"The object of my visit," began Mr. Barnes, "is of such grave importance
that I approach it with hesitation, and I may even say reluctance. Will
you give me your closest attention?"
"I understood from your note," replied Mr. Mitchel, "that you wished to
consult me in regard to some case which you are investigating. As you
are well aware, I take the keenest interest in the solving of criminal
problems. Therefore proceed. But first let me light a Havana. A good
cigar always aids my perception."
The two men were in the sumptuous library of Mr. Mitchel's new house,
which he had bought for his wife shortly after their marriage. It was
ten in the morning, and Mr. Mitchel, just from his breakfast-room, was
comfortably attired in a smoking-jacket. After lighting his cigar, he
threw himself into a large Turkish chair, rested his head upon the
soft-cushioned back, and extended his slippered feet towards the grate
fire, his legs crossed. As he blew little rings of smoke towards the
detective, he seemed absolutely unsuspicious of the story about to be
told.
Mr. Barnes, on the contrary, appeared ill at ease. He declined a cigar,
and, without removing his overcoat, he leaned his left arm on the low
marble mantel as he stood talking, his right being free for gestures
when he wished to emphasize a point.
After a brief pause he began:
"Whilst I am not officially connected with the regular police, my young
friend Burrows is, and is highly esteemed by the Chief. You will
remember him in connection with the Quadrant case. He called upon me
about noon on last Sunday. The story which he had to tell was the most
remarkable in some respects that I have heard. Briefly, it is as
follows: As you know, it is common practice among speculating builders
to erect a row of houses, finishing them at one end first, so that, not
infrequently, one or two of the row may be sold while the mechanics are
still at work on the other end. In this manner ten houses have been
built in this immediate vicinity."
"In the street just back of me," said Mr. Mitchel.
Mr. Barnes watched him closely at this moment, but he seemed entirely
composed and merely attentive. The detective proceeded.
"It appears that two of these houses have been sold and are already
occupied. The next four are completed, and the sign "For Sale" appears
in the windows. The others are still in the hands of the workmen. The
four which are for sale are in the care of a watchman. They are open for
inspection during the day, but he is supposed to lock all the doors
before going to his home in the evening, and to open them to the public
again on the following day. According to this man, he locked all the
doors of these four houses on Saturday night at six o'clock, and opened
them again at eight on Sunday morning. Between eight and nine he showed
two parties through one of the houses and, after dismissing the last,
was sitting on the stoop reading the morning paper, when he was startled
by hearing a scream. A moment later he saw two women rush out of the
house next to where he sat, and from their actions it was evident that
they were terribly frightened. It was some time before he could get any
lucid explanation from either, and when he did he understood them to
intimate that some one had been murdered in the house. He asked them to
show him to the spot, but they most positively declined. He therefore,
with unusual display of common sense, summoned a policeman, and with him
visited the room indicated by the frightened women, who made no attempt
to run away, though they again refused to go into the house, even with
the officer. What the two men found was horrible enough to account for
the women's actions. In the bathtub lay the body of a woman, the head,
hands, and feet having been cut off and removed."
"I should say that, under these circumstances, identification would be
most difficult," said Mr. Mitchel, "unless, indeed, the clothing might
afford some clue."
"The body was nude," said the detective.
"In that case, you have to deal with a man who has brains."
"Yes; the murderer has adopted just such methods as I imagine you would
pursue, Mr. Mitchel, were you in his predicament."
Mr. Mitchel frowned very slightly, and said:
"You offer me a doubtful compliment, Mr. Barnes. Proceed with your case.
It is interesting, to say the least."
"It grows more so as we proceed, for we have once more an evidence of
the futility of planning a crime which shall leave no clue behind."
"Ah, then you have found a clue?" Mr. Mitchel removed his cigar to
speak, and did not resume his smoking, but seemed more attentive.
"Listen," said the detective. "The policeman immediately notified his
superiors, and by ten o'clock Burrows was at the house, having been
detailed to make an examination. Having done so, and recognizing that he
was face to face with a crime of unusual importance, he hastened to
solicit my assistance, that I might be early upon the scene. I am
satisfied that I reached the house before any material alteration had
been made in any of those small and minute details which are overlooked
by the careless eye, but which speak volumes to one with experience."
"I suppose, then, that you can describe what existed, from your personal
investigation. That is more interesting than a report at second hand."
