The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-01-20
CHAPTER ".
WHAT JOHN RANCE HAD TO TELL

He then hailed a cab. and ordered the !
driver 10 take Ms to the address given /
us by Lestrade.
There is nothing like first hand evil |
dence, he remarked; las matter of |
fact, my mind is entirely made up
upon the case, but still we may as well !
learn all that is to be learned
You amaze me, Holiness said |.
"Surely You are not rs sure as you pre-
tend to be OF all those particulars
which you gave"
There's no room for mistake" he
answered. The very first thing
which observed on arriving there
was that cab had made two rats with
its wheels close to the turb. Now, up
to last night, we have had no rain for
4 week, 50 that those wheels, which
lett such deep impression, must have
been there during the night. There
were the marks of the horses hoofs,
too, the outline Of one OF which was
far more clearly cat than that Of the
other three, showing that .thSt was u
new shoe. Since the cab was there
after the rain began, and was not
there at any time during the morning
Il have Gregson's word for that-it
follows that it must have been there
during the night, and, therefore, that
il brought those two individuals to the
house"
That seems simple enough, said /;
but how about the other mans
hcight?'
why, the height OF Il man, in nine
cases out Of ten, can be told from the
length OF his stride IL is u simple
calculation enough though there is no
use my boring you with figures.
had this fellows stride, both on the
clay outside and on the dust within.
Then 1 had way Of checking my eel
culation. When man writes on a
wall, his instinct leads him to write
about the level of his own eyes. Now,
that writing was just over six feet
from the ground 1t was child's play"
And his age?' asked.
"Well, if a man can stride four and
hall feet without the smallest effort,
he can't be quite in the sere and yell
low That was the breadth of puddle
on the garden walk which he had
evidently walked across. Patent
leather boots had gone round and
Square-toes had hopped over. There
is no mystery about it at all. am
simply applying to ordinary life few
Of those precepts of observation and
deduction which / advocated in that
article. Is there anything else that
puzzles your
The Gnger-nails and the Trichinop-
oily" l suggested.
The writing on the wall was done
With mans forefnger dipped in blood.
Ny glass allowed me to observe that
tie plaster was slightly scratched in
doing it, which would not have been
the case if the mans nail had been
trimmed. 1 gathered up some seat
tered ash from the floor. It was dark
in color and haky-such an ash as is
only made by TrichiEopoly. | have
made special study of cigar ashes
in fact, l have written a monograph
upon the subject. Aatter myself that
I can distinguish at glance the ash of
any known brand either of cigar or OF
tobacco. 1t is just in such details that
the skilled detective differs from the
Gregson and Lestrade type"
And the Aorid face?' | asked.
"Ah, that was more daring shot,
slough / have no doubt that ! wa
right. You must not ask me that
the present state of the affair"
passed ny hand over my brow
my head is in a whirl," | remarked
"fhe more one thinks of it the more
mysterious it grows, How came these
two men-if there were two men-intC
an empty house? What has become o
the cabman who drove them? How
could one man compel another to TAKE
poison? Where did the blood CONE
from? What was the object Of the
murderer, since robbery had no part il
it? How came the woman's ring there
Above all, why should the second mar
write up the German word 'rache' be
fore decamping? confess that | can
not see any possible way of rsconcilinl
all these facts"
Ny companion smiled approvingly.
"You sum up the difficulties Of thr
situation succinctly and well" he said
There is much that is still obscure
though have quite made up my min,
on the main facts. As to poor Les
trades discovery it was simply blin'
intended to put the police upon Il wronl
track, by suggesting socialism am
secret societies. 1t was not done by
German. The A, if you noticed, wa
printed somewhat after the Germai
fashion. Now real German invaria
bly, prints in the Latin character, S
that we may safely say that this wa
not written by one, but by Il clums
imitator, who overdid his part. 1t wa
simply u ruse to divert inquiry into
wrong channel. I'm not going to Eel
YOU much more OF the case, doctor
You know a conjurer gets no credi
when once he has explained his trick
and If 1 show you too much of III
method of working, you will come t
the conclusion that am q very ordinar
individual after all"
II shall never do that, >" answered
"you have brought detection Us nea
an exact science as it ever will b
brought in this world
My companion flushed up with pleai
IRE at my words and the earnest wa
in which / uttered them. had Il
ready observed that he was as sensitiv
, to flattery on the score of his art as an
girl could be of her beauty.
I'm tell you one other thing" h
said "Patent-leathers and Squar,
toes came in the same cab, and the
walked down the pathway together q
friendly as possible -arm-in-arm, in u
probability. When they got insid
they walked up and down the room
tl,. Do l., .tnn1 80;