Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-07-20

utes. Brtfke. Ggirs something OF an
athlete may have walked il IN little
less time. We know be stopped 10 hunt
for s,r-letsSng. The evidences OF this,
however. wunI indicate that It was no
very fsUtravte3 search. Probably II
consumed not over two minutes, or at
the most not more than FIVE. Suppose
we sav II took Is minutes for him to
reach the west pier, ten minutes would
BE- about the time required for rowing
across the river and two more for Sc
curiu- the boat at the pier and starting
to ascend the path TO the observatory.
That wuuld bring US TO half past 10.
That ni2Lt Professor Gilman and Mr..
Arnold and also two other observers at
the observatory saw a brilliant meteor
fash across the sky. The professor and
Mr. Arnold noting its course, thought
it probable that meteorite fell into or
near the river not far from the east
uier Now at what time was thisT
Fortunately we know almost TO the
second. Just after the meteor disap-
peared Nr Tngraham Of the Urania
university was thinking Of going out
with Mr. Arnold 10 search for the me
teorite that they suspected had faller,
bat cpon consulting his watch, found
that he had only nine minutes il which
to catch the 1910 train for the city.
Thus we know that the meteOrite fell
at almost exactly half past 10. The spot
il the river where this neteorite was
found il Approximately the spot where
it fell. but not exactly. My examina-
ton Of the rocks on the ridge, however,
showed me exactly where 1t struck
This spot i almost directly in the path
OF a person coming up from the pier.
We have figured out that person was
coming mp at the very moment the
mctecrite fell l. it unreasonable to
supp.se that this strange visitant from
outer space struck poor Burke on the
head at the instant he was passing that
dangerous point in the path and that
the hlow knocked him off into the
riyer?'
Professor Gilman uttered a little ex-
elamation, but no one noticed him, for
the sheriff had sprung up excitedly.
"Yes, sir. he cried, lit is unTeason-
able. If that thing fell out Of the sky,
as you assume, it could never have
made the wound ON Burke's skull. The
wound is in the wrong place for that.
In order 10 have it occur, Burke's left
ear must have been turned toward the
| sky in a most unnatural manner. No,
/ sir; that theory is knocked in the head
at the START
| But suppose, said the detective,
/ quite undisturbed, ''that thssh1eteorite
struck the cliff first, and then, rebound
ing at an angle, struck Burke on the
side Of the head Surely you will not
| deny that that could happen. Now, as
a matter IF fact. the cliff shows that the
| meteorite did strike il at point about
MS high as a mans head, for a piece Of
the yoch thsre was broken off. This is
it, D." touching lightly the smaller piece
| on the desk, ''and it was picked up off
the river bed by the diver, along with
| the other things Now this corner Of
! the rneteoTite might have made a wound
| almost exactly like that in Burke s
! skull At least, such is my Judgment,
after n very close examination Of the
wound and OF this portion Of the me-
| teorite.
The sheriff interrupted the detective
| again and this time in even greater ex-
| citenent than before: There is one
thing you seem 10 haveforgotten. That
meteorite must have been intensely hot
| when it fell hot enough to burn human
| flesh and bone Bat did the flesh and
bone around the wound show any in
| dications Of having been burned9 Ger
tainly not No, sir Mr.. Fosdick, you II
| I,,,. "a, ,x,t a. Y,a.v theory Won raft Z
| hold that meteOrite responsible for
| Burke's death. The sheriff paused
with a flushed and triumphant look on
his face
az thought Of that, Of course " said
the detective calmly. "a newly fallen
meteorite, supcrheated as it must be,
would undoubtedly scar human flesh, so
that traces Of it would probably be dis
cernible, egen after the burned part had
been submerged in water for several
hours never for a moment believed
that the meteorite made the wound. If
you remember, ! said that this corner
Of the meteorite might make break al
most exactly like that in the skull Al
most exactly but not quite. 1t fits the
wound pretty well, certainly much bet
ter than the handle Of that stick. but 1t
doesn t fit it qVite accurately enough.
Things have to be exact in matters OF
this sort 10 be Of much value. Now
here il rock, " picking mp the frag-
ment broken from the cliff, "that fills
our wants better This singular shaped
corner fits the wound exactly, and here,
gentlemen, undoubtedly IL the instru-
ment that caused tho death Of Burke.
The meteorite struck the rock just aa
| the doomed man was climbing the path
and bounded off into the water without
doing further damage itself The fatal
destructivcnes5 lay In this piece Of rock,
which being broken from the solid rock
with great violence was dashed against
Burke's head knocking him off the
path into the river and then falling In
after him The body, borne away by
the current, which at this point sets to
ward the opposite shore, would by the
next morning be likely 10 reach the spot
where tho fishermen found it. Some
water was found in Burke's lungs,
enough 10 make the medical men be
lieve that death occurred from drown
ing, yet probably not enough gained en-
trance before his death To make the
specific gravity Of the body greater
than that Of the water, which explains
why the body noated instead Of sinking.
"Gentlemen. do You think my theory
il corrcctf'
A buzz Of admiration followed and
Arnold began TO clap his hands There
was singular look In Professor Gil
| D.. 10 v.LtinaI IlYfH
"Mr Fosdick " said the sheriff On
thuiastically. all his reluctance to nc
knowledge the professional superiority
Of the other disappearing ''you are a
most remarkable man. Your eXplana'
tion Is complete and satisfactory, and
this mystery, thanks 70 your skill as Q
detective, is cleared up"
CHAPTER VIII
PROFESSOR GILMAN HAS SOMETHING Tt
SAY.
Permit me to say few words.
II was Professor Gilman who spoke