THE SUSPECT
"I had better," said he, "give you a general outline of the case as it
presents itself to the legal mind, and then my client, Mr. Reuben
Hornby, can fill in the details if necessary, and answer any questions
that you may wish to put to him.
"Mr. Reuben occupies a position of trust in the business of his uncle,
John Hornby, who is a gold and silver refiner and dealer in precious
metals generally. There is a certain amount of outside assay work
carried on in the establishment, but the main business consists in the
testing and refining of samples of gold sent from certain mines in South
Africa.
"About five years ago Mr. Reuben and his cousin Walter--another nephew
of John Hornby--left school, and both were articled to their uncle, with
the view to their ultimately becoming partners in the house; and they
have remained with him ever since, occupying, as I have said, positions
of considerable responsibility.
"And now for a few words as to how business is conducted in Mr. Hornby's
establishment. The samples of gold are handed over at the docks to some
accredited representative of the firm--generally either Mr. Reuben or
Mr. Walter--who has been despatched to meet the ship, and conveyed
either to the bank or to the works according to circumstances. Of course
every effort is made to have as little gold as possible on the premises,
and the bars are always removed to the bank at the earliest opportunity;
but it happens unavoidably that samples of considerable value have often
to remain on the premises all night, and so the works are furnished with
a large and powerful safe or strong room for their reception. This safe
is situated in the private office under the eye of the principal, and,
as an additional precaution, the caretaker, who acts as night-watchman,
occupies a room directly over the office, and patrols the building
periodically through the night.
"Now a very strange thing has occurred with regard to this safe. It
happens that one of Mr. Hornby's customers in South Africa is interested
in a diamond mine, and, although transactions in precious stones form no
part of the business of the house, he has, from time to time, sent
parcels of rough diamonds addressed to Mr. Hornby, to be either
deposited in the bank or handed on to the diamond brokers.
"A fortnight ago Mr. Hornby was advised that a parcel of stones had been
despatched by the _Elmina Castle_, and it appeared that the parcel was
an unusually large one and contained stones of exceptional size and
value. Under these circumstances Mr. Reuben was sent down to the docks
at an early hour in the hope the ship might arrive in time for the
stones to be lodged in the bank at once. Unfortunately, however, this
was not the case, and the diamonds had to be taken to the works and
locked up in the safe."
"Who placed them in the safe?" asked Thorndyke.
"Mr. Hornby himself, to whom Mr. Reuben delivered up the package on his
return from the docks."
"Yes," said Thorndyke, "and what happened next?"
"Well, on the following morning, when the safe was opened, the diamonds
had disappeared."
"Had the place been broken into?" asked Thorndyke.
"No. The place was all locked up as usual, and the caretaker, who had
made his accustomed rounds, had heard nothing, and the safe was,
outwardly, quite undisturbed. It had evidently been opened with keys and
locked again after the stones were removed."
"And in whose custody were the keys of the safe?" inquired Thorndyke.
"Mr. Hornby usually kept the keys himself, but, on occasions, when he
was absent from the office, he handed them over to one of his
nephews--whichever happened to be in charge at the time. But on this
occasion the keys did not go out of his custody from the time when he
locked up the safe, after depositing the diamonds in it, to the time
when it was opened by him on the following morning."
"And was there anything that tended to throw suspicion upon anyone?"
asked Thorndyke.
"Why, yes," said Mr. Lawley, with an uncomfortable glance at his client,
"unfortunately there was. It seemed that the person who abstracted the
diamonds must have cut or scratched his thumb or finger in some way, for
there were two drops of blood on the bottom of the safe and one or two
bloody smears on a piece of paper, and, in addition, a remarkably clear
imprint of a thumb." "Also in blood?" asked Thorndyke.
"Yes. The thumb had apparently been put down on one of the drops and
then, while still wet with blood, had been pressed on the paper in
taking hold of it or otherwise."
"Well, and what next?"
"Well," said the lawyer, fidgeting in his chair, "to make a long story
short, the thumb-print has been identified as that of Mr. Reuben
Hornby."
"Ha!" exclaimed Thorndyke. "The plot thickens with a vengeance. I had
better jot down a few notes before you proceed any further."
He took from a drawer a small paper-covered notebook, on the cover of
which he wrote "Reuben Hornby," and then, laying the book open on a
blotting-pad, which he rested on his knee, he made a few brief notes.
"Now," he said, when he had finished, "with reference to this
thumb-print. There is no doubt, I suppose, as to the identification?"
