed in by a strong grating of wire accepting the lower three feet which was of wood and looking through this I perceived behind a second grating Reuben Hornby standing in a similar attitude to my own he was dressed in his usual clothes and with his customary neatness but his face was unshaven and he wore, suspended from a button-hole a circular label bearing the characters B. 31 and these two changes in his exterior carried with them a suggestiveness as subtle as it was unpleasant making me more than ever regretful that Miss Gibson had insisted on coming it is exceedingly good of you Dr. Jervis to come and see me he said heartily and I myself heard quite easily to my surprise above the hubbub of the adjoining boxes but I didn't expect you here I was told I could see my legal advisors in the solicitors box so you could I answered but I came here by choice because I have brought Miss Gibson with me I am sorry for that he rejoined with evident disapproval she oughtn't to have come among these riff-raff I told her so she wouldn't like it but she insisted I know, said Ruben that's the worst of women they will make a beastly fuss and sacrifice themselves when nobody wants them to but I mustn't be ungrateful she means it kindly and she's a deuced good sort is Juliet she is indeed, I exclaimed not a little disgusted at his cool unappreciative tone a most noble hearted girl truly heroic the faintest suspicion of a smile appeared on the face seen through the double-grating on which I felt that I could have pulled his nose with pleasure only that a pair of tongs of special construction would have been required for the purpose yes he answered calmly we have always been very good friends a rejoinder of the most extreme acidity was on my lips damn the fellow what did he mean by speaking in that supercilious tone of the loveliest and sweetest woman in the world but after all one cannot trample on a poor devil locked up in a jail on a false charge no matter how great may be the provocation I drew a deep breath and having recovered myself outwardly at least, said I hope you don't find the conditions here too intolerable oh no, he answered it's beastly unpleasant, of course but it might easily be worse I don't mind if it's only for a week or two and I am really encouraged by what Dr. Thorndike said I hope he wasn't being merely soothing you may take it that he was not what he said I am sure he meant of course you know I am not in his confidence nobody is but I gather that he is satisfied with the defence he is preparing if he is satisfied come, said Ruben and in any case I shall owe him an immense debt of gratitude for having stood by me and believed in me when all the world except my aunt and Juliet had condemned me he then went on to give me a few particulars of his prison life and when he had chatted for a quarter of an hour or so I took my leave to make way for Miss Gibson her interview with him was not as long as I had expected though to be sure the conditions were not very favourable either for the exchange of confidences or for utterances of a sentimental character the consciousness that one's conversation could be overheard by the occupants of adjacent boxes destroyed all sense of privacy to say nothing of the disturbing influence of the warder in the alleyway when she rejoined me her manner was abstracted and very depressed a stance that gave me considerable food for reflection as we made our way in silence towards the main entrance had she found Ruben as cool and matter of fact as I had he was assuredly a very calm and self-possessed lover and it was conceivable that his reception of the girl strung up as she was to an acute pitch of emotion might have been somewhat in the nature of an anticlimax and then was it possible that the feeling was on her side only could it be that the priceless pearl of her love was cast before I was tempted to use the colloquial singular and call him an unappreciative swine the thing was almost unthinkable to me and yet I was tempted to dwell upon it for when a man is in love and I could no longer disguise my condition from myself he is inclined to be humble and to gather up thankfully the treasure that is rejected of another I was brought up short in these reflections by the clank of the lock in the great iron gate we entered together the gloomy vestibule and a moment later were let out through the wicket into the courtyard and as the lock clicked behind us we gave a simultaneous sigh of relief to find ourselves outside the precincts of the prison beyond the domain of bolts and bars I had settled Miss Gibson in the cab and given her address to the driver when I noticed her looking at me as I thought somewhat wistfully can't I put you down somewhere she said in response to a half questioning glance from me I seized the opportunity with thankfulness and replied you might set me down at King's Cross if it is not delaying you and giving the word to the cabman I took my place by her side as the cab started and a black painted prison van turned into the courtyard with its freight of squalid misery I don't think Ruben was very pleased to see me Miss Gibson remarked presently but I shall come again all the same it is a duty I owe both to him and to myself I felt that I ought to endeavour to dissuade her but the reflection that her visits must almost of necessity involve my companionship and feebled my will I was fast approaching a state of infatuation I was so thankful she continued that you prepared me it was a horrible experience to see the poor fellow caged like a wild beast with that dreadful label hanging from his coat but it would have been overwhelming if I had not known what to expect as we proceeded her spirits revived somewhat a circumstance that she graciously ascribed to the enlivening influence of my society and I then told her of the mishap that had befallen my colleague what a terrible thing she exclaimed with evidently unaffected concern it is the merest chance that he was not killed on the spot is he much hurt and would he mind, do you think if I called to inquire after him I said that I was sure he would be delighted being, as a matter of fact entirely indifferent as to his sentiments on the subject in my delight at the proposal and when I stepped down from the cab at King's Cross to pursue my way homewards they're already opened out before me the prospect of the renewal of this bittersweet and all too dangerous companionship on the morrow Chapter 10 of The Red Thumb Mark This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 10 Poltan is Mystified A couple of days sufficed to prove that Thorn Dyke's mishap was not to be productive of any permanent ill consequences his wounds progressed favorably and he was able to resume his ordinary avocations Miss Gibson's visit but why should I speak of her in these formal terms to me, when I thought of her which I did only too often she was Juliet, with perhaps an