AN EXTRAORDINARY CROSS-EXAMINATION--A THEORY AT
LAST--WHITE SAND AND JERSEY MUD--WORKING ON A SLIGHT
CLUE--AN INSPIRATION--THE MAN WITH THE DIARY--A
PROSPECT.
Again Jack became thoughtful. He appreciated that his questions were
developing strange and directing admissions. After some little time he
resumed his questions. Our readers will remember that our hero had
adopted a line of interrogations in line with a theory that had been
suggested in his mind. He asked:
"Did you observe in the securities that they had been wet?"
"No."
"Now mark well this next question, sir: Did you notice any white soil?"
"Great Moses!" ejaculated Mr. Townsend, "young man, who are you--what
are you?"
"I am a detective; you have my card; but please answer my question."
"Yes, sir, when I opened the package of securities I observed that some
white sand fell on my lap. I remember brushing it off--yes, it's
marvelous that you should know this. Are you the heir, or did you meet
the man, or do you know him, or did some one tell you, or am I
dreaming?"
"None of your propositions, sir, are correct; I am merely shadowing down
to facts, going logically to work to find a clue."
"But you must have some basis for these questions?"
"Only such as come to me."
"No facts?"
"None whatever; I never heard of the affair until you related the
circumstances to me within the hour, but I am reasoning on certain
lines. I may project several theories and consider them all. We have
made a little advance; we have learned that the strange man who
deposited the fortune with you came from New Jersey; we have reason to
believe that his _farm_ was somewhere near the seashore."
"Yes, yes, I see, this is wonderful. Why, the detective business is easy
enough if you only know how to go about it."
Jack laughed and said:
"Yes, it is easy, but there is another mystery to solve. How did you
cash those drafts on the London solicitors? Did you not receive some
intimation from them?"
"They were drafts drawn by themselves on bankers; in fact, they were
indorsed by them to no particular individual. I sent them through the
regular channel for collection; they were paid and I never received any
word from them."
"Didn't your first detective mention them?"
"He did, but I could not remember the names of the drawers of the
drafts. Remember, twenty-five years had elapsed."
"Did you make no record of the names?"
"If I did the record was lost."
"And there you lost a clue."
"That is true, I can see now."
"But the securities--did they not contain a name?"
"Certainly, but I have forgotten those names also. Strangely enough,
they were indorsed or assigned blank by the London solicitors, and all I
had to do was fill in our name and get new certificates; I did so."
"And you claim a great memory?"
"Yes."
"And you do not remember any of the names on those papers?"
"No, you see, I was excited; I may have observed the names at the time,
but they passed from my memory. I disposed of them immediately and the
matter rested for twenty-five years. It was evident that they had been
indorsed in blank on purpose for some one to fill in the name and
dispose of them at will. I admit it was a strange oversight for me not
to have made a record of the names--indeed, it is possible I did, and
that I filed them away with the letter, and if I did so they were
destroyed with the letter."
"It does appear," said Jack, "that the fates all combined to hide the
identity of the real heirs to that property."
"Yes, but now I recall through your aid that the strange man who
deposited this fortune with me did several times speak of possible
claimants, and I remember that in the letter he gave me he bade me use
my own judgment should any such claimants present themselves."
"And that letter of instructions?"
"It was destroyed along with the other memoranda."
"Now give me a general description of the appearance of the man who
deposited the fortune with you."
Mr. Townsend did so, and his description was minute, and as afterward
appeared very accurate, and Jack made a mental note of the description,
and after some further talk, distinguished by the same singular
brightness which had enabled him to ascertain as much as he did in order
to establish some slight indices whereon to base a "shadow," he bade Mr.
Townsend adieu, promising to call upon him as soon as he had anything
definite to report.
Once alone as he walked through the streets going to his lodgings, Jack
meditated deeply over the strange narrative he had listened to, and he
muttered:
"It is all straight enough save the fact that the old man who has such a
good memory in one direction should forget so important a fact as those
names, which it appears must have been written on the securities and the
drafts; and yet," added Jack, "he appears perfectly frank and honest."
Our hero saw his brother Gil, and the two discussed for a long time the
strange incidents, and Jack said:
"It is possible that Mr. Townsend is crazy. He is over seventy years of
age and may be laboring under a hallucination. His story does appear
incredible; there are elements of romance stranger than any I ever read
about. Had the money been deposited with him for a few months, or even
years, it would have been different, but a deposit to cover twenty years
seems to me almost incredible; and then again, he appeared to be all
right."
"You know," said Gil, "some people laboring under a hallucination will
tell a straighter narrative than those who are relating facts."
