The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1896-02-20

IL. lle TACT OF the door DeluS IdSIel-
ed did not prove that any one had en-
tered the window. but rather that
some one had left by that exit
w no had room 36 that night" 2" l
asked
a young woman who had been
here two days" said the landlord.
She left by the midnight train last
night. Let me see I believe she was
waiting here for friends who were to
come on from Washington. but who
disappointed her
Did she order any wine whiI9
here"
He called Front" and we soon
found the bell boy who had taken a
pint OF port to her room at ; O'Clock of
/ the day Of the murder. Room 36 ad-
Joined 81, Of course, but there was no
communicating door, nor had the cap
tain asked for 81. He had simply
asked for a room on the second floor.
! | carefully examined the windows Of
| both. In "a the sash worked easily,
IN 36 with more difficulty. | found by
the chamberma;d that owing to lack
OF help neither window had been
washed for two weeks previous to the
murder. An examination of the sash
es revealed finger tips. These imprints
We're exactly alike on both sashes, and
were too small to have been made by
the captains fingers. In room 36 [
found the wine bottle, with the con
tents about half finished together
with a telegram, which had been torn
i [ / 4
ed 1t together, and found 1t was dis
patch from Philadelphia, dated the
day of the murder and reading: Il
will be there this evening" 1t was di-
rected to Mary Thorton and signed
with the initial &C. This Mary
! ThOrtOn had left hy the midnight
tram going west She might have
purchased her ticket and secured her
sleeper down town, but thought not
On going to the depot [ found that
woman OF her description had ticket
ed through to Buffalo by that train
| have given my line of reasoning
away to You, but this was necessary
! to connect events. As soon as | found |
| the money and the watch | knew it |
was not a case Of robbery. As soon
as | found the blood spot on the |
bed rail [ realized that the captain |
had met his death in some other man |
ner While my friend, the chemist |
was analyzing the few drops Of wine |
left in the glass, | put my case TO
gether thus: Captain Taylor was soon
to be married. There was a woman |
in the way-Mary Thorton. \ meet
ing was arranged at the hotel The |
captain disguised himself for fear of |
meeting some one who knew him. |
There was probably quarrel when
they first met, but it was smoothed |
over and the woman brodght him a
glass Of wine to drink to the new on
der Of things. She had planned to |
poison him OF she would have brought |
the bottle instead Of the glass. 1t was /
q powerful poison. and as it clutched |
at his life, he rose up, staggered about |
and sank in a heap on the floor. Only |
a woman would have used poison, and |
only woman would have torn up the |
photograph as | found it. She was
sharp enough to plumber the body to
make it appear that robbery was the
motive. She had prepared her win
dow in advance. When he was dead |
she double locked the door and made |
her exit by his window, and returned |
to her room over the roof The report |
Of the chemist that the wine had been |
dosed with prussic acid strengthened |
nay case, though it was strong one
before that
do not crave the glory reaped by |
the detective who brings his cases to
a successful issue, and | was therefore
willing to aid the regular who had |
charge Of this case. Logical deduc-
tiOns and conclusions are a matter of |
pride with me, however. and | was not |
willing to give him the whole case on |
the palm Of his hand. Let him deduce
and conclude fOr himself. [ there |!
fore said to him:
The captain was to bemalIied soon. |
He may have had business in the city. |
but what cOuldta him to that hotel? |
lie made no inquiries, and the land
lord Is sure he had on false whiskers. |
Why in disguise? Did he go there to
meet some one? Isn't it odd that we
should find a wineglass and no bottle
in the room Have you asked the
landlord if the man ordered up a
single bottle Of wine? You say he
was robbed, but lid You search the
room for the plunder? You say he
was struck on the head with a Jagged
piece Of iron. Did you look about to
see If that cut was not the result Of
! fall The chair he doubtless occupied
was upset as he sprang up, but the
other was only showed back little
/ Two people sat at that table. There
was bit of wine left in the glass. but
furnishthe key to the mystery. You
did not search the room for letters,
kilograms or torn bits of paper You
| did not ask who occupied the adioin-
ing rooms that night You did not
ask if any guests left by the midnight
train. Would you say that a lone wo
man, for instance, who could take any
/ OF six trains day for Buffalo would
prefer the midnight train to all
others?'
Blast your theoriesw growled the
detective, The captain was killed
/ by a man who came over the roof
I The fellow would have got the dia-
monds, but was scared away | have
him spotted, and before you have the
case half worked out, I'll have him
/ hung for murder"
Don't you think there might have
been a woman in it
"ImpossibIe"'
Couldn't the wine have been pois
onad!"
'Of course. bat ii wasn't"
Won't you work on the theory that
the captain went to the hotel to meet
woman"
No sir, II you want 10 make an
ass OF yourself, there's nobody to say