Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-12-07

is no slipping apparent. Each finger has
retained-possibly until the death of the
victim-the fearful grasp by which it
originally imbedded itself. Attempt,
now, to place all your fingers at the same
time In the respective impressions as you
see them"
made the attempt In vain.
1--WE are possibly not giving this mat
ter fair trial, =" he said. 1.-The paper is
spread out upon plane surface; but the
human throat is cylindrical Here is a
billet of wood, the circumference of which
Is about that of the throat. Wrap the
drawing round it and try the experiment
again"
l did so; but the difficulty was even
more obvious than before. This" said,
lis the mark OF no human hand
Read now" replied Dupin, this pas
sage from Cuvier."
1t was a minute anatomical and gen
orally descriptive account of the large
fulvous orang outang of the East Indian
islands. The gigantic stature, the pro-
digious strength and activity, the wild
ferocity, and the initiative propensities Of
these mammalia are sufficiently well
known to all understood the full hor-
rors of the murder at once.
"The description of the digits," said l,
as made an end of reading, 'is in exact
accordance with this drawing. see that
no animal but an orang outang of the
species here mentioned could have i'm
pressed the indentations as you have
traced them. This tuft of tawaly hair,
too, is identical in character with\that Of
the beast of Cuvier. But | cannot pos
sibly comprehend the particulars of this
frightful mystery. Besides, there were
two voices heard in contention, and one
of them was unquestionably the voice Of
a Frenchman"
True; and you will remember an ex-
preston attributed almost unanimously
by the evidence to this voice-the express
sion mon DieuP This, under the cir
cumstances, has been Justly characterized
by one of the witnesses (Montani, the con-
fectioner) as an expression of remon-
STRANGE or expostulation. Upon these
two words, therefore, | have mainly built
my hopes of full solution of the riddle.
A Frenchman was cognizant Of the muir
der. 1t is possible-indeed, it is far more
than probabie-that he was innocent of
all participation in the bloody transactions
which took place. The orang outang may
have escaped from him. He may have
traced it to the chamber, but, under the
agitating circumstances which ensued, he
could never have recaptured it. 1t is still
at large. | will not pursue these guesses
for have no right to call them moro
since the shades of reflection upon which
they are based are scarcely of sufficient
depth to be appreciate to my own intel
lect, and since l could not pretend to
make them Ineligible to the understand
ing of another. We will call them
guesses, then, and speak of them as such.
If the Frenchman In question is indeed,
as l suppose, innocent of this atrocity,
this advertisement, which l left last
night, upon our return home, at the office
OF lie Monde Ia paper devoted to the ship
ping interest, and much sought by sail
orsl, will bring him to our residence"
He handed me paper, and | read thus
CAuGHT-In the Bots de Boulogne, early In the
morning of the - inst. THE morning of the
murderl, very large, tawny orang outang Of
the Bornese species. The owner [who is ascer-
tanned to be sailor belonging to Maltese vessel
may have the animal again upon identifying 1t
satisfactorily and paying few charges arising
from its capture and keeping Call at No. =
Rue -, Faubourg st. Germain--au troisieme.
How was it possible" l asked. that
you should know the man to be a sailor
and belonging to Maltese vessel?"
Il do not know it, said Dupin II am
not sure of it. Here, however, Is a small
piece of ribbon, which, from it's form and
from its greasy appearance, has evidently
been used In tying the hair in one of
those long queues of which sailors are so
fond. Moreover, this knot is one which
few besides sailors can tie and is pecu-
liar to the Maltese. l picked the ribbon
up at the foot of the lightning rod 1t
could not have belonged to either of the
deceased. Now If, after all, am wrong
In my induction from this ribbon that the
Frenchman was sailor belonging to
Maltese vessel, still l can have done
no harm in saying what ! did in the
advertisement. If am in error, he will
merely suppose that | have been mis-
led by some circumstance into which
he will not take the trouble to inquire.
But II am right, great point is gained.
Cognizant although innocent of the muir
der, the Frenchman will naturally hest
tate about replying to the advertisement
about demanding the orang outang. He
will reason thus: i am Innocent l am
poor; my orang outang is of great value
to one In my circumstances fortune Of
itself-why should lose it through idle
apprehensions of danger? Here it is,
within my grasp. 1t was found in the
Bots dc Boulogne, at vast distance from
the scene of that butchery. How can it
ever be suspected that brute beast
should have done the deed? The police
are at fault-they have failed to procure
the slightest clew. Should they even
trace the animal, 1t would be impossible
to prove me cognizant of the murder, or
to implicate me In guilt ON account of
that cognizance. Above all, am known
The advertiser designates me as the pos
SCISSOR of the beast | am not sure to
what limit his knowledge may extend.
Should avoid claiming property of SO
great value, which it is known that pos
sess, | will render the animal at least
liable to suspicion. 1t is not my policy to
attract attention either to myself or to the
beast will answer the advertisement,
get the orang outang and keep it close
until this matter has blown over"
At this moment we heard step upon
the stairs.
BE ready" said Dupin. with your
pistols, but neither use them nor show
them until at signal from myself"
The front door of the house had been
left open, and the visitor had entered
without ringing and advanced several
stems tho or Noxxy