"None whatever," replied Mr. Lawley. "The Scotland Yard people, of
course, took possession of the paper, which was handed to the director
of the finger-print department for examination and comparison with those
in their collection. The report of the experts is that the thumb-print
does not agree with any of the thumb-prints of criminals in their
possession; that it is a very peculiar one, inasmuch as the
ridge-pattern on the bulb of the thumb--which is a remarkably distinct
and characteristic one--is crossed by the scar of a deep cut, rendering
identification easy and infallible; that it agrees in every respect with
the thumb-print of Mr. Reuben Hornby, and is, in fact, his thumb-print
beyond any possible doubt."
"Is there any possibility," asked Thorndyke, "that the paper bearing the
thumb-print could have been introduced by any person?"
"No," answered the lawyer. "It is quite impossible. The paper on which
the mark was found was a leaf from Mr. Hornby's memorandum block. He had
pencilled on it some particulars relating to the diamonds, and laid it
on the parcel before he closed up the safe."
"Was anyone present when Mr. Hornby opened the safe in the morning?"
asked Thorndyke.
"No, he was alone," answered the lawyer. "He saw at a glance that the
diamonds were missing, and then he observed the paper with the
thumb-mark on it, on which he closed and locked the safe and sent for
the police."
"Is it not rather odd that the thief did not notice the thumb-mark,
since it was so distinct and conspicuous?"
"No, I think not," answered Mr. Lawley. "The paper was lying face
downwards on the bottom of the safe, and it was only when he picked it
up and turned it over that Mr. Hornby discovered the thumb-print.
Apparently the thief had taken hold of the parcel, with the paper on it,
and the paper had afterwards dropped off and fallen with the marked
surface downwards--probably when the parcel was transferred to the other
hand."
"You mentioned," said Thorndyke, "that the experts at Scotland Yard have
identified this thumb-mark as that of Mr. Reuben Hornby. May I ask how
they came to have the opportunity of making the comparison?"
"Ah!" said Mr. Lawley. "Thereby hangs a very curious tale of
coincidences. The police, of course, when they found that there was so
simple a means of identification as a thumb-mark, wished to take
thumb-prints of all the employees in the works; but this Mr. Hornby
refused to sanction--rather quixotically, as it seems to me--saying that
he would not allow his nephews to be subjected to such an indignity. Now
it was, naturally, these nephews in whom the police were chiefly
interested, seeing that they alone had had the handling of the keys, and
considerable pressure was brought to bear upon Mr. Hornby to have the
thumb-prints taken.
"However, he was obdurate, scouting the idea of any suspicion attaching
to either of the gentlemen in whom he had reposed such complete
confidence and whom he had known all their lives, and so the matter
would probably have remained a mystery but for a very odd circumstance.
"You may have seen on the bookstalls and in shop windows an appliance
called a 'Thumbograph,' or some such name, consisting of a small book of
blank paper for collecting the thumb-prints of one's friends, together
with an inking pad."
"I have seen those devices of the Evil One," said Thorndyke, "in fact, I
have one, which I bought at Charing Cross Station."
"Well, it seems that some months ago Mrs. Hornby, the wife of John
Hornby, purchased one of these toys--"
"As a matter of fact," interrupted Reuben, "it was my cousin Walter who
bought the thing and gave it to her."
"Well, that is not material," said Mr. Lawley (though I observed that
Thorndyke made a note of the fact in his book); "at any rate, Mrs.
Hornby became possessed of one of these appliances and proceeded to fill
it with the thumb-prints of her friends, including her two nephews. Now
it happened that the detective in charge of this case called yesterday
at Mr. Hornby's house when the latter was absent from home, and took the
opportunity of urging her to induce her husband to consent to have the
thumb-prints of her nephews taken for the inspection of the experts at
Scotland Yard. He pointed out that the procedure was really necessary,
not only in the interests of justice but in the interests of the young
men themselves, who were regarded with considerable suspicion by the
police, which suspicion would be completely removed if it could be shown
by actual comparison that the thumb-print could not have been made by
either of them. Moreover, it seemed that both the young men had
expressed their willingness to have the test applied, but had been
forbidden by their uncle. Then Mrs. Hornby had a brilliant idea. She
suddenly remembered the 'Thumbograph,' and thinking to set the question
at rest once for all, fetched the little book and showed it to the
detective. It contained the prints of both thumbs of Mr. Reuben (among
others), and, as the detective had with him a photograph of the
incriminating mark, the comparison was made then and there; and you may
imagine Mrs. Hornby's horror and amazement when it was made clear that
the print of her nephew Reuben's left thumb corresponded in every
particular with the thumb-print that was found in the safe.
"At this juncture Mr. Hornby arrived on the scene and was, of course,
overwhelmed with consternation at the turn events had taken. He would
have liked to let the matter drop and make good the loss of the diamonds
out of his own funds, but, as that would have amounted practically to
compounding a felony, he had no choice but to prosecute. As a result, a
warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr. Reuben, and was executed this
morning, and my client was taken forthwith to Bow Street and charged
with the robbery."
