WHAT WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER.
"The Inspector conducted our reporter to a small room adjoining the
court, in which the previous day's charges were still being tried, and
pointing to a bundle on the table, said:
"'This was found in the river, near Cleopatra's Needle. It has been
opened and tied up again, in order that you might see it in its
original form.'
"'In what way do you suppose it concerns me?' asked our reporter, with
an assumption of indifference, but moving nevertheless to the table
and proceeding to undo the knots in the bundle.
"'The presumption is,' replied the Inspector, 'that it was the bundle
which Mrs. Weston, your client, threw into the river last night.'
"'Being found,' contested our reporter, 'close to the place of the
adventure, the more probable conclusion is that it was deposited in
the river some distance off, the direction of which might be
calculated from the flow of the tide.'
"'Ordinarily, yes,' said the Inspector, 'but there are surroundings
not favorable to such a conclusion. In the centre of the bundle you
will find a large stone, which would prevent it from dragging far.
Then again, it was discovered caught in a snag, and our men say it
must have fallen plumb into its position.'
"Our reporter shrugged his shoulders, and remarked, 'Evidence of that
kind is in my opinion absolutely valueless in getting at the truth of
a criminal charge.'
"By this time he had untied the knots and the contents of the bundle
lay exposed. They consisted of a large stone and a suit of man's
clothes--trousers, coat, and waistcoat.
"'Well?' he said to the Inspector.
"'Well?' said the Inspector, in return.
"'Do you seriously ask me to believe that a lady would deliberately go
to a lonely part of the Thames Embankment at a late hour of the night,
for the purpose of throwing trumpery articles like these into the
river?'
"'What else can you believe?'
"'Anything but that,' said our reporter. 'In the first place it has to
be proved that the clothes are hers--an absurd idea, to say the least
of it. In the second place, what motive could she have had in
disposing of them in such a manner?'
"'You have hit a nail on the head,' said the Inspector. 'A motive she
must have had, and a strong one, too. It is a singular affair, and I
confess that I don't see my way through it. You see, the suit is new;
being but a short time in the water, that is not hard to prove. It is
of a rather good description of tweed, and must have cost thirty or
thirty-five shillings. To my eyes it has been worn very little, not
more than half a dozen times, perhaps not more than three or four,
perhaps not more than once. Supposing it to have been worn once only,
it must have been worn for a certain purpose, which being carried out
rendered its possession dangerous. Therefore it must be got rid of.
Now, why throw it into the river? Fifty shopkeepers in fifty
neighborhoods would be ready to purchase it for six or seven
shillings. Why not sell it, then? I answer, because it would not do
for the suit to be still in existence; because the person who disposed
of it might be traced. Then would come the question--"Why did you
purchase a new suit of clothes for thirty shillings, and sell it
immediately afterward for five?" But the clothes may still be traced
to the original purchaser. It happens that the name of the firm of
which it was purchased is stamped on the lining of each garment; we go
to that firm and make inquiries. Unfortunately the firm does a very
large business, and this will increase the difficulty of discovering
the purchaser.'
"'Your theories are very interesting,' said our reporter, 'but I do not
see what they will lead to. Is there anything in the pockets?'
"'Nothing; not so much as a scrap of paper, or a shred of tobacco, or
a morsel of biscuit. I mention tobacco because whoever wore the
clothes was not a smoker.'
"'Is it possible to fix that?'
"'Quite. Do you observe that the clothes are of a small size? They
must have been worn, therefore, by a person of proportionate build. In
these facts we have a starting-point.'
"'A starting-point, I presume, in some important investigation.'
"'There you have me,' said the Inspector, with a smile. 'I have been
merely airing my views. I know of no case which can possibly be
connected in any way with this suit of clothes, and we have too much
to look after already without making much ado about nothing. If there
were any grounds for supposing that it bore some relation to, say such
a mystery as that of M. Felix, we should set to work at once, of
course. No such luck, however. I sent for you really in the hope that
you could throw a light upon the bundle of rubbish.'
"'And you see that I cannot. I refuse to believe for one moment that
it was thrown into the river by the lady I appeared for this morning.'
"'Well,' said the inspector, 'there is no harm done.'
"'Not the least. By the way, you made mention of the case of M. Felix.
Has any progress been made in it?'
"'We're not a step more forward than we were. Rather the other way, I
should say, for in such cases every day in which an advance is not
made marks a point backward. The strangest feature in M. Felix's case
is what has become of the body. We have made every inquiry, and are
still making them, all over the country, and can't find the slightest
trace of it. Taking it altogether, it is about the strangest case in
my experience.'
"'And in mine,' said our reporter.
"'Oh, yes,' said the inspector, with a keen look at our reporter, 'we
know you have taken great interest in it, and I suppose have been
about as successful as ourselves.'
"'Just about as successful.'
"'Your amateur detective,' observed the Inspector, with a certain
scorn, 'considers himself a mighty clever gentleman, but he finds
himself compelled in the end to take a back seat.'
"'As I shall have to do,' said our reporter, good humoredly, 'but, as
you say, there is no harm done; and you must remember that I am
working in the interests of a great newspaper. I had an object in
asking you whether you had made any progress in the case of M. Felix.
A person of my acquaintance informed me that there was something being
done in it to-day.'
"'Whoever it was,' said the Inspector, 'must be dreaming.'
"'Nothing has been found out?'
"'Nothing.'
"'And there is no inquiry in the police court relating to it?'
"'None.'
"'Thanks. Good-morning.'"