adjective thrown in and as Juliet I shall henceforth speak of her but without the adjective in this narrative nothing has been kept back from the reader Juliet's visit then had been a great success for my colleague was really pleased by the attention and displayed a quiet geniality that filled our visitor with delight He talked a good deal of Ruben and I could see that he was endeavouring to settle in his own mind the vexed question of her relations with and sentiments towards our unfortunate client but what conclusions he arrived at to discover for he was by no means communicative after she had left nor was there any repetition of the visit greatly to my regret since, as I have said he was able in a day or two to resume his ordinary mode of life the first evidence I had of his renewed activity appeared when I returned to the chambers at about eleven o'clock in the morning to find Poulton hovering dejectedly about the sitting-room apparently perpetrating as near an approach to a spring-clean as could be permitted in a bachelor establishment Hello, Poulton, I exclaimed have you contrived to tear yourself away from the laboratory for an hour or two? No, sir, he answered gloomily the laboratory has torn itself away from me What do you mean, I asked The doctor has shut himself in and locked the door and he says I am not to disturb him it will be a cold lunch today What is he doing in there? I inquired Ah! said Poulton that's just what I should like to know I am fair eaten up with curiosity he is making some experiments in connection with some of his cases and when the doctor locks himself in to make experiments something interesting generally follows I should like to know what it is this time I suppose there is a key hole in the laboratory door as suggested with a grin Sir, he exclaimed indignantly Dr. Jervis, I am surprised at you then perceiving my facetious intent he smiled also and added but there is a key hole if you'd like to try it though I'll wager the doctor would see more of you than you would of him You are mighty secret about your doings you and the doctor, I said Yes, he answered you see, it's a queer trade and there are some queer secrets in it now for instance what do you make of this he produced from his pocket a leather case whence he took a piece of paper which he handed to me on it was a neatly executed drawing of what looked like one of a set of chessmen with the dimensions written on the margin it looks like a pawn one of the Stanton pattern I said just what I thought but it isn't 24 of them and what the doctor is going to do with them fairly beats me Perhaps he has invented some new game I suggested facetiously he is always inventing new games and playing them mostly in courts of law and then the other players generally lose but this is a puzzler and no mistake 24 of these to be turned up in the best seasoned boxwood what can they be for something to do with the experiments that have gone upstairs at this very moment I expect he shook his head and having carefully returned the drawing to his pocket book said in a solemn tone Sir, there are times when the doctor makes me fairly dense with curiosity and this is one of them although not afflicted with a curiosity so acute as that of Poulton I found myself speculating at intervals on the nature of my colleagues experiments the purpose of the singular little objects which he had ordered to be made but I was unacquainted with any of the cases on which he was engaged accepting that of Reuben Hornby and with the latter I was quite unable to connect a set of 24 boxwood chessmen Moreover, on this day I was to accompany Juliet on her second visit to Holloway and that circumstance gave me abundant mental occupation of another kind At lunch Thorndyke was animated and talkative but not communicative he had some work in the laboratory that he must do himself, he said but gave no hint as to its nature and as soon as our meal was finished he returned to his labours leaving me to pace up and down the walk listening with ridiculous eagerness for the sound of the handsome that was to transport me to the regions of the blessed and, incidentally, to Holloway prison When I returned to the temple the sitting-room was empty and hideously neat as the result of Poulton's spring cleaning efforts My colleague was evidently still at work in the laboratory and from the circumstance that the tea things were set out on the table and a kettle of water placed in readiness on the gas ring by the fireplace I gathered that Poulton also was full of business and anxious not to be disturbed accordingly I lit the gas and made my tea and livening my solitude by turning over in my mind the events of the afternoon Juliet had been charming as she always was frank, friendly, and unaffectedly pleased to have my companionship she evidently liked me and did not disguise the fact why should she indeed but treated me with a freedom almost affectionate as though I had been a favourite brother she was very delightful and would have been more so if I could have accepted the relationship As to her feelings towards me I had not the slightest misgiving and so my conscience was clear for Juliet was as innocent as a child with the innocence that belongs to the direct, straightforward nature that neither does evil itself nor looks for evil motives in others For myself I was past praying for the thing was done at the price hereafter content to reflect that I had trespassed against no one but myself It was a miserable affair and many a heartache did it promise me in the lonely days that were to come when I should have said goodbye to the temple and gone back to my old nomadic life and yet I would not have changed it if I could would not have bartered the bittersweet memories for dull forgetfulness But other matters had transpired in the course of our drive than those that loomed so large to me in the egotism of my love We had spoken of Mr. Hornby and his affairs and from our talk there had emerged certain facts of no little moment to the inquiry on which I was engaged Miss Fortunes are proverbially sociable Juliet had remarked in reference to her adopted uncle As if this trouble about Ruben were not enough there are worries in the city Perhaps you have heard of them I replied that Walter had mentioned the matter to me Yes, said Juliet rather viciously I am not quite clear as to what part that good gentleman has played in the matter It has come out, quite accidentally that he had a large holding in the minds himself but he seems to have cut his loss as the phrase goes and got out of them though how he managed to pay such large differences I can understand we think he must have raised money somehow to do it Do you know when the minds began to depreciate? I asked Yes, it was quite a sudden affair what Walter calls a slump and it occurred only a few days before the robbery Mr. Hornby was telling me about it only yesterday and he