"Was any evidence taken?" asked Thorndyke.
"No. Only evidence of arrest. The prisoner is remanded for a week, bail
having been accepted in two sureties of five hundred pounds each."
Thorndyke was silent for a space after the conclusion of the narrative.
Like me, he was evidently not agreeably impressed by the lawyer's
manner, which seemed to take his client's guilt for granted, a position
indeed not entirely without excuse having regard to the circumstances of
the case.
"What have you advised your client to do?" Thorndyke asked presently.
"I have recommended him to plead guilty and throw himself on the
clemency of the court as a first offender. You must see for yourself
that there is no defence possible."
The young man flushed crimson, but made no remark.
"But let us be clear how we stand," said Thorndyke. "Are we defending an
innocent man or are we endeavouring to obtain a light sentence for a man
who admits that he is guilty?"
Mr. Lawley shrugged his shoulders.
"That question can be best answered by our client himself," said he.
Thorndyke directed an inquiring glance at Reuben Hornby, remarking--
"You are not called upon to incriminate yourself in any way, Mr. Hornby,
but I must know what position you intend to adopt." Here I again
proposed to withdraw, but Reuben interrupted me.
"There is no need for you to go away, Dr. Jervis," he said. "My position
is that I did not commit this robbery and that I know nothing whatever
about it or about the thumb-print that was found in the safe. I do not,
of course, expect you to believe me in the face of the overwhelming
evidence against me, but I do, nevertheless, declare in the most solemn
manner before God, that I am absolutely innocent of this crime and have
no knowledge of it whatever."
"Then I take it that you did not plead 'guilty'?" said Thorndyke.
"Certainly not; and I never will," replied Reuben hotly.
"You would not be the first innocent man, by very many, who has entered
that plea," remarked Mr. Lawley. "It is often the best policy, when the
defence is hopelessly weak."
"It is a policy that will not be adopted by me," rejoined Reuben. "I may
be, and probably shall be, convicted and sentenced, but I shall continue
to maintain my innocence, whatever happens. Do you think," he added,
turning to Thorndyke, "that you can undertake my defence on that
assumption?"
"It is the only assumption on which I should agree to undertake the
case," replied Thorndyke.
"And--if I may ask the question--" pursued Reuben anxiously, "do you
find it possible to conceive that I may really be innocent?"
"Certainly I do," Thorndyke replied, on which I observed Mr. Lawley's
eyebrows rise perceptibly. "I am a man of facts, not an advocate, and
if I found it impossible to entertain the hypothesis of your innocence,
I should not be willing to expend time and energy in searching for
evidence to prove it. Nevertheless," he continued, seeing the light of
hope break out on the face of the unfortunate young man, "I must impress
upon you that the case presents enormous difficulties and that we must
be prepared to find them insuperable in spite of all our efforts."
"I expect nothing but a conviction," replied Reuben in a calm and
resolute voice, "and can face it like a man if only you do not take my
guilt for granted, but give me a chance, no matter how small, of making
a defence."
"Everything shall be done that I am capable of doing," said Thorndyke;
"that I can promise you. The long odds against us are themselves a spur
to endeavour, as far as I am concerned. And now, let me ask you, have
you any cuts or scratches on your fingers?"
Reuben Hornby held out both his hands for my colleague's inspection, and
I noticed that they were powerful and shapely, like the hands of a
skilled craftsman, though faultlessly kept. Thorndyke set on the table a
large condenser such as is used for microscopic work, and taking his
client's hand, brought the bright spot of light to bear on each finger
in succession, examining their tips and the parts around the nails with
the aid of a pocket lens.
"A fine, capable hand, this," said he, regarding the member approvingly,
as he finished his examination, "but I don't perceive any trace of a
scar on either the right or left. Will you go over them, Jervis? The
robbery took place a fortnight ago, so there has been time for a small
cut or scratch to heal and disappear entirely. Still, the matter is
worth noting."
He handed me the lens and I scrutinised every part of each hand without
being able to detect the faintest trace of any recent wound.
"There is one other matter that must be attended to before you go," said
Thorndyke, pressing the electric bell-push by his chair. "I will take
one or two prints of the left thumb for my own information."
In response to the summons, Polton made his appearance from some lair
unknown to me, but presumably the laboratory, and, having received his
instructions, retired, and presently returned carrying a box, which he
laid on the table. From this receptacle Thorndyke drew forth a bright
copper plate mounted on a slab of hard wood, a small printer's roller, a
tube of finger-print ink, and a number of cards with very white and
rather glazed surfaces.
"Now, Mr. Hornby," said he, "your hands, I see, are beyond criticism as
to cleanliness, but we will, nevertheless, give the thumb a final
polish."
