Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-05-10

IN get down to this particular case; 40
YOU think you can make anything OF
it?"
Il may be able TO and 1 may not. You
must recollect that ! know comparative
" very little of it. 1t will be necessary
first. to examine the premises thorough
w. as we'll as the characters and habits
of all the personages who have been in
any way connected with the case. These
data are the foundation of my theory,
and it will be essential TO get all the
data obtainable, of my fabric will be
like the house that was built upon the
sands. | am very glad to hear that
your first move was to put the matter
into the hands of the police"
You surprise me-" l answered. I
took it for granted that you esteemed
the capabilities of the official detect
ives very lightly"
ION the contrary, the police are often
most serviceabie. They have been en-
gagged upon this case now for three
days. The papers say that they are fol-
| lowing up every clue with their accus-
toned energy and shrewdness. Moth
| ing could be better. The real criminal,
whoever. he is. hears that the police are
after him. He knows from experience
their thick-headednes and their pro-
pensity to laundering; consequently he
will be lulled into security and we will
be able to come upon him when he least
expects it,
| laughed at the old mans sarcasm
and at this open exhibition of contempt
| for his official colleagues.
"They are all very well" he contin-
ued. except when they have TO use
| their brains. and then they are at fault,
for the reason that they are deficient
in the article You hear, often, about
the police having unravelled this or
that mystery but if you look it up, you
viii find that ii was no mystery at all.
When they come 10 downright mys-
terry, it never is unravelled. When they
encounter criminal. man or woman.
who has brains and who deliberately
sets TO work to conceal his or her crime
they fail. The reason they fail is that
they are deficient in the power OF OBJ
servation and analysis. They may have
one, but they haven't the other.
The great secre5 Of success in the
detection of criminals, is the skill with
which one is able TO reason backward
from the effect to the cause. We usual
ly reason that if certain causes exist,
they will produce such and such effects;
we very seldom have occasion to take
an effect, an existing state of things,
and reason back TO the unknown cause
which produced it; and yet. this man
ner of reasoning should be. and is. with
practice. fully as easy as the other. Now
! will bet you anything that YOU never
saw an effect which preceded it's cause"
/ acknowledged that | had not and
doubted if there could be such thing.
Why, a man pushing a wheelbarrow,
Of course no, no! no. You cant dis
pute that The cause is the man and
the effect is the wheelbarrow. which
precedes the cause. But | think Eve
heard enough of that business for to-
night. I'll sleep on it, and will 20 over
the ground tomorrow. Can you meet
me in the office of the bank tomorrow
morning at 10?"
assured him that we would he on
hand and we were about to take our de-
parture, when it occurred to me that
had not asked him ABOUT his terms.
Il forgot" said |, ito ask you abou.
terms for an investigation of this sort.
and whether it is customary to ray
something in advance"
My terms depend q good deal upon
the result. If We are successful |
shall charge you considerably more
than if we are not, and, as regards an
advance payment, You may as well give
me ten dollars now" -
handed him a bill of the denomina
ton he asked for He looked at it care
fully. as if to be sure Of its. genuineness
and then stuffed it into his pocket.
Cant you give me some sort of an
opinion now?" asked Does it seem
possible to you. from what l have told
you, that this thing may have been done
by some one besides Mr.. McKeever?"
Yes, ] can give you an opinion now.
1t won't be worth much, as there are
many details which are still lacking.
and which ] must get hold of before |
can get to the bottom Of the affair: but
it will be worth, anyway, as much as the
sum you have paid me. will say that it
is Just possible that Mr.. McKeever was
not the criminal: that, if he was not.
he is or has been in great danger of
bodily injury and needs or needed your
assistance; and. finally. that the thief
or thieves got into the bank before day
light on Thanksgiving. and that the
safe was robbed at or near ten o'clock
on the same morning"
When we were on our way home that
night. | remarked TO Wolcott:
Well / don't know how it strikes
YOU: but it seems to me that your friend
Benjamin is good deal of a charlatan.
and that I've thrown away ten dollars"
Why do you think that" he de-
manded. rather testify.
1T seemed to me that a great deal
that he said was said for effect. To
use slang and very apt expression. he
seemed TO be playing TO the galleries.
All that talk of his about reasoning
back from the effect to the cause, and
about observation and analysis and all
that sort Of clap-trap made me think of
Sherlock Holmes and Chevalier Dupin
and. as regards his opinion. I could
have given as COON an opinion myself
What he said about the time of the rob-
berry was a good guess and nothing