recalled it to me by a ridiculous accident that happened on that day What was that? I inquired I cut my finger and nearly fainted she answered with a shame-faced little laugh It was rather a bad cut, you know but I didn't notice it until I found my hand covered with blood then I turned suddenly faint and had to lie down on the hearth rug it was in Mr. Hornby's study which I was tidying up at the time Here I was found by Ruben and a dreadful fright it gave him at first and then he tore up his handkerchief to tie up the wounded finger and you never saw such an awful mess as he got his hands in he might have been arrested as a murderer poor boy from the condition he was in it will make your professional gorge rise to learn that he fastened up the extemporized bandage with red tape which he got from the writing-table after rooting about among the sacred papers in the most ruthless fashion When he had gone I tried to put the things on the table straight again and really you might have thought some horrible crime had been committed the envelopes and papers were all smeared with blood and marked with the print of gory fingers I remembered it afterwards when Ruben's thumb mark was identified and thought that perhaps one of the papers might have got into the safe by accident but Mr. Hornby told me that was impossible he tore the leaf off his memorandum block at the time when he put away the diamonds such was the gist of our conversation as the cab rattled through the streets on the way to the prison and certainly it contained matter sufficiently important to draw away my thoughts from other subjects more agreeable but less relevant to the case with a sudden remembrance of my duty I drew forth my notebook and was in the act of committing the statements to writing when Thorndike entered the room Don't let me interrupt you, Jervis said he I will make myself a cup of tea while you finish your writing and then you shall exhibit the day's catch and hang your nets out to dry I was not long in finishing my notes for I was in a fever of impatience to hear Thorndike's comments on my latest addition to our store of information by the time the kettle was boiling my entries were completed and I proceeded forthwith to retail to my colleague those extracts from my conversation with Juliet that I have just recorded he listened, as usual with deep and critical attention this is very interesting and important he said when I had finished really Jervis you are a most invaluable co-agitor it seems that information which would be strictly withheld from the forbidding Jorkens trickles freely and unasked into the ear of the genial Spenlo now I suppose you regard your hypothesis as having received very substantial confirmation certainly I do and very justifiably you see now how completely you were in the right when you allowed yourself to entertain this theory of the crime in spite of its apparent improbability by the light of these new facts it has become quite a probable explanation of the whole affair and if it could only be shown that Mr. Hornby's memorandum block was among the papers on the table it would rise to a high degree of probability the obvious moral is never disregard the improbable by the way it is odd that Rubin failed to recall this occurrence when I questioned him of course the bloody finger marks were not discovered until he had gone but one would have expected him to recall the circumstance when I asked him pointedly if he had never left bloody fingerprints on any papers I must try to find out if Mr. Hornby's memorandum block was on the table and among the marked papers I said yes that would be wise he answered though I don't suppose the information will be forthcoming my colleague's manner rather disappointed me he had heard my report with the greatest attention he had discussed it with animation but yet he seemed to attach to the new and, as they appeared to me highly important facts an interest that was academic rather than practical of course his calmness might be assumed but this did not seem likely for John Thorndike was far too sincere and dignified a character to cultivate in private life the artifices of the actor to strangers indeed he presented habitually a calm and impassive exterior but this was natural to him and was but the outward sign of his even and judicial habit of mind no there was no doubt that my startling news had left him unmoved and this must be for one of two reasons either he already knew all that I had told him which was perfectly possible or he had some other and better means of explaining the crime I was turning over these two alternatives not unobserved by my watchful colleague when Poulton entered the room a broad grin was on his face and a drawing board that he carried like a tray bore twenty-four neatly turned boxwood pieces Thorndike at once entered into the unspoken jest from the countenance of his subordinate here is Poulton with a problem for you Jervis he said he assumes that I have invented a new parlor game and has been trying to work out the moves have you succeeded yet Poulton no sir I haven't but I suspect that one of the players will be a man in a wig and gown perhaps you are right said Thorndike but that doesn't take you very far let us hear what Dr. Jervis has to say I can make nothing of them I answered Poulton showed me the drawing this morning and then was terrified lest he had committed a breach of confidence and I have been trying ever since without a glimmer of success to guess what they can be for hmm grunted Thorndike as he sauntered up and down the room teak up in hand to guess a I like not that word guess in the mouth of a man of science what do you mean by a guess his manner was wholly facetious but I professed to take his question seriously and replied by a guess I mean a conclusion arrived at without data impossible he exclaimed with a mock sternness nobody but an utter fool arrives at a conclusion without data then I must revise my definition instantly I rejoined let us say that a guess is a conclusion drawn from insufficient facts that is better said he but perhaps it would be better still to say that a guess is a particular and definite conclusion deduced from facts which properly yield only a general and indefinite one let us take an instance looking out of the window I see a man walking round paper buildings now suppose I say after the fashion of the inspired detective romances that man is a station master or inspector that would be a guess the observed facts do not yield the conclusion though they do warrant a conclusion less definite and more general you'd have been right though sir exclaimed polton who had stepped forward with me to examine the unconscious subject of the demonstration that gent used to be the station master at camberwell I remember him well man was evidently greatly impressed I happen to be right you see said thorn dyke but I might as easily have been wrong you weren't