"Yes, I've thought of that, but there is one thing I particularly
observed: the old man answered my questions. I revivified his memory,
and every time he answered me clearly and naturally, and it is this fact
which makes me believe that there may be some truth in his extraordinary
narrative. At any rate, I shall investigate the story."
"Have you formed a plan?"
"I have."
Jack revealed his plan to his brother and laid out a course of work for
the latter, for which he was particularly fitted. He said:
"I shall proceed in this matter for awhile as though I had not a single
doubt as to the authenticity of the old man's tale. I have a theory, and
if I am correct I believe I will be able to delve until I strike a clue,
and if I do and prove the story correct and solve the mystery, we shall
have performed one of the most extraordinary detective feats ever
accomplished."
"I will tell you frankly, Jack, I believe you are being played by a
crazy man."
"All right, we shall see."
Jack was not a man to be played very easily. He did not accept the story
as a whole, nor did he absolutely reject it, as intimated. He determined
to make a test, satisfied that he would be able to strike a clue, a
sufficient one to at least confirm the story. And such being the case he
could then go ahead and investigate further.
Our readers will remember that our hero was working for a clue on an
event which had occurred forty years previously, and the difficulty is
apparent. He could not trace by the memories of people who could aid
him, and on the following day when he crossed to Jersey he became more
and more impressed as to the difficulties of the "shadow," and he
remarked:
"Accident has favored me several times, but I cannot see how accident
can favor me now."
It is strange, but the very word accident suggested a most extraordinary
and novel plan. He went to the railroad office, and gaining admission to
the presence of the superintendent made several inquiries as to a record
of accidents that had occurred on the road. At first the superintendent
showed little interest, but when Jack disclosed the fact that he was a
detective, the superintendent became communicative and inquisitive, and
Jack was compelled to practice great adroitness in evading questions.
Finally the superintendent said:
"There is an old man employed in the freight office who has been on the
road fifty years. He is a queer old fellow, and has kept a diary of
every incident of importance as connected with the road for fifty years.
His name is Douglas; he lives in Newark, I think. See him and you will
get all the information you require."
Jack left the office and there was a smile of satisfaction on his face,
as he remarked:
"By ginger! it does appear as though my thoughts were an inspiration.
Why, probably I wouldn't have run across anything like this diary
business anywhere else in all the world."
We ask our readers to observe the extraordinary foresight of the
detective in developing his theory, in view of the extraordinary
denouement that was to follow.
He made inquiries around about this man Douglas, and learned that he was
a very peculiar man and possessed of a wonderful memory.
Jack lay around until he managed to see Douglas, and in his own way he
made the old man's acquaintance, and finally invited the old gentleman
to go to lunch with him. He encouraged Douglas to talk about the road,
and as the old man was fond of talking he was pleased to have a
listener, especially a man who appeared deeply interested in the history
of the road, and Jack professed great interest and finally said:
"I believe I could write up a first-class article on this subject."
"Oh, I see, you are a newspaper man?"
"That is what I am."
"Well, if you will come to my house some evening I'd look over my diary,
and I can furnish you some strange narratives. Why, you can make a great
article out of it."
"I think I can," said Jack, "and indeed I have such an opinion of it
that I am willing to pay you for your time."
"Pay me?"
"Yes."
"Well, now, I ain't looking for any pay."
"Ten dollars would come in handy all the same, I reckon."
"Well, yes; you see, although I've been on this road for fifty years I
didn't save much. My daughter didn't marry well, and I've had two or
three families to take care of--yes, ten dollars will go a long way with
me."
"All right; I've got ten dollars' worth of information out of you
already."
Jack handed the old man a ten-dollar bill.
"What!" ejaculated Douglas, his eyes dilating, "do you mean that you
will pay me ten dollars for just the little I've said to you?"
"Certainly I will; our papers pay big prices for interesting stories."
"Well, I can tell you some interesting stories--yes, I can do that."
"I'd like to get the article as soon as I can, Mr. Douglas, and I'd be
willing to pay you for loss of time if you can get 'laid off' for a
day."
"Oh, I can do that any time--yes, I've been on the road so long they
favor me."
"Well, I'll tell you, I will be at your house to-morrow morning at ten
o'clock. You will have your memoranda all ready, and we will go over it.
You see, I want to write about the road forty or fifty years ago."
"I see--yes, I see--and I've got the data."
Jack had perceived that the old man was quite intelligent for his
station in life, and having arranged to meet him at his home in Newark,
Jack bade him good-day and returned to his lodgings.