"I went over the ground thoroughly, as I think you will admit when I
have told you all. Here was one of those wonderful cases where the
criminal exercised extreme caution to obliterate all traces of the
crime. His actions could only be surmised through analytical and
deductive methods. There are some facts which cannot be hidden, and from
these a keen mind may trace backwards. For example, the head and
extremities had been removed, and a minute scrutiny of the remaining
parts might disclose many things."
"Ah, here we note the triumph of mind over matter." There was just a
slight sneer, which nettled the detective.
Mr. Barnes proceeded with some asperity. Indeed, he spoke more like
himself; that is, with less hesitancy, as though heretofore he had found
the story hard to tell, but that now his scruples had vanished.
"An examination of the stumps of the arms proved conclusively that a
sharp knife had been used, for not only had the tendons and vessels been
cleanly severed, but in two places the cartilage capping the ends of the
bone had been shaved off smoothly."
"Come, Mr. Barnes," said Mr. Mitchel, "do not dwell so upon unimportant
details."
"The weapon is always counted as a very important detail," said Mr.
Barnes, sharply.
"Yes, yes, I know," said Mr. Mitchel. "But you are above the ordinary
detective, and you surely perceive that it is a matter of no consequence
whether the knife used was sharp or dull. In either case it could be
hidden or destroyed, so that it could not be found to serve in
evidence."
"Oh, very well," said Mr. Barnes, testily. "I will come to the
deductions concerning the neck. Here there were several points of
interest. Again it was evident that a sharp knife was used, and in this
instance the condition of the edge of the knife becomes important."
"Indeed! How so?"
"The most minute scrutiny of the body disclosed no wound which could
have been the cause of death. Unless poison had been administered, there
are but three ways by which death could have been effected."
"And those are?"
"Suffocation, either by choking or otherwise; drowning, by holding the
head under water in the bathtub; or by some mortal wound inflicted about
the head, either by a blow, the use of a knife, or a pistol shot. I
doubted the pistol, because so careful a man as the assassin evidently
was, would have avoided the noise. A stab with a knife was possible, but
unlikely because of the scream which would surely result. A blow was
improbable, unless the man brought the weapon with him, as the house was
empty, and nothing would accidentally be found at hand. To drown the
woman, it would have been necessary to half fill the tub with water
before thrusting the victim in it, and such an action would have aroused
her suspicion. Besides, the clothes would have been wet, and this would
have interfered with burning them. Thus by exclusion I arrived at the
belief that the woman had been choked to death, a method offering the
least risk, being noiseless and bloodless."
"What has the sharpness of the knife to do with this?"
"It was, in my mind, important to decide whether the head had been
removed before or after death. A dull knife would not have aided me as a
sharp one did. With a sharp knife a severing of the carotid artery
before death would have resulted in a spurting of blood, which would
have stained the walls or floor, so that it would have been difficult,
or impossible, to wash away the telltale marks. But after death, or even
while the victim was unconscious, a cool hand, with a sharp blade, could
cut down upon the artery in such a way that the blood would flow
regularly, and, the body being in the bathtub, and water flowing from
the faucets, no stains would be left."
"Then you think that the woman was choked to death?"
"I have not a doubt of it. There was a terrible struggle, too, though in
an empty house we could find no such signs as would inevitably have been
made in a furnished apartment. But the woman fought for her life and
died hard. This I know because, despite the precaution of the assassin
in removing the head, there are two or three distinct marks on the neck,
made by the ends of his fingers and nails."
"Well, having discovered so much, you are as far as ever from the
identity of the criminal, or of the woman."
"Every point unravelled is so much gain," said Mr. Barnes, evasively.
"My next deduction was more important. Let us picture the scene of the
crime. For causes as yet unknown, this man wished to kill this woman. He
lures her into this empty house, and, choosing a favorable moment,
seizes her by the throat and strangles her to death. To prevent the
identification of the corpse, he decides to remove the head, hands, and
feet, parts which are characteristic. He takes off the clothes and burns
them. We found the ashes in the kitchen stove. He takes the body to the
bathroom, and, placing it in the porcelain tub, turns on the water, and
then proceeds with his diabolical scheme. Even though we suppose that he
first filled the tub with water, the better to avoid stains, when we
remember that he took away the severed parts it is inconceivable that
not a stain of blood, not a smudge of pinkish tint, would be left
anywhere. Granting that he might have endeavored to wash away any such
drippings, still it would be marvellous that not one stain should be
left."
"Yet you found none?" Mr. Mitchel smiled, and resumed his smoking.