though sir said polton you spotted him at a glance in his admiration of the result he cared not a fig for the correctness of the means by which it had been attained now why do I suggest that he is a station master pursued thorn dyke in writing his assistant's comment I suppose you were looking at his feet I answered I seem to have noticed that peculiar splay-footed gate in station masters now that you mention it quite so the arch of the foot has given way the plantar ligaments have become stretched and the deep calf muscles weakened then since bending of the weakened arch causes discomfort the feet have become turned outwards by which the bending of the foot is reduced to a minimum and as the left foot is the more flattened so it is turned out more than the right then the turning out of the toes causes the legs to splay outward from the knees downwards a very conspicuous condition in a tall man like this one and you notice that the left leg splays out more than the other but we know that depression of the arch of the foot is brought about by standing for long periods because pressure on a living structure weakens it while intermittent pressure strengthens it so the man who stands on his feet continuously develops a flat instep and a weak calf while the professional dancer or runner acquires a high instep and a strong calf now there are many occupations which involve prolonged standing and so induce the condition of flat foot waiters, haul-porters, hawkers policemen, shop-walkers salesmen and station officials are examples but the waiters gate is characteristic a quick shuffling walk which enables him to carry liquids without spilling them this man walks with a long swinging stride he is obviously not a waiter his dress and appearance in general exclude the idea of a hawker or even a haul-porter he is a man of poor physique and so cannot be a policeman a shop-walker or salesman is accustomed to move in relatively confined spaces and so acquires a short brisk step and his dress tends to rather exuberant smartness the station official patrols long platforms often at a rapid pace and so tends to take long strides while his dress is dignified and neat rather than florid the last mentioned characteristics you see appear in the subject of our analysis agrees with the general description of a stationmaster but if we therefore conclude that he is a stationmaster we fall into the time-honored fallacy of the undistributed middle term the fallacy that haunts all brilliant guessers including the detective not only of romance but too often also of real life all that the observed facts justify us in inferring is that this man is engaged if that necessitates a good deal of standing the rest is mere guesswork it's wonderful said Poulton gazing at the now distant figure perfectly wonderful I should never have known he was a stationmaster with this and a glance of deep admiration at his employer he took his departure you will also observe said Thorndike with a smile that a fortunate guess often brings more credit than a piece of sound reasoning with a less striking result yes that is unfortunately the case and it is certainly true in the present instance your reputation as far as Poulton is concerned is now firmly established even if it was not before in his eyes you are a wizard from whom nothing is hidden but to return to these little pieces as I must call them for the lack of a better name I can form no hypothesis I seem to have no departure as the nautical phrase goes from which to start an inquiry I haven't even the material for guesswork ought I to be able to arrive at any opinion on the subject Thorndike picked up one of the pieces fingering it delicately and inspecting with a critical eye the flat base on which it stood and reflected for a few moments it is easy to trace a connection when one knows all the facts he said at length but it seems to me that you have the materials from which to form a conjecture perhaps I am wrong but I think when you have had more experience you will find yourself able to work out a problem of this kind what is required is constructive imagination and a rigorous exactness in reasoning now you are a good reasoner and you have recently shown me that you have the necessary imagination you merely lack experience in the use of your faculties when you learn my purpose in having these things made as you will before long you will probably be surprised that their use did not occur to you and now let us go forth and take a brisk walk to refresh ourselves or perhaps I should say myself after the day's labour end of chapter 10 read by Kara Schallenberg www.kray.org chapter 11 of the Red Thumb Mark this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Marianne the Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman chapter 11 the ambush I am going to ask for your collaboration in another case, said Thorndike a day or two later it appears to be one of suicide but the solicitors to the Griffin office have asked me to go down to the place which is in the neighbourhood of Barnett and be present at the post mortem and the inquest they have managed to arrange that the inquest shall take place directly after the post mortem so that we shall be able to do the whole business in a single visit is the case one of any intricacy I asked I don't think so, he answered you can never tell the importance of the case at present arises entirely from the heavy insurance a verdict of suicide will mean a gain of ten thousand pounds to the Griffin so naturally the directors are anxious to get the case settled and not inclined to boggle over a little expense naturally, and when will the expedition take place, I asked the inquest is fixed for tomorrow what is the matter does that fall foul of any arrangement yours?" "'Oh, nothing of importance,' I replied hastily, deeply ashamed of the momentary change of continents that my friend had been so quick to observe." "'Well, what is it?' persisted Thordike. "'You have got something on.' "'It's nothing, I tell you, but what can be easily arranged to suit your plans?' "'Cherchela, hmm?' queried Thordike, with an exasperating grin. "'Yes,' I answered, turning as red as a pickled cabbage. Since you are so beastly inquisitive, Miss Gibson wrote, on behalf of Mrs. Hornby, asking me to dine with them and Familia tomorrow evening, and I sent off an acceptance an hour ago. "'And you called that nothing of importance?' exclaimed Thordike. "'Alas!' and likewise a lackaday, which is an approximately synonymous expression. The age of chivalry is past, indeed. Of course you must keep your appointment. I can manage quite well alone. We shouldn't be back early enough for me to go to Kensington from the station, I suppose.' "'No, certainly not. I find that the trains are very awkward. We should not reach King's Cross until nearly one in the morning. Then, in that case, I shall write to Miss Gibson and excuse myself.' "'Oh, I