Accordingly he proceeded to brush the bulb of the thumb with a
well-soaked badger-hair nail-brush, and, having rinsed it in water,
dried it with a silk handkerchief, and gave it a final rub on a piece of
chamois leather. The thumb having been thus prepared, he squeezed out a
drop of the thick ink on to the copper plate and spread it out with the
roller, testing the condition of the film from time to time by touching
the plate with the tip of his finger and taking an impression on one of
the cards.
When the ink had been rolled out to the requisite thinness, he took
Reuben's hand and pressed the thumb lightly but firmly on to the inked
plate; then, transferring the thumb to one of the cards, which he
directed me to hold steady on the table, he repeated the pressure, when
there was left on the card a beautifully sharp and clear impression of
the bulb of the thumb, the tiny papillary ridges being shown with
microscopic distinctness, and even the mouths of the sweat glands, which
appeared as rows of little white dots on the black lines of the ridges.
This manoeuvre was repeated a dozen times on two of the cards, each of
which thus received six impressions. Thorndyke then took one or two
rolled prints, _i.e._ prints produced by rolling the thumb first on the
inked slab and then on the card, by which means a much larger portion of
the surface of the thumb was displayed in a single print.
"And now," said Thorndyke, "that we may be furnished with all the
necessary means of comparison, we will take an impression in blood."
The thumb was accordingly cleansed and dried afresh, when Thorndyke,
having pricked his own thumb with a needle, squeezed out a good-sized
drop of blood on to a card.
"There," said he, with a smile, as he spread the drop out with the
needle into a little shallow pool, "it is not every lawyer who is
willing to shed his blood in the interests of his client."
He proceeded to make a dozen prints as before on two cards, writing a
number with his pencil opposite each print as he made it.
"We are now," said he, as he finally cleansed his client's thumb,
"furnished with the material for a preliminary investigation, and if you
will now give me your address, Mr. Hornby, we may consider our business
concluded for the present. I must apologise to you, Mr. Lawley, for
having detained you so long with these experiments."
The lawyer had, in fact, been viewing the proceedings with hardly
concealed impatience, and he now rose with evident relief that they
were at an end.
"I have been highly interested," he said mendaciously, "though I confess
I do not quite fathom your intentions. And, by the way, I should like to
have a few words with you on another matter, if Mr. Reuben would not
mind waiting for me in the square just a few minutes."
"Not at all," said Reuben, who was, I perceived, in no way deceived by
the lawyer's pretence. "Don't hurry on my account; my time is my own--at
present." He held out his hand to Thorndyke, who grasped it cordially.
"Good-bye, Mr. Hornby," said the latter. "Do not be unreasonably
sanguine, but at the same time, do not lose heart. Keep your wits about
you and let me know at once if anything occurs to you that may have a
bearing on the case."
The young man then took his leave, and, as the door closed after him,
Mr. Lawley turned towards Thorndyke.
"I thought I had better have a word with you alone," he said, "just to
hear what line you propose to take up, for I confess that your attitude
has puzzled me completely."
"What line would you propose?" asked Thorndyke.
"Well," said the lawyer, with a shrug of his shoulders, "the position
seems to be this: our young friend has stolen a parcel of diamonds and
has been found out; at least, that is how the matter presents itself to
me."
"That is not how it presents itself to me," said Thorndyke drily. "He
may have taken the diamonds or he may not. I have no means of judging
until I have sifted the evidence and acquired a few more facts. This I
hope to do in the course of the next day or two, and I suggest that we
postpone the consideration of our plan of campaign until I have seen
what line of defence it is possible to adopt."
"As you will," replied the lawyer, taking up his hat, "but I am afraid
you are encouraging the young rogue to entertain hopes that will only
make his fall the harder--to say nothing of our own position. We don't
want to make ourselves ridiculous in court, you know."
"I don't, certainly," agreed Thorndyke. "However, I will look into the
matter and communicate with you in the course of a day or two."
He stood holding the door open as the lawyer descended the stairs, and
when the footsteps at length died away, he closed it sharply and turned
to me with an air of annoyance.
"The 'young rogue,'" he remarked, "does not appear to me to have been
very happy in his choice of a solicitor. By the way, Jervis, I
understand you are out of employment just now?"
"That is so," I answered.
"Would you care to help me--as a matter of business, of course--to work
up this case? I have a lot of other work on hand and your assistance
would be of great value to me."
I said, with great truth, that I should be delighted.
"Then," said Thorndyke, "come round to breakfast to-morrow and we will
settle the terms, and you can commence your duties at once. And now let
us light our pipes and finish our yarns as though agitated clients and
thick-headed solicitors had no existence."