Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-08-21

dude, has his clothes made TO order.
OF imported material. and when his
linen, his hat and his shoes are of good
quality, it Is fair to infer that the mans
income was comfortable.
II proceed with the arrangement of
my data:
Secondly: the man in the cab died
OF wound caused by bullet fired at
very close quarters. Indeed, the weap-
on must have been held either against
the victims body, or, at any rate, very
near to it; for the coat is badly burned
by the powder"
"On these points at least" assentcd
DIR. Thurston. II can agree with YOU.
The bullet probably penetrated the
upper lobe Of the lief, lung"
yes" added Sturgis, land ii passed
out at the back, far below where IT
went in"
What makes you think it passed
out? The wound in the back NAV
have been caused by another bullet
nreu from the rear"
THAT hypothesis might be tena Die
were it not for this"
With these words the reporter pulled
out his watch, opened the case. and
with theblade of penllnife took from
the surface of the crystal minute OBJ
ject, which he handed to the physician.
Look ut it," said he, pushing over
a magnifying glass.
DIR. Thurston examined the object
carefully.
"a splinter of bone" he said, Mt last.
Yes. l found it on the surface of
the wound In the back. How did it get
there?"
you are right" admitted the physi-
clan; "it must have come from with
in, Clipped from a rib and carried out
by the bullet which entered from the
front"
II think there can be no doubt as to
that. Now, the bullet does not seem
to have been DETECTED in its course by
Its contact with the rib, for, us far rs I
have been able to judge by probing
the two wounds with my pencil, their
direction is the same This is impor-
tant and brings me to point three,
which is illustrated by these diagrams,
drawn to scale from the measurements
1 took this afternoon
AS he said these words, the reporter
handed to his friend sheet of paper
upon which he had drawn some ge-
ometrical figures.
THE first of these diagrams shows
the angle which the course of the bull
let made with a horizontal plane; the
second represents the inclination from
right to left. The former Of these an
giles is nearly and the latter not far
from forty-tive degrees. The inclina-
ton from right to left shows that the
shot was fired from the right side of
the dead man. Now then, one of two
things: Either it was fired by the man
himself, the weapon being held in his
right hand; or else it was fired by an
assassin who stood close to the VIC
TINS right side. The first of these hy-
potheses, considered by itself, is adj
missible; but it involves the assump-
ton of an extremely awkward and I'M
usual position of the suicides hand
while firing. On the other hand, the
dead man is tall-siX feet one inch
and to fire down, at an angle of sixty
degrees, upon a man of his height, his
assailant would have to be colossus,
or else to stand upon chair or in some
equally elevated position, unless the
victim happened to be seated when the
shot was fired"
Happened to be seated" exclaimed
Ilburston, astounded, why, of course
cab"
THAT brings up point four, which
Is not the least puzzling of this in
teresting case" said Sturgis, impress
lively; 1.-The shooting was not done in
the cab"
Not done in the cab!"
"No; otherwise the bullet would have
remained in the cushions; and it was
not there"
1T might have fallen out into the
street at the time Of theGollision," sug-
gested Thurston.
NO; l searched every'inch of space
in which it might have, fallen. If it
had been there l should have found
it, for the spot was brilliantly lighted
by an electric light, as you remem-
Der"
The physician pontSeNed in.silence for
few minutes.
With all due respect or'the accu-
racy of your observations, and for the
rigorous logic of your inductions,
Sturgis," he asserted at last with de-
cision, 81 am positive that the man
died seated, for his limbs saiffened In
that position"
"Yes," asserted sturgiss "atd for>that
matter, l grant you that he brea t.hed
his last in the cab; for In his dealt
struggles he clutched ip his left hand
the cushion of the cab window, a piece
of which remained in .lis dying grasp.
/ merely said that he was not shot in
the cab"
"Then how did he get there?" asked
the physician.
Your question is premature, my
dear fellow" replied sturgis, smiling
lit must remain unanswered for the
present All we have established AS
vet is that he did get there. And thu
being the case. he must have been as
sisted; for, wounded as he was, he
could not, take it, have climbed into
the cab by himself"
Certainly not" agreed Tl1urston.
Point FIVE" resumed Sturgis, 1.-The
right arm was broken just above the
wrist"
Yes said the physician, n thought
ut first that the nrnn ,ninht hnra hann