wouldn't do that,' said Thordike. "'It will disappoint them, and really it is not necessary.' "'I shall write forthwith,' I said firmly, "'so please don't try to dissuade me. I have been feeling quite uncomfortable at the thought that, all the time I have been in your employ, I seem to have done nothing but idle about and amuse myself. The opportunity of doing something tangible for my wages is too precious to be allowed to slip.' Thordike chuckled indulgently. "'You shall do as you please,' my dear boy,' he said. "'But don't imagine that you have been eating the bread of idleness. When you see this Hornby case worked out in detail, you will be surprised to find how large a part you have taken in unraveling it. Your worth to me has been far beyond your poor little salary, I can assure you.' "'It is very handsome of you to say that,' I said, highly gratified to learn that I really was of use and not, as I had begun to suspect, a mere object of charity. "'It is perfectly true,' he answered. "'And now, since you are going to help me in this case, I will set you your task. The case, as I have said, appears to be quite simple, but it never does to take the simplicity for granted. Here is the letter from the solicitors giving the facts as far as they are known at present. On the shelves there you will find Casper, Taylor, Guy and Ferrier, and the other authorities on medical jurisprudence, and I will put out one or two other books that you may find useful. I want you to extract and make classified notes of everything that may bear on such a case as the present one may turn out to be. We must go prepared to meet any contingency that may arise. This is my invariable practice, and even if the case turns out to be quite simple, the labor is never wasted, for it represents so much experience gained.' "'Casper and Taylor are pretty old, aren't they?' I objected. "'So is suicide,' he retorted dryly. "'It is a capital mistake to neglect the old authorities. There were strong men before Agamennan, and some of them were uncommonly strong, let me tell you. Give your best attention to the venerable Casper and the obsolete Taylor, and you will not be without your reward.' As a result of these injunctions I devoted the remainder of the day to the consideration of the various methods by which a man might contrive to effect his exit from the stage of human activities, and a very engrossing study I found it, and the more interesting in view of the problem that awaited solution on the morrow, but yet not so engrossing but that I was able to find time to write along rather intimate and minutely explanatory letter to Miss Gibson, in which I even mentioned the hour of our return as showing the impossibility of my keeping my engagement. Not that I had the smallest fear of her taking offense, for it is an evidence of my respect and regard for her that I cancelled the appointment without a momentary doubt that she would approve of my action, but it was pleasant to write to her at length, and to feel the intimacy of keeping her informed of the details of my life. The case, when we went to inquire into it on the spot, turned out to be a suicide of the most transparent type. Whereat both Thorndike and I were, I think, a little disappointed. He had having apparently done so little for a very substantial fee, and I had having no opportunity for applying my recently augmented knowledge. "'Yes,' said my colleague, as we rolled ourselves up in our rugs in adjacent corners of the railway carriage. It has been a flat affair, and the whole thing could have been managed by the local solicitor. But it is not a waste of time after all, for, you see, I have to do many a day's work for which I get not a farthing of payment, nor even any recognition, so that I do not complain if I occasionally find myself receiving more payment than my actual service's merit. And as to you, I take it that you have acquired a good deal of valuable knowledge on the subject of suicide, and knowledge, as the late Lord Bacon remarked, with more truth than originality, is power. To this I made no reply, having just lit my pipe and feeling uncommonly drowsy, and my companion having followed my example, we smoked in silence, becoming more and more somnolent, until the train drew up in the terminus and we turned out, yawning and shivering, on to the platform. Bah! exclaimed Thorndike, drawing his rug round his shoulders. This is a cheerless hour, a quarter-past one. See how chilly and miserable all these poor devils of passengers look. Shall we cab it or walk? I think a sharp walk would rouse our circulation after sitting huddled up in the carriage for so long, I answer. So do I, said Thorndike. So let us away, hark forward, and also, tally ho. In fact, one might go so far as to say, Yoix, that gentleman appears to favour the strenuous life, if one may judge by the size of his sprocket-wheel. He pointed to a bicycle that was drawn up by the curb in the approach, a machine of the road-racer type, with an enormous sprocket-wheel, indicating a gear of, at least, ninety. Some scorcher of an amateur racer, probably, I said, who takes the opportunity of getting a spin on the wood pavement when the streets are empty. I looked round to see if I could identify the owner, but the machine appeared to be, for the moment, taking care of itself. King's Cross is one of those districts in which the inhabitants are slow in settling down for the night, and even add a quarter-past one in the morning, its streets are not entirely deserted. Here and there the glimmer of a street-lamp, or the far-reaching ray from a tall electric light, reveals the form of some nocturnal prowler creeping along with cat-like stealthiness, or bursting, cat-like, into unmalodious song. Not greatly desirous of the society of these roisters, we crossed quickly from the station into the grey's inn road, now silent and excessively dismal in aspect, and took our way along the western side. We had turned the curb and were crossing Manchester Street when a series of yelps from ahead announced the presence of a party of merry-makers, whom we were not yet able to see, however, for the night was an exceptionally dark one. But the sounds of reverie continued to increase in volume as we proceeded, until, as we passed Sitma Street, we came in sight of the revelers. There were some half-dozen in number, all of them roughs of the hooligan type, and they were evidently in boisterous spirits, for, as they passed the entrance to the Royal Free Hospital, they halted and battered furiously at the gate. Shortly after this exploit, they crossed the road on to our side, whereupon Thorn Knight caught my arm, and slackened his pace. Let them draw ahead, said he. It is a wise precaution to give all hooligan gangs a very wide berth at this time of night. We had better turn down Heathcote Street and crossed Mecklenburg Square. We continued to walk on at reduced speed, until