"Yet I found none," said Mr. Barnes. "But this was a most significant
fact to me. It led me to a suspicion which I proceeded to verify. The
plumbing in this house is of the most approved pattern. Under the
porcelain bathtub there is a patent trap for the exclusion of
sewer-gas. This is so fashioned that some water always remains.
Supposing that bloody water had passed through it, I should find this
trap partly filled with water tinted in color. I removed the screw,
which enabled me to catch the water from the trap in a bowl. It was
perfectly clear. Not a trace of color."
"From which you deduced?" asked Mr. Mitchel.
"From which I deduced," said the detective, "that the woman had not been
killed, or dismembered, in the house where her body was found. By
examining the other houses and emptying the traps, I found one which
yielded water plainly colored with blood, and I also found a few smudges
about the bathtub; places where blood had splashed and been washed off.
The assassin thought that he had made all clean, but as so often happens
with porcelain, when dried there still remained a slight stain, which
even showed the direction in which it had been wiped."
"Very good! Very good indeed!" Mr. Mitchel yawned slightly. "Let me see.
You have discovered--what? That the knife was sharp. And that the woman
was killed in one house and carried to another. How does that help you?"
At this point Mr. Barnes gave Mr. Mitchel a distinct surprise. Instead
of answering the question, he asked suddenly:
"Mr. Mitchel, will you permit me to examine that watch-chain which you
are wearing?"
Mr. Mitchel sat straight up in his chair, and looked sharply at the
detective, as though trying to read his innermost thoughts. The
detective stared back at him, and both were silent a moment. Then
without speaking, Mr. Mitchel removed the chain, and handed it to Mr.
Barnes, who took it with him to the window, and there examined it
closely through a lens. Mr. Mitchel threw the remains of his cigar into
the fire, and, placing both hands behind his head as he lay back in his
chair, awaited developments. Presently Mr. Barnes returned to his place
by the mantel, and in resuming his narrative it was noticeable from his
tone of voice that he was more than ever troubled.
"You asked me," said he, "how my discoveries helped me. I say from the
bottom of my soul that they have helped me only too well. That I proceed
in this matter is due to the fact that I must follow the dictates of my
conscience rather than my heart."
"Brutus yielded up his son," suggested Mr. Mitchel.
"Yes. Well, to resume my story. The point of importance was this.
Imagine the assassin with both hands at the woman's throat--two things
were inevitable. The woman would surely struggle, with arms and legs,
and the murderer would be unable to resist, his own hands being
occupied. What more natural than that the arms of the dying woman should
be wrapped about the body of her assailant? That the hands should grasp
and rend the clothing? Might perhaps come into contact with a
watch-chain and tear it off, or break it?"
"And you are intending to examine all the watch-chains in the
neighborhood upon such a chance as that?" Mr. Mitchel laughed, but Mr.
Barnes took no notice of the intended taunt.
"I have examined the only chain I wished to look at. Deducing the
struggle, and the possible tearing off of some part of the assassin's
attire, I was glad to know which house was the scene of the crime.
Having satisfied myself in this direction, I proceeded to search for the
missing link in the chain of evidence, though I must confess that I did
not expect it to be truly a link, a part of a real chain. The idea that
a watch-chain might have been broken in the struggle did not occur to me
until I held the evidence in my hand."
"Oh; then you did find your missing link?"
"Yes. I personally swept every room, and the staircase, and at last I
found the link. But it would be more correct to say _your_ missing link,
than mine, Mr. Mitchel, for it was from this chain that it was broken."
"Indeed!"
Mr. Barnes was amazed at the imperturbable manner in which this
statement was received. Becoming slightly agitated himself, he
continued:
"As soon as I picked up that link, I was shocked at my discovery, for,
from its peculiar shape, I recognized it as similar to your chain, which
I had often observed. Still, I hoped that there might be some mistake;
that it might have fallen from some other man. But you permitted me to
examine this chain, and the last doubt is swept away. I note that every
alternate link is solid, the intermediate ones having a slit, by which
the links are joined into a chain. The wrench given by the dying woman
strained one of these links so that it opened, allowing the chain to
part, and later this particular link dropped off. Either you did not
observe it at once, or else, being small, you could not find it. If this
occurred as I have described, what would be the result? Your chain,
where parted, would terminate at each end with a solid link. Thus, to
unite the chain again, my lens shows me that you have sawed through one
link, and so rejoined your chain. And not only do I see the freshly
sawed link, but, as must necessarily be the case, we have two links
adjacent, each of which can be opened."
