Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-11-02
THE THUMB MARK.


opposite
The new student, the pale man with the
black hair-Chabot, | think, was his name
was especially absorbed in the cOntem-
platiOn of the wreck. WAS no one in
jured?" he asked.
NO one, fortunately" said Wilderspn.
The new man grunted.
Porch entered shouting; "Have you
chaps heard? Great anarchist outraged
London in PANEL Why aren't you terror
strickcni This comes of the abominable
examination system. Not one of you has
had leisure to see newspaper this morn
ing"
We all started round.
"Listen said Porch, striking an atti-
tudo. Yesterday that was the home OF
Inspector Bulstrode-the celebrated In
spector Bulstrode-and we never knew it.
Now behold it!''
How do they know it is the work of
an anaichist;" asked the new student as
Askjn entered the room.
"rhey put every accident that happens
down TO anarchists just now, D." said VIII
derspin.
Tho police," said Porch, "have very
good reason to regard this outrage as the
work of an anarchist so the papers say.
However, it's very nice of the anarchists
to pick Il house right in front of our win
dows. 1t will relieve the rgors of ou1
last weeks examining immensely"
1T has made Smith late for once, )" said
Wildcrpin looking at his watch.
l saw him over the way" said Askin,
"as l was coming down the street"
"Jovcl What was he doing over there?"
asked the now man very quickly.
"Prying, l suppose, said Askin. He
was talking to one of the policemen, and
he had box in his hands with some black
stuff in it, | suppose he will expect us to
Apalyze that"
Here he comesW said Wilderspin.
We all turned to the window again.
Mr.. Somerset Smith, our excellent in
structor in chemistry, had appeared at the
side door opposite and was coming along
by the side of the house toward the street
gate. He carried a box, and in it was Il
quantity of blackcned rubbish, including,
among other curiostics, a broken glass jar.
His broad face was screwed up into an
inscrutable expression. He came across
the roadway, deep in Thought, and was
presently hidden from us as he approached
the steps to the portco. We heard him
come up to his little preparation room
next the laboratory and slam the door.
The four or five other students who con-
stltuted the class came in one by one.
we were soon loud in an animated dis
cusslon OF anarchist outrages. Mason had
heard that 1t was Smith himself who had
discovered that the fire opposite was tho
work of an incendiary, and that he had
found charrcd scrap of an inhammatory
placard. Askin made an obvious joke at
this The new man asked a great many
questions in a quick, nervous manner.
The excitement seemed to be bringing out
10 ~
had been rather conspicuous for a reserve
that most of us considered sulky in its
quality. We stopped our clamor as Smith
entered.
Contrary to his usual practice, he did
not go straight to the blackboard, but
came down the middle aisle of benches TO
ward the window. He was carrying pa
perweght Of block marble in one hand anf
in the other a number Of slips of white pa
per These DC put down on Nildorspin'.
bench. He D red at the crowd OF US from
beneath his heavy eyebrows
Amy one absCnt?' he asked
mo one, sir, said somebody.
This fire over the way, gentlemen, is a
very singular affair indeed, very singular.
Possibly none II you know how it was oc-
casioned. But you ought, l think, to know
without any delay that a strong suspicion
h''tAS-4N9 ohs IVY llltAl ID W say
that the inc, ndiary, for it was no acct
dent, but deliberate araun-obtaincd his
materials from this place. SO far ms car
judge, the house was fred by means o;
phosphorus dissolved in carbon bisul.
phide "
There was simultaneous exclamation
from the class. AS you are aware, gen
tlemen, from the course of elementary
study we pursued last autumn, when phos-
phOrus dissolved in carbon bisulphide is
exposed to evaporation the phosphorus IL
precipitated in such finely divided state
it catches fire Wen, the coal plate, it
would seem, had been taken up, n consid-
cradle amount of paper thrown down
among the flrewood and small coal that
lay on the floor Of the cellar and then
copious supply of this solution-which,
must, gentlemen, have been mixed in this
house-was poured upon it. Evaporation
began at once, the phosphorus presently
caught and set the paper going, and in
half an hour nice little fire was burning
its way up stairs to wake the inspector
and his family. How did l ascertain
thisY Partly ty accident and partly by re-
search. II @ accident 8as this: About lC
O'Clock last night ! bau occasion to visit
my preparation room, and | smelt the very
distinctive smell of carbon bsulphide va
por. / traced this to the stoIeroom next
door, and entering saw at once that the
stores had been tempered with A bottle
Of starch mucilage had been upset, and
the contents were dripping from the table
to the floor several other bottles had been
taken down and not replaced. Looking
round with the idea Of discovering theft,
failed 10 detect the absence of anything
at first, except the carbon bisulphido, but
presently l noticed the phosphorus jar
was empty The Inference was either that
some student contemplated a chemical en-
tertainment at home at my expense, OF
that some incendiarsm was on foot In
either case ! was naturally anxious to dis
cover the culprit, and it seemed to me that
no time was so favorable as the immediate
moment, whom the was exactly as he
had left it. You klD. We scientific people
are rather fond OF problems of evidence "
He looked keenly round the group of us
so did ]. Unless he was far better physi-
OgnOmist than l, nothing was to be de-
tected. 70 me every one looked interested,
and all more or less disconnected by his