we reached Heathcote Street, into which we turned and so entered Mecklenburg Square, where we mended our pace once more. The hooligan, pursued Thorn Dyke, as we walked briskly across the silent square, covers a multitude of sins, ranging from highway robbery with violence and paid assassination, technically known as bashing, down to the criminal folly of philanthropic magistrate, who seems to think that his function in the economy of nature is to secure the survival of the unfittest. There goes a cyclist along Guildford Street. I wonder if that is our strenuous friend from the station. If so, he has slipped past the hooligans. We were just entering Doughty Street, and, as Thorn Dyke spoke, a man on a bicycle was visible for an instant at the crossing of the two streets. When we reached Guildford Street, we both looked down the long, lamp-lighted vista, but the cyclist had vanished. We had better go straight on into Theobalds Road, said Thorn Dyke, and we accordingly pursued our way up the fine old-world street, from whose tall houses our footfalls echoed, so that we seemed to be accompanied by an invisible multitude, until we reached that part where it unaccountably changes its name and becomes John Street. There always seems to me something very pathetic about these old Bloomsbury Streets, said Thorn Dyke, with their faded grandeur and dignified seediness. They remind me of some prim and aged gentlewoman in reduced circumstances, who, hello, what was that? A faint, sharp thud from behind had been followed instantly by the shattering of a ground floor window in front. We both stopped dead and remain for a couple of seconds, staring into the gloom from whence the first sound had come. Then Thorn Dyke darted diagonally across the road at a swift run, and I immediately followed. At the moment when the affair happened we had gone about forty yards up John Street, that is, from the place where it was crossed by Henry Street, and we now raced across the road to the further corner of the latter street. When we reached it, however, the little thoroughfare was empty, and, as we paused for a moment, no sound of retreating footsteps broke the silence. The shot certainly came from here, said Thorn Dyke. Come on, and again he broke into a run. A few yards up the street, a muse turns off to the left, and into this my companion plunged, motioning me to go straight on, which I accordingly did, and in a few paces reached the top of the street. Here a narrow thoroughfare, with a broad, smooth pavement, bears off to the left, parallel with the muse, and, as I arrived at the corner and glanced up the little street, I saw a man on a bicycle, gliding swiftly and silently toward little James Street. With a mighty shout of, Stop, Thief! I started in hot pursuit, but, though the man's feet were moving in an apparently leisurely manner, he drew ahead at an astonishing pace, in spite of my efforts to overtake him. And then it dawned upon me that the slow revolutions of his feet were due, in reality, to the unusually high gear of the machine that he was riding. As I realized this, and at the same moment recalled the bicycle that we had seen in the station, the fugitive swung round into little James Street and vanished. The speed at which the man was traveling made further pursuit utterly futile, so I turned and walked back, panting and perspiring from the unwanted exertion. As I re-entered Henry Street, Thorndike emerged from the muse and halted on seeing me. "'Cyclist?' he asked, laconically, as I came up. "'Yes,' I answered, riding the machine geared up to about ninety. "'Ah, he must have followed us from the station,' said Thorndike. "'Did you notice if he was carrying anything?' He had a walking stick in his hand. I didn't see anything else. "'What sort of walking stick?' I couldn't see very distinctly. It was a stoutish stick. I should say a malacca, probably, and it had what looked like a horn handle. I could see that as he passed a street lamp. "'What kind of lamp had he?' I couldn't see, but as he turned the corner I noticed that it seemed to burn very dimly. "'A little Vaseline, or even oil, smeared on the outside of the glass will reduce the glare of a lamp very appreciably,' my companion remarked, especially on a dusty road. "'Ha! Here is the proprietor of the broken window. He wants to know, you know.' We had once more turned into John Street and now perceived a man standing on the wide doorstep of the house with a shattered window looking anxiously up and down the street. "'Do either of you two gents know anything about this here?' He asked, pointing to the broken pane. "'Yes,' said Thordike. "'We happen to be passing when it was done. In fact,' he added. "'I rather suspect that the missile, whatever it was, was intended for our benefit.' "'Oh!' said the man. "'Who done it?' "'That, I can't say,' replied Thordike. Whoever he was he made off on a bicycle and we were unable to catch him.' "'Oh!' said the man, once more, regarding us with growing suspicion. "'On a bicycle? Hey! Damn funny ain't it. What did he do with it?' "'That is what I should like to find out,' said Thordike. "'I see this house is empty.' "'Yes, it's empty. Least ways it's to let. I'm the caretaker. But what's that got to do with it?' "'Merely this,' answered Thordike, that the object, stone, bullet, or whatever it may have been, was aimed, I believe, at me, and I should like to ascertain its nature. Would you do me the favour of permitting me to look for it?' The caretaker was evidently inclined to refuse this request, for he glanced suspiciously from my companion to me once or twice before replying. But, at length, he turned towards the open door and gruffly invited us to enter. A paraffin lamp was on the floor in a recess of the hall, and this our conductor took up when he had closed the street door. "'This is the room,' he said, turning the key and thrusting the door open. The library, they call it, but it's the front parlor in plain English.' He entered and, holding the lamp above his head, stared balefully at the broken window. Thordike glanced quickly along the floor in the direction that the missile would have taken, and then said, "'Do you see any mark on the wall there?' As he spoke he indicated the wall opposite the window, which obviously could not have been struck by a projectile entering with such extreme obliquity, and I was about to point out this fact when I fortunately remembered the great virtue of silence. Our friend approached the wall, still holding up the lamp, and scrutinized the surface with close attention. And while he was less engaged I observed Thordike stoop quickly and pick up something which he deposited carefully and without remark in his waistcoat pocket. "'I don't see no bruise anywhere,' said the caretaker, sweeping his hand over the wall. Perhaps the thing struck this wall,' suggested Thordike, pointing to the one that was actually in the line