"And your next move will be?" asked Mr. Mitchel, still apparently
undisturbed.
"I have no recourse open to me except to arrest you. That is why I have
found this whole interview so painful."
"I understand your position, and sympathize with you thoroughly," said
Mr. Mitchel. "And yet, see how easily you might dismiss this whole
theory of yours. These houses are in my neighborhood, immediately back
of me, in fact. I am a householder. What more natural than my taking an
interest in property so near me? Why may I not have visited the houses
to examine them? Then what more possible than the chance that in passing
from one room to another, my chain should have caught on a door-knob,
and have been broken, the link dropping as you have suggested? My
repairing the damage would be but a natural sequence, and the subsequent
murder and your train of reasoning is resolved into a mere coincidence."
"That is ingenious, Mr. Mitchel. But some instinct tells me that I am
right, and that you did commit this crime."
"Intuition, which I suppose is what you mean by instinct, is not always
reliable, but, oddly enough, in this instance you are correct. I did
kill that creature. Moreover, the sequence of events was as you have
deduced. I commend you for your skill, for, believe me, I used every
precaution to prevent detection."
"Then you confess? My God! This is horrible!"
At the prospect of arresting Mr. Mitchel, a man who had won his most
ardent admiration, Mr. Barnes was so overcome that he sank into a chair
and stared blankly at his companion.
"Come! come!" said Mr. Mitchel. "Don't break down like that. The affair
is bad enough, I admit, but it might be worse."
"Might be worse!" ejaculated Mr. Barnes, amazed at the words as well as
the half-jocular tone.
"Why yes. Much worse. Why, Mr. Barnes, have you not had evidence of my
ability to thwart detectives before to-day? Do you suppose that I shall
permit myself to be detected, arrested, imprisoned in this affair?
Nothing is further from my mind, I assure you. True, you have, with
your uncommon skill, discovered a part of the truth. But that need not
trouble me, for no other detective will be so shrewd."
"Do you mean to suggest that I should shield you in this matter?"
"Well, yes. That is about what I expect from your friendship."
"Impossible! Impossible! I wish that I could do what you ask! But no! It
is impossible!"
"There. I have tried your patience long enough. Let me tell you the
whole story, and then you may decide as you please. A few years ago, in
Paris, a friend presented me with a poodle. French poodles, as you know,
are considered the most intelligent of all dogs, and this one seemed to
be the wisest of his species. My friend had already trained him to
perform many tricks, and these were done at command, without special
signals, so that I could but believe what my friend claimed, that the
dog actually understood what was said to him. Thinking this matter over
one day, it presented itself to me in a singular light.
"In the training of animals, man has always aimed to make the dumb brute
understand, and carry out, the master's wishes. No one, so far as I then
knew, had ever trained a dog to express his own wishes, in any way
intelligible to the master. This I undertook to do, and was fairly
successful. I printed words on cards, such as 'food,' 'drink,' 'yard,'
etc., and, by means which I need not recapitulate, I taught my dog to
bring me the special card which would represent his wishes. Thus, when
he was thirsty, he could ask for 'water,' or when he wished to leave the
house, he brought the card marked 'yard.' Imagine my astonishment when
one day a little sky-terrier, belonging to another lodger in the house,
came to me with the 'food' card in his mouth. At first I supposed it to
be merely an accident, but I soon discovered that the terrier understood
the cards as well as did the poodle. How, unless the poodle had taught
him? Do dogs, then, have a language by which they may communicate with
each other?
"This was a new thought, which attracted me more and more as I revolved
it in my mind. Then it occurred to me that if animals have a language,
monkeys would offer the best field for study, and I began investigating.
The discovery that the apes do have a language has been made by Mr.
Garner, and by him the fact has been published to the world. But I made
the discovery several years ago, though I kept it to myself, for reasons
which you shall hear.
"I practised upon the monkeys in the Zoological Gardens in Paris and
London, until I was a veritable crank on the subject of monkey language.
Nothing would satisfy me but a trip to Africa. Thither I went, and made
great progress, so that by the time I captured a fine chimpanzee on the
Congo, I was able to readily make him understand that I meant him no
harm. At first he received my overtures with hesitation, his previous
experience with my race rendering him skeptical as to my good
qualities. But after a time, we became good friends; I might even say
chums. After that I gave him his liberty, and we took strolls together.
