Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-02-06


that.
ooh, shall 1? 1 have witnesses. Gen
| tlemen, please come forward. " \ door al
the farther end Of the room opened and
two physicians entered The detective
continued, 'What have you to say uow?''
! THAT I am most profoundly indebt
ed to You for having enabled me 70
prove what has happened, and also that
you have so soon let me know that we
! are not alone" Mr.. Barnes bit his lip at
! this taunt, and Mr.. Mitchell, turning to
| the doctors, continued: Gentlemen, I
am delighted to know that you have
! overheard what has occurred. You may
be called upon to give testimony. If you
| viii remember, I think that you will
admit that Mr.. Barnes asked me who
this woman is. Correcting his grammar,
replied, She was Rose Mitchell. Am
! 1 accurate?'
Quite so, I" said one Of the doctors
Mr. Barnes claims that | have ad-
mitted that knew the woman. claim
that have merely admitted that knew
her name, which is a very different
thing.
You admitted more than that, " said
the detective testify, for you must have
known more than her name to be able to
give a name to this dead body. "
You are quite right, Mr.. Barnes,
must also have known her face. In the
Same way know both name and face Of
Lillian Russell Were l to identify her
doo1 brd-- ,r-o,, II tl,o+ ,,rrv,o +L,. r ,,-,,.
a personal acquaintance"
Certainly not, but you cannot claim
that this woman was known to You in
that way, for she was not public char
acter. ="
"How do you know that?''
-"Well, then, was she?"
"That is another question, and l de
cline to answer it-at least before wit
nesses. If you will walk with me as far
as my hotel, I will do the best I can to
explain to you how could identify this
corpse without having been acquainted
with the woman herself F"
''Of course Twill go with you, for ex-
plain this you must, - and together the
two men left the building.
They walked across to Fifth avenue
and down that thoroughfare for several
blocks in silence. Mr.. Mitchell was oyi-
IDENTIFY thinking over the position in
which he found himself, and Mr.. Barnes
was satisfied not TO hasten the cxplana-
tion. He thus gave himself time to
make few mental notes, which if writ
ten down would have read as follows:
"Why did both If these men start
when l said that the jewelSwaro hidden
off the train? 1t might be because both
knew that to be fact. IF fact, Thauret
might have known it, bn'Au>e be him
self may be the thief. n case, either
Mitchell is an accomplco ca be saw the
other man hide the satchcl at some sta
ton Could Mitchell himself have hid
den the satchel? How could he have done
so when watched his section all night,
nnless of course I fell asleen, which is
must discover what acquaintanceshlp
exists between these men III order to de-
termine whether they are in league to-
gether.
Next, as to the murder 1t is odd to
find both men possessing the means Of
admittance TO the house. 1t is odd that
both were undisturbed and plainly in
credulous when 1 suggested that the
woman might have been murdered to
obtain the Jewels. If Thaurot killed the
woman, his demeanor in the presence Of
the corpse was simply miraculous He
showed not the least agitation. On the
other hand, he admitted that he has a
medical education. Physicians are less
excited by cadavers, and, what is more
significant, a physician would know
how TO find the jugular vein with pen
knife. Still it is not difficult to sever
that vessel without special knowledge
As to Mitchell, his behavior is more
mysterious. Had he committed tho
crime, knowing his extraordinary abil-
ity to control his emotions, l had a right
to expect him to be calm before the
corpse. Yet he was much excited and
went toward the body for a closer scru-
tiny. Murderers usually shrink away
from their victims. In spite Of that he
gave the woman's name, and it tallies
with that which she herself had claimed.
Now, if he was willing to tell me the
name, and if be committed the crime,
why did he remove the names from all
the garments? Why, unless Rose Mitch
el is an alias, and tho real name is
thus kept secret? / may ask him some
Of these questions. "
AT this point Mr.. Mitchell addressed
his companion:
"Mr. Barnes, should like to know
Of what you have been thinking as we
walked, and suppose You have a sim
liar curiosity regarding my own
thoughts. 1 mean to crafty you. 1 have
been endeavoring to view my own posi-
tion from your point Of view, to guess
what your deductions are from my be-
havior in the presence Of that dead
woman.
81 cannot give you my deductions, "
said Mr.. Barnes, ''for the simple reason
that l have adopted none as yet. 1t has
always been my practice to avoid decid-
ing upon a theory too early. A detective
with a theory viii invariably be tempt
ed to work to prove his assumption. l
work TO discover the truth. Therefore |
avoid theories "
Good l see that my opinion of de
tectives, as expressed in the converse
tion which you overheard, must be
modified. | still think | am right in the
main, but you arc an exception to the
general rule.
"Mr. Mitchell, 1 don't care for comph
ments. You are at present in q very sus-
picious position. You said you could ex-
plain how you were able to identify that
woman.
II will do so. First let me state that
| never saw her but once before in my
life The story is very short. l have
been in this city less than two years. l
became engaged to Miss Remsen last
/ winter. About Il month later / received
a letter signed Rose Mitchell, which in
| formed me that the writer could divulge
a secret in relation to my family which
/ would cause Miss Remsen to break with
/ me. A price was named for silence, and
a photograph inclosed that l might be
! able to recognize the woman, for she
! boldly announced that she would call in
person for the money. She did so, and l
! have never seen her again till today"
"Can you prove this story?"
81 Will show you the letter and the
} photograph if you viii come with me to
the Garfield safety varlts F"
twill 20 with you at once. Did you
pay the money demanded?"
II did. -
"Do ecu not know that it is suspicious
for a man TO submit to blackmail? 1t
tends to prove that he is in the black
mailer's power
4