of fire. "'Yes, of course,' he added. "'It would be this one. The shot came from Henry Street.' The caretaker crossed the room and threw the light to the lamp on the wall thus indicated. "'Ah, here we are,' he exclaimed, with gloomy satisfaction, pointing to a small dent in which the wallpaper was turned back and the plaster exposed. "'Looks almost like a bullet mark, but you say you didn't hear no report.' "'No,' said Thordike. "'There was no report. It must have been a catapult.' The caretaker set the lamp down on the floor and proceeded to grope about for the projectile, in which operation we both assisted, and I could not suppress a faint smile as I noticed the earnestness with which Thordike peered about the floor in search of the missile that was quietly reposing in his waistcoat pocket. We were deep in our investigations when there was heard an uncompromising double-knock at the street door, followed by the loud peeling of a bell in the basement. "'Bobby, I suppose,' growled the caretaker. "'Here's a blooming fuss about nothing.' He caught up the lamp and went out, leaving us in the dark. "'I picked it up, you know,' said Thordike, when we were alone. "'I saw you,' I answered. "'Good. I applaud your discretion,' he rejoined. The caretaker's supposition was correct. When he returned he was accompanied by a burly constable, who saluted us with a cheerful smile, and glanced facetiously round the empty room. "'Our boys,' said he, nodding toward the broken window. "'They're playful lads, that they are. You were passing when it happened, sir, I hear.' "'Yes,' answered Thordike, and he gave the constable a brief account of the occurrence, which the latter listened to, no-book in hand. "'Well,' said he, when the narrative concluded, "'if those hooligan boys are going to take to catapults, they'll make things lively all around.' "'You ought to run some of them in,' said the caretaker. "'Run them in,' exclaimed the constable, in a tone of disgust. "'Yes, and then the magistrate will tell them to be good boys and give them five shillings out of the poor box to buy illustrated testaments. I'd testament them, worthless barmets.' He rammed his notebook fiercely into his pocket and stalked out of the room into the street, wither we followed. "'You'll find that bullet, or stone, when you sweep up the room,' he said, as he turned on to his beat. "'And you better let us have it. Good night, sir.' He strolled off toward Henry Street, while Thordike and I resumed our journey southward. "'Why were you so secret about that projectile?' I asked my friend as we walked up the street. "'Partly to avoid discussion with the caretaker,' he replied. "'But principally because I thought it likely that a constable would pass the house and, seeing the light, come in to make inquiries. "'And then?' "'Then I should have to hand the object over to him. "'And why not? Is the object a specially interesting one?' "'It is highly interesting to me at the present moment,' replied Thordike with a chuckle. "'Because I have not examined it. I have a theory as to its nature. Which theory I should like to test before taking the police into my confidence?' "'Are you going to take me into your confidence?' I asked. "'When we get home, if you are not too sleepy,' he replied. "'On our arrival at his chambers, Thordike desired me to light up and clear one end of the table, while he went to the workshop to fetch some tools. I turned back the table cover, and, having adjusted the gas so as to light this part of the table, waited in some impatience for my colleague's return. In a few minutes he re-entered bearing a small vice, a metal saw, and a wide-mouthed bottle. "'What have you got in that bottle?' I asked, perceiving a metal object inside it. "'That is the projectile, which I have thought fit to rinse in distilled water for reasons that will presently appear.' He agitated the bottle gently for a minute or so, and then, with a pair of dissecting forceps, lifted out the object, and held it above the surface of the water to drain, after which he laid it carefully on a piece of plodding paper. I stooped over the projectile and examined it with great curiosity, while Thordike stood by regarding me with an almost equal interest. "'Well,' he said, after watching me in silence for some time. "'What do you see?' "'I see a small brass cylinder,' I answered. "'About two inches long and rather thicker than an ordinary lead pencil. One end is conical, and there is a small hole at the apex, which seems to contain a steel point. The other end is flat, but has in the center a small square projection, such as might fit a watch-key. I notice also a small hole in the side of the cylinder close to the flat end. The thing looks like a miniature shell, and appears to be hollow. "'It is hollow,' said Thordike. You must have observed that, when I held it up to drain, the water trickling out through the hole at the pointed end. Yes, I noticed that. Now take it up and shake it.' I did so, and felt some heavy object rattle inside it. "'There is some looser body inside it,' I said, which fits it pretty closely, as it moves only in the long diameter. Quite so. Your description is excellent. And now what is the nature of this projectile?' I should say it is a miniature shell, or explosive bullet.' "'Wrong,' said Thordike, a very natural inference, but a wrong one. Then what is the thing?' I demanded. My curiosity still further aroused. "'I will show you,' he replied. It is something much more subtle than an explosive bullet, which would really be a rather crude appliance, admirably thought out and thoroughly well executed. We have to deal with the most ingenious and capable man.' I was feigned to laugh at his enthusiastic appreciation of the methods of his would-be assassin, and the humor of the situation then appeared to dawn on him, for he said, with an apologetic smile. I am not expressing approval, you must understand, but merely professional admiration. It is this class of criminal that creates the necessity for my services. He is my patron, so to speak, my ultimate employer. For the common crook can be dealt with quite efficiently by the common policeman. While he was speaking he had been fitting the little cylinder between two pads of tissue paper in the vise, which he now screwed up tight. Then, with the fine metal saw, he began to cut the projectile, lengthwise, into two slightly unequal parts. This operation took some time, especially since he was careful not to cut the loose body inside. But at length the section was completed and the interior of the cylinder exposed, when he released it from the vise and held it up before me with an expression of triumph. Now, what do you make of it? He demanded. I took the object in my fingers and looked at it closely, but was at first more puzzled than before. The loose body I now saw to be a cylinder of lead, about half an inch long, accurately fitting, the