He was a very sociable fellow when one really got to know him well, but
we found the resources of the monkey language inadequate to our needs.
The experiment with my dog recurred to me, and I undertook to teach him
a human tongue. I chose German as the best adapted to his limitations,
and he made such progress that in a few months we could converse with
tolerable ease.
"I decided to tell him something of the world of civilization, and one
day it occurred to me to expound to him the Darwinian theory. He
listened with an expression of learned thought upon his face which would
have well suited the countenance of a philosopher, but when I had
finished, he astounded me by announcing that he thought he could show me
that higher race of apes, which, being more humanly developed than any
species now known, might well be designated 'the missing link' which
connects the Simian race with man. I begged him to do so, and he
undertook the task, though he said that it involved a long journey. I
urged him to go, and he left me.
"A month had passed, and I had begun to think that my new-found friend
had deserted me, when one day he walked into camp, accompanied by the
most human-like ape I had ever seen. It was neither chimpanzee nor
gorilla, but a combination of both in those characteristics which were
most manlike. The most conspicuous advance beyond the anthropoid apes
now known, was the hairless skin. The hands and feet, too, were more
human in shape, though on the latter the hallux still retained its
prehensile character, which perhaps is necessary to a tree dweller. The
face was peculiarly human, though the jaws retained certain
distinguishing attributes of the ape, as, for example, the space between
the anterior and posterior teeth, and the fang-like canine teeth.
"As you must already suspect the sequel, I may hurry on to the end. The
creature was a female, and in the trip to our camp my chimpanzee friend
had become much attached to her; indeed, I may say he had fallen in love
with her. He had also begun her higher education, so that when we met
she was able to address a few words to me in German. As you may well
imagine, I was greatly interested in this animal, and did all in my
power to teach her. She made even more rapid progress than the
chimpanzee had, and I was thinking of the sensation I could produce in
Paris by sending cards of invitation to the nuptials of my monkey
friends, which I determined should occur in the great metropolis.
"Imagine my horror one morning, upon finding the chimpanzee dead. I did
not immediately comprehend the full significance of this, but upon
questioning the ape a few days later, she candidly confessed to me that
she had strangled the chimpanzee, her only reason being, that having
decided for the future to live as a human being, she deemed it wise to
destroy her companion, that he might not be able to divulge the secret
of her origin.
"Instantly my mind was awakened to a danger which menaced myself. I too
knew the secret of her savage ancestry, and the fact that she had not
slain me also was probably due to her hope that I would fulfil my
promise and take her with me to more civilized parts. Indeed, so certain
was I of this, that I took the first opportunity to foster that ambition
in her bosom. At the same time I carefully planned a secret departure,
and a few nights later succeeded in getting away unobserved, while the
ape slept. Throughout the journey to the coast I constantly feared
pursuit, but was fortunate enough to get safely on shipboard without
hearing more of the savage creature.
"At dusk on last Saturday, I was strolling through the next street,
when, to my amazement, I saw coming towards me what appeared to be a
woman, whose face however was so startlingly like the ape which I had
left in Africa that for a moment I was dazed. In the next instant,
realizing that if my suspicion was true, I might be in danger even after
the lapse of time, and hoping that it was merely a chance resemblance, I
quickly turned into one of the new houses still open for inspection. I
did not dare to look behind me, and even thought it a trick of my
excited imagination when I fancied that I heard steps following me as I
ascended to the second floor. I turned upon reaching the floor above,
and instantly with a savage cry the brute was upon me, her hands upon
my throat, making a desperate effort to strangle me. I gripped her neck
in a similar manner, scarcely hoping to save my life. Fortune favored
me, however, and, after a lengthy struggle, the ape lay dead at my feet.
I suppose that several years of life in civilization had sapped her
savage strength.
"My subsequent proceedings were actuated by two motives. In the first
place any public connection of my name with such a horrible encounter
would naturally have greatly annoyed my wife, and secondly I could not
resist my innate fondness for contending with detectives. I removed the
head, hands, and feet, to prevent identification, and also because with
them I can convince you that the animal was an ape, and not a woman. As
there is no law against the killing of an ape, you must see, Mr. Barnes,
that it would be futile to arrest me."
"You are right," replied Mr. Barnes, "and I am truly glad that your
explanation places you beyond the law. You must forgive me for my
suspicion."
The two men joined hands in a firm clasp, which cemented their
friendship, and guaranteed that the secret which they shared would never
be divulged by either.