inside of the cylinder, but capable of sliding freely backwards and forwards. The steel point which I had noticed in the hole at the apex of the conical end was now seen to be the pointed termination of a slender steel rod, which projected fully an inch into the cavity of the cylinder, and the conical end itself was a solid mass of lead. Well, queried Thordike, seeing that I was silent. You tell me it is not an explosive bullet, I replied, otherwise I should have been confirmed in that opinion. I should have said that the percussion cap was carried by this lead plunger and struck on the end of that steel rod when the flight to the bullet was suddenly arrested. Very good indeed, said Thordike. You are right so far as this is, in fact, the mechanism of a percussion shell. But look at this. You see this little rod was driven inside the bullet when the ladder struck the wall. Let us replace it in its original position. He laid the end of a small flat file against the end of the rod and pressed it firmly, when the rod slid through the hole until it projected an inch beyond the apex of the cone. Then he handed the projectile back to me. A single glance at the point of the steel rod made the whole thing clear, and I gave a whistle of consternation. For the rod was a fine tube with a sharply pointed end. The infernal scoundrel, I exclaimed. It is a hypodermic needle. Yes, a veterinary hypodermic, of extra-large bore. Now you see the subtlety and ingenuity of the whole thing. If he had had a reasonable chance, he would certainly have succeeded. You speak quite regretfully, I said, laughing at the oddity of his attitude towards the assassin. Not at all, he replied. I have the character of a single-handed player, but even the most self-reliant man can hardly make a post-mortem on himself. I am merely appreciating an admirable piece of mechanical design most efficiently carried out. Observe the completeness of the thing, and the way in which all the necessities of the case are foreseen and met. This projectile was discharged from a powerful air-gun, the walking-stick form, provided with a force-pump and key. The barrel of that gun was rifled. How do you know that, I asked. Well, to begin with, it would be useless to fit a needle to the projectile unless the latter was made to travel with the point forwards. But there is direct evidence that the barrel was rifled. You notice the little square projection on the back surface of the cylinder. That was evidently made to fit a washer, or wad, probably a thin plate of soft metal, which would be driven by the pressure from behind into the grooves of the rifling, and thus give a spinning motion to the bullet. When the latter left the barrel, the wad would drop off, leaving it free. I see. I was wondering what the square projection was for. It is, as you say, extremely ingenious. Highly ingenious, said Thorndike enthusiastically, and so is the whole device. See how perfectly it would have worked but for a mere fluke and for the complication of your presence, supposing that I had been alone so that he could have approached to a shorter distance. In that case he would not have missed, and the thing would have been done. You see how it was intended to be done, I suppose. I think so, I answered. But I should like to hear your account of the process. Well, you see, he first finds out that I am returning by a late train, which he seems to have done, and he waits for me at the terminus. Meanwhile he fills the cylinder with a solution of a powerful alkaloidal poison, which is easily done by dipping the needle into the liquid and sucking at the small hole near the back end, when the piston will be drawn up and the liquid will follow it. You notice that the upper side of the piston is covered with Vaseline, introduced through the hole, no doubt, which would prevent the poison from coming out into the mouth. And make the cylinder secure from leakage. On my arrival, he follows me on his bicycle until I pass through a sufficiently secluded neighborhood. Then he approaches me, or passes me, and waits around a corner, and shoots at pretty close range. It doesn't matter where he hits me, all parts are equally vital, so he can aim at the middle of my back. Then the bullet comes spinning through the air point foremost. The needle passes through the clothing and enters the flesh, and, as the bullet is suddenly stopped, the heavy piston flies down by its own great momentum and squirts out a jet of the poison into the tissues. The bullet then disengages itself and drops onto the ground. Meanwhile, our friend has mounted his bicycle and is off, and when I feel the prick of the needle, I turn, and, without stopping, to look for the bullet, immediately give chase. I am, of course, not able to overtake a man on a racing machine, but still I follow him some distance. Then the poison begins to take effect, the more rapidly from the violent exercise, and presently I drop insensible. Later on my body is found. There are no marks of violence, and possibly the needle-puncture escapes observation at the post-mortem, in which case the verdict will be death from heart failure. Even if the poison in the puncture are discovered, there is no clue. The bullet lies some streets away and is probably picked up by some boy, or passing stranger, who cannot conjecture its use and who would never connect it with the man who was found dead. You will admit that the whole plan has been worked out with surprising completeness and foresight. Yes, I answered. There is no doubt that the fellow is a most infernally clever scoundrel. May I ask if you have any idea who he is? Well, Thorndike replied, seeing that, as Carlisle has unkindly pointed out, clever people are not in an overwhelming majority, and that, of the clever people whom I know, only a very few are interested in my immediate demise, I am able to form a fairly probable conjecture. And what do you mean to do? For the present I shall maintain an attitude of masterly inactivity and avoid the night air. But surely, I exclaimed, you will take some measures to protect yourself against attempts of this kind, you can hardly doubt now that your accident in the fog was really an attempted murder. I never did doubt it, as a matter of fact, although I pervericated at the time. But I have not enough evidence against this man at present, and consequently, can do nothing but show that I suspect him which would be foolish. Whereas, if I lie low, one of two things will happen, either the occasion for my removal, which is only a temporary one, will pass, or he will commit himself, and will put a definite clue into my hands. Then we shall find the air-cane, the bicycle, perhaps a little stock of poison, and certain other trifles that I have in mind, which will be good confirmatory evidence, though insufficient in themselves. And now I think I really must adjourn this meeting, or we